Posted by kavery508 | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on April 8, 2019
Our School Meeting Friday focused on growth mindset, specifically taking risks. Using the book What Do You Do With a Chance (Yamada, 2018), students shared their everyday challenges and why taking a chance is worth it! You can read the story with your child by watching the video below (source: PV Storytime via Youtube.com).
Our reading comprehension spotlight this week is Understanding Cause and Effect. This is an essential skill for students to own. It helps them analyze storylines and character choices, and so develop a deeper understanding of what is read. As an example, we are reading together Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Dahl). Mr. Wonka shut down his factory then opened it to a lucky few. What events led to his actions, and how did they affect the town in which Charlie lives? How do the choices made by Charlie and the other children affect the outcome of the narrative? For more on Cause and Effect and using it at home, check out Reading Rockets: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/cause-and-effect
The kids have done a great job with writing poetry! The goal is to help kids think like a poets, with careful word choice, metaphor, and imagery. Here are some snippets from: 1) Ellie, 2) William, 3) Ekansh, 4) Kian, and 5) Luana: 1) Tiger//Stalks through the grass//Striped body quiet and controlled//as if a monster. 2) In winter it snows//with the frosty wind that blows,//And when you go out it’s like a wolf is biting you. 3) Dodgeball//As I look for the ball//something catches the glimpse of my eye//something blue//as if it were hunting for prey. 4) The hot sun blazes down to the ground.//The grass turns as brown as wood. The trees bloom as green as a bush. 5) Where I go my dog follows//I can’t pass be her//and when I go to school//I have to dash outside. –Awesome stuff!
Next, we return to Opinion Writing one last time. By year’s end, students achieving the standard should be able to write an introduction, opinion, 2 reasons with details and explanations, and a conclusion. Watch for the Writing Pillar organizer that comes home with your child’s writing. It lays it all out nicely!
This week we begin Chapter 14, which teaches kids to tell time to the 5 minutes on an analog clock; write the time in numbers or words; correctly identify AM and PM; and solve problems involving elapsed time (minutes or hours later/before). Check out the graphic above: students are being taught to identify time using the hour and minute hands; to tell minutes of any hour by counting “5s” around the clock; and to use those skills to calculate time elapsed. Mr. Nussbaum’s site has games kids can use at home (though be advised his sites come with many ads now). Let me know if you find other good ones!
