So hard to believe that November is here! We have been very busy in our classroom with all of our reading, writing, thinking, discussing, creating, researching, and reflecting. Team 4W is off to a wonderful start this second quarter! More specifically: READING/WRITING: We continue to read Wonder. We have met so many interesting characters and have learned so much more about each of them as the perspective of the narrator continues to change in this book. Students are keeping a Wonder Journal and stop to write frequently. Ask your child to share this with you! One of my favorite discussion points throughout this novel is Auggie's teacher, Mr. Browne's, use of precepts. These are "rules about really important things." As students in the book discuss the meaning of each precept, we are doing the same in our classroom. Here are a few we have discussed: “If you have the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” "Your deeds are your monuments." "Fortune favors the bold." Ask your child to share with you what he/she feels are the meanings behind these words. Next, ask them why this precept fits in or is important to the story. The topic of last week's Reader's Response was Character. Students were asked to choose a character from their independent reading books and describe the character in depth using character traits and justifying their opinions with examples from the text. Non-fiction reading was also a focus last week. As we studied our Constitution, students wrote summaries of their reading after first locating the main idea and supporting details. Additionally, students used two different iPad apps to research a president. Students gathered notes from both resources, and then used their information to make a fact poster. Our Internet Workshop time was used for exploring how a bill becomes a law. Again, students used a digital resource and practiced their note taking skills. SOCIAL STUDIES: We are in the midst of our Government Unit. What an exciting time to study this! In addition to what has been explained above, students have created flip books to show the responsibilities of each branch of government, learned what it takes to make it to the White House through an interactive bulletin board activity, and watched an interview with President Obama about the Constitution. Next week, we will be taking a closer look at the Bill of Rights and how they came to be. MATH: Unit 4 focuses on Decimals. Last week we reviewed place value and how to read and write decimals. Decimal place value can be very tricky. We will continue to practice, practice, practice! Just a reminder that the Everyday Math Family Letter can be very helpful for helping your child at home. If a copy of this did not make it home, click here. EVERYBODY COUNTS: We had our Everybody Counts Program last Monday! Thank you to the parents who took the time to bring this disability awareness program to our classroom. SELF ASSESSMENT: I am so proud of students in 4W for their thoughtful use of self-assessments. Students uses these weekly to reflect on three different learning targets across the curriculum. This is a time for them to show what they know and also be very clear about what they do not know or understand so we can work together to get them to a place of understanding. Students also self assess their collaborative group skills and set goals for how they can better work with others. In math, students use a self assessment tool to help them focus their study time prior to taking a test. Next week, the learners in 4W will use a tool to help them determine where they are in the Discovery Quest Project process. Students will use this tool to assist them in small group discussion on Thursday at our first Kids' Inquiry Conference.
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Our first full week was jam packed! I am really enjoying the gifts and talents among this group of young people. It is a pleasure getting to know them all! Our opening math unit is a review of geometry concepts. We are working hard on vocabulary, exploring properties of polygons, and revisiting extended facts and measurement. In Science, we are learning how scientists answer questions. Students have used a variety of media to explore this topic. Ask your child about "Exhibit A" and how one could cook with a pizza box! Next week, we will continue our lab,"How high does a golf ball bounce?" We will also practice making claims and supporting our claims with evidence through some fun demonstrations. I introduced several new tools this week that will help us connect our language arts skills to the rest of our curriculum. I am in the modeling phase of incorporating these tools so that students will be able to use them independently and successfully. The details of Daybooks and Reader's Response can be explored by clicking the links below: DAYBOOKS! READER'S RESPONSE! Kidblog has already been a big hit with students and they are catching on quickly to the world of blogging and social media. I will gradually be allowing different parts of Kidblog to be utilized. Last week began with a focus on digital citizenship. Your child brought home a small poster reminder. Additionally, students practiced commenting on blog posts of mine. We discussed how to interact with each other appropriately and for what purposes Kidblog will, and will not, be used. Students were also encouraged to upload a personal avatar and adjust the screen to a theme of their choosing. I encourage you to pop in to our little blogosphere and read our posts and comments. You may use your child's password for doing this! As students get busier composing and publishing blog posts, you are always welcome to comment on your own child's writing. I have learned that this forum provides a great deal of motivation for young writers as there is an authentic audience! Please know that any critical feedback I give your child in regards to writing conventions or topics will be given as a private comment so that only the author may see it. Hopefully your child has told you about Energy Island. We have spent a great deal of time working with this book and using it for building background for our upcoming inquiry, as well as exploring how to connect our claims and inferences to a text. Please check the Science Page if you are interested in seeing a short video about the island of Samso. Hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful long Labor Day weekend! Happy September! |
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