Curriculum Updates and so much more!

We really enjoyed connecting with families at conferences the past few weeks.  The kids have made so much growth in their short time with us! If you didn't sign up for a conference but would like to touch base, just send us an email and we can schedule something with you in the month of December. 

Language Arts 

READING: The students have been practicing a variety of comprehension skills while reading the books they selected for our Window/Mirror book challenge.  They made conflict charts to identify the types of conflicts they are finding in their books.  They completed a Venn diagram to compare their own lives to that of their protagonist. They also identified and gave reasoning for what character traits they feel describe their character best.  If you want to follow up at home with these skills, here are some questions you can ask them about the books they are reading at home. 

Do you think the book you are reading is a Mirror, Window, or Sliding Glass Door Book? Why?

What are the conflicts your protagonist is facing? What type of conflict is that? 

How does your life compare to the characters in your book? 

Conflict Chart

Compare and Contrast

WRITING:  Students have been enjoying our "feral" writing days.  They are getting to tap into their creativity and practice a variety of writing techniques.  During our closing circle, students share what strategies they tried as a writer that day and/or highlight strengths from each other's work. I am so impressed with how much their writing stamina has increased since the start of the school year. It's exciting to see them so engaged in their writing!  

Social Studies

We've been learning about various identity markers and how some are visible and others are not.  Students have been working on a variety of projects related to their own identities.  Ask them to show you their Bio Poems, their Ancestry Flag slide, and their Flocabulary assignments. Here is the link to the Flipgrid where students recorded themselves speaking about their character strengths. The common theme in all of their work is that though we may have different identity markers we should get to know people and learn what connects us rather than judging people we perceive as "different" than ourselves.  

Bio Poem

Ancestry Slideshow

Math 

We are in the final days of our second unit on fraction equivalence and comparison.  Students have explored multiple ways to compare fractions and determine equivalence.  Our focus is on conceptual understanding which involves a lot of work with tape diagrams, area models, and number lines.  

Math WIN block 

Students who are on team for WIN block are busy learning their multiplication facts.  This is something you can help out with at home.  Students are working on one group of facts at a time.  First, they focus on a strategy for solving and once they can use the strategy it's time to memorize.  If your student is in my WIN block ask them what facts they are currently practicing.  

Science 

We are finishing up our unit on how matter and energy move through an ecosystem.  Students began this unit by creating a model of a farm that could grow everything needed to make their favorite pizza.  Since then, we have been completing investigations and activities that allow students to revise their thinking and add to their models.  A focus is how matter moves from air and water and how energy flows from the sun.  Below are some images from the work we've done in this unit.

Investigating what happens to dead plant matter by measuring the change in mass in a closed system

Students learned about variables and how to set up a controlled experiment.

The black beans that had water and air grew the best, even when they had no light.   

We learned that plants get the matter they need to grow from air and water and spent a little time looking at the structures in plants that allow them to get that matter

Team Time and Recess

Every Friday we continue team building while working on important skills such as communication, working with others, conflict resolution, and many more.  Although we do often get outside during this time, we played board games last week.  It was amazing to watch our students work together and have fun.

Picwits

Chess

Pictionary

It was an exciting first snow day here at CBMS.   Wizards get to sled during our snack/recess.

Reverse Charades (A Wizards Favorite)

The Day before the break...

This morning we took a break from traditional academics to work on some other skills and have fun together.  Our morning began with a poetry reading.  The wizards did a great job reading their poetry in front of the team.  We hope our Wizard poets will share their work with you if they haven't already.

The second part of our day was watching the movie Wonder.  Wonder is the story of Auggie Pullman who was born with a facial difference that prevented him from going to mainstream school.  He attends school for the first time as a 5th grader.  The movie is a story of compassion, kindness, acceptance, and an unlikely hero.  Afterward, we had a circle discussion about the movie. We choose this film because of its themes that connect so strongly to our Wizard values and our Langue Arts curriculum. Ask your child what they think the themes in the movie were.