Upcoming Events
March 18-April 4: Full CogAT for Second Grade for those that meet the criteria
March 7, 2019
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Dr. Seuss Birthday/ Week- 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM PTO Meets
- 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Kindergarten Round-up
March 14, 2019
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM VIP Science Night/ Book FairMarch 15, 2019
Fourth Grade Language Arts
Themes for Westing Game:
* Appearances: People aren't what they appear to be
*Wealth: Wealth can make people act funny and it is a cautionary tale
*Family: There are two types of families: One you are born into and one you choose
*Identity: The characters are establishing who they are and redefining themselves through the game
*Patriotism: This book was written during the Bicentennial and there are many immigrants represented in the story. Mr. Westing is big on American ideals throughout the story
* Lies and Deceit: The characters will lie and use deceit to protect their identities
*Society and Class: The characters status often poses problems
*Language and communication: The reader has to do some close reading for clues and look at the language in the will
This week we are looking at the characters and their traits. Not all has been revealed about each character, however, understanding who the characters are and what their motivations are help us find clues to the mystery and keep track of how the characters change over time. During class time, I am giving the children time to discuss the chapters, review events and discuss comprehension questions. We also spent time working on arranging the clues that each pair received to figure out if they provide some answers.
The clues for each pair spelled out: the lyrics to "America the Beautiful". Some of the children were unfamiliar with this song. Most of the lyrics were there, however, there were missing pieces of the song. We wrote those missing parts of words down:
Themes for Westing Game:
* Appearances: People aren't what they appear to be
*Wealth: Wealth can make people act funny and it is a cautionary tale
*Family: There are two types of families: One you are born into and one you choose
*Identity: The characters are establishing who they are and redefining themselves through the game
*Patriotism: This book was written during the Bicentennial and there are many immigrants represented in the story. Mr. Westing is big on American ideals throughout the story
* Lies and Deceit: The characters will lie and use deceit to protect their identities
*Society and Class: The characters status often poses problems
*Language and communication: The reader has to do some close reading for clues and look at the language in the will
This week we are looking at the characters and their traits. Not all has been revealed about each character, however, understanding who the characters are and what their motivations are help us find clues to the mystery and keep track of how the characters change over time. During class time, I am giving the children time to discuss the chapters, review events and discuss comprehension questions. We also spent time working on arranging the clues that each pair received to figure out if they provide some answers.
Ber
the
Erica
Crow
Our sleuths were quick to put those together to spell out: Berthe Erica Crow!
Could she be the murderer or is this a Red Herring??
The children are to read Chapters 12, 13, 14 and all of 15 by Monday, March 2019. They should also be able to discuss the comprehension questions.
Fourth Grade Math
Math vocabulary:
addend, algorithm, denominator, difference, like-fractions, numerator, sum unlike denominator and unlike fractions
Hey, parents! Have you seen these books? I used them all the time with my two girls and they loved them--just like your kids. These fun puzzle books are great for building problems solving skills and require the kids to read and think...great for building mathematical minds, creative minds and out of the box thinking.
There are different levels and you can order them here:
https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/
We are finishing up our fraction work where we combine fractions to equal one using our own algorithms. Next we are moving on to magic squares! Using whole numbers to solve the magic square is difficult but adding fractions takes it to a whole new level. We will continue to add and subtract fractions.
Math vocabulary:
addend, algorithm, denominator, difference, like-fractions, numerator, sum unlike denominator and unlike fractions
Hey, parents! Have you seen these books? I used them all the time with my two girls and they loved them--just like your kids. These fun puzzle books are great for building problems solving skills and require the kids to read and think...great for building mathematical minds, creative minds and out of the box thinking.
There are different levels and you can order them here:
https://www.mindware.orientaltrading.com/
We are finishing up our fraction work where we combine fractions to equal one using our own algorithms. Next we are moving on to magic squares! Using whole numbers to solve the magic square is difficult but adding fractions takes it to a whole new level. We will continue to add and subtract fractions.
Second Grade Language Arts
Themes in The Tale of Despereaux:
Light vs. Dark
Individuality/Differences
Taking Risks
Making the impossible...possible
Themes in The Tale of Despereaux:
Light vs. Dark
Individuality/Differences
Taking Risks
Making the impossible...possible
 |
| "...for those who do not conform" |
This week in language arts, we talked about making connections with the text and finding examples of metaphors. The boys did very well discussing Chapters 2-5 and writing their responses to comprehension questions. I try not to spend too much time writing and more time talking and listening. As the children listen to me read aloud, they eagerly point out examples in the text of metaphorical language. I loved that so much and encouraged it!
Your wise boys were are trying very hard to be better listeners during a discussion. They know how important that is and I find that endearing of children so young. They realize it's difficult but they love the idea of a book club where all ideas are welcome. Using the rubric helped open the discussion to be better listeners.
"Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform."
This quote at the end of Chapter 3, quickly illustrates to the reader that Despereaux will have some dark times ahead. We discussed what it means when someone does not conform and how Despereaux was born not conforming.
Please have the children read Chapters 6-10 by Monday, March 11 , 2019
Your wise boys were are trying very hard to be better listeners during a discussion. They know how important that is and I find that endearing of children so young. They realize it's difficult but they love the idea of a book club where all ideas are welcome. Using the rubric helped open the discussion to be better listeners.
"Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform."
This quote at the end of Chapter 3, quickly illustrates to the reader that Despereaux will have some dark times ahead. We discussed what it means when someone does not conform and how Despereaux was born not conforming.
Please have the children read Chapters 6-10 by Monday, March 11 , 2019
Second Grade Math
Due to our High Ability Screening for all second grade this week, High Ability Math was canceled on Wednesday. There were some technical issues and so our testing took a bit longer.
However, on Thursday, we worked together to figure out how many adults and children could fit into a 4 x 8 tent. The kids are begging me to bring in my little pup/child tent, but that would require me finding it in my garage! I will do my best to look for it this weekend. They actually want to build one.....hmmmm, maybe that project would be even better! (Sheets, sticks, rope--how will we stake it to the ground???? Now they have ME thinking)
Our task this week was to figure out how many adults with sleeping bags that are 3ft by 6ft and kid sleeping bags that are 2 ft by 5 ft that could fit in a tent that is 4 ft by 8 ft.
We started by making a visual of the size of the tent on the floor with square feet paper and masking tape:
Then we worked with smaller models and one inch foam tiles to work out our original problem. Some of the kids are multiplying to find area quickly while others are using repeated addition and some are still counting the number of tiles or squares to help them figure out the total area.
Here the kids are making models of the adult sleeping bags and the children sleeping bags using foam tiles and square inch grid paper:
Trust me the were enthused to do this project! I think I caught them at a bad time!
Third Grade Language Arts
Theme: Interactions
Themes in Black Beauty
*The ethical and humane treatment of horses/animals
*Coming of Age: Trials will test characters and these trials will lead to maturation
*Lifelong Friendships: Black Beauty spans birth through old age and two horses remain friends for the long haul.
*Rewards of Doing Good: When a person chooses to do something good, it will be rewarded
The girls got right to work this week, analyzing chapters and tackling tough vocabulary. Many of us don't know the parts of Horse Tack (especially, me! I'm learning, too) Thankfully, a few teachers here at Brummitt have horses and will be our go-to experts!
Homework: The girls need to read Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 done by: Monday, March 11, 2019.
Theme: Interactions
Themes in Black Beauty
*The ethical and humane treatment of horses/animals
*Coming of Age: Trials will test characters and these trials will lead to maturation
*Lifelong Friendships: Black Beauty spans birth through old age and two horses remain friends for the long haul.
*Rewards of Doing Good: When a person chooses to do something good, it will be rewarded
 |
| Black Beauty and Ginger |
The girls got right to work this week, analyzing chapters and tackling tough vocabulary. Many of us don't know the parts of Horse Tack (especially, me! I'm learning, too) Thankfully, a few teachers here at Brummitt have horses and will be our go-to experts!
 |
| I'm pretty sure that Black Beauty was NOT a Western horse |
Homework: The girls need to read Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 done by: Monday, March 11, 2019.
Third Grade Math
Math vocabulary
Area
We spent Wednesday counting the area of our body shapes. This is taking quite a bit of effort and the kids are using all sorts of strategies for counting partial parts. After partitioning large areas to count and keeping a running total, they made estimates about the partial areas. Some of the kids assigned one person the task of adding partial pieces, others worked more collaboratively while some assigned roles such as scribe, counter and calculator.
I have so much fun working with the kids! Truly such great group work!
Johnathan K. was being extremely helpful in 2nd grade language arts. He was on it and helping the others find the page we were on!
Delaney often is the first one to 3rd grade language arts and she helps me get ready. All the girls help me clean up at the end of our lessons together!
The third grade math groups are doing amazing! They are working together, remaining helpful and calm, solving problems together. So proud!
I have so much fun working with the kids! Truly such great group work!
Johnathan K. was being extremely helpful in 2nd grade language arts. He was on it and helping the others find the page we were on!
Delaney often is the first one to 3rd grade language arts and she helps me get ready. All the girls help me clean up at the end of our lessons together!
The third grade math groups are doing amazing! They are working together, remaining helpful and calm, solving problems together. So proud!
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