First off, thanks so much for coming to Back to School Night. We feel so lucky to have such involved, wonderful parents!
We started our Mindfulness study this week, first focusing on a growth vs. a fixed mindset. A growth mindset believes that we have limitless potential in any area we choose...we are not "smart/not smart" or "athletic/not athletic," etc. Studies show that with a growth mindset, we are happier, we risk more, and we see the world as full of opportunity, rather than limiting.
Our classroom motto is GROW! and we learned what the first letter stands for: GRIT. Ask them what it means! They may even give you a task with crayons to figure out. When children learn to stick with something, especially when it is challenging, they learn to feel the absolute sheer joy of finally succeeding. It's a more powerful sense of pride that builds confidence because they didn't give up, they persevered, and THEY DID IT.
In reading, second grade focused on Just Right Books. We learned that books "fit" us like the right pair of shoes, or like a bike ride (ask them to explain!). They also know to read the blurb, do the five finger test, and that real reading means they understand what's happening...they aren't just able to say the words. Third and Fourth continued their novel studies. Third is incorporating writing with Love that Dog...we are analyzing poems and writing them ourselves! We've also enjoyed reading and interpreting poems by Robert Frost, Valerie Worth, and William Carlos Williams (yes, these students are in 3rd!). Fourth Grade is watching Signposts very carefully. Signposts are placed in books by authors and assist us in finding out what the character's true struggle (conflict) is, and we are more able to classify side problems as a piece of the larger problem they are facing. All grades are in the process of brainstorming and planning...getting close to drafting and revising. We learned that writing without a plan and purpose is like a pilot on a plane that has no map...no thanks! ;)
Spelling groups should start next week, and READING HOMEWORK as well. Your student should read a minimum of 20 minutes each night in a Just Right Book and record the title, capitalized and underlined, in their agenda. You need to initial next to the book title, in addition to at the bottom of the agenda as usual. As with the other homework we give, we would love scaffolding, but your child should be able to do this independently. It's a process, and process is messy, so please, let them write the title. Also, if they have really put up a fight or "pretend read" during the 20 minutes, you don't have to sign it! They will be accountable (an receive a single debit) to me. I will not come down on them...but they need to have a conversation with me about the struggle they are having at home to get reading done and why. This is something we need to be open and honest about...I will help them, and you, get through this. It's important, not because it's homework, but because it's learning.
In science, we read three different biographies to identify characteristics of scientists. We compared and contrasted Jane Goodall, Albert Einstein, and Kate Sessions and then identified which area of science we would most like to study. Watch out, science world: we have a whole community full of marine biologists, paleontologists, and zoologists coming your way!
We also touched on 9/11. After a brief summary about the events using this site as a resource, we read September 12th, We Knew Everything Would Be All Right, a book written by students highlighting the comfort of routine and sense of community that followed the events of that day.
We talked about hope, and how we can be hopeful and remember the heroism of that day by choosing to do something positive on September 11th. Ask your child what their "9/11 I Will..." statement is. :)
In math the fourth graders started on their first project of the year. We read a book titled
The World's Tallest Buildings. Then the students were assigned to small groups and selected a tall building to start researching. They found the city, country, population, height, number of stories, and location of the building. They worked really hard researching, working together, and drawing the building on a large sheet of paper.
Third graders continued to work on writing numbers in different ways, standard, expanded, word form, and with pictures. Then we learned how to round numbers to the nearest ten and hundred. Ask you child to show you their strategy for rounding.
We started our Mindfulness study this week, first focusing on a growth vs. a fixed mindset. A growth mindset believes that we have limitless potential in any area we choose...we are not "smart/not smart" or "athletic/not athletic," etc. Studies show that with a growth mindset, we are happier, we risk more, and we see the world as full of opportunity, rather than limiting.
Our classroom motto is GROW! and we learned what the first letter stands for: GRIT. Ask them what it means! They may even give you a task with crayons to figure out. When children learn to stick with something, especially when it is challenging, they learn to feel the absolute sheer joy of finally succeeding. It's a more powerful sense of pride that builds confidence because they didn't give up, they persevered, and THEY DID IT.
In reading, second grade focused on Just Right Books. We learned that books "fit" us like the right pair of shoes, or like a bike ride (ask them to explain!). They also know to read the blurb, do the five finger test, and that real reading means they understand what's happening...they aren't just able to say the words. Third and Fourth continued their novel studies. Third is incorporating writing with Love that Dog...we are analyzing poems and writing them ourselves! We've also enjoyed reading and interpreting poems by Robert Frost, Valerie Worth, and William Carlos Williams (yes, these students are in 3rd!). Fourth Grade is watching Signposts very carefully. Signposts are placed in books by authors and assist us in finding out what the character's true struggle (conflict) is, and we are more able to classify side problems as a piece of the larger problem they are facing. All grades are in the process of brainstorming and planning...getting close to drafting and revising. We learned that writing without a plan and purpose is like a pilot on a plane that has no map...no thanks! ;)
Spelling groups should start next week, and READING HOMEWORK as well. Your student should read a minimum of 20 minutes each night in a Just Right Book and record the title, capitalized and underlined, in their agenda. You need to initial next to the book title, in addition to at the bottom of the agenda as usual. As with the other homework we give, we would love scaffolding, but your child should be able to do this independently. It's a process, and process is messy, so please, let them write the title. Also, if they have really put up a fight or "pretend read" during the 20 minutes, you don't have to sign it! They will be accountable (an receive a single debit) to me. I will not come down on them...but they need to have a conversation with me about the struggle they are having at home to get reading done and why. This is something we need to be open and honest about...I will help them, and you, get through this. It's important, not because it's homework, but because it's learning.
In science, we read three different biographies to identify characteristics of scientists. We compared and contrasted Jane Goodall, Albert Einstein, and Kate Sessions and then identified which area of science we would most like to study. Watch out, science world: we have a whole community full of marine biologists, paleontologists, and zoologists coming your way!
We also touched on 9/11. After a brief summary about the events using this site as a resource, we read September 12th, We Knew Everything Would Be All Right, a book written by students highlighting the comfort of routine and sense of community that followed the events of that day.
We talked about hope, and how we can be hopeful and remember the heroism of that day by choosing to do something positive on September 11th. Ask your child what their "9/11 I Will..." statement is. :)
In math the fourth graders started on their first project of the year. We read a book titled
The World's Tallest Buildings. Then the students were assigned to small groups and selected a tall building to start researching. They found the city, country, population, height, number of stories, and location of the building. They worked really hard researching, working together, and drawing the building on a large sheet of paper.
Third graders continued to work on writing numbers in different ways, standard, expanded, word form, and with pictures. Then we learned how to round numbers to the nearest ten and hundred. Ask you child to show you their strategy for rounding.
Second graders had fun counting, sorting, and creating something with their cubes. Next, we discussed how we could categorize our creations. We also learned how to play a card game called Ten go Fish which is similar to the game Go Fish. The point of the game is to find pairs that equal ten. We read a book titled The Roadside Stand then we discussed how to organize cubes or fruit in equal rows or in such a way to easily identify how many are in the picture. We ended our week with Sunshine math. We worked on the problems together so I could model for them how to use strategies and show their thinking.
Have a fun weekend!
The SBLC Team
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