This week we have been working hard in lots of areas. During math we have been working with fractions, in writing we have reflected on work, and self assessed using checklists, during discovery we made some fantastic mini-books, and in reader's workshop we have been focused on point of view.
In math our focus has been on fractions. We are working on the understanding that fractions are parts of one whole. Also important in this understanding is that with the knowledge of the value of one part a person can find the value of the whole. To practice this we have been using some manipulatives in the form of fraction strips...these are really just pieces of paper that we put through different "machines." For example, to make a one half, we put a one whole through the half-machine once (to do this we fold the paper in half once), we can use this machine to make 1/2s, 1/4s, 1/8s, 1/16s...you get the idea.
Students in this class are ravenous for writing. We have been starting out our unit on opinion writing. In this unit we will be working on generating thesis statements, backing these up with reasons, and bolstering our reasons with specific evidence. Throughout this week students have self-assessed their own work, and made thoughtful revisions.
As our human body unit continues we are beginning and investigation of the circulatory system, and wrapping up our work with bones. The bones investigation has yielded some interesting mini-books. These were created this week and are composed of interesting information we have learned about bones. These books are scheduled to come home today, and are really cool, make sure to check them out!
Finally in reader's workshop we have been working on identifying the different points of view encountered in text. Our focus has been on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person. To increase understanding of these perspectives students have been identifying passages in their books that have a particular point of view, and transforming them into another point of view.
I hope this post finds you well and that you have a restful and relaxing weekend.
-Dave
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Blood Drive info.
Yesterday we had
the pleasure of welcoming Bill Scannell from The American Red Cross as a guest
speaker. Bill taught the third and
fourth graders about the four components of blood: red blood cells, white blood
cells, plasma, and platelets. The
students learned what the function and importance of each of these components
are and why people may need the gift of blood.
Did you know
that an adult has 8-12 pints of blood in their body and you only donate 1
pint?
On Monday,
April 27th the third and fourth grades will be hosting a blood drive
in the EMES gym. This is a wonderful opportunity
to connect our work studying the human body with real world application, give
back, and work with our community.
Our students
will work with the Red Cross to run the blood drive, by recruiting blood
donors, working the registration table, the food table, helping the nurses, and
handing out thank you cards.
In your
child’s Friday folder, you will find information about the blood drive as well
as a place to sign up online if you wish to donate. If your child is not comfortable
participating in the gym during the blood drive, that is okay! They can help make posters and thank you
cards.
Please read
the information/permission slip in this week’s Friday folder. If you have any other questions please
contact Christine Christiano at cchristiano@u32.org
or Jennifer Fitch jfitch@u32.org, or myself, at dwillard@u32.org.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
How the time goes when you are having fun!
As the last couple weeks have passed, we have really been in a groove. Students are really hitting their stride during our writing time. All students have been achieving our goal of producing lots of writing, and the quality that they have been producing is fantastic! We will be starting a new writing unit next week. This unit will focus on writing to state and show opinion...get ready for some strong evidence and convincing coming your way!
We have also continued our work studying human body systems. We collected data on the amount of air we can hold in our lungs, and graphed with in relation to the duration that we could hold our breath doing different activities. While this was not necessarily the most credible data ever collected it gave us some very interesting results to discuss. This work was also valuable as it gave us time to practice with the scientific method, collect and review data, and refine some of our analysis skills.
Math has been going quickly. Each day our hour seems shorter. We have two groups currently working in math, one is focused on fractions, and the other on foundation facts. Our foundation facts group is working to build automaticity with the foundation facts in multiplication, and our fractions group is working on understanding how fractions interact with one another, and with whole numbers.
Our reader's workshop time has also been interesting. We have worked really hard on the difference and use of figurative and literal language. It is amazing how astute and observant these students are during our read alouds. We have just recently switched our focus to be on the point of view stories are told by, and we are currently finishing up the first person account of Sam Gribley!
I look forward to seeing all of you next week for our conferences. I have been sending home hard copies, and there is a page tab on the top of this blog with the conference schedule as well. If you still wish to have a conference and don't see you student's name on the schedule, please let me know so we can get one scheduled.
We have also continued our work studying human body systems. We collected data on the amount of air we can hold in our lungs, and graphed with in relation to the duration that we could hold our breath doing different activities. While this was not necessarily the most credible data ever collected it gave us some very interesting results to discuss. This work was also valuable as it gave us time to practice with the scientific method, collect and review data, and refine some of our analysis skills.
Math has been going quickly. Each day our hour seems shorter. We have two groups currently working in math, one is focused on fractions, and the other on foundation facts. Our foundation facts group is working to build automaticity with the foundation facts in multiplication, and our fractions group is working on understanding how fractions interact with one another, and with whole numbers.
Our reader's workshop time has also been interesting. We have worked really hard on the difference and use of figurative and literal language. It is amazing how astute and observant these students are during our read alouds. We have just recently switched our focus to be on the point of view stories are told by, and we are currently finishing up the first person account of Sam Gribley!
I look forward to seeing all of you next week for our conferences. I have been sending home hard copies, and there is a page tab on the top of this blog with the conference schedule as well. If you still wish to have a conference and don't see you student's name on the schedule, please let me know so we can get one scheduled.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Geez, it has been a long time...
..since I posted! I apologize for the absence. We have continued our hard work, and begun some very interesting investigations.
We are currently in the midst of some writing focus groups. These groups are zooming in on different writing skills to really deepen student understanding of how and why authors use different devices in their writing, and different tools for editing. One group is focused on creating structure for our writing to grow within, adding transition words to pieces of writing, and crafting enticing introductions and mindful conclusions. Another group is working on adding figurative language to illuminate ideas and bring writing to life. Our third group is working on following conventions while writing, these include scouring work for punctuation, and building dictionary skills.
Math has been quite interesting indeed. We are continuing our work on multiplication and division. Most recently we have been investigating the difference between 10 divided by 2, and 1/2 of 10. That is to say that the former is, two even groups of five, while the latter is only 5. This is a tricky but important concept to build to deepen number sense in students. We have also been continuing our work on foundation facts, building fluency and automaticity with these.
The human body is our current focus in discovery. We began by investigating the brain and it's different parts and functions. From there, we have moved to the respiratory system. Our work in this system is focused mostly on the lungs and their capacity, and we have been using an investigative approach to design our own experiments to measure lung volume. This work has also led to engaging and lively discussions about states of matter, conservation of volume, and displacement.
As always, I hope this post finds you well and that you have a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend!
Dave
We are currently in the midst of some writing focus groups. These groups are zooming in on different writing skills to really deepen student understanding of how and why authors use different devices in their writing, and different tools for editing. One group is focused on creating structure for our writing to grow within, adding transition words to pieces of writing, and crafting enticing introductions and mindful conclusions. Another group is working on adding figurative language to illuminate ideas and bring writing to life. Our third group is working on following conventions while writing, these include scouring work for punctuation, and building dictionary skills.
Math has been quite interesting indeed. We are continuing our work on multiplication and division. Most recently we have been investigating the difference between 10 divided by 2, and 1/2 of 10. That is to say that the former is, two even groups of five, while the latter is only 5. This is a tricky but important concept to build to deepen number sense in students. We have also been continuing our work on foundation facts, building fluency and automaticity with these.
The human body is our current focus in discovery. We began by investigating the brain and it's different parts and functions. From there, we have moved to the respiratory system. Our work in this system is focused mostly on the lungs and their capacity, and we have been using an investigative approach to design our own experiments to measure lung volume. This work has also led to engaging and lively discussions about states of matter, conservation of volume, and displacement.
As always, I hope this post finds you well and that you have a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend!
Dave
Friday, February 20, 2015
Another excellent week!
What a week! We finished out our winter fitness fun, finalized our unit on informational writing, practiced math facts, and studied the difference between figurative and literal language.
This week concluded our winter fitness fun. What a fantastic time this has been. Over the five weeks of this program students have learned to ice skate, starting skiing, increased their proficiency nordic skiing, and had a lot of fun. This program was new to us this year, and was grant funded. We will be working hard to keep this program going in the future! We would also like to thank all of the parent volunteers who participated. Parent involvement is so helpful in endeavors like this one.
We have also completed a unit on non-fiction writing. Throughout the course of this unit students have, practiced research and citation, crafting engaging text, adding text features, and created work that they can be proud of! The skills used in this unit will be revisited after our break as we investigate the human body.
While talking about the human body...we are starting a new unit, and our current focus in on the brain. This is such an interesting subject. Thus far we have looked into the Stroop Effect, and investigated the different hemispheres of the brain an what they control. We have also investigated how impulses travel throughout our bodies to deliver sensory input information to our brains.
Finally we are looking into literal and figurative language. For this we are using one of my favorite books The Tiger Rising. This is a Kate DiCamillo book, and throughout it's course she artfully weaves figurative and literal language together. What a great read!
I hope this reader finds you well, and that you have a relaxing and fun February Break!
-Dave
This week concluded our winter fitness fun. What a fantastic time this has been. Over the five weeks of this program students have learned to ice skate, starting skiing, increased their proficiency nordic skiing, and had a lot of fun. This program was new to us this year, and was grant funded. We will be working hard to keep this program going in the future! We would also like to thank all of the parent volunteers who participated. Parent involvement is so helpful in endeavors like this one.
We have also completed a unit on non-fiction writing. Throughout the course of this unit students have, practiced research and citation, crafting engaging text, adding text features, and created work that they can be proud of! The skills used in this unit will be revisited after our break as we investigate the human body.
While talking about the human body...we are starting a new unit, and our current focus in on the brain. This is such an interesting subject. Thus far we have looked into the Stroop Effect, and investigated the different hemispheres of the brain an what they control. We have also investigated how impulses travel throughout our bodies to deliver sensory input information to our brains.
Finally we are looking into literal and figurative language. For this we are using one of my favorite books The Tiger Rising. This is a Kate DiCamillo book, and throughout it's course she artfully weaves figurative and literal language together. What a great read!
I hope this reader finds you well, and that you have a relaxing and fun February Break!
-Dave
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Bus Camera Letter
East Montpelier Elementary School
665 Vincent
Flats Road
East
Montpelier, VT 05651
802-223-7936
Marion Anastasia, Ed.D., Principal
Alicia Lyford, M.Ed., Assistant Principal
February 17, 2015
Dear
Parents/Guardians of EMES Bus Riders,
The
letter is to inform you that First Student will be installing cameras on our
busses over February vacation. Our primary
goal is to transport students safely to and from school. In order to accomplish
this goal, we need the cooperation of our bus riders. Appropriate student behavior while entering,
riding, and leaving the bus contribute to safe transportation. Such conduct makes it possible for the driver
to give full attention to the roadway and other drivers.
Having
cameras on the buses will allow us to monitor the behaviors and enhance the
safety of your children. The EMES Bus
Discipline Policy states “Student behavior may be monitored by video cameras
and other monitoring procedures.” Please
be assured that no persons, except the Administration may view the videos to
protect the FERPA rights of all our children.
Thank
you for your support for helping us with compliance of bus expectations!
Best,
Marion
Friday, February 13, 2015
A chilly and fun week!
This week we all experienced our fourth winter fitness Thursday! We also finished some of our writing. Over the past few weeks students have been working on researching and writing informational books. This work has taken the form of books focused on Vermont. Throughout this unit of study students have practiced elaborating their writing, adding mini-stories to their writing, and verifying facts that they are writing about.
We have also begun a deep investigation into words by practicing "word consciousness." This practice follows us into the books we are reading and encourages us to search for and identify different literary devices the authors employ. Some of our favorites are simile, metaphor, and hyperbole. Check in with your student for their favorite.
On the topic of words and their importance, we have been working on word problems during math. Our focus has been to ascertain what the questions are asking, by focusing on the words used in the problems. From these word problems we have been recording the expressions that will help us solve the problems, solving the problems, and finally checking our answers using the inverse operation of the one we used in the solution.
On a final and celebratory note, we have been working hard on reflection this year, and the fruit of that work is becoming evident. All students are interacting in a mindful manner with one another, and our community is an exceptionally strong one!
As always have a restful and invigorating weekend!
Dave
We have also begun a deep investigation into words by practicing "word consciousness." This practice follows us into the books we are reading and encourages us to search for and identify different literary devices the authors employ. Some of our favorites are simile, metaphor, and hyperbole. Check in with your student for their favorite.
On the topic of words and their importance, we have been working on word problems during math. Our focus has been to ascertain what the questions are asking, by focusing on the words used in the problems. From these word problems we have been recording the expressions that will help us solve the problems, solving the problems, and finally checking our answers using the inverse operation of the one we used in the solution.
On a final and celebratory note, we have been working hard on reflection this year, and the fruit of that work is becoming evident. All students are interacting in a mindful manner with one another, and our community is an exceptionally strong one!
As always have a restful and invigorating weekend!
Dave
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