Highlights of the Month

We just completed reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The novel has many themes, but we focused on the theme of survival. Students discussed how the main character, Brian, followed the theme: "in order to survive, one must stay focused, motivated, and never have self-pity". We also watched the movie based on the book and discussed the differences between book and film. A majority of the students preferred the book to the movie.

After the break we will begin our next novel, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.

We began our informational report writing unit focusing on a state in the United States. Students decided on four topics to research and they have been busy taking notes from a minimum of three different sources. Many are now at the point of organizing their notes and drafting their report.

Speaking of the United States, see the map below for the current status of our Postcard Race (states not colored are the ones still needed!). 

We are finishing our unit on European Exploration of the New World and moving on to the 13 Colonies. We studied the reasons the Europeans began exploring in the 15th Century and read about some notable explorers to the New World. 

We began our fraction unit with a delicious Froot Loops activity. We have reviewed adding/subtracting like denominator fractions and have moved on to adding/subtracting unlike denominator fractions. Learning about the greatest common factor (GCF) and lowest common multiple (LCM), helps us with fractions. Soon we will be moving towards multiplying and dividing fractions. 

And there is always the art.....