Reflecting on the week and looking forward to the rest of the year.

This week we have worked hard to increase our conceptual understanding of multiplication.  We have been working with the idea that all multiplication expressions can be represented by a rectangle, with the product of this expression being represented by the area of said rectangle.  We are also working on building the foundational skills needed to move forward our knowledge of multiplication.  This weekend you will notice that your student has brought home their math notebooks to practice the table of 5.  Many of the ladders on these notebooks have a few asterisks next to certain factors, these are the ones your student should focus on the most.  Please take few minutes a few times a day to practice these with your student.

We also have been working with biographies.  We have read biographies of civil rights leaders from our history, and yesterday did some group work to summarize the lives of some of these great leaders.  We are looking forward investigating biographies of some people of our choosing in the coming weeks, and we will be working on researching and writing about the people that we choose.

Also, looking forward, we are preparing for a unit on gardening and food systems this spring.  We will be starting some seedlings in our classroom, watching them grow, and nurturing them to health.  We are also looking to revitalize the small garden plot that our school has.  If you would like to be a part of this, please let me know.

Thanks, and have a wonderful weekend.

Dave

The dawn of a new week!

Monday morning is always an exciting and happy time for me.  We are getting revved up for a fresh week, while at the same time reflecting on the week past.  Last week we had an interesting mini-unit investigation on the dinosaur extinction.  We learned about a relatively new theory about this extinction.  The discussion that surrounded this learning was profound and in depth.  It was really interesting for students to think about the notions that they had to begin with, as well as, introducing themselves to new information.

As for this week, we will be starting another mini-unit based on books, we will be thinking about books that we love, forming a statement that captures the gist of that book, and making some artwork to show what we are thinking about.

Of late, I have been thinking about the importance of language in our learning, and we have worked really hard to help everyone in here have and hold onto a smooth statement that captures what we are working on, and the essence of the lesson.

I hope all is well!

-Dave