Weekly Newsletter
Friday February 22, 2019
Literacy: In Literacy this week we continued working on making inferences. We also finished reading the book Who Was Harry Houdini? We also started thinking about our next writing assignment which will be writing about a career that they might be interested in.
Math: This week in math we made Gluten Free waffles. They were a big success! I also had the opportunity to observe the students purchase their lunch Friday at the mall. I am so proud of how far they have come since the beginning of the year!
Social Studies: We started learning about World War I this week. We started off the unit by coloring a map to help us understand which countries were allies, central powers and neutral.
Friday January 25, 2019
Literacy: This week we worked on the comprehension strategy of Compare and Contrast. In writing we started working on an assignment on Jungle animals. Each student is researching a different animal and writing about it. Ask your child what animal they are writing about.
Math: In math this week and last week we have been cooking foods from different part of the world. Last week we made pierogis and this week we made fried plantains and tamales. I was excited to see many of the kids try food that was new to them!
Science: We have started a unit in science titled "Why Do I Look the Way I Do?". We have been learning about the difference between acquired and inherited traits.
Friday December 14, 2018
Literacy: We have finished our Unit on Main Idea and will be focusing on writing next week before our break.
Math: This week we planned a holiday party for our math class. On Thursday we made chocolate covered pretzels to serve at the party on Friday. A few of the kids want to make this recipe at home so I told them that I would share it here. We melted vanilla flavored almond bark ( I got it at Target) in the microwave and dipped pretzels into the melted chocolate. They loved it and it was very easy. This is something that the students could make for your holiday parties! See the picture below of the finished product.
Social Studies: In Social Studies we learned about different inventors and inventions that changed the United States after the Cvil War. We have been reviewing the vocabulary from the chapter with Quizlet and Kahoot in class. I am also reading aloud the book Who Was Steve Jobs?.
Friday December 7, 2018
Literacy: This week in Literacy the students wrote a paragraph about their favorite teacher. The reading groups are still working on Main Idea. One group read a story about Florence Nightingale and the other group read about an inventor. Ask your child which story they read!
Math: This week in math cooking we made no bake oatmeal cookies! If you are looking for extra math practice at home, have your child show you Penguin math.
Social Studies: This week in Social Studies we continued learning about reconstruction after the Civil War. We read about the transcontinental railroad and the westward expansion. The class reviewed vocabulary on Quizlet.
Health: The Health lesson this week explained what drug and alcohol dependency was. We learned that even kids that are in junior high can become addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Friday November 30, 2018
Literacy: We continued to work on Main Idea this week with a writing assignment on African Elephants. In this assignment they needed to write 3 details from the reading to support the main idea. The class is becoming more independent with using the graphic organizer to produce their writing!
Math: This week in math cooking we made tacos! Next week we will begin a calendar activity in which we will be planning a holiday celebration for the class. Our word problem lesson this week focused on problems that were related to money.
Social Studies: We started a new unit in Social Studies which starts where we left off in our last unit on the Civil War. Our first chapter focused on Reconstruction. The class has access to a Quizlet that is posted in Google Classroom to review the new vocabulary for each chapter.
Friday November 16, 2018
Literacy: This weeks writing prompt was to write about their most prized possession. We have been working on writing introductions that include complete sentences that also states their opinion.
Math: This week in cooking we made gluten free spaghetti with meat sauce. We also continued working on word problems, fractions and counting coins. We learned a song to help count quarters.
Science: In Science we ended the unit with making google slide presentations of Newtons Laws of Motion. The presentations are attached below.
Health: This week in Health we started a new Unit on Drug Use and Abuse. We learned that abusing alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs can have negative short and long-term effects on the body.
Friday November 9, 2018
Literacy: In Literacy we are working on the comprehension strategy of Main Idea. We have also started a mini-unit on genres. Next week we will be starting a new writing assignment on what their most valued possession is.
Math: This week in math we made pudding to work on our measuring and fraction skills. We have also been practicing word problems that require the students to add and subtract quantities of money.
Science: We are getting to the end of our Science unit and will be having a test at the end of next week. This weeks lesson focused on what keeps things from moving. We looked at different examples of how friction and force are related. To review for the test the students can practice the quizlet in Google Classroom!
Friday November 2, 2018
Literacy: In Literacy we finished our unit on Sequencing and will be starting a new unit focusing on Main Idea. The students have also been working on making a strategy binder to keep all of their comprehension and writing strategies organized and accessible.
Math: A new resource that we have been using in math is an online math program called ST Math. This is an independent program that teaches and reinforces foundational math concepts in a visual format. In class we call it "Penguin Math" because of the character that is used. Ask your child to show you how it works!
Science: This week in Science we did a lab that had us look at balance and force. For this "physics stunt" we balanced a spoon and fork off the side of a glass with a just a toothpick (see picture below). This activity was meant to generate interest in something to which scientific rules must apply.
Health: This week, students engaged in a perspective-taking lesson. They had the opportunity to view different situations from different points of view. The main purpose of the activity was for the students to avoid getting trapped into seeing situations in only one way and missing opportunities for more effective or creative responses to a problem.
Friday October 26, 2018
Literacy: In Literacy this week we started a new novel study. The book is called Joey Pigza Swallowed a Key which is about a boy with ADHD. We will be reading this book together as a class working on vocabulary, making inferences, predications and summarizing. This book also contains a lot of figurative language that we will also be working on identifying throughout this unit.
Math: In Math this week we hosted our Math Halloween party. The week was spent preparing for this big event. We did a lot of measuring to make trail mix and rice Krispy treats (all Gluten Free!) for the party. A big thank you to all of the teachers that stopped by to celebrate with us.
Science: This week, we did several mini experiments that provided the students opportunities to discover why things move the way they do. I have attached a video of one of the activities that we did in class called the Magnetic Cannon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I08XMzy6344
Health: This week, students were introduced to “mind mapping”. They were taught that mind mapping is an effective form of brainstorming that helps us visualize solutions to a problem or challenge. Students were broken into groups and were asked to create their own mind map about healthy choices!
Friday October 19, 2018
Literacy: In Literacy this week the class read an article in Time For Kids about whether or not drinking straws should be banned. The students then wrote an opinion paragraph about about why or why not they think drinking straws should be banned. Ask your child what their opinion was and the reasons that support their opinion!
Math: In math this week we worked on providing money to pay for a purchase. To practice at home, give your child an amount of money within $10, have them count the money and then ask them to give you the amount to pay for something that costs less that $10.
Science: This week we started Science. The Unit that we started is titled "How Will It Move?" Our first activity was to observe and investigate a device called a Magnetic Cannon. The Scientific Principles that we will be learning about in this unit are related to force and motion.
Friday October 12, 2018
Literacy: In Literacy this week the class wrote opinion paragraphs about what their favorite animal is and the reasons why. They used a graphic organizer to help organize their ideas. They can show your their work in google classroom!
Math: In math this week we continued working on subtraction word problems. The class is doing an amazing job with this activity! The students have also been working in the classroom store. They are being trained to use the cash register to add up the cost of items and determine how much change is due back to the customer.
Social Studies: This week we finished up our Unit on the Civil War. The class loved practicing the vocabulary words on Quizlet Live. Ask your kids about this fun game!
Friday October 5, 2018
Literacy: This week in Literacy we started a new novel study on the book Crash. The book is about four boys that are in a school bus accident. Ms. Plein helped the class with learning the new vocabulary words that we found in the book.
Math: In Math this week we worked on calendar skills by planning a math class Halloween party. So far, we have picked the date (October 26th) and have planned out some of the activities and food that we will be serving. On Thursday we made a pumpkin shaped pinata to use at the party. The class measured 3" and 6" pieces of newspaper use for the project.
Social Studies: This week we learned about the events leading up to the Civil War. We will finish off the unit next week with learning about the Civil War. This will be our last week of Social Studies and next week we will start a Science Unit.
Health: This week, we focused more on decision making and how different decisions can affect you and your life forever. We talked about how to analyze different scenarios to help us make better decisions. Students got to share their ideas and what they have learned from their experiences.
Friday September 28, 2018
Literacy: This week in Literacy we continued our comprehension lessons on sequencing. One reading group is learning about San Francisco and the other group is learning how to make paper. Ask you child which group they are in and what they learned!
Math: This week in math cooking we made mini pizza's in the toaster oven. Math concepts that were discussed included measuring 1/4 and 1/2 cups. We also started our weekly (Tuesday's) word problem lesson. This week we focused on using a graphic organizer to help solve addition word problems.
Social Studies: This week, we wrapped up learning about the Oregon Trail and the Gold Rush. The students participated in an Escape Room Activity where they had to solve clues that unlocked information about the Gold Rush.
Health: This week, we had our first health lesson. We will be having health once a week on Thursday’s. In our first lesson, the students learned about making decisions and what steps we should take when making a decision. We played a fun activity in class to learn about the process. Ask your child about it!
Friday September 21, 2018
Literacy: Reading groups started this week focusing on the comprehension strategy of Sequencing. Ms. Plein has also started her push-in speech and language lessons with the class. During her lessons this week we read an article about Hurricane Florence and worked on the vocabulary that was used in the article.
Math: In math this week we make grilled cheese sandwiches. We cut our sandwiches into 1/2 and 1/4 pieces to help with our comprehension of fractions!
Social Studies: This week in Social Studies we learned about Westward Expansion. To reinforce the topic the students partnered up and played the Oregon Trail video game. Through trial and error the class gained an understanding on the factors that needed to be considered when making the westward journey. Click on the link below to play the game at home!
Friday September 14, 2018
Literacy: This week I introduced the literacy concepts that the class will be working on this year. The first strategy that we will be working on is sequencing. To kick this off we did an activity on sequencing how to make popcorn. The class was able to enjoy a popcorn snack to celebrate their success!
Math: This week in math we worked on pricing the items in our classroom grocery store. Please keep sending in empty boxes and jars to stock our shelves! In our cooking class, we made Gluten free Mac and Cheese. We made two different brands (one was rice and one was chick peas) and voted on which kind we liked best. The results were that everyone liked both kinds.
Social Studies: On Tuesday, Ms. Drexler and Ms. Altshul from the transition department came into our class to teach a monthly transition lesson. The class worked on a project that showed how we are all individuals but also part of a bigger group. We also began discussing what it means to be independent.
Friday September 7, 2018
Literacy: This week in Literacy we have been reading a graphic novel titled El Deafo by Cece Bell. The story is about a girl that loses her hearing and needs to wear hearing aids. She is realizing that she is different from the other kids and is also dealing with making new friends at a new school. We have had some great opportunities to make predictions and connections throughout the readings!
Math: This week we started our Wednesday math cooking lesson! Our first recipe was making fruit salad. The class had fun using their measuring skills to cut bananas into 1 inch pieces. They also practiced fractions by cutting grapes in 1/2 and the strawberries in 1/4's. The best part was eating the finished product!
Social Studies: This week, we learned about the Industrial Revolution, when a shift to powered, special purpose machinery, factories and mass production took over the hand tools or basic machines. Ask your child about the assembly line activity that they participated in class. We learned that more products could be made when an assembly line is put in place rather than a single person doing all the work!