Hello.

In math we are wrapping up fractions. Some students, however, still find the concept of fractions very complicated, so please continue to work with your child on noticing how fractions are used in everyday life and help get them used to them.

In our weekly Mrs. Wickland challenge, students worked on the following problem.




Several of our students, who had completed their other projects and had some time during our Catch-Up period, wanted to expand the challenge. They had been interested in the mosaics we had studied during our Tunisia unit and decided to create their own mosaic, as well as calculate its value given a triangle = 1. See some of their work below.

They then went even further! They're not quite finished yet, but through discussions with them, they have a solid plan to calculate all these shapes. We'll see if they can do it accurately! The rest of our students worked on the original project, so please ask them how they solved it. 

In social studies, Mrs. Wilson had us all fly to Ukraine to begin our final country investigation. Students had their passports stamped and approved, and we landed in Kiev. We'll finish our journey here, learning about the flora, fauna, people and cultures, geography and climate of Ukraine. 

In science, students are ironing out their blueprints, and some groups have started building their machines. We'll have a busy and messy week upcoming as our machines start to take shape. Ask your students about their part in the building process, as each student must work on a specific part of the machine themselves to ensure all the group participates. Is your student working on the wheel/axle? Maybe a lever? If so, do they know what class of lever? 

Relatedly, we'll be having a science unit test soon on our Simple Machines unit. We'll create the test together to ensure we're all in agreement about what learning intentions are fair to examine and how best to show our learning. A study guide will be created collectively, and students will be given ample time to prepare. More on this as it gets closer.