Language+Arts

Hondini's Box

My school district does not allow much time to teach social studies and science so I try to incorporate these two subjects into my language arts time or will add activities related to a theme during our 40 minute tier time. The web site Memorial Hall Museum Online: http://memorialhall.mass.edu/home.html. , can serve many purposes to my history lessons. When the children come to 4th grade, it is their first exposure to history. They learn about what it means and they explore primary and secondary sources. We talk about artifacts and the students become historians, investigating ideas to determine what they are. The students collect oral history from family members and bring in artifacts from home. This wed site is a wonderful extension. It also provides activities I can use in other lesson such as Colonial American. During tier time one of my centers is internet activities. One of the stories the class reads is **//Hondini’s Box//**. The children search the internet to find out more about optical illusions. One web site they explore is []. The children love looking at the illusions and I find them engaged in conversation comparing and contrasting what they see. After completing their search, students write an explanation describing what they saw and how it tricks the eye. Students will also print the illusion they describe.


 * Stream Study Writing Activity**

** Graded Writing Assignment  ** Today you spent the afternoon with a group of older students doing several stream study activities. You are now asked to write a paragraph on your afternoon experience. You will display all the writing skills you have been practicing the last several weeks related to a narrative write. ** Main idea- ** topic sentence about what you are writing about ** Detail sentences ** - at least 5 supporting sentences about your topic. Your sentences will show evidence of compound sentences, and transition words. ** Conclusion sentence- ** a wrap up the day’s events The paragraph will follow a sequence of events. First brainstorm Write draft Edit Final copy
 * // Objective:  //**
 * Keep in mind: **
 * Transition words such as those below to relate ideas, sentences, or paragraphs. **

In addition then for example never the less instead in particular finally therefore first however as a result such as