February's Updates

Wizards' Swag!

The kids wear it proudly!

Spelling Bee

Recently we held a team Spelling Bee to determine who would represent Wizards at the school level Spelling Bee.  Eight Wizards competed at the classroom level. Eden and Susannah won the classroom Bee and went on to represent Wizards at the school-wide Spelling Bee. 

Language Arts

We've been doing LOTS in Language Arts class. In January we focused on narrative writing and the skills and strategies that writers use to enhance their stories. Kids practiced using a variety of narrative writing techniques including making their writing more descriptive. 

We are starting each class with a homophone joke. It's a fun and quick way to learn about some tricky words that kids frequently confuse. 

We have also focused on Text Features & Text Structures since we do quite a bit of informational reading both in Language Arts and Social Studies. Students went on a scavenger hunt through magazines to find examples of the various Text Features and we created posters for the classroom. 

Students have been applying the research skills they learned in Social Studies during our last unit. They are currently finishing up a research project about a Black American who has contributed to history and society. Students were able to choose the person they wanted to research and presentations will occur after the break. 

On the day before February break, we watched Hidden Figures which if you haven't seen it, is worth a watch. It is based on a true story. This was an excellent culmination of the learning we've been doing about the contributions of Black Americans to our society. It is inspirational and not only brings to light the racism that Black women in particular faced while working at NASA during the space race with the Soviet Union but also their engineering and mathematical contributions to the success of US space missions. 

Math

Students wrapped up our multi-digit multiplication and division unit when they recently completed a final assessment.  Students will be able to bring their work from this unit home following break.  This week students continued their learning about place value by exploring the three place values to the right of the decimal - tenths, hundredths, and thousandths.  Students will build a conceptual understanding of decimal numbers and then apply whole-number reasoning to complete operations with these numbers.  

Students took a moment to have some fun and create a "disco" with the sun and their personal whiteboards

Students regularly complete math work at whiteboards

Students complete an activity to promote a growth mindset.

Social Studies

Students recently finished a group research project. Each group researched a different Native American tribe and created a slideshow to present to their peers. They learned lots of research skills such as determining credible sources, using text features to navigate a text, paraphrasing, and creating a Works Cited/Bibliography.  Ask your student what research skills they learned during the project and what interesting facts they now know about the Indigenous Tribes of North America.

 

Science

We are wrapping up our study of Ecosystems with a final project.  Students have been tasked to model the energy transfer on a farm that could grow the ingredients for a favorite pizza.  Students have created food webs to model how most of the energy on their farm originates from the sun.  In addition, students are writing a Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) argument that is a format they will apply in science and other classes throughout their learning.  We will begin a new unit after break which will focus on the interactions between the sun, moon and earth which will include modeling moon phases, eclipses and seasons.  

Morning Meeting/Social-Emotional Learning

Every morning your student engages in important learning during our morning meetings.  In addition to learning about the important contributions of Americans during our recognition of Black History Month, students have been learning about responsible decision-making and the skills necessary to make good decisions.  

We had a lot of spirit this week.  

We work to get kids moving throughout their day

We meet as a team weekly to review expectations, problem-solve, and have some fun

Sugarbush

We have had several successful days at Sugarbush and have enjoyed the opportunity to build relationships with your children outside of the classroom.  In particular, it has been a privilege to work with the many students who are learning to ski and ride.  It was so great to watch these nervous participants confidence grow as they overcame the challenges of learning something new.  This experience will undoubtedly transfer to the classroom.  Thanks for all of your support in making this amazing program happen.  A reminder that we continue our teaching and learning when we return from Sugarbush and when your student is absent on Friday afternoons they are missing important learning opportunities.