We have made it through our first week back! We started several new areas of study last week that will follow us through the month of January (and beyond). I'm pleased at how smoothly the transition back from such a long break went.
On Friday, January 22nd, we will be taking a field trip to the World Forestry Center in Washington Park. Mrs. Dawkins and I figured this Friday school day would be a perfect chance to investigate in-depth trees, forests, and forestry jobs. Permission slips went home last week and need to be back before the 21st (the 20th if you would like a lunch ordered from school). Also, we'll be needing plenty of volunteers to join us so let me know if you are able. The cost for this field trip is $4 per student and chaperone, but if you are unable to pay we will find a way to cover everyone.
Students started researching one of the 13 colonies with a partner last week. This research will result in a written report and poster presentation. We discussed some tips for researching with books and using the internet as research tool this morning, and I think the ideas really stuck with students as this afternoon's colony research was the most successful yet.
We have been working in small groups to create a punctuation book for the entire class. Each group has investigated rules and usage of two different types of punctuation so far and will work on a new one next week. I am excited about the end result of this project because the work has been great and I'm already seeing an improvement in punctuation usage.
Students took home their character creation writing this afternoon. The originals will stay in the classroom until the end of the year but I thought these stories were too good to hide away until June. Please ask your student about their writing and the process.
Hope everyone is staying out of the wind as best they can. :)
