Mrs. Yuska's Class: Welcome to the Rainforest!

We are finishing our rainforest unit. The students are so excited to share what they have learned with you at conferences. You will get a chance to see:
*Your child's rainforest layers diorama
*Your child's animal report
*Your child's PowerPoint presentation
*Your child's Rainforest ABC book
*Your child's self-reflection and goal setting

Your child will have their rainforest poster, riddles, and shape poem on display. I am incredibly proud of the effort and perservance each student demonstrated. We cannot wait for you to be amazed!

Thank you for returning the “parent homework”. This homework had two stars and a wish for your child on the half sheet of paper. If you have not yet returned it, please return it as soon as possible. If by chance it was misplaced, I will place an extra copy in your child’s conference folder. Your child has already completed a similar sheet to share with you at conferences. This activity is to promote two things your child is doing well at in school (two stars) and one area where your child can set a goal to improve (one wish). When you are finished, please seal the envelope provided and send it back to school. You will be able to share your ideas with your child at their conference. After sharing both sheets, together you will set a goal for your child’s progress for the third trimester.

If you need to double check or reschedule your conferences you can click on this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084CAFAD22A0F94-spring

Math- In math we have switched over to our geometry unit and have been discussing the attributes of 2-dimensional shapes (circle, square, triangle, right triangle, rectangle, trapezoid, parallelogram, hexagon, octagon, etc.) and 3-dimensional objects (cube, cone, cylinder, sphere, square pyramid, triangular pyramid, rectangular prism, etc.). We have sorted the three dimensional objects using their attributes. We discussed motion and congruence. We also created lists describing the objects by looking at the faces (sides), vertices or vertexes (corners), and edges. As you may have noticed from this description, we have added many words to our math vocabulary. This week, we will continue to compare and contrast our objects and continue discussing how to determine an object by its attributes.

Reading- This week in reading we read Life on the Ice by Susan E. Goodman.

Our essential question this week is: "What are the coldest places on earth like?" We discussed how it would feel to be near the North Pole (in the middle of the Arctic) when it’s so cold that a cup of hot water, thrown in the air, explodes into ice particles. What would it be like to be somewhere even colder—the South Pole, where a refrigerator containing fruits and vegetables has to be heated? We only know a few aspects of the Earth's polar regions. Information introduced to us in this text include the difficulties of flying to and landing a airplane at the poles, scientific research done at each pole, and the challenge of human survival in the extreme cold. Using the information in this story, we focused our comprehension skill of making an inference to determine main idea and supporting details. Our main idea was: Antarctica is the coldest place on earth. The supporting details in our text were: temperatures in Antarctica can plunge below -125 degrees Fahrenheit and no one lives in Antarctica; except on research bases. People have only been exploring Antarctica for the last 200 years. Antarctica is known as a desert climate. They receive little precipitation and are known for the coldest, windiest, and driest weather.

On Thursday, Mr. Murphy joined us for an activity of "main idea bags." Students worked in pairs and had to use the items in their bags to arrive at the main idea or supporting details. Everyone had a lot of fun with this activity, including Mr. Murphy! Below you will find some examples of this activity. This is something you can easily do at home. Come up with a list of three to five items. Ask your child to share their thought process of how the items are related to one another. What is the main idea or big picture of those items?

Writing & Social Studies- This week we integrated our writing and social studies time.

We finished our rainforest animal reports and rainforest ABC books. We created a shape poem about our rainforest animal. We learned about the layers of the rainforest. We discussed why the rainforest is important in our everyday lives. We also discussed ways each of us can help save the rainforest.

During your child's conference, your child will share their multi-paragraph research. This report will include an introduction paragraph to grab your attention. They will share why they chose this animal to research. The second paragraph explains the type of animal they researched (is it a mammal, a bird, a reptile, or a fish); as well as, a detailed description of the animal. They will describe the characteristics of its body covering, colors, weight, and/or height. The third paragraph will introduce you to where this animal can be found. We tried to pinpoint the country, as well as the continent of our rainforest animal. We also identified the layer of the rainforest the animal inhabits. The layer of the rainforest is determined by what the rainforest animal eats and how it hunts its prey. The last paragraph is interesting or fun facts your child may have learned during their research, as well as a conclusion for their report.

We have been working on text features during our whole group, daily 5, and guided reading lessons. While making our ABC books, we worked on note taking and discussed copyright and plagiarism. In your child's ABC book you will find a dedication and copyright in the front cover.

Your child carefully chose an item from the rainforest for each letter of the alphabet. The researched each item and created an illustration for it. They had to separate a fact (which is something we can prove) with an opinion (something we think or feel).