Current Events Introduced At Last!

Today, being the last Friday of the month, we teamed up with our 7th and 8th grade class for another special activity! A new project called "Current Events" has been introduced to our 3^rd and 4^th graders. Our 4^th graders have been anxiously awaiting the chance to begin Current Events as it is one of their favorite subjects! The students will now be responsible for finding a news article each week, writing a report about it, and then sharing their research with their classmates on Fridays. This is an independent assignment- I do not give them time in class to work on this- so 3^rd and 4^th graders are learning to be responsible and work towards handling assignments with a longer deadline. Our 7^th and 8^th grade friends worked with one or two 3^rd or 4^th graders, reading through either Scholastic magazines or online visiting approved websites searching for interesting articles. Then the 7^th and 8^th graders helped their younger partners write informative reports describing the major details of the article.  The 3^rd and 4^th graders will use these reports as a model for writing their own reports before next Friday’s discussion.

This week, we also took our first Social Studies test. It was a tough one, but the students are learning how to study a little bit each night and pick out the most important information in preparation for their tests. Some of the students have even taken me up on our “Map Quiz” extra credit opportunity. This class is determined to work hard and give their best work! On Monday, we will take a science test over Chapter 2. The children plan to study this weekend!

Be sure to check out our ever-growing Writer’s Wall in the hallway outside our classroom. The students are very excited to show off their work and take every opportunity to spice up their writings with “WOW Words” (Wonderful Outstanding Words) as we call them. Most recently, we wrote “How To” papers teaching our audience how to do something. This involved using time words like “first, second, then, next, later, and finally,” and writing directions in the correct sequence. Today we will sketch diagrams to go along with our “How To” writing.

Blessings for a relaxing weekend. Join us for worship Saturday at 6:00pm or Sunday at 8:00am and 10:30am.

Mrs. McLaughlin & Class