We started our extra short Target day off with a Brain Jog to shake off the test lethargy and get our brains full of oxygen and ready to learn!

Vocabulary Skills:
We read a couple more stories from Weighty Word, "Dogmatic" and "Expedient".  Ask your child what these new words mean!  The kids are getting the hang of creating their visual images for new words.  They are also becoming more comfortable with creating a Word Document on Office 365.  That is a fantastic skill for these kiddos!

Unit Study:
We worked a bit more on our mystery stories by having a peer read the story outline to check to see if it makes sense and has all the necessary parts.  We also spent a bit of time writing more of our stories.

Novel Study:
We finished another chapter in our mystery, Big Bad Detective Agency.  The kids are left wondering why Goldie ran off and what the Wolf and Ferkle will do next.

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "Mindfulness Bells" and "Why Do Humans Experience Anxiety?"  Both are great for developing inner calm.  

HW:  Big Bad Detective Agency Ch5 Exit Slip

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

We got started by sorting out any "catch-up" work and items to be glued in notebooks.  Many of the kids were able to create and print out their Tagxedo Word Clouds for the front of their Target folders.  They turned out great!

Algebraic Skills:
We played a new game called, "24".  The object of the game is to use the 4 numbers on each card to make 24 with any/all of the basic operations (+-x/).  Many thought the game was VERY challenging, some really liked it.  All of the kids realized that knowing their multiplication/division facts would be a HUGE advantage in this game.  We will try this game again soon!

Unit Study:
We reviewed parts of a mystery and glued a Mystery Story Checklist in our Notebooks.  The kids used another organizer with the parts of the mystery story to create an outline for their story.  Some of the kids were able to begin writing the beginning of their story in their notebooks.

We also played "The Observation Game".  The kids learned that detectives use their senses and their powers of observation when solving mysteries.  One half of the class left the room for a moment.  The remaining kids each changed 1-3 things about their appearance.  The "Observers" came back in and tried to notice what was changed.  Then, we switched roles.  The kids loved this game. 

Novel Study:
We read a bit more of our mystery, The Big Bad Detective Agency.  The kids created a list of suspects for the story, then matched their list with our detectives from the story.  They enjoyed that too!

Stations:
We used our convergent thinking and math knowledge to solve problems with our Versatiles kits.  They put in a good effort and will be ready to tackle Versatiles again soon! 

​We also learned more from our Weighty Words book.  Each week we will be reading stories that use humor and word play to help children understand and remember high level vocabulary words.  I tell the kids they're learning college words because these are the type that could appear on the SAT exam.  The kids turn their understanding into a visual vocabulary sheet by creating a page that includes the new word, its definition, part of speech and an image that conveys the meaning.  I will choose the best work each week to display on our classroom wall as a visual dictionary.  

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "Enchanted Forest".  This one is about five minutes long and shares an imaginary story.  The kids liked it a lot!  It would be good before bedtime to help quiet busy minds.

No HW this week! 

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger