Fabulous Weather Weekend
The weather was BEAUTIFUL, we needed the rain too! I hope everyone took the time to go outside and enjoy it!
~Great Running Weather~
Bailly's SUPER Word of the week:
School Spirit: enthusiasm and loyalty to one's school
1st Grade LA
Connections Continued: This week we defined the word categories as a group of things or ideas that are similar in one or more ways. I divided the connection cards we worked with last week among our table groups. Each table had to put the cards into categories and explain to the class why they chose that category. We have some creative thinkers in this group!! On Tuesday we discussed our unit generalizations. I explained we needed to find statements that were always or almost always true about connections. This activity needed a little guidance, it's a pretty abstract idea for a first grader, but they got it!! Last, for fun the students were shown different common signs and symbols. They needed to tell the class what it meant by the connection they made when they saw it. The best part of our class happened as we walked back to everyone's classes. There was a sign on the floor by the water fountain (can you make the connection😉), one of the kids yelled, "A CONNECTION"! Not exactly the best hallway behavior; but when a student gets excited to share what they've learned, I'm not going to complain!!
The weather was BEAUTIFUL, we needed the rain too! I hope everyone took the time to go outside and enjoy it!
~Great Running Weather~
Bailly's SUPER Word of the week:
School Spirit: enthusiasm and loyalty to one's school
1st Grade LA
HOMEWORK: If your child did not turn in their 'Coat of Arms' packet this week, it is NOT too late. We will start to assemble everything on Monday.
1st Grade MA
Meeting Imi and Zani: Since our assessment test is over and done with we were able to start our math unit! The first week is introducing the students to Imi and Zani and learning our mathematician speaker and listener roles. Imi and Zani are 2 birds from the Amazon Rain Forest who create math games for the Amazon Birds Consulting Company. We will communicate with them over the year via letters and Think Deeplys. The birds will send letters asking for our help and we will send our ideas and responses through our Think Deeply writings. I will explain what a Think Deeply is in the next couple of weeks. This all makes our learning a little more entertaining. We were also able to jump into SHAPES with a "What's the Same About These Shapes?" worksheet. Our math curriculum is geometry based, shapes will become our best friends by the end of the year!
2nd Grade LA
Categories into Generalizations: On Monday the students shared their connection category examples with the class. We were able to see how connections could fit into more than one category. I then asked the class what other observations or GENERALIZATIONS they noticed about our connections. We figured connections:
~show a relationship among objects, places, ideas, and people
~can be intellectual, physical, emotional, or social
~can change or stay the same over time
These generalizations are important and will be displayed in our room all year. Every lesson we will identify connections in poems, books, characters, ect. These generalizations of connections will be the back bone in our lessons.
Next week we will continue where we left off. The students were placed in 3 groups based on one of the 3 generalizations they choose. Together, they will write 3 examples or reasons why they believe their chosen generalization is true.
2nd Grade MA
Think Deeply: We started off the week with a sample Think Deeply. A Think Deeply is how we use words to explain what we have learned in our lesson. It enables the students to use their new math vocabulary to help explain their ideas. In this TD students had to identify from 2 groups which one consisted of ONLY triangles. While they found no difficulty in that task, they then needed to explain WHY a group was only triangles. They needed to use vocabulary such as polygons, triangles, vertices, and sides. They also had to include characteristics of these words such as closed vs. open shapes and simple vs. not simple shapes. We did this as a class to make sure everyone is using detail, vocabulary, and key concepts in explaining their math ideas.
3rd Grade LA
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| Your child should be able to tell you how this is an interaction. |
Interaction Generalizations: We came to the conclusion that interactions have three generalizations:
~Interactions can be accidental or purposeful.
~Interactions can be negative or positive.
~Interactions can have a fleeting influence or can leave a deep and lasting impression.
Once we were able to develop these generalizations the class was divided into 3 groups. Each group needed to give an example of BOTH parts to each generalization. A couple were having difficulty distinguishing between an interaction and a connection (what they studied last year). Making a list of NON-interactions helped a lot. The class was able see and discuss how a connection did not always mean an interaction.
3rd Grade MA
Think Deeply: It's early, but we started one already. Third graders are going to be expected to write a little bit more in their Think Deeply this year. I will be expecting each lesson's new vocabulary to be used along with any new concepts or visuals. AND let us NOT forget the ever important PQA!!!!!!! The first TD we started together. Next week I will allow the students to finish then partner check. This will be a great time for the class to learn from each other through great examples OR guided help. I will be walking around listening and making sure everyone understands what the third grade expectations of a Think Deeply are.
4th Grade LA
Interview HOMEWORK: On Tuesday everyone was given an interview sheet for homework. The students were supposed to interview an adult about a 'Change' that occurred in their life. This is supposed to be a multi paragraph paper. Please make sure, if you are the one being interviewed, they use ALL the lines. Details are great to have when writing. It is due Monday. HOWEVER, I will take them on Tuesday because we will be journal writing about Change on Monday.
4th Grade MA
Fractions and Behavior: Going into my second year, I am finding 4th grade math to be my most challenging yet entertaining class. I'm not sure if it's the age or the age/subject combination but this class reminds me so much of the last year's (that's not a bad thing). I've had the students start bringing their Bailly Bucks to class. This bunch is a bit talkative. When we are in a small area with limited time it becomes very hard to accomplish everything in my plans. With that being said, the Bailly Bucks are working GREAT! I've seen a huge improvement in behaviors!!
Now about those fractions. We are almost done with our equivalent fraction folds. On Thursday the students finished their 1/5 strips and needed to go on to 1/10 strips. All of the equivalent fraction strips we are making will be used in our next section. Making these strips allow the students to see the relationship between fractions, such as: 1/3, 1/6 and 1/12 or 1/5 and 1/10.
*My tablet was not saving pictures for whatever reason this week. It is fixed and ready to go for Monday*
