Dear Grade 2/3 Families,
This week was bittersweet as we said goodbye to Anna, our visiting 2nd grade student from China. Anna was so happy to receive such kind notes from all of her classmates as we sent her off with well-wishes and a tasty cake on Friday! (Thanks, Gina, for making it!)
The class welcomed the fallen snow for some stellar sledding and snow play! Let’s hope we haven’t seen the last of the snow this season! Thanks for helping them to remember their snow gear. Here is more of what’s been going on!
In Grade 2
Math Workshop: This week in math, 2nd graders finished the unit on adding/subtracting money, rounding, and estimating. Rounding and estimating was a brand new concept for 2nd grade, and they took the challenge head on and now have a nice grasp on this difficult concept. Students were given an assessment on these concepts and they all did great. On Friday, we began our new unit on geometry and we will continue with that for the next week or so.
Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop: In reading workshop, we continued on with our character traits unit. Students have been working on identifying overt (told) and covert (untold) character traits in their stories, and have shown evidence of having a strong grasp of inferring character traits under their belt. We will continue on with this unit for the next week. In writing workshop, we moved into our unit on nonfiction writing. This unit started with identifying key text features of nonfiction informational texts. Students have worked on brainstorming and planning what they will be writing about, and have shown some impressive background knowledge on a variety of subject areas. During the month of February, we will be incorporating Black History into both reading and writing. On Friday, students learned about Duke Ellington, which was followed by a very mature conversation about the Civil Rights Movement and other things related to equality in the United States. In this conversation, students were incredibly reflective and showed understanding in how the Civil Rights Movement has shaped our country over the years.
In Grade 3
Math Workshop: this week we engaged in some 3 Act Math where we explored the area of a horizontal and vertical strips of 8.5in. x 11in. paper. Mathematicians had to prove which cut had more area, or if they had equal amounts-- and be able to prove it. They generated a lot of great questions ranging from, “ How many folds were made?” to “How many equal fractional parts are in each strip?” and, “Do they have the same number of fractional parts?” We also used models/manipulatives to compare fractions with same denominators and noticed ways to simplify them.
Coming up: comparing fractions using benchmarks ie: which of the fractions are closer to 1 than to 0? How we know? We will also become more comfortable comparing fractions on a number line, as well as finding equivalent fractions using manipulatives when needed.
Dreambox: Your child has been receiving both short and long-term assignments on Dreambox. They are marked with a blue icon when they log-in. While they do work with Dreambox in class at times (about 15 min. no more than 3 times a week), they may need more time at home to complete assignments and enjoy their own exploring of choice concepts. When working at home, please remember they should:
The program tracks their clicks and is able to understand what is the roadblock, technological or otherwise. :)
In Readers’ Workshop, we continue to deepen our work with inferring by thinking about Author’s Purpose. We read aloud The Wretched Stone by Chris Van Allsburg which required the children to really dig in their listening ears and read beneath the lines in order to understand what was really going on in the story, and the purpose for the author’s writing. We also read a short fable called “The Crocodile in the Bedroom” requiring readers the exercise the same “reading muscle” when the author of the book is showing rather than telling.
In Writers’ Workshop: Fiction writing is SO hard to do well. What with developing a setting, characters with dialogue, a beginning, middle, and end-- a problem with a resolution-- and writing it all in a way that SHOWS rather than TELLS! How daunting! It’s very common for 8-9 year old writers to either list all of these things, plug in a few lines of dialogue, slap on “The End” and call it a day! Conversely, it’s also very common for a writer to create 5-10 characters and write pages, upon, pages of story that lead down a very confusing rabbit hole. Writers are learning to identify which kind of fiction writer they are ,and are setting simple fiction writing goals for themselves! In order to do this, we are first re-focusing on character development in our fiction writing by thinking back to the characters of The Prince of the Pond by Donna J. Napoli. We fleshed out who, Pin, the main character is by answering questions such as: What worries him? What makes him happy? What motivates him? What is important to him? What foods does he enjoy? Why would we describe him as fatherly? Coming up, we will think about the other characters that Donna J. Napoli needed to create in order to have Pin be seen or portrayed this way. Then we will deeply develop a main character of our own, as well as 2 additional characters for our main character to “rub up against” in order for that main character to SHOW who they are, while moving toward a resolution to the problem of the story.
In our 2/3 learning community
IB Unit Inquiry: Last week was an exciting week for the children as they were able to do some 3D printing. This week we will continue to focus on the problems that face many throughout the world concerning access to water. Children will research ideas for solving some of the problems, and they will brainstorm solutions of their own. We will continue to work with the 3D printing software to create possible solutions.
Important Dates and Reminders:
February 14, Tuesday - Valentine’s Party (don’t forget to bring your valentines)
February 14, Tuesday - PJSPA Meeting 7:00-8:00pm
February 15, Wednesday - Saltworks Play @ 9:00am
February 16, Pizza Thursday
February 17, NO SCHOOL - Staff Development - No Vacation Program
February 20, Monday - NO SCHOOL - Presidents' Day - No Vacation Program
February 23, Thursday - 12:00 Dismissal - Parent/Teacher Conferences - 1:00 to 4:00pm
No After School - Childcare of Conference Time Only
February 24, Friday - 12:00 Dismissal - Parent/Teacher Conferences - 1:00 to 4:00pm
No After School - Childcare of Conference Time Only
February 27, Monday - ISA Testing (Grades 3, 4 & 5)
February 28, Tuesday - ISA Testing (Grades 3, 4 & 5)
March 1, Wednesday - ISA Testing (Grades 3, 4 & 5)
March 10 & 11, Friday & Saturday - Annie Jr. Play - Please save the date!
This week was bittersweet as we said goodbye to Anna, our visiting 2nd grade student from China. Anna was so happy to receive such kind notes from all of her classmates as we sent her off with well-wishes and a tasty cake on Friday! (Thanks, Gina, for making it!)
The class welcomed the fallen snow for some stellar sledding and snow play! Let’s hope we haven’t seen the last of the snow this season! Thanks for helping them to remember their snow gear. Here is more of what’s been going on!
In Grade 2
Math Workshop: This week in math, 2nd graders finished the unit on adding/subtracting money, rounding, and estimating. Rounding and estimating was a brand new concept for 2nd grade, and they took the challenge head on and now have a nice grasp on this difficult concept. Students were given an assessment on these concepts and they all did great. On Friday, we began our new unit on geometry and we will continue with that for the next week or so.
Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop: In reading workshop, we continued on with our character traits unit. Students have been working on identifying overt (told) and covert (untold) character traits in their stories, and have shown evidence of having a strong grasp of inferring character traits under their belt. We will continue on with this unit for the next week. In writing workshop, we moved into our unit on nonfiction writing. This unit started with identifying key text features of nonfiction informational texts. Students have worked on brainstorming and planning what they will be writing about, and have shown some impressive background knowledge on a variety of subject areas. During the month of February, we will be incorporating Black History into both reading and writing. On Friday, students learned about Duke Ellington, which was followed by a very mature conversation about the Civil Rights Movement and other things related to equality in the United States. In this conversation, students were incredibly reflective and showed understanding in how the Civil Rights Movement has shaped our country over the years.
In Grade 3
Math Workshop: this week we engaged in some 3 Act Math where we explored the area of a horizontal and vertical strips of 8.5in. x 11in. paper. Mathematicians had to prove which cut had more area, or if they had equal amounts-- and be able to prove it. They generated a lot of great questions ranging from, “ How many folds were made?” to “How many equal fractional parts are in each strip?” and, “Do they have the same number of fractional parts?” We also used models/manipulatives to compare fractions with same denominators and noticed ways to simplify them.
Coming up: comparing fractions using benchmarks ie: which of the fractions are closer to 1 than to 0? How we know? We will also become more comfortable comparing fractions on a number line, as well as finding equivalent fractions using manipulatives when needed.
Dreambox: Your child has been receiving both short and long-term assignments on Dreambox. They are marked with a blue icon when they log-in. While they do work with Dreambox in class at times (about 15 min. no more than 3 times a week), they may need more time at home to complete assignments and enjoy their own exploring of choice concepts. When working at home, please remember they should:
- Work 100% independently without anyone looking over their shoulder, making commentary, or asking questions.
- Use the virtual manipulatives whenever needed and click on the “?” if they have a questions.
- Not use pencil and paper
The program tracks their clicks and is able to understand what is the roadblock, technological or otherwise. :)
In Readers’ Workshop, we continue to deepen our work with inferring by thinking about Author’s Purpose. We read aloud The Wretched Stone by Chris Van Allsburg which required the children to really dig in their listening ears and read beneath the lines in order to understand what was really going on in the story, and the purpose for the author’s writing. We also read a short fable called “The Crocodile in the Bedroom” requiring readers the exercise the same “reading muscle” when the author of the book is showing rather than telling.
In Writers’ Workshop: Fiction writing is SO hard to do well. What with developing a setting, characters with dialogue, a beginning, middle, and end-- a problem with a resolution-- and writing it all in a way that SHOWS rather than TELLS! How daunting! It’s very common for 8-9 year old writers to either list all of these things, plug in a few lines of dialogue, slap on “The End” and call it a day! Conversely, it’s also very common for a writer to create 5-10 characters and write pages, upon, pages of story that lead down a very confusing rabbit hole. Writers are learning to identify which kind of fiction writer they are ,and are setting simple fiction writing goals for themselves! In order to do this, we are first re-focusing on character development in our fiction writing by thinking back to the characters of The Prince of the Pond by Donna J. Napoli. We fleshed out who, Pin, the main character is by answering questions such as: What worries him? What makes him happy? What motivates him? What is important to him? What foods does he enjoy? Why would we describe him as fatherly? Coming up, we will think about the other characters that Donna J. Napoli needed to create in order to have Pin be seen or portrayed this way. Then we will deeply develop a main character of our own, as well as 2 additional characters for our main character to “rub up against” in order for that main character to SHOW who they are, while moving toward a resolution to the problem of the story.
In our 2/3 learning community
IB Unit Inquiry: Last week was an exciting week for the children as they were able to do some 3D printing. This week we will continue to focus on the problems that face many throughout the world concerning access to water. Children will research ideas for solving some of the problems, and they will brainstorm solutions of their own. We will continue to work with the 3D printing software to create possible solutions.
Important Dates and Reminders:
February 14, Tuesday - Valentine’s Party (don’t forget to bring your valentines)
February 14, Tuesday - PJSPA Meeting 7:00-8:00pm
February 15, Wednesday - Saltworks Play @ 9:00am
February 16, Pizza Thursday
February 17, NO SCHOOL - Staff Development - No Vacation Program
February 20, Monday - NO SCHOOL - Presidents' Day - No Vacation Program
February 23, Thursday - 12:00 Dismissal - Parent/Teacher Conferences - 1:00 to 4:00pm
No After School - Childcare of Conference Time Only
February 24, Friday - 12:00 Dismissal - Parent/Teacher Conferences - 1:00 to 4:00pm
No After School - Childcare of Conference Time Only
February 27, Monday - ISA Testing (Grades 3, 4 & 5)
February 28, Tuesday - ISA Testing (Grades 3, 4 & 5)
March 1, Wednesday - ISA Testing (Grades 3, 4 & 5)
March 10 & 11, Friday & Saturday - Annie Jr. Play - Please save the date!