We have had a lovely first part of the year! I hope you have a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving!
Enjoy, rest, and relax!
-Dave
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Friday, November 18, 2016
Rectangles, rectangles, rectangles...
This week our focus in math has been on rectangles. We have been investigating them, defining them, finding examples of them, describing them, drawing them and analyzing them. We have been focused on the fact that a rectangle is a closed shape with exactly four right angles, as well as the ways to find the area and perimeter of rectangles based on their dimensions.
During our writing work our focus has been on information, using paragraphs, and spelling the long-o sound. As we write we are working to produce enough volume as to be able to paragraph our writing, and we are working with the understanding that there are three markers that tell us when to start a new paragraph (ask your student what they are!).
We have also been reading some mysteries! When reading these we are discussing how reading a mystery is different than reading other types of novels. Readers of mysteries often get totally "sucked in" to the story and work to be the detective trying to solve the mystery. One thing we have talked a lot about is that when reading a mystery one has to use only the information provided in the book to keep the clues and suspects all in order.
We also have been investigating the industrial revolution through the lens of spinning and textile mills. We have been learning about the rise of water driven mills here in the Northeast.
I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!
-Dave
During our writing work our focus has been on information, using paragraphs, and spelling the long-o sound. As we write we are working to produce enough volume as to be able to paragraph our writing, and we are working with the understanding that there are three markers that tell us when to start a new paragraph (ask your student what they are!).
We have also been reading some mysteries! When reading these we are discussing how reading a mystery is different than reading other types of novels. Readers of mysteries often get totally "sucked in" to the story and work to be the detective trying to solve the mystery. One thing we have talked a lot about is that when reading a mystery one has to use only the information provided in the book to keep the clues and suspects all in order.
We also have been investigating the industrial revolution through the lens of spinning and textile mills. We have been learning about the rise of water driven mills here in the Northeast.
I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!
-Dave
Friday, November 4, 2016
Great weeks, end with puppies!
We had another great week this week. In math we have been working with repeated addition. As we lay this foundation for multiplication, we are reinforcing the prerequisite skills for multiplication (addition). We have also begun to see and think about repeated addition as "groups of." That is to say, along with thinking about 5+5+5+5+5=____, we are also thinking about 5 groups of 5 things. We are also working on crafting statements and questions that match these repeated addition strings.
Another focus this week has been writing, we are working to be sure that students spell the long a and long e sounds using the most prevalent patterns in English. Students are also concentrating on using paragraphs to organize their writing. On a more individual note, students each have an individual focus for writing. Some are; using paragraphs, writing legibly, adding illustrative details, and returning to the left margin.
During our reading group we are getting into a new unit about mysteries. We are investigating the different "mind work" that is involved when reading a mystery. Our first selection is a "Hardy Boys" mystery...expect to see your student carrying home some mysteries in the coming weeks!
On Friday, we had the opportunity to be visited by some puppies! One of the students in our class is related to a local dog breeder, and we were lucky to have a new litter of puppies come and share part of our morning with us! They were two week old balls of cuteness.
Have a great weekend!
Dave
Another focus this week has been writing, we are working to be sure that students spell the long a and long e sounds using the most prevalent patterns in English. Students are also concentrating on using paragraphs to organize their writing. On a more individual note, students each have an individual focus for writing. Some are; using paragraphs, writing legibly, adding illustrative details, and returning to the left margin.
During our reading group we are getting into a new unit about mysteries. We are investigating the different "mind work" that is involved when reading a mystery. Our first selection is a "Hardy Boys" mystery...expect to see your student carrying home some mysteries in the coming weeks!
On Friday, we had the opportunity to be visited by some puppies! One of the students in our class is related to a local dog breeder, and we were lucky to have a new litter of puppies come and share part of our morning with us! They were two week old balls of cuteness.
Have a great weekend!
Dave
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Conference Sign up
This is our conference sign up schedule. There will be a paper copy tomorrow at the Open House for you to fill out. As I confirm times with people I will add them here. Also, if you would like to put your name and time in the comments section I can add you to the schedule that way!
Thanks,
Thanks,
Dave
Time:
|
Monday November 7, 2016
| |
8:00
| Henry | |
8:20
| Max | |
3:45
| ||
Tuesday November 8, 2016
| ||
8:00
| ||
8:20
| ||
3:45
| Paige | |
Wednesday November 9, 2016
| ||
8:00
| Willow | |
8:20
| ||
Friday November 11, 2016
| ||
8:00
| Morgan | |
8:20
| Cody | |
8:40
| Grace | |
9:00
| Gavin | |
9:20
| Braden | |
9:40
| Katrina | |
10:00
| Slade | |
10:20
| Aiden | |
10:40
| Adam | |
11:00
| Dallas | |
11:20
| ||
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Field Trip Reminder
Just to remind everyone, we will be traveling to the Barre Opera House tomorrow to watch a play!
Our bus leaves promptly at 9:00!
Dave
Our bus leaves promptly at 9:00!
Dave
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Continued strong work in math.
In math recently we have been working on equivalency. Our focus has been on understanding that the = means that whatever is on the right side of the = is the same as what is on the left.
We have been exploring this by putting expressions on either side of this symbol, and proving that they are equal. We also have worked to show that expressions with different operations can be equivalent to one another...
We have been exploring this by putting expressions on either side of this symbol, and proving that they are equal. We also have worked to show that expressions with different operations can be equivalent to one another...
19 - 7 = 6 + 6
We have also worked with the notion that a statement can be equivalent...
12 - 4 = Dave had a dozen donuts, and on the car ride from Winooski to East Montpelier he ate 4, so now he has 8 donuts.
Today we moved to having students use their power of inquiry to fill in possible answers to the following equivalencies...
This was an enlightening experience as students worked in small groups to create some equivalencies, and we quickly saw that there were many possibilities for each one.
-Dave
Monday, October 3, 2016
Sorry I missed posting on Friday!
All of us were out and about enjoying our hikes and so much so that we missed a blog post! Sorry about that. Last week, as well as this we have a few different focus areas in our class.
In all areas we are following a routine for entering a conversation. While this seems mundane the practice of raising a hand and waiting for recognition is two-fold. First it allows individual voices to be heard in a conversation, while at the same time allowing others participants in the conversation to really absorb the discussion. It also controls the pace of a discussion, giving down time for reflective participants to generate their contribution. We are really gaining strength with this routine, and having some wonderful discussions.
In math we are focused on subtraction. We are working on finding the differences between numbers both mentally and with pencil and paper. We are slowly moving toward using the standard american algorithm and notation for subtraction, and working to generate a deep understanding of how these processes show the relation of the numbers involved.
During our writing time we have been generating reasonable amounts of writing, generating empathy in our readers, and crafting strong leads. We will continue along with these in mind, as well as work on moving from a large block of text that covers a page, to paragraphs that group thoughts and ideas together.
Finally, we will have a field trip on October 19. We will be travelling to the Barre Opera House to see a production of Jigsaw Jones and the Case of the Class Clown. During this performance we will be looking for evidence of when the author wants us to pay attention to a list of information, or make a mental movie.
-Dave
In all areas we are following a routine for entering a conversation. While this seems mundane the practice of raising a hand and waiting for recognition is two-fold. First it allows individual voices to be heard in a conversation, while at the same time allowing others participants in the conversation to really absorb the discussion. It also controls the pace of a discussion, giving down time for reflective participants to generate their contribution. We are really gaining strength with this routine, and having some wonderful discussions.
In math we are focused on subtraction. We are working on finding the differences between numbers both mentally and with pencil and paper. We are slowly moving toward using the standard american algorithm and notation for subtraction, and working to generate a deep understanding of how these processes show the relation of the numbers involved.
During our writing time we have been generating reasonable amounts of writing, generating empathy in our readers, and crafting strong leads. We will continue along with these in mind, as well as work on moving from a large block of text that covers a page, to paragraphs that group thoughts and ideas together.
Finally, we will have a field trip on October 19. We will be travelling to the Barre Opera House to see a production of Jigsaw Jones and the Case of the Class Clown. During this performance we will be looking for evidence of when the author wants us to pay attention to a list of information, or make a mental movie.
-Dave
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