Upcoming Events
School Resumes
- April 2
- Spring Pictures
- April 2
- PTO @ 2:30
- April 4
- Duneland 4th grade Book Bowl/Spelling Bee @ CMS
- April 11
- Youth Talent Showcase at CHS @ 6:00 p.m.
- April 13
- No School
- April 19
- Secretaries Day
- April 24
- ILEARN Testing 3rd and 4th grade
- April 22-May 17
- Last Day of High Ability
- May 9, 2019
High Ability Summer School:
Hey! Check this OUT!!! Mrs. Koedyker is offering a great thing!
The brochures went out yesterday, inviting all currently identified HA students in grades first through third grade. Mrs. Koedyker will immerse the students in the study of Ancient Egypt for fifteen days. They will guide their own learning by deciding which topic they find most interesting and digging even deeper. It will end in a culminating presentation where family and friends are invited to watch their child share their genius. We hope your child will join her for this great learning opportunity! Many of the past students are VERY excited about this year's topic. The 15-day session will begin on Monday, June 3rd and end on Friday, June 21st. Each school day will begin at 7:45 a.m. and end at 12:20 p.m. Sign up early to reserve a place! Students must be registered by Monday, April 29, 2019. Thank you!
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
We are closing in solving the mystery. We are still gathering clues and as the chapters progress so do the children's problem solving skills. In the beginning, the kids were making wild guesses with very little factual evidence. Red herrings were everywhere and we went down every rabbit hole! Our detective skills are sharpening! The kids are using "close reading skills" and paying better attention to details.
This book, while not difficult, does require a certain bit of brain work to read.
The children have to pay attention to the following things:
1. It was written during a different time that the reader has to have a bit of background knowledge about,
2. Each chapter is dense and full of information--this requires the reader to make notes and charts regarding characters, times, places, etc.
3. There are underlying themes that flow throughout the book and are often hidden by silly actions or upheavals.
This type of reading takes sophistication and requires time to go back through chapters to get to deeper ideas.
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
We are closing in solving the mystery. We are still gathering clues and as the chapters progress so do the children's problem solving skills. In the beginning, the kids were making wild guesses with very little factual evidence. Red herrings were everywhere and we went down every rabbit hole! Our detective skills are sharpening! The kids are using "close reading skills" and paying better attention to details.
This book, while not difficult, does require a certain bit of brain work to read.
The children have to pay attention to the following things:
1. It was written during a different time that the reader has to have a bit of background knowledge about,
2. Each chapter is dense and full of information--this requires the reader to make notes and charts regarding characters, times, places, etc.
3. There are underlying themes that flow throughout the book and are often hidden by silly actions or upheavals.
 |
| Taking time to re-read and writing down clues |
This type of reading takes sophistication and requires time to go back through chapters to get to deeper ideas.
The children are to read Chapters 22, 23 and 24 by April 8, 2019.
Fourth Grade Math
Math vocabulary:
addend, algorithm, denominator, difference, like-fractions, numerator, sum unlike denominator and unlike fractions
Chapter 2 is all about multiplying and dividing fractions. Our two main characters, Tori and Jordan find old cookbooks in their grandmothers treasure chest in the attic. They want to cook with their grandmother. That's where we come in, the measuring tools are old and worn and we have to help Tori and Jordan solve some of the problems with the recipes.
On Thursday, the children had a clear plastic cup. After measuring 1/2 cup they continued to mark the cup into thirds and fourths. They had fun getting messy with water!
Math vocabulary:
addend, algorithm, denominator, difference, like-fractions, numerator, sum unlike denominator and unlike fractions
Chapter 2 is all about multiplying and dividing fractions. Our two main characters, Tori and Jordan find old cookbooks in their grandmothers treasure chest in the attic. They want to cook with their grandmother. That's where we come in, the measuring tools are old and worn and we have to help Tori and Jordan solve some of the problems with the recipes.
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
They did it! They conducted their first Socratic Seminar!
On Monday, albeit, slightly hesitant, the boys sat down and got into the book. I sat back and listened to their discussion about Roscuro and light vs. dark. The boys did an amazing job!
The children are to read Chapters 19, 20 and 21 by April 8, 2019.
Second Grade Math
On Thursday, we spent time working independently to measure items around the classroom using square inches and square centimeters. The kids worked in pairs to make estimates and then measure. After measuring, they had to figure out the difference between their estimate and the actual measurement.
We tried to work on our tent again, too. It's a work in progress, that's all I can say. LOL
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
This week we began our Socratic Seminar.
The girls are loving this seminar style of discussing learning. They are THRIVING and want to keep doing it. They ask me each class if they can try it again. They are getting better each time not talking over another person and listening and extending the thinking. So proud of them!
Homework: The girls need to read Chapters 23 , 24 and 25 by Monday, April 8, 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
This week we began our Socratic Seminar.
The girls are loving this seminar style of discussing learning. They are THRIVING and want to keep doing it. They ask me each class if they can try it again. They are getting better each time not talking over another person and listening and extending the thinking. So proud of them!
Homework: The girls need to read Chapters 23 , 24 and 25 by Monday, April 8, 2019.
Third Grade Math
Math vocabulary
Area
Perimeter
Rectangle
Square
On Thursday, we got back to the Yeti's pen. The children had a Think Deeply about two workers who created a pen for the Yeti. One pen was 4 feet by 24 feet and another worker came up with a pen that was 12 feet by 16 feet.
After drawing these pens, they had to decide if the arrays have the same area and then using words, equations and diagrams they had to illustrate the distributive property in their answer. We are still working on this skill and will revisit it next week.
Our Kindness Corner
Earth Day is April 22, 2019
As we think about being kind to each other, we also think about being kind to Mother Earth. I am that dreamer--the one who looks out the window on beautiful days, cold days and rainy days. Our classroom window faces North--not far from the Dunes.
We are so lucky to be this close to the Indiana Dune Lakeshore.
It's truly a blessing to be here!
Get out and show kindness to Mother Earth and all of her creatures!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.