Snowy Week!

When I arrived through the side door late on Thursday due to trees fallen across a road on my commuting route through Hinesburg, one student greeted me with, "What? Are we in Buffalo or something?"  It's been a fun and funny week.  Apart from the Snow Day, we did a lot of science.

Science  and Reading:
On Tuesday we had "The Engineers" working with us.  These gentlemen are retired IBM employees who have been working this year on several projects with our new enrichment teacher.  In preparation for their work with us they have collaborated with art teacher, MC Baker, music teacher, Danielle Trasciatti and the Equinox teachers.  With them we are studying the science of sound: waves, frequencies, pitch and so on.  They brought useful equipment for demonstrating the relationship between the length of an object and the speed of its vibration.  We also noticed that a speaker converts electrical energy to vibrations and sound.  We look forward to continuing this work that integrates the arts and science.  Each student will ultimately build and learn to play an instrument called the Kalimba.

One student demonstrates frequency.

This pole has a different frequency; why?

We continue to study animal adaptations and practice close reading of nonfiction texts.

On Thursday we learned about Conifers through a Four Winds interactive presentation.  Thanks Shani!  Students learned to identify tree species but the shapes and habits of its needles. We followed up a bit with a look at some interesting pine cones.  Thanks Alex!

Writing:
Students have been busy finishing and typing the first drafts of their realistic stories.  Next week we will revise them for sharing.  Our goal is to finish final revisions by vacation.

Math:
In third grade math students continue to work on rounding three digit numbers, organization of data and using pictographs and ratio tables.
In fourth grade math we continue to work with fractions of wholes.  The focus of the work is primarily on comparing fractions and finding equivalencies.

On Friday Ms. Fisher and Sage visited.  It was a fine conclusion to a week full of special treats.  We also had a presentation by a group of Voyager students about the benefits of using refillable water bottles.  This group designed one (it's a beauty, high quality, camel) and is selling it here at school for $6.00.  As you know that we have one week left until our holiday break.  It promises to be another busy one.

Enjoy the weeknd!

Last Week in Review

Literacy & Science:  This week was a busy one!  We continue our science reading with nonfiction texts and strategies including making inferences and supporting claims with evidence, and identifying and using key vocabulary terms, including adaptations, genes and species  Students practiced their comparison writing strategies describing similarities and differences between a set of identical twins.  

Math:  Third Grade mathematicians are  tackling the multiplication chart.   This activity helps everyone make sense of multiplication by looking at regularity and patterns.   The December calendar focuses on fractions and this month’s Number Corner work involves creating a classroom collection of objects to accumulate a total mass of 1,000 g.   Fourth grade mathematicians are also working on fractions!   Students are making fraction tool-kits with various pieces.   

In Fourth Grade math students took a pretest and reflected on it.  They have begun a unit on fractions.  There has been a lot of work with equivalent fractions as well as some work with the terms improper fraction, mixed number as well as a whole unit.  

Writing:  Authors are working hard to finish the first draft of their realistic fiction drafts.  Next step is tying them into Google Drive.  We reviewed the “checklist” that outlines the narrative standards for writing for both third and fourth graders.  Students will use this tool to self-monitor and self-assess as they work to bring their story to a close. Later this week, students will use the collaborative nature of Google Docs to share their writing with a partner, and support each other in revising and editing using the comment feature.

Engineering, what?:  For the next four weeks we’ll be working through an integrated science/art/engineering project with Ms. Rogers, Mrs. Baker and two engineers who are retired from IBM.  These volunteers and colleagues have been working with Equinox teachers and Mrs. Trasciatti-Holmberg to design a unit of study on sound.  Each student will end up building a Kalimba (thumb heart originally designed in Africa) and learning to play it.  Our class will be working with these folks on Tuesdays only.    

Notes:

• It’s that time of year...please make sure your child comes prepared for outdoor recess each day.  As the temperature drops, it is imperative that all children have appropriate clothing and gear (coat, hat, gloves, snowpants, boots) for outdoor play.     Tomorrow is supposed to be snowy!  I hope everyone will bring snow pants.             
• If your child did not bring home a class picture, please let me know.

• Pajama day was fun!
• We have a sound track for Wonder now, which we have finished reading.  We have begun reading The BFG by Roald Dahl.
• Ask your child about claims and evidence regarding the shark, the dolphin and a tiger.  A full account of this scientific discovery can be found on our Kidblog.

Wonder Links

Here are the links we looked at today in class at the end of our first read through of Wonder as a whole group.
The Annotations

Next we have a link to the trailer for a movie that doesn't exist...It's a trailer for the book entitled Wonder.