From the Desk of Ms. Demitropoulos:
The beginning of December marked the introduction of Reading Workshop for the kindergarteners in room 106. They have been learning about good reading habits by discussing ideas with partners. After practicing, the students are able to read books at their independent reading levels to apply the skills.
The students have been finishing up their How-To stories in writing workshop by editing their friend’s stories and using checklists. These children are not just learning how to write, they are teaching us through their amazing writing abilities.
Words Their Way has been a successful spelling tool in guiding the four leveled groups through learning spelling patterns and applying the patterns within their writing. It is so impressive to witness such progress out of these kiddos!
We learned about various holiday traditions around the world and discussed our own family traditions. The kids paired up with their fourth grade buddies to wrap presents for family members after shopping at the Holiday Market. They were also treated to a wonderful holiday celebration in the classroom thanks to our fabulous room parents and attended our first field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. 2019 has been a great start but we are looking forward to a fabulous 2020!
From the Desk of Ms. Kaim:
The first graders began the month of December by creating reindeer faces to adorn their paper people in the hallway. They also visited the holiday market to shop for presents to give their family members. Along with several other Options classrooms, they participated in a service project to provide pajamas and books to boys and girls in need in Chicago. Later, the boys and girls attended a festive holiday assembly and took part in many holiday-themed activities in the classroom. Our trip to see A Christmas Carol was the perfect way to help us understand the value of giving. It also was a great opportunity for the first graders to dress up and admire the gingerbread ornaments they made for the Christmas tree in the main hallway.
Our Continent of the Month was South America. The first graders learned about the Amazon rainforest, the Galapagos Islands, and Machu Picchu. The book The Great Kapok Tree began our focus on the diversity of plant and animal life across the continent. The boys and girls enjoyed trying to identify rainforest spices using their sense of smell. They also enjoyed eating food representative of the continent during Taste of South America!
In science, we continued our study of matter. We discovered properties of liquids such as being viscous, transparent, translucent, or opaque. The first graders explored liquids in a variety of ways to see that they flow, they take the shape of their containers, and their surface is level to the ground. They also helped harvest the compost from, and add bedding to, the worm compost bin in our classroom.
We moved on to using place value concepts with three-digit numbers in math. The first graders described numbers in word form, standard form, and expanded form. They also drew quick pictures to show equivalent representations of numbers. In addition to this, the boys and girls also worked on their shapes PowerPoint presentations in the computer lab.
Flat Stanley was the source of many discussions and reading activities. The highlight of these activities was mailing our own Flat Stanleys around the country and the world. The first graders are looking forward to hearing back from Stanley and learning about the places he visits!
From the Desk of Ms. L Murray:
Where has the time gone?! Our Second Graders have been very busy with math, and reading and also, becoming poets!
In Language Arts, we read the biography, Take a Stand, Rosa Parks! We practiced summarizing and sequencing but most importantly, we learned to ask questions. We learned that good readers ask lots of questions, but not just any questions. "Remember" questions help us to pick out important information from the text and begin with the stems, "Who," "What," "Where" and "When." Other questions are "Understand" questions. These questions help us to analyze what we read and often begin with stems such as, "Why," "How did," and "What is the difference?"
In Writing, we launched our "Poetry" unit. Second Graders learned three lessons from poets, 1.) look at ordinary objects through a poet's eyes, 2.) use line breaks to create music, 3.) write about topics that give us big feelings. We then display our work on a class, "Poetry Line" for all to see.
In Math, we focused on multiplication strategies which included using the three properties of multiplication - "Commutative," "Associative," and "Distributive." These properties help us to use doubles to find products more quickly. For example, the equation, 8 x 7 = 56 can be written as 2 x (4 x 7) or (4 + 7) x (4 + 7).
In Science, we continued our "Structures of Life" unit with a closer look at animal food chains, webs, and adaptations. Students watched a video and read about how crayfish are a successful species and therefore often serve as a case study for scientists. We also sorted through ecosystem cards to identify and organize adaptations for animals for the purposes of defense, eating, movement and caring for their young.
In Social Studies, we prepared for our Family Interview Project, by taking a closer look at the aspects of our lives that make our culture. These include but are not limited to, holidays we celebrate, music we listen to and favorite foods.
Where has the time gone?! Our Second Graders have been very busy with math, and reading and also, becoming poets!
In Language Arts, we read the biography, Take a Stand, Rosa Parks! We practiced summarizing and sequencing but most importantly, we learned to ask questions. We learned that good readers ask lots of questions, but not just any questions. "Remember" questions help us to pick out important information from the text and begin with the stems, "Who," "What," "Where" and "When." Other questions are "Understand" questions. These questions help us to analyze what we read and often begin with stems such as, "Why," "How did," and "What is the difference?"
In Writing, we launched our "Poetry" unit. Second Graders learned three lessons from poets, 1.) look at ordinary objects through a poet's eyes, 2.) use line breaks to create music, 3.) write about topics that give us big feelings. We then display our work on a class, "Poetry Line" for all to see.
In Math, we focused on multiplication strategies which included using the three properties of multiplication - "Commutative," "Associative," and "Distributive." These properties help us to use doubles to find products more quickly. For example, the equation, 8 x 7 = 56 can be written as 2 x (4 x 7) or (4 + 7) x (4 + 7).
In Science, we continued our "Structures of Life" unit with a closer look at animal food chains, webs, and adaptations. Students watched a video and read about how crayfish are a successful species and therefore often serve as a case study for scientists. We also sorted through ecosystem cards to identify and organize adaptations for animals for the purposes of defense, eating, movement and caring for their young.
In Social Studies, we prepared for our Family Interview Project, by taking a closer look at the aspects of our lives that make our culture. These include but are not limited to, holidays we celebrate, music we listen to and favorite foods.
From the Desk of Ms. Thiel:
In social studies the children enjoyed using Chrome books to research aspects of a Native American tribe of their choice. The children then created an informative poster on their topic and presented what they learned to the class as a group.
We were fortunate to be able to go on a field trip to The Grove to learn more about Native American life and culture. The children learned to braid, grind corn, play Native American games and were able to view artifacts such as bison bones and skin.
In connection to our social studies unit, we finished our second novel, Mr.Tucket. The children learned how to use their background knowledge plus clues within the text to make inferences. We practiced many group activities to reinforce this skill. We also practiced identifying the main idea and supporting it with details.
This month in math we moved into division. The students studied estimating quotients, using multiples and how to interpret remainders. We focused on the many ways to divide including using compatible numbers, distributive property, repeated subtraction and regrouping.
We continued learning about the Earth and Sun in science. We discussed various aspects of the solar system and the objects that orbit it. The children discussed the distance, size and brightness of stars.
This month we worked on our next writing piece; informative writing. Students brainstormed topics they were experts on. After selecting a topic we listed subtopics. The children learned new organizational structures to present this information as well as how to create a table of contents. We will continue to work on our informational text next month.
We had a blast wrapping our gifts from the Holiday Market with our 7th grade buddies!
From the Desk of Ms. Caskey:
Students in 317 are getting ready for break! We continue to be busy in all content areas. In reading, Maniac Magee will wrap up right after Winter Break. This story deals with some heavy ideas surrounding racism, segregation, and homelessness. We took a look at figurative language and its effectiveness in the text, including onomatopoeia and irony. We will be taking a Jerry Spinelli book home after break and completing book club/literature circles. ELA has included a grammar unit on nouns, Wordly Wise words (we're seeing a LOT of these in our reading), and a unit on memoirs that is pressing on full speed ahead.
In math, we are working hard on all operations with fractions and we will finish the unit after break. We've explored the concept of using multiple algorithms with adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions. We'll come back to division and multi-operation story problems.
During Science, we continue our exploration of the Solar System. We are placing items in either the Solar System, Milky Way, or the universe. We looked at the origin of the Solar System forming and we will attempt to scale a model of the Solar System after break. It will be challenging, even with a scale! We will also explore if conditions on any other planet will sustain life. Our unit will finish after break where we will choose a project and visit the Adler for an interactive look at all our astronomy skills.
Our geography unit in Social Studies will come to a close after break as we plan a cultural trip in our chosen regions using Google Maps. I hope this project inspires future real world travel and experiencing cultures different than our own. Have a fantastic winter break!
Students in 317 are getting ready for break! We continue to be busy in all content areas. In reading, Maniac Magee will wrap up right after Winter Break. This story deals with some heavy ideas surrounding racism, segregation, and homelessness. We took a look at figurative language and its effectiveness in the text, including onomatopoeia and irony. We will be taking a Jerry Spinelli book home after break and completing book club/literature circles. ELA has included a grammar unit on nouns, Wordly Wise words (we're seeing a LOT of these in our reading), and a unit on memoirs that is pressing on full speed ahead.
In math, we are working hard on all operations with fractions and we will finish the unit after break. We've explored the concept of using multiple algorithms with adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions. We'll come back to division and multi-operation story problems.
During Science, we continue our exploration of the Solar System. We are placing items in either the Solar System, Milky Way, or the universe. We looked at the origin of the Solar System forming and we will attempt to scale a model of the Solar System after break. It will be challenging, even with a scale! We will also explore if conditions on any other planet will sustain life. Our unit will finish after break where we will choose a project and visit the Adler for an interactive look at all our astronomy skills.
Our geography unit in Social Studies will come to a close after break as we plan a cultural trip in our chosen regions using Google Maps. I hope this project inspires future real world travel and experiencing cultures different than our own. Have a fantastic winter break!
From the Desk of Mr. Klein:
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Experiments concerning the study of elements, compounds, and mixtures: properties of elements (concepts—elements, physical and chemical properties, metals vs. nonmetals, metalloids); percent water in a hydrate (concepts—compounds vs. mixtures, law of definite proportions, hydrates, chemical formula); paper chromatography (concepts—mixture vs. pure substance, separation of a mixture, chromatography, adsorption); chromatography challenge (concepts—compound vs. mixture, physical properties, paper chromatography); and separating a mixture by filtration (concepts—mixture vs. pure substance, homogeneous vs. heterogeneous, physical and chemical changes).
LIFE SCIENCE
Experiments concerning the study of the living cell: exploring plant and animal cells (concepts—plant cells, animal cells, cell structures); prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes (concepts—prokaryotes, cell structure, eukaryotes, cell organelles); cell membrane permeability (concepts—cell membrane, active transport, diffusion, acid–base indicators); and enzymes, the catalysts of life.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Vocabulary: Greek roots “logy” and “bio”
Persuasive writing: Drawing similarities between two items in preparation for the writing of an essay
Literature: Preparation of projects, literature circles, mind maps, and questions and answers in the study of action/adventure short stories
Grammar: Parts of speech, classifying verbs, be or linking verbs, identifying be verbs, and prepositional phrases
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Experiments concerning the study of elements, compounds, and mixtures: properties of elements (concepts—elements, physical and chemical properties, metals vs. nonmetals, metalloids); percent water in a hydrate (concepts—compounds vs. mixtures, law of definite proportions, hydrates, chemical formula); paper chromatography (concepts—mixture vs. pure substance, separation of a mixture, chromatography, adsorption); chromatography challenge (concepts—compound vs. mixture, physical properties, paper chromatography); and separating a mixture by filtration (concepts—mixture vs. pure substance, homogeneous vs. heterogeneous, physical and chemical changes).
LIFE SCIENCE
Experiments concerning the study of the living cell: exploring plant and animal cells (concepts—plant cells, animal cells, cell structures); prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes (concepts—prokaryotes, cell structure, eukaryotes, cell organelles); cell membrane permeability (concepts—cell membrane, active transport, diffusion, acid–base indicators); and enzymes, the catalysts of life.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Vocabulary: Greek roots “logy” and “bio”
Persuasive writing: Drawing similarities between two items in preparation for the writing of an essay
Literature: Preparation of projects, literature circles, mind maps, and questions and answers in the study of action/adventure short stories
Grammar: Parts of speech, classifying verbs, be or linking verbs, identifying be verbs, and prepositional phrases
From the Desk of Mr. Schoenbeck:
In 6th Grade Social Studies we just wrapped up our unit on Citizenship in Athens and Rome with a great debate. The students then researched the way other civilizations approached questions related to citizen, immigration, levels of rights, etc. and presented to their classmates. We are just started our next unit on Asoka and the Spread of Buddhism. Our essential question here is about "When do the Ends Justify the Means?"
In 7th Grade Social Studies we are starting our Constitution unit, which will be a lengthy one. At the moment we are working our way through annotating the Constitution itself, and are currently focused on the Legislative Branch. Not exciting by most standards, but the students are showing great curiosity and stamina.
In 8th Social Studies we are studying the Industrial Age, and all the good and ill that came with it. Our essential question is about the "American Dream" (How much myth....for who....etc.), which applies directly to our case study of Andrew Carnegie. We were able to squeeze in a debate about that just before the break.
In 6th Grade Social Studies we just wrapped up our unit on Citizenship in Athens and Rome with a great debate. The students then researched the way other civilizations approached questions related to citizen, immigration, levels of rights, etc. and presented to their classmates. We are just started our next unit on Asoka and the Spread of Buddhism. Our essential question here is about "When do the Ends Justify the Means?"
In 7th Grade Social Studies we are starting our Constitution unit, which will be a lengthy one. At the moment we are working our way through annotating the Constitution itself, and are currently focused on the Legislative Branch. Not exciting by most standards, but the students are showing great curiosity and stamina.
In 8th Social Studies we are studying the Industrial Age, and all the good and ill that came with it. Our essential question is about the "American Dream" (How much myth....for who....etc.), which applies directly to our case study of Andrew Carnegie. We were able to squeeze in a debate about that just before the break.