Blog Archives

Welcome to D103!

1/30/2018

Our class of 21 is now 22! We are so excited to have Sunakshi as our newest friend in D103. Having a new classmate this week gave all of us the opportunity to benefit from some Tribe activities. Students shared things about themselves and important things that anyone should know about our school. These activities were great community builders that brought a sense of fellowship.

Here is a summary of what happened in our classroom:

In Langauge Arts...

Using more text about severe weather, students continued to practice identifying the main idea and supporting details.
Students read an expository text called Can You Predict the Weather, which explained how people use tools to help them understand weather better. Students had to determine the main idea of different paragraphs within the text with supporting details.

In math...

We wrapped up our polygon unit. Students practiced drawing different polygons following criteria. For example, students had to draw a five-sided polygon with two sides of the same length.
After a review of subtraction using a number line, students took the module 7 math assessment. This assessment measured understanding of subtraction using the number line, solving subtraction word problems also using the number line, and polygons.
This week students learned a new method of subtraction using base-ten blocks. Students started off using actual blocks to model their thinking. Then they learned how to draw base-ten blocks to show the process of subtraction.
Students are still working on the understanding of "regrouping" or "trading" 1 ten for 10 ones when there are not enough ones to subtract from. For example, in the problem 54 - 28 = ?, students would need to regroup 1 ten for 10 ones, to show 54 as 4 tens and 14 ones. Then, subtracting 2 tens and 8 ones becomes possible. Check out this video https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/4979-subtract-numbers-within-100-using-base-ten-blocks/

In science...

We wrapped up our Form and Function PLTW unit with deep discussions about what successes students had with their models and some changes they would make to improve their design. Check out these photos!

REMINDERS AND ANNOUCEMENTS

If you borrowed library books from the public library for our rainforest animal research, the due date is probably coming up. Please do not forget to return them. I had all the children take them home this week. Thank you for your support in our research writing.

0 Comments

Engineers put their models to the test...

1/27/2018

0 Comments

Our little engineers got to put their designs to the test as they conducted a trial run of their seed dispersers this week. It was quite an experience for them to explore and evaluate how they thought their models were going to work and actually seeing them in action. They will fine-tune them with revisions to improve features and test again next week. Pictures coming soon!

Here is a summary of what happened in our classroom:

In Langauge Arts...

This week's essential question was how does weather effect us? Using different text about weather, students practiced to describe the main idea and find supporting details.
Students practiced many close-reading strategies using a text called Tornados! Prior to reading students activated their prior knowledge about the subject. Students learned this is an important reading strategy because it allows students to connect new information they learn about a subject to information they already know helping us to understand complex topics or ideas.
Using another text called Wild Weather by Seymour Simon, students learned about extreme weather conditions and how it can effect people. Students learned about the differences between thunderstorms, lightning, tornados, hurricanes and blizzards. They even learned about some of the most devastating hurricanes in history, including Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans 2005.
Grammar and vocabulary lessons this week included synonyms and antonyms. Students learned about the following contractions:

In math...

Students practiced more subtraction on the number line and are working on identifying when to use what strategy. When is it most efficient to use the counting back strategy? Students are learning it is most efficient to use this strategy if the minuend is a rather smaller number, such as 156 - 24 = ? 24 is rather small and would be manageable to count back. When is it most efficient to use the "think addition" strategy? Students are learning it is most efficient to use this strategy when the Subtrahend and the minuend are close numbers, such as 156 - 125 = ?

Students learned that a polygon is a 2D shape, must be a closed shape and has only straight sides. Students learned to identify different polygons and learned the names for some, such as triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, and hexagon. Students also learned that a quadrilateral can be a square, rectangle, rhombus or a diamond too!

In science...

Students built their models this week. Using the Scientific process, students designed a model and got to evaluate and redesign to make improvements based on their findings.

REMINDERS AND ANNOUCEMENTS

If you have not done so yet, please turn in your child's signed report card envelop.
If you are still reviewing progress portfolios and evidence binders, please bring them back when you're done. Thank you.
Thank you to those who participated in the blog survey. It's great for me to see what things are working and how it can be improved. Thanks for the feedback!

0 Comments

Launching a coral reef adventure...

1/20/2018

0 Comments

Our classroom coral reef is blooming with "life" with its vibrant and colorful coral and the fascinating sea life decorating our classroom entrance way. This display is a work-of-art created by the amazing artists of D103. Using their coral reef animal research from 2nd quarter, students worked hard to draw their animal and coral, colored it using oil pastels, and described how it depends on other plants and/or animals within its habitat. The coral reef was assembled after school with a group of students. On Monday morning all the children will get to explore this coral reef for the first time! Check out the photo.

Here is a summary of what happened in our classroom:

In Langauge Arts...

Due to the level of complexity as well as the short week, we continued are Wonders unit from last week. The following standard from last week was the focus: Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text. Students read a text about how honeybees in a hive have different jobs including the worker, the drone, the queen, and now a new bee has been found...the soldier bee! The article describes the different roles each bee has, but how each is important to the success of the hive. Students learned about this new soldier bee and how its one and only job is to defend the hive. Students found details from the text that support the main idea and then described how these reasons support the point the author makes.
Using another text about an insect called Earwigs, students determine author's purpose, main idea, key details, and reasons to support the author's points. Unlike most bugs, earwigs make wonderful mothers. They take care of their young, help to feed them, and keep them away from danger. Although its pincers look creepy, they only use them to catch prey. They are really harmless insects. Students determined the author's purpose was to persuade its readers to feel differently about this bug and not to think of them as bad or frightful. Students also looked for specific details that support the main idea. Then they described how these reasons support the author's point.
Students know that before they can write about their rainforest animal, they first have to become an expert. They used the materials brought from home as well as what we could find from our classroom and the school library. Students read-up a lot this week about their rainforest animal. They began to categorize the information into a tree map. As a class we decided that the categories would be basic info (body features, life span), diet & food chain (prey and predators, any special feeding habits or behaviors), and habitat (where it lives in the rainforest, which layer, nesting, sleeping behaviors).

In math...

Students learned how they can "think addition" on a number line to subtract. If a subtraction problem is 85 - 64 = ? Students were taught to start at 64 and make a "jump of 10" to 74, then another "jump of 10" to 84 and finally a "jump of 1" to 85. The answer is how many "jumps" were made.
Using this "think addition" strategy, next students learned to subtract 2-digit numbers from 3-digit numbers, by stoping at the nearest 10 and 100 to make manageable jumps. For instance, for the problem 106 - 87 = ? students were taught to start at 87, make a "jump of 3" to 90, then a "jump of 10" to 100, and finally a "jump of 6" to 106. They count up all their jumps and the answer is 19.

In science...

Before designing their models of a seed disperser, students reviewed biomimicry and how many things are designed from things found in nature, such as an airplane designed after a bird's wing or velcro designed after burrs and seeds. Students reviewed some of the material they have to work with and the properties of matter as well as their hardness, flexibility, and strength. Students then worked with their partner to work out a design. Some of the materials I have for them to work with are paper cups, clay, feathers, pom poms, pipe cleaners, clothes pins, and plastic spoons. If students could justify the purpose for it, they were told they were allowed to bring in other recyclables from home, such as shoe boxes, paper towel rolls, cartons, etc...

REMINDERS AND ANNOUCEMENTS

If you have not done so yet, please turn in your child's signed report card envelop.
If you are still reviewing progress portfolios and evidence binders, please bring them back when you're done. Thank you.

0 Comments

Kicking off 2018!

1/12/2018

0 Comments

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed time with family and friends this holiday season bringing in the New Year. Every start to a new year makes for the perfect opportunity to reflect on our achievements and set new goals. This is exactly what the children did. Going through this process is meaningful for the children as they are learning that they can track and monitor their own progress, by doing this it motivates them to strive higher. Looking at their growth also allows them to self assess, set another goal, and make a plan to get there.

Here is a summary of what happened in our classroom:

In Langauge Arts...

This week the reading standard addressed was Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text. Previously in 2nd quarter, students were taught to identify the main idea of a text or a portion of a text and determine supporting details. These are prerequisite skills for the standard taught this week. This week students read a text called Lighting Lives. The main idea of the text is a lady named Debby Tewa works hard to help native people living without any electricity get solar panels. The following were some of the details that support this main idea: "Debby drives her truck from place to place. It is lonely with no one riding along" and "Debby also travels to schools and summer camps to teach Hopi Children about solar energy." Students needed to describe how these reasons support the main idea. So students created a T-chart. On one side students wrote these supporting details and on the other, they described why they thought the author included that specific detail.

Our essential question this week was How can people help out their community? Together we read Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter. Using a similar T-chart, students analyzed specific details the author included and discussed why they support the main idea or point the author wants to make. The story Biblioburro is a narrative nonfiction text. This true story is about a school teacher named Luis who once lived in Colombia who wanted to share books with children near and far. We talked about Benjamin Franklin and how he also wanted to share his books with people who would have otherwise not have had access to them. These two people in history had a love for books and wanted to share them with people. Using the text Biblioburro and talking about Benjamin Franklin, students learned about how the idea of a lending library all started.
We read a lot about rainforests this week. Students learned about the following four layers of a rainforest: forest floor, understory, canopy, and emergent layer. We discovered what it's like in each layer. The floor is very wet with a lot of dead leaves and insects. The understory, like the forest floor, is very dark at all times of the day and very hot and humid. Many bushes and small trees grow here. In the canopy, taller trees reach high. This layer is most busy with animals. Trees here grow very close together, creating an umbrella over the lower layers. Finally, the emergent layer consist of only a few extremely tall trees that stick far out from the canopy. Here is is windy and sunny! Students learned what kind of animals live in each layer. Students have selected an animal they would like to do further research on. Students will be creating a rainforest animal multi-paragraph informational writing.

In math...

Student used a hundreds chart to subtract numbers, learning that when you move directly up on a hundreds chart, you're subtracting 10 and by moving to the left you're subtracting ones.
Students then used a number line to subtract. They first had to decompose the subtrahend, then jump accordingly. For example, 57 - 13 = ? Students start at 57, make a jump of "minus ten" to 47, then another jump of "minus 3" to 44. This strategy is called the "jumps of ten" strategy.
Using a number line, students learned the "jumps to ten" strategy. For example, 32 - 6 = ? Students start at 32, make a jump of "minus two" to 30, then another jump of "minus 4" to 26. After starting off with subtracting one-digit numbers, using this same strategy, students worked on more challenging problems such as 53 - 17 = ? Students could use a combination of the strategies. Making a jump of "minus ten" first or making a jump of "minus 3" to 50. Student could decide how they want to decompose the number.

In science...

To prepare for our design and building of our seed disperser, students explored properties of matter, which will give them the background knowledge to chose materials that will help them design a functioning machine. Students learned the 3 forms of matter- solid, liquid, and gas. Using various kitchen utensils made from different materials such as wood, plastic and metal, students tested the objects' hardness, strength, and flexibility. As a result, students learned that plastic is the most flexible of the materials, metal is the hardest, and wood is the softest.

REMINDERS AND ANNOUCEMENTS

Progress portfolios, evidence binders and report cards with iReady scores will be going home with your child on Wednesday 1/17. Please be sure to check for these things in your child's backpack on that day. You may take a few days or a week or so to review the binders. Please return them with everything intact. Please sign and return the report card envelop on Thursday 1/18 and keep the report card and iReady report at home.
Please check your child's homework folder for their selected rainforest animal. I would like you to research together with your child some information about their animal. Ideally, it would be best to have more than one resource- a children's book and a printout from a credible online site. Please have your child bring these resources to school by Wednesday.
No School on Monday- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Please note that oral fluency now has a comprehension component located on the back of the paper. This portion is due on Fridays.

0 Comments

Welcome to D103!

Engineers put their models to the test...

Launching a coral reef adventure...

Kicking off 2018!

Archives

Categories