In the Classroom This past week in writing, we developed our sentences by asking the questions: Who?, What?, Where?, Why?, When?, and How? We brainstormed many examples of each in class. We discussed being creative in the way we combine some of these ideas, such as, putting certain people or animals in a strange place doing something they would not normally do, in order to create an interesting story line that will draw in the reader.
Student example: A couple of minutes ago, three unicorns were waiting in line for bus so they could get some chocolate ice cream. After we practiced developing our ideas by asking questions, we focused in on our language, specifically our adjectives or describing words. We practiced using a thesaurus to transform our "boring" words with super synonyms! At Home Connection Encourage your child to develop their ideas when writing at home with Who?, What?, Where?, When?, Why?, and How? questions. Also, encourage your child to underline bland words in their writing and replace them with super synonyms using an online thesaurus.
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Independent Reading at School
During our reading block, we engage in extended periods of independent, silent reading. Students choose good fit books, which are just right for them in terms of interest and level of difficulty. Students choose books from our classroom library, the LMC, and a special section of books requested by students that I borrow from the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. Independent Reading at Home Ask your child about the 3 finger rule for deciding if it is a good fit book and encourage them to use this rule when choosing books to read at the library or at home! Make frequent trips to the library to find books that your child won't be able put down. There are so many books like that out there for every child! You just need to find them! Librarians are excellent resources for doing so! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Purchase books from Scholastic Book Clubs When you order books from Scholastic Book Clubs, you support our class and help us earn free books! Thank you! clubs.scholastic.com/ CLASS CODE: It was so wonderful meeting parents at Curriculum Night this week! One thing we talked about that evening was our new math program, Math In Focus (MIF). At the heart of the MIF program is understanding concepts and problem solving. As we dived into the math curriculum this week, we are starting to do just that. Energizer We start each lesson with an energizer from Estimation 180 for building number sense. Visit the site http://www.estimation180.com to get a taste of the types of questions we work on daily. Also, ask your students about them! Problem of the Week Our lessons are followed by a Problem of the Week. Students take a few minutes each day to work on the same problem each week. This "productive struggle" approach teaches students to stick with a problem, try out different methods and strategies, engage in cooperative learning, and feel what it is like to be a real mathematician. Problems of the week are problems that require deep thought and time to solve. The answer is not immediately obvious. Students must apply their knowledge of math. For many students this kind of thinking will take time to develop. Please encourage your student to stick with problems and think of strategies for solving those they encounter at home and elsewhere. Math Vocabulary Next we discuss our math vocabulary by discussing definitions, examples, pictures, and more. It is important not only to know the concepts, but also to know the terminology. Many questions on standardized tests may ask a student to demonstrate a particular concept but if a student does not recognize the math vocabulary word, they may not know how to respond, even if they know the concept. Mini Lesson After a discussion of our math vocabulary, I do a quick mini lesson to introduce a new skill/ strategy that students can add to their math toolbox. I keep this very brief, so that we save most of our time for guided groups, station work, and independent learning. Guided Groups During guided groups, I pull one group of students (who have similar needs) at a time. With each group, I may reteach, review, or extend a concept, depending on their needs. This often involves manipulatives, math games, and/or working on pages in their math book/journal. Stations Stations are activity centers around the room that allow students to practice fluency, reinforce concepts, and/or work on individualized projects. Independent Learning Students also have time to do targeted or adaptive practice using technology. Some programs we will be using in our classroom are the following: -Zearn -Front Row -iXL -XtraMath I will be introducing these programs one at a time. This week, students accessed Zearn. We will spend the next week or two getting comfortable using this program. Please have your student spend about 15-20 minutes on this program each day. It is fun, kid friendly and has many excellent visuals for understanding concepts. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate! It was an amazing first week thanks to my incredibly bright, witty, and thoughtful class! Our first week involved getting-to-know-you activities, covering classroom expectations and safety procedures, taking learning surveys and pre-assessments, setting goals, and getting familiar with our classroom's nooks and crannies.
But my favorite experience this week would have to have been the community/ team building activities we did. My favorite being the Build-it Challenge Students worked in teams using 10 blocks to create the tallest tower possible. Then, after viewing and discussing each other's creations, they had an opportunity to rebuild-- this time with ten more blocks. Some students modified their design, and others chose to continue adding on to their original structure. I was very impressed by how each group made sure each member contributed to thinking of the design and executing it. They provided rationales for their own ideas, listened respectfully to the ideas of others, and made compromises. An amazing experience with so many learning opportunities, and all you need is a few blocks! |
AuthorMiss Amy Carroll Archives
March 2020
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