Friday, January 10, 2020
PA Progress Reports
PA progress reports will come home with the kids today in backpacks. I will be giving them to the kids in PA. Have a safe wintry weekend.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
PA for the Week of 1-7
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a nice two weeks off and is ready to begin 2020.
3PA will begin to explore Ancient Egypt this week. We will be learning about the pyramids at Giza, what they represent, how they were built, who built them, and what mysteries they hold. This is a great introduction to Egyptian societal structure, religion, and mythology.
3PA will begin to explore Ancient Egypt this week. We will be learning about the pyramids at Giza, what they represent, how they were built, who built them, and what mysteries they hold. This is a great introduction to Egyptian societal structure, religion, and mythology.
4PA will begin our neuroscience unit this week by learning about a 4th grade boy named Adam Moore. Adam had an accident when he was at a Boy Scout camp that changed his life forever. Listening to Adam's story will introduce the kids to the brain, what different parts of the brain do, and what happens when the brain experiences trauma.
5PA will continue their research on genetically modified organisms in the human food system. The kids will be working in pairs to finish their research and develop arguments both for and against the use of these products for a Socratic Seminar and a class tug of war using post it notes.
Monday, January 6, 2020
2020 TD Welcome Back
Happy new year, and welcome back. I’m excited to have every kindergarten, first, and second grader come to my room this week so I can share a few picture books. My TD groups won’t be meeting so I can welcome back all the primary students with a 30 minute read aloud to inspire a love for new stories. Reading books aloud to kids is essential to their development as learners, take back bedtime parents and read together.
Monday, December 16, 2019
PA and TD for the Week of 12-16
KTD Lit will be playing a game I call "Dictionary Dash" this week. Pairs will use dictionaries in a race to find different words based on clues I give the group.
KTD Math will be using laminated hexagons to break apart the number 100 into as many math problems they can think of. All of the hexagons connect into a large hive showing how many ways the kids can think of to show the number 100.
1TD will continue reading with me this week, and discussing the books they check out for their book boxes. Last week, the group discussed books with diverse characters, comparing how we were similar and different from the kids we read about.
2TD has done a great job with our reading workshop model. This week, we will continue to read books selected by the students, and discuss them in reading conferences. We have also been working on giving book commercials during our time, creating a community of readers. It's nice to see kids getting excited about a book a classmate has enjoyed and then reading it based on the recommendation.
3PA will finish up our poetry theme project this week. The kids found some interesting poems to pair with all the stories we have read this semester. The rest of our time will be spent working on a project that focuses on the identity of each student. Kids will be bringing in five items that that represent their identity, writing a paragraph about each item, and sharing them with the group.
4PA will finish reading their contemporary Newbery winning novel this week, and we will compare it to Call it Courage which won the prize in 1941. I am looking forward to our discussion on how literature for children has evolved from the 40's.
5PA asked last week to focus all of our time in class this week on their Capstone research, and I agreed to give them the whole week to work on their projects to make the world a better place.
Have a wonderful winter break! I'll see you in 2020!!
KTD Math will be using laminated hexagons to break apart the number 100 into as many math problems they can think of. All of the hexagons connect into a large hive showing how many ways the kids can think of to show the number 100.
1TD will continue reading with me this week, and discussing the books they check out for their book boxes. Last week, the group discussed books with diverse characters, comparing how we were similar and different from the kids we read about.
2TD has done a great job with our reading workshop model. This week, we will continue to read books selected by the students, and discuss them in reading conferences. We have also been working on giving book commercials during our time, creating a community of readers. It's nice to see kids getting excited about a book a classmate has enjoyed and then reading it based on the recommendation.
3PA will finish up our poetry theme project this week. The kids found some interesting poems to pair with all the stories we have read this semester. The rest of our time will be spent working on a project that focuses on the identity of each student. Kids will be bringing in five items that that represent their identity, writing a paragraph about each item, and sharing them with the group.
4PA will finish reading their contemporary Newbery winning novel this week, and we will compare it to Call it Courage which won the prize in 1941. I am looking forward to our discussion on how literature for children has evolved from the 40's.
5PA asked last week to focus all of our time in class this week on their Capstone research, and I agreed to give them the whole week to work on their projects to make the world a better place.
Have a wonderful winter break! I'll see you in 2020!!
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Monday, December 9, 2019
Monday 12-9
There will be a guest teacher in PA/TD today. I slipped yesterday, my hip is angry, and moving around is quite uncomfortable. I’m sure, after a day of rest, that I’ll be ready for the rest of the week. See you on Tuesday.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
PA and TD for the Week of 12-2
KTD Literature students will be reading two books with me during their time in TD this week. We will read The Goose and the Golden Egg and Teddy Bear for Sale looking for connections between the two stories. The Monday group did an outstanding job of finding connections!
KTD Math will be solving a video math problem in three acts. This problem focuses on estimation strategies and complex counting using a soccer player juggling a ball using different parts of his body.
1TD will get new books for their book boxes, we will continue to read and conference about their independent books, and we will also be reading a set of more diverse picture books for a speech next week.
2TD will focus our reading workshop this week on summarizing and retelling using student selected books. I have been very proud of the kids in this group as they settle into our new routine and structure. The books the kids are reading are more complex and I'm getting to know them better as readers.
3PA will finish up their "Ugly Duckling" identity time lines this week. The pairs did a great job of working together on this project and their time lines show their understanding of what shapes someone's identity. Next, we will be reading a short story titled "The Green Man" about a mythical man who lives in a forest, and has a complex identity that is shaped by many forces. We will be discussing the text through the lens of change and identity for the week.
4PA will say goodbye to The Secret Garden this week. Yesterday, the class finished their watercolor paintings, and they are all very proud of their work. Today, we will take a gallery walk to look at all of the paintings and discuss how each artist showed the magic in the garden. Our next unit will focus on the Newbery Medal, a prize given to one book for middle grade learners each year. The class will learn about the criteria used to select the winning book each year, and then begin reading the 1941 winner Call it Courage. After we read the novel, we will discuss why this book was selected and if we agree. The class will then all pick a more modern Newbery winner to compare with the 1941 winner. Has literature for children evolved? How and why has the writing for kids changed?
KTD Math will be solving a video math problem in three acts. This problem focuses on estimation strategies and complex counting using a soccer player juggling a ball using different parts of his body.
1TD will get new books for their book boxes, we will continue to read and conference about their independent books, and we will also be reading a set of more diverse picture books for a speech next week.
2TD will focus our reading workshop this week on summarizing and retelling using student selected books. I have been very proud of the kids in this group as they settle into our new routine and structure. The books the kids are reading are more complex and I'm getting to know them better as readers.
3PA will finish up their "Ugly Duckling" identity time lines this week. The pairs did a great job of working together on this project and their time lines show their understanding of what shapes someone's identity. Next, we will be reading a short story titled "The Green Man" about a mythical man who lives in a forest, and has a complex identity that is shaped by many forces. We will be discussing the text through the lens of change and identity for the week.
4PA will say goodbye to The Secret Garden this week. Yesterday, the class finished their watercolor paintings, and they are all very proud of their work. Today, we will take a gallery walk to look at all of the paintings and discuss how each artist showed the magic in the garden. Our next unit will focus on the Newbery Medal, a prize given to one book for middle grade learners each year. The class will learn about the criteria used to select the winning book each year, and then begin reading the 1941 winner Call it Courage. After we read the novel, we will discuss why this book was selected and if we agree. The class will then all pick a more modern Newbery winner to compare with the 1941 winner. Has literature for children evolved? How and why has the writing for kids changed?
5PA began the week reading a poem by Billy Collins titled "On Turning Ten" about the things that change as kids grow up. The class will begin writing their own version of this poem celebrating all of the things that make childhood magical. Thursday will be another Capstone day, and on Friday we will begin reading several articles about the two sides on the GMO debate.
Monday, November 18, 2019
PA and TD for the Week of 11-18
KTD Lit will focus on sensory images and personification in stories during a shared reading of The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton.
KTD Math will spend another week with the visual perception game SET. This is a card game that focuses on patterns, shapes, numbers, colors, and how the shapes are filled. It is a great family game and the kids caught on pretty quickly last week. https://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle
1TD will all be adding books to their book boxes this week, but one book is going to have a main character that is very different than the student reading it. We will be celebrating diversity and learning how to give a book commercial, a quick two minute book talk that will be shared with the group.
2TD is now a pretty large group of 17, the two smaller groups merged last week. We are doing more of a reading workshop model now where students are reading self selected texts, conferencing with me, and journaling about a specific topic, this week the theme of the text or the central idea of the text will be the topic of our journals.
3PA is reading a classic story from 1843, Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" as a way to discuss identity. How is the duckling's identity shaped by the interactions he has with different characters? The kids will be developing a storyboard with captions showing how his identity developed.
4PA will complete our work with The Secret Garden this week with a watercolor painting project showing the garden when it was barren, growing, and in full splendor. Each painting will be paired with a quote from the story and include visuals that reflect some of the symbolism and metaphors we found in the text.
5PA will finish their TED talks on Monday, work on our capstone projects on Thursday, and the rest of the week we will be reading a chapter from Little Women looking at how Jo was able to impact many systems in her family.
KTD Math will spend another week with the visual perception game SET. This is a card game that focuses on patterns, shapes, numbers, colors, and how the shapes are filled. It is a great family game and the kids caught on pretty quickly last week. https://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle
1TD will all be adding books to their book boxes this week, but one book is going to have a main character that is very different than the student reading it. We will be celebrating diversity and learning how to give a book commercial, a quick two minute book talk that will be shared with the group.
2TD is now a pretty large group of 17, the two smaller groups merged last week. We are doing more of a reading workshop model now where students are reading self selected texts, conferencing with me, and journaling about a specific topic, this week the theme of the text or the central idea of the text will be the topic of our journals.
3PA is reading a classic story from 1843, Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" as a way to discuss identity. How is the duckling's identity shaped by the interactions he has with different characters? The kids will be developing a storyboard with captions showing how his identity developed.
4PA will complete our work with The Secret Garden this week with a watercolor painting project showing the garden when it was barren, growing, and in full splendor. Each painting will be paired with a quote from the story and include visuals that reflect some of the symbolism and metaphors we found in the text.
5PA will finish their TED talks on Monday, work on our capstone projects on Thursday, and the rest of the week we will be reading a chapter from Little Women looking at how Jo was able to impact many systems in her family.
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PA Progress Reports
PA progress reports will come home with the kids today in backpacks. I will be giving them to the kids in PA. Have a safe wintry weekend. ...
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Project Arrow testing will continue next week at Brookdale. Our schedule is posted here, just scroll down. 3PA will again only meet on ...
