Good afternoon!
We hope you are staying dry on this soggy Sunday afternoon! A quick reminder that tomorrow there will be no school as we will be remembering the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This past week, students continued their inquiry of the current IB unit, "Individuals learn about themselves and the world through their relationships with others" during reading and writing time. Building on their growing knowledge of biographies, students began to consider what they would like to know about themselves and their families. On Monday, students wrote questions they wanted to ask their interview subjects for the Biography Project. Questions ranged from, "How did you know what job you wanted?" to "Do you still have dreams for the future?," and "How did you get so smart?" After writing a range of questions, students chose their 10 favorite questions to ask as part of their Biography Project packet.
On Tuesday, students studied the use of timelines in writing biographies. As we looked into the timeline of U.S. history and of the life of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., students began to reflect upon their own personal timelines. Students created their own "Life Maps" to highlight the major events in their lives. On Wednesday, students read and compared the lives and characteristics of Eleanor Roosevelt and Ruby Bridges. Through discussion, students began to see the IB attitudes of integrity, commitment, and confidence put into action. They also drew parallels between Roosevelt, Bridges and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Thursday and Friday, students compiled their questions and prepared their biography packets in preparation for their upcoming family interviews! Students discussed their rubrics and packet guidelines. Each student should have brought their packet home this Friday. Please let us know if you have any questions!
Heard around the writing and reading tables:
"I really enjoyed learning more about my classmate, Ana - Sofia. I learned about her from the questions I asked. I learned what her favorite food is, where she likes to visit, and just lots about her that I never knew before." - Lily
"We have been learning a lot about biographies. We first started with interviewing our partners, then this week we thought about questions we can ask our families. Now we are going to interview the person and ask them at least ten questions. I am interviewing my mom." - Myla
"We made life maps for ourselves. It is mostly illustrated. It includes when you were born, when you went to preschool, and all of the most important things in your life!" - Praslin
"With our life maps, we drew the greatest moments of our lives. Mine were when I was born, meeting Adonai and Alejandro, going to preschool, my first day at PJS, and going on vacations" - Isaac
"Martin Luther King Jr. was a very important man. He was thoughtful, had integrity, and was committed. I liked learning about him. I didn't know many things about him, but now that we have studied him, I know so much more about his life." - Ana - Sofia
In math this week, Grade 2 focused on the development of their word problem strategies, specifically through the use of TINS. In the upcoming week, students will continue to practice word problems in class and at home for homework. Students will also continue to build their understanding of regrouping. Please encourage your child to look for mathematics in the world around them, especially situations in which they must regroup. This might include counting change, playing a board game (Monopoly), or spending money at the grocery store. Grade 3 focused on the development of their multiplication sense through strategy based game play and pair activities. In the coming week, students will begin to explore the relationship between multiplication and division. Below are directions for their favorite game from last week. We encourage you to play the game at home for extra practice:
Materials - 3 dice, pencils, paper
Game - Roll 3 dice. You can add any 2 of the dice together to get a bigger number. Multiply the sum of the two numbers to the remaining die. The goal is to create the largest multiplication product.
Example - Dice rolls: 4 5 3
4 + 5 = 9 9 x 3 = 27, 5 + 3 = 8, 4 x 8 = 32, 4 + 3 = 7, 7 x 5 = 35
Winning answer: 35
Heard around the math tables:
"I really liked the math games that we did, and the measuring also. It was really fun thinking about math through games." - William
"I liked thinking about game strategy. I think that with our favorite math game, the trick is to try to add the numbers up so that they are close to each other. I also played a fun factoring game, I think that the strategy there is to get the number 8, then your partner is forced to write 0 and you will win the game." - Polaris
"I liked the dice game the best. How it works is your roll three dice, then you arrange the numbers. You add two numbers to see if you can get a bigger number. Then you multiply it by the third number that is left. You play eight rounds. Then you add all of your products up and see who came out with the biggest total number." - Manaal
"TINS are word problems. They are thought, information, number sentence, and solution. You need to write down the information from the problem. It is helpful." - Sophia
We hope you are staying dry on this soggy Sunday afternoon! A quick reminder that tomorrow there will be no school as we will be remembering the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This past week, students continued their inquiry of the current IB unit, "Individuals learn about themselves and the world through their relationships with others" during reading and writing time. Building on their growing knowledge of biographies, students began to consider what they would like to know about themselves and their families. On Monday, students wrote questions they wanted to ask their interview subjects for the Biography Project. Questions ranged from, "How did you know what job you wanted?" to "Do you still have dreams for the future?," and "How did you get so smart?" After writing a range of questions, students chose their 10 favorite questions to ask as part of their Biography Project packet.
On Tuesday, students studied the use of timelines in writing biographies. As we looked into the timeline of U.S. history and of the life of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., students began to reflect upon their own personal timelines. Students created their own "Life Maps" to highlight the major events in their lives. On Wednesday, students read and compared the lives and characteristics of Eleanor Roosevelt and Ruby Bridges. Through discussion, students began to see the IB attitudes of integrity, commitment, and confidence put into action. They also drew parallels between Roosevelt, Bridges and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Thursday and Friday, students compiled their questions and prepared their biography packets in preparation for their upcoming family interviews! Students discussed their rubrics and packet guidelines. Each student should have brought their packet home this Friday. Please let us know if you have any questions!
Heard around the writing and reading tables:
"I really enjoyed learning more about my classmate, Ana - Sofia. I learned about her from the questions I asked. I learned what her favorite food is, where she likes to visit, and just lots about her that I never knew before." - Lily
"We have been learning a lot about biographies. We first started with interviewing our partners, then this week we thought about questions we can ask our families. Now we are going to interview the person and ask them at least ten questions. I am interviewing my mom." - Myla
"We made life maps for ourselves. It is mostly illustrated. It includes when you were born, when you went to preschool, and all of the most important things in your life!" - Praslin
"With our life maps, we drew the greatest moments of our lives. Mine were when I was born, meeting Adonai and Alejandro, going to preschool, my first day at PJS, and going on vacations" - Isaac
"Martin Luther King Jr. was a very important man. He was thoughtful, had integrity, and was committed. I liked learning about him. I didn't know many things about him, but now that we have studied him, I know so much more about his life." - Ana - Sofia
In math this week, Grade 2 focused on the development of their word problem strategies, specifically through the use of TINS. In the upcoming week, students will continue to practice word problems in class and at home for homework. Students will also continue to build their understanding of regrouping. Please encourage your child to look for mathematics in the world around them, especially situations in which they must regroup. This might include counting change, playing a board game (Monopoly), or spending money at the grocery store. Grade 3 focused on the development of their multiplication sense through strategy based game play and pair activities. In the coming week, students will begin to explore the relationship between multiplication and division. Below are directions for their favorite game from last week. We encourage you to play the game at home for extra practice:
Materials - 3 dice, pencils, paper
Game - Roll 3 dice. You can add any 2 of the dice together to get a bigger number. Multiply the sum of the two numbers to the remaining die. The goal is to create the largest multiplication product.
Example - Dice rolls: 4 5 3
4 + 5 = 9 9 x 3 = 27, 5 + 3 = 8, 4 x 8 = 32, 4 + 3 = 7, 7 x 5 = 35
Winning answer: 35
Heard around the math tables:
"I really liked the math games that we did, and the measuring also. It was really fun thinking about math through games." - William
"I liked thinking about game strategy. I think that with our favorite math game, the trick is to try to add the numbers up so that they are close to each other. I also played a fun factoring game, I think that the strategy there is to get the number 8, then your partner is forced to write 0 and you will win the game." - Polaris
"I liked the dice game the best. How it works is your roll three dice, then you arrange the numbers. You add two numbers to see if you can get a bigger number. Then you multiply it by the third number that is left. You play eight rounds. Then you add all of your products up and see who came out with the biggest total number." - Manaal
"TINS are word problems. They are thought, information, number sentence, and solution. You need to write down the information from the problem. It is helpful." - Sophia
On Wednesday, our students were able to attend a concert by the Princeton Symphony. We listened to beautiful music from the brass section, which included a tuba, trombone, and an array of trumpets and bugles. Our students also celebrated a wonderful accomplishment, an Ice Cream Party for their winning amount of Box Tops! They were thrilled to have ice cream on a Wednesday afternoon, thank you PJSPA for the treat! We are collecting Box Tops again, please keep saving and sending them in!
Heard at the Bravo Concert -
"I was really inspired by the brass band. They played beautifully." - Makayla
We look forward to another fantastic week of learning! Please contact us with any questions!
Kindly,
Britt and Anne
Heard at the Bravo Concert -
"I was really inspired by the brass band. They played beautifully." - Makayla
We look forward to another fantastic week of learning! Please contact us with any questions!
Kindly,
Britt and Anne