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.