As we approach the end of the year, we as still keeping our sights trained on academia. We are working with American Tall Tales and Greek Myths. As we read these we have been comparing and contrasting them, seeing the similarities and defining the differences. This is one of my favorite units, as it helps to set some context for students in the parlance of our times. Also, these stories are just really fun to read and listen to.
In math we are working on our end of year assessments, finding lines of symmetry, and making some origami. The art of origami is one of my favorites, and we are entering the practice with an open mind to feel the relaxing effects that origami can provide. Although it can be easy to become frustrated when making origami we are working on letting our minds stay open, and being open to the possibility of correcting our minor folding errors.
Our final unit consists of three pieces of writing that span 3 genres. Students have chosen a topic that interests them and are working on creating a piece of narrative, informational, and opinion. The topics they have chosen span from hypnotism to Disney World, and encompass everything in between.
As we approach the end of the year I like to prepare families for the work that will be coming home. We will be cleaning house and sending home work during the following week. To this end, if you can equip your student with a grocery bag that will ease their work portage. I have found that paper grocery bags work best, although plastic can work as well. I will have a few on hand here, but if you think of it, and can send one along it would be wonderful.
I hope this note finds you well and that you have a relaxing and refreshing weekend.
Dave
Friday, June 5, 2015
Thursday, May 14, 2015
It is really feeling like spring!
Well, spring is here, and with it come some changes! We have been working on moving into deeper levels of understanding in math, polishing up some of our writing pieces, and we are starting to discuss and investigate the Greek origins of some words that we often use.
In math we are working to increase our depth of knowledge by applying and communicating math concepts. I like to think about the application of math as seeing math in the world...what are the real world connections to the math we are doing? We also are working on expressing the understanding that we have in math, and this ability to communicate shows a true and masterful grasp on the material.
In preparation for the author's tea/art show/spring concert we are getting a few pieces of writing polished up to show off! We have some serious writers in this class, topics range from minecraft, to landforms, even to toast! I think you will be impressed with the writing that is being produced!
We are also working on some standardized tests this week. Our current test is the SBAC. We have worked through the English and Language Arts portions, and will be starting on the Math next week. I am interested to see how the work we have done in math applies to the the SBAC.
As always, I hope you have a relaxing weekend, and make sure to clear your schedule for next week on Wednesday evening!
-Dave
In math we are working to increase our depth of knowledge by applying and communicating math concepts. I like to think about the application of math as seeing math in the world...what are the real world connections to the math we are doing? We also are working on expressing the understanding that we have in math, and this ability to communicate shows a true and masterful grasp on the material.
In preparation for the author's tea/art show/spring concert we are getting a few pieces of writing polished up to show off! We have some serious writers in this class, topics range from minecraft, to landforms, even to toast! I think you will be impressed with the writing that is being produced!
We are also working on some standardized tests this week. Our current test is the SBAC. We have worked through the English and Language Arts portions, and will be starting on the Math next week. I am interested to see how the work we have done in math applies to the the SBAC.
As always, I hope you have a relaxing weekend, and make sure to clear your schedule for next week on Wednesday evening!
-Dave
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Students are springing into learning!
The past few weeks have been very productive! In math we have continued our work with fractions, area, perimeter, multiplication and division. We have been working with rectangles. Using the area of rectangles we have found the dimensions of the rectangle, and using these dimensions we have found the perimeter. This is an important piece of mathematics, as it asks students to apply knowledge in multiplication and division to find something other than a product or a quotient.
We have continued our work on opinion writing. Students are working on crafting claims, backing these up with specific and connected reasons, and backing their reasons up with specific and connected evidence. Specifically this week we have had our focus on ordering our reasons to effect the most thought in our readers.
Our Discovery unit of the human body is coming to a close. Throughout this unit we have investigated bones, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, and the neurological system. We learned what parts of the brain are responsible for which functions, how much blood is pumped through our bodies, the capacity of our lungs and how it changes, and the different parts and functions of bones.
Finally during reader's workshop this week we have been working hard on summaries. We are working on being certain to include specific information from the books we are reading, as well as some "juicy bits" to keep people interested in what is being summarized. To develop this skill we have been using read aloud books by Chris Van Allsburg. These stories are intriguing, complex, and extremely engaging, and students are crafting engaging, complex and intriguing summaries.
As always, have a relaxing and energizing weekend.
-Dave
We have continued our work on opinion writing. Students are working on crafting claims, backing these up with specific and connected reasons, and backing their reasons up with specific and connected evidence. Specifically this week we have had our focus on ordering our reasons to effect the most thought in our readers.
Our Discovery unit of the human body is coming to a close. Throughout this unit we have investigated bones, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, and the neurological system. We learned what parts of the brain are responsible for which functions, how much blood is pumped through our bodies, the capacity of our lungs and how it changes, and the different parts and functions of bones.
Finally during reader's workshop this week we have been working hard on summaries. We are working on being certain to include specific information from the books we are reading, as well as some "juicy bits" to keep people interested in what is being summarized. To develop this skill we have been using read aloud books by Chris Van Allsburg. These stories are intriguing, complex, and extremely engaging, and students are crafting engaging, complex and intriguing summaries.
As always, have a relaxing and energizing weekend.
-Dave
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Another exciting week!
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
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
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
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