General News
- Ms. Ansley will be out for two days at the end of next week (September 18th and 19th) to attend a friend’s wedding. We will have coverage for our ELA block and Ms. Lorrie will hold down the fort for the other parts of the day.
- The second round of biography research is due in class this Monday, September 16th. Same as last time, we will take a quick peek at what they’ve done so far and send it back with them ASAP.
- Check your email for our bi-monthly parent email
ELA Update
This was an extra fun week in ELA! In addition to our usual Monday P&P recap and literature discussion circle, we also split our time between persuasive writing about the benefits of spending time in nature and crafting hornbooks (like the kind Kit gives to Prudence to teach her how to read in our book). A classic Puritan hornbook is very simple and no frills – not very fun to craft – so many chose to make fancy ones that would have been more likely to be owned by wealthy Loyalists or people living in England. There was shiny craft paper, velvet, silk, stick on jewels, and so much more! There were also some more traditional, simple Puritan style hornbooks made by those that wanted to embrace the Puritan lifestyle, stay more historically accurate to the book, or simply weren’t tempted by the luxurious fabrics and jewels. They turned out beautifully! Be sure to ask your child if you can pop into class to see theirs next week! On Monday we will use our hornbooks to “teach” the Alphas, like Kit does in the book.
Math Update
The trend of working hard and not being afraid to take an academic risk continues in both math classes! This is usually the time of year when kids get a little tired after settling into a new routine and motivation drops a bit. Not this group! We are really moving quickly through new instruction and many kids are asking for help when stuck, realizing that THIS is exactly what strong math students do: self-advocate! Year 1 kids began exploring the standard algorithm for 3 digit x 1 digit numbers. We started with expanded form (this is also called the ‘partial product’ method) and then discussed that the standard algorithm is faster so that is why most adults lean towards this method for multi-digit multiplication. Next week, we’ll move into 2 x 2 digit multiplication. Year 2 kids learned how to multiply decimals. We began with concrete models (tenths and hundredths) to reinforce that multiplication is simply repeated addition. Next, we moved toward the standard algorithm (not lining up decimals, counting over spaces to place the decimal point.) Again, we talked about this method being preferred by many adults due to speed! Next week, we’ll continue to explore multiplication while learning how to add/subtract decimals. We’re a little ahead due to our Gamma’s amazing work habits this week! Both classes learned how to complete these cool area maze puzzles (logic meets geometry!) and those will be available at the Gamma Buffet of extension activities.
Theme Update
This week we began our journey learning about the American government and how it functions. We started off on Monday finishing up our partnered persuasive piece writing with a low-stakes presentation to the class. Presenting and public speaking is a skill we work on a lot in Gamma this year! It takes a lot of bravery to stand up in front of your classmates but they’ll be glad they had the practice someday 🙂. On Tuesday we jumped into learning about the Constitution. Who made it? Why did they make it? When did they make it? We brainstormed things we’d want to put into our own classroom constitution. On Wednesday we learned about the Bill of Rights. These amendments to the Constitution ended up being some of the most important parts of our government! We then finished creating our classroom constitution and considered if there are any amendments we’d like to add. On Thursday we learned about the Declaration of Human rights (a project led by Eleanor Rosevelt in 1948) and the Rights of a Child (ratified at the The United Nations Convention in 1989). We illustrated the sixteen different rights of a child. Be sure to look for them in the hallway to learn more!
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