~ FAMILY FRIDAY ~

Welcome Back!  It was great to see all of my students again this week.  We have many fun projects,as we are rapidly racing to our finish line.  This week I was feeling generous with our  quote, so each class got a chance to listen to a hint to figure it out. Our quote reminds us to not hide who we truly are or change to “fit in” with a certain stereotype.  All leading us back to be who you are and to be yourself!

I have had our final theme for May planned, since the beginning of the year.  I am excited to share that our theme for the month of May is Ohana.  This is a very special quote I personally use in my family, as it has slowly grown to be a motto in my personal household. I can’t wait to share this motto with them this month, as they have all extended my Ohana and made it grow by 29!

IMPORTANT DATES

May 1st - May 5th:  Teacher Appreciation Week

May 3rd:  Early Dismissal Day - 1:45pm

May 12:  Yost Fest

May 19th: No School - Reserved Snow Day

May 29th:  No School - Memorial Day

May 31st:  Last Day of School & End of 4th Grading Period

LANGUAGE ARTS

KINDERGARTEN:  FACT OR OPINION/ TO PERSUADE:  On Monday we were introduced to two new words:  a fact and an opinion.  We discussed how a fact will always be true and cannot be argued by someone.  On the contrary, an opinion is what you believe to be true, but can be argued.  We went through a set of sentences and decided if they were a fact or an opinion - which they did a great job with this project!  

Then it was onto persuasion.  We talked about how we can persuade someone to believe our opinion by using the Hamburger Model.  As a class, they chose to persuade me that the Cubs were better than the White Sox - talk about a tough one right out the gate! They had some good reasons, however it led us into the discussion of making sure our reasons were strong enough to persuade someone.  

They mentioned using that they won the World Series, which of course I countered with the Sox have also won the World Series.  They were quick on their feet stating we could use this against a team that has never won a world series, which would make it a  strong reason against maybe a Seattle Mariners Fan.  We continued walking through the steps of the Hamburger Model.

On Tuesday I demonstrated writing a story to a special object using the Hamburger Model.  Then it was time for them to try it.  They created their own piece of writing on persuasion and turned it into a hamburger.  Their goal was to convince me that their object was special - they had some strong reasons today.

1ST GRADE:  HIEROGLYPHICS:  On Monday, we had a little added practice with our Rebus Puzzles, since they enjoyed this unit so much.  We played 3 rounds of win-lose-or-draw.  To end the day, we looked at our new message. We needed to decode a Hieroglyphic Message.  After a few minutes of looking at the message, I explained to them that they would not be able to decode this until we studied Hieroglyphics further . For fun, I asked them to write what they thought the symbols represented.  They had some fun with this, as they created some silly stories.  

On Tuesday, I showed them one chart that represented a letter to a Hieroglyphic. After, they saw some similar symbols from their secret message,  they started to connect it back to yesterday’s secret message.  We then made 3 charts together as a class:  What we (think we) know, What we want to learn, What we learned. This led us into a discussion on our background knowledge, questioning our reading and new

learning.

 

They thought the chart titled what we (think we) know was silly.  So I challenged them with why our background knowledge might need to change.  They quickly realized that sometimes it might be wrong and we would need to correct it.  They will explore their new story next week to clarify and answer all of our questions we have on our new topic.

2ND GRADE:  THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX: We came in on Monday and briefly discussed the assigned reading from home.  We had some important events happen and they did a good job remembering those details. Then we finished reading Book the 3rd.  As we were reading we were again able to talk about the important details out-loud.  This was a great representation of our inner voice talking to us while we read.  

On Tuesday, it was time for our discussion on Book the Third.  We complete a worksheet which introduced some questions on comfort.  After we completed the worksheet, we identified the cycle Migs goes through in our story:  told to do something - misunderstands it & screws-up - receives a clout to the ear - causes her to slowly lose her hearing/ going deaf. This is her never-ending cycle throughout our story.  They are beginning to connect how she will become a part Roscuro’s Revenge, without intentionally being involved.  I will repeat this lesson with my friends that were out for the field trip on Tuesday, while the other students will read around the room.  

This week they were assigned to start Book the 4th.  They were assigned to read chapters 34-37.  We will continue with Book the 4th next week.

3RD GRADE:  PROBLEM-SOLVING:  They were introduced to the idea of problem-solution this week.  In a group, they brainstormed ideas related to cheating. They needed to pick their top choice and present it in a complete sentence.  Their top choice dealt with the idea not cheating off of another because you do not know if the other person has the correct answer.  This already led them to their solution of cheating - simply don’t do it and trust your own answers.

We took a look at one more problem from a discussion we shared on Monday.  Ms. L doesn’t like coasters - how can they help me get over my fear of coasters to ride them with my daughter.  Their first response was they were going to trick me onto it or force me onto it - to which I responded how can you force me onto it - I am not going!  Then they thought for a moment and the ideas started coming:  they would share stories, we would watch a video, we could look at pictures, go on virtual coasters. To end this activity, they thought it would be great to take and field trip and take Ms. L on a coaster...however, I might need some more time to prepare!

4TH GRADE:  IT’S A MYSTERY:  It is time for them to take on the role of the author. Over the past few weeks, we have researched about what makes a good mystery.  Now they are ready to write their own.  We reviewed what details their mystery should have - clues, red herring clues and suspects.  We had a brief discussion on how to use our red-herring clues to not give the mystery away to early.

 Then it was time for the twist - each student took a part to the story: characters, setting, plot, problems, ending.  They were each responsible for coming up with 25 ideas for their section.  

On Tuesday, they drew for the items that they would need to  incorporate into their story.  It is very clear that some of our mysteries might also follow the traits of humorous fiction.  They were allowed to trade in 2 of their picks for a new one, the chance they took - it might be better or worse!

 After they traded in their 2 they are locked into their story elements.  We will have class time next week to work on these and then they will share them with the class. I did explain to them depending on how well they utilize their class time, they might need to utilize time at home to finish their stories. They seem really excited about this project and I can’t wait to hear them when they present.  

MATH

KINDERGARTEN:  BAR GRAPHS:  On Wednesday, it was time for them to create their own Bar Graph with our data from our Favorite Desserts. This time they were in charge of recording all of the data. After they completed the graph, we looked at the data they recorded and answered some questions to what they discovered. We ended the day practicing writing different numbers in tally marks.

On Thursday, we changed to independent practice with a bar graph. They each chose a topic and recorded the data for the given chart. After they created their own chart, it was time for them to create some challenging questions to trade with a partner - to practice reading our data. This is where we will continue next week.

1ST GRADE:   WRAP-UP:  This week I had one friend that needed to take the end of the year wrap-up - to compare to the beginning of the year.  I worked individually with that student while my other friends enjoyed some math games on the IPADS from all of their hard-work last week.

I am very happy to see all of the growth from the beginning of the year preview to the end of the year assessment.  We had some HUGE gains!

On Thursday they completed some worksheets to see what would be our next topic to review before the end of the year.  

To end the day, we wanted to join in the Dance Party fun in HA.  We thought it would be a perfect way to celebrate all our hard work we completed for our friends Imi and Zani.

 

 Enjoy some photos from Crazy Hair Day and Dance Party Day!

2ND GRADE:  AREA - THE MEERKAT MOB:  On Wednesday, we finished discussing the scavenger hunt and reviewed all of the information we learned on area so far.  We did continue our wrap up on Thursday, to help our friends who were missing on Wednesday from the field trip. We discussed the different units of measurement we learned for area.

This led us into making sure we choose the right area for what we are measuring based on the size of the area.  We also discussed 4 strategies we learned to find area.  For my visual learners, it was using our tools in the room:  our cubed cm, 1 inch square tiles, 1 square foot scrapbook sheet, and our transparent grids.  Our other strategies our for our friends who love computation:  for both we find the dimensions first and then can find the area by repeated

addition or multiplication.

Next we had  to respond to our friends Dru and Teller.  They measured an area and got a number of 13.  We needed to decide what unit of measurement was used and explain how we knew it.  The last thing they asked was why we would use a transparent grid for area.

Many responded to check our first measurement or because it was easier then our cubes and tiles that tend to move on us.  

Next week - Chapter Check-up!

3RD GRADE:  LIQUID VOLUME - YUMMY YETI LEMONADE:  To begin class this week a few friends needed to finish their Think Deeply question from last week.  For those that were finished, I gave them another challenge on the board to convert.  After everyone had a chance to find the answer, we worked through the problem together as a class.  It was some added practice, which was perfect as we will add onto this in our next lesson.

On Thursday we looked at Let’s Make Yeti Lemonade as an introduction to our new topic.  First, they had to figure out the total number of people who would drink the lemonade.  Then they had to find out the number of cups needed if we allowed each person to have 2 cups.  This led us to a chart that showed a brand of lemonade, with the capacity it would provide for and the cost of the product.  
Our end goal we will finish next week, is what is the best value to purchase to provide the refreshment in this project?

4TH GRADE:  TRANSFORMATION - ON THE GRID:  It was time to wrap up our last lesson in our unit.  We took some extra time to discuss the Think Deeply question, since we had a small break with ISTEP.  We discussed finding our missing coordinates and the two different strategies we could do to complete this task.





 First for our visual learners you could simply graph the points you have and find a translation between two points to find the missing point.


They had trouble explaining this as they would skip the how they found the translation, so we went back and reviewed this step after they completed their Think Deeply.  Our other strategy was to make a chart with the original and prime coordinates.  Then look for the translation by finding the difference between two points.  It seems they all preferred our first strategy.  We will conclude this chapter next week.  

~ FLYING by FRIDAY ~

WELCOME!  This year is flying by - I cannot believe I am posting our last quote for April. Our quote this week had a lot of friends excited because they knew the answer!  We also talked about what was important from the quote - There is no one I would rather be than me.  My groups were quick to point out it meant to BE YOURSELF!  In my last class, I had one student look at the whole quote in a different way and I loved their thinking - they stated that some friends may be better at some things than us, but that doesn’t mean we should change to be like them because we might have a talent that our friends don’t. Leading us into a great conversations that we can compliment our friends with our different talents.  I love hearing their different interpretations to our quotes...This last Big Idea was shared from one of my 1st grade friends - what great thoughts!

IMPORTANT DATES

April 17th - April 28th:  ISTEP Testing Window

May 1st - May 5th:  Teacher Appreciation Week

May 3rd:  Early Dismissal Day - 1:45pm

May 12:  Yost Fest

May 19th: No School - Reserved Snow Day

May 29th:  No School - Memorial Day

May 31st:  Last Day of School & End of 4th Grading Period

Do What The Romans Do 2017:

Current high ability students in grades first through third have been invited to participate in the High Ability Summer School program!  The brochure went home giving you the specifics.  The program will create learning experiences based on reading.  These experiences will help students think more deeply, learn to take educational risks, and expand their knowledge base as well as give them an opportunity to develop their reading strategies while learning about Ancient Rome.  It will take place at Bailly Elementary School.  The 13-day session will begin on Monday, June 5th and end on Thursday, June 22, 2017.  Each school day will begin at 7:45 a.m. and end at 12:20 p.m.  Please turn your permission slip and money into the main office.  They are due next Friday, April 28th!  Any turned in after the deadline will be put on a waiting list.

LANGUAGE ARTS

KINDERGARTEN:  KNUFFLE BUNNY:  We started our week out by naming some connections.  This time we had a few Easter Connections.  After coming up with a list of connections, we again identified their relationships further.  Next, we talked about how questions don’t always have just one answer.  We discussed this idea further by looking at our 4-Levels of Questions...a Level One question will most likely have 1 answer, a Level 2 might have different answers based on our connections we are making, but should be in the same direction, Level 3 & 4 is where we will see the most variation in our responses.  Then we began to read Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems. Before reading our story, we defined the author and illustrator.  While reading our story today, we looked closely at the illustrations for clues to our story.  The illustrations led us to a discussion on the Caldecott Award, as this book has won this award.

On Tuesday, we started class by listing some connections from Knuffle Bunny to add to our growing list.  Then we worked through a series of our 4 Level Questions to our story.  We completed a worksheet where they drew their response to some of the questions asked. Then they chose 1 character from the story to complete the I Am worksheet.

1ST GRADE:  REBUS PUZZLES:   We finished our Rebus Story. Next, we discussed the importance of having Rebus Puzzles - to see the power of words and images when they come together to create meaning - most of the time for entertainment!  Then, it was time for them to create their own Rebus Puzzle from a list of terms we associate with the grocery store.

After they created 3 - they chose their favorite to complete in their workbooks.

They finished completing their final Rebus to share with the class on Tuesday. When they were done creating them in their workbooks - we took turns drawing them on the board for our classmates to guess them. We will move onto our next lesson next week.

2ND GRADE:

 THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX:

This week started out with a class discussion on Book the Second.  We listened to two poems comparing mice to rats.  These two poems depict their topics quite different - the mouse is portrayed as nice and the rats as evil.  This led us into a few of our questions for the day.  We then split into 2 groups - 1 group defined Despereaux and the other defined Roscuro.  

Looking at our lists we pulled out some similarities between the two characters. We have also concluded that the dungeon destroys the light in a person and our curious to see if our friend Despereaux can remain brave enough to survive the dark.  As we looked at our list, we made a prediction and are ready to explore further if our two characters are connected by Princess Pea 1 of our characters is in love with her and the other is out for revenge.  We cannot wait to read on to find out the answers to our questions.

     On Tuesday we began to read Book the Third in our Story.  We are now being introduced to Miggory Sow.  This our third character we are hearing a story about and cannot wait to hear how our 3 main characters will connect together.

They were assigned to read chapters 28- 30 for Monday.


3RD GRADE: NO GROUPS:

 Due to adjustments in their schedule for ISTEP, we did not meet this week.  We will start our new lesson next week.

4TH GRADE:  IT’S A MYSTERY:  We are wrapping up listening to our story that shares different short-story mysteries.  I feel the students are getting a good grasp on what makes a good mystery - as some stories they have liked more than others.  This will give them a good foundation for next week when we write our own mysteries.

 Due to ISTEP Testing, we did not meet on Tuesday.

MATH

KINDERGARTEN:  GRAPHING:  On Wednesday it was all about collecting our data!  We went around the school visiting our K-2 classrooms and other staff members along the way.  We will use the data we gathered and turn it into a Bar Graph.  

On Thursday, we reviewed the parts to a bar graph.  Then we began to total our data using Tally Marks.  After that, we designed and recorded our Bar Graph.  I tried to let each White Sox Vote count as 1,000 votes giving White Sox the grand total of 3,000.  However, my Kindergarten friends would not allow this to happen.  Check out our graph below to discover the staff members favorite baseball team.  

We will finish designing our Dessert Chart next week.

Our chart shows 19 staff members are Cub Fans, 3 are White Sox Fans and 4 had other team favorites.

1st GRADE:  END OF YEAR ASSESSMENT:  On Wednesday we used our glossary to review for our end of the year assessment.  We wrote down our 3 Big Math Concepts we worked on this year: Weight, Area, and Length.  Under each section, we reviewed our knowledge.  I was happy to see them remember most of the information we gathered this year.

 We did have a quick review on Transitivity. Then they went through their glossary matching the correct term to the picture.

 
  On Thursday, we re-visited their preview packet from the beginning of the year.  This time when taking the test - I hope to see huge growth - as we have went over all the information they will see.  I will look over the results and see if any areas need a little review before we move onto some fun activities for the end of the year.  

2nd GRADE:  Area-The Meerkat Mob:  It was time for a scavenger hunt!  They worked in small groups and went around the room trying to find items that matched a given area.  I gave each group a square foot, square inch tile, and square centimeter tile. My goal was for them to use the idea of Transitivity when searching for these items. However, many groups struggled with this and wanted to measure out each item they found.

To start the day on Thursday, we met as a class and went over some ways we could find items close to the measurements they needed to find.  I explained that they were looking for areas that were about and not exact.  We then talked about some items we could use to visualize the size they needed to find.  After we found the measurement of the gift card, they used that item to find something double it in size and half the size. We also talked about items we knew in the past from previous measurement projects.  This allowed them to know have items to relate to the areas they were searching for around the room.  We came back together as a group to share items and find some they were struggling with together.  We will wrap up this lesson next week.

3rd GRADE:  LIQUID VOLUME-FILLED TO CAPACITY:  On Wednesday it was time to investigate capacity.  Their job was to work as a group and find the capacity to 5 different bottles varying in size.  So our papers were aligned together we made all of our guesses and actual capacities to each bottle in cups.  We quickly reviewed our conversions and also what each was equivalent to in cups.  We decided as a group, to measure the bottles from smallest to largest - thinking this would help our estimates become more accurate as we worked through the assignment.  Each student took a turn being in charge of measuring one bottle.

On Thursday, we completed our worksheet answering two questions:  what strategies helped them with their estimates and what evidence showed their estimates improved.  We used those questions to lead our discussion for the day.  We also calculated our total numbers from the previous day.  This allowed them to see how their estimates hopefully improved and helped them in answering their questions.

 We ended the day summarizing our lesson.  This led us into our Think Deeply question.  We will start next week by completing our Think Deeply question.

4th GRADE:  ENRICHMENT:  Due to Istep I only saw one class in HA this week. We used this week as a review week - with them ISTEP Testing - I thought they would enjoy a little break.  At their request, we played set on Wednesday and Battleship on Thursday. We will wrap-up our last chapter next week.