Economics Factories

Below you will find the commercials each of our economics factory groups created to advertise their product.  These were very creative and entertaining and each factory was a success!  Way to go, kids!

Foamies

Key Chains

Pencils

Sock Puppets

Shopping!

The Circle Song Performance

Check out "The Circle Song" performed by our class this afternoon!  Kids, you can use this to help you prepare for tomorrow's math test!

Week of March 28-April 1

Next week is Spring Break!!  I’m sure everyone is excited about the coming week off, but in the meantime, we have so much going on in our classroom including Economics Factories, Civil War stations, creating commercials using facts and opinions, all kinds of great stuff!  The kids are having fun and so far they’ve been very focused on their work, which is fantastic!  Below you can read more about what’s going on this week and our upcoming tests.

Upcoming Tests:

Social Studies Test (chapters 18 and 19) on Wednesday

Economics Terms Quiz on Thursday ßThis will help the kids with their Econ Test

Economics Test on Friday

Math Test on Friday

There are a lot of tests this week because we are wrapping up several units before Spring Break.

Math:

In math this week we are continuing to learn about geometric solids.  We are learning how to find volume of prisms and how to find surface area.  We are also beginning to learn about measurement.  This week the kids will need to know the capacity picture I taught them in class to help them with the test.

Economics:

Econ factories!  Right now in class the kids are working together to produce goods which they will market and sell (using Husky bucks, of course) to another class.  This project is great for reinforcing all of the economic terms they have been learning and how economics works in the real world.

Social Studies:

This week we are finishing up the Civil War stations the kids have been visiting to learn about life during the Civil War.  They have learned about the medical care, life on the homefront, life on the battlefield, and many other interesting aspects of the Civil War including the causes.  After we finish the Civil War, we will begin learning about industrialization and immigration in the United States.

Word Study:

We will continue to practice and review the economic terms.  In class, the kids have been making illustrated dictionaries to help them remember the words and their meaning.

Reading:

This week we are wrapping up a short unit on fact and opinion with commercials created by the kids, which include both facts and opinions.  Then we will begin learning about how to identify the theme, the main idea, and the supporting details when we read.

It’s going to be a busy week!

Week of March 21-25

Thank you to all parents who sent in pictures for our Photo Stories!  The kids are so excited about having the opportunity to create Photo Stories about their lives!  They will be working on this task during Technology this week.

This week we will be starting an Economics unit in place of writing.  I'm very excited about this unit because next week the children will have the opportunity to apply what they learned as they work in economic factories to manufacture, market, and sell goods to another class!  The kids enjoy this activity every year and it really makes economics come alive for them!

Upcoming Tests:
Social Studies Test over Chapters 18 & 19 - Monday, March 28

Guiding Questions:
Math:  What are the attributes of geometric solids?  How do we convert between measurements of capacity, weight, and volume?
Economics:  What is economics and how does it relate to our daily lives?
Social Studies:  What events led to the fighting of the Civil War?  What were some major events during the Civil War?
Word Study:  How do I learn the economic terms?
Reading:  What is cause and effect?  What is fact and opinion?

Week of March 14-18

It seems as if the weeks are flying by now with Spring Break fast approaching!  Only 3 more weeks left, yet we still have so much to learn before break!

Here’s what’s coming up this week!

Upcoming Tests:

Unit 10 Math Test

Math:

How do we read and interpret graphs in order to understand data?  How can we use mathematical formulas to make predictions?

Reading:

How do I correctly identify the sequence of events in a story?

Social Studies:

What are some important U.S. symbols?  What were some of the events which led to the fighting of the Civil War?

Word Study:

How do I use context clues to interpret the meaning of new words in a passage?

Writing:

How do I effectively edit and revise my autobiography?

Better Late than Never!!

Well, I've finally learned how to upload more slideshows so that they can be viewed easily right here on the blog!  Check out these fantastic photos from our Valentine's Day Party last month!

Body Systems Board Games

Check out these great photos of the kids sharing their self-made body systems board games with Mrs. Howard's first grade class!  These games were a huge success!  They were creative, fun, and each games taught about the structures and functions of a different body system!  We had Muscle-opoly, a Jeopardy game over the respiratory system, a Clue game about the circulatory system, Bone Builider, Nervous Land (like Candyland), and a digestive system game similar to the game of Life!  I was so impressed with the kids' hard work and creativity, not to mention their enthusiasm for sharing these games with the first graders!

Week of March 7-11

Happy March!  Sorry it’s taken me a while to update.  We’ve had lots of great things happening in our classroom!  The kids have been working on creating skits to learn about the diverse groups of people who moved westward back in the 1800’s, they’ve been creating and playing board games to teach about the body systems, and we’ve been wrapping up our recent math unit over coordinate grids, area, and volume, among other things.

I would like to share just how proud I am of the kids’ board games they created!  They worked in 6 different teams to create any board game they wanted as long as it taught about the functions and structures of their assigned body system. Then we invited the 1^st graders next door over to play.  It was a huge success and I was very proud of their hardwork!

Reminders for this Week:

Parent-Teacher Conferences 2:40-6:00pm on Tuesday

If you are unable to attend conferences, but you would still like to chat about your child’s progress, please write me a note with the best time to reach you in your child’s agenda and we can discuss over the phone.  I plan to take care of all phone conferences this week.

Upcoming Tests
Monday:  Math, Unit 9

This Week's Guiding Questions:
Math:  How do I solve algebraic expressions?
Reading:  How do I determine an author’s purpose when reading?
Social Studies:  What were the Transcontinental Railroad and the Homestead Act?

What was the effect of the War of 1812?
Writing:  How do I effectively develop my own autobiography?