It's Been a Long Time

With all the emails I have been sending, I haven't taken the time to write a blog post. Here are some updates (and pictures!) of the happenings in our classroom.

In social studies, we finished our Maya simulation. Students were put into "city/states" and had to trade various goods to earn corn and increase their populations. Our winning city/state, Chichen Itza, had a glorious final sacrifice, and will be joining Chac (me) for a chicken pizza lunch on Friday.

This week, we are beginning our Aztec, Inca, Maya project. The students are working in small groups to research one of these ancient civilizations. Then they will work together to create Google Slide presentation to share with the class. Each student will take notes on the presentations and compare the research of their peers to their own. As the pictures show below, they are working hard on note taking.

In two weeks, we will be starting state math testing. Most of the classes are currently studying the use of input and output charts to graph data. Students are also doing an excellent job of completing and turning in their math homework. The end of the year field trips are a great source of inspiration for the kids who struggle with study skills. Thank you for your support in this area!

In language arts, we are continuing a five-story unit about different ancient cultures. We have read about the Vikings, Chinese, Greeks, Egyptians, and will end with a piece about Mt. Vesuvius. Your students are applying skills like identifying main idea and cause and effect relationships. As we get closer to the end of the year, we will begin a fun unit on super heroes. I can't wait!

We have also been working on finishing a piece of writing on the use of plastic, paper, and reusable bags. After watching a number of short videos on the topic, and using information from various print resources, the students are now putting their notes into a five-paragraph persuasive essay. This will be due next week. 

Your student might have mentioned that we have a student teacher joining us in May. Ms. Brungardt is a Petersen graduate herself and is excited to have this opportunity to support her hometown community. It will be nice to have the extra help in the classroom as we enter the end-of-year excitement. 

Have a great week,
Ms. Kinsman