Reading
The second nine weeks, we started book clubs in Mrs. Graves’s class. We read the following books: Matilda by Roald Dahl, Castle in The Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop, The Black Stallion by Walter Farley, Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff, Al Capone Does My Shirts by Genifer Choldenko, Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, Holes by Louis Sachar, Room One by Andrew Clements, The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key, From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg, Lemonade wars by Jacqueline Davies, and Granny Torrtelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech.
Interview with Ashton:
Q: What book are you reading for book club?
A: Matilda
Q: What is your favorite part of the book?
A: My favorite part is when Matilda plays tricks on her dad because it’s funny. One time, she puts superglue in his hat, and his hat gets stuck on his head.
Q: What was one of the major themes in your book?
A: One of the themes in my book was always stand up for yourself. Matilda was always
standing up to her parents when they called her stupid and said she was not important. She learned that she shouldn’t listen to her parents and believe in herself.
standing up to her parents when they called her stupid and said she was not important. She learned that she shouldn’t listen to her parents and believe in herself.
Interview with Carolina:
Q: What book are reading?
A: Matilda
Q:What is your favorite part of the book?
A: When Bruce Bogtrotter eats the cake
Q: How does your main characters feelings change through the book?
A: At the beginning, Matilda felt that she was not useful. Her parents didn't want to be with her. In the middle, she felt happier because she was in Miss Honey's class. At the end, she felt grateful because she got to live with Miss Honey.
A: At the beginning, Matilda felt that she was not useful. Her parents didn't want to be with her. In the middle, she felt happier because she was in Miss Honey's class. At the end, she felt grateful because she got to live with Miss Honey.
Writing
In writing we are learning how to use show, don't tell in our stories. We wrote about something surprising that happened in our lives. We worked on using snapshots, which means using our words to make a mental image in our readers' heads. We also worked on focusing on one, small moment.
Watch as Hannah explains the components of a narrative story:
One day we learned a strategy called Clocking. We got in a circle with our chairs and went around and people checked our stories to see if they had any spelling or punctuation errors. We also learned the difference between "to be" verbs and vivid verbs.
We have already started to move on to essays and we're learning how to write them. Essays are facts or history about that one subject or thing. We are working on essays about Native Americans. Our central theme is about how life is so much easier today then it was long ago. We started by picking one reason why we thought life is easier today. For example, some people chose food because it was hard do get food long ago. Then, we worked on supporting our reasons with evidence to write a paragraph. Every day we picked a new topic and wrote a new paragraph. Then when we were done writing our paragraphs, we picked our best paper and got in a group with people who didn't have the same topic. We worked together to write an introduction, put together all the paragraphs we wrote, and then wrote a conclusion. When we were done we had a whole essay!
For the writing benchmark, we wrote an essay about our favorite person. Watch the video below to hear Molly's essay. It's great!
Math
In math we are learning about fractions, multiplying two digit by two digit numbers, and division with remainders. We are practicing them on math websites like Odyssey and Manga High. One type of fraction we are learning about is improper fractions. Improper fractions are fractions where the numerator is bigger than the denominator. A mixed number is a fraction that has a whole number and fraction in it. The last one is a proper fraction. Proper fractions are when the denominator is larger or equal to the numerator. Also Ms. Merrifield is teaching us to find equivalent fractions on a multiplication chart.
Interview with Bowen:
Q: What is your favorite type of fraction?
A: Proper fractions.
Q: Do you like division with remainders?
Q: Do you like division with remainders?
A: Yes, because it’s easier than division with decimals.
We play games to help us learn. Below is a picture of the fraction tacos we made.
Ask me how to play!
Watch the videos below to see some of the strategies we are learning in class.
Science
This second nine weeks we have been learning about weathering. Weathering is a process when rocks or mountains get crumbled into tiny pieces. For example, when water falls into the inside of a rock, the water freezes. Next, the frozen water expands into the rock, and the rock opens up. Then, the rock forms into tiny crumbled pieces. That's an example of weathering. Weathering can also happen with wind, plants, and temperature. Now we know that weathering is a process when rocks or mountains break. Ms. Merrifield taught us well! She showed us videos and we took notes about the videos we saw. If we ever have a question, we can go back into our journals and look at the notes we took. That will probably answer our questions.
Now we are studying fossils. Ms. Merrifield helped us make books about leafing. That is when scientists find and study plant fossils. There are fossils of plants, animals, and insects. Fossils are extremely rare in igneous rock and metamorphic rocks. It is because these two types of rocks are formed in magma or in the center of the earth. The fossils would burn up. Sedimentary rocks are formed from bits of other rocks. When the rock is made, it isn't hot enough for the fossil to melt. We also learned about fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are non-renewable natural resources that can be used for energy. They are coal, oil, gas, and minerals such as silver and platinum. We learn a lot in Ms. Merrifield's class!
Social Studies
In social studies, we learned about the Native American way of life. Although many Native American tribes lived in Texas, we focused on the following four tribes: the Jumano, the Karankawa, the Caddo and the Comanches.
Here's what we learned:
Jumano
Karankawa
The Karankawa lived South of the Caddo along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. They were nomads. A nomad is a person who moves from place to place but stays within a certain area. During the winter they lived on the shore and fished for food and traveled the waterways with big dug out canoes. Unlike the Caddo who had a confederacy the Karankawa had Chiefs who led each of their villages. The villages broke down into smaller groups that moved farther inland to hunt small animals. When they did that they took their houses with them. The walls of their houses were made of buffalo skins. During the summer they would poke holes in the skins to allow the breeze to pass through. The Karankawa were the first Native Americans the Europeans met when they arrived. By the mid 1800’s they died off.
Caddo
The Caddo are descendants of the Mound Builders. They were farmers and potters. This was a good thing because when they needed something they couldn’t get they would trade pots and their crops for those items. Their houses looked like beehive or pine cone shaped and were made from wooden frames covered with mats of long dried grasses. Often more than one family lived in the house and they had a confederacy. A confederacy is made of groups of people who agree and work together for a common goal. By the mid 1800’s the Caddo have moved from the Piney Woods Area of the Coastal Plains Region of Texas to a reservation in Oklahoma and are still there today! Did you know that the word Texas comes from the Caddo word which means "Friend?"
Comanche
The Comanche lived in the Northern Great Plains and the Central Plains of Texas. They were great hunters and fighters. They were Nomads who lived in Tepees. They followed buffalo herds because they used the buffalo for everything , food, clothing, and even shelter. They carried goods on Travois which was pulled by their horses. When traveling, they traveled in bands that each had a leader. Then they join other bands and would choose a War Chief.They traded goods and horses for food with the Caddo and Witchata. In 1875, Texas was part of U. S. The Comanche moved to Oklahoma to live on a reservation because they lost control of Texas.
Explorers and Missions:
We also learned about the Spanish and French explorers that came to claim land, seek riches, and teach the Native Americans about the Roman Catholic religion. One day, our classroom was even transformed into a mission. Ask me and I'll tell you all about it!
Here's some information about the Spanish explorers who were important to Texas history.
The blog team thanks their special guests: Rachel, Elise, Bowen, Carolina, and Michael G.
Blog team: Cole, Blake T., Hannah, Nathan, Adam, Kirby, Nick, Reece, Kamryn, Ethan W., Jack M., Collin, Molly, Daniela, Ashton, Jack H., Jake, J.M., McCaul.
Social Studies
In social studies, we learned about the Native American way of life. Although many Native American tribes lived in Texas, we focused on the following four tribes: the Jumano, the Karankawa, the Caddo and the Comanches.
Here's what we learned:
Jumano
The Jumano lived near the Rio Grande in the Mountain and Basin Region of Texas. They lived in Pueblo villages with each village having their own government. They were also farmers. Because their land was dry they had to use water from streams. They used hollow gourds filled with water and boiled it by constantly adding hot stones. This was how they cooked food. They traded foods for hides and other goods. There are no more Jumano villages in Texas but descendants are still here.
Karankawa
The Karankawa lived South of the Caddo along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. They were nomads. A nomad is a person who moves from place to place but stays within a certain area. During the winter they lived on the shore and fished for food and traveled the waterways with big dug out canoes. Unlike the Caddo who had a confederacy the Karankawa had Chiefs who led each of their villages. The villages broke down into smaller groups that moved farther inland to hunt small animals. When they did that they took their houses with them. The walls of their houses were made of buffalo skins. During the summer they would poke holes in the skins to allow the breeze to pass through. The Karankawa were the first Native Americans the Europeans met when they arrived. By the mid 1800’s they died off.
Caddo
The Caddo are descendants of the Mound Builders. They were farmers and potters. This was a good thing because when they needed something they couldn’t get they would trade pots and their crops for those items. Their houses looked like beehive or pine cone shaped and were made from wooden frames covered with mats of long dried grasses. Often more than one family lived in the house and they had a confederacy. A confederacy is made of groups of people who agree and work together for a common goal. By the mid 1800’s the Caddo have moved from the Piney Woods Area of the Coastal Plains Region of Texas to a reservation in Oklahoma and are still there today! Did you know that the word Texas comes from the Caddo word which means "Friend?"
Comanche
The Comanche lived in the Northern Great Plains and the Central Plains of Texas. They were great hunters and fighters. They were Nomads who lived in Tepees. They followed buffalo herds because they used the buffalo for everything , food, clothing, and even shelter. They carried goods on Travois which was pulled by their horses. When traveling, they traveled in bands that each had a leader. Then they join other bands and would choose a War Chief.They traded goods and horses for food with the Caddo and Witchata. In 1875, Texas was part of U. S. The Comanche moved to Oklahoma to live on a reservation because they lost control of Texas.
Explorers and Missions:
We also learned about the Spanish and French explorers that came to claim land, seek riches, and teach the Native Americans about the Roman Catholic religion. One day, our classroom was even transformed into a mission. Ask me and I'll tell you all about it!
Here's some information about the Spanish explorers who were important to Texas history.
Cortés
Hernan Cortas was a Spanish explorer. He is famous for his march across Mexico and for conquering of the Aztec empire. Cortes was born in the Spanish city of Medellín in 1485. First he sailed to the island of Santo Domingo. He was 14 years old at this time and he stayed for seven years. He took part in the Spanish conquest of 1511 and stayed there until 1515. After that Cortes reached the Aztec capital in November of 1519 and then he built Mexico City in the Aztec ruins.
Cabeza de Vaca
Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer who sailed to North America from Spain with 250 to 300 men. After surviving a hurricane near Cuba, the expedition landed in Florida in 1528. There, Native Americans fought with the crew, killing hundreds of men. The pilot of the boat sailed off without the crew and left them stranded. The stranded men made five rafts, but three rafts sank. Only two rafts survived. The men landed in Galveston on November 6, 1528. Fifteen men survived, but only four made it to Mexico City. For many years, the four men traveled west, looking for other Spaniards. They settled in Mexico City in early 1536. They lived there for a long time.
Coronado
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1510. Coronado heard stories about cites of gold and riches. In 1540, he and hundreds of soldiers sailed to Mexico. They searched and searched, but they never found the city of gold. Instead, he discovered the south western part of the United States, including the Grand Canyon. This is what he is famous for.
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1510. Coronado heard stories about cites of gold and riches. In 1540, he and hundreds of soldiers sailed to Mexico. They searched and searched, but they never found the city of gold. Instead, he discovered the south western part of the United States, including the Grand Canyon. This is what he is famous for.
The blog team thanks their special guests: Rachel, Elise, Bowen, Carolina, and Michael G.
Blog team: Cole, Blake T., Hannah, Nathan, Adam, Kirby, Nick, Reece, Kamryn, Ethan W., Jack M., Collin, Molly, Daniela, Ashton, Jack H., Jake, J.M., McCaul.
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