Westward Expansion

We are beginning a new unit on Westward Expansion in Social Studies this week. Settlers were encouraged to move westward after the Civil War and Reconstruction. Many of them were encouraged to move by things such as the Homestead Act, which gave 160 acres of land to American citizens who were committed to settling on the land and who could pay the $10 registration fee. However, farming on the plains proved much more difficult than many settlers thought it would be. Thousands of African Americans also moved west after the Civil War to escape life in the South. Mining, ranching, and lumbering also attracted settlers to the West. This westward expansion also greatly affected the lives of Native Americans who lived in much of the territory out west.  We will be learning about all of these things and more during this new unit. Check out this video below to decide if you lived in this time period if you would have moved west.

Would you move?

Edmodo

Our class is doing some excellent work on Edmodo. This website is a great learning tool for students. They are able to communicate with me and the other students in the class about things we are studying and learning. They are really excited about using their Edmodo accounts. They can use them at home and will have time at school to use their Edmodo account. Ask your child about Edomodo and let them show you their account. I am sure they will be happy to share with you! If you or your child read this post, have them whisper the word "fire truck" to me to receive a free homework pass.(I am trying to see who is reading the blog posts!) Thanks!

Wonder

Click here to watch a trailer of the book we are reading in class.

Trailer for book

Adding Decimals with Hundred Number Charts

Here is a short video to show how we learned to use hundred number charts to add decimals.

 

Adding Decimals with Hundred Number Charts

States of Matter

Our class created models today to show what we have learned about the three states of matter. Take a look at our pictures to see our models made of marshmallows to show how the particles in each state of matter are positioned. href="http://johnson.blog.greenville.k12.sc.us/files/2014/09/IMG_0992.jpg">

Writing Whole Numbers and Decimals in expanded form

We have hit the ground running learning new things in all subject areas and the students are working hard! I have been very proud of their commitment to learning and being open to new strategies. We learned a new way of writing whole numbers and decimals in expanded form this past week. Check out this website to learn more...
https://learnzillion.com/lessons/429-write-decimals-in-expanded-notation

Egg Drop Projects

Our class tested our egg drop projects in Science yesterday. Each student had to create a container to hold a raw egg in and drop it from about an 8 foot drop and make sure the egg stayed intact. They were asked to demonstrate what they learned about forces and motion in science in their project. I was super impressed at the creativity I saw and how the students were able to show what they learned. They tested their projects and all projects were well thought out and planned....and we had fun, too!