What a great day full of learning and growth! I look forward to seeing all of you at Open House this Thursday. I am excited to have the opportunity to show off what the students have done so far and how we are learning in our 21st century classroom. Tuesday folders went home tonight as well as homework folders. The homework folder does not have to be returned until Friday after all of the work for each night has been completed.
We continue to learn about the regions of the United States and discuss the character of the main character, Fallen Rock. The students were very engaged as we read about Fallen Rock climbing a tree in the Great Smoky Mountains to pull a tail feather off of a bald eagle. We are truly enjoying the way in which Bill Merical has written this book. We did confirm Bill Merical will visit our school October 9th. We are so excited to be able to discuss the book with him!
We took a break from place-value and rounding today in math to discuss the meanings of mathematical operations and the steps to solving a problem. It is my intent to have the students use these meanings and steps to solve problems throughout the school year. As we discussed in class, adults have to solve math problems in their careers. Therefore, it is important for us to become fluent in solving problems so that we can be successful outside of school.
Finally, I stretched the students today during science as we started to discuss why hurricanes form. The students learned about the Thermohaline Circulation. The thermohaline circulation can be thought of as the conveyer belt in the oceans. The conveyer belt effect occurs as a result of the evaporation of water around the equator due to the direct sunlight and the increased salinity in the evaporated water. The code is for the students to mention on component to the theromohaline circulation. I know that this a concept that is slightly abstract; however, I thought the students would appreciate being pushed in their understandings of our world! Enjoy your night and I will