Themes, Concepts and Objectives for March 25-29

Reading- In whole group reading we will read the selections Emma and The Silk Train, A Breakfast Story, and the photo essay Foods Long Journey and define the words freight, consume and distribute in class.  Small group reading will resume this week as we begin the fourth quarter.

Cougar Reading- This week we will read various short passages and practice the skill of compare and contrast.

Math- This week we will review adding and subtracting money and take a math test on Wednesday, March 27th before begining a new math topic on measurement.

Science- Identifying types of severe weather and learning about weather safety precautions is our objectice for this week. We will read, collaborate, report and share what we learn this week in science!

Writing- We will use what we've learned about writing good sentences and using adjectives in our writing to become editors this week as we participate in an activity called "building muscle! Each day we will read writing samples and determine which samples are wimpy ( not enough detail, poorly constructed), brawny ( too wordy, boring) and which samples have just the right amount of muscle:)

Topics, Themes, and Objectives for March 11-14

Cougar Reading-  An introduction to prefixes and suffixes will take place this week as we begin to prepare the students for third grade. As a third grader your child will do many word study activities with prefixes and suffixes.

Reading- We will participate in a brief literature unit on folktales and legends. Two Irish folktales and several Native American legends will be read aloud this week as we explore their story elements and determine the moral of each tale.

Spelling- kn, wr, and gn are word patterns that we will learn this week.

Math- We will begin Topic 14 Adding Money this week.

Social Studies- We will prepare for our field trip to The Museum of Natural History in Topeka by reviewing what we have learned about the Plains Indians during a Tic Tac Toe Game. 

Writing- We will work on story retellings this week as we retell two Irish folktales shared in our own words. We will also "author" our own legend this week.

Concepts, Topics and Themes for March 4-8

Cougar Reading- This week we will learn strategies, tips and tricks for answering comprehension questions. We will read fiction and non-fiction passages and practice going back in the text to highlight important information. We will also learn how to zero in on the correct answers in multiple choice questions.

Reading- We will read the Magic Tree House novel Buffalo Before Breakfast this week as part of our Plains Indians Unit in Social Studies. We will continue to use the reading strategy of creating images as we read and will utilize strategies  for answering story questions as we complete a literature packet on the book.

Math- This week we will continue our study of coins as we make a flip book showcasing various coins, their worth, and what percentage of a dollar they represent. We will also record interesting coin facts and trivia into our flip books. We will have a math test on counting coins on Friday, March 8th.

Social Studies- We will continue our unit on Plains Indians by learning about the people, customs and culture. We will learn about the roles of men and women in a tribe as well as learning about the significance of choosing a name. In class we will conduct our own naming ceremony this week.

Writing-  This week we will infuse the skills of paragraph writing and technical writing with Dental Health!  We will write a paragraph retelling a humorous story about caring for our teeth. We will also create a model of our teeth complete with a legend and diagram defining the types of teeth in our mouths. We will also record predictions and obsevations as a dental experiment is conducted.