Three Things I Loved About My Week: Memory Moments, Decimals, and Community Gardens

Hi friends!  I'm back to share Three Things I Loved About My Week with you. I can't believe I just sent home progress reports for the last quarter of the school year!  I am really looking forward to slowing down when summer begins.  I love my class, and I loved the challenge of learning a new grade level.  But I'm ready to make more choices about my time!

#1: Memory Moment
This week we used The Day the Crayons Quit as our Mentor Text.  I love how cute this text is!  I know this book has been out for awhile, but I didn't really have a reason to use it as a middle school teacher.  When I picked it up at the library,  I loved that my mind went to the Memory Moment signpost right away! It was perfect the way the author gives the crayons personalities, and they share the memories of how Duncan uses the crayons.
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I used the text for mentor sentence work this week, so it incorporates a ton within one book.  What made me happy was that the first day we looked at the text, our Invitation to Notice day, several of my students noticed that this book contained a Memory Moment!  <HOORAY>!  Imagine me doing the happy dance!

I just recently taught this signpost and we dug deep with our novel Lunch Money.  It was nice to see the information transfer to other stories as well!
Right now we are working on Color Poems.  Students chose their favorite colors, and we are in the process of using our senses to describe them.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!


#2 Decimal Fraction Review
We took our End of Module assessment this week for our Decimal Fraction Relationships unit.  My kids really worked hard. We started our unit looking at how decimals and fractions are similar. Did you grab this FREEBIE that I created as a quick formative? It was quick and easy and my class started the unit with a Win-Win.  As we progressed, we learned how to translate decimals into fractions to add them.  We also plotted numbers on the number line, and learned how to change decimals and fractions between each other in computation and word problems.  One of the things I really love is how our modules build on one another.  They always give students problems that contain multiple steps that build.  I use these problems a lot for team building activities.  Instead of having just one problem that everyone completes, I create multiple problems that are similar.  Students work together in teams to answer each question.  It creates a feeling of anticipation and cooperation within the group.  Plus it makes review a lot more interesting than "Another Math Worksheet" <Insert fourth graders rolling their eyes here>

#3 Spring Gardens
The third thing about my week that I LOVED, was the spring gardens that are popping up around our school.  This is a project that our third graders participate in, but I have loved watching it grow! Every third grader participates in the program.  Once a week, someone from the community food co-op comes out and talks to students about healthy eating, gardens, vegetables, etc.  Each student has a gallon bucket where they have planted different veggies, and the students learn to tend the gardens.  They grow several types of lettuces, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and a few herbs.  When the items are ready to harvest, students help and then participate in a healthy meal together.  Of course there are PLENTY of leftovers, so students go home with two bags of fresh veggies each to share with their families.  I love the community support this program has!
Check out these amazing pictures!






Thanks for stopping by and letting me share a few things I've loved about this week.  I'd love to hear about something that was amazing for you!

Happy Weekend!


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