Adding on from last week, we read The Wretched Stone by Chris Van Allsburg and journaled the author's message. Students made a "claim" in science, then backed it up with "evidence" and "reasoning". Our claim was: Can everyday materials be used to prevent erosion? They also started a scavenger-hunt-type study guide to go with their science textbook (earth science).

Because of the holiday...some students were finishing this:

For warm-up, students decorated a "grateful" leaf, completed some cursive, and learned a spelling game. 

In ELA, we read a portion of our current Scholastic News. The feature article highlighted Native American teens who paddled a 300 mile section of the Klamath river. Students worked in groups to create a poster showing the main points of the article, key words, a map, and illustrations. 

In science, we finished taking notes on erosion in our journals. We learned about landslides, what causes them, how to prevent erosion in our own area, and everyday materials we can use to stop or slow down the effects of erosion. Tuesday/Friday students designed and built their model, then tested with a "rainstorm". They did quite well! Students knew how to slow down the energy of moving water, divert water runoff, and retain soil. Cool! Monday/Thursday students will complete this next week.

We are continuing to paint the elevation levels on our Washington maps. They are looking great!

For warm-up, students completed some grammar, cursive, and spelling lessons.

In writing, students used their writing journal to list the Big Ideas and supporting evidence for the Chris Van Allsburg books we've read in class. This week, we continued with another book of his, Probuditi. We learned that you should never underestimate the intelligence of a younger sibling! Earlier in the week, we worked on our Sweetest Fig endings (these may be revised and edited at home if you choose). 

On Monday/Tuesday, we made our Washington state salt dough maps. On Thursday/Friday, we began painting our maps while I met with students to review and distribute their Stranger opinion writing papers. These were very well done!

In science, we began an erosion engineering challenge. Students are researching landslides, their causes, and erosion solutions. They will then work with their team to design, build, and test using the stream tables from previous labs. This will take several class periods. 

For warm-up, students completed some grammar, cursive, and spelling lessons.

In writing, students used their writing journal to list the Big Ideas and supporting evidence for the Chris Van Allsburg books we've read in class. This week, we continued with another book of his, The Sweetest Fig. The ending of the story provided us with an opportunity to continue the story in our own words. Students have a document in Google Classroom for this task. This is something they may continue with at home if they choose.

In science, we compared slope and water flow rate and observed the different landforms that were created when we made these changes to our stream tables (canyon, floodplain, delta, alluvial fan). We also did some catch-up work by completing a "Minerals" reading comprehension and rock flipbook.

For warm-up, students completed some grammar, cursive, and spelling lessons.

In writing, students completed publishing their opinion writing. Early finishers worked on a Scholastic News assignment. 

We will continue to read Chris Van Allsburg books to learn more about theme, author's message (big ideas), and find evidence to support. So far, we've read The Stranger, The Wreck of the Zephyr, and Just A Dream. Students have enjoyed finding Fritz the dog in each of his stories!

In science, we completed an erosion lab and noticed how different type of rock travels in our stream tables. Next week, we will compare slope and water flow rate and observe the different landforms that are created when we make these changes to our stream tables.

Tuesday/Friday students participated in a live author event. We watched a presentation from Jeff Kinney, the creator of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He gave us a sneak peek into his next book, Partypooper, showed us how he draws characters, then quizzed the students on their knowledge of the series. So fun!

For warm-up, students completed some grammar, cursive, and spelling lessons.

In writing, students worked on the revision and editing step in their opinion writing. Some students were able to publish (pencil/paper) and illustrate using the theme of The Stranger. We also read our next Chris Van Allsburg book (Mon/Thurs students), Just a Dream.

In science, we finished up our chemical weathering lab. We watched student videos explaining the process and observations, and added those notes to our science notebooks. For the final part of the lab, students noticed that acid rain (vinegar) changed some of the rocks in our vials. Our evidence was the sediment remaining in our evaporation dishes (calcite). 

Monday/Thursday students watched a video on weathering and erosion, completed a comprehension check, and played Kahoot. Tuesday/Friday students will complete this next Friday.

In writing, students completed a graphic organizer to gather "evidence" for our opinion writing on The Stranger. We used this to complete our first draft, using paragraphing and transitions. Students who were finished started their next Scholastic Magazine: "Breakfast or Dessert?"

In science, we conducted a lab on physical weathering. Students were able to recognize how conglomerate (sedimentary) and granite (igneous) weathered differently. For our lab on chemical weathering, our Monday/Thursday students conducted part one, and our Tuesday/Friday students conducted part two. Students were tasked with creating a video that clearly described their part of the lab to show to the other group. So fun! Next week, both groups will make observations in part 3. (Determining how acid rain (vinegar) breaks down rocks differently by observing sediment/or lack of sediment in evaporation dishes) 

Most students finished their IXL Diagnostics. The remaining students will be finishing during our science block in class.

Students who were finished with IXL worked in our latest Scholastic Magazine's feature article, "Be App Smart".

We read The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg. Students made a "claim" that the stranger represented autumn, then found evidence in the story to support the claim. We will continue this type of opinion writing throughout the month of October. (Today, we read The Wreck of the Zephyr by the same author and followed the same line of questioning)

Students worked on a soil investigation in science. They observed and conducted experiments using soil samples from four different locations. Then, based on results from our lab and text readings, they discovered where the soil samples came from. We will continue this unit as we move into weathering and erosion.

Students worked on their IXL Language Art's diagnostic. We have used two class periods so far on these. Please take time to finish these at home by the end of next week (prior to 9-26-25). Be sure they work on these independently so we can accurately pinpoint where we need to provide intervention or enrichment. (These are located both on the students' IXL dashboards and under the "assessments" tab in IXL)

We read the ending to14 Cows for America. Students responded to a powerful quote in the story in their writing journal. "Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort." 

We demonstrated the rock cycle with a lab, using sugar cubes and sandwich materials. Students drew and labeled models in their science notebook. They completed a question probe, "Is it a Rock?", watched Rock Layers and Fossils, completed comprehension questions, and played a game.

Students revisited the debate article, "Should School Be Year Round?" and used a graphic organizer to state an opinion and support it with reasons and evidence.

We distributed the recent Scholastic magazine and read the feature article in small groups, "Secrets of the Titanic".

Parents read aloud 14 Cows for America in relation to our observance of Patriot Day. We'll continue the written portion of this next week. Thank you, guest readers!

We continued learning about the various rock families, taking notes in our science journals and sharing rock samples. Students created a 3-D paper rock to put in our Rock Gallery. Next week, we will have a demonstration lab to observe the rock cycle.

Students will work on their IXL Diagnostic in ELA throughout the week.

We read a book titled, The Name Jar, and discussed the author's message, while connecting the message to our Character Strong trait of the month (RESPECT).

Students began learning about the different types of rocks, starting with igneous. We observed samples, completed a "close-reading" passage, and watched a short video.

Lastly, we distributed a Scholastic News magazine and read a portion in class. The magazine may also be used at home for curriculum. (Our ClassLink Google Classroom contains skills pages that accompany the magazine, as well as, information on how to access the digital resources)