Reading: These Robots are Wild!

Our week 3 theme is Scientific Discoveries. After brainstorming with our classmates, we came up with a great list of how scientific discoveries have made an impact on people. Each class came up with some amazing responses: Medicine to make us heal faster, vaccines to keep us healthy and to live longer, a better understanding of severe weather to warn the public faster, cell phones, TVs, and many other common household tools.
               

         Our reading story this week continues with this theme. We're reading a story about robots, and how scientists are using robots to do special jobs, such as, searching for survivors after an earthquake!
Our skill practice for the week is Author's Purpose. We'll learn that an author writes a story for 3 basic reasons or purposes: To inform, To Entertain, or To Persuade. Sometimes an author will combine 2 of these reasons. What do you think the author's purpose was when he wrote, These Robots are Wild!?
Author's Purpose Practice

Vocabulary PPT: These Robots Are Wild! Vocabulary

Fun vocabulary game: Vocabulary Game 

Grammar: Common & Proper Nouns

Last Week, we reviewed common and proper nouns.  We said that common nouns are everyday people, places, and things, like chip, store, man, and car.  Some proper noun examples included Super Munchie Chips, Target, and Ford Truck.  All proper nouns start with a ________  _________ .  (fill in the blank for a prize) Here's the video we watched.  You can also quiz yourself or play the game! Nouns!

Reading: Personification!

Today we learned that personification is a type of figurative language that gives animals and objects human characteristics. Here's the video we watched for more information:

Personifcation Video

Here's are the examples of personification that we found in the video:

Don't these examples paint a picture in your mind?  Not only does personification sound interesting, it gives the reader a deeper understanding of the text!

Reading: Rattlers!

Theme: Slithery Snakes! Ssssss...What words come to your mind when you hear the word snake? Some answers the classes came up with are: slimey, scales, dangerous, venom, pets, etc. This expository story, Rattlers!, informs us all about rattlesnakes...who knew that there are so many different kinds of rattlesnakes!!! I really found it interesting that you cannot tell a rattlesnake's age by the number of rattles it has on its tail...what was your favorite fact from the story? 

    This week, we're working on main idea and supporting details. By finding the important details in the story, you can see what they have in common, which will then lead you to the main idea of the story...cool huh?

Remember: When we find out the main idea of the story, and the supporting details, we can combine all these together to form the summary of the story. Hope you enjoy this story, and if you answer my question, you can earn a treat, no tricks here!

Here is your vocabulary and games for the week...ENJOY!

Rattlers! Vocabulary

Vocabulary Game

Spelling: Unit 7-13

Don't forget to visit www.spellingcity.com for fun games and activities to help you learn your spelling words!

Unit 7 List

The humble pupil found the final ancient fossil in the rural countryside.  How many spelling words can you spot?  See how many spelling words you can write in one sentence!

Unit 8 List

Unit 9 List

Unit 10 List

Unit 11 List

Unit 13 List

Mrs. Rapp & Ms. Sticher's Favorite Websites!

Spelling Practice/ Lists: Spelling City

Math, Science, & Reading STAAR Practice: Education Galaxy!

Math: Think Through Math

Science & Research: Discovery Education

Math & Reading Practice: I Station
Library Resources: Research Resources

MAP Practice:
1. Find your RIT range.

2. Select the first category, then work your way down.
3. Click and practice!

Math Link:
Math MAP

Reading Links:
Reading MAP

Trapped! Spooktacular Punctuation!

Punctuation Activity! Sometimes punctuation can be scary...and fun!  Check out this new game created by the BBC called Trapped!. In this animated activity, you will be challenged to identify the correct punctuation in the course of an eerie story!

CLICK HERE! to play...Enjoy!

Reading: Hidden Worlds

Week 1 Theme: Scientists at Work...we've learned that there are many different types of scientists who study many diverse topics. Scientist research, investigate, and observe to learn more about our world and the creatures in it. By collecting data, scientists hope to use their knowledge to connect to the real world, and help others.

     Our reading story this week is called Hidden Worlds. It is an expository text that teaches us about an intelligent scientist named Dennis Kunkel, a biologist who studies microscopic life forms through an electron microscope. This story is filled with vivid photographs that spark our interests in science! Our skill for this week is sequencing...putting events from a text in order. We're also working on summarizing a text using the correct sequence.

Here's our vocabulary for the week, along with a interactive vocabulary game!!!

Hidden Worlds PPT

Vocabulary Game

Want to practice your sequencing skills?  Try out this website!
Sequencing Games

Reading: Alliteration!

This week we have learned that poets and authors use literary elements, such as alliteration and meter, in their poems and stories to reinforce its meaning.  In "Paul Revere's Ride", we found the meter was the beat of a horse galloping, which helped entertain us, as well as help us to understand the urgency in Paul Revere's midnight ride to alert the sleeping colonists of the arrival of a British attack! In this narrative poem, we also found many examples of alliteration: wonders, watches; muster, men; him, he, hears; hurrying, hoof-beats; and the list goes on. Hmmm...what's a narrative poem?  Leave me a comment for a prize.

Today, we will compose and illustrate a tongue twister using alliteration.  Here's my silly line:

Crazy, clumsy crabs carefully crawl around carrying crunchy corn on the cob!  See if you can say that 3 times!

Read this excerpt from Dinorella:

The dumbfounded deinonychus stopped in disbelief.
"Who called me a dummy?" he demanded.
   The moon's light caught Dinorella's dangling
diamonds. Dots and dabs of light darted toward
the deinonychus.
        "A DEVIL!" cried deinonychus.
             "See its dreadful demon eyes!"  

What examples of alliteration do you see...respond for a treat!