There have been so many special events happening on the Wizards team that we've had a hard time keeping up with the blog. This is an insanely busy time of year! Each topic below could easily be its own post. Keep reading to see the kids in action. WAY down at the end, there are a couple of curriculum updates too. :)
Food Drive
As you know, this was a tremendous success! Every student on the team played a part in executing this community service project. Thank you as well for all of your support! Here are some pictures from the various stages of the project right through to the delivery to the Waterbury Food Shelf.
Collecting and Organizing...
Checking Expiration Dates...
Loading up the cars...
To the food shelf, we go...
Finally, lunch in the park and CREEMEES!
Step Up Day
We were so proud of our Wizards for taking their roles as tour guides and lunch ambassadors very seriously on Step Up Day. They positively represented CBMS and the Wizards team with their leadership skills. They received many compliments from adults around the building including our new administrative team. They made an EXCELLENT first impression and spread their Wizards' magic.:)
Then we had some fun in the brook!
Audubon Trip
We went for our third and final trip to the Audubon in Huntington to learn about aquatic ecosystems. The rain held off until the very end. As you'll see from the photos, they caught A LOT of critters. Go through the pictures with them so they can explain what all the different activities in the pictures are.
Language Arts
For our final unit of the year, students chose from a selection of novels written in verse and worked with reading partners each day. I kept telling them that their responsibility level was what will be expected of them in 6th grade because they had to work with their partner to manage reading deadlines and figure out if they needed to read at home. Not surprisingly they stepped up to the challenge and most groups finished their novels well before the deadline. I secretly think they liked that I kept referring to them as 6th graders. We revisited skills such as theme and figurative language. We also talked about the structure of verse novels and the impact it has on the reader. Students learned about tone & mood and Point of View too! I was definitely pushing them into abstract thinking territory with this poetry unit and they did great! They are ready for 6th grade!
PS- Be on the lookout for the Summer Reading Book Bingo Challenge. (A BRIGHT green sheet coming home with your kiddo.) Students set summer reading goals for themselves. We talked about what "summer slide" is and the benefits of continuing to read over the summer. Ask them what they learned about this topic. It would be much appreciated if you could put their Summer Bingo Board on the fridge and help remind them to take steps toward their goal. I'd love it if they didn't lose any ground considering how far they've all come!
One more thing...I've been hounding the kids to turn in their classroom library books so that they can check out books for the summer. Please help remind them to return their books ASAP! THANKS!!
Social Studies: Maps
Students completed the Map Skills escape room activity recently which is always a favorite activity! They've also completed a variety of activities to help them grasp the map skills & concepts. Another favorite was the Google Earth Landmark "mission." This whole unit is gamified so it keeps them really engaged. This past week they finally earned agent status. Ask them what their favorite map activity was and what their agent name is.:)
Comments
Post a Comment