Smooth!

Today went quite smoothly. We did reading and then corrected the language arts homework. Mr. Lawton worked with the students on area and perimeter. This is a hard concept at points for kids to grasp. They get the formulas easily enough, but understanding what they mean and when to use them is harder. Mr. Lawton is working hard to move the children beyond mechanically applying the formulas to real comprehension. It isn't always easy....

We read a little of Great Horn Spoon. We practiced singing "California Here I Come." We talked about time zones and started on the history packet.

After lunch Mr. Lawton started teaching the students "Cloud Song." This is a Native California song which they will be singing and performing on recorder and Orff instruments. There is also a short play which goes along with the song. The students will be getting this ready for a performance in the late Spring at a "Music on the Green" evening sponsored by Friends of Third. It should be great.

Finally, the students worked in Read-Around Groups to edit each other's adventure stories. They then started on their final drafts. The last forty five minutes of the day was blissfully calm as the students diligently worked on their final drafts.

Homework: (1) Finish final draft of adventure story. (2) Finish history packet. (3) Practice Test, Test Best, pp 31-38. (4) Commas, Your, you're. (5) Fractions and Multiplication. (6) Released Test Items.