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Hi and HAPPY NOVEMBER. Wow, I can't believe that it's already November...and it's finally beginning to feel like Fall (well, except for the past two days that have been in the 70s:))
Please check out the Where We Are in Place and Time tab under Science and Social Studies for information about our new Unit. It's one of the students' favorite units because we get to go back in time and explore different civilizations! Also, I have set each student up with a Frontrowed.com account. In order to get on the site, you can go to the math tab, then websites, and you will see a link for Frontrowed. The kids will need to log in with their First and Last names, and then enter the classroom code. They have all had the chance to use this educational website and seem to like it. It seems to be rigorous with the differentiated questioning, and has problems with multiple answers for the students to select. After each round, the kids can go "shop" for accessories for the pig....but the think I like best, is it doesn't let them stay in the shopping area for long at all - it times them! Please feel free to check out this site.:) OUR FIRST FIELD TRIP! We are going to visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Thursday, November 19th. I would love to have a few volunteers to join us. Please e-mail me if you are interested. We will leave around 9 am and return no later than 2 pm. THANKSGIVING LUNCH is Friday, November 13th. Buy tickets at the office if you are interested. We had an appreciative, supportive, and curious audience of parents, students, and teachers on Friday during our Multicultural Arts Festival. I was blown away by the number of parents that re-arranged their work schedule to support their child. Brown International Academy is such a wonderful community!! Have a wonderful 4 day weekend and I'm looking forward to meeting you for parent/teacher conferences beginning Wednesday, October 21st. As you know, our current unit is How We Express Ourselves. Since the beginning of the year, students have been exploring the idea of "Mood and Perspective are Globally Conveyed through the Written Word". A secondary idea to this unit explores access to literacy across the globe. We are near the end of the unit and gearing up for our final project. Final Project for How We Express Ourselves Our Third graders are being asked to participate in our Multicultural Street Fair on Friday, October 16th at 9:15 am YOU'RE INVITED TOO!! PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: - Research and present basic geographical information about their country (continent, near which major bodies of water, flag, climate) - Research and present an artistic piece based on that country. This is the tough one because it is intentionally vague. Students can choose a tradition - dance - music - sport - art - poem - holiday - food that is representative of this country. They will then either make that type of dance/poem/art/etc. or something that represents that sport. (example, a paper mache soccer ball for Brazil or a Chinese paper cutting or lyrics to a song about Greek gods or whatever you child comes up with! ) - Write and present a poem or creative paragraph about their artistic piece. This writing will include vivid verbs and figurative language. - Reflect on how they used the learner profile and research skills to successfully complete project. **I will provide some craft supplies, but may need extra help from you if I don't have what your child wants for their art piece** ************************************************************************************************************************************************* A key component to the IB teaching philosophy is teaching through transdisciplinary units. This means that the concepts and vocabulary of that unit are taught in each subject area to provide a more dynamic understanding of the unit's theme. Reading - Students are becoming experts on determining a book's GIST (or main idea) and using EVIDENCE from the text to support their answers to TEXT-BASED QUESTIONS. Writing - We have taken a deep dive into the word of figurative language and written expression through poetry, creative writing, and song lyrics. We have written numerous poems using a variety of forms and types of figurative language. We have also analyzed poems to determine mood using evidence. Math - This is always a tougher one to incorporate into the unit, so we focus more on the key concepts of connection and form. In math we are studying multiples, arrays, and groupings as a way to build foundation for greater understanding of multiplication and division. They have known to answer a few alliteration math word problems too. :) .... The lazy lion likes lollipops. He has 20 lollipops and gave equal number to his same 4 friends. How many lollipops does each friend have?... Social Studies - we have been focusing on identifying continents and major bodies of waters. Students have chosen a country to research basic geographical information and inquiry about how they express themselves. Have you heard your child talk about being open-minded, a risk taker, or naming the continents in their sleep? I HOPE SO! It is so important that children don't compartmentalize and understand that learning doesn't just occur at school. Learning happens EVERYWHERE! The learning that happens at school can be shared EVERYWHERE! Last week during math, we took a walk around the neighborhood to see the form and function of numbers around us. Students learned how house numbers are organized. They are numbered even and odd depending on their side of the street and either increase or decrease according to cardinal direction. We discussed the importance of numbers on license plates, telephone numbers, and even saw numbers used as decoration! Our weekly reflection journals are wonderful to read. Thank you for taking the time to respond to your child's letter. I love how you parents encourage and honor the hard work students are putting into their studies each day. This is a strong motivator for them and I've heard from some parents that that is the best writing they've seen from their child. So awesome. Please see photos of Express Yourself Day! We spent the day dancing, talking about expression (using vocabulary of risk-taker and open-minded), and writing repetitive "I am" poems that were 4 stanzas long! Final note, I remember sitting at the dinner table with my family having to say "3 things that I learned about the day". As you can imagine, the answers got pretty routine. Here's a list from Huffpost: 25 ways to ask kids "So how was school today?" Without asking them "So how was school today?" by Liz Evans 1. What was the best thing that happened at school today? (What was the worst thing that happened at school today?) 2. Tell me something that made you laugh today. 3. If you could choose, who would you like to sit by in class? (Who would you NOT want to sit by in class? Why?) 4. Where is the coolest place at the school? 5. Tell me a weird word that you heard today. (Or something weird that someone said.) 6. If I called your teacher tonight, what would she tell me about you? 7. How did you help somebody today? 8. How did somebody help you today? 9. Tell me one thing that you learned today. 10. When were you the happiest today? 11. When were you bored today? 12. If an alien spaceship came to your class and beamed someone up, who would you want them to take? 13. Who would you like to play with at recess that you've never played with before? 14. Tell me something good that happened today. 15. What word did your teacher say most today? 16. What do you think you should do/learn more of at school? 17. What do you think you should do/learn less of at school? 18. Who in your class do you think you could be nicer to? 19. Where do you play the most at recess? 20. Who is the funniest person in your class? Why is he/she so funny? 21. What was your favorite part of lunch? 22. If you got to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you do? 23. Is there anyone in your class who needs a time-out? 24. If you could switch seats with anyone in the class, who would you trade with? Why? 25. Tell me about three different times you used your pencil today at school. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-evans/25-ways-to-ask-your-kids-so-how-was-school-today-without-asking-them-so-how-was-school-today_b_5738338.html |
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November 2015
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