friday 1/4/19

Here are a few highlights from the past two weeks (both before and after the break):


  • Click here to go to the Cool Things We're doing page to see the Winter Recess Rules Video. We spent a lot of time working on this video. We showed a "preview" for it before the break, and showed the full video after the break! It was very well received. The 5/6ers did a wonderful job!
  • In reading students continued Book Clubs the week before break. After the break, we just did independent reading...
  • Math was sporadic the week before break... Students continued with Freckle and math fact practice, but we used math rotation time to work on the winter recess movie, both recording and editing. After the break, we eased back into math and looked at some geometry and did a fun challenging activity making something called a hexaflexagon.
  • Also in math, students are using the new Freckle program to do math fact practice and other skill practice. A 5th grade group is also using a new game called Fogstone Island!
  • We spent time on two small writing projects. Before the break we started a poem about winter and what happens when winter comes, using sensory details and vivid language. Then we used an online program to create some word art to go with them. They are on display on the bulletin board!
  • The other writing project is a winter break interview. Students are practicing their listening skills while they ask questions of a partner about break. The information gathered from the interviews will be used next week.
  • In social studies, before the break, we finished up looking at map projections. After the break, we began looking at regions, both a general definition of it as well as regions of the United States. Also, all students took a US states and capitals pre-assessment before the break, that we scored together this past week. We will be using this data to help with weekly learning, more below.
  • The week before the break, students read a Time for Kids article about healthy snacks and the effect this has on their well being. This past Friday, students read a Time for Kids article about the year in photos. We spent time talking about the power of images when telling a story.
  • Just before the break, we finished up our discussion of yoga ball agreements and all the students were able to switch from a chair to a yoga ball at their desk! They are doing very well with them so far.
  • No Green Sheets the past couple of weeks...


Some upcoming dates, important notes, and things to look forward to in the coming weeks:

  • Basketball Game: Wednesday 1/9/19
  • XC Skiing at Craftsbury Outdoor Center: Thursday 1/24/19 Roughly 830-1130 (back for lunch)
  • Winter Celebration of Learning and Arts Showcase/Concert and Tuesday 1/29/19: 530-615- Celebration 615-7- Concert
  • *** Cold and snowy weather has arrived!!! Please be sure to start sending kids with warm gear for recess and other outdoor time like Outdoor Learning! This time of year they should have snowpants, a coat, a hat, gloves or mittens, and boots (be sure they have indoor shoes for during the day). ***


  • We will continue with our cafeteria waste station redesign. The plan is to build a prototype and test it out for a bit...
  • We have Susan coming in to do a Four Winds workshop, so we will not have another Outdoor Learning this week.
  • We will get back to book clubs! 2 of the groups will be finishing their books and doing some response with that. 2 of the groups will continue reading for a few more weeks.
  • We will continue with independent reading and students will begin doing some work with reading response, using these new reading strategies.
  • We will be setting some reading goals for this second trimester.
  • We will get back into our math units (Rates, Fraction multiplication, and Area/perimeter). I will continue to run 3 math groups on a rotation schedule. One rotation is a lesson with me. One rotation is work and games based on that lesson or current math topics. One rotation will vary depending on the day and may include: word work (vocab/spelling), writing, reading response, typing instruction, independent project work, etc...
  • We will continue with our map unit. We have moved into the US Geography portion of the map unit! All students will be working weekly to learn the states in a different region of the United States. We will do one region a week for 5 weeks. Some students will learn states, some will learn capitals (if they already know the states), and some will do a combination of both. While doing this, they'll learn some geography, history, and more about each region. After a week or so, we will add the Road Trip project, more to come on this soon...