Hello, Families,
First, we hope that you were able to come and enjoy the staff Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast. The time you dedicate to this school community both in and out of the classroom is commendable. Thank you so much!
...I was invited to a Volunteer Breakfast of my own on the same day for my work as a volunteer in the Oakland Library's PASS afterschool program. It's a free city program for K-12 kids, that sadly is getting cut next year. My work there makes me realize how lucky the CLC community is and how vital strong volunteers are for helping children. It truly takes a village...Lale
Learners have been busy this week reflecting on work done over the year with the creation of student portfolios, exploring rocks and minerals, sharing ROPEs and PLPs with classmates, ending Boy and Girl Circles, completing end of year assessments, creating an ensign to be raised aboard the ship, and preparing for their end of year Milestone trip and their Wednesday, "Oh, California Day". All of this despite the demolition work happening right outside our backdoor. I'm sure your learners can imitate the sound of concrete cutting machines. To say it's loud and distracting is an understatement. Thank goodness it didn't begin any earlier this year! We spent part of Friday working in the library so we could hear ourselves think.
We are all excited for Monday and will share photos as soon as we can.
Ahoy!
Elysha and Lale
Friday, June 01, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Happy Friday,
From Elysha...
It is definitely getting close to the end of the year. Summer is in the air and the learners already have "summer fever" much like the "gold fever" the miners had when coming to California in 1849. We learned on the field trip that "gold fever" was an illness that they couldn't control, so maybe the learners could argue the same.
The field trip yesterday was fantastic! The learners knew so much. Many of the docents complimented our class and were quite impressed with their knowledge base. I felt proud seeing how much they knew. We also had the opportunity to pan for gold. Unfortunately no one struck it rich, but we did learn that the miners worked hard to earn what they found only to be outsmarted by the merchants who practiced price gouging on a daily basis.
I wanted to add how proud I was of the learners MARS scores this year. If you don't remember the MARS test is a district math assessment that is closely aligned with how we teach math in the classroom. Over 90% of our learners scored at or above fourth grade standards for math. I was so thrilled with how great they did! You will be getting copies of their scores soon.
From Lale...
I must have passed the learners on my way to school yesterday. They were surprised to see me working in the classroom when they came back from their field trip. I was on campus Thursday to have a conversation with Cheryl Wozniak, a teacher liaison with the Bay Area Writer's Project, a non profit run in conjunction with UC Berkeley and the National Writing Project. I have attended some of her district training sessions and have incorporated some of her lessons. She is truly inspiring. She helped confirm that I covered valuable things in fourth grade in writing, and gave me suggestions for improvements for next year. Karrie Amsler, next years 5/6 Language Arts educator, sat in on the meeting. She and I have been having many conversations about the learners and their growth as writers this year and how to expand their writing repertoire next year. I am grateful that I'll be able to to do more professional cross-grade level professional discussion. (Karrie and I have the added benefit of being carpool buddies who share commute time.)
Learners will be on the lookout next week for current events about California. They can look at newspapers, magazines, and on the web for information. If you had any sections of the paper or magazines that are headed to the recycling bin, you may want to set them aside. More details will come home on Monday.
Have a terrific weekend!
Best,
Elysha and Lale
From Elysha...
It is definitely getting close to the end of the year. Summer is in the air and the learners already have "summer fever" much like the "gold fever" the miners had when coming to California in 1849. We learned on the field trip that "gold fever" was an illness that they couldn't control, so maybe the learners could argue the same.
The field trip yesterday was fantastic! The learners knew so much. Many of the docents complimented our class and were quite impressed with their knowledge base. I felt proud seeing how much they knew. We also had the opportunity to pan for gold. Unfortunately no one struck it rich, but we did learn that the miners worked hard to earn what they found only to be outsmarted by the merchants who practiced price gouging on a daily basis.
I wanted to add how proud I was of the learners MARS scores this year. If you don't remember the MARS test is a district math assessment that is closely aligned with how we teach math in the classroom. Over 90% of our learners scored at or above fourth grade standards for math. I was so thrilled with how great they did! You will be getting copies of their scores soon.
From Lale...
I must have passed the learners on my way to school yesterday. They were surprised to see me working in the classroom when they came back from their field trip. I was on campus Thursday to have a conversation with Cheryl Wozniak, a teacher liaison with the Bay Area Writer's Project, a non profit run in conjunction with UC Berkeley and the National Writing Project. I have attended some of her district training sessions and have incorporated some of her lessons. She is truly inspiring. She helped confirm that I covered valuable things in fourth grade in writing, and gave me suggestions for improvements for next year. Karrie Amsler, next years 5/6 Language Arts educator, sat in on the meeting. She and I have been having many conversations about the learners and their growth as writers this year and how to expand their writing repertoire next year. I am grateful that I'll be able to to do more professional cross-grade level professional discussion. (Karrie and I have the added benefit of being carpool buddies who share commute time.)
Learners will be on the lookout next week for current events about California. They can look at newspapers, magazines, and on the web for information. If you had any sections of the paper or magazines that are headed to the recycling bin, you may want to set them aside. More details will come home on Monday.
Have a terrific weekend!
Best,
Elysha and Lale
Friday, March 30, 2007
Weekly Update
Written by Sierra and Maddy
This week in Language Arts we have been busy reading By The Great Horn Spoon Chapters 10-13. We also read Creatures of the Deep, then wrote a big summary on it. We've been doing lots of things that include summaries. We have also been looking at the main ideas of some writing.
In math we have been learning about geometry and decimals. In geometry we learned about parallelograms, polygons and how to use triangles to make them. For decimals we have been learning about tenths, hundredths and thousandths.
In Social Studies we have been learning about the Gold Rush. We were assigned a specific technique that miners used to get gold. They were panning, rocker, sluice box, long tom and hydraulic mining. We created skits to teach our class about the different techniques. We hope you have enjoyed this update!
Written by Sierra and Maddy
This week in Language Arts we have been busy reading By The Great Horn Spoon Chapters 10-13. We also read Creatures of the Deep, then wrote a big summary on it. We've been doing lots of things that include summaries. We have also been looking at the main ideas of some writing.
In math we have been learning about geometry and decimals. In geometry we learned about parallelograms, polygons and how to use triangles to make them. For decimals we have been learning about tenths, hundredths and thousandths.
In Social Studies we have been learning about the Gold Rush. We were assigned a specific technique that miners used to get gold. They were panning, rocker, sluice box, long tom and hydraulic mining. We created skits to teach our class about the different techniques. We hope you have enjoyed this update!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Week of March 19- March 22
The learners continued drafting their persuasive papers this week. There were many aspects that were either reviewed or introduced with this form of writing. They continued worked on beginning paragraphs with topic sentences, having the rest of the paragraph relate, and using transitional phrases such as "First of all..". They talked about the best way to creat a call of action being using sentences that start with active verbs.
We talked more about how we infer when we read. That we continually draw conclusions from what is not being said explicitly. We did this last week by reading factual primary documents of the excitement surrounding the Gold Rush (mentioned last week). We also talked about inferences in the book, By the Great Horn Spoon! The learners are working on doing several different activties along with reading their books to help them have a good quality discussions in their small book groups and as a whole class.
We connected the importance of reading with math by reading "actively" to answer problems that used a chart. Strong math skills were not the only skills needed to navigate the information on the chart and the questions. Some brought home their "Gold Mine" Charts to finish at home.
We also looked at fractions based on formulas. We used a variety of manipultatives (cubes, rods, pattern blocks, graph paper, and our fingers) to find out more about fractions. If we know one piece, than could we figure out the rest? Learners explored this concept through the use of maniputlatives. For example, if 8 squares of graph paper is eqaul to 2/3, than what is 1 whole or 1/4? It was a nice way for learners to make connections about fraction equavalents. We use a "peanut butter" strategy to support this where learners think about how the pieces would change if they were peanut buttered or stuck together. Want to learn more? Ask your learner how they would reduce 5/20? They also noticed that most of the time the fractions that could be reduced were both even numbers in the numerator and the denominator.
We had a great discussion today about the assembly. The learners brought up some insightful questions and powerful feelings. We decided that we represented the group that had everything and that we could do something about it within our classroom. Learners were asked to go home and talk about ways your family might already participate in helping others. One learner mentioned a girls school in Ethiopia and another mentioned sponsoring a local family through their church. We are going to share what we discover and decide how we want to move forward.
The learners continued drafting their persuasive papers this week. There were many aspects that were either reviewed or introduced with this form of writing. They continued worked on beginning paragraphs with topic sentences, having the rest of the paragraph relate, and using transitional phrases such as "First of all..". They talked about the best way to creat a call of action being using sentences that start with active verbs.
We talked more about how we infer when we read. That we continually draw conclusions from what is not being said explicitly. We did this last week by reading factual primary documents of the excitement surrounding the Gold Rush (mentioned last week). We also talked about inferences in the book, By the Great Horn Spoon! The learners are working on doing several different activties along with reading their books to help them have a good quality discussions in their small book groups and as a whole class.
We connected the importance of reading with math by reading "actively" to answer problems that used a chart. Strong math skills were not the only skills needed to navigate the information on the chart and the questions. Some brought home their "Gold Mine" Charts to finish at home.
We also looked at fractions based on formulas. We used a variety of manipultatives (cubes, rods, pattern blocks, graph paper, and our fingers) to find out more about fractions. If we know one piece, than could we figure out the rest? Learners explored this concept through the use of maniputlatives. For example, if 8 squares of graph paper is eqaul to 2/3, than what is 1 whole or 1/4? It was a nice way for learners to make connections about fraction equavalents. We use a "peanut butter" strategy to support this where learners think about how the pieces would change if they were peanut buttered or stuck together. Want to learn more? Ask your learner how they would reduce 5/20? They also noticed that most of the time the fractions that could be reduced were both even numbers in the numerator and the denominator.
We had a great discussion today about the assembly. The learners brought up some insightful questions and powerful feelings. We decided that we represented the group that had everything and that we could do something about it within our classroom. Learners were asked to go home and talk about ways your family might already participate in helping others. One learner mentioned a girls school in Ethiopia and another mentioned sponsoring a local family through their church. We are going to share what we discover and decide how we want to move forward.
Language Arts
For word work whis week, we've been looking more closely at word roots and suffixes. They will be creating thier own "cheat sheets" to help them with the rules/particular suffixes they have trouble with to use as part of their editing process in writing. During Writer's Workshop, we read samples of quaility persuasive essays. We are all rallying around a topic we feel passionate about and are all in the prewriting stage of the writing process.
This week we started reading By the Great Horn Spoon! (one of my favorite reads from this summer btw) in book groups. If you have a spare copy at home, may we borrow it, as we are sort a copy or two for our parent group leaders. Your child has been working on writing concise summaries of the chapters, including the main idea. They are also are making many connections with the interesting curriculum about the Gold Rush. They've been looking at and reading primary documents to help give them a sense of the excitement of the time. They've been working in small groups to read excerpts about "argonauts" from all over the world sailing towards San Francisco. They compared what they do at home when they are bored to what passengers did on the ship to pass the time during the long journey "round the horn". They read about different types of ships, good background knowledge for our field trip in June.
Social Studies
Gold was discovered in in the fourth grade. The learners went "crazy" when gold was discovered in the classroom. There was screaming, yelling, pushing, fighting, and chaos. It simulated what it might have been like in San Francisco when Sam Brannan ran through the streets yelling that gold had been discovered. Sam Brannan was smart because before he made his announcement he bought all the shovels and axes in the city for less than $2, and resold them the next day for $15. We learned that most of the people who struck it rich during the gold rush weren't really the miners. We also learned about how word spread so quickly from San Francisco via sailors and ship crews.
Buddies
It was so nice to see the fourth graders taking their K/1 buddies out on a "5 Senses" walk on Wednesday. It truly showcased how responsible, kind, and capable these fourth graders can be. Running into other multi-grade pairings doing interesting things on a beautiful day was so nice to see.
Math
In math we have been finishing our fraction unit and have been reviewing a variety of concepts related to the district MARS test. The goal was to help the learners feel confident with the style of the test and know exactly how they would be scored. I am feeling good about the test and can't wait to see how it goes.
For word work whis week, we've been looking more closely at word roots and suffixes. They will be creating thier own "cheat sheets" to help them with the rules/particular suffixes they have trouble with to use as part of their editing process in writing. During Writer's Workshop, we read samples of quaility persuasive essays. We are all rallying around a topic we feel passionate about and are all in the prewriting stage of the writing process.
This week we started reading By the Great Horn Spoon! (one of my favorite reads from this summer btw) in book groups. If you have a spare copy at home, may we borrow it, as we are sort a copy or two for our parent group leaders. Your child has been working on writing concise summaries of the chapters, including the main idea. They are also are making many connections with the interesting curriculum about the Gold Rush. They've been looking at and reading primary documents to help give them a sense of the excitement of the time. They've been working in small groups to read excerpts about "argonauts" from all over the world sailing towards San Francisco. They compared what they do at home when they are bored to what passengers did on the ship to pass the time during the long journey "round the horn". They read about different types of ships, good background knowledge for our field trip in June.
Social Studies
Gold was discovered in in the fourth grade. The learners went "crazy" when gold was discovered in the classroom. There was screaming, yelling, pushing, fighting, and chaos. It simulated what it might have been like in San Francisco when Sam Brannan ran through the streets yelling that gold had been discovered. Sam Brannan was smart because before he made his announcement he bought all the shovels and axes in the city for less than $2, and resold them the next day for $15. We learned that most of the people who struck it rich during the gold rush weren't really the miners. We also learned about how word spread so quickly from San Francisco via sailors and ship crews.
Buddies
It was so nice to see the fourth graders taking their K/1 buddies out on a "5 Senses" walk on Wednesday. It truly showcased how responsible, kind, and capable these fourth graders can be. Running into other multi-grade pairings doing interesting things on a beautiful day was so nice to see.
Math
In math we have been finishing our fraction unit and have been reviewing a variety of concepts related to the district MARS test. The goal was to help the learners feel confident with the style of the test and know exactly how they would be scored. I am feeling good about the test and can't wait to see how it goes.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
This week the learners had their Fort Ross visit. We would like to thank everyone for all their hard work in making this trip such a success. The learners had a great time and loved participating in a living history experience. With the Fort Ross trip and our mission study completed, it is time to move forward in California history. This week we started to look at why the missions closed and what events outside of California led to the development of ranchos. We are also going to begin our study of US exploration and the discovery of gold. It should be great fun!
Next week is the winter break. In math we have been working hard on the concepts of equivalent fractions and how to find common denominators to compare and add fractions. Over the break here are some activities that would support these concepts:
Dominoes: (from easiest to more difficult)
1. Have the learners draw one domino and write a list of three equivalent fractions from multiplying the numerator and denominator.
2. Learners could also draw two dominoes and work on converting fractions to add them (3/5+1/2=6/10+5/10=1 1/10)
3. Lay out several dominoes and have them identify which fractions are in lowest terms. Have them reduce the ones that are not.
Dice:
1. Roll two dice and make into a fraction, then find three equivalents.
Learners can also continue to work on multiplication facts. I am noticing the learners that don't know them are having a harder time with some of the fraction concepts.
Tomorrow we are going to complete a math activity with Mr.D's fifth grade class about fractions. The learners are very excited, and it should be a great experience for them.
Homework:
Unfortunately the learners are not being responsible about bringing in their homework. We have had several conversations about this, but it still seems to be a problem. Today almost 1/3 of the class didn't have their ropes page that was due. Yes, this could make for some interesting fraction problems, but I would prefer for the learners to just have it. I wouldn't mention it, but it is a problem that just seems to be getting worse. Tomorrow the learners have a math packet, a page in their writer's notebook and a mission perspective story due. They should have completed them already or should be close to completing them. These were assigned on February 1st, so they have had over two weeks to complete them. Please take a minute to check in with your learner about these assignments. Together, hopefully we can help them become self reliant and responsible about their homework.
Art:
This week we completed Picasso inspired portraits. They turned out fantastic. The learners did a great job. They are on display in the classroom, but here are pictures of a few:
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Have a fabulous break.
Warmly,
Elysha and Lale
Next week is the winter break. In math we have been working hard on the concepts of equivalent fractions and how to find common denominators to compare and add fractions. Over the break here are some activities that would support these concepts:
Dominoes: (from easiest to more difficult)
1. Have the learners draw one domino and write a list of three equivalent fractions from multiplying the numerator and denominator.
2. Learners could also draw two dominoes and work on converting fractions to add them (3/5+1/2=6/10+5/10=1 1/10)
3. Lay out several dominoes and have them identify which fractions are in lowest terms. Have them reduce the ones that are not.
Dice:
1. Roll two dice and make into a fraction, then find three equivalents.
Learners can also continue to work on multiplication facts. I am noticing the learners that don't know them are having a harder time with some of the fraction concepts.
Tomorrow we are going to complete a math activity with Mr.D's fifth grade class about fractions. The learners are very excited, and it should be a great experience for them.
Homework:
Unfortunately the learners are not being responsible about bringing in their homework. We have had several conversations about this, but it still seems to be a problem. Today almost 1/3 of the class didn't have their ropes page that was due. Yes, this could make for some interesting fraction problems, but I would prefer for the learners to just have it. I wouldn't mention it, but it is a problem that just seems to be getting worse. Tomorrow the learners have a math packet, a page in their writer's notebook and a mission perspective story due. They should have completed them already or should be close to completing them. These were assigned on February 1st, so they have had over two weeks to complete them. Please take a minute to check in with your learner about these assignments. Together, hopefully we can help them become self reliant and responsible about their homework.
Art:
This week we completed Picasso inspired portraits. They turned out fantastic. The learners did a great job. They are on display in the classroom, but here are pictures of a few:
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Have a fabulous break.
Warmly,
Elysha and Lale
Update from week of February 5th
Fort Ross
Fort Ross has been front and center this week as we prepared for our trip next week. The Commandant visited again to show the learners how to sew bags. Different role groups continued their specific jobs to prepare for Fort Ross, and many officers visited the school to meet their "employees". The learners looked at primary documents from the time of Fort Ross and had discussions about the importance of those documents in understanding how life was back then. They also used the primary documents to create word problems for math. The children were given rubrics for their background knowledge and journal projects to help them see the expectations for their work. Volunteer parents came in to help teach the kids embroidery. They all should have brought home embroidered belts that they can wear with their costumes. Several 5th and 6th grade veterans of Ft. Ross came to help demonstrate and teach the troika (a Russian folk dance). I believe that they are prepared to create a real environmental living experience next Monday and Tuesday.
Art Project
Irene and Winnie came with the owners of Skyline Ceramics to guide the learners into making amazing looking chess pieces for a very special chess set.
Women in Sports Day
Caitlin, Kali, Kailee, Maddy, Sierra, Selena, Sam, and Abraham spent some of their own free time this week studying women in sports for the official Women In Sports Day that occurred on Wednesday. They created posters with Christine's guidance to hang in the gym, so visitors to the gym can learn more about important women in sports. The assembly on Wednesday celebrated Women in sports.
Math
In math we are continuing our study of fractions. We are becoming quite good at ordering fractions. We are understanding that the denominator means the number of pieces and can be used to compare fractions. Learners know that it is better to have one out of two than 6 out of 18. Next week we will continue to look at how to compare fractions and begin to explore common denominators.
Fort Ross
Fort Ross has been front and center this week as we prepared for our trip next week. The Commandant visited again to show the learners how to sew bags. Different role groups continued their specific jobs to prepare for Fort Ross, and many officers visited the school to meet their "employees". The learners looked at primary documents from the time of Fort Ross and had discussions about the importance of those documents in understanding how life was back then. They also used the primary documents to create word problems for math. The children were given rubrics for their background knowledge and journal projects to help them see the expectations for their work. Volunteer parents came in to help teach the kids embroidery. They all should have brought home embroidered belts that they can wear with their costumes. Several 5th and 6th grade veterans of Ft. Ross came to help demonstrate and teach the troika (a Russian folk dance). I believe that they are prepared to create a real environmental living experience next Monday and Tuesday.
Art Project
Irene and Winnie came with the owners of Skyline Ceramics to guide the learners into making amazing looking chess pieces for a very special chess set.
Women in Sports Day
Caitlin, Kali, Kailee, Maddy, Sierra, Selena, Sam, and Abraham spent some of their own free time this week studying women in sports for the official Women In Sports Day that occurred on Wednesday. They created posters with Christine's guidance to hang in the gym, so visitors to the gym can learn more about important women in sports. The assembly on Wednesday celebrated Women in sports.
Math
In math we are continuing our study of fractions. We are becoming quite good at ordering fractions. We are understanding that the denominator means the number of pieces and can be used to compare fractions. Learners know that it is better to have one out of two than 6 out of 18. Next week we will continue to look at how to compare fractions and begin to explore common denominators.
Dear Families,
The Learner Exhibition was well attended. Thank you very much for coming to the classroom. It was nice seeing the children excitedly sharing their work. The visit in the room hopefully gave everyone a good sense of some of the work going on in the classroom in the past weeks! (So we are hoping the visit gave you a current update: )). We are all working hard (parents, educators, learners..it is a true group effort) in preparing for Ft. Ross this week!
Thanks Again!
Lale And Elysha
The Learner Exhibition was well attended. Thank you very much for coming to the classroom. It was nice seeing the children excitedly sharing their work. The visit in the room hopefully gave everyone a good sense of some of the work going on in the classroom in the past weeks! (So we are hoping the visit gave you a current update: )). We are all working hard (parents, educators, learners..it is a true group effort) in preparing for Ft. Ross this week!
Thanks Again!
Lale And Elysha
Friday, January 19, 2007
Update from January 22
Hello, well hopefully this finds everyone healthy. There's been a big dose of germs going around the school and our classroom.
Well for the past two weeks we've continued to learn more about Ft. Ross. The learners found out which role group they will be learning about a portraying at Ft. Ross. They met in their role groups and thought of the types of things they would have to learn to prepare for their time at Ft. Ross. They've learned more about Ft. Ross by continuing to read about the history of Ft. Ross and answering comprehension questions as well as reading and discussing historical fiction. They began to work on writing non-fiction summary paragraphs with partners. Inga visited this Monday to teach cyrillic. She taught a few words and phrases as well as how to write their names. Some groups have gotten thier official Ft. Ross names, based on actual people who lived at Colony Ross at one time or another. All learners will get their names by next week. Commandant Von Rengel showed up on Tuesday, frightening and confusing the sub and entertaining all of the learners. We are working on finishing revising, editing, and publishing a couple of pieces in writing. We are working on a narrative, a creative prompt, and a piece spurred by a "seed" in their writer's notebooks.
Update from January 15
Happy Friday,
This has been a busy week. We are learning about a variety of different things and are quite busy in room 11.
Math:
We are continuing to learn about fractions. This week we looked at combining fractions. We created drawings that showed a specific part of a square colored and a specific part uncovered. It was interesting to see all the different ways to represent 3/4 covered and 1/4 uncovered. The learners had to explain how they knew that they had the correct fraction of the picture colored. We are also continuing to work on our math skills. I can tell that lots of the learners have been practicing their times table, but some of them still have a lot of practicing to do. Please encourage them to work on their multiplication facts for five minutes a day.
Social Studies (Missions):
The ABC mission books are coming along. Many learners have already begun working on their final drafts. Some learners are still in the process of editing, but will hopefully finish with the data gathering today. They are very creative and full of interesting facts. I know I have learned a lot. These will be on display at the learner expo Feb.2nd.
Homework:
Several learners have not been returning their homework consistently. We are drafting a letter for these learners to notify you of the problem. We will be putting them in your family folders in the next couple of weeks and ask that you go over it with your learner, sign it and return it to us. The goal of these letters is to support your learner in being successful with homework and time management. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Parent Feedback Survey:
Please fill out the survey for Elysha as soon as possible. Lale's will be coming out next week. Your feedback is valuable to us, so we appreciate your time.
Enrichment:
Enrichment started this week. It was really exciting to see the learners participating 2-4. There were some great learning experiences. I watched the business class work on starting a business and deciding what to sell. I watched the hip hop class practice their dance steps. It was really great to see the learners so engaged in such wonderful classes.
Have a great weekend,
Elysha and Lale
Hello, well hopefully this finds everyone healthy. There's been a big dose of germs going around the school and our classroom.
Well for the past two weeks we've continued to learn more about Ft. Ross. The learners found out which role group they will be learning about a portraying at Ft. Ross. They met in their role groups and thought of the types of things they would have to learn to prepare for their time at Ft. Ross. They've learned more about Ft. Ross by continuing to read about the history of Ft. Ross and answering comprehension questions as well as reading and discussing historical fiction. They began to work on writing non-fiction summary paragraphs with partners. Inga visited this Monday to teach cyrillic. She taught a few words and phrases as well as how to write their names. Some groups have gotten thier official Ft. Ross names, based on actual people who lived at Colony Ross at one time or another. All learners will get their names by next week. Commandant Von Rengel showed up on Tuesday, frightening and confusing the sub and entertaining all of the learners. We are working on finishing revising, editing, and publishing a couple of pieces in writing. We are working on a narrative, a creative prompt, and a piece spurred by a "seed" in their writer's notebooks.
Update from January 15
Happy Friday,
This has been a busy week. We are learning about a variety of different things and are quite busy in room 11.
Math:
We are continuing to learn about fractions. This week we looked at combining fractions. We created drawings that showed a specific part of a square colored and a specific part uncovered. It was interesting to see all the different ways to represent 3/4 covered and 1/4 uncovered. The learners had to explain how they knew that they had the correct fraction of the picture colored. We are also continuing to work on our math skills. I can tell that lots of the learners have been practicing their times table, but some of them still have a lot of practicing to do. Please encourage them to work on their multiplication facts for five minutes a day.
Social Studies (Missions):
The ABC mission books are coming along. Many learners have already begun working on their final drafts. Some learners are still in the process of editing, but will hopefully finish with the data gathering today. They are very creative and full of interesting facts. I know I have learned a lot. These will be on display at the learner expo Feb.2nd.
Homework:
Several learners have not been returning their homework consistently. We are drafting a letter for these learners to notify you of the problem. We will be putting them in your family folders in the next couple of weeks and ask that you go over it with your learner, sign it and return it to us. The goal of these letters is to support your learner in being successful with homework and time management. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Parent Feedback Survey:
Please fill out the survey for Elysha as soon as possible. Lale's will be coming out next week. Your feedback is valuable to us, so we appreciate your time.
Enrichment:
Enrichment started this week. It was really exciting to see the learners participating 2-4. There were some great learning experiences. I watched the business class work on starting a business and deciding what to sell. I watched the hip hop class practice their dance steps. It was really great to see the learners so engaged in such wonderful classes.
Have a great weekend,
Elysha and Lale
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Please fill out the parent feedback form online for Elysha. This feedback survey is only available until January 26th, so please fill it out as soon as you can. Last year I received very few feedback forms back, so I really appreciate you taking the time to fill this out. Your feedback is very valuable to me.
Thanks,
Elysha
Click here to fill out Elysha's Parent Feedback Form
Thanks,
Elysha
Click here to fill out Elysha's Parent Feedback Form
Friday, January 12, 2007
Greetings and Happy New Year!
We hope that everyone had a wonderful break. The learners seemed to come back rested and ready to begin a productive week.
Language Arts
Most learners finished Book Group Books over break. Thank you for helping support that endeavor. It is homework this week to complete the reading for the several who didn't finish it. We completed activities for the book and will meet for one last time to discuss the book. We began our next book this week Katya of Ft. Ross, a short Historical Fiction book about Ft. Ross. The learners wrote letters about the books in their Reader's Notebooks. The learners were able to share experiences in small groups and then write observations, descriptions, narratives or other types of writing in their Writer's Notebooks. We polished up our writing pieces began before break about "silent" winter, which it seems, isn't so silent after all. Learners worked on different things such as: revising for good endings, adding details, and removing extra writing that doesn't fit. Learners were reminded that it is very difficult to edit for Capitalization, Ommissions, Punctuation, and Spelling in one read. Many professional editors reread for just one mistake to catch them. All in all, we are working on being inspired, creative, and throughough writers. For Word Work we worked on using quotations correctly in our writing. Kim Holl our reading specialist came in and worked with about half the class on syllabication using methods and materials from the Linda Mood Bell Seeing Stars training we attended last week. We tackled the "tow truck" letters in cursive that change depending on the letter in front of it. It's what prevents the word hot from looking like hat. It's a toughie, but with practice many more learners will be choosing cursive as a faster way of writing in class.
Ft. Ross
We began our study of one of the interesting and important early settlers in California. The Fort Ross Colony. We talked about primary resources, such as journal entries, drawings, notes, official papers, etc., being important in learning about life in the past. We are going to study a number of primary resources, historian's perspectives, and Historical Fiction to learn more about life at Fort Ross. We already had an interesting discussion about the lack of information from/about women at Ft. Ross in a discussion of roles at Ft. Ross that we will be playing. The learners chose roles and will begin learning more about those roles in the weeks to come to prepare them for their Ft. Ross experience. We'll find our more about the program at our information night, Tuesday, January 16 at 6:30. This is an especially important meeting for volunteers who are going, please let me know if you are an overnight volunteer and cannot attend. (FYI the district ROPES info night is that night as well. We are still doing ROPES as a choice for PLPs and you will be getting information about that soon. According to Inga, an expert on working with ROPES, this meeting is quite general, and we'll be able to fill in all the information regarding that in the very near future).
Math
Our fraction unit is in full swing. Before the winter break we began to look at halves, fourths and eighths. We made connections with fraction equivalents and looked at what made a whole using geoboards and dot paper squares. Yesterday we reviewed this by making our favorite fourths. The learners remembered that there were sixteen squares inside the dot paper square so one fourth would need to include four squares. We talked about the relationship between halves (8 squares), fourths (four squares), and eighths (2 squares). The learners discovered that as the denominator got larger, the pieces became smaller. The learners also noticed that 1/2=2/4=4/8. They noticed that the numbers were doubling and that we could continue to cut our square into smaller pieces (the smallest we got was 156/312). This week we also explored thirds, sixths, and twelves. We used this information to combine fractions to make a whole. Many of the learners brought home dot paper to continue this at home. They must use different fractions to fill the whole. Then they need to write equations to support their divisions. For example, 1/2+1/4+1/8+1/8=1; 1/8+1/8=2/8; 1/4+1/8+1/8=1/2. This activity will help the learners visualize equivalent fractions and begin to add fractions together. Next week we will begin to look at specific fractions and will start to create fraction cards that will be used to create a fraction number line. I will also be assigning a homework assignment next week that will require the learners to convert a recipe. Be on the look out for that assignment later next week.
Missions
We are in the process of completing mission ABC books. The learners have each been assigned a specific mission and have been working on gathering information about their mission. They are using this information to create an ABC book. Most learners have their research completed or are close to it, and are now starting the process of completing their final drafts. These books will be on display for the learner expo. I have already learned a lot of new information! We also have a new time line up in our room showing the important events in California history that we have studied so far this year. Next time you stop by, make sure you ask your learner about it.
Remember that Monday is a holiday. Have a terrific three day weekend!
Elysha and Lale
We hope that everyone had a wonderful break. The learners seemed to come back rested and ready to begin a productive week.
Language Arts
Most learners finished Book Group Books over break. Thank you for helping support that endeavor. It is homework this week to complete the reading for the several who didn't finish it. We completed activities for the book and will meet for one last time to discuss the book. We began our next book this week Katya of Ft. Ross, a short Historical Fiction book about Ft. Ross. The learners wrote letters about the books in their Reader's Notebooks. The learners were able to share experiences in small groups and then write observations, descriptions, narratives or other types of writing in their Writer's Notebooks. We polished up our writing pieces began before break about "silent" winter, which it seems, isn't so silent after all. Learners worked on different things such as: revising for good endings, adding details, and removing extra writing that doesn't fit. Learners were reminded that it is very difficult to edit for Capitalization, Ommissions, Punctuation, and Spelling in one read. Many professional editors reread for just one mistake to catch them. All in all, we are working on being inspired, creative, and throughough writers. For Word Work we worked on using quotations correctly in our writing. Kim Holl our reading specialist came in and worked with about half the class on syllabication using methods and materials from the Linda Mood Bell Seeing Stars training we attended last week. We tackled the "tow truck" letters in cursive that change depending on the letter in front of it. It's what prevents the word hot from looking like hat. It's a toughie, but with practice many more learners will be choosing cursive as a faster way of writing in class.
Ft. Ross
We began our study of one of the interesting and important early settlers in California. The Fort Ross Colony. We talked about primary resources, such as journal entries, drawings, notes, official papers, etc., being important in learning about life in the past. We are going to study a number of primary resources, historian's perspectives, and Historical Fiction to learn more about life at Fort Ross. We already had an interesting discussion about the lack of information from/about women at Ft. Ross in a discussion of roles at Ft. Ross that we will be playing. The learners chose roles and will begin learning more about those roles in the weeks to come to prepare them for their Ft. Ross experience. We'll find our more about the program at our information night, Tuesday, January 16 at 6:30. This is an especially important meeting for volunteers who are going, please let me know if you are an overnight volunteer and cannot attend. (FYI the district ROPES info night is that night as well. We are still doing ROPES as a choice for PLPs and you will be getting information about that soon. According to Inga, an expert on working with ROPES, this meeting is quite general, and we'll be able to fill in all the information regarding that in the very near future).
Math
Our fraction unit is in full swing. Before the winter break we began to look at halves, fourths and eighths. We made connections with fraction equivalents and looked at what made a whole using geoboards and dot paper squares. Yesterday we reviewed this by making our favorite fourths. The learners remembered that there were sixteen squares inside the dot paper square so one fourth would need to include four squares. We talked about the relationship between halves (8 squares), fourths (four squares), and eighths (2 squares). The learners discovered that as the denominator got larger, the pieces became smaller. The learners also noticed that 1/2=2/4=4/8. They noticed that the numbers were doubling and that we could continue to cut our square into smaller pieces (the smallest we got was 156/312). This week we also explored thirds, sixths, and twelves. We used this information to combine fractions to make a whole. Many of the learners brought home dot paper to continue this at home. They must use different fractions to fill the whole. Then they need to write equations to support their divisions. For example, 1/2+1/4+1/8+1/8=1; 1/8+1/8=2/8; 1/4+1/8+1/8=1/2. This activity will help the learners visualize equivalent fractions and begin to add fractions together. Next week we will begin to look at specific fractions and will start to create fraction cards that will be used to create a fraction number line. I will also be assigning a homework assignment next week that will require the learners to convert a recipe. Be on the look out for that assignment later next week.
Missions
We are in the process of completing mission ABC books. The learners have each been assigned a specific mission and have been working on gathering information about their mission. They are using this information to create an ABC book. Most learners have their research completed or are close to it, and are now starting the process of completing their final drafts. These books will be on display for the learner expo. I have already learned a lot of new information! We also have a new time line up in our room showing the important events in California history that we have studied so far this year. Next time you stop by, make sure you ask your learner about it.
Remember that Monday is a holiday. Have a terrific three day weekend!
Elysha and Lale
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