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1st Week Recap

Aug25

Like all good things, the first week of school flew by!

Your kids began learning classroom and school expectations, participated in team building activities and had their first lessons in math.  We read stories about the first day of school around the world (It’s Back to School We Go), the importance of being kind (Each Kindness), and a retelling of Booker T. Washington’s first experience with reading (More Than Anything Else).   Each of these books sparked writing and discussions about family and cultural traditions, the consequences of our actions (both good and bad) and the importance of education.

We kick started our studies of the Universe by reading a version of the Greek Myth of Icarus called Icarus at The Edge of Time.   After the story and discussion, students worked in small groups to order objects in the Universe from smallest to largest.  This group’s ability to explain their thinking backed up with evidence is amazing!  Ms. Kari and I feel blessed with this class full of thinkers.

Your child should have brought home their planner each day this week as well as a weekly work evaluation on Friday.  Please make sure you are reviewing and signing planners daily and reviewing and signing the work evaluations on Friday.  Reviewing planners and evaluations is a  great way to begin a conversation with your child about their work in the classroom.  You will begin to see their planners fill up as we dive into more work each week.  By mid-September your child should have quite a bit of work for you to chat with them about.

Thank you all for getting your child to school on time each day.   Work begins as soon as your child walks into the classroom, and lessons often start promptly after the bell rings.   Being on time allows your child to participate fully in each day’s activities.

Finally, our first class field trip is on Friday, September 21.  We are going to The Freedom’s Light Festival, a celebration of the Constitution.  I will reach out to you all with carpool needs within the next week and permission slips will go home after Labor Day.

 

Week 2

Aug27

Morning Work Cycle – This week in class we will begin math, language and writing assessments.  These assessments provide a baseline from where to begin teaching your child.   We strive to administer these assessments in a stress free way, so that your child can do their best work.

Cultural – We will study matter as an extension of our first Great Lesson, The Birth of the Universe, and in preparation for our first home project.  Students will select an element on which they will do an in depth study.  They will create a poster to present to Ms. Marleen’s lower elementary class in September.  Details of the assignment will be provided Thursday, August 31 and is due Monday, September 18.

UC Berkeley time crystalsSpelling – This year we will be using a new spelling program that is differentiated for each child.  A whole group spelling lesson will be given on Thursdays, from which your child will create their own spelling list.  Children will work with a spelling buddy to practice their words in class, take practice tests, and administer final spelling tests Wednesday mornings.

Pre-labeling page numbers will simplify the implementation of our new spelling program. We are beginning this program Thursday, August 31; therefore, I am looking for several parent volunteers to number the pages at home.  We need the journals ready to go Thursday morning.  If you are interested in working off  volunteer hours at home, please send me an email as soon as possible.

 

Week 2

Aug24

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.

First Research Project and Other News

Aug28

Happy Friday!  We finished out our first week with full school days and your kids are doing great!  Learning how to plan and manage time has been the focus of this week’s morning activities, while observing and learning to distinguish the difference between facts and inference has taken place in the afternoon.  Your kids know a lot of facts about the teeth of T-Rex!  I’m impressed.

We have been doing a lot of writing with our observations and morning dictionary work, so if your kids are complaining of sore hands, it’s for good reason.

We began our first in class research project this afternoon with the reading of From Lava to Life, a story that supports our second Great Lesson, The Coming of Life.  You will find a description of the project here, Time line of Life Research Book Project , along with the rubric for scoring.  This will mainly be an in class project, due Friday September 4, but so many of your kids were excited to get started that they brought it home to work on.  If your students brought home their rubric, you will notice the total points possible is an error.  It states 50 pts, while the total should be 55 pts possible.  I have corrected it on the link.

As per our classroom management plan, your children should have brought home their weekly work evaluation form completely filled out for you to sign.  This must be returned with them on Monday.  Please ask them about this evaluation, it is a key tool, along with their planners, to see the progress they are making and to get an idea of the work they are doing each day in the classroom.  We have spoken a bit about goal setting (with many more discussions to come) and how specific goals are much more meaningful than a general goal of say, “work harder”.  We are talking about setting SMART goals as a tool for success in the classroom and out.  If your child has written “work harder” or “get a lot done” as their goal for next week, now is a great time to have a conversation with them about setting goals that are specific and measurable.

Finally, before this post becomes even longer, our school’s annual 5K Race for the Redwoods is on September 19 with a pancake breakfast to follow.  All proceeds from the race and the Pancake Breakfast support our 6th grade trip to the Redwoods!  This is an amazing experience that is worth every bit of your support.   Come support our school community and get to know each other!  In addition to a registration form for the race being sent home with your child, you can find additional copies at the following link.  Race for the Redwoods Registration

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Amity

 

 

Update Week 1.5

Aug25

We successfully navigated our way through the first week of school and are off to a good start for our second week.

During our first week we did a lot of team building and activities that helped everyone get to know each other.  Our class is slowly coming together and friendships are being made. Even our most shy students are beginning to make connections with their classmates.   As we begin our modified work cycle, we will continue building our class culture.

This week we begin our great lessons.  You can read a post that I wrote about the great lessons here.  Our class did something a little different this year to begin our study of the great lessons.  Your children decided to become teachers of the first great lesson to our lower elementary peer mentor class.  Several students presented the lesson and afterward we went outside and they facilitated experiments and demonstrations for the younger students.  Ms. Holly’s class was completely engaged!  Well done, little teachers!

Today Ms. Holly is hosting another great lesson for our class.

We are beginning a modified work cycle with returning students carrying on where they left off last year, and new students beginning to learn routines and procedures for choosing work, getting it checked and turning it in.  Because we are going slowly to ensure success, you will see their planners gradually begin to fill up as your children learn how to plan their day.  By October 1, they should be planning their work day all on their own.