Good Evening!
I say it on a regular basis, time flies! I feels just like yesterday that the school year ended, and here we are at week 2!
We began our week with the “Birth of the Universe”. This story is one of the Great Lessons Maria Montessori developed in order to spark the child’s interest in the world around them. In our classroom, we have taken a slightly different approach to the first Great Lesson. Returning, and brand new(!), students volunteered to present the lesson to Ms. Holly’s class. Even though there were a few items beyond our control, the lesson went well, and the audience loved it!
We take this approach in our classroom in order to keep older students engaged (what better way to show mastery than through teaching of a subject), as well as model speaking skills to our mentor class.
In addition to the first Great Lesson, we have begun our introductory science lessons.
- 4th grade students will be studying the concept of cycles this year. This will tie in to the Utah Core study of Utah’s Natural History.
- 5th grade students will focus on change as well as cause and effect
- 6th grade students science study revolves (pun intended!) around scale (how big is the universe?!)
In math we are taking some time to do a bit of review before the first formal math assessment. I will be doing formative assessments in language. Formative assessments are designed to inform my instruction. These preliminary, and ongoing, assessments allow me to give your children the lessons they need.
Your children recorded their first spelling word list in their planners today. Please take a few minutes each evening to review these words with your child. Spelling can be daunting for some kids, but the more time you spend studying with them, the better they will do. Spelling tests are Wednesday mornings before our specials.
I strive to communicate everything you need to know to help your students in school. Please don’t hesitate to email if you need clarification, or have questions about classroom procedures and expectations.