Posted by kavery508 | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on April 4, 2016
The countdown is on: Just 10 weeks to go! We’ve come so far and grown so much. The race to the finish is on!
Photo Source: Autism Speaks
Light it Up Blue! This week marks Autism Awareness around the world. At Floral St. School, we are committed to serving the diverse needs of Shrewsbury’s ever-changing population, including students whose needs lie within the autistic spectrum. In class, we will learn to understand the unique learning and behavior styles that accompany autism, in an effort to strengthen our school community. We will also create a bulletin board for display in the lobby showcasing our cultural and educational diversity in advance of this Friday’s School Meeting, which is all about the same. Our class will even lead grades one and two in song and sign language to mark the occasion (see video below). Students are encouraged to wear blue that day in a show of unity! Autism Speaks is a great source for learning more about autism and the many events happening this week.
Source: Peter and Ellen Allard via Youtube.com
Students have done great work stretching out the main events of their kite-experience stories, with description and red flags! From Karina: Just then, I saw leaves flying across the March sky. Suddenly, my kite got tangled with two other kids’! From Martin: I quickly got to the top and grabbed my kite. I lifted my arm and threw it into the air. It flew around in small circles and every once in a while, flapped up, then back down to the ground. From Aamir: I was surprised to see the dark, brown muddy spots on the ground. I slowly unraveled my rough, white paper kite. And from Teo: Just then, the wind went super crazy, like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. I had to hold it harder like it was flying titanium. Awesome!
Our next math topic for exploration involves standard units of measurement. Students will engage in hands-on activities to develop a sense of how big one foot and one inch are. They will learn to compare heights and lengths in standard units, and use their knowledge to solve real-world problems about measurement. Consider the picture above. Notice how it encompasses all three big ideas? Now think: how would you find the answers using bar models as well? There are vocabulary and picture resources added to math homework folders to help at home. If you’re following along with the eBook, this is Chapter 13, Lessons 1 & 2 this week.
In science, students will be introduced to the properties of solid objects. They will learn what makes a solid (molecules packed in regular arrangements; hold their shape) and scientific vocabulary of classification (rigid; flexible; pointed; opaque; translucent; etc.). They will apply these ideas as they explore and sort a variety of solid objects. Here are some pictures of our initial exploration on the properties of solids, liquids, and gels:
