This week in the Wonders program we will investigate the question, “How do you express yourself?” Students will have the chance to read about ways that we are all the same, and how we are different. As well, we will study the long u spelling pattern. This week, we continue to practice asking questions and pulling out details that support the main idea. Students are becoming much more skilled with this concept!
In Math this week, we will begin the week reviewing fact strategies, such as doubles, combinations of 10, and near doubles facts. From there, we will spend the remainder of the week working on money. We will review counting mixed coins, and teach students how to count up when making change within a dollar. This is the introduction to this skill, and as such they may need additional support at home with their homelinks. This is a wonderful skill to continue to practice with your child. I have provided a website link to a game that allows your child to practice this skill at home: http://mrnussbaum.com/cashd/ As well, there are additional money games listed on this website! In writing this week, we will formalize our learning about opinion and persuasive wiring. We will define what an audience for writing is, and what an argument in a persuasive piece is. As well, we will explore how the audience affects our writing, and write our own opinion letter to an author.
0 Comments
This is such an exciting week in our classroom. We are launching a new science unit about the Earth’s Changes, our author Grace Lin will visit, and we will wrap up our math unit about all things measurement!
This week in the Wonder’s reading program we will study the question, “How does the Earth’s weather affect us?” It seems to be timed perfectly with this week’s weather outlook. We will continue to build our ability to ask meaningful questions as we read, and will begin to explore how we can find text evidence to answer the questions we create. As well, we will study the long e spellings, and look more at antonyms. In Math we will wrap up our unit on measurement by studying how to measure a crooked path and with an introduction to arrays. This is a shift in traditional multiplication in which students are introduced to building rectangles that are so many squares wide and long. Thus, the mathematical sentence 2 X 3 makes sense, as they build a 2 by 3 rectangle. The product (answer) is the number of squares they lay down-6. It is a wonderful concrete mathematical model that explains a very abstract idea. Again, it is only an introduction, and many students will rely on repeated counting to solve the problem (2 + 2 + 2 = 6). Below is a wonderful Array Game called Array Tetris you can play at home. I have included the game page with directions for you to download at the end of this post. We have many writing submissions for February’s community meeting, and I am excited to see if any of our students are chosen to take part. Some students indicated they wanted their work to be considered for only the Joe’s English School Newspaper, and submitted their work in that way. I’ll keep you posted as I know more about selections. Finally, we are starting a new unit of study that covers one of our major Science focus areas: Earth’s changes. The standard outlines that the students should understand that some of the Earth’s changes occur quickly, while others occur slowly. I used a Question Formulation Technique with the students last week when I introduced the learning statement, and I was quite impressed with the questions they raised- they were thoughtful, filled with rich vocabulary, and flexible in their thinking. This unit will begin with the quick Earth changes such as volcanos, floods, earthquakes, and so on. We will then move into erosion, weathering, and deposition, at which point we will further study plants as a means to control erosion. This should all tie in nicely as we prepare for our artist in residence program this Spring. Our eco-artist will help us design sustainable landscapes that help control weathering. On a final note, I will be out of the building Wednesday to Friday as I travel to attend a memorial service for a family member. The students will be in good hands, and their days have been carefully planned out to continue the normal routine of learning. This week in reading we will study the question, “How can I help my community?” Students will read stories about people finding small ways to help their community which end up making a big difference. As we read this week we will ask and answer questions. Additionally, we will decide the author’s purpose for writing the story (persuade, inform, or entertain). Students will learn about the long o spelling pattern this week, and we will begin to learn about synonyms and antonyms.
In math this week, the students will spends lots of time measuring to the inch, half inch and centimeter. We will review measuring tools, reasons why we measure, lining up our measuring tools, and practice measuring tons of items around our classroom. Here is a link to a website that lists 3 fun measurement activities you can do at home with your child: http://spaghettiboxkids.com/blog/kids-science-measure-stuff/ Measurement really is all about practice. The more opportunity your child has to practice measuring items, the better they will get! This week during our writing time, the students will learn how to use a rubric to score their opinion writing they have worked on. I will conference with the children to find areas of strength in their writing, and areas they can improve upon. We will then revise our work, improving on any identified areas. Finally, this week in Science we will launch a new unit around the concept: Some of Earth’s changes happen quickly, while others occur slowly. This broad idea will carry the students through the rock cycle, erosion, landforms, and finally-our artist in residence project with eco-artist Cynthia Robinson. I am excited to start this next unit with the class! Have a wonderful week! Mrs. Gallegos This week in the Wonders program we will study the question, What can we see in the sky? Students will begin to learn more about our place in the solar system, and talk briefly about the Sun and the Moon. As we read, we will look for key details. Additionally, we will study the long i spelling pattern this week, and work on understanding contractions. This week we will look more closely at place value concepts. Students will build numbers using base 10 blocks, and then compare their size. Students will continue their understanding that a number is made up of a set of hundreds, tens, and ones. We will continue to come back to the concept of telling time to the five minute mark, and this is a wonderful skill to continue to practice at home! We will finish our final draft of our opinion writing pieces. The students did such an amazing job with their writing this week. It is remarkable to see how far they have come in both their confidence and skill. We will begin to work on a piece to celebrate our author’s visit, which happens later this month. As well, we are wrapping up our unit on mapping. The students have zoomed out from their home, all the way out to our galaxy to lay the foundational knowledge that we live in a town, state, country, on a continent, on a planet, and in a solar system. Next week we will work on reading map symbols and cardinal directions. We had a wonderful time completing our STEAM challenge this week. Students were tasked to create a track they could move a paperclip along. They had to use a magnet to move the paperclip from the starting line to the finish line. As well, many students tried to create obstacles along the way! |
Archives
June 2018
Categories |