Week 16 December 17

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Posted by kavery508 | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on December 17, 2018

We’re almost there! Just a couple more snowflakes and we’ve reached our goal and earned our special day. As a special reward for demonstrating good work habits, students are invited to wear pajamas to school Friday. Please keep in mind the following guidelines for appropriateness and safety:

  1. Kids will be going outside, so dress for the weather: PJs with tops and bottoms are best. Sweats work equally well, or a combination of the two.
  2. Sneakers or regular footwear are a must for coming to school/going home/recess. Kids are allowed (not required) to bring slippers–but keep in mind they’ll be wearing them all over school, including the bathrooms!
  3. Nightgowns are not recommended but if they are worn, leggings or shorts must be worn underneath.
  4. No toys, stuffed animals, or accessories, please.

On Friday, we will celebrate by making crafts, reciting seasonal poetry; writing a main event with description to accompany Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman; singing together at an all-school sing-a-long; and more!  Thanks for the countless ways you support your child’s learning. These kids are so well cared for physically, emotionally, and academically and I’m proud to be sharing their journey with you. I wish you the happiest of holidays, and all the best in 2019!

We’re wrapping up our study of Opinion Writing in style! Here are some more from 1) Avery and 2) Kian on why kids should have recess; 3) Ronav on why there should be summer vacations; and 4) Luana on why dogs make the best pets: 1) One reason is, you will have to hold in so much energy without recess. You can’t really sit still so you can’t focus without recess. 2) Also, kids need to to learn about the world around them. For example, you can learn about nature. 3) My first reason is, you can spend time with your family. You can visit your cousins grandparents, and aunts and uncles. 4) Another reason is, dogs are friendly. They like to sit next to you so you can pet them. Great work!

In math this week, students will be applying their new knowledge of multiplication and division when solving word problems. This week’s math homework asks them to draw pictures or symbols to show their work when solving these. One method we’ve taught them is to draw circles and stars, like in the picture below:

These can be used in division, too. Here’s how: when you know the total and the number of groups and you want to find the number in each group, draw circles for the groups and deal (like playing cards) stars to each circle. In the above picture that would look like this: 8 ÷ 2 = 4. Kids would draw 2 circles and then put one star in the first circle, then the second circle, then repeat until you have “used up” the 8 items. This shows them there are 4 in each group.

Now let’s say you know the total and the number in each group, and want to find the number of groups. In the above example that would look like 8 ÷ 4 = 2. In this case, you draw groups of 4 until you “use up” the 8 items.

The ‘circle and stars’ idea comes from a game that kids can play at home with any numbers: Circles and Stars

This kids have been learning to ask and test questions about the natural world using the topic Air and Weather. We found out that although air is invisible it takes up space and can be manipulated. We conducted investigations to learn about the ways we can trap air, and built parachutes based on air resistance!

Week 15 December 10

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Posted by kavery508 | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on December 10, 2018

Report cards will be coming home next week. A few notes about grading: Gone are the days of letter grades, and the system now works a little differently. A “3” is Achieving the standard, and that is similar to an “A” grade. A “2” means students are making continuous progress and/or can do it some of the time, or with help. A “4” is rare: it means students are working a grade level above grade 2 benchmarks. A “1” is even rarer: should any student have been heading there, we would have communicated it well before now (and no one is)!

To be achieving on this term’s report card, students should be reading on level 20K, and reading fluently while comprehending text on whatever level they may be at. In writing they should be able to write complete sentences; to show evidence of writing opinion and informative pieces; to tell a story about one event from their lives with a beginning, middle, and end in a clear manner; and to write with spaces, correct upper/lowercase letters, correct punctuation, and mostly correct spelling. In math, they should have passed math facts level 10; they should be able to make sense of and solve problems in daily work and on tests; and they should be able to accurately add and subtract 3-digit numbers with regrouping.

Winter’s on its way! Our classroom is in need of bottles of hand sanitizer to keep us germ free. This is especially important because there is no sink in our room for students to wash our hands. Please send in a big bottle or two, and thank you.

Our work with opinion writing is paying off! We are learning to state opinions, give reasons for them, and explain with examples. Here are some from: 1) Shreya, on why we shouldn’t litter; 2) Abrar, on why we should have summer vacations; 3) Yash, on why Christmas is the best holiday; and 4) Veer, on why we should have recess every day: 1) If people keep littering it might pollute. For example, if people keep littering it could block water or houses. 2) We need a  break from all that learning. With summer vacation our brains need to process all the learning we have done. 3) There’s a chance you can see Santa. For example, Santa comes at night so you get out of bed early, and sneak up on Santa. And that could be lots of fun. 4) We need to let go of energy. If they don’t have recess, they will be moving, and won’t be focused.  Awesome stuff!

In math this week, students will be taught the basics of division. Just like multiplication was all about adding equal groups, at this introductory level they should understand division as splitting things into equal groups. Think about that while looking at the picture below:

Notice how it calls for creating a given number of groups with a set number of objects in each group. One way to divide, therefore, is to minus groups of 4 from the whole. Hence, 12 – 4 – 4 – 4 = 0. Students will be taught to try out this strategy, as well as others like “dealing” out objects into groups like you would do with playing cards (one in this group, then one in that group; two in this group, and two in that group; etc.). Like with multiplication, there is no expectation that kids work without objects or pictures to perform operations.

Our science focus this term is on air and weather! In lots of hands-on lessons, students will learn to: ask questions and make claims; design investigations to test them; collect and analyze data; and draw conclusions. This week, students will engage in observations and investigations designed to get them thinking and wondering about air and water. And a quick web search will present you with lots of kid-friendly sites such as these, which we will use in class:

http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/

Kids investigating and explaining what it means to divide:

Week 14 December 3

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Posted by kavery508 | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on December 3, 2018

This Tuesday marks our first Early Release Day! Teachers will be engaging in Professional Development across the district. I’ll be planning meaningful ways to integrate technology across the curriculum using available hardware and online platforms. Note: There is no lunch period on Early Release Days. However, we will have a snack break at 11:30 since kids are used to eating at that time of day. Of course, it’s up to you whether you’d like your child to eat something then or wait till s/he gets home!

This week I will be starting a snowflake jar (like a marble jar) in class for earning points toward a class celebration before the holidays. I’m looking to encourage habits of mind, especially good cooperation skills and self-regulationEach day the kids will evaluate themselves with my help, and snowflakes will be added for each accomplishment, helping us reach our goal.

Our celebration will be on Friday, December 21st. Kids will be invited to wear pajamas at school (more on the details to come), and we will spend the day honoring each other’s accomplishments so far. In addition, we’ll have a winter sing-a-long with the whole school; create a working craft to help measure weather at home this winter; write a narrative to accompany Raymond Brigg’s The Snowman; and more!

Winter’s on its way! Our classroom is in need of bottles of hand sanitizer to keep us germ free. This is especially important because there is no sink in our room for students to wash our hands. Please send in a bottle or two, and thank you.

Our CAFE focus this week is on Stop, Think, Paraphrase (STP). This year, students are learning to think about the text before, during, and after reading. This strategy is designed to get them to think about what was important information on each page they read. After reading a page, students should pause to reflect and summarize the important information in a sentence or two. It’s especially helpful when reading nonfiction, to help them understand the main idea and supporting details put forth by the author. Kids can practice at home with articles from Time for Kids and Sports Illustrated Kids! In the case of online articles, STP can be used after paragraphs.

Our next area of study in math is multiplication. The focus for instruction is on recognizing that multiplication means adding equal groups of a set. Students will use objects, pictures, and symbols in order to show this addition. Then they will be taught the algorithm ___ x ___ = ___, in which the first number refers to the number of groups and the second number refers to the amount of objects which get added. For example, in 5 x 2 = 10, students should recognize that this means there are 5 groups of 2 objects which are added together to get 10 (illustrated below). At this time, there is no expectation that kids do this in their heads, only with support of objects and pictures.

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