Week of 12/3

 We had a great week, especially on our mid-week trip to The Seattle Children’s Theater to see The Wizard of Oz. They put on a great show, and we had a really good time discussing the play – as well as the books – in class, as well as doing some fun themed activities: we painted bricks on the yellow brick road, we created stories about the characters, and we compared various versions of the story that we have in class.

During literacy, the kids have been hard at work creating their “Pet Rock Owner Manuals.” In order to write the manual, we had to discuss all of the important things to know about taking care of a pet rock, like where it sleeps and what it eats, as well as the conventions of a “How-to” book. Many of the kids included a table of contents and relevant chapters, as well. 

Writing “How-to” guides will be something that we will continue to work on. In the future, we will look at how to write instructions and how to follow sequence in giving these instructions so that if another person were to follow the guide, the end result would be the same. This can be something you start to do at home, as well: asking your child to explain the steps in making a sandwich, or in getting ready for school.

Other learning centers that we had this week were an exploration of sugar and salt crystals, with students given the chance to create their own crystal structures out of clay; weighing and measuring various rocks; and reading alone or with a partner.

During the afternoon family group time, one group categorized minerals by various characteristics: color, shape, smell, texture. Another group formed hypotheses about what rocks might or might be able to do, and then tested these. Can rocks float? Can rocks write on paper?