History Expedition Kickoff!

We officially kicked off our spring expedition: “The Mystery of Our History.” Through this expedition, the students will answer the question: "How do clues from the past inform us about history?"

The students witnessed a classroom disruption and acted as a primary source to document the event. They also learned about secondary sources by asking someone who didn’t witness the disturbance to record his/her interpretation of the event. Alyssa Carver, an archivist of Douglas County, joined our crew to share her knowledge of primary sources. The students will continue to learn about primary and secondary sources along with a historian’s jobs throughout this expedition.

 

Photographs of the disruption in our crew Thursday afternoon.

Learning about primary sources from the archivist. 

Beaver Book Signing

Thank you to all the families that joined us at our book signing event this evening. The students felt such a sense of pride and accomplishment seeing the positive response from all of you. Your presence made the students feel so special. We are officially ready for our next expedition!

 

Valentine’s Day Party

Our crew spent the morning celebrating Valentine’s day with one another. We loved decorating cookies, creating paper stained glass hearts, opening our Valentine’s boxes, and playing fun games. The students had an absolute blast! Thank you to Bridget, Lindsey, and Dianna for planning a wonderful party for our crew! Another huge thank you to all the families who donated supplies and/or joined us for this event. The party would not have been a success without you. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Thinking Through A Text

This week, we learned a variety of strategies readers use to construct the meaning of a text. To see which strategies the students use most, I read the story Baby in a Basket. As I read this story, the students wrote down any thoughts going through their head. After reflecting on the student's thinking, we noticed making predictions, asking basic questions and telling the stories events were the most popular thinking strategies. We are going to dive deeper into each comprehension strategy to gain the true meaning of a text. I love hearing the students thinking as we read some truly powerful texts!

 

Colorado Animal Case Study

The students have spent the last two weeks independently researching the physical features of a chosen Colorado animal. They have been writing an informational paragraph including a topic sentence, facts, details, and a conclusion. Next week, they will begin researching another aspect of the Colorado animal’s life and write a second informational paragraph. They will compile all their learning and create a teaching poster to conclude our expedition. We have loved becoming experts on all sorts of animal adaptations!