Aug
Week 2
Posted in Grace and Courtesy, Grammar, Great Lessons, Home Projects, Word Study | No Comments »Yay! We are up and running. Welcome to our classroom blog, The Enterprise. This is where I do weekly posts, so please regularly check here regarding any information. I will also be giving the guidelines for the 1st home project under the Home Project tab this weekend. Remember that the first home project will be due at the end of September.
This week we focused on The Five Great Lessons:
1. The Birth of the Universe
2. The Timeline of Life
3. The Coming of Humans
4. The History of Language
5. The History of Mathematics
These great lessons set up overview for our cultural lessons and gives the students an insight into a variety of perspectives, histories, and cultures on how we got to now.
Each day this week we focused on one of the great lessons. Activities relating to those great lessons followed. A favorite activity this week was on Thursday, The History of Language. Out of the 4 choices the students chose 2. A group wanted to go with Ms. Anna to do Chinese writing and a group went with me outside to try and make their own ink and own writing tools.
In the afternoons this week we did our first week of cultural. Here is our schedule:
Mondays– History
Tuesdays– Zoology/Physiology
Wednesdays– Geography
Thursdays– Botany
Fridays– Science and Continent Study
PE started this week too! PE is on Wednesdays at 1:30pm-1:55pm.
This coming week work cycle will start! Those who have been in our classroom I will help them pick up where they left off and see if any reviews are needed. Work cycle the first few weeks start off slow as new students and first graders adjust. All first graders and new students have been tested in reading and I should be getting their reading placements back this week. For new students in 2nd and 3rd grade this year I will be doing some basic placement testing with them so I know where I can start them in our shelf works. The kids are DYING to get into the works, so I know they are excited to come in this coming week and start getting lessons. We’ll take it step by step so quality is taught and organization is taught. The system I take in our classroom allows for more practice. In your child’s Language binder we have a 3 step system for Grammar and Word Study:
1. Layout the cards from the box you are working on. We call this “Layout.” The child must master the layout before moving to the second step.
2. “Write down.” The child lays out the cards from the box he or she is working on. The child is then asked to write down their layout on specifically designed paper for that box (new this year!)
3. “Sentences or Story.” Once a child has completed the write down, he or she will then pick a few words from their box and depending on their writing skills, the child will be asked to write a sentence using those words or a short story. This allows us to see if the child can use the words in the right context.
*Something new this year will be some activities related to our Grammar and Word Study boxes. They can be used help solidify a concept, assessing before moving on, and if some students need a change of pace once and while.
Math this year will see more activities as extensions to a lesson or work a student is on.
Jobs will start this week!
Here’s to a great year! The kickoff has begun! Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIA MONTESSORI
Cheers!
Ms. K
