Hello 206 families and friends,

There’s been so much happening in Room 206 —here are some highlights!

This week in Mindset Math, we began by setting our classroom math norms, talking about what we enjoy during math time and what can sometimes get in the way. Students shared many thoughtful ideas, and next week we’ll turn these into posters to display as daily reminders.

We also explored a paper-folding activity designed to emphasize reasoning in mathematics. Using just a square piece of paper, students worked to create different polygons—such as a scalene triangle and a trapezoid—without relying on the original edges of the paper. Once they folded their shape, their challenge was to convince a partner (who played the role of the skeptic) that their shape truly matched the description. This required students to draw on their understanding of geometry and practice explaining their reasoning clearly.

Afterward, students shared their conversations in a fishbowl presentation, where one pair demonstrated their defense of a shape while classmates observed their questioning and reasoning. Through this activity, we discussed how in math, the focus is not only on finding the correct answer but also on explaining how we got there and supporting our thinking with evidence.

This week in Everyday Math, we focused on calculating volume using two different algorithms. Students then applied their learning by finding the volume of various objects in our classroom—everything from bookshelves to a picture frame! We also revisited measurement conversions, emphasizing the importance of converting to a single unit before solving a problem. In addition, we explored prime numbers and practiced prime factorization.

This morning, we also played math games with Ms. Anna’s class. It was fun to share some of our favorite games and to try out theirs as well. The students were fully engaged and had a great time learning together!

Last week, we began our science investigation with Ms. Anna’s class. Each group was given two different types of seeds to study and used magnifying glasses to make close observations of their characteristics. (Ask your student which seeds their group was assigned!) Groups also came up with creative lab group names and decorated special lab journals to collect their data. Next week, we will plant the seeds and develop our hypotheses about the conditions that may influence their growth.

We are really enjoying our class novel, When You Trap a Tiger. Students have been noticing the rich descriptive language, which makes it such an engaging story to read together. We also finished reading a collection of folktales and added more information to our class chart. Students did a wonderful job identifying the message, lesson, or moral in each story.

In writing, students completed their tiny memoirs—each ending with a personal lesson or moral—and also composed several poems that highlight their growing use of figurative language. This week, students spent time publishing their work in Google Classroom.

To wrap things up, we decorated our book boxes, which will help students stay organized and keep track of their materials.

Thanks for keeping up with our learning in Room 206!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Beth

Hello 206 families and friends,

Our class novel, When You Trap a Tiger, continues to inspire wonderful conversations. It’s such a beautiful story. We’re also beginning to dream up ideas for our class mural, and I can’t wait to see the students’ creativity shine. In addition, students started partner-reading folktales from around the world. After each story, they discuss the message or moral and add their ideas to a growing class chart.

At home, reading response journals are officially underway! Students are asked to read each night and write thoughtful responses three nights a week. Journals should be returned on Fridays and will be sent back home on Mondays. Based on student feedback, I’ll also be adding a reading log for them to track progress, which they can glue right into their journals. Each student has set a personal reading goal that can be adjusted as they go.

In math this week, we explored coordinate grids and ordered pairs and talked about how they’re used in real life. Students made some perceptive observations, noticing how maps use grids to mark and locate places. In Everyday Math, we practiced rounding numbers to estimate word problem solutions—using about in our answers—and worked on finding the areas of rectangles with fractional side lengths by tiling them with unit fractions.

In Writing Workshop, our tiny memoirs are beginning to take shape! Students have started typing them in Google Classroom and are doing a wonderful job of “exploding a moment” by focusing on just one meaningful scene, memory, or experience. We’ve been paying special attention to crafting strong first lines that hook the reader, using dialogue to move the story forward, and adding vivid details to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. This week, we also played the Revision Game to encourage students to experiment with changes and strengthen their writing.

A quick reminder: we’re decorating the covers of our Writing Workshop journals again this year. If possible, please send in a few photos of family, friends, or meaningful things your child would like to include. Originals can be copied here if you’d like them returned. Magazines or newspapers for cutting are also welcome. Thank you for helping make these journals so personal and special!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
Ms. Beth

We’ve been so busy in Room 206!

In Everyday Math, students practiced rounding large numbers to different place values and discussed how rounding is useful in real life. We also worked on finding the area of irregular shapes with mixed-number sides. Our conversations touched on volume, as students compared why area is the product of two numbers while volume requires three.

We also completed our self-portraits! They are now hanging in the hallway leading to our classroom. I’ll be sure to include photos of their beautiful artwork in next week’s blog.

We are really enjoying our class novel, When You Trap a Tiger. This week we noticed how Halmoni (Lily’s grandmother) shares many stories, one of which seemed to weave in elements of Little Red Riding Hood. This led us into a discussion about how folktales are passed down and retold across different cultures and countries.

We also read the illustrated book, Little Red by Bethan Woollvin, a bold retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, where girl power shines as Little Red outsmarts the Big Bad Wolf. Students discussed how familiar tales can be retold in new ways with fresh messages. I’ve gathered a collection of folktales from the library, representing stories from around the world, which students will begin reading with partners next week. We’ll also continue tracking Halmoni’s stories as they unfold in When You Trap a Tiger.

We are setting up our reading response journals that students will use at home to track their reading stamina and write thoughtful reflections about their books. Journals will go home each Monday and should be returned on Friday to share with me and classmates. This routine will help students think more deeply about their reading while also keeping track of how much they are reading. Each student will set a personal reading goal, which they can adjust over time based on their progress and how they feel about their reading habits.

We’ve decided to decorate the covers of our Writing Workshop journals similar to last year with photos of family, friends, and things that are important to each student. If possible, please send in a few photos with your child that you don’t mind being cut and glued to their journal. If you’d prefer to keep the originals, I’m happy to make black-and-white copies so the originals can go back home. Magazines or newspapers for students to cut from would also be wonderful—feel free to send any along with your child. Thank you for helping us make our journals personal and meaningful!

In writing, we kicked off our Power Writes—ask your student to explain how they work! I also introduced our first writing project, the Tiny Memoir. The challenge is to write a short, true story in just 100 words. I’m really excited to see how these turn out! 🙂

Hope you are enjoying the beautiful fall weather! I will have more pictures next week!