Fun February!!

I hope everyone is staying warm with all this cold weather. All this month here at Brummitt we are working on our Life Skills and this week we are still working on perseverance and we have added cooperation.

 We want the students to work hard for what they want and not to let the little setbacks bring them down. We want students to learn that you need cooperation to make things run smoothly. If you have that, the class and life will be a lot easier. 

We want the students to learn that cooperation is an important life skill to be successful. The high ability students begin to learn this when they work in groups together. 

 If everyone cooperates they are more likely to get the best experience out of the project or activity. I think we are all ready for the winter to be over but we still have awhile to go. So we will keep smiling and hope it warms up soon. 

 The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation - a force for construction and destruction. - Jonathan Haidt

The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation. - Bertrand Russell

Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace. - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Language Arts:

First Grade:

This week we worked on more Wumbers. We discussed how they are used every day when people are texting and using the internet. We discussed how they make it easier to write faster when trying to get a point over quick to someone else. We looked at a worksheet and deciphered the wumbers into real words. We talked about how with so many cell phones nowadays that so many people use this kind of language to communicate. We also discussed acronyms and wumbers how they are alike.

We reviewed persuasive writing and the Hamburger Model Song. The students also got to decide what they were going to write about for their next persuasive writing piece. We started the model and the writing. Next week we will finish up the persuasive writing pieces and work on different symbols and what they mean.

Second Grade:

 This week we continued to read The Tale of Despereaux.  We also created the Wordles for The Miraculous Journey of Edward. It was a fun experience to write out all the words we used to describe the book and characters. This gave us a chance to look back over the book and everything that happened. 

I took a picture and here it is. Next week we will continue to read The Tale of Despereaux. We will also make connections between the books we have completed and the new book we are reading. We will discuss how important connections are and how these books help you make them.

Third Grade:

This week the students wrote in their journals about Alice and answered a few questions on the book so far. We continued reading Alice in Wonderland. 
We finished up Chapter three and four. We discussed the book so far and what the students think. 

They look forward to learning more about each character and how they affect the storyline. Next week we will continue working on Alice in Wonderland. We will continue to read and answer journal questions. We will also have a class discussion on the book.

Fourth Grade:

This week the students got to work more on their biography projects. The students are getting everything in order and are starting to practice their monologues. Some students have finished with the monologues and have created Wordles with the information from their monologues. 

 Next week they will continue working on their projects and the students that have their monologues ready will start working on the presentations with each other.

Please make sure you are talking to your children about their person and how they plan to complete things.

Make sure to ask your child if they need any help with their monologue since this is something very new for them. 
The students will also have to figure out a way to present the information to us. They can also dress up like their person. They can be as creative as they want. Here is the information on what they will create:

 People Who Made a Difference Instructions

Step Five: Create a timeline of the famous person’s life. (Everyone finished this this week)

Step Six: Consider change in the person’s life and how he/she made a difference. Write a monologue including events, changes, and differences made in regard to his/her life. (Most of the students are almost finished with this part)|

 Step Seven: Create a Power Point or Prezi that includes the person’s name, a photo, years lived, and contributions. (There are many students already completed with this part; students can request the log in information if they want to work on it at home.)

Step Eight: Memorize your monologue and dress as your character. You are now ready for the People Who Made a Difference presentation. (Most students are finishing up with this and have been practicing in class with each other.)

  Monologue Criteria

o Monologue describes events in the person’s life with detail and clarity.

o Monologue includes insight to changes in the person’s life.

o Monologue explores how the person made a difference.

o Speaker confidently presents monologue using good eye contact, posture, and voice.

o Speaker engages audience with appropriate words, facial expressions, and gestures.

o The presentation is supported with appropriate costume and props.

 

 

 

 

Math:

First Grade: 

 This week we continued work on time. We finished up the clocks and moved on to time passing and using word problems to solve time problems. It was fun to read the problems and figure out when the person started something or finished some activity. This activity allowed us to use our problem solving skills and figure out time. We also completed a worksheet on exact time down to the minute. This really made us examine the clock closely to see exact time. Next week we will move on to measurement. We will watch a video and start some really cool activities.

Second Grade: 

 This week the students learned about Fibonacci Sequence. The Fibonacci Sequence is the series of numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ... The next number is found by adding up the two numbers before it. The 2 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+1) Similarly, the 3 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+2), And the 5 is (2+3), and so on! 

 Example: the next number in the sequence above is 21+34 = 55. We watched a video exampling what it is and where you might find it in nature. Like on pine cones and flowers, poison ivy leaves and so on. It was cool to see them figure it out and really get excited to complete the worksheet on the sequences. Next week we will continue on the adventure of patterns with numbers and math.

 

Third Grade:                                                                                                       

This week we continued with Sweet Multiplication. We have another student who has completed all his tests. We have a few more students really close to finishing. We also started another comic. The student got to read more on Mathtropolis and the Super Math Team.

This week we completed the Least Common Criminals. This gave students a chance to learn about least common multiples. They really seem to like these and they like working in pairs and small groups to solve them. 

Next week we will continue with the cool comics Super Math Team with Fowl Fractions. I look forward to see what adventure that team will have to solve.  

Fourth Grade:

This week we continued working on the super cool math comics. The student got to read more on Mathtropolis and the Super Math Team. They are a group of super math heroes that need the students help to solve the problem to catch the villains. Each super hero has attributes to help with the math that is needed to solve the problem.  The students seem to really like getting to read the funny comics and solve all the problems. 

This week we had a few students still finishing up with Greatest Common Hacker on the first day. The rest of the students moved on to another one like Divided We Fall, Stolen Powers, and Factor Fiction? The students like working in small groups and are working at their own pace. 

Each student is working on a comic that they like and understand which works well. They can also help each other when they get stuck on something which is great to help team building.  

Next week we will continue to work on the comics and see if we can complete the whole book. Soon we will move on to some other fun activities. I look forward to seeing what and where the Super Heroes of the Math Team are and how we can help them solve the next crime.

Have a Great Weekend!!

Mrs. Lutterman