Almost Spring Break!

I would like to thank all of the families who came to family night and donated materials to our disaster kits. Our disaster kit is almost complete for auction! Today we made models of volcanoes to show when we present our projects.

Yesterday we assembled our raised planter boxes. In addition to having raised beds, we are digging up the soil in the back so we can amend it with gypsum. We are finding the work to be very difficult due to the very rocky, clay-soil we are dealing with. If any families have a pickax, we could surely use one!

In writing, we are drafting our persuasive essay about making a change at our school. Right now we are looking for evidence to support our reasons. Don't be surprised if your child starts coming up with some convincing arguments for what they want! We have been practicing doing just that. Ask your child what issue they are writing about. They have so many great ideas on ways to make our school better.

In math this week we made fraction kits. Fraction kits are a great way to see the relationships that exist between equivalent fractions. We played a game called "cover up" where we rolled fraction dice and added the number we rolled to our one whole. The object of the game was to see that one whole can be made up of many different sized fractions.

Happy Spring!

Dear IA families,

This Wednesday, we are having a our family night 4:30-7:30. Please stop by our classroom to see classwork, sign in, and take a look at our Scholastic Book Fair. One of our Charter School goals is to have 100% parent participation every semester. Family night is a great way to help us meet our goal of parent participation.

In class, we are continuing with our disaster preparedness kits. I will be sending home a handout with a list of items that you need for your home disaster kit. Each student will be responsible for contributing an item to our class kit that we will sell for a class raffle/fundraiser. In addition to the kit, each family will be completing a disaster plan.

In our Writers' workshop, we have begun drafting our persuasive essays. Each student is picking a topic that has to do with making a change at our school. We are looking at the pros and cons of each issue and deciding how to best make our argument. Some of the topics that the students have come up with are; more P.E. at school, healthier snack foods in the office, appropriate dress code, school uniforms, being a "green school" model, and having choice for our exploration classes.

In math this week, we are comparing different methods multiplication that we have learned. So far we have studied the lattice method, traditional algorithmic, chunking, and foil methods. Ask your child to explain the various ways of doing multiplication. You might learn an easier method than the one you learned in school! This week we are learning how to do the partial quotients method for division. I really like this method because it allows students to use their number sense to help them with division problems.

March update

I want to first of all thank all of the families who bought tickets to our family dance! It is a great way to show your support for our school and have fun at the same time.

In class, we have started a new science project. It began as a simple real-life math problem. I recently purchased three 30 gallon tanks for emergency water. The class figured out that my family and I have approximately 30 days of water stored. One of our classmates, Chris, asked, "What about my family's emergency water supply?" Afterwards, we started discussing different types of natural disasters and their impact on people. Rather than be frightened, we decided it would be most powerful to change our worry into action. We decided that we are each going to research a natural disaster and report to our community what to do in each event and what to have prepared in our disaster kits. In addition to our research reports and presentations, each student will be writing a disaster plan that will need some parent input. Students will contribute some items to a disaster kit that we are making together. Once we have assembled the kit, we will be auctioning off the kit to one lucky family.

This week in our math we are learning about prime factorization and factor trees. Ask your child about the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. We are also comparing the different methods we are using for multiplication.

This week we celebrated our writing that we have published this week. I had so much fun listening to all of the wonderful stories that the children have written. I especially enjoyed Kyle's story about the zombie on the playground. I am amazed at how wonderful our stories are and how far we have evolved as writers. The students are using figurative language and learning how to give positive feedback to their peers. Keep up the great work class!

March update

I want to first of all thank all of the families who bought tickets to our family dance! It is a great way to show your support for our school and have fun at the same time.

In class, we have started a new science project. It began as a simple real-life math problem. I recently purchased three 30 gallon tanks for emergency water. The class figured out that my family and I have approximately 30 days of water stored. One of our classmates, Chris, asked, "What about my family's emergency water supply?" Afterwards, we started discussing different types of natural disasters and their impact on people. Rather than be frightened, we decided it would be most powerful to change our worry into action. We decided that we are each going to research a natural disaster and report to our community what to do in each event and what to have prepared in our disaster kits. In addition to our research and presentation, each student will be writing a disaster plan that will need parent input. Each student will contribute some items to a disaster kit that we are making together. Once we have assembled the kit, we will be auctioning off the kit to one lucky family.

This week in our math we are learning about prime factorization and factor trees. Ask your child about the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. We are also comparing the different methods we are using for multiplication.

This week we celebrated our writing that we have published this week. I had so much fun listening to all of the wonderful stories that the children have written. I especially enjoyed Kyle's story about the zombie on the playground. I am amazed at how wonderful our stories are and how far we have evolved as writers. The students are using figurative language and learning how to give positive feedback to their peers. Keep up the great work class!