Metaphors and Multiplication

Monday is always our busy day beyond our classroom walls, so we try to make the most of our minutes.

Another list of spelling words sparked some interesting discussion. Several spelling words, in conjunction with a noticing of a holiday listed in our planners, caused curious scholars to connect our central idea to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

If you are interested in learning more about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., check out the following links:

“I Have a Dream” Speech (Full)

A few new words also prompted some scholars to dive into the dictionary. There they found a definition and synonyms that helped us better understand some new vocabulary.

What do you notice about the words? How will you make connections and inquire further?

Made with Padlet

After a very thoughtful discussion, we moved into a second reading of The Caged Birds of Phnom Penh by Frederick Lipp. As we read, we discussed more purposefully the author’s craft and how he created inspiring images painted through a variety of figurative language. We then completed a summary using the SWBST model. The added “Finally” part prompted some serious debate and discussion as we tried to articulate the theme. We also noticed that then main character exhibited a LOT of learner profile traits. (Note: I am working on recording a read aloud of this text, which will be posted in your Google Classroom (Stay tuned)).

Our work with words continued in the library as Ms. Kraft read us the book Du Iz Tak? by Carson Ellis. There was lots of discussion during the read aloud as we tried to make sense of the nonsensical words the author used. As detectives, we used clues from the pictures, punctuation, and pronunciation to help us understand. We then had an opportunity to try to translate the book into English. Tricky.

While the following isn’t as amazing as a live reading by Ms. Kraft, it will hopefully get your brain thinking. What do these words mean?

After music, P.E., and French, we finished out our day with some fact triangles. This was our first lesson in our new unit about multiplication. We used the visual of the triangle to review the elements of a multiplication equation and how they are related to division. We also learned about extended facts and how our work with place value and multiplying by 10 can help us solve problems efficiently.

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