Hello, 206 families and friends!

This week flew by!

Our Genius projects are well underway. Students have completed their research and are now in the beginning stages of creating their presentations.  Students have embraced the idea of multi-genre presentations and have come up with unique ways to share what they have learned. I am so impressed with their enthusiasm and ideas!

In mathematics, we started Unit 7 in Everyday Math, which focuses on multiplication of fractions and measurement conversions. Students also learned to play the game division top-it to help strengthen their long division skills.  

In writing, students finished publishing their opinion pieces on “What is Your favorite Snack?” and their corresponding pop art masterpieces — inspired by Andy Warhol. Students did a great job of choosing colors that pop and packaging images of their chosen treats. They are so fun to look at.  These are hanging in the hallway leading to the classroom.

In our reading, students are finishing up their assigned Battle books and we practiced answering questions for the first round of Battle of the Books #3, which is scheduled for Monday, April 29th. We also met with our Battle groups to finish their posters and strategize.  

We are coming to the end of our class novel, “The Parker Inheritance” by Varian Johnson. This book is a puzzle mystery, but also tackles social justice issues, which are just as important to the story as the puzzle. Throughout the book, this search to balance justice and forgiveness is highlighted as a key theme through the perspectives of multiple characters as they try to navigate difficult situations, such as racism, histories and identity.  The puzzle really had us working hard to figure it out, but the pieces finally fell into place!

We also reread the illustrated book, “What Is A Refugee?” by Elise Gravel. This book explores what it means to be a refugee. After reading, we discussed how Chicago is a sanctuary city for many of the refugees and what we could do to help the children in these families. We decided to work with Ms. Bia’s class to raise money for migrant children, which we will use to buy craft materials, such as markers, crayons and coloring books.  Students worked in groups to come up with ideas for their posters to share with the other classrooms before the fundraiser. This event will be at the end of May. Next week we will begin to make beaded bracelets to sell at school along with baked goods. More information on this will come in the following weeks.  

This week, Students also had a chance to work on their upcoming science fair projects.  Students are working in groups with the 6 and 7th graders. They discussed their project idea, materials they will need and started to think about their hypothesis and procedures.  Student groups will be meeting two times a week to work on their project for the next month.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ms. Beth

Hello, 206 families and friends!

We had a busy week! 

In our current reading of “The Parker Inheritance,” we are getting close to discovering where the treasure is hidden, and wondering if it will even be a treasure!  Some students suspect it could be the 3 page letter Siobhan wrote to Reggie. We also discussed the significance of names, as Siobhan aptly expressed to Reggie Bradley aka James Parker, “A name helps us define who we are. It reminds us of our history.” This theme will be further explored in our upcoming discussions.

Our Genius projects are going strong! Students are in the final stages of their research, and next week, we’ll brainstorm various ideas for presenting their learning, emphasizing multi-genre presentations.

In mathematics, we’ve just wrapped up Unit 6 in Everyday Math, which covered division of multi-digit numbers, angle measurement, and story problems involving fractions and mixed numbers. As part of our math sharing, student partnerships tackled a division-related story problem, interpreting the remainder and illustrating their thought process visually to share with the class.

In writing, students are in the process of publishing their opinion pieces on “What is your favorite snack?” Additionally, we explored pop art and the renowned artist Andy Warhol. We discussed how pop art revolves around simplistic, vibrant depictions of everyday items, like soup cans, painted in bold hues. Students examined images of their favorite snacks and their packaging, then sketched representations of them using the pop art technique—identifying the vivid colors they want to use. Next week, we’ll create these pieces to accompany their final opinion papers.

Lastly, on Thursday, we bid farewell to Mr. John with a pizza snack celebration! We so enjoyed having him in our classroom and are sad to see him leave. 

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the sunshine!

Ms. Beth

On Monday, we watched a Mystery Science video about the solar eclipse, followed by a fun activity where we recreated the eclipse phases using Oreos. Check out the pictures below! Each student got to take home special solar glasses to observe the eclipse and share their experiences the next day. Additionally, we got creative by making images of the solar eclipse using chalk and black paper. Using compasses, students practiced drawing suns with a diameter of 4 inches.

In our reading, we’re deeply involved in “The Parker Inheritance,” and the plot is becoming increasingly exciting. Students astutely predicted that James Parker is actually Reggie (Miller) Bradley. The book also alludes to “The Westing Game,” which many students read for our last battle competition. To enhance comprehension, students are honing their ability to respond to questions about the book, providing evidence from the text to support their inferences and opinions.

Our Genius projects have kicked off, with students brainstorming a variety of topics for research. They’ve chosen their favorites and crafted inquiry questions to guide their investigations. Topics range from black holes, history of football, the brain/memory, the Bermuda Triangle, the planet Jupiter, UFOs/aliens and robotics. I posted relevant articles and videos on each topic via Google Classroom. Once they complete their research, students will decide how they want to present their findings to the class. I’ve already heard some fantastic ideas!

In math, our focus this week was on mastering long division. Students tackled multi-step division problems and practiced expressing and interpreting remainders. We also delved into measuring and drawing angles using a half-circle protractor.

Mr. John introduced our next writing assignment: an opinion piece on “What is your favorite snack?” Students brainstormed their preferred snacks, selected one to delve into deeply, and filled out a 5 senses graphic organizer to describe their chosen treat. Next week, they’ll draft their papers explaining why their chosen snack is the best — in their opinion.

In social studies, we further explored Growth Mindset and watched a short video. Before the break, students took a Mindset quiz to determine their mindset towards learning and development. Happy to share that every student either exhibited a strong Growth Mindset or showed growth with some fixed ideas. On Friday, we discussed the importance of understanding that our brains can grow by tackling challenging tasks. We made lists of things we’re comfortable doing and areas we are striving to improve. Students then created brain illustrations, using different colors to represent their growth areas. These colorful brains are now proudly displayed outside our classroom.

Hello, 206 families and friends!

Another busy week in Room 206!

The Greek Independence Day program was amazing! Everyone did a fantastic job! I especially enjoyed hearing the students’ thoughts on Freedom.

This week, we had Ms. Emma from the Des Plaines History Center teach us about the artist Aaron Douglas, a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Students learned about his art career, which focused on addressing social issues like race and segregation in the United States. They had the opportunity to create their own paintings using some of his techniques, experimenting with gradients of color and creating silhouettes of people in motion.

In reading, we’re halfway through “The Parker Inheritance.” Students are practicing responding to questions about the book, using evidence from the text to support their ideas.

In social studies, our research projects are looking fantastic, and students will get the chance to present their work to the class next week. We’re also brainstorming ideas on how to display the final products in the classroom. I’m impressed by how engaged everyone was in their research and the creative ways they crafted their presentations.

In math, we’re wrapping up Unit 5 in Everyday Math. This unit focuses on geometry, including naming and measuring angles, recognizing angle measurement as additive, identifying the line of symmetry for 2-dimensional shapes, and reviewing multi-step math problems. We also celebrated Pi Day! Students watched a short video on the properties of circles and the significance of pi. They worked in pairs to find the value of pi for various circular objects in the classroom, such as the top of a glue stick, a roll of duct tape, and water bottles. Everyone came extremely close to 3.14 (rounded), and some even got exactly 3.14! Finally, we celebrated with a tiny piece of pumpkin pie!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Beth

Hello, 206 families and friends!

The weeks are flying by!  

Our Battle of the Books – round 3 is going strong! Students were grouped into 4 teams of 7, with students from Mr. Patrick’s and Ms. Bia’s classes. They met, chose their team names, and divided the reading of 8 selected books for this round. There’s a variety of genres including a graphic novel, a novel in verse, historical fiction, and short stories. After finishing a book, students fill out a sheet detailing key characters, settings, and events, and practice writing questions about the book. This helps them remember and understand the content. They also share interesting or funny parts with each other, creating a positive atmosphere around the book selections.

Our class novel, The Parker Inheritance, continues to retain our attention and keeps us guessing about the mysterious location of the inheritance and who James Parker really is.  We have some working theories. Ask your student what they think. 

In social studies and art, our research projects are nearly finished, and I’m excited to see how they all come together. We also created portraits inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and they turned out fantastic. Each portrait is paired with the student’s “How to Be” poem. Students also chose a word inspired by Basquiat and their independent research that reflects equality and justice, which they added to their painting. Basquiat’s artwork, our class novel, and the students’ independent research projects all emphasize the importance of standing up for what is right. It’s inspiring to see how the students are motivated by these themes and recognize the significance of equal rights and freedom of expression.

In math class, we practiced creating line plots using a data sample of students’ head measurements. We talked about when line plots are useful for displaying data and the significance of understanding how data size affects interpretation. We also reviewed angles and practiced using a protractor to measure them. Additionally, students had fun learning the game Angle/Tangle, which reinforced their proficiency in using a protractor accurately and employing strategies for estimating angle measurements.

We also had fun cheering on and supporting our St. Baldrick’s participants!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Beth

Hello, 206 families and friends!

Another busy week! 

Our class novel, “The Parker Inheritance”, definitely has us working to solve the puzzle of where the inheritance might be, but the deeper conversation revolves around equality and justice.  These class discussions are emphasizing the importance of students’ research projects on slavery in America, the Underground Railroad and the civil rights movement, as it highlights the importance of advocating for equality and justice at all times.  Students are doing an excellent job of transforming their research into creative images and presentations to share with the class.  I am amazed by their creativity and passion as they put their research projects together. We continue to study the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and students participated in a creative exercise of creating images/words from important past memories and things that are important to them. We are working on finding ways to include these images/words into their final research projects. I am excited to see how it all comes together!

We are onto round 3 of the Battle of the Books! For this round, we will be reading from a selection of 8 books and will compete with Central School in Des Plaines in May.  We previewed each book, and students selected their first book to read. We decided as a class that each student will read 3 or more of the books.  Students are motivated and excited to get started. As part of our ongoing self-reflection, students completed a questionnaire on their reading habits and goals for enhancing their reading skills. It was valuable for me to see how students view themselves as readers and where they want to improve. We also rearranged the furniture in the reading room, putting our knowledge of area and perimeter to work! 

In math, we’re focusing on fractions, which involves breaking them down, adding, subtracting, and finding common denominators.  We also worked with line plots and open middle equations.  As part of our daily math routine, students use individual white boards/slates for mental math and equation computations. To get out our urge to doodle and draw, we took 3 minutes for free draw and students created some unique images!

 

We had a special visit from First Class Smiles in DesPlaines.  Students learned about the importance of keeping our teeth clean and healthy, and each student received a tooth brushing kit to take home. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Beth

Hello, 206 families and friends!

In reading, we are enjoying our class novel, “The Parker Inheritance”, and our connections chart is growing.   In addition, after each reading, student are creating 3 frames with drawings, dialogues and labels that depicts one of the scenes/actions that we just read.  This is a form of sketch notes, that not only helps students remember important events and characters, but helps with visualizing the story as we read.  They enjoy sharing their scenes with each other. 

In social studies and writing, students are starting to compose their research projects (on the civil rights movement, the underground railroad and slavery during colonial time).   We discussed multi-genre research papers where each piece of the paper utilizes a different genre to share information with the reader. The paper becomes a collage of writing and artistic expression. Students are finding different ways to share their research, through nonfiction poetry, letters and informational writing.  We are discovering that there are many creative ways to share our knowledge.  We also studied the amazing graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.  We read the illustrated book,  “Life Doesn’t Threaten Me”,  a poem by Maya Angelou, which includes the artwork of Basquiat.  We watched several short videos, including a TED Ed talk, about Basquiat’s life that included his childhood, influences and artwork.   In his short life of 27 years, he produced an amazing amount of artwork.  We discussed the power of words and images in his paintings and drawings, and how we can incorporate drawings and powerful words into our research products.

In mathematics, we are again entering the world of fractions focusing on decomposing and adding and subtracting fractions. A quick reminder, students have access to MobyMax and Khan Academy accounts, and we encourage them to spend at least 45 minutes per week on either or both platforms. 

In science, Mr. John did a fun science experiment using the scientific method.  Students created “lava lamps” using water, oil, food coloring and half a tablet of Alka Seltzer. Ask your student what happened!  

We also had a chance to visit Ms. Lisa’s class to see the students’ amazing and informative Native American presentations.

I didn’t take as many pictures this week- but I will next week! Enjoy the weekend,

Beth

Hello, 206 families and friends!

Hope everyone is enjoying the unusually warm February!

In mathematics, we completed our Everyday Math Journal 1 and started Journal 2.  Journal 1 ended with students solving multi-step word problems and finding the area and perimeter of rectilinear shapes.  Our first lesson in Journal 2 involved decomposing fractions in different ways and into unit fractions. 

We finished our math/art project – The Great Mini-Golf Endeavor! Students did a fantastic job on their single-hole miniature golf stations. Each group decorated their golf stations based on a theme, including: candy, football, basketball, nature and dragons. They constructed the golf balls out of tin foil and their golf club using pencils, foam and duct tape. Once students completed their stations, they tested them to see if obstacles were located in the correct place and if their par goal was on par:) Students came up with different ways to solve technical difficulties with their stations and shared their ideas. One group created a tunnel under the hole so the ball could come out at the end, and shared their idea with the other teams who created a modified system for their stations.   This collaboration among students contributed to the overall success of the project. Once all the stations were complete, the mini-golf holes were placed on student tables. Teams then had a chance to play each other’s stations, and Ms. Bia’s 8th grade students played each hole. Each mini golf station was unique and fun to play.  Next week we will invite additional classrooms to try it out. 

In reading, we are enjoying our class novel, “The Parker Inheritance”, as the mystery is starting to unfold. Since the book moves backward and forward in time, we are  creating a ‘character link tree’ to keep track of all the connections and characters.  

In social studies, students are finishing up their research on their chosen topics. We are now discussing ways of presenting the material to the class. Topics of research include: slavery during colonial times, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, MLK and The March on Washington, The Greensboro Sit-in, Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges. Our last class novel, “Chains”, dealt with slavery and our current novel, “The Parker Inheritance,” addresses racism in South Carolina in the 1950s. Both novels provide valuable context for our understanding and research. 

In SuperSTEM, “The Science of SWISH,” students learned how forces and energy help basketball players move the ball and their bodies in amazing ways. On our sport court, students had a chance to try out different basketball moves and record their observations. 

On Valentine’s Day, we tried creating continuous looped hearts using 2 connected Möbius loops. It was pretty tricky, ask your students if they can show you how to do it! 

We also collaborated with Ms. Lisa’s class on a colorful art project in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Students drew horizontal and vertical lines on paper and added a heart or 2 in the center.  They then chose 2 warm and 2 cool colors to create their masterpieces. 

Enjoy the pictures below and have a wonderful weekend.

Ms. Beth

Hello, 206 families and friends!

The groundhog failed to spot its shadow, suggesting a possible early arrival of spring. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

We are excited to welcome a new addition to our classroom for the upcoming term—John Pak, an Elementary Education clinical student from Northeastern Illinois University, College of Education. We are so happy to have him join our classroom! He will attend 2 – 3 mornings a week for the next few months.    

In mathematics, we’re perfecting our skills in multi-digit multiplication and applying these computations to real-world problems. Additionally, we’ve been practicing the placement of decimals on the number line, specifically to the tenths and hundredths places (an activity from Mindset Math). Our latest math/art project is the Great Mini-Golf Endeavor, where student partnerships are crafting a single-hole miniature golf station. This project integrates measurement and geometry, with students calculating the area and perimeter of their rectangle stations. We’ve delved into coordinate grid plots for mapping starting points, obstacles, and the golf hole. Each team has crafted a scaled blueprint of their station to position the starting tee and ending hole on the base structure accurately. Teams are maintaining lists of materials, many of which are recyclable, needed for constructing their mini-golf stations. The project not only encompasses math skills but also allows for artistic creativity, with each team creating a unique theme to guide the decoration of their golf station. Students have identified a par goal for their station and will test it as they construct their station. I can’t wait to see all the finished products.  Students will have a chance to test their station before we set up the entire course for the class to play.  

In reading, we started our next class novel, “The Parker Inheritance” by Varian Johnson. This fast-paced mystery novel revolves around themes of identity and society. The young protagonist, Candice, teams up with her new friend Brandon to uncover the truth behind a mysterious letter that reveals the hidden history of Lambert, South Carolina. The Parker Inheritance is the recipient of a number of awards, including being named a 2019 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018, and an NPR Best Book of 2018. Although we’ve just started the book, we already feel connected to the main character! Illustrated books we read this past week include “Henry’s Freedom Box,” “Trouper,” and “What is a Refugee?” Encourage your students to share what each book was about.

In social studies, we’re gearing up for our research project. Students have independently explored library books, articles, and short videos on slavery, the underground railroad, and the civil rights movement in our Google Classroom. They’re jotting down questions and thoughts, preparing to research their chosen topics next week. Our class novel, “The Parker Inheritance,” addresses racism in South Carolina in the 1950s, providing valuable context for our upcoming research. Additionally, students will be able to draw on the images and impressions from our last class novel, “Chains”, which focused on enslaved people during Colonial times. 

In science, students watched a short video about a scientist who studies dinosaurs and read an illustrated article about what life was like for a giant, meat-eating Tyrannosaurus rex. 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend,

Ms. Beth

Hello 206 families and friends!

Check out what we have been up to this week.

Our Round 2 Battle of the Books competition was a success! 206 had 2 of the top 3 winners: Maggie and Teddy. Every participant did exceptionally well, and I am so proud of them! 

In writing, we wrapped up our opinion essays on eating insects, sparking further exploration into this protein source. Inspired by Steve Jenkins’ illustrated Beetle Book, students crafted their own insects, primarily beetles, using markers and watercolors. These creations, adorned with quotes both for and against bug delicacies, will be showcased in the hallway leading to our classroom. Students did a wonderful job refining their essays, integrating quotes from the article, and enriching them with descriptive details.

In reading and social studies, we concluded our journey through the novel “Chains,” and though the novel ended on a cliffhanger, we believe that Isabel will find her sister Ruth and obtain the freedom she deserves and yearns for. Now, we’re delving into research on slavery during colonial times, the Underground Railroad, and the civil rights movement. With books from the Des Plaines Library, students are previewing materials and generating inquiry questions to guide their exploration.

In Everyday Math, we played the math game “Rugs and Fences,” where students practiced finding the perimeter or area of different rectangles, noting the relationship between side lengths and area. Additionally, we’re practicing multiplying multi-digit numbers using the area model.

In vocabulary, students created word posters from our word unit, displayed in the classroom so we can refer to them.

Enjoy the photos below and have a wonderful weekend,

Ms. Beth