Thursday, October 26, 2017
Thursday, October 26th - Adair Park Field Trip!
It was a beautiful day to walk and experience history!
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Wednesday, October 18th
Happy Wednesday!
It has been an incredibly busy and fun week!
We have enjoyed spirit week to celebrate DHS Homecoming. Tomorrow is FAVE spirit wear day!
We have been inquiring into the causes of day and night and the seasons. Students used globes and flashlights to model the process of day and night. They should be able to explain that day and night are caused by Earth's rotation on its tilted axis and the seasons are caused by Earth orbiting on a tilted axis around the sun causing more direct sunlight to hit the northern and southern hemispheres at different times of the year.
We also completed a team building activity of tower building during morning meeting.
We spent the early part of the week exploring factors and multiples, as well as prime and composite numbers. We created the Sieve of Eratosthenes to model prime and composite numbers on a hundreds chart.
Picture proofs will be coming home tomorrow! Retakes will take place on Tuesday of next week.
Have a great evening!
It has been an incredibly busy and fun week!
We have enjoyed spirit week to celebrate DHS Homecoming. Tomorrow is FAVE spirit wear day!
We have been inquiring into the causes of day and night and the seasons. Students used globes and flashlights to model the process of day and night. They should be able to explain that day and night are caused by Earth's rotation on its tilted axis and the seasons are caused by Earth orbiting on a tilted axis around the sun causing more direct sunlight to hit the northern and southern hemispheres at different times of the year.
We also completed a team building activity of tower building during morning meeting.
Picture proofs will be coming home tomorrow! Retakes will take place on Tuesday of next week.
Have a great evening!
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Tuesday, October 11th
We had day filled with hard work!
Students worked to were prompted to respond a few questions in a small group. The purpose was to get them thinking about why people choose to move to a new country, and why the choose to live in a certain area of that country. After a small group discussion, some ideas were shared. This is a connection to the reasons that the colonists began moving to "the new world" after it was claimed by European explorers.
We examined commonly used models of the solar system and then created our own! Students used toilet paper to create a solar system model that represented the relative distance of the planets from the sun. We then described weaknesses of typical models of the solar system, as well as our own. How could we change them to make them more accurate?
Students were taught a new strategy for multiplication called partial products. An example is below. We were able to make connection between partial products and our previous strategy of using area models.
We also used some problem solving strategies by working backwards. Students were given the answers and tasked to come up with the question.
If you have not yet signed and returned the field trip permission form for our upcoming field trip to Adair park, please send it in as soon as possible. Thank you!
See you tomorrow!
Students worked to were prompted to respond a few questions in a small group. The purpose was to get them thinking about why people choose to move to a new country, and why the choose to live in a certain area of that country. After a small group discussion, some ideas were shared. This is a connection to the reasons that the colonists began moving to "the new world" after it was claimed by European explorers.
We examined commonly used models of the solar system and then created our own! Students used toilet paper to create a solar system model that represented the relative distance of the planets from the sun. We then described weaknesses of typical models of the solar system, as well as our own. How could we change them to make them more accurate?
See you tomorrow!
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Thursday, October 6th
Happy Thursday!
This week has sped by so quickly! I had the explorer study guide printed and stapled....ready to go, and was so engrossed in math at the end of our day that we ran out of time to pack up. Never fear! It is already sitting at everyone's spot to bring home tomorrow. They will also bring home their journals. These should be returned on Tuesday. In the meanwhile, this picture is a snap shot of some of our review from today. :)
The class is doing so well working with area models to solve multi-digit multiplication equations. Some common mistakes are adding instead of multiplying or leaving off a zero from the product. See the example.
See you tomorrow!
This week has sped by so quickly! I had the explorer study guide printed and stapled....ready to go, and was so engrossed in math at the end of our day that we ran out of time to pack up. Never fear! It is already sitting at everyone's spot to bring home tomorrow. They will also bring home their journals. These should be returned on Tuesday. In the meanwhile, this picture is a snap shot of some of our review from today. :)
The class is doing so well working with area models to solve multi-digit multiplication equations. Some common mistakes are adding instead of multiplying or leaving off a zero from the product. See the example.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Monday, October 2nd
Happy Monday!
We are off to a busy start this week! Some Genius Hour groups have begun generating ideas to solve problems. We are inquiring into inventions and how they are created out of a need. Ask your child to tell you more!
We continued our inquiry into the characteristics of stars today. Through exploration, students have discovered what we know about stars based on their color, brightness, and size. We also discovered some shockingly large numbers when inquiring into the number of stars in our galaxy and beyond.
We began exploring the difference between the topic of a nonfiction book or passage and the main idea. Students reread a passage from last week, completing a chart about the topic and main idea. We also utilized Compass Learning to support our informational text understanding.
In communication folders you will find a manilla folder with information about Math-a-thon. This is our biggest school fundraiser of the year! You will also find a permission form for our upcoming field trip to Adair Park. If you have already sent in the $70 for all of the field trips, you do not need to send another payment. If you have not sent in the payment, the cost of this field trip is $11.
Scholastic Book Orders were also included in the communication folder. If you wish to purchase books, please send in a check or order online by October 13th. Our online class code is MDNZB.
Have a great evening!!
We are off to a busy start this week! Some Genius Hour groups have begun generating ideas to solve problems. We are inquiring into inventions and how they are created out of a need. Ask your child to tell you more!
We continued our inquiry into the characteristics of stars today. Through exploration, students have discovered what we know about stars based on their color, brightness, and size. We also discovered some shockingly large numbers when inquiring into the number of stars in our galaxy and beyond.
We began exploring the difference between the topic of a nonfiction book or passage and the main idea. Students reread a passage from last week, completing a chart about the topic and main idea. We also utilized Compass Learning to support our informational text understanding.
In communication folders you will find a manilla folder with information about Math-a-thon. This is our biggest school fundraiser of the year! You will also find a permission form for our upcoming field trip to Adair Park. If you have already sent in the $70 for all of the field trips, you do not need to send another payment. If you have not sent in the payment, the cost of this field trip is $11.
Scholastic Book Orders were also included in the communication folder. If you wish to purchase books, please send in a check or order online by October 13th. Our online class code is MDNZB.
Have a great evening!!
Monday, September 25, 2017
Monday, September 25th
Welcome back, Super Squad!!!
It was so wonderful to see you after our long week off from school! I hope you enjoyed your break.
We kicked our week off in a great way! Students were excited to see each other and share what they had been up to in the past week.
We continued inquiring into reasons for explorations, outcomes of explorations, and new perspectives associated with exploration. Students were given an envelope that they were not to touch. Later, they were told that they could explore the envelope, but not open it. They were tasked to determine what was inside. We has some great conversations about why they wanted to explore the envelope, strategies that were use to explore the envelope, and finally what they wondered while they were exploring. It was a fun activity with great conversation about exploration and discovery. Ask your child to tell you more!
We began comparing numbers using multiplication today. An example is that four is two times as many as 2. Students worked to solve multiplicative comparison word problems by creating an expression and solving to complete the equation. This gave them all of the clues needed to complete a small quilt.
We had a bit of excitement on the playground this afternoon. Your child may have told you about the baby squirrel that fell from its nest into the area where some of our class members were playing. They were great first responders, coming to get me right away. We were able to watch the squirrel, and with the help of another teacher, got a box and some paper towels to put the squirrel into to keep it safe. The squirrel did have some bleeding around its nose. Some of my fellow colleagues helped me find a nearby animal hospital that would accept wild animals. Ms. Plummer, our receptionist, was able to take the squirrel (I name "her" Buttercup) to the animal hospital after school. They said that the bleeding from the nose was common, and Ms. Plummer requested an update. I will pass it along as soon as I know more.
We start CogAT in the morning at 8:00. We will take it Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:00 and Thursday around 9:15. Our Village Gathering is on the schedule for Thursday at 8:00 in the Multi-purpose room.
Have a great evening!
It was so wonderful to see you after our long week off from school! I hope you enjoyed your break.
We kicked our week off in a great way! Students were excited to see each other and share what they had been up to in the past week.
We continued inquiring into reasons for explorations, outcomes of explorations, and new perspectives associated with exploration. Students were given an envelope that they were not to touch. Later, they were told that they could explore the envelope, but not open it. They were tasked to determine what was inside. We has some great conversations about why they wanted to explore the envelope, strategies that were use to explore the envelope, and finally what they wondered while they were exploring. It was a fun activity with great conversation about exploration and discovery. Ask your child to tell you more!
We had a bit of excitement on the playground this afternoon. Your child may have told you about the baby squirrel that fell from its nest into the area where some of our class members were playing. They were great first responders, coming to get me right away. We were able to watch the squirrel, and with the help of another teacher, got a box and some paper towels to put the squirrel into to keep it safe. The squirrel did have some bleeding around its nose. Some of my fellow colleagues helped me find a nearby animal hospital that would accept wild animals. Ms. Plummer, our receptionist, was able to take the squirrel (I name "her" Buttercup) to the animal hospital after school. They said that the bleeding from the nose was common, and Ms. Plummer requested an update. I will pass it along as soon as I know more.
Have a great evening!
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