Beta’s first library visit!!! Thank you Victoria for making the library experience smooth and exciting for both the students and teachers!
In ELA with Ms Andrea…This week we finished up our reading & writing on topography! Together, we outlined our response to the prompt: “What do topographers do?” and wrote a paragraph.
In Phonics, we reviewed the word families with the short /i/ sound, including: in, im, ip, it, and ig.
Ms. Emma’s ELA group…worked through the first 2 steps of the writing process (P and O) using our prompt about the ways animals are constantly changing. LIke always, we began by pre-reading our informational text and deciphering the GIST (main idea). Then we pulled apart the prompt to figure out exactly what it was asking us to do – in this case identify how animals change using text to support our answers. Next we organized our information using TIDE. Next week, we will put it all together in a rough draft paragraph response. I am so proud of these Betas for working through the laborious steps of the writing process while training their hand muscles and brains to respond to writing prompts!
In phonics we tackled final blends with t, l and s. We also played “Spell it, Keep it” using our high frequency words. As always, we had a spelling check in, handwriting bootcamp, and lots of visual and audible drills.
In Ms. Andrea’s Math Group…began a new unit focusing on Place Value. We reviewed the importance of the placement of digits within a number and how it affects their value. These kids already know so much! When we finish our work early, we learn a new game to play to help reinforce skills. This week we used base ten blocks to build numbers, so that the Betas have a good, concrete understanding of the quantities that numbers in 1’s, 10’s, 100’s and 1,000’s(!) place value positions represent.
Ms. Emma’s math group….had fun playing “inside outside” where we explored different ways to make 10 depending on how many dinos land on our mat vs off our mat. Then we used “peek a boo” to determine how many dinos were hiding and practice missing addend equations. Finally, we solved many simple addition/subtraction stories by drawing pictures and writing the equation. It was a big week for formulating equations and strengthening our number sense!
In theme…we rocked out! – Sedimentary, igneous & metamorphic style!! Sedimentary rocks cover 75% of Earth’s land surface, so we started there. Some new vocabulary words were: deposition, compaction and cementation. We began with a demonstration, by filling a jar with various forms of sediment (rocks, sand, pebbles and bits of plant matter) and adding (rain) water. We faked a crazy storm with lots of wind and the jar got all shaken up! Next, we kept an eye over the following days to see how the sediments settled into distinct layers within the jar. Later in the week we made our own sedimentary rocks by layering materials in a paper cup and adding minerals (aka white glue) to help them stick together. They’re still forming on the teacher shelf but we look forward to peeling the cup off for the grand reveal! We also made edible sedimentary rocks by layering rocks (Kix cereal), pebbles (of the cocoa variety) and crushing graham crackers to make our own sand. This time our mineral mix consisted of marshmallow creme – you can probably guess that it was a huge hit!
Of course, we also got to meet our new rock friends, “Bones” Limestone, “Sandy” Sandstone and “Smooth-talkin” Shale. We passed these around along with lots of other examples of sedimentary rocks, noting their texture, color and heaviness. We became Rock Investigators and examined our samples using magnifying glasses, performed scratch (aka hardness) tests using our fingernails, a coin and a nail. Lastly, we checked to see if the rock would absorb water and attempted a chemical reaction by dropping vinegar and lemon juice on top. Boy, did that limestone fizz!
For our study of the igneous family, we met more rock friends, including ”Giant” Granite, “Bubbles” Basalt, as well as obsidian, pumice and more! We touched them, examined them, and found that pumice floats! We learned the scorching (and sometimes explosive) origin story of these rocks and how they’re used in everyday life including construction (countertops) and personal care (even in toothpaste!). Some igneous rocks are intrusive – meaning they formed underground – those rocks have large, visible mineral crystals, like granite. The other major type of igneous rocks are called extrusive. These rocks are formed when lava cools quickly on the earth’s surface. They may appear glassy, contain holes from bubbles, and their mineral crystals are often invisible to the naked eye. We wrapped up the lesson by melting chocolate rocks into lava, letting them sit and harden, and then devouring our chocolate igneous rocks.
Finally, we came to the metamorphic rock! Our rock friends in this family included “Marvelous” Marble and “Slick” Slate. We kept things brief here, as next week we’ll have a visit by a member of the Austin Geological Society(!), who plans on leading us through an activity pertaining to metamorphic rocks. Each Beta was given a bit of white and wheat bread, which they attempted to transform using the heat & pressure of their bare hands, and those that persisted with the task were indeed successful!
Did I mention that our peeps went on their first rock dig?? See if you can spot them below!
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