This afternoon, we began with a review of place value and identifying the specific number in the hundreds, tens, or ones place. Jonathan is now showing full understanding in this area. Next, we practiced working with fact families. Jonathan was given some of the numbers to complete the two addition sentences and two subtraction sentences. He readily completed this task. We then increased the difficulty level by having him fully provide all the numbers for the two addition and two subtraction sentences. Then, he was presented with a written statement to provide a related addition or subtraction sentence for a specific equation. As I told Jonathan, it is not a matter of him being able to solve the equations, our focus on the skills of fact families and related facts was to increase his understanding of the process and the language involved with these tasks. He was also reminded to slow down and focus on the language in the question for at times with the related sentences, he was providing the opposite of what he needed (i.e. subtracting when the instruction was to add). On IXL, we continued some more diagnostic work to find areas to target for enrichment. We’ve identified levels with recommended skills for numbers & operations, algebra & algebraic thinking, and geometry. There are three additional areas requiring further testing to finalize the skill level. Next, we worked through a mixed addition and subtraction Easter themed puzzle. Jonathan solved the equations and then used the numbers and letters to decode the answer to the Easter joke. Again, I reinforced that I knew he could solve the equations, but the focus of the task was the attention required to make sure he was solving the right way by looking at the sign to add or subtract. Finally, Jonathan enjoyed solving some fun “find the number” task cards by working through the clues on the card. This task involved use of the words greater than, less than, odd/even, and rhyming words within place value. Some simple equation solving was involved as well.

We each drew a folded "surprise" drawing of an aquarium. He decided to do his with a vertical opening and I chose a horizontal opening.

Jonathan did an acting exercise that uses a picture from the internet to improv a "show and tell." I also gave him an example of how we could voice different scenes from movies and cartoons. We will try that next class.

Jonathan went on a WebQuest to learn about the continents of the world. His job was to explore each continent and find and write down interesting facts about each one. We explored North America and started on Australia.

I showed Jonathan examples of Faberge Easter eggs. We planned how our "surprise" drawings could be similar to the Russian Imperial Faberge eggs.

Jonathan started his lesson hearing the book Zin, Zin, Zin, the Violin by Llyod Moss read to him with visual and auditory effects. The video discussed the element of sound being caused by vibrations. Jonathan heard the timbre of each instrument as the book went through the sections of the orchestra. For example, he heard the sounds of the trombone, the cello, the flute, and the French horn as they contrast in timbre. We then had a discussion about the sound that can be heard in a large seashell from the beach, like a conch shell. Jonathan watched a short video which explained that the shell is picking up the ambient sound at the beach and the vibration is intensified by going through the shell material to the eardrums. Jonathan heard the explanation of how we hear as being the vibration of three small bones that send messages to our brain to tell us what we heard. Jonathan also saw how to make a homemade telephone using two tin cans and string. if he has a chance at home, he may try this. He also did a quick experiment by suspending a ruler off the side of a desk and vibrating it to hear the sound. I asked Jonathan to move the ruler to different lengths suspended over the desk to see if he could hear a difference in the pitch that was made. Jonathan also read the book, All About Sound by Lisa Trumbauer.

Jonathan and I began with a review of place value today. We first identified the value of the number in the tens and ones place of two-digit numbers. We then looked at two-digit numbers and four ways to write the number. This included words such as how many tens and how many ones, then in expanded form, and then by drawing a picture. Jonathan was much more confident in his responses and knowledge of place value today. As Jonathan is a Pokemon fan, we had fun with a riddle about a Pokemon character. Jonathan read the word form of numbers and matched the written numerals to find a letter. We used the letters to decode the message for the riddle. Next, we began a Scholastic Learn at Home online activity. We listened to the book, Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni. We made predictions as to the length of measurements the inchworm would identify. We then started a shared reading of a non-fiction book entitled, How Long Is It? In this book we talked about the ruler and standard measurement of inches. We discussed how we could use items to compare things but a ruler would give us a standard measurement. Additionally, we discussed that rulers may be different sizes (such as a 6-inch and a 12-inch ruler), but that the inch itself will always be the same. Jonathan measured several items with his ruler as we progressed through the book. We compared information from the two books to determine if statements were fact or fiction. We also matched words to their meanings for terms such as yard, yardstick, measure, inch, and ruler. Finally, we watched a Brain Pop Jr. learning video about addition and subtraction fact families. We learned vocabulary terms such as operation and fact family triangle. We discussed how these are also considered related addition and subtraction facts and he’ll see when he learns multiplication and division how the numbers will work together in a similar fashion. Jonathan scored a 4/5 on the easy quiz and a 5/5 on the hard quiz.

Religion: We reviewed Easter and the signs of new life. Jonathan enjoyed completing page 312 in his We Believe textbook, which was a coded message. Jonathan deciphered the code using numbers and letters to reveal the message, “Rejoice, Jesus died and rose to new life!” Language Arts: It is Word Work Wednesday! We used the word “oppose” to focus on today. We found the definition and part of speech in a dictionary packet, the guide words on the top of the dictionary page, identified a synonym and antonym, and used the word in a sentence. We reviewed guide words and discussed how the first guide word is the first word on the page and the last guide word is the last definition on the page. Next, Jonathan read an article entitled, Discover the
Rainforest on www.readworks.org. We discussed the vocabulary terms layer and wildlife and read these words in sentences for extra practice and examples. Jonathan then completed a follow-up assessment. He did very well and we elaborated on some of his responses to expand for details. These quizzes offer a fill in the blank with a conjunction word such as so, because, and but. These have been a little tricky for him and we will continue to work on this skill. For writing, Jonathan wrote about the yellow-spotted river turtle of the Amazon River. He wrote three paragraphs, with three sentences each. We worked through the process together, examining our notes and then discussing ways to make an informative sentence. For the start of each paragraph, we discussed indenting and then ways to use different wording for transition. Jonathan illustrated a picture of the turtle in its habitat. He colored this picture and as well as colored his drawing on his boa constrictor page. Finally, Jonathan was excited to start our new Magic Tree House novel, Sunset of the Sabertooth. We read the first two chapters and answered follow up questions for comprehension as well. We wrapped up the day with a little more sorting of syllables on IXL.

Jonathan started his lesson watching a short video clip about rain. The video included the vocabulary words: flood, drought, rainbow, and clouds. I had Jonathan pick a topic for research todayl. He chose rainbows. We used a short video from Dr. Binocs shows for kids. This included discussion of what causes a rainbow to form. Jonathan wrote on his paper the letters: ROYGBIV. We used this acronym to remember the colors of the rainbow in order. We listened to the video and wrote sentences about how the rainbow forms when white light shines through a prism. Using the whiteboard in Teams, I wrote notes for Jonathan to copy. It included the fact that rainbows are really round but you can only see half of them because they are blocked by the Earth. Jonathan wrote notes on his page and made a diagram of a prism with white light passing through it. We watched an experiment with a mirror in a clear cup of water placed in the dark. The experimenter then shines a bright flashlight on the mirror and can see the rainbow form. If you hold a white paper up to the rainbow beams, it appears on the white paper.

Religion: In Jonathan’s We Believe textbook, we were reminded that we celebrate that Jesus rose to new life during Easter. Jonathan decorated an Alleluia banner with signs of new life. He drew eggs, a chick, a baby bunny, flowers blooming, and green leaves and blossoms on the trees. We then read the lyrics to the hymn, Alleluia No. 1. Language Arts: In our daily language review we found 5 mistakes in each sentence involving punctuation, capitalization, and verb tense. We discussed abbreviations, prepositions, homophones, and sentence types (declarative and interrogative) as well. Next, we worked in his Ready Classroom textbook. Using a source text, Upsetting the Balance, we found the key point in the middle paragraph and identified a sentence as a reason to support the key point of the paragraph. We then continued our study of the rainforest. We read an article entitled, What Lives in the Rainforest? on www.readworks.org. We examined the vocabulary terms of habitat, include, and nature. We discussed the meanings of these words and read them in example sentences to gain further understanding through the words in context. Jonathan then worked through a 10-question follow up assessment. He remembered key details of the story, however was more challenged when asked to find evidence, draw conclusions and infer from portions of the text. We will continue to incorporate more of these tasks into his sessions to develop his depth of understanding of text and application of knowledge gained. For writing, Jonathan finished his informational page about the boa constrictor. He wrote two more paragraphs, working on indenting, about what the boa eats and some interesting facts. We discussed ways to grab the reader’s attention for the interesting facts and we started that paragraph with a question. Jonathan read his three paragraphs to me and we discussed the spelling of several homophones and his use of commas. We wrapped up this activity by looking at pictures of boas and we watched a short informational video about how boas first bite and then constrict their prey. Finally, for word work today, Jonathan sorted 1, 2, 3, and 4 syllable words on IXL (level D – A2).