Giving Thanks - Week 13

This week was a short week at school, having three days off to celebrate Thanksgiving.  On Monday and Tuesday students spent some time kicking off our first history unit on Immigration.  We tied this into our reading and writing, as students learned how to write a perfect paragraph using a "hamburger paragraph" model.  It is known as a "hamburger paragraph" as the parts of the paragraph relates to the parts of a paragraph.  

Students read three passages: The Mayflower, The Pilgrims, and The Wampanoag Tribe.  We identified the parts of the passessages (topic sentence, details, conclusion) to determine if they qualified as a perfect paragraph.  Then we read a book call The First Thanksgiving.  Students were then asked to write their own paragraph about what they learned using a hamburger paragraph graphic organizer.  On Tuesday, we read a more modern day Thanksgiving story called How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting.  This story is about a family who flee their country after they have to hide from soldiers that show up with weapons. They travel across the ocean in a small boat with an hand stitched sail, hoping for a new life in America.  When they finally see land, they are met by men in uniforms and are turned away.  They are eventually met by people who welcome them to America and are invited to a feast: It is Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is a good starting point for a  history unit on Immigration.  During this unit students will compare and contrast immigrants from the past to modern day immigrants. 

On Tuesday, students also shared what they are thankful for and then wrote a paragraph about what they are thankful for.  In the afternoon we spent time playing a few games that may have been played by Pilgrim children and Native American children.  We concluded out day by finishing an art project inspired by Wassily Kandinsky's famous painting "Squares with Concentric Circles". 

We also welcomed a new student to the Elmore School on Monday.  Please join me in welcoming Tim and his family to the Elmore Community!

As we resume school on Monday, I ask that you please keep in mind Governor Scott's mandate on restricting social gatherings.  If you and your family have had a multi household gathering over the holiday, the school asks that you keep your child(ren) home for 7 days and then get a Covid test prior to returning to school.  There will now be a question about this on the health screening in the morning.  

Additionally, while we know students are together during the day at school, we ask that you remain vigilant and mindful about limiting interaction after school and on the playground.  Your attention to this could help prevent the spread of illness in the community of Elmore and keep our school open for in-person instruction.  

I hope you all had a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.  I know that this year has and continues to be particularly difficult as we navigate through this pandemic.  It seems there may be hope on the horizon.  

I have many things to be thankful for this year and you are all near the top of that list!  

Week 12

Making squash pancakes with Farm to School!

The first marking period concluded this week and we are now officially 1/3 of the way through our school year!  

We concluded our narrative writing unit this week.  We began by reviewing how to write a powerful ending.  Then students were given a checklist to review their stories to see what they are doing well and what still needs work with the hope that they will use this to make their stories better.  Students shared their stories with the class during morning meeting.  We ended the week with an On Demand Writing Assessment where students had to think of an idea, plan, draft, edit and revise in one sitting in order to show everything they have learned about writing small moment narratives.  

During Readers Workshop, students worked to apply more than one reading strategy to help them figure out tricky words.  For example students may consciously use the picture AND chunk the work into parts to figure out an unknown word.  I am wrapping up reading assessments to determine reading levels.  once these are done we will be able to resume reading groups.

Additionally phonic groups have been meeting with Mrs. Bellavance to work on decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) strategies.  

In Math:

First graders used counting on strategies to solve part unknown number story situation and worked to make up number stories that match a given number sentence with either a unknown whole or unknown part.  

Second graders measured and compared lengths using centimeters and meters, and developed estimation strategies by applying prior knowledge of length and using mental measuring benchmarks such as the width of your pinky for a centimeter and the span of your arms for a meter.

Third graders reviewed what they have been learning about multiplication and division and took a mid module assessment this week.  

In science we continued our unit on Animal Survival and Heredity.  We did another Mystery Science Lesson. 

In this Mystery, students learn how people create new breeds of animals by mating (selecting) individuals with desirable traits. In the lesson activity called Designer Dogs, students were shown pairs of adult dogs and three potential puppies. They studied the physical traits of the dogs and looked for the puppy that shared these traits. (Mystery Science: mysteryscience.com/animals/mystery-4/trait-variation-inheritance-artificial-selection)

On Friday Molly Gellar, our Farm to School liaison visited the class.  With her, she brought several squash varieties (all grown in the garden at MES).  Students then worked in small groups to make squash pancakes.  Each student had a different responsibility on the recipe.  The students all sampled the pancakes with a little bit of maple syrup!  Yum! Scroll down to see the students in action.

Scooping the flesh from this baked Honey Squash.

Students work to measure ingredients!

Mixing up the batter.

Students check the recipe to measure correctly.

Team work!

Students worked together to wash the dishes.

Molly Set up a cooking station in the classroom.

taste test!  Yum!

Some students drew still lives of the squash while they waited.

I want to commend everyone for your efforts on remote days!  The past two remote Wednesdays we have had full attendance at our morning meeting and we have had nearly full completion of assignments! 

Reminders:

• Library is Monday.  Don't forget your books!  Students who remember their books 5 times in a row become "Gold Card" library students who then get to check out  up to 4 books and take a book activity home!
• PE is Tuesday and Thursday.  Please be on time and bring your sneakers!  Students who arrive late, may miss PE for the day as it is disruptive to the group to interrupt the class.
• Don't forget to charge your iPad at home and bring your headphones to school!
• Students should be reading  and filling out their reading logs!  don't forget to include your minutes so we can reach our first reading goal (8,000 minutes).  We are almost halfway there!
• Email me for lunch orders for Monday and Tuesday!
• There is NO SCHOOL next Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.  Happy Thanksgiving!

"That pancake Squash was good."

Wishing you all a safe and healthy Thanksgiving! 

Week 11

A good reminder for all!

We had another busy week at the Elmore School.

We began the week examining the writing style Jane Yolan, as we looked at her book Owl Moon, to see how she uses comparisons to create powerful writing.  Students were encouraged to try some of these techniques in their own writing.  Later in the week students worked on Publishing one of their stories they have been perfecting.  At this point the students should have several stories in their folders which they have written, and edited, finished.  On Friday, students began sharing their published stories with the class.

We also spent time this week reviewing what Writer's and Readers Workshop time should look like and sound like.  

In Readers Workshop this week our focus was on applying various strategies to reading tricky words.  Our goal is for students to have strategies to figure out unknown words on their own so they can keep reading even when they get stuck on a word they don't know.  Additionally we talked about choosing 'just right" books.  A "just right" book may have a few tricky words on each page, but you should be able to read most of the words on the page and understand the content you are reading.  Students may use books that are easy for them to read as a "warm up" and then move on to more challenging books.  You can relate this to exercising your body:  Start with a "warm up" before you begin your "work out".  

Students have been enjoying our read aloud,  Charlott's Web By E.B. White

In Math we are settling into our Math menu routines.  We begin with a whole class warm up, such as Which one doesn't belong, a number talk, or a math journal problem, then we move into grade level content groups and independent work time.

1st grade: We began solving addition word problems to find the unknown.

2nd grade: We concluded our first unit and took an end of module assessment and then began Module 2: Addition and Subtraction using length units (centimeters).

3rd grade: We began using the distributive property (breaking a larger array into smaller arrays and putting them together to find the unknown) to solve multiplication problems.  

In Science we began our first unit on Heredity and Traits.  Students explored how scientists explore fossils to learn about how habitats have changed over time and to learn about prehistoric animals such as dinosaurs.  By examining fossils, scientist look at traits such as teeth and bone structure to learn what an animal from the past looked like and what it ate.

On Friday students explored patterns and colors as they created beautiful Watercolor fall leaves using a crayon resist technique.

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I know you aware that Covid-19 cases are on the rise all over the country including Vermont.  As many have said, "it's getting closer and closer". We need to stay vigilant about health and safety.  The governor has put new mandates for social gatherings in place, so I ask that you do you best to adhere to these new guidelines, which means students should not be having social gatherings outside of school.  Additionally, please remind students that we need to by careful about our close contact with others, washing hands and continuing to wear masks.  I've noticed over the past couple weeks that the children are needing more and more reminders to stay physically distanced which is not surprising now that they are feeling comfortable back at school.

Please see updates in the LSUU Family Health Handbook for updates about Health and safety guidelines.(updates are highlighted in Yellow)

Wish List:  Some parents have asked if the school needs anything. There are a few small items we could we are running short on.  If you would like to donate one of the following items your donation would be greatly appreciated.

• paper lunch bags (we use these to put masks in when we are eating)
• paper plates (for various projects)
• plastic spoons
• Ziplock bags of various sizes (with slide closure preferred)

Announcements:  

• Library is Monday.  Don't forget your books!
• Students need sneakers for PE on Tuesday and Thursday (and extra socks)
• As cold weather and snow approaches, students should have indoor shoes to put on when they come inside.
• Students should have at least 3 CLEAN masks per day so they can change them when they get wet.
• Students should bring a water bottle each day!
• The marking period ends on Wednesday, November 18th
• Please assure iPads are charged and students have their head phones each day.
• There is an early release next Friday (Nov. 20th).  Pick up at 12:00
• There is no school on Nov. 27-27th for Thanksgiving.
• Email me with lunch orders for the week!(salads and sandwiches only) 

Lastly,  we have two new students who will be joining the Elmore School.  One will be starting the the week of Nov. 20th, and the other will be starting after the new year.  Please help me welcome these students and their families to the community!

Week 10

We began the week with a mini unit on the democratic election process.  Students watched a video which defined the election process and highlighted several key vocabulary words. you can view it here if you are interested.  On Monday we listened to a read aloud called Duck for President, by Doreen Cronin. During our Google Meet on Wednesday, students listened to Grace for President by Kelly Dipucchio

 

We read various information about what the election process is about and answered key questions.  Students designed their own Campaign Poster, and wrote a paragraph about what they would do as president.  On Tuesday we set up a voting station in the classroom where students cast a ballot for our first reading reward.  In this process we started first by nominating various rewards.  Then we voted in a primary (secret show of hands) to determine two choices which we then voted on in the election by secret ballot.  Students voted on a movie or PJ day (the also had the chance to write in another idea).  Later in the day, the votes were counted and tallied.  It was a close race, but in the end movie won.  

Our first reading goal is 8000 minutes.  We are currently just over 2000.  Please remind your students to fill out their reading logs and include their minutes read so we can reach our first goal!  Third graders should be reading a minimum of 30 minutes 3 times per week, second graders should read a minimum of 20 minutes 3 times per week, and first graders should read 10 minutes 3 times per week.  

During writer's workshop we learned how writer's go back to add more and more to their stories to make them even better.  Students are encouraged to add descriptive language that speaks to our senses just as our mentor authors do.  

I continue to assess students reading levels.  This is a lengthy process, but provides valuable information. 

In math:

First grade worked on composing 8, 9, and 10 using a number bond model and then writing two expressions using the commutative property.

Second grade finish their first unit, which concluded with taking from 10 within 100.  In this unit we have been working on building fluency with addition and subtraction within 100 by converting a problem into another problem by decomposing to find a 10.  Students build mathematical flexibility and understand the composition of numbers when they are able to manipulate the problem into a more "friendly" equation to solve it.   There continues to be some confusion around this process, and I would encourage you to watch this video to understand more about this process who you can better support your child.  Though the module is over, I don't feel the students are quite ready to move on.

Third grade used arrays and skip counting to solve multiplication problems and show the commutative property of multiplication.  

We began with an array and then applied the skip count to each row.  Later we began with a skip count and built an array.  We are using this pictorial approach to help build a conceptual understand of multiplication. 

In Science this week we began our first unit on Heredity and Traits.  Students discovered how scientists examine the traits of various fossils to determine the type of animals and the habitat that may have existed in the past. 

On Friday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and set out of Elmore State Park where students looked for various habitats present in our area.  We stopped at the pavillion where we played a field game, ate snack, and read the book Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner.  Students used a field guide to potentially identify various animals and plants present along our hike. We identified several habitats to include: lake, forest, meadow, march, pond, and streams.  We hiked to a pond.  Along the way we saw several plants and trees, as well as various birds including a pair of woodpeckers  which let us watch them for several minutes.  At the pond we discovered a beaver lodge and dam as well as fresh evidence of beaver activity.  We found many freshly cut trees and a worn path leading to the beaver dam. Students also discovered a small frog in a pool of water near the edge of the pond. 

Students were encouraged to tune into their senses as they completed a sensory nature scavenger hunt as we hiked back to school.  Back at school students reflected on what they saw, heard, felt, and smelled. Then they explored an artifact they brought back with them with a magnifying glass, and worked to draw a magnified portion of their artifact.  

This is experiential learning at it's best and is what I love the most about teaching.  Students were in the element and expressed so much excitement and pleasure throughout the day.  I would like to revisit the pond again later in the school year to note any changes.  Here are some photographs from our adventure. Scroll all the way down for announcements!

Students playing Salmon, Bear, Mosquito

Students discovered many things along our hike!

Student study their field guide to identify various plant and animals.

We crossed over several streams in our way.

We found a Beaver Lodge at the pond! (notice the slushy surface from the recent snow)

Check out this freshly cut tree! A sure sign of Beaver activity.

This log made a great opportunity to practice some balancing skills!

a small frog was basking in the warm sun!

Taking a much needed break!

Announcements:

• Students need sneakers for PE on Tuesday and Thursday!
• Library is Monday!  
• Book orders are Due on Thursday Nov. 12th.  You can order online at Scholastic Books.  Class code is JG8W3
• There is NO SCHOOL Wednesday, NOV. 11th so there will be no remote learning assignments. There will be regular nightly homework on Tuesday. Students can choose to do it on Tuesday night or Wednesday.
• The first marking period ends on Wednesday, Nov. 18th. 
• Early Dismissal Friday Nov. 20th.  Pick up between 12 and 12:15.
• Thanksgiving break is Nov. 25 - 27.