From the Desk of Ms. Demitropoulos:
The kindergarten students in room 106 have been working hard to learn the rules and responsibilities of Bell School. We continue to discuss how to properly transition throughout the classroom and the building.
These kiddos are master writers in Writing Workshop! They have already used visualizing, labeling and using resources to construct sentences and illustrations while creating narrative stories. They have also learned that they are problem solvers and able to use their tools to solve their own issues. It is fascinating to watch them progress in such a short amount of time.
We met our fourth grade buddies and had an extra recess with them last week and also created a International Dot Day project with our first grade options friends. Bell School is the best and we are having a super great time so far! I can’t wait to see what magic happens in October!
From the Desk of Ms. Kaim:
Welcome to a new year in Room 104! Our classroom motto is Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. We will do our best to practice this on a daily basis with each other and everyone we meet!
Last year’s amazing kindergarten crew has moved one grade up and one classroom over! One of their first activities was sharing the postcards they received over the summer. They also participated in International Dot Day with the new kindergarteners and Talk Like a Pirate Day. Another special event was planting plants for the school’s new pollinator garden on the south playground
The first graders were excited to meet their fifth grade buddies and have already completed several projects with them. These included name glyphs and the fabulous paper people that will soon be hanging outside Room 104.
Chrysanthemum was our first reading book. It helped us see how someone’s words can make someone else wilt or bloom. It also led to our first research project-the meaning of our names. The students were proud to share their name stories with their classmates. Our second reading book was Blueberries for Sal. We used this book to make predictions, compare/contrast characters, and learn about story elements.
The big topic in our first math unit was data collection and analysis. The first graders used tally marks, recorded information, and used picture and bar graphs. One of the first graphs we started was our tooth pictograph. We will keep track of the teeth lost each month in first grade. In social studies, we have been working on basic map skills and world geography.
In writing, the first graders studied short vowel sounds and patterns in spelling. After reading A House for Hermit Crab, the students wrote stories about the walks taken by hermit crabs of their own imagining. We began D’Nealian handwriting lessons with a focus on letter slant, size, and spacing.
Our first science topic is plants. The first graders began this unit by making observations of a chrysanthemum plant (and the caterpillars living on it!) They also collected items on the playground to make nature names. After reading The Tiny Seed, the first graders planted tiny brassica seeds. They are recording the changes they observe in the plants and placing them in their research logs. The boys and girls also planted wheat seeds in clear straws in order to observe root growth.
Ladybug Day was a special event in September. Leading up to this day, the first graders had observed ladybug larvae become ladybug pupae and then become adult ladybugs. On Ladybug Day, the boys and girls dressed like ladybugs, listened to ladybug stories, created models of the life cycle of ladybugs, learned about ladybug anatomy, observed the physical characteristics and behaviors of live ladybugs, and made ladybugs with symmetrical spots.
When we released the ladybugs, we discovered a cicada that had just emerged from its shell so it became a temporary class guest. It joined Pinky the Axolotl, Fluffy the Tarantula, Crabby and Shelly the Hermit Crabs, and our red wiggler worms. The latter are in our classroom compost bin. We hope to add the compost our worms make to the school garden.
We are looking forward to reading more books, learning about homes around the world, and celebrating Pumpkin Day in October!
Welcome to a new year in Room 104! Our classroom motto is Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. We will do our best to practice this on a daily basis with each other and everyone we meet!
Last year’s amazing kindergarten crew has moved one grade up and one classroom over! One of their first activities was sharing the postcards they received over the summer. They also participated in International Dot Day with the new kindergarteners and Talk Like a Pirate Day. Another special event was planting plants for the school’s new pollinator garden on the south playground
The first graders were excited to meet their fifth grade buddies and have already completed several projects with them. These included name glyphs and the fabulous paper people that will soon be hanging outside Room 104.
Chrysanthemum was our first reading book. It helped us see how someone’s words can make someone else wilt or bloom. It also led to our first research project-the meaning of our names. The students were proud to share their name stories with their classmates. Our second reading book was Blueberries for Sal. We used this book to make predictions, compare/contrast characters, and learn about story elements.
The big topic in our first math unit was data collection and analysis. The first graders used tally marks, recorded information, and used picture and bar graphs. One of the first graphs we started was our tooth pictograph. We will keep track of the teeth lost each month in first grade. In social studies, we have been working on basic map skills and world geography.
In writing, the first graders studied short vowel sounds and patterns in spelling. After reading A House for Hermit Crab, the students wrote stories about the walks taken by hermit crabs of their own imagining. We began D’Nealian handwriting lessons with a focus on letter slant, size, and spacing.
Our first science topic is plants. The first graders began this unit by making observations of a chrysanthemum plant (and the caterpillars living on it!) They also collected items on the playground to make nature names. After reading The Tiny Seed, the first graders planted tiny brassica seeds. They are recording the changes they observe in the plants and placing them in their research logs. The boys and girls also planted wheat seeds in clear straws in order to observe root growth.
Ladybug Day was a special event in September. Leading up to this day, the first graders had observed ladybug larvae become ladybug pupae and then become adult ladybugs. On Ladybug Day, the boys and girls dressed like ladybugs, listened to ladybug stories, created models of the life cycle of ladybugs, learned about ladybug anatomy, observed the physical characteristics and behaviors of live ladybugs, and made ladybugs with symmetrical spots.
When we released the ladybugs, we discovered a cicada that had just emerged from its shell so it became a temporary class guest. It joined Pinky the Axolotl, Fluffy the Tarantula, Crabby and Shelly the Hermit Crabs, and our red wiggler worms. The latter are in our classroom compost bin. We hope to add the compost our worms make to the school garden.
We are looking forward to reading more books, learning about homes around the world, and celebrating Pumpkin Day in October!
From the Desk of Ms. L Murray:
Wow, September has flown by! Where to start?? We began the school year by participating in many "getting-to-know-you" activities. Our theme for our classroom is "Welcome to Our Den." As a symbolic representation of ourselves, we created a Fox Glyph that will be displayed in the room for the rest of the year. We also created self-portraits and created "Hopes and Dreams" for the year.
In Language Arts, first we studied books by author Lio Lionni. The students made connections between the themes of the books as well as identified characteristics of the genre of Fable. Next, we focused on informational texts from our weekly Scholastic News subscription. We learned to both, 1.) identify important text features such as captions, subheadings, and diagrams and 2.) to use those text features to identify the author's purpose and main idea. Finally, we began our first classroom novel, Bunnicula! A tale of mystery with a dog, cat and a small bunny that resembles a vampire as the main characters. The children were very excited because they saw the play last year and can now make connections with the novel.
In Math, we finished Chapter 1 by learning different strategies for adding and subtracting addends and subtrahends with two and three-digits. For example, we learned how to "Jump" on a number line to "add up" to find the difference in a subtraction problem.
In Social Studies, we studied various land forms and began an "All About Maps" booklet. We will continue to add to the booklet as we learn about continents and longitude and latitude.
In Writing, we launched our Writers' Workshop. Students worked with a writing partner to generate ideas for our personal narratives of small moments in our lives that have meaning. Students then picked one topic to begin writing their first personal narrative. We will focus on this form of writing throughout the first quarter.
And last, but not least, we began our "Climb to Safety" Financial Literacy and Civics Residencies! In Financial Literacy, students reviewed vocabulary from last year such as "needs" versus "wants" and practiced the song that they will sing at the assembly at the end of the year. In our Civics Residency, we began with a kick-off to our "Quarters Count" project. We will continue to collect quarters, along with the other 2nd Grade classrooms, in order to pool our money together to purchase items for the Common Food Pantry as an end-of-year field trip.
From the Desk of Ms. Thiel:
We are off to a wonderful start this year! We spent a lot of time getting to know new things about one another and our new setting. We engaged in shared inquiry as we read from our Junior Great Books anthropology. We discussed and identified text features as well. We practiced dictionary use and learned terms such as entry word, guide word, and part of speech. We had wonderful conversations around kindness and how we can show kindness daily.
In math we modeled place value relationships, explored how to read and write numbers, and compared and rounded numbers. We ended the Chapter with addition and subtraction word problems. We have just begun to move into multiplication.
Science led us on many investigations in mixtures and solutions. We made mixtures and solutions using separate materials and recorded data. We then predicted how we could separate mixtures and experimented separating them using a variety of tools.
In Social Studies we discussed land and the regions of the United States. The children worked very hard to research one of the regions of their choice and have begun to create a travel brochure with all of the information they found in the computer lab! Look for these amazing brochures to be displayed on our bulletin board soon.
Our writer’s workshop started with each student decorating their own writer’s notebook. These were so fun to see and the children did a wonderful job expressing themselves. We worked on coming up with small moments based off of important people and places in our lives. This will help us come up with stories to tell! We wrote about several of these small moments. We incorporated nouns, actions verbs and adjective into our writing as well.
Our class met with our 7th grade buddies. We did a getting to know you activity before students were paired up. They had a wonderful time and are looking forward to many opportunities to meet throughout the year.
We are looking forward to much more in October!
From the Desk of Ms. Milstein:
The 4th graders are off to a great start in Room 208! In addition to learning the new routines, expectations and nuances of 4th grade, academically we have hit the ground running as well. The students will be finishing their first chapter in math this week. The class made their own treasure maps as a fun culminating activity to our map skills unit and we are moving on to studying geography of the western hemisphere. We are also beginning our first writer’s workshop project on realistic fiction.
In reading, the students have completed their reading response “job training” in order to prepare themselves for the independent work they will engage in all year long as we explore various novels. These literature response assignments will be building blocks for small literature circle groups in which the students will analyze, question, and discuss the books we read in class. Now that the students have mastered their written responses, we will begin work on group discussions. To support discussion skills, students will use colored blocks that indicate who is speaking. After the conversations, the groups take a moment to analyze the patterns they see and review the discussions they’ve just held. Later in the year, different blocks will represent different types of discussion contributions. This will encourage the students to question, connect, disagree, analyze and find other ideas to push thinking and discussion to higher levels.
To start the year off, all the 4th grade classrooms have been completing a STEAM challenge each Friday. Every class is getting a turn in each of the 4 classrooms. It has been a great experience with science, engineering, teamwork, and getting to know the other 4th grade teachers. When students visit Room 208, they are tasked with creating the tallest structure possible given a collection of seemingly random materials. The kids came up with interesting and innovative ideas to accomplish their goal.
From the Desk of Ms. Caskey:
317 has kicked off this year in reading with a review of genres through a study. We also read and discussed a short story that featured some really ambiguous character choices. The story was a realistic fiction tale called "A Game of Catch" and the discussion it yielded because of these questionable character choices was rich. We also began our first novel of the year. Number the Stars is historical fiction and it tells of the solidarity of many Danes trying to get Jewish people safely to Sweden. To supplement, we've read quite a bit about the Holocaust and how different areas of Europe worked to save others in need. Writer's Workshop also got up and running with a narrative unit. Fifth graders are zeroing in on small moments from their lives and we have been inspired by real authors and books we are reading to help us create narrative topics. We are also using our narrative writing to fine tune specific grammar skills, like appropriate usage of quotations. Our other area of ELA, vocabulary, is focusing on common prefixes.
As we get used to a new year in math, we are settling into our Connected Math series. This curriculum shines a spotlight on the open approach of mathematics and how to take one's understanding of a math concept and explain how we think about certain mathematical topics. It's led to really great peer conversation and collaboration, as well as some conjectures along the way. Our first unit is diving deep into whole numbers, with a look at factors, multiples, factorization, and relationships between whole numbers. We've done everything from factor rainbows, factor trees, and Venn diagrams to show how much we know about whole numbers.
Science began this year with a review of the scientific method. This prepared us for our first unit, Planetary Science. We've proven how we know the Earth is round using sailing ships, explored rotation and revolutions, and began work on seasons. We are also keeping a close eye on the Moon by keeping a log. This will help us understand moon phases.
Social Studies has been a combination of several concepts in the subject. We've seen Ms. Weindruch twice for a continuation of Financial Literacy, discussed and evaluated nonfiction text with current events in our subscription to Junior Scholastic magazine and articles from other sources, and began a review of Geography concepts. Our Geography focus will be the Eastern Hemisphere, where we will get to choose a region and work our way through the physical components of an area as well as the human geography.
From the Desk of Mr. Prince:
It has been a great start to the new school year.6 th grade started out writing I am poems and my name vignettes. They followed that up by creating art pieces that give an observer an insight into who they were. If you would like to see them you can look at the class created website
https://sites.google.com/cps.edu/303-classroom-website/mr-princes-corner
The class a has been reading Nothing But The Truth by Avi. We started by examining the First amendment and also discussed the concept of truth. In math students are working on rational numbers in the Unit Accentuate the Negative.
This year students have taken charge of many aspects of class climate and culture. They have built a website, created a newsletter and a number of other things. Students use committee meetings once per week to make sure they have all aspects covered.
7 th grade math is working on the unit Thinking with Mathematical Models. They have been studying ideas around linear models, inverse variation, and scatter plots. In 8 th grade math students continue working through the CME Algebra or Geometry text at their own pace. They are currently working on Linear Functions and Slope in Algebra to looking atsymmetry and working on constructions in Geometry.
It has been a great start to the new school year.6 th grade started out writing I am poems and my name vignettes. They followed that up by creating art pieces that give an observer an insight into who they were. If you would like to see them you can look at the class created website
https://sites.google.com/cps.edu/303-classroom-website/mr-princes-corner
The class a has been reading Nothing But The Truth by Avi. We started by examining the First amendment and also discussed the concept of truth. In math students are working on rational numbers in the Unit Accentuate the Negative.
This year students have taken charge of many aspects of class climate and culture. They have built a website, created a newsletter and a number of other things. Students use committee meetings once per week to make sure they have all aspects covered.
7 th grade math is working on the unit Thinking with Mathematical Models. They have been studying ideas around linear models, inverse variation, and scatter plots. In 8 th grade math students continue working through the CME Algebra or Geometry text at their own pace. They are currently working on Linear Functions and Slope in Algebra to looking atsymmetry and working on constructions in Geometry.
From the Desk of Mr. Klein:
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
·The completion of the experiment that focused on observation and the scientific method
·Careful observation is also the foundation of chemistry as an experimental science, leading us to question what we have observed
· The answers to these questions are sought in experiments and may be described as observations made under controlled conditions
· A safety demonstration concerning acid and eyes
·Demonstrate the immediate and irreversible destructive action of strong acids using egg whites as simulated eyes
·The initiation of the introduction to measurement in terms of mass, length, and volume
·Much of what we know about the physical world has been obtained from measurements made in the laboratory
·Skill is required to design experiments so that careful measurements can be made
·Skill is also needed to use lab equipment correctly so that errors can be minimized
·At the same time, it is important to understand the limitations of scientific measurements
·The discussion of how to read volumes and the importance of significant figures
·The initiation of an experiment that focuses on discovering the essence of density by looking for patterns and trends
·When scientific observations and measurements are made, sometimes patterns and trends emerge and relationships among different variables become evident
·One of the best ways to recognize the existence of relationships involving numerical data is to plot the data on a graph
·A chemical demonstration regarding the relationship between mass and density
LANGUAGE ARTS
· LITERATURE
o Greek root “phobe,” “phile,” “mis,” and “dys” in vocabulary
o Discussion of project-based learning in terms of self-selected texts
o Discussion of critical thinking questions and answers in terms of self-selected texts
o Discussion of mind mapping in terms of self-selected texts.
Discussion of literature circles in terms of self-selected texts
COMPOSITION
o Developing original riddles and similes in creative writing
o Creation of ANI charts as a tool for prewriting
o Creation of outline based upon the ANI chart as a tool for prewriting an essay
o Exercise regarding the eight parts of speech in grammar (impersonal pronouns, action verbs, be verbs)
LIFE SCIENCE
·Exploring the Living World Outline
· Classifying Living Things Experiment
· Giving a name to an organism
· Putting that organism in its proper place
·Determining the visible characteristics as a comparison
· Earthworm Dissection
·Classifying Living Things Evaluation
·Lecture regarding the Chemistry of Life
·Initiation of outline regarding the Chemistry of Life
·Demonstration regarding Dialysis Membrane Diffusion
·How the membrane around a cell does help regulate the internal makeup of the cell
·Comparison regarding the diffusion of small and large molecules across a semipermeable membrane to illustrate the process of diffusion in cells
·Experiment regarding Introduction to Carbohydrates in terms of structure and properties
o What a carbohydrate is
o What the roles of carbohydrates are in terms of energy, metabolism, and cell structure
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
·The completion of the experiment that focused on observation and the scientific method
·Careful observation is also the foundation of chemistry as an experimental science, leading us to question what we have observed
· The answers to these questions are sought in experiments and may be described as observations made under controlled conditions
· A safety demonstration concerning acid and eyes
·Demonstrate the immediate and irreversible destructive action of strong acids using egg whites as simulated eyes
·The initiation of the introduction to measurement in terms of mass, length, and volume
·Much of what we know about the physical world has been obtained from measurements made in the laboratory
·Skill is required to design experiments so that careful measurements can be made
·Skill is also needed to use lab equipment correctly so that errors can be minimized
·At the same time, it is important to understand the limitations of scientific measurements
·The discussion of how to read volumes and the importance of significant figures
·The initiation of an experiment that focuses on discovering the essence of density by looking for patterns and trends
·When scientific observations and measurements are made, sometimes patterns and trends emerge and relationships among different variables become evident
·One of the best ways to recognize the existence of relationships involving numerical data is to plot the data on a graph
·A chemical demonstration regarding the relationship between mass and density
LANGUAGE ARTS
· LITERATURE
o Greek root “phobe,” “phile,” “mis,” and “dys” in vocabulary
o Discussion of project-based learning in terms of self-selected texts
o Discussion of critical thinking questions and answers in terms of self-selected texts
o Discussion of mind mapping in terms of self-selected texts.
Discussion of literature circles in terms of self-selected texts
COMPOSITION
o Developing original riddles and similes in creative writing
o Creation of ANI charts as a tool for prewriting
o Creation of outline based upon the ANI chart as a tool for prewriting an essay
o Exercise regarding the eight parts of speech in grammar (impersonal pronouns, action verbs, be verbs)
LIFE SCIENCE
·Exploring the Living World Outline
· Classifying Living Things Experiment
· Giving a name to an organism
· Putting that organism in its proper place
·Determining the visible characteristics as a comparison
· Earthworm Dissection
·Classifying Living Things Evaluation
·Lecture regarding the Chemistry of Life
·Initiation of outline regarding the Chemistry of Life
·Demonstration regarding Dialysis Membrane Diffusion
·How the membrane around a cell does help regulate the internal makeup of the cell
·Comparison regarding the diffusion of small and large molecules across a semipermeable membrane to illustrate the process of diffusion in cells
·Experiment regarding Introduction to Carbohydrates in terms of structure and properties
o What a carbohydrate is
o What the roles of carbohydrates are in terms of energy, metabolism, and cell structure
From the Desk of Mr. Schoenbeck:
In 6th Grade Social Studies, we just wrapped up our first unit on Hammurabi's laws and Mesopotamia in general. We were exploring the Essential Question "What is Justice?", looking at what it takes for people to come together and live in a society, what we give up in order to gain the security and support we need. and finding a balance between rights and responsibilities. We had a spirited debate on whether Hammurabi's laws were just for his people, at that time. Now we are beginning our unit on Human Geography: How where we live shapes who we are, and our Case Study for this unit is Egypt."
In 7th Grade Social Studies, we are wrapping up our first unit on Jamestown and early American Colonies, exploring the idea of the stories we tell ourselves as Americans, how some of these may be born in facts, but can quickly become myths or white-washed or misleading. We are wrapping up this unit with a project on a fictional Utopia: JANES-town (because we all know that if the colonists had brought along women, things would have worked out better, am I right?)
In 8th Grade Social Studies, we are wrapping up our first unit on Reconstruction by creating newspapers, really exploring the subtleties of the failure of reconstruction and its legacy affecting us today. By understanding how "Our History Haunts Us....", we can hope to address some of the Social Justice concerns that may stem in part from some of these historic mistakes.
In 8th Grade Writing, we are finalizing and preparing to present our Atlases of Identity (one of my favorite creative pieces that they'll do this year). In Reading, we are wrapping up our introductory unit on Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck), and knocking out our first Literary Essay. From there, we'll move on to a unit on Narrative Poetry, which starts with Witness (Hesse) as a model text, and will include our first round of Literature Circles as well.
In 6th Grade Social Studies, we just wrapped up our first unit on Hammurabi's laws and Mesopotamia in general. We were exploring the Essential Question "What is Justice?", looking at what it takes for people to come together and live in a society, what we give up in order to gain the security and support we need. and finding a balance between rights and responsibilities. We had a spirited debate on whether Hammurabi's laws were just for his people, at that time. Now we are beginning our unit on Human Geography: How where we live shapes who we are, and our Case Study for this unit is Egypt."
In 7th Grade Social Studies, we are wrapping up our first unit on Jamestown and early American Colonies, exploring the idea of the stories we tell ourselves as Americans, how some of these may be born in facts, but can quickly become myths or white-washed or misleading. We are wrapping up this unit with a project on a fictional Utopia: JANES-town (because we all know that if the colonists had brought along women, things would have worked out better, am I right?)
In 8th Grade Social Studies, we are wrapping up our first unit on Reconstruction by creating newspapers, really exploring the subtleties of the failure of reconstruction and its legacy affecting us today. By understanding how "Our History Haunts Us....", we can hope to address some of the Social Justice concerns that may stem in part from some of these historic mistakes.
In 8th Grade Writing, we are finalizing and preparing to present our Atlases of Identity (one of my favorite creative pieces that they'll do this year). In Reading, we are wrapping up our introductory unit on Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck), and knocking out our first Literary Essay. From there, we'll move on to a unit on Narrative Poetry, which starts with Witness (Hesse) as a model text, and will include our first round of Literature Circles as well.