From the Desk of Ms. Demitropoulos:
Even though October and November have been short and disruptive, they have not stopped us from learning and having a blast!
We celebrated “Apple Day” with sorting, graphing and learning about different types of apples. The kids were able to use their senses to identify adjectives to describe the taste, look and feel among the varieties of fruits.
The children have continued to impress me by moving up reading levels as we prepare for Reading Workshop. I was fortunate to order several new books to add to our vast collection of nonfiction and fiction leveled stories to meet all of our learners’ needs. I can’t wait to get started with this new program.
Bell Walk was also a fantastic day for room 106. It was so inspiring to watch the kids meet their goals with persistence and grace around the turf. They worked so hard and never gave up! In addition, “Around the World Day” was a great experience where the children moved throughout the kindergarten and first grade rooms learning new facts about several different countries while participating in crafts, dances or classroom museums.
Above all, I think Pajama Day and Flashlight Fridays are the winners for the most exciting in room 106.
From the Desk of Ms. Kaim:
Despite interruptions to the school schedule, the first graders were very productive during the months of October and November.
They began by focusing on geometry and fractions in math. The boys and girls learned about two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. They used shape nets to build three-dimensional shapes. They identified shapes by name and compared the number of faces, edges, vertices, and angles they have. Finally, they began visiting the computer lab to create slideshow presentations about shapes.
We then moved on to basic number concepts and place value in math. The first graders also continued to count their way to Day 100 and work on their 100 Page Books. Our fifth grade buddies helped us count our Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF donations. I am proud to report that the kindergarten through fifth grade Options students brought in $500 to donate to UNICEF. We are currently collecting new pajamas to give to children in need who live in our own community. If you'd like to help, please send in pajamas of any size by Wednesday, December 4. Thank you!
Two exciting projects in October involved creating structures. The first graders built individual structures using toothpicks and gumdrops. They also worked in teams to create larger structures using cardboard boxes and cartons. The structure projects connected to our math studies, but also to our to social studies lessons as we learned on houses and homes. The first graders read about, and looked at pictures of, different types of homes around the world. They thought about the reasons the houses are constructed in different ways and built with different materials. Each student also shared a description of his/her own home. In addition to this, we learned how to distinguish between urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Our Continent of the Month during November was North America. As part of this unit, the students learned about the history of Thanksgiving. Reading The Goat in the Rug led the boys and girls to weave their own paper rugs. Other projects included making worry dolls after studying Guatemala and creating totem pole models after learning how/why they are made by native peoples of the Northwest. A highlight of the month was sampling food from different places in North America.
We read the books This is My House and A House is a House for Me. The students used the latter to write their own ideas about things that are houses for things. We also read Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. This led to an exploration of animal homes. The Country Mouse and the City Mouse was our first Junior Great Books story. We worked on listening, wondering, and sharing.
In science, we continued our investigation of plants. The students pollinated the flowers on their brassica plants and observed the formation of seedpods. Inside the classroom, the first graders grew wheat in straws, planted pumpkin seeds, and planted spider plants. Outside, they planted tulip and daffodil bulbs in the butterfly garden. The boys and girls also read Leaf Man, created their own leaf creatures, and wrote stories about them. After this, we began studying matter. Our first lessons focused on the properties of solids. The students sorted and classified solids in different ways. They used their earlier structure building experiences to successfully construct bridges using a set of solids.
Our first field trip was a visit to the neighborhood firehouse in October. We also joined the other first grade classes on a field trip to the Chicago Children’s Theatre to see a performance based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other stories by Eric Carle.
Although our trip to the pumpkin farm was cancelled, the first graders still enjoyed an amazing Pumpkin Day in early November. The boys and girls created models of the life cycle of a pumpkin, read pumpkin stories, measured pumpkins in a variety of ways, scooped out the seeds from big pumpkins, tasted food made with pumpkins, and decorated pumpkins.
Another special project in November involved taking a secret field trip to the neighborhood mailbox. The students wrote letters of thanksgiving to their parents, addressed the envelopes, and sent them on their way. The boys and girls were very excited about surprising their parents!
The Bell Walk, the Halloween Show, and Around the World Day were three other fabulous events in which the first graders participated. They are looking forward to seeing A Christmas Carol and learning about South America during the month of December.
From the Desk of Ms. L. Murray:
I cannot believe it is already time for November to come to a close! We enjoyed our first field trip of the year to the Arlington Heights Historical Society where we were guided through a program designed to educate on the challenges of pioneer life of early settlers who explored the West. Students were able to visit a one-room schoolhouse and use materials from the time period to gather water and "wash" clothes by hand. This information about early settlers will provide a basis as we discuss the hardships of early immigrants to the United States.
In Language Arts, we finished our novel, Bunnicula! We then focused on informational texts by reading and responding to articles in our Scholastic News magazine. We read about how one family is maintaining the tradition of making totem poles. We also read about the dangerous journey of those on the Mayflower. Students responded to comprehension questions and organized information into graphic organizers to identify main idea and supporting details.
In Science, we continued our "Structures of Life" unit by exploring the interconnectedness of food chains and webs. We also discussed adaptations and how every species is uniquely equipped to survive the challenges of their environment.
In other news, we began our weekly visits to the computer lab with Ms. Newberry! Students received their logins and passwords and began a project using the "Paint' software. We also used our logins and passwords to participate in online interactive activities using Chromebooks in the classroom. We will continue to receive technology instruction from Ms. Newberry on "Z" days.
Lastly, we learned about the tall tale of Johnny Appleseed! Thanks to a hardworking room parent, Ms. McAvoy, we were able to participate in a rotation of activities with the rest of the second grade classes. Activities included, apple-stamping, puppet-making, and various games such as "Hot Apple" aka, "Hot Potato."
I cannot wait to see what December brings!
From the Desk of Ms. Thiel:
Fall has been a very busy time! We finished reading our first novel Raymie Nightingale. We engaged in many group discussions and worked on finding evidence to support our ideas. We discussed the character traits of our main characters and then compared and contrasted the characters.
We have just begun our second novel, Mr. Tucket, by Gary Paulson. The class has been working on finding inferences. We will continue to practice this skill as well as work on identifying main ideas and supporting details within the text.
In math we dove right into multiplication and the many methods you can use to solve; distributive property, partial product and expanded form. We learned how to regroup using two and three digits and applied this to word problems. We used these methods learned in Chapter 2 to move into two digit multiplication. The children estimated products, multiplied using partial products and regrouping. We ended the chapter by working on problem solving by multiplying two digit numbers. We are ready to tackle division!
In science, we completed our investigations with mixtures and solutions. We weighed a salt solution and predicted how we can separate the salt. We estimated the length of time it took to crystalize, recorded data and interpreted our results. We have begun our next unit, Earth & Sun. We have engaged in investigations surrounding our shadows and how they change throughout the day. The children also discussed and related the position of the sun in the sky to the size and orientation of an objects shadow.
In social studies we have begun our chapter on Early People. The children are beginning to identity possible explanations of how people came to live in the Americas. We will also learn how early people lived, hunted, and farmed. The children will begin a group project on Native Americans after Thanksgiving. The children will learn about various Native American tribes and attributes unique to each group. The children will then chose a specific tribe to research as well as one aspect of the tribe to learn about. They will work as a group to create a poster and present their findings to the class.
We completed our first writing piece; a personal narrative. The children completed a rough draft, conferenced one on one and then revised and edited the piece. The children published their final draft and then had a writer’s celebration by sharing their pieces with the other third grade classes!
We ended October with a fabulous Halloween Day! We worked hard on our Halloween songs and enjoyed the parade and party. The end of the quarter brought many celebrations for “Reaching for the Red”. The children engaged in an “All Around the World Day” in which they rotated classrooms and learned about other countries. The final reward for reaching their pom pom goal was putting a pie in their teachers’ face! This was fun for everyone!
From the Desk of Ms. Milstein:
October and November have been some wild months. Amongst all the crazy things going on, there has fortunately been a lot of learning as well. The class has been working through our second and third chapters in math. The students mastered new strategies to complete division problems with 2 digit divisors, and we are now beginning our units involving operations with decimals.
We have also been digging into our narrative writing unit. After working in writer’s notebooks to develop ideas for realistic story writing, the students have begun writing elevated narratives with a focus on action and dialogue. We will continue to revise these pieces before publishing and sharing the final products.
The students turned in their first quarterly book reports. Each student self-selected a book and completed a project of their choice based on the categories of art, writing, music, or math & technology. We held a miniature book fair, during which time the students got to present their own and view others’ projects. From board games and coded animation, to essays and dioramas, it was so neat to see all the different products the kids came up with!
We have been studying environments in science. One favorite element of this unit is building and investigating food chains and food webs in various ecosystems. Students worked in groups to create hands-on models of food webs and analyze the impact of certain plants and animals.
From the Desk of Ms. Caskey:
317 started a new class novel in reading. The end of October was the perfect time to read Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, so we started right away upon our return. We're finding the story connects with the theme of bravery much like our last novel, Number the Stars. With Coraline, we're also taking a dramatic twist with reenacting scenes, creating one line plays, or writing in different roles to infer how all characters across the text might be feeling. We've also looked at author craft with how Gaiman builds tension with sensory words and other adjectives, as well as short sentences and long paragraphs. He makes you want to keep reading!
In math, we've continued our rational number journey, but we've added fractions, decimals, and ratios to the mix. We've dug deep into positive and negative numbers, absolute value, and really precise decimal place values. We've also gotten a firm grasp on the relationship between fractions and decimals, and we can move between the equivalencies.
Our tour of our solar system continues in science, with simulations of the moon phases to reflect our moon logs. We've also explored day and night patterns all over the world! We'll be moving onto crater formation and the origin of the solar system.
In social studies, we are continuing our Eastern Hemisphere study with a mystery map. We became experts on a region, so we are challenging our group mates by making a map that is missing all the important stuff and seeing if our partner can guess our location with a series of clues. It's been a lot of fun to create!
Finally, in writing and ELA we are extra busy. We created our own moon origin story based on tales we've read in science. We've wrapped our sentence exploration in grammar, and we've moved onto nouns. Wordly Wise continues and we've entwined some Greek and Latin root study into our word list. We're also looking out for those words in our reading (and hopefully writing!) Our narrative unit wrapped, and we've moved onto memoir. Some of us wrote powerful entries on what being a fifth grader feels like to us. I hope some see it through to publishing!
From the Desk of Mr. Prince:
6th grade has Finished reading Nothing But The Truth by Avi. The book culminated with students creating scenes that could have, but did not appear in the book. Students also read the shorts stories Charles by Shirley Jackson and The Moustache by Robert Cormier. They compared the untruths of each to the untruths in Nothing But The Truth. Students showed what they learned about Truth and characters by creating one pagers. Currently the students are following the path of Buck from Civilized to his best self in The Call of The Wild by Jack London. In math students worked on Similarity in the Unit Stretching and Shrinking. They are currently investigating ratios, percents and proportions in Comparing and Scaling.This year students have taken charge of many aspects of class climate and Culture. They have built a website, created a newsletter and decorated the class for the fall and Halloween. Students use committee meetings once per week to make sure they have all aspects covered.
7th grade math is working on the unit Searching for Pythagoras. They have been studying aspects of square roots and the ideas that will lead to a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. Students are completing Wheel of Thedoras projects that combine math and art. Some students have moved ahead of their classmates and are working on exponential functions in the unit Growing, Growing, Growing.
In 8th grade math students continue working through the CME Algebra or Geometry text at their own pace. They are currently working on Graphs in Algebra to looking at Congruence and Proof in Geometry.
See the photos for examples of one pagers and Wheel of Pythagoras Art.
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 “poly” and “logy”
Persuasive writing
Prewriting in preparation for the writing of the second essay
Literature
Preparation of projects, literature circles, mind maps, and questions and answers in the study of humorous short stories
Presentation of the work
Reading and discussion in the study of action and adventure short stories
Grammar
Parts of speech
Classifying verbs
Be or linking verbs
Identifying be verbs
Creative writing
Listening and looking for clichés
Listening and looking for ambiguity
Poetry
Analysis of “Calculations”
From the Desk of Mr. Schoenbeck:
We're glad to be back to work and on routine. In 6th grade Social Studies, we finished our unit on Cost/Benefit Analysis, focusing on a case study of the Great Wall of China. We finished up with a really excellent debate. Now we are studying the Essential Question: "What does it mean to be a Citizen? What's the best balance between Rights and Responsibilities? Who gets to be In and On Top, and how do we decide?" Our case study for this is a comparison between democratic systems in ancient Greece and Rome. Obviously, there are some pretty relevant connections to questions of immigration and citizenship in the United States, which we are discussing as relevant.
In 7th grade Social Studies we just wrapped up our unit on the Revolution, and had a debate just before the break. Our Essential Question had to deal with exploring the best ways to make changes in a society, and are the biggest changes the most painful. In essence, was the Revolution really revolutionary, and what changes still need to be made. Our next unit is the BIG ONE: Constitution, which will take up most of the remainder of 2nd quarter.
In 8th Social Studies we just finished our unit on Westward Expansion post-Civil War. Our Essential Question explored the nature of bias, and understanding where the American Story is more mythical or more factual. We're ready to begin a new unit on American Imperialism.
In 8th Reading/LA we just wrapped up our 1st round of Literature Circles with selections of Narrative Poetry, and the students are excited to start work on their group projects. We'll also be starting our next whole class novel, There Are No Children Here, as the central text to our study of Narrative Non-fiction.