Hello 206 families and friends!
We had a wonderful week getting to know each other and figuring out our routines. The students come each day enthusiastic and ready to learn.
We begin each day with a sharing circle, which Leo has aptly named the “Sharing Stone”, as we use the stone as a talking piece. We start the circle with “lightning” questions: what is your favorite color, food, animal, etc, We then follow up with deeper questions: what is something you are looking forward to learning/doing today, what is something you felt good about, how would you describe a team, sportsmanship. Everyone shared thoughtful and supporting comments.
In reading workshop, we are continuing to dig into our class novel, Chasing Vermeer. We are discovering many clues, coincidences and connections and are adding it to our growing list. Students are planning their next drawing/painting inspired by the painter and the novel – so look out for frogs and pearl earrings! We also watched a short film about Vermeer’s life, and students were able to identify many of the pieces mentioned in the novel. Students have come up with some great predictions as to how it will all unfold – stay tuned to find out!
We also started our picture book a day (or most days!). This week we read The Dot, The Word Collector and Happy Dreamer by Jason Reynolds. We discussed the overall theme and message of the books. Students then had a chance to share what kind of dreamer they are – inspired by Happy Dreamer – and created a visual to share with the class. We have a wide variety of dreamers!
In math, we reviewed rounding numbers and spent time on place value and practiced using our place value chart. We also finished setting up our JAM notebooks – Journal about Math for our computations and math vocabulary. We focused on number sense, and discussed how a number is not just a number, but can represent many things, such as the sum of an addition equation and the number of stars in a constellation. Students are working on creating a poster to show all the ways their chosen number can be represented and described.
In Science, we perfected our contraptions for the egg drop project. The objective was to design a system to protect an egg from cracking or breaking from a high fall. Last week, with Ms. Bia, the students brainstormed ideas and then created contraptions using a myriad of materials, including cotton, felt, bubble wrap, tape and plastic bags. They then did a test run of 3 contraptions from the height of the classroom tables. This week they modified their design based on those results. The students discovered that the parachute was too heavy so they selected lighter material (plastic garbage bag and painter tape instead of duct tape. On Thursday, they used the two new and improved contraptions and dropped them from the second floor balcony and both of the eggs survived!
In Social Studies, Ms. Emma from Des Plaines History Center came to discuss and share more information on Chicago Architecture, which is the setting for our class novel, Chasing Vermeer. Students were shown photographs of Chicago buildings and discussed which they thought was the tallest. Things to consider was the age of the building and the materials used to build it. Students then worked in partnerships to see if they could build a tall building with limited materials (pipe cleaners, straws and paper clips) Each team was able to get their building to stand!
Have a wonderful weekend, please reach out with any questions or concerns!
Ms. Beth
