From the Desk of Ms. Demitropolous:
February has been such a fun month of learning and celebrating in kindergarten. We went to the Lifeline Theater to view “Bunny’s Book Club”. We also celebrated Valentine’s Day with our wonderful room parents. With their assistance, we were able to construct some really adorable crafts and play some strategic games. Above all, the 100th day of school was the biggest hit among the children. They created some incredible articles of clothing to show off during our classroom fashion show. We also participated in some other one hundred themed activities.
In addition to the celebrations, we had a great day of learning about leaders from our country’s history with our 4th grade buddies in honor of Black History Month.
In Junior Great Books, the kids read “The Three Wishes” and during shared inquiry discussions, they expressed their wondering questions. Eventually, they wrote about their own three wishes.
This month, I have introduced identifying and sorting nouns, using commas in a series, and using commas in dates. The children continue to practice spelling patterns within their leveled Words Their Way groups using Choice Board activities. These kiddos are becoming excellent spellers!
In science, we have been exploring forces and motion by exerting forces on tennis balls and other items to explain how objects move. We look forward to creating our classroom pinball machine in the future.
In writing workshop, the kids brainstormed persuasive writing topics about something they would like to change. They decided who their audience would be and began writing letters to him/her by using a thought and three reasons to support their belief. To tie this writing piece together with reading, we discussed author's purpose and read “The Lorax” to explain persuasion. We will continue studying the book and other Dr. Seuss stories to celebrate his birthday next month.
From the Desk of Ms. Kaim:
February was another event-filled month in first grade. We began the month by taking a field trip to Historic Wagner Farm to participate in the From Farm to Table workshop. The first graders learned about chickens and cows. They practiced bartering in a country store and then tromped outside to visit the farm animals. After the trip, the first graders chose which farm animals they considered to be the best and wrote opinion pieces defending their selections.
Later in the month, we attended a performance of “Bunny’s Book Club” at Lifeline Theatre. Our third field trip included time in the great outdoors. We visited North Park Village Nature Center to learn about making maple syrup. We drilled holes, inserted spiles, and hung jugs on two trees. Everyone was happy to see the sap running!
Of course, we loved passing out cards to each other on Valentines’ Day. The book Esio Trot was a perfect selection to promote kindness and love.
In honor of Lincoln’s birthday, we learned about the life of our sixteenth president. The boys and girls also enjoyed comparing their heights and shoe sizes to those of Abraham Lincoln. Our continent of the month was Africa. The first graders read Galimoto, investigated Egypt, used adinkra stamps, made thumb pianos, and learned how to play mancala.
We read books about a Nile crocodile named Bill and his toothbrush, a bird named Pete. We also read the Scholastic News article How Do You Brush a Hippo’s Teeth? To continue the dental theme, we paid a virtual visit to the Museum of the Rockies and explored dinosaur teeth during a live streaming event.
Our fifth grade buddies researched famous African Americans and shared what they learned with us. In addition, a group of special guest speakers taught us about Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad.
Our math lessons this month provided the first graders a variety of different strategies to use in addition and subtraction situations. The big event of the month was the 100th day of school. The students were so proud of the 100-Page books they had written. They were excited to celebrate the 100th day with activities that included the following: acting out the story One Hundred Hungry Ants, creating a googol, making 100 year old self-portraits, investigating 100 pennies, eating 100 piece snacks, building 100 cup towers, cutting out 100 words, locating 100 counties, and much, much more!
In science, we began our study of earth materials. The first graders began by investigating volcanoes and rocks that came from volcanoes. We read the nonfiction book Hill of Fire and learned about the Ring of Fire.
Finally, the first graders learned about Leap Year and completed several frog-themed activities in celebration of the bonus day we received this February.
The first graders are looking forward to sharing the hard work they put into their 100-Page Books during a Meet the Authors event in March!
From the Desk of Ms. L Murray:
February was all about awareness - awareness of ourselves as citizens and awareness of our shared history; of forming an understanding of how we, as a community, need to celebrate our past and cultures. We began the month with an experience that included all of the Bell Second Grade classrooms as we shared our Family Interview Projects. Our students proudly displayed their original projects that were based on interviews with family members. Parents came and supported their students and the rest of the class by offering feedback on the projects. Then, we went to see the play, "Brooklyn Bridge." A play performed at the Merle Reskin Theater by DePaul. The play centered around a young girl who learned a great deal from her neighbors as she finished her own research paper on the Brooklyn Bridge. The main character learned about the diversity of cultures from her neighbors and how they form their community. Next, we watched the Third Graders perform their adaptations of popular children's books as the culmination for their Lookingglass residency. Lastly, we finished the month with two Buddy Day experiences! To celebrate Black History Month, Second Graders became the "big buddies" to our fellow 2nd graders and pre-schoolers in our Deaf Program. Second Graders practiced their ASL finger-spelling in order to communicate with our new, young friends. We heard a book about former president, Barack Obama (many students did not know him!) and then colored a drawing of him. Then, we met with our "big" buddies to celebrate the month.
In Math, we are division masters! Children are working through division facts and strategies. Things were moving so smoothly, that we began to incorporate extra practice and enrichment activities. We are enhancing our technology skills by using various websites, perfecting our independent practice through extension activities and we started an independent project where children will create and "operate" their own restaurant so we can apply all of these new skills!
In Language Arts, we began and almost finished our class novel, Riding Freedom. This poignant piece of historical fiction is based on the real-life events of the first female stagecoach driver. Children are learning to find text evidence to support character traits. We are also learning that good readers are not only able to answer comprehension questions about their reading, but that they can create their own questions to gauge their learning. In Writing, we continued with our Poetry Unit by perfecting using figurative language and changing perspective of the narrator of the poem.
In Science, we began the unit, "Motion and Matter" by taking a closer look at Magnets. Second Graders worked through five different activities to learn more about the force of magnetism. The activities included,1.) reading and responding to questions about magnetism and gravity, 2.) using new vocabulary in context, 3.) hands-on investigations, and 4.) using technology to access a video on brainpopjr.com. Moving forward, students will rotate through these activities in centers to learn about the remaining topics in this unit.
I cannot wait to see what March brings!!!
February was all about awareness - awareness of ourselves as citizens and awareness of our shared history; of forming an understanding of how we, as a community, need to celebrate our past and cultures. We began the month with an experience that included all of the Bell Second Grade classrooms as we shared our Family Interview Projects. Our students proudly displayed their original projects that were based on interviews with family members. Parents came and supported their students and the rest of the class by offering feedback on the projects. Then, we went to see the play, "Brooklyn Bridge." A play performed at the Merle Reskin Theater by DePaul. The play centered around a young girl who learned a great deal from her neighbors as she finished her own research paper on the Brooklyn Bridge. The main character learned about the diversity of cultures from her neighbors and how they form their community. Next, we watched the Third Graders perform their adaptations of popular children's books as the culmination for their Lookingglass residency. Lastly, we finished the month with two Buddy Day experiences! To celebrate Black History Month, Second Graders became the "big buddies" to our fellow 2nd graders and pre-schoolers in our Deaf Program. Second Graders practiced their ASL finger-spelling in order to communicate with our new, young friends. We heard a book about former president, Barack Obama (many students did not know him!) and then colored a drawing of him. Then, we met with our "big" buddies to celebrate the month.
In Math, we are division masters! Children are working through division facts and strategies. Things were moving so smoothly, that we began to incorporate extra practice and enrichment activities. We are enhancing our technology skills by using various websites, perfecting our independent practice through extension activities and we started an independent project where children will create and "operate" their own restaurant so we can apply all of these new skills!
In Language Arts, we began and almost finished our class novel, Riding Freedom. This poignant piece of historical fiction is based on the real-life events of the first female stagecoach driver. Children are learning to find text evidence to support character traits. We are also learning that good readers are not only able to answer comprehension questions about their reading, but that they can create their own questions to gauge their learning. In Writing, we continued with our Poetry Unit by perfecting using figurative language and changing perspective of the narrator of the poem.
In Science, we began the unit, "Motion and Matter" by taking a closer look at Magnets. Second Graders worked through five different activities to learn more about the force of magnetism. The activities included,1.) reading and responding to questions about magnetism and gravity, 2.) using new vocabulary in context, 3.) hands-on investigations, and 4.) using technology to access a video on brainpopjr.com. Moving forward, students will rotate through these activities in centers to learn about the remaining topics in this unit.
I cannot wait to see what March brings!!!
From the Desk of Ms. Thiel:
What a wonderful and busy month!
The highlight of the month was our Lookingglass Informance. The children all worked so hard over the past six weeks and it was amazing to see them all up there on stage!
In math we continued our work with fractions as we moved into addition and subtraction. Students were able to add and subtract fractions as well as rename fractions and mixed numbers. We then moved into multiplying fractions as unit fractions, whole numbers and mixed numbers.
This month we finished our novel The One and Only Ivan. The children did a wonderful job identifying various forms of figurative language throughout the text. We also discussed the many themes presented throughout the novel and how it applied to our story in various ways. We ended our novel by creating a theme poster in which the students selected an appropriate theme and found specific quotations in the text to support this theme.
We ended the month with our “Cereal Box” book report. The children used an empty cereal box to create an interesting book report. The class selected a book of their choice and designed a new cereal related to the book while giving a summary, and describing the characters and setting of the book. They then used IPads to create a commercial for their new cereal!
Science led us to our unit on Energy. Investigations covered this month included the history behind light as well as focusing on different energy sources and how they relate to our everyday life. The students are very excited to move further into this unit as we will be working on multiple hands on activities surrounding magnetic forces and poles.
In Social Studies we began Unit 2: Building the First Colonies. We examined the Spanish, Virginia, Plymouth and French and Dutch Colonies. We discussed why each of the groups settled in North America and what hardships they encountered.
Our published informative books were all so unique! I loved the time and effort the children put into making these. They truly demonstrated their expertise in their chosen topic! We enjoyed a Writer’s Celebration to share our published pieces with the rest of the third grade classes.
We had a blast at the Adler Planetarium on our field trip!
From the Desk of Ms. Milstein:
The 4th graders in Room 208 were engaged in many great things during the month of February. We are working through a science unit on Living Systems by studying various nutrient systems. The class has loved the hands on experiments and creating scientific lab reports during this unit. A favorite experiment was the yeast activation experiment during which the young scientists tested which ingredients would awaken yeast from its dormant state.
Our study of fractions continued in math, moving from addition and subtraction to multiplication. While the class is always eager to get down to the “quick and dirty” skills of each operation, we take time at the beginning of each unit to use visual and hands-on models to represent the math. This slows down the mind and demonstrates for the students what is actually happening to the fractions when we add, subtract, multiply or divide with them. Our 3rrd quarter math projects were assigned this month. Whether the kids elect to plan an overseas vacation and translate costs with exchange rates, adjust a recipe, or plan a bake sale to make a profit of $150, they will be using the new skills we practiced in class.
This month in literacy, the class has been reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. In this historical fiction novel it is extremely important to have background knowledge of the historical context. Before beginning to read, the class spent a week studying the Civil Rights Movement. Students viewed primary resources from the years 1865-1969 that created a timeline of civil rights. After reacting, responding, and discussing, the students all began the new novel with perspective that makes the story so much more meaningful as we read.
The 4th graders in Room 208 were engaged in many great things during the month of February. We are working through a science unit on Living Systems by studying various nutrient systems. The class has loved the hands on experiments and creating scientific lab reports during this unit. A favorite experiment was the yeast activation experiment during which the young scientists tested which ingredients would awaken yeast from its dormant state.
Our study of fractions continued in math, moving from addition and subtraction to multiplication. While the class is always eager to get down to the “quick and dirty” skills of each operation, we take time at the beginning of each unit to use visual and hands-on models to represent the math. This slows down the mind and demonstrates for the students what is actually happening to the fractions when we add, subtract, multiply or divide with them. Our 3rrd quarter math projects were assigned this month. Whether the kids elect to plan an overseas vacation and translate costs with exchange rates, adjust a recipe, or plan a bake sale to make a profit of $150, they will be using the new skills we practiced in class.
This month in literacy, the class has been reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. In this historical fiction novel it is extremely important to have background knowledge of the historical context. Before beginning to read, the class spent a week studying the Civil Rights Movement. Students viewed primary resources from the years 1865-1969 that created a timeline of civil rights. After reacting, responding, and discussing, the students all began the new novel with perspective that makes the story so much more meaningful as we read.
From the Desk of Ms. Caskey:
How is it the end of February already?!? 317 has been engrossed in discussion during reading, examining a memoir with some primary source documents about the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The memoir, entitled Red Scarf Girl, sees the transformation of the narrator during a difficult time in history. We are discussing the impact of propaganda on stereotypes, as well as how fragile leaders lead to fragile governments. This exploration has been fascinating!
We continue to work on verbs and adjectives during grammar. We also continue to add rich vocabulary words through Wordly Wise. We're focusing on the word study part of the tasks, because it's a great tie to Greek and Latin roots. We're seeing a lot of these words in our reading! In writing, we are crafting argument essays using evidence in Writer's Workshop.
Math is being spent reviewing and building on the many purposes for decimals, and working with decimals in various operations. We're also being reminded of the relationship to fractions, which will guide us as we move onto percentages.
Speaking of Social Studies, we began an economics simulation with a classroom city. DiverCity was established just a few weeks ago, and we already have a system of laws in place, as well as many businesses to choose from. It's a wonderful, applicable real world experience . . . until we have to pay fines and bills.
Finally, our new Science unit on Earth History is off and running. We've explored different landforms on Earth and we'll move on to basic geological testing. This unit also includes many models as Planetary Science did.
How is it the end of February already?!? 317 has been engrossed in discussion during reading, examining a memoir with some primary source documents about the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The memoir, entitled Red Scarf Girl, sees the transformation of the narrator during a difficult time in history. We are discussing the impact of propaganda on stereotypes, as well as how fragile leaders lead to fragile governments. This exploration has been fascinating!
We continue to work on verbs and adjectives during grammar. We also continue to add rich vocabulary words through Wordly Wise. We're focusing on the word study part of the tasks, because it's a great tie to Greek and Latin roots. We're seeing a lot of these words in our reading! In writing, we are crafting argument essays using evidence in Writer's Workshop.
Math is being spent reviewing and building on the many purposes for decimals, and working with decimals in various operations. We're also being reminded of the relationship to fractions, which will guide us as we move onto percentages.
Speaking of Social Studies, we began an economics simulation with a classroom city. DiverCity was established just a few weeks ago, and we already have a system of laws in place, as well as many businesses to choose from. It's a wonderful, applicable real world experience . . . until we have to pay fines and bills.
Finally, our new Science unit on Earth History is off and running. We've explored different landforms on Earth and we'll move on to basic geological testing. This unit also includes many models as Planetary Science did.
From the Desk of Mr. Klein:
The work during the month of February in physical science focused on chemical bonding. In particular, the emphasis was on three areas:
1)the formula of an ionic compound (i.e., balancing charges on ions). Atoms of different elements combine with one another to form compounds. The empirical formula of an ionic compound indicates the kinds of atoms that are present in the compound as well as the relative number (ratio) of each kind of atom. Concepts involved in this exploration include empirical formula, polyatomic ion, and precipitation reaction.
2)Lewis structures and molecular geometry (i.e., models of covalent bonding). Molecules have shape. The structure and shape of a molecule influences its physical properties and affects its chemical behavior as well. Lewis structures and VSEPR theory offer useful models for visualizing the structures of covalent compounds. Concepts involved in this exploration include valence electrons, covalent bonding, Lewis structures, and VSEPR theory.
3)the color of chemistry (i.e., dyes, dyeing, and chemical bonding). The art of dyeing dates back thousands of years to the use of natural dyes extracted from plants and animals. Some dyes, such as the Tyrian purple obtained from shellfish, were so rare that only emperors and kings could afford to wear purple, hence the term “royal purple.” The modern dye industry started more than 150 years ago with the discovery of “mauve,” the first synthetic dye. Since then, thousands of dyes have been developed to work with all types of fabrics. Concepts involved in this exploration include chemical bonding, ionic bonds, polar vs. nonpolar bonds, and hydrogen bonding.
The work during the month of February in life science focused on DNA and RNA. In particular, the emphasis was on three areas:
1)DNA in action. DNA, deoxyribose nucleic acid, is the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of every living organism. Knowledge of its structure and functions is key to an understanding of molecular biology. Less than 50 years ago the nature of the genetic code still eluded scientists. Since the structure of DNA was first hypothesized, it has become the most significant biological topic of the century. Understanding the structure of DNA helps to explain many life processes and why we are who we are. In this activity, the major processes of DNA will be modeled. Each step of the procedure will simulate a key DNA structure or process. Concepts involved in this exploration include double helix, replication, genetic code, transcription, and translation.
2)DNA Isolation. Learning how to isolate DNA from human cells. Concepts involved in this exploration include DNA spooling and isolation, cell lysis, and solubility.
3)the cell cycle (i.e., simulations of chromosome behavior). The life of a eukaryotic cell consists of a continuous sequence of events known as the cell cycle. Chromosomes and genes are passed systematically from one generation to the next, assuring that these oddities are rarities. Concepts involved in this exploration include cell cycle, mitosis, meiosis, chromosomes, and crossing over.
In language arts, the students have been
1) reading, discussing, completing insert notes and preparing literature circles, projects, critical thinking questions, and mind maps for a variety of short stories,
2) writing both short-term and long-term creative narratives,
3) completing exercises regarding essential literary terms,
4) taking vocabulary evaluations in the study of Greek and Latin roots,
5) investigating philosophical questions,
6) learning how to better understand the text in poetry in terms of tone, speaker, voice, situation, and setting, and
7) exploring the nuances of language in grammatical studies.
The work during the month of February in physical science focused on chemical bonding. In particular, the emphasis was on three areas:
1)the formula of an ionic compound (i.e., balancing charges on ions). Atoms of different elements combine with one another to form compounds. The empirical formula of an ionic compound indicates the kinds of atoms that are present in the compound as well as the relative number (ratio) of each kind of atom. Concepts involved in this exploration include empirical formula, polyatomic ion, and precipitation reaction.
2)Lewis structures and molecular geometry (i.e., models of covalent bonding). Molecules have shape. The structure and shape of a molecule influences its physical properties and affects its chemical behavior as well. Lewis structures and VSEPR theory offer useful models for visualizing the structures of covalent compounds. Concepts involved in this exploration include valence electrons, covalent bonding, Lewis structures, and VSEPR theory.
3)the color of chemistry (i.e., dyes, dyeing, and chemical bonding). The art of dyeing dates back thousands of years to the use of natural dyes extracted from plants and animals. Some dyes, such as the Tyrian purple obtained from shellfish, were so rare that only emperors and kings could afford to wear purple, hence the term “royal purple.” The modern dye industry started more than 150 years ago with the discovery of “mauve,” the first synthetic dye. Since then, thousands of dyes have been developed to work with all types of fabrics. Concepts involved in this exploration include chemical bonding, ionic bonds, polar vs. nonpolar bonds, and hydrogen bonding.
The work during the month of February in life science focused on DNA and RNA. In particular, the emphasis was on three areas:
1)DNA in action. DNA, deoxyribose nucleic acid, is the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of every living organism. Knowledge of its structure and functions is key to an understanding of molecular biology. Less than 50 years ago the nature of the genetic code still eluded scientists. Since the structure of DNA was first hypothesized, it has become the most significant biological topic of the century. Understanding the structure of DNA helps to explain many life processes and why we are who we are. In this activity, the major processes of DNA will be modeled. Each step of the procedure will simulate a key DNA structure or process. Concepts involved in this exploration include double helix, replication, genetic code, transcription, and translation.
2)DNA Isolation. Learning how to isolate DNA from human cells. Concepts involved in this exploration include DNA spooling and isolation, cell lysis, and solubility.
3)the cell cycle (i.e., simulations of chromosome behavior). The life of a eukaryotic cell consists of a continuous sequence of events known as the cell cycle. Chromosomes and genes are passed systematically from one generation to the next, assuring that these oddities are rarities. Concepts involved in this exploration include cell cycle, mitosis, meiosis, chromosomes, and crossing over.
In language arts, the students have been
1) reading, discussing, completing insert notes and preparing literature circles, projects, critical thinking questions, and mind maps for a variety of short stories,
2) writing both short-term and long-term creative narratives,
3) completing exercises regarding essential literary terms,
4) taking vocabulary evaluations in the study of Greek and Latin roots,
5) investigating philosophical questions,
6) learning how to better understand the text in poetry in terms of tone, speaker, voice, situation, and setting, and
7) exploring the nuances of language in grammatical studies.