April Flurries

Happy Friday!  We are back in the swing of things! We are busy, busy, busy, here in High Ability.


Free High Ability Summer school :

This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to be immersed in the study of Medieval Times.  There will be projects, reading, presentations, guest speakers and a chance for students to present what they've learned in the packed full three weeks!   This  unit usually sparks the most interest from HA students. and usually has the most students attend.  Sometimes there can be an overlap between other summer programs; DON'T LET THIS STOP YOU! Mrs. Pethes from Liberty Elementary will be teaching; and she welcomes any and all even if you need to miss a week or so.  It's worth it, plus it's FREE this year!  Your child will still get so much out of this!  Please ask if you have questions.  Friday, April 27th is the deadline for registration!!!!  I have more copies of the brochure if you need one.  Dates are as follows:  May 31, June 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21.

Here is a peek at what we are doing this week!

First grade- Punctuation Poetry

 

This week we have been reading some poetry about punctuation marks such as the period, the question mark, exclamation mark and the comma.  We reviewed how to use a reading analyzer to help us think about what we are reading in the poem.  First we look for the key words which are the unknown words we encounter in the poem.  Then we think about how we feel as we read the poem, and how the subject might feel that the poem is about. We make predictions in the ideas section, and we draw a picture of the images we see in our heads as we read the poem. We will continue this next week as well as read some fun books about punctuation as well.

First grade- Attribute Trees

The students worked on matching attributes of shapes on . diagrams. These increased in difficulty as we went through the activity  We will be taking our knowledge of shape attributes and working with carroll diagrams next week.










Second Grade- The Indian in the Cupboard


We have been forging on in our novel, and it keeps getting better and better! The kids are enjoying learning about Omri and Little Bear's adventures. I am hoping that all of you have received the information sent home about the end of novel project. I wanted the kids to have plenty of time to think about what toy they would bring to life and what type of shelter it would require. I am excited to see what they come up with.
REMINDER: It is extremely important that your child have their materials with them and are ready for class. We are working hard to get all activities and reading completed by the end of the month, so preparedness is vital. If your child is not prepared for class, they will be unable to attend until further notice.  Please remind your child to return the book with them on a Monday to school.

Second grade- Floor Galleries

 The students worked on their floor gallery designs this week using the guidelines that they had to use no more than 4 shapes, they had to leave 30 squares free for people to move around the area, and students had to design the floor area so that the shapes were not touching. After creating their designs, they got to assess their work by completing a checklist, and then trading with a student and assessing their floor design using the checklist.   They enjoyed presenting their floor plans to the class. These awesome projects are on display in our room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Third grade-Black Beauty

 We got quite a treat this week as Mrs. Beckwith sent in some horse riding equipment for us to examine. The kids enjoyed feeling, and examining the bridle, bit, and reins.  It definitely smelled like a horse as well! We may get to examine other items from the stable as we go along in the novel.
We are reading in class either as a whole group, in partners, or individually around the room. We are working on journal questions as we go through a few chapters. Reading homework is a must to be able to finish our novel before the end of the year. Due to the length of the book, students are asked to read 10 chapters from Tuesday to Monday.  These chapters are short, and this allows us to discuss and complete activities in class. As well, I have reminded the students that they may choose to read our novel during silent reading time in their classes, and at the end of the book, they may take an AR test over the book as well. 


Third grade-Arrow patterns


This week we started our new lesson. We are using arrays and arrows to learn how to move around the arrays. The arrows can be  vertical. horizontal, or diagonal. Students did a good job grasping the concept since we are just beginning this lesson. We only met once this week due to early dismissal on Wednesday.

Fourth grade- Mystery genre and Vocabulary 



 This week we have been learning about the Mystery genre and how a mystery follows a map. The beginning always discloses what the mystery is, the middle is composed of clues, and the end is the solution to the mystery.  We watched a Lemonade Detective video that shows the steps of the mystery from beginning to  end. Then we made our own paper bag mysteries by choosing characters, settings, goals, obstacles, and endings from paper bags. They had a great tine with the characters. They got to choose from Justin Bieber, Katie Perry, Mr. Cammarata, or a random college student. They then chose a setting and an ending as well as an obstacle and a goal. They had fun writing these short mysteries. Then we discussed the vocabulary that we will be using with our novel The Westing Game by  Ellen Rankin.  We learned that in our book we will see some Red Herrings which are false clues to throw us off track.  Students were assigned homework to read chapters 1-8 and to be ready to discuss on Monday. Students are allowed to read the book for silent reading time and can complete an AR test at the completion of the book.



Fourth grade- Measuring lengths of fabric
We are beginning a new lesson this week where we are using our fraction strips as physical models to help us solve questions about fractions being less than, more than , or equivalent  to a yard. Next week we will be introducing the term Algorithm, and learn how to use them to solve problems.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. P