Brrrrrrrr! Brrrrrrrrr!

It's a good thing that I've been among so many working brains warming the room because the temperatures outside have been bone chilling!  It's been so frigid that we've had two hour delays the last two days of school. Although our time has been limited, we've managed to make a start on our Europe/Russia unit and skill building for a new story in Reading called The Day of the Turtle. 

To kick off our Europe unit, we completed a scavenger hunt with partners using the various maps of the continent.  We had about five different types of maps at our fingertips to explore the area a bit.  In addition, we read a new and interesting Junior Scholastic magazine which included information about President Obama's Inauguration and The New Face of America.  The latter article talked about the fact that for the first time, more minorities than whites are being born in the U.S.  The students had many opportunities to interact; sharing thoughts and ideas about the articles. 

Our new skill for the coming week deals with how authors use imagery in their writing.  We searched for examples of sensory words and figurative language that help an author paint pictures in our heads as we read.  New spelling words and a new 'Family Times' paper were distributed. 

We will be having a new cafe tomorrow to kick off The Upstairs Room.  Students will hear from Mr. Fritz Ottenheimer, a very special guest!

Homework:
Math - An Ocean of Fun paper
Reading - Share Family Times
Spelling - Trace +2 due on Friday.
Science - Study guide for Activities 1-3 due Tuesday.  Test next Friday.