PA and TD for the Week of 12-10

KTD Math will continue to work on multi-step addition story problems this week.  I was impressed by the stamina I saw last week as the kids tackled some challenging tasks. 

KTD Literacy will read the picture book Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing this week and create their own page to add to the story. 

1TD did a wonderful job last week reading articles about influential people.  This will come in handy in their homerooms during third quarter as this is a topic they will be focused on.  This week, we will be researching a topic of their choice using the website https://www.dkfindout.com/us/  This too will help 3rd quarter as the whole first grade will be researching topics and the TD kids can help out their peers. 

2TD will meet Wilson Bentley this week in the Caldecott winning picture book about his life, Snowflake Bentley.  He was the first person to photograph snowflakes. The kids and I will learn about snowflake geometry and structure and create a few snowflakes as well. 

  

3PA will be reading the short story "The Green Man" by Gail E. Haley this week.  discussing topics will include why we believe in things we cannot see, protection, change, and the kids will be writing a few literature responses during our time together.  

4PA will finish their projects on Call it Courage and the Newbery book of their choice this week and present their Google Slides to the class.  The students will be assessing each other using the Newbery Medal criteria.  We will also have a Socratic Seminar about the quality of children's literature.  later in the week, if time allows, we will begin a unit on the poetry of Langston Hughes and The Harlem Renaissance. 

5PA will be presenting their team projects comparing two novels this week on Tuesday.  The kids will be assessing each other using the four standards that guided this whole project.  The class will work on Capstone projects on Thursday, and we will begin reading background information on the pros and cons of GMO's in the human food chain.  

5PA Capstone

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/12/05/world/cnnheroes-young-wonders-2018/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

5PA families set your DVR to record CNN this Friday night at 10 PM for the CNN Young Heroes of 2018 special. Great Capstone connections in this show, including a young girl from Plainfield. The CNN Hero of the Year program airs Sunday night at 7:00. I highly recommend watching this show with 4-5th grade students. It will illustrate  how one person can be a positive catalyst for change in our world. 

PA and TD for the Week of 12-3

KTD Math will be solving story problems in teams that require three step addition problems.  

KTD Literacy will spend our time this week comparing characters in two different picture books.  

1TD will be reading non fiction articles about influential people this week. I have several articles for the kids to choose from including Leonardo da Vinci,  Louis Braile,  Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, and Helen Keller. We will be discussing what these influential people have in common during our time together. 

2TD will spend the week learning about coding using Bee Bots.  I have a variety of challenges for the kids to complete using these robots. 

3PA will continue working on Creative Problem Solving using fairy tales this week. 

4PA will create a Google Slide Show this week about the novel Call it Courage and the Newbery winner they self selected.  The slides will highlight the criteria used by the Newbery committee and the kids will share their opinions on the worthiness of each book. 

5PA will finish their group projects on The Crossover and Brown Girl Dreaming this week.  The projects will be shared in class on Friday. 

PA and TD for the Week of 11-27

KTD Math will be learning about parallel and perpendicular lines this week.  We will be going on a hunt around the school looking for examples of each.

KTD Literacy will continue our work with nonfiction reading.  The kids and I will be reading two articles about water and comparing key facts.

1TD read the A.A. Milne story "Eeyore Has a Birthday" last week.  This week, we will be reading a Hindu fable titled "The Mouse and the Wizard" and comparing the adventures and experiences the characters had in both stories.  We will also be discussing the central theme of each text. A note to parents, please don't clean out your son or daughter's TD folders as we will be using items in them for more than one purpose.  Thanks. 

2TD will likely finish reading Frindle this week.  the class has done a great job discussing how Nick and Mrs. Granger are changing and how they are changing.  This work will continue this week, and the kids will be creating their own new words to share with the group.  

3PA will switch gears this week and begin learning about CPS, or creative problem solving.  There is a video that I will share with the kids on Tuesday posted below that explains the process.  We will be using fairy tales to solve problems characters face in different stories.  There are four stages to the process. Clarify, to identify the problem in a clear fashion. Ideate, where multiple ideas for solutions are brainstormed. Develop, developing one of the ideas in a comprehensive way. Implement, creating a way to put the idea developed into action.  What could the three little pigs have done differently to change the outcome of their story?  This is where we will begin.

4PA will complete reading the 1940 Newbery Medal winner Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry this week.  All of the students have a copy of the Newbery Medal criteria used by the members of the Newbery Committee and are evaluating the novel as they read.  Once finished, students are going to pick any contemporary Newbery winning novel and evaluate it using the same criteria.  Our mission is to see how literature for children has changed since 1940 and discuss if Call it Courage would still win today. 

5PA will be working on their group projects using Brown Girl Dreaming and The Crossover for three days this week, and Thursday will be set aside for Capstone work.  The kids are off to a great start and asking thoughtful questions about their topics.  

What is Creative Problem Solving?

Capstone Inspiration Videos

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/01/world/cnnheroes-top-ten-2018/index.html

For my 5th grade students, these ten CNN videos might serve as inspiration for their Capstone Projects. 

PA and TD for the Week of 11-12

KTD Math will be working on problem solving using logic.  I have two problems for the class to complete as a group.  One where we need to determine the snack eaten by a class with only 3 clues, and another problem about where five kids are in their line using a chart and four clues. 

KTD Literature will be working on developing rhyming words using scrabble tiles.  My plan is to turn this into a race between two groups to see who can come up with the most rhyming words for a variety of sounds in only three minute intervals.  

1TD spent last week reading three short chapter books and putting post-it notes anywhere one character changed another character.  This week, those changes will be recorded on three different webs.

2TD is finally done with their amazing renditions of A Giraffe and a Half.  The kids did a great job of working together on this book.  Our next adventure will be with the novel Frindle by Andrew Clements.  We will be reading this book together and recording how different characters change in a variety of categories. 

3PA will spend the week creating a plan based on The Girl Who Owned a City of where they would relocate in Brookdale to create their own city.  The kids will also be creating a visual to show the connections between this novel and The Green Book.

4PA will create their impressionist watercolor paintings of The Secret Garden in three stages of development.  Some of the symbolism and metaphors found in the text will also find their way into the paintings.  This should be a fun week for the 4th graders.  

5PA is finishing up reading two award winning novels written in verse, The Crossover and Brown Girl Dreaming.  Teams were given the four standards 5PA uses 2nd quarter for understanding literature.  The only directions they were given was to show their mastery of the standards in some way.  It can literally be anything they think of, a challenge.  This week, groups will be developing their way of showing mastery of the following standards:

RL.6.2:  Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

RL.6.3:  Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

RL.6.4:  Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

RL.6.5:  Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

On Wednesday, we will have our first Socratic Seminar Tug-o-War comparing Ray Bradbury to all other writers to develop our understanding of how text structure impacts themes in literature.