Our Top Choices for the Top 20 books of 2020!

Every year we count down the top picture books from the previous year.  We start at number 20 and read one book each day until we get to the top book of the year.  It's so much fun to read these books!  We are introduced to many new titles and get to revisit a few favorites we've previously read.  After reading each book, the students choose their current favorite all the way up until the end.  Once book number one has been read, the students make their top choices and write up a short review to post in the hallway so we can spread the word of our new favorites!

Here were our favorites for 2020:

Opinion Writing

 

We just finished up our writing unit on opinion writing.  When we begin talking about what it means to have an opinion, we use the idea of school uniforms as an example.  We talk about the pros and cons of wearing school uniforms.  This class mostly said they were against school uniforms, but some of them had the opinion that uniforms could be useful.

 We started with writing about what we thought would be the best pet or not the best pet.  The students brainstormed their ideas on a graphic organizer and then used these ideas to write 2 paragraphs with a topic sentence and a concluding sentence.  This writing went into a class book.

We began the unit with reading these two books.  In these books, the characters think they have an idea of a great pet.  We discussed our opinions and compared them to the characters' opinions.

We followed this up by writing about the best thing about ourselves.  I told the students that really the best thing about each of them is what is inside of them- that they are kind, and helpful, and smart.  For this project though, they had to pick something on the outside that we could take a picture of.  I love how each of these writing projects turn out so unique.

Engineering an Egg Drop

In our engineering unit, we've learned that engineers need to use creative ideas to build or take things apart.  They also need to be great problem solvers who are willing to try things in a new way if they don't work the first time.

In order to put these skills to use, the students built an egg drop box with a few limited supplies.  Each group was given a shoe box filled with 1 toilet paper tube, 2 cotton balls, 1 styrofoam cup, 2 paper towels, 2 popsicle sticks, 2 straws, 2 pipe cleaners, and a roll of masking tape. 

On day 1 the students made their box without the egg.  They had to make some assumptions on how the egg would fit into their design. On day 2, the students were given the egg and many groups had to problem solve a new design based on whether or not the egg fit into their original design.

This project also gave the students another chance to collaborate within a partnership or group and practice listening to each other's ideas and working together.

The goal was to keep the egg safe for 3 different heights of dropping.  We dropped off a desk, off the landing of the stairs to the new gym, and off the catwalk.  

 The students then reflected on why they think their eggs survived the fall or didn't.  We focused on the fact that if our eggs didn't survive, it's not a failure, but rather it's just one idea that would need further work.  The students were then given time to construct a new design before the next drop.  This was a fun project!

Egg drop construction:

Drop 1:

Drop 2:

Drop 3:

Kindergarten Buddy Reading

 We had the opportunity to read with kindergarten friends on Friday!  They brought in the little books they are practicing along with their sight words.  What great readers they are!  We enjoyed reading books to them as well!

Spaghetti Noodle Towers

 We started our engineering unit last week.  We've learned that engineers build things to solve problems.  They use creative and innovative ideas.  We've also learned there are different types of engineers.  Some may create new things, some take things apart to see how they work, and some study why things don't work.

Our first task as engineers was to make a tower out of spaghetti noodles and marshmallows.  Each small group was given a box with 30 noodles and 30 marshmallows.  Before the groups got started, we discussed the importance of team work and using words of encouragement with each other.  I let the class know that it's okay to feel frustrated when your ideas don't work the first time and asked them how they would handle it.  They all agreed that as engineers they needed to just try a new idea if their first idea didn't work.  The students were so excited to get to work! 

After the first work session, it's not uncommon for groups to end up with snapped noodles and gooey marshmallows.  The class soon learned that marshmallows and noodles are not stable building materials, but they did not give up!  We talked as a class about what was working and not working.  Groups suggested ideas for other groups to try such as doubling up noodles to make them stronger.  In their next work session, they were given 30 more noodles and 30 more marshmallows.  They put their finishing touches on their spaghetti noodle towers in the third and final session!

Art Class

 We are so excited to begin art class this quarter.  Mrs. Lieb comes to our classroom every other Tuesday.  The students completed their first project this week.  They created these cute owls out of old book pages.  The next step was to make a background with chalks and then create a speech bubble.