Ms. Wendy's Learning Space: April 2020

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Week 10 Highlights Week 11 Printout

Hi everyone!

Another week has passed by and boy! This was a hot and humid week. However, I'm happy that students got more more outdoor playtime and Vitamin D from the sun. As some students may have already informed you, I was absent this past Thursday because I had to attend a funeral. I had Mr. Enoc, Ms. Gloria, Ms. Mia, and Mr. Andrew take over my classes. I hope that the students had fun with the sub teachers! Anyways, here's what happened this week:

In Reading, 402 read Lesson 23 in their hardcover books and 403 read from their softcover books. Both stories were about redwood trees, which are the most majestic, tallest, and oldest trees in the world! We've learned that redwood trees thrive in environments that have moisture and that they serve as habitats for many different animals. Redwood trees also have a layer of cambium in their barks that protects the tree from wildfires. Isn't that amazing?
In Writing, my 402 wrote a 5-paragraph fictional narrative about having superpowers. All stories were very creative and I can't wait to share some of them with you in the next couple weeks! As for my 403 class, I taught them Unit 16 in Grammar instead of writing because I wanted to make sure that they understood the important concepts from this unit before the sub teachers took over on Thursday. Don't worry, they'll be caught up with their essays next week!
In Grammar, we learned about using the past tense of the verb 'to be' (i.e. was/were). For example, 'Where were you last week?' 'I was at my friend's house.' This unit wasn't too challenging so most students understood it with little difficulty.
In Math, we learned how to divide decimals by whole numbers. This was a little confusing for a few students so please watch this video to review and practice here.
In Science, we started Unit 21 about sound. We learned how to differentiate between a high/low pitch (sharpness) and high/low intensity (loudness). Sound is measured by decibels. We've also learned that noise pollution could be detrimental to our mental health. I played a video for students to guess the sound and it was quite fun!

That's a wrap for this week! I'd also like to remind all of you that Unit 2 exams will be here in a couple weeks so please start studying proactively! Here is next week's printout:

Have a fantastic weekend!

Ms. Wendy

Friday, April 24, 2020

Week 9 Highlights and Week 10 Printout

Dear Parents,

I want to thank all of you for being so prompt in messaging me on LINE! I really appreciate it. Here is what happened in this week full of information and knowledge:

In Reading, both classes read "How to Change Laws" in the soft cover book. This was a non-fictional story about Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton, who were both influential women that fought for women's equal rights. We've learned that back in the 1800s, women weren't permitted to do many things, such as working outside the home, voting, or even learning math! However, as a result of Susan and Elizabeth's perseverance, the Nineteenth Amendment was eventually passed. This Amendment states that both women and men can vote. Voting is an essential citizen right as it gives each citizen a voice in the government.
In Creative Writing, we wrote a fictional narrative about going on a mysterious trip with a friend. All students are starting to really understand the various elements that make a story interesting, such as the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. I had so much fun reading their imaginative stories!
In Grammar, we finished Unit 15 about adverbs and adjectives. The tricky part about this unit being able to detect which word is the adverb/ adjective describing. For example, can you tell the difference between the following sentences? 1) She is a slow runner. 2) She runs slowly. Let's take a look at Sentence 1. Since 'slow' is describing 'runner,' which is a noun, then we know that 'slow' is an ADJECTIVE. As for Sentence 2, 'slowly' is describing 'run,' which is a verb, so 'slowly' must be an ADVERB.
In Math, we learned about multiplying decimals with 1 digit whole numbers. This lesson was quite self-explanatory so all of the students understood the concept very quickly. However, only Jie-en and Justin made ZERO MISTAKES in their math workbook this week. Kudos to Jie-en and Justin! For the rest of you, please make sure to double check your work.
In Science, we finished our unit about soil. Both 402 and 403 participated actively in science class so I really appreciate that.

Finally, I'd like to inform all of you that I have implemented Class Dojo and I plan to use it for the rest of the semester. I will be using Class Dojo to monitor the students' academic and behavioral performance everyday by adding and deducting points for specific behaviors. I will be adding each of your emails into Class Dojo so you could be aware and informed of your child's performance in school. So far, all students have responded positively to Class Dojo and has earned some impressive points! Anyways, I've said too much. Here is Week 10's Printout:

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Wendy

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Week 8 Highlights and Week 9 Printout

Hi everyone!

Guess what? Unit 1 exams for both English and Chinese are officially over... Whew! What a relief. I'm proud of all of you for studying hard and overcoming challenges. Anyways, here's what happened this week:

In Reading, 402 read a story about 'The World According to Humphrey." This story was written from the perspective of a hamster who stayed with a foster family that was absolutely obsessed with watching TV! 403 read about a story called "Robots," where a little boy named Brian got a thinking robot for his birthday. Though he thought that it was super awesome at first, he later realized that it's better to think for himself. The moral of both stories centered on the importance and value of human contact, and spending quality time with one another. Both stories serve a great reminder for us in our increasing digitalized era today.
In Creative Writing, we got a head start in writing fictional narrative. In the previous unit, we wrote personal narratives-- about stories that were true (non-fiction). Contrarily, we will only be writing fiction this unit! The only limit is your imagination so I hope that all of you will enjoy being as creative as you can in your stories!
In Grammar, we learned about adjectives and adverbs. This unit is a perfect start to Unit 2 because we could incorporate adjectives and adverbs into our fictional narratives to make our stories come to life!
In Math, we learned about subtracting decimals. While this is an easy unit, only 1 student got 100% in this week's math exercises. This is therefore a reminder that when something is easy, we tend to be more careless with our work. For this reason, please put more effort into checking your work and striving for accuracy.
In Science, we started a new unit about soil. We learned about the 3 ways to classify soil, which is through its texture, color, and ability to retain water. Next week, we will continue to learn about the uses of soil.

Here is Week 9's Printout:

As all of you should've already been informed, our parent teacher conference will be on next Saturday, April 25th. Please make sure to add my LINE (ID: wendyluchen) as soon as possible. Due to time constraints, I will only get 10 minutes to speak to each parent. For this reason, please make sure to note down any questions/ concerns in order to be prepared for the meeting. I look forward to chatting with you all!

Warm regards,

Ms. Wendy

Friday, April 10, 2020

Week 7 Highlights and Week 8 Printout

Hi everyone!

Whew! I have to say that I am so proud that everyone put their best foot forward and rocked the test! All of you did superb. I just want to remind everyone that scores do not define you! They are just numbers. If you are not satisfied with your score, think about what you CAN do better in Unit 2 starting today. Learn how to put first things first. Your learning journey is just as important. In this week, we pretty much reviewed for exams, took the exams, and started vocabulary Lesson 21 for Unit 2. Everyone was so hyper after the exams I had a little trouble containing them! Although, I am genuinely happy to see everyone's joy after conquering the exams. Here is next week's printout:

Please rejuvenate yourselves this weekend. You all deserve it!

Ms. Wendy

Monday, April 6, 2020

The Best Day of My Life- by Zoe Liu

Would you like to know about the best day of my life? It was 4:00pm on Friday and I just came home from school. "Happy Birthday!" my mom exclaimed. There was a crowd at home. All of my relatives and family were here. I was so happy and excited!

Firstly, the cake was so cute and yummy. It was a bunny cake. The bunny cake had white frosting but had chocolate on the inside. Chocolate is my favorite flavor. It even had cookies on it! After I blew the candles, I cut the cake for everyone. That was the best cake I ever had!
Then, it was finally time to open my gifts. There were so many birthday cards for me to read, so I decided to read from the smallest to the biggest. It actually took only 3 minutes to read almost all of the birthday cards. They were all so cool! After that, I still had two more to read and they were actually the biggest. The last two were from my grandpa and my parents. When I opened my grandpa's, I heard music coming out of the card. I liked it so much! Then, I finally opened my parents' card at last. It was so cute. There was a picture of my body under some animal's head inside it. It was adorable.
After reading all of the cards, it was gift time! First, I got a tiny puppy doll. IT was so small and fluffy. Second, I got a pair of slippers that were so soft and had a puppy face on top! Those were my two favorite gifts. The rest of the gifts included some key chains or backpack. I love my gifts so much!
After I finished unwrapping the gifts, my mom told us that we had a little challenge to play. There was a balloon on top of each person's head and had I had to pop them. The balloons were either filled with sand, water, or candy. Those who got under the water one had to go change their clothes, which was my sister. Those who got candy would get to eat it. The game was amazing. I loved it a lot!
After all of those activities, it was time to eat dinner. The steak was so yummy! The restaurant was so big! That was the yummiest dinner I've ever had and the best day of my life!

Sunday, April 5, 2020

The Best Day of My Life- by Amber Chen

"Can I go to your house?" asked Sophie. We were at Lih-Jen and it was break time on a Thursday. "Okay, but I need to ask my mom and dad," I replied. I felt happy about it because she never came to my house before. Anyways, let me tell you why today was going to be the best day of my life.
First, it was Friday and my mom and dad said yes. So, when school was finished, Sophie and I went home together. When we got t here, we first ripped paper and played it. It was so fun because it's like snow. Then, we went to the swimming pool. There was a cave in the swimming pool. We played in the pool and it was so fun.

" Let's race in the pool," I suggested. "No," replied Sophie. "Why?" I asked. "Because I don't know how to swim," said Sophie. I told her that I could teach her. Sophie was happy because I could teach her. There was a cave in the swimming pool so we went there and played. However, the floor was not clean, so, we did not want to step on it. So, we kept swimming and swimming. When we were tired, we needed to step on the floor. We were like dancing because it was dirty. It was very funny.
Then, when we finished swimming, we went to eat ice-cream. It was so yummy. My dad also made hamburgers and it was so yummy. There were tomatoes, cucumbers, and fish inside. It was so fun to play with my friends.
When we had to say bye bye to Sophie, I felt sad. I really wanted Sophie to come to my house again the next day. I will never forget it. It was the best day of my life.