Learning To Go Mr. Avery's Class on the Web 

We’re halfway to the end of the year! This is a good time to reflect on our journey, and to thank you for your efforts as partners in your child’s education. It’s remarkable how much growth the kids have shown, from learning skills and critical thinking to their growth as caring members of our learning community. To foster self-reflection, try asking your child to compare how s/he is different now from the start of the year. What things can s/he do now that s/he couldn’t before? What things does s/he still want to learn (goals) and how can they get there?

Of course, this means the 100th day of school is two weeks away (at this time, Feb. 6)!  I will set up a “100 Day Museum” to show off student projects and learning. I encourage children to create a poster/collection/display/etc. that somehow represents 100. Instead of simply collecting 100 things in a bag, I’m challenging students to think more deeply about number. They could bring/show something that displays an understanding of number, patterns, and/or the math we’ve done so far, such as:

• grouping objects (stickers/pennies/etc.)  on a poster that shows counting (and/or multiplying) by 5s, 10s, 2s, etc., with accompanying multiplication or repeated addition sentences
• bar models using the number 100
• create real-world problems with 100

Click here and scroll down for a look at the creative ways last year’s class took on this challenge. There is also a plethora of projects and ideas on Google and Pinterest and across the web if you’re looking for ideas!

Our work with Opinion writing is paying off! Students are being taught to state reasons for opinions and follow up with explanations. This is the foundation for paragraph organization. Check out these examples from 1) Teagan and 2) Prisha on “Why Summer is the Best Season,” and 3) Tee Jay on “Which Actor is the Most Popular” (Will Ferrell): 1) Another reason is you can go to Cape Cod. You can stay in a beach house and go to the beach and jump in the waves. Cape Cod also has a bunch of good places to eat for dinner, lunch, and breakfast.  2) Last, we can go to different places in the summer, like amusement parks, water parks, and more. These parks are only open in the summer.  3) Another reason is he is very funny in the movies that I watched. I laugh when he is funny, like when he was testing the jack-in-the-box and it jumped out and scared him!  Fantastic!

The next chapter we will take on in Math In Focus is Chapter 10. If you are following along in the eBook, this is the first chapter in Book B.  This chapter sees a return to mental math strategies. The goal here is to make students ever more fluent with numbers by using their understanding of numbers and patterns to compute in their heads. This is where our hard work with place value, number sense, and math facts pays off! Here is the addition strategies we will focus on this week:

1. Add multiples of 1s, 10s, or 100s when you can:

a. 354 + 3    Just add the ones; nothing else needs to change.

b. 354 + 30   Just count up by 10s…364, 374, 384  or  Use math facts: 5 + 3 is 8, so 50 + 30 is 80–nothing else changes but the 10s place.

c. 354 + 300   Just count by 100 three times…454, 554, 654.  or   Use math facts: 3 + 3 = 6 so 300 + 300 = 600.

 In Social Studies, our study of geography continues with a look at continents and oceans. We will use a variety of maps to delve into the natural and cultural features of the 7 continents, identify continents and oceans, and more. National Geographic Online and  National Geographic for Kids are fantastic stops for all things geographical, including the photos for which they are famous as well as games and articles for kids. Check out these awesome interactive maps: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids-world-atlas/maps.html

I hope you had a great holiday! In class we learned about the defining moments in the life of MLK using nonfiction text, and analyzed them in terms of the character traits he displayed. We’ll next analyze the achievements of Helen Keller and other famous Americans. Besides learning about history and government, the ultimate goal of our work is to instill in children a sense of civic responsibility, so that when they take their place as citizen leaders they can make their communities, their country, and their world a better place!

Students have been doing a great job developing opinion writing pieces with explanations that support their reasons. Last week’s assignment was to tell their opinions on whether or not we should have homework on the weekend! Here are 2 “no’s” from 1) Elaine  2) Hamza, and 2 “yes’s” from 3) TJ and 4) Alana: 1) Finally, kids need time to go outside. It’s good for their bodies, and they also have a lot of fun!  2) Another reason is kids need time to relax. They need time to sleep and get some energy.  3) Another reason is you can catch up on work when you were absent. Then you can be as smart as the other kids.  4) For one thing, kids have to be ready for school on Monday. If kids do homework, they will be ready.  Super!

This week’s math introduces students to a new concept in measurement: the broken ruler. Check out the example above. Here, students are being taught to develop an understanding of length that goes beyond lining up a ruler at “0” and reading the number at the end. You will see examples of it on this week’s homework. Students need to count the centimeters when measuring and comparing in order to understand what the numbers involved mean in terms of length. We will also be learning to represent lengths using bar models. For a reminder, see the bar modeling section of the homework packet from chapter 4.

*Note: Our math facts quiz will be on Thursday this week instead of Friday.

Meteorologist In The House! On Monday, we will be treated to an educational visit by meteorologist Barry Burbank from WBZ News! Mr. Burbank will be presenting and engaging second-graders on all things weather. You can look for us on WBZ, channel 4 on most providers, on Tuesday at 5 AM, 6 AM, and 6 PM.

 This week’s new comprehension strategy is predicting. Always, the #1 thing we want students to do when they read for meaning is to think about the text. When we do that, we can’t help but make predictions–predictions about where a story is going next; predictions about what language or vocabulary we will likely encounter next; predictions about answers to our questions that arise when we read. Equally important is to check our predictions, or guesses, as we read on, and adjust our thinking accordingly. It’s what helps us learn new things and it makes us engage with text, building our lifelong learning skills. Here’s a short article on predicting with ideas for making connections to science at home: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/making-predictions

Our writing focus switches back to opinion writing. The eventual goal on the road to college and career readiness is for students to synthesize knowledge and present arguments that are supported with evidence. At this time, our kids are learning to write an introductory sentence on a topic; state an opinion; list 3 reasons that support it; write 1 or more explanations for each reason; and write a concluding sentence. Students will begin by writing opinions on any topic, then research and write opinion pieces on famous Americans. Speaking of which…

Our Term 2 Social Studies focus is on learning character traits and applying that knowledge to understand famous U.S. and world figures and their contributions. What makes these historical leaders worth remembering? How did Lincoln’s honesty, Cesar Chavez’ determination, Harriet Tubman’s bravery, and Susan B. Anthony’s patriotism affect the lives of others and forever change our understanding of America? These are the kinds of questions we will attempt to answer by analyzing biographical texts and media.

This week, we will analyze the life and achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) and learn to assign character traits to him based on evidence from biographical texts and video. Check out this great video from Brainpop (an awesome and highly engaging resource that I use a lot!) and keep the learning going at home: https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/martinlutherkingjr/. Then consider these traits: determined; hardworking; patriotic; creative; honest; responsible; brave. Which words best apply to MLK? What is your evidence?

This week we begin chapter 7 of Math in Focus, the goal of which is to make students proficient with linear measurement (especially meters and centimeters). To begin, students will learn the importance of standard units of measurement and be introduced to content-specific vocabulary (width; height; length; meter; etc.). They will next develop a sense of how big meters and centimeters are. Then they will learn correct methods for estimating and accurately measuring and talking about measurement (more than, less than, about, exactly). And as always, they will be asked to solve real-world problems that require analysis and application of skills learned. Consider the following problem from this week’s lessons. Notice how it requires students to think about space, length, multiplication/repeated addition, and subtraction to solve it:

In science, students did a fantastic job designing an experiment to test the claim that water evaporates due to energy in the form of heat. Using water in cups covered in plastic wraps, they made predictions; collected and analyzed observable data; and drew conclusions based on the same. This week we will use scientific investigation to answer these questions: Do all liquids evaporate like water? If not, can water evaporate out? What then is left behind? We will use water as a baseline and compare it to solutions of salt water and water with food coloring. Here’s a link showing how to do one such investigation at home: http://www.shirleys-preschool-activities.com/salt-solution-experiment.html. I encourage you to try other solutions (e.g. water and ???) and send us your results!

Georgie Sharp via Compfight

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a terrific holiday season and vacation. I spent mine with friends, family, shopping, Netflix, and yes, catching up on work. Onward into the new year!

 Our CAFE focus this week is on Inferring, which is a strategy we use all the time to help us understand what we’re reading. When we infer, we use our schema (what we already know about something) and combine it with clues from the text to understand something new. Consider these lines from Eloise Greenfield’s poem Things: Went to the beach/Played on the shore/Built me a sandhouse/Ain’t got it no more. My schema tells me that at the beach we build sandcastles, which is what she likely means, and sometimes the ocean comes and washes them away–that’s why the speaker “Ain’t got it no more.” Kids and grownups infer all the time in real life, for example: Snow is in the forecast. When the phone rings at 5:30 AM we can infer school will be delayed or cancelled! It’s smart to catch it when it happens and ask “How did you infer that? What were your clues?” Here is a site that, while designed for teachers, has lots of great info and links on inference: http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2012/02/tips-for-teaching-inference.html

This week we wrap up our practice of narrative writing. It’s been awesome seeing the growth of these young writers as they wrestle with the ideas and mechanics of telling stories that put the reader in the picture. Here are some from 1) Sofia  2) Arin  3) Emma  and 4) Aditya: 1) I ran to the bleachers to take off my new Pony shoes that light up. A moment later, Mrs. Smith said, “Get your bean bag!” I raced to get a small, green, squishy bag.  2) Suddenly, Mrs. Smith said for everybody to step on a dot, so everyone raced around to find the nearest dot. Someone on my team got the beach ball and hit it. Then the ball went over the net!  3) My friend Alana served the ball. The other team hit it. I saw the ball coming closer to me. I was getting ready…just then, I hit it back!  4) CLOMP went my feet as I was walking to the exhibit. I was with my dad, mom, and little brother at Southwick Zoo one Saturday, watching a tiger and a rhino.  Terrific!

Having learned strategies for multiplying 2s and 5s (skip counting; finger counting; dot paper), we now apply them to multiplying 10s. In addition, we will review the commutative property (e.g. 10 x 2 = 2 x 10) while stressing the need to model these correctly when solving problems. We will then learn to use multiplication of 2s (repeated addition of groups of 2) to learn odd and even numbers. Students will be taught to group objects by 2s and if there is none left  over then it is even; otherwise it is odd. Likewise, if you can split a group cleanly in half with no leftovers, that also means it is an even number. Learning it like this helps students to understand the nature of odd and even as opposed to only applying tricks (e.g. it’s even if it ends with 0, 2, 4, etc.).

As we continue our exploration of weather, students will conduct daily observations of temperature, clouds, and weather type over the next month. We will then analyze the data, look for trends, evaluate methods for presenting data (e.g. bar graphs vs. pie charts for example), and draw conclusions of winter weather in Shrewsbury. In addition, this week we will conduct a further investigation into evaporation designed to test the idea that all liquids evaporate the same way that water does. We will also learn to identify cloud types and use that to predict the weather. Weather Wiz Kids  is a fantastic site for learning more about and all things weather. And here’s a  favorite, Bill Nye the Science Guy, teaching about how clouds are formed.

And here are pictures of us exploring the properties of air; designing floating systems that effectively trap air (parachutes); and solving challenges like how to keep paper dry underwater using what we know about air!