Math Note

We have defined the edge of a 3-dimensional shape as the intersection of two flat faces (2 planes). The intersection of 3 or more edges as a vertex. It is argued whether or not a cone has an actual vertex since it has no straight edges and only one flat face (as opposed to a surface). Today we spoke of the cone having instead an apex. Tomorrow we will discuss a broader definition of the term vertex and the argument supporting the idea that a cone does in fact have a vertex (as sort of an intersection of an infinite number of planes). In any case, questions regarding cone vertices will not be counted on the test.

One Hundred Forty-First Day of School

We discussed 2- dimensional shapes today during Math. Some questions were asked (by students) which were left to the students to explore further:

1. Can a (2-dimensional) shape have no vertices?
2. Can a (2-dimensional) shape have more than 10 vertices?

In Writing we began instruction on writing persuasive letters as a form of opinion expression.

Reminder: Regular 2:04 dismissal tomorrow.

Note: By. Definition, a square is a rectangle with 4 equal sides.

One Hundred-Eighteenth Day of School

These were today's Math instructions:

• Do page 503.
• Do page 504 for homework.
• Rip out page 505. Cut and study at home.
• Rip out page 507. Survey family. Complete tables, charts, and questions. Fold and cut per instructions.

One Hundred Tenth Day of School

We have been working on a new multi-disciplinary creative assignment which highlights persuasive writing written in an imperative voice. We will incorporate Social Science and Math skills into the final product. Also in writing we will be beginning our Opinion Unit.

Eighty-Third Day of School

Our Writing task today was to arrange our notes into related groups that might become the kernel of a chapter. We attempted to make 2-4 groups. We accomplished this by choosing 2-4 crayons and circling related ideas/notes with matching colors.

In order to avoid weekend Math homework, we postponed today's Math lesson to Tuesday. This will push our Math test to either Wednesday or Thursday.

In today's Science lesson we learned that weather is made of 3 important elements, heat, air, and water. These elements are strongly influenced by the earth's geography/land (tested).

Forty-Ninth Day of School

As discussed at Back-to-School this is the time the memorization of the doubles addition facts will come in handy. Up to 20 is ok; up to 30 is suggested.

Forty-Eighth Day of School

Please find with your child a sheet to cut and tape/paste a number line for use with tonight's and future night's homework.

Reminder:

Reading Logs are due on Friday.

Forty-Sixth Day of School

In Math we used the strategy of counting on 1, 2, or 3. Those children that needed them were given only 3 counters to complete the classwork.

Thirty-Fifth day of School

For the first time we recorded in our Sort Journals today and took a dictation test on 'long-a' spelled 'a_e'

The Math homework was optional tonight. Some students who were originally not going to take the homework changed their minds when they were aware that parents would be told about it. Interesting.

In Writing we brainstormed settings for our realistic fiction pieces. We began the slow process of digitally processing our personal narratives from the last unit. This is where our flash drives come in handy.

In Science we observed a collection of 7 liquids and generated a list of properties for liquids. Among our vocabulary were: bubbly, viscous, translucent, and opaque.

We listened to a selection on the life of Alexander Graham Bell. We generated several questions based on the reading:

• What was Alexander Graham Bell known for?
• Why was he interested in studying sound?
• What were some things he attempted to do when he was young?

Soon we will record our interviews about the 2 famous people we have studied.

Twenty-Eighth Day of School

Today we practiced using a checklist for reviewing our writing. The checklist is a tool devised as a means for writers to check to see if they have everything required in their writing sample in order to pass a writing examination. We will be taking our narrative writing exam next week. Students may be interviewed by their parents so parents may learn which story a child is most likely to tell during the writing exam.

In Social Science today we learned about the United States Independence Day. We learned facts such as:

• Before having an elected President, who ruled what is now the United States?
• From which country was it necessary to declare our independence?
• What did George Washington do before becoming our first President?
• On what day do we celebrate our independence and why that day?

On last night's some students were confused with the part/part/whole when they went to construct the model on their own. When performing subtraction, the model remains with the two parts being above the whole. The difference between subtraction and addition is that with addition, the whole (sum) is the unknown (so the lower space is empty), with subtraction, a part (addend) is unknown and one of the upper spaces will be empty.

In Drama we practiced collaboration on one-scene tableaus.

Twenty-Second day of School

In Writing we revised by adding adjectives.

In Math we made a report for the parts of 10. We also learned how to find a missing addend for 10 as a whole.

Twenty-First Day of School

Today was a busy day. We worked on our Unit Project in the  morning. For Writing we revised to add interesting words which may help to give our writing more style.

We listened to a non-fiction article called Munch Crunch about the eating habits of various animals and examined it for structure. We concluded that it was categorized information. We learned (among other things) that large plant eaters will often eat for most of the day whereas large meat eaters may only eat every 4 days.

In Math, we built physical models for the numbers 8 & 9. On Monday (time allowing), we will record our results and make a report which will be posted in class.

In Science, we learned about the term classify. We sorted objects by common properties and tried to guess other's sorting property or rule.

Some suggestions about story telling at home:

• When a child starts a story, listen for the who, when, and where of the beginning (set/introduction).
• Listen for an action which follows the beginning.
• Listen for a transition (then, later, suddenly) to what happens next (CCSS WS.1.3).
• If you feel motivated, have your child dictate the story to you as you print in black ink.
• Revise the story in blue ink adding details for completeness and interest.
• Edit the story in red as a final practice step.

Preview Unit 1 Week 3

In this week's instruction we focus on  how we will change and how we have changed as we grow. If your child would like to bring in a photo showing themselves as a baby, we could display these and guess who they grew into. We will also explore how animals change as they grow. We will draw conclusions about animals that change greatly and those that may only change in size as they mature. We will analyze text for character, setting, and plot. We will focus on spelling patterns: -in, -it, -iss. Our oral vocabulary words will be change, adult, learn, imitate, and practice. Our reading sight words will be be, ride, and run. In grammar we will distinguish between statements and questions.

In Writing, we will begin the revision portion of our process.

In Social Science, we will discuss the difference between rights and responsibilities and what they mean for United States citizenship (HSS 1.1).

In Math we will continue our work with chapter 1.

In Health we will continue our overview of the concept of "good health."

In Science we continue comparing properties of various solids. We use our insight into these properties to perform an investigation.

In Drama we will begin our work on tableau.

In PE we will begin to work with team members to accomplish goals. Due to weather considerations we may have indoor PE on Monday and Tuesday.

Preview Unit 1 Week 2

During week 2 we discuss how physical activity is an important part of our lives. We learn how activity keeps our bodies healthy and strong. Our oral vocabulary words are movement, energy, express, exhausted, and stretch. Our sight words are: it, over, too. We will analyze story structure to discover selections with patterned text. Examples of famous patterned text are Monday, Monday, I like Monday (Bill Martin Jr.), and The Important Book (Margaret Wise Brown). Ask your librarian for other examples. Patterned texts often become bedtime favorites and re-reading them is a good way to build fluency. We will not often use a patterned text for retelling purposes. We will read the West African folktale The Great Rope Tug and diagram the story together using a Flow Map to highlight the beginning, middle, and end. We will continue to encode and decode single syllable words with short vowels (a, e, i). We will listen to rhyme, movement, and rhythm in poetry.

In Social Science we will look briefly to the original people of Australia and learn that a tradition is a special way of doing something. often repeated annually that becomes part of a people's culture.

For discussion: What is a tradition? What traditions does your family share?

For Math we will continue our exploration of addition.

In Science, we will continue our exploration of matter. We will focus on solids by identifying various properties of solids.

In PE we will continue with balance.

Thirteenth Day of School

Today we learned two tested concepts. The first was a Social Science and Science combined concept of wants vs. needs (tested). We discovered that in order to survive, humans (and other living creatures) need in this order:

• Air
• Water
• Food
• Shelter
• Clothing
• Companionship

In Science we learned that there are are 3 forms/states of matter:

• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas

We learned that one form can be transformed into another form by adding or removing heat (tested).

We listened to the fable Town Mouse and Country Mouse whose moral was that everyone has different preferences.

We read a fantasy called Pam and Sam and learned that our abilities are a part of what makes us unique.

In Writing, we began the drafting process of our first personal narrative (CCSS 1.W.3). Next week we will begin the revision process.

In P.E. we practiced techniques of handball.

In Math we reinforced the idea that numbers can be deconstructed in more than one way. We did not take home homework.

Next week we will take our first publisher's math test.

Twelfth Day of School

Today we had our first Drama lesson (Theatre Art).

We retold the story Princess and the Pea using our oral vocabulary words. We also took our second dictation quiz.

In Writing we worked on our plan for our first personal narrative. Tomorrow we will begin drafting.

In Math we worked on problem solving. We had to identify the information being asked for. Choose a strategy, and then write a number sentence (also a strategy). The strategies discussed were:

• Draw a model.
• Make a table
• Write a number sentence (math sentence/equation)
• Act it out (with manipulatives)

We completed lesson 7 of the violence prevention training.

Unit One Week 1 Preview

As a part of our theme: What Makes Us Special, our focus questions are: What do we like to do, and how do the things we like to do make us special? We will discover that the things we like to do help to make us who we are. Our vocabulary words for the week are cheerful, interest, unique, prefer, and genuine. We will analyze story structure for the beginning, middle, and end (comprehension strategy). We learn that this is the way that most realistic fiction stories are structured and that good readers pay attention to these parts (R 1.3.1). We will also pay special attention to the characters and setting of stories (comprehension skill). In phonics we will blend words and identify rhymes with short 'a' and short 'i'. Our reading sight words for the week are jump, not, up. In grammar we will discuss how a sentence tells a whole idea. We will continue with our Unit Project. We will analyze the structure of the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. We will analyze how an author develops character by what they say and do. In writing we discuss and practice how using describing words adds detail and interest. We will listen to the fable, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, and discover how preferences make characters unique. We will read an informational text and use structure to deduce main idea.

In Math we will continue with strategies for addition and model making (CCSS 1.OA.1 & 2)

In Science we will make a connection between what we have been learning in music and what we know about Alexander Graham Bell and discuss the discipline of acoustical science and engineering. In life science we discuss basic needs of people and animals using the vocabulary: shelter, energy.

In Writing we will continue with ways to come up with a topic as well as how to plan a personal narrative.

In P.E. we will work on balance.

• How are you different than other people in your family/class? How is your family different than other families?
• What are the states of matter?
• What does an animal need in order to survive? 

Eighth Day of School

In Math, the important concept was that the equals symbol (=) means: the same as (CCSS 1.OA.7). Additionally, students should also understand that a + b = c can be stated as c = a + b and because of the commutative property a + b = b + a (CCSS 1.OA.3).

In P.E. we learned basic handball rules.

Seventh Day of School

On the Math homework, have your child create their own part-part-whole (PPW) model for question number 7.

In P.E. today, we finished learning our first class dance.

Fourth Day of School

Our math journal question today:

The Dawson's want to go on a bicycle trip. All of the tires on their bikes are flat. there are 7 bicycles in all. How many tires will they have to inflate? Make a model to solve. Write a math sentence.