Dear Families,
We are in high gear as we approach the end of the year!
Our new reading book is entitled, In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson about a young Chinese immigrant who comes to this country (Brooklyn, NY) in 1947, the same year Jackie Robinson breaks the color line in Major League Baseball. As she struggles with language and cultural issues, she is captivated by Robinson’s smashing success on the field and becomes convinced that American truly is the land of opportunity and that there might just be a place for her here after all.
Before reading we did a small unit on who Jackie Robinson was and the magnitude of his contributions to our history. The class was really taken with just how hard he struggled, how brave he was, and learned quite a bit of history along the way.
In Math class, we are full throttle with decimals and fractions. I have also been doing a lot of short and frequent practice tests which are good review for multiplication and division as well. The students are always happy to come to the board and I love to have them explain to their peers how they solved a particular problem – it really helps to activate and strengthen their learning when they own it that way.
This class has gotten so much out of our Create a State unit in Social Studies. They have made Physical maps, Road maps, Region and Resources Maps, Landmark Maps and now we are to our Downtown maps. We will finish the unit with Create a Flag which will involve writing an essay on their state’s history and how the symbols in their flags relates to the story of their State.
As you all know, we are headed to Boston Museum of Science next week! Mr. Gore, who has been on this trip many times before, is coming in on Monday to go over details and answer any questions the class might have.
I cannot close without thanking Lauren Ballinger for her Lunch Bunch extraordinaire – I hope you all know how much the kids appreciate all of the effort you have put into these events.
Happy Spring to all,
Katharine
To view the slideshow on a mobile device, click this link:https://www.flickr.com//photos/bcdtech/sets/72157695402888874/show/