Wednesday, December 9, 2009

December Preview

Even though the holidays are upon us, the students are working hard and staying focused with a myriad of projects...

Writing
Your child is publishing an "In December" book of student-created poems and their own realistic fiction short story.  They are so focused, the students beg me to extend our Writing Workshop time!  Ask your student to share their ideas about their realistic fiction story with you...




Reading
Students recently started reading a book club book, in addition to their independent reading selections.  They then meet on a weekly basis with other members of their book club to discuss their connections, understandings and questions about their shared book.   Students are encouraged to read either their book club book or independent reading selection for 30 minutes at home, in addition to the 30 minutes at school.




Math 
With the beginning of a new trimester, students are focused on completing a lesson each dayAny lessons not finished at school, need to be finished at home as homework.  This will help them stay on track to finish 8 tests within the this trimester.


Columbia Gorge Studies
We are currently exploring the four major ecosystems of the Columbia Gorge (forests, wetlands, tributaries, and grasslands) and the respective plants and animals within those ecosystems.  We have worked together to create a group mural of the forests and wetlands on our bulletin board, and will finish up the streams and grasslands by next week.  Students are also creating an individual written and visual reflection for each ecosystem. This will lead us into January as students select a specific ecosystem to specialize in and present to their classmates.



These are also some belated pictures of each group's healthy/unhealthy stream models...





Sunday, December 6, 2009

November Re-cap

 Here's a re-cap of some November highlights...







Alexia and Jessica using a dichotamas key to identify native and invasive plant species









Melanie and Jade working on their 
plant identification skills at Buck Creek.











 
Every week, students participate in a Weekly Outdoor 
Watch that involves making observations,
writing poems and sketching natural happenings.












Together with their buddies, students are finding macroinvertebrates at Eagle Creek to determine its health.