Classroom Updates

Scroll to 4/10 for most recent academics.

Academics

04/10/19

• 3rd Math - We will begin Unit 7 next week. Children will revisit measurement and focus on comparing, estimating and measuring liquid volumes. They continue to develop an understanding of fractions as numbers by exploring a new area fraction model and fractions as representations of distances on a number line.
• 4th Math - This week students were introduced to partial-quotient division, also known as chunking or the hangman method. This method may seem different than how we learned, but it can be found as far back as 1773 when division was taught at the college level only. This holistic approach encourages the use of multiples and understanding, rather than memorizing an algorithm without any true meaning. Click here for a short video explaining partial quotient. The "traditional method" will be taught in grade 5.
• 5th Math - The fifth grade students just finished an assessment on multiplying and dividing fractions. This week, we will begin Unit 6, on Decimal Multiplication and Division. The game this week is Spend and Save. Students will be practicing their borrowing skills while they subtract decimal numbers in the form of money. Some of the new vocabulary terms this unit are: calibrate, exponent, displacement method, exponential notation, and reaction time. This Unit will also focus on investigating measurement. As a bonus, students will be learning the standard algorithm for long division and consistently practicing their multiplication facts to 12.
• Reading - Our current reading unit is all about reading to research. Students are finding that most often the first thing they read isn't the best piece of information available. Research requires a lot of reading!
• Writing - All students have been working on argument or debate writing. We began with the same topic of whether or not chocolate milk should be served in schools? Ask your student what their claim is? What reasons and evidence did they use to support their claim?
• Four/Five Social Studies - The fourth and fifth grade students are currently reading the NH text book with their class and taking notes/completing assignments on NH History, Government, and Economy. The SS assessment for Chapter 7 (History) was given last week, and the students are working in the chapter on government. During class, students learn new vocabulary words and how they are related to the chapter and different strategies of reading and taking notes. Group projects are on the horizon and the Chapter 10 Assessment (Government) will be on April 17th.
• Third Social Studies- Third grade students are currently learning about the importance of producers and consumers, the difference between goods and services, how assembly lines took off with Henry Ford and how they are effective in factories for making products, the three different types of resources: Human, Capital, and Natural Resources and the vocabulary words wages, overhead, profit, import, and export.
• Four/Five Science - This week we learned about food chains: how every animal has something it eats, and for many animals, also some predator it's eaten by! Your child learned that by asking the two food chain questions: “What does it eat?” and “What is it eaten by?,” you can find surprising animals living near you. Hopefully your child will come home curious to flip over a log and look for creatures living nearby! You can support your child’s curiosity by increasing the odds of them finding some new and interesting creature. If possible, take them to the closest nature preserve, especially anywhere with fallen logs.
• Third Science - This time of year third graders have a bog job; it's time to plan and prep for the school garden. Students researched and selected seeds, prepared the green house for planting, and started some early season crops such as beans, carrots and greens. Ask your child what they're excited about growing this year and how they decided which plants would be best for our school garden.

Scroll down to 3/8 for most recent academics.

Academics

03/08/19

• 3rd Math - We are wrapping up Unit 5. Your student has been working hard to apply their multiplication skills. Those who do not have multiplication fact fluency 0-10 are beginning to fall behind their peers. Help your child succeed with fact practice. Our Unit 5 test will be next week.
• 4th Math - We are expanding our knowledge of fractions and multiplication skills to be able to find identify and explain equivalent fractions, as well as adding and subtracting fractions. Next week we'll get back to a measurement and data focus with angles and line plots.
• 5th Math - Students are currently working with applying operations to fractions and finding common denominators is a big part of these tasks. Those who do not have multiplication fact fluency are really struggling. Please help your child find ways to practice facts in the car, at home, or anytime they are somewhere having to wait.
• Reading - Both Reading classes will begin to research issues that are debatable. You can help your student prepare for this work by talking about changes they would like to see at home, at school and in the world. And what different sides may think about these issues.
• Writing - Next week students are beginning a performance task where they'll be asked to write about what it would be like to be shrunk down to the size of an ant. This should be fun!
• Four/Five Social Studies - Today students had their last in class work period for their Westward Expansion projects. These are due on Wednesday the 13th. Students are expected to have an 2 minute presentation prepared.
• Third Social Studies- Students are at the very end of their state project. Ask your student to tell you what they've learned through their research.
• Four/Five Science - This week, students investigated the question “Why do things explode?” Students created their own (small) explosions by combining vinegar and baking soda in a plastic bag. Then, they developed models to explain how gas bubbles caused the bag to inflate and pop. You can encourage your child’s curiosity at home! Watch this video of dry ice soap bubbles together: http://safeyoutube.net/w/gGzc. (You can even try making dry ice bubbles yourself using dry ice from the grocery store!)
• Third Science - This week’s lesson on forces was about the force of friction. Specifically we considered friction in the context of solving the mystery, “How can you slide faster down a slide?” One fun thing you can do with your child to help support this week’s learning is to watch a video of this new invention, called “liquiglide.” This is a situation where removing friction would make your life easier. The grape jelly video is impressive: https://vimeo.com/89936192

Academics - brought to you, unedited, by UE Students!

02/08/19

• Ms.Ham By: Lacie

So Mrs.Bridges had left January 18 to have her baby the 22 the day after martin luther king jr day. So UE has had a substitute her name is Ms.Ham she is a amazing teacher and a wonderful person.

All about Ms.Ham Ms.Ham is a beekeeper she has at least 300,000 bees its alot I know but it's true once she came into class with 4 bee sting trying to feed her bees in the rain. Monday the 4th she fed her bees fondant because it was nice.

What she does Ms.Ham is a substitute UE teacher but she doesn't seem like a substitute to a lot of people she seem like she is a real teacher well that because she is a teacher and has been teaching for 8 years.

• Nuclear chess By Tom!

In nuclear chess you play like normal chess all the pieces movie the same and all, but when you movie if any off the opponents pieces are in the box around you piece than they all die (including your piece.) You can't blow up any of your own pieces with your own price but you can live if you move and there are none of the other teams pecis around you can keep moving until you die. The game goes a lot faster this way and it is a lot easier to play and understand it also helps with more ways on how to win reguler chess.

• Music Class - Gregory S.

If you go to JFES school there’s cool subject’s but the one i’m Writing about is Music. it’s very fun if your not shy it’s and some people might brag saying there good. Who cares! It doesn't matter if you can sing it only matters if you will sing. It’s great if everyone sings it will sound great! Everyone is great at something. So is Music the thing you’re great at? Or (not) So if go to JFES Music class and then you’ll love Music!

• New after care people - Pat

Now at school you have probly heard of after care and moring care now they are both the same thing: progams for parents who have to go to work erely and they drop their kids of and Moring care is run buy two people Gramdma Marlyn and Ms.Stseter but recently we got two new people for after care so now we have Two new people one is Abby and Jared

Jared is 18 and loves sports he is on a vollyball team and he is super good at football he is also super nice sometimes he lets us and him do face swap on his iphone

Abby is not as active as Jared she is pretty quiet most of the time

• Art for 3rd grade BY Hazel

In school there’s a crafty subject called art in art we are making book covers and this thing called google sketch we do it everyday. We do these worm ups every art class we usually do a different thing every week sometimes when we paint it takes at least 2/3 weeks right now we are working on making ur own book covers to 3rd grade favorites when we finish we will make a picture of the ocean then we will paint it that’s all for the week.

Academics

01/25/18

• 3rd Math - Unit 4 Assessment will begin on Monday and is usually stretched over two days, followed by the Unit 5 Pre-Assessment.
• 4th Math - Our goal is to complete Unit 4 Next week. We've been working on conversion problems in both and we're moving from 2-digt times 1-digit, to 2-digit times 2-digit multiplication.
• 5th Math - Students are continuing into Unit 4 with more decimal and fraction work.
• Reading - We are finishing our informational text unit with a Civil Rights study.
• Writing - Text Features will be the final touch for completing articles for the class magazine.
• Four/Five Social Studies - Students are continuing to study Westward expansion and will soon begin projects to display their learning.
• Third Social Studies- Talk to your student about how their region project is coming together.
• Four/Five Science - In this week’s Mystery, “Can you transform something worthless into gold?”, students created their own metal “transformations” (coating steel nails with copper from pennies) and developed models to explain what they observed.
• Third Science - We wrapped our adventures with the Harris Center by creating a scene based on track evidence. Have your student show you their project displayed in the hall before or after school one day next week.

Scroll down to 1/11 Academics for latest update.

Academics

01/11/18

• 3rd Math - We will continue to work through Unit 4 as we focus on area and perimeter.
• 4th Math - Next week we will cover partial product multiplication, the metric system, and we'll revisit money through number stories.
• 5th Math - Today students took the Unit 3 Assessment. We'll be doing some pre-assessments before beginning Unit 4 next week.
• Reading - Students are continuing to work on informational text. This past week our focus was research, and we'll continue next week by reading to learn about topics that interest us.
• Writing - Next week everyone will begin draft 2 of our articles. Talk to your student about the topic they have chosen, and what their subtopics are.
• Four/Five Social Studies - Students are continuing to study Westward expansion.
• Third Social Studies- We are expanding our thoughts about where we live into individual projects about the different regions on the U.S. Ask your student what region they are responsible for.
• Four/Five Science - Today we were given a phenomena that we'll work to solve over the next 5 weeks of our Chemical Reaction Unit. Ask your student what they saw and think about the two gargoyles.
• Third Science - This week, students discovered the most dangerous animal in the world isn’t sharks or lions, but… mosquitoes! Mosquitoes are responsible for spreading diseases like malaria, West Nile, and Zika. In our activity, students applied knowledge about mosquito habitats and life cycles toward preventing mosquitoes in a fictional town.

Report cards come home today, please return envelopes.

Academics/Events

12/08/16

• Celebrate the Gift of Reading - By:Caleb

On november 30th we celebrated the gift of reading by making christmas cookies with, 2 pretzels for the antlers. 2 chocolate chips for the eyes. And cinnamon ball for a nose.Also we got to drink hot chocolate. And snuggle in with a good book.We also made letters to santa.That was fun.But then we made christmas ornaments by cutting out a book on the scholastic order sheets.And making them into little books.Also making them so they can hang on are christmas tree.

• 4TH GRADE MATH - By Maddox Miller

There is a math menu which has all the blocks you need to go to. And after morning meeting we go straight into math starting with the first block, but the good news is that on every menu there is a choice which means you get to play chess or mancala or all the different fun games. But then there is the math book pages.there is a huge book full of math stuff it has math boxes which are around 6 or 7 different boxes in it. And it has numbers in the boxes. So that means you can go to that page in your SRB (student reference book) but it doesn't give you the answer it just helps you find the answer.

• Writing - by,Isabella schafer

In writing we are working on writing nonfiction and realistic fiction. We are working on rough drafts,finalizing,editing,and eather typing or doing are best handwriting for are final draft. We have been working on this for days but the hard work has paid off. Some stories are long stories and some stories are long stories.

• Shepard Mcauliffe Discovery Center! - By:Amelia.pollock:)

When 4/5 were ready we got are stuff and got on the school bus, we went and headed off. When we got there all of us got off the bus we shaw a small rocket when we went inside there was a very nice man and he said “welcome to the shepherd Mcauliffe Discovery Center” “The bathroom’s are to the left.”Then he started to tell a long story but it was funny. Then he asked for a volunteer to demonstrate something and that was to show how the astronaut sat in the roket.And the volunteer was Rylee. Rylee is nice and own of my bff’s. Then someone named Amelia (not me A.prid) got called up to be another volunteer. Then the man said “do you know why i need a volunteer?’’ “why?’’ “i am going to dump this water on your head” “um ok?!”

A.prid studerdr a little bit see wanted to do it but she did not at the same time. She took off her coat and put it on the table. The man said “take this napkins you will need them.” “ok” oh did i meanchen the cup of water hade this special poder. Then he added the water to the the same cup and “” poured the water on A.prid. But nothing came out all of us were like “wow” “what” “how can that hapen” The powder makes the water absorb like a diaper. Then we went out the door and we gotta touch the thing/blob. My reaction was ‘ew’ it was slimy and just weird and gross. Then we gotta go in the museum part it was the best thing ever.

• GOTR Season - By: Amelia Pride

In this years Girls On The Run Season we learn A lot of stuff like…

• Problem solving skills
• Making new friends
• Pacing ourselves/Find our pace

In this season we have faced many challenges like running in the cold weather,running the practice 5K with NO water! And being ready when the real 5K was delayed! The 5K ended up being on December 1. The day after the 5K a lot of The GOTR girls where NOT sore! In GOTR We do lots of activities like try not to laugh, Don't spread gossip and rumors and a lot more! For our community impact project we did a animal food Drive for the Monadnock humane society. And Thank you to all the people who donated! If you have a daughter in 3,4 or fifth grade i'm sure she will love to do GOTR in the spring!

• Secret student - By,Luna Champion

Secret student is ween the teachers chose a student to look at them all the time to see if there good. If there good the next day they will get called up to culler in a poster. Ween we get up to 30 people we will get PJ party! [Which we have reached!] i can't what for the pj day cuz i wont half to change my cloths and figure out my outfit is going to be. Ween we have the pj party i hope it is on a friday. Cuz it will be D.E.A.R day.

• Mini Capstone - By Brayden

Mini Capstone (MCS) is a project where 5th graders get to do what thing they want to do. I chose to do 2 youtube shows called Sheriff Randy Galveston & Roadway Cars. Others are doing Dog Training, Crafts, Research, Games, Photography & Babysitting.

• ART - By Rylee Wilcox

In art 4th grade we are doing henna hands And painting a fall/winter picture we add more every Monday. December 3rd I was the art star for crevid pichers the henna hands can go for your fingertips to your elbow or only your hand and the colored is only black but we add colored.in 3rd grade ther make a tree thine trass them on and cut it out and pant it like a birch tree or brown tree and add leaf if you want to.

Academics

11/16/18

• 3rd Math - This week we started Unit 3. In Unit 3, your child will add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers using a variety of problem-solving strategies and computational skills. Everyday Mathematics encourages children to choose from any of the methods explored in this unit, or invent their own computation methods. When children create and share their own ways of computing instead of simply learning one method, they begin to realize that problems can be solved in more than one way. They are more willing and able to take risks, think logically, and produce more reasonable answers.
• 4th Math - This week we started Unit 3. Of the different types of numbers that elementary school students are required to understand, fractions can be the hardest. To succeed with fractions, students must build on their understanding of whole numbers, but they also have to understand how fractions differ from whole numbers. This unit focuses on three big ideas about fractions: recognizing equivalent fractions, comparing fractions, and representing or showing fractions in different ways.
• 5th Math - Unit two will be wrapped up next week. The week after Thanksgiving we will be assessing that they have a strategy for solving multi-digit multiplication and division problems as well as the place value of large numbers written in standard notation and exponential notation.
• Reading - We have finished this years Global Read Aloud of Aisha Saeed's Amal Unbound. On Thursday students participated in an escape room type culminating activity called BreakoutEdu. Ask your child: Did book ended the way they expected? What was the most challenging puzzle when you completed the BreakOut box?
• Writing - Students are busy drafting their final narrative pieces before moving on to informational text shortly after Thanksgiving. Talk to you child about what their writing and how they plan to create their very best writing to show you at Parent Teacher Conferences.
• Four/Five Social Studies - Today was the third and final day in our 3 part inquiry into Leadership and Government. Today's question was "What can happen when leaders make decisions that people don’t like?" After Thanksgiving Break students will use all their knowledge gained through the inquiry to write an evidence-based argumentative piece responding to the question "Does It Matter How Leaders Are Chosen? "
• Third Social Studies- Students finished their "My Place on the Map" books in Social Studies today. Have them read it to you at home. Next we will be doing studies looking deeper into the major regions of the U.S.A.
• Four/Five Science - Your child will be learning about the planets in class, but no matter how cool it is to see photos of planets, seeing the real thing is always more exciting. You can find out what’s going on in the sky this week or find out what to look for in the sky tonight. There’s always something interesting happening in the night sky. Check frequently, and you’re sure to find a good time to spot a planet.
• Third Science - The topic of this week’s science mystery was dinosaurs: how do we know what they looked like on the outside, when all we have of them are fossil bones? Why are we always depicting them as scaly lizards? Your child is learning how we can infer what the outside of an animal looks like, by using clues about their skeleton. We are also exploring how the structure of an animal’s teeth say something about what kind of food the animal preferred to eat (i.e. meat, plants, or both).

Academics

11/02/18

• 3rd and 4th Math - Next week both grades are taking the Unit 2 assessment. Make sure that you are helping your child succeed with multiplication fact practice. Roughly 80-90% of the math they'll be required to do for the rest of their lives has a correlation to multiplication.
• 5th Math - Unit two has been going very slowly because students are lacking multiplication fact fluency. Next week we'll continue to work on strategies for multi-digit multiplication. Please refrain from pushing U.S. Traditional Multiplication because most of us aren't ready for it. Please contact me if you need materials for nightly fact practice. Amanda.Bridges@sau24.org
• Reading - Much of our instruction next week will be finishing Amal Unbound and closing up some of our Global Read Aloud connections. Students have been working on identifying theme and questioning the choices that authors make, also known as studying author's craft. Help your child remember to fill in their BookIt! log by reading 20-30 minutes a night. This nightly reading is part of UE homework for all students. November logs went home today.
• Writing - Over the next couple week's we're wrapping our narrative writing unit. Next week your student will be working on a new story. Help them be ready for this endeavor by talking about what they might write about next week. What could be there character's name? What is their character's ultimate goal in the story? Who or what will get in their way? Where will the setting be?
• Four/Five Social Studies - Today was part two of a three part inquiry into Leadership and Government. Today's question was "How are leaders chosen?"
• Third Social Studies- Our study this week focused on regions of our state and our country. Ask your child what county they live in and what region of the country New Hampshire is in.
• Four/Five Science - We put our moon lesson on hold for a special Halloween lesson, last week. Today we turned our gaze to the moon. If you spot the moon in the sky, point it out to your child. If you have binoculars, let your child use them to look at the moon. If you feel like comparing what you see to a map of the moon, there’s a great map of the most visible craters here and a map of the dark gray areas known as seas here. If your child asks, the moon’s seas are dry flat plains created billions of year ago by flowing lava. But early astronomers thought these dark gray areas might be filled with water and called them seas and the name stuck.
• Third Science - We completed out plant selection unit, and next we'll begin a unit of study called “Animals Through Time.” In our first Mystery we'll explore the idea that the rocks under our feet sometimes contains fossils. Those fossils reveal how habitats have changed through time. For example, fossil shark teeth and fossil starfish found in the center of North America are evidence that what is grassland today must have been an ocean in the ancient past.

Academics

10/19/18

• 3rd Math - We're continuing to expand our multiplication fact knowledge, and using models to solve simple division situations.
• 4th Math - Our week is being divided between using multiplication to carry out conversions and revisiting geometry.
• 5th Math - Fifth graders are exploring place value, the powers of 10 and exponential notation in math class. Today we used all the knowledge we have gained about the place value of numbers to review Partial Products Multiplication. Try asking your child to show you how they would use Partial-Products Multiplication to solve the equation 412x3=. They will first make an estimate then break the larger number out into expanded form (400+10+2) multiplying the 3 by each of these as an "extended fact" then adding up the partial sums. Students must be practicing multiplication facts at home with flashcards or apps.
• Reading - We are quickly approaching the climax of this years Global Read Aloud book. UE students have many thoughts and opinions on the thoughts and actions of the characters in this weeks chapters. Ask your child why Amal "borrowed" a book from Jawad Sahib and what the result were when he caught her in the library.
• Writing - Students are working toward being able to read their own work with a critical eye in order to revise and expand their writing, along with using mentor texts to take tips from some of our favorite authors about where to focus more time and where expansion isn't really necessary.
• Four/Five Social Studies - Today we began a three part inquiry into Leadership and Government, exploring the question "Does it matter how leaders are chosen?" Today's focus was on the different forms of government and "Who is in charge" in each type.
• Third Social Studies- Third Graders began a new unit today focused an geography and a sense of place. We started today by drawing maps of our bedrooms, by the end of the unit students will be able to tell you their street name, town, county, state, country, continent, hemisphere and planet as well as locate all of these places on a map.
• Four/Five Science - This week in science we explored how the sun’s path changes with the time of the year. Students learned that on summer days the sun comes up earlier, rises higher in the midday sky, and sets later than it does in winter. Next week we're turning our gaze to the moon. If you spot the moon in the sky, point it out to your child. If you have binoculars, let your child use them to look at the moon. If you feel like comparing what you see to a map of the moon, there’s a great map of the most visible craters here and a map of the dark gray areas known as seas here. If your child asks, the moon’s seas are dry flat plains created billions of year ago by flowing lava. But early astronomers thought these dark gray areas might be filled with water and called them seas and the name stuck.
• Third Science - Today we looked at fossils of fish that came from a quarry in Montana. We thought about what the habitat in Montana must have been in the past for ocean fossils to be buried deep under grasslands. Next week we'll continue to discover evidence for how animals have changed over time.

Academics

10/12/18

• 3rd Math - Next week is all about number stories. We're using the skills we've acquired in all four operations.
• 4th Math - Factors and multiples are the focus for next week's lessons. Students must be practicing multiplication facts at home with flashcards or apps. Those who cannot answer/figure out all one-digit times one-digit in 5 seconds or less will start to fall behind.
• 5th Math - This week we took the Unit 2 pre-assessment to get ready for starting our multiplication and division unit which we will be working on for the next several weeks. First your child will learn several strategies for multiplying multi-digit numbers including drawing arrays and Area Models, partial-products multiplication and U.S. Traditional Multiplication.
• Reading - This week we used a new digital tool called FlipGrid to connect with other Multi-Grade classrooms in Quebec, Alaska, Massachusetts and Northern New Hampshire. All of these classrooms are similar to ours and are also participating in Global Read Aloud reading the book Amal Unbound. Ask your child what they will predict will happen to our main character Amal.
• Writing - Students are moving from individual small moments, to creating full length personal narratives. Ask your student what memory they're writing about.
• Social Studies - Our research project of UNESCO International Heritage Sites (4th & 5th Grade) and U.S. Landmarks (3rd Grade) is complete visit the school to check out our geography display.
• Four/Five Science - This week in science we learned about telling time by the Sun. When your child brings the sundial home, I suggest you help set it up in the sun with the north-pointing arrow pointing to north. When you and your child watch the shadow move over the course of the day, you might point out that the shadow moves clockwise around the dial from east to west.
• Third Science - This week we learned about selection in plants, focusing on how the fruits and vegetables in our grocery stores and gardens have been changed from their wild counterparts to be bigger, tastier, and more varied. You can help reinforce this week’s learning by taking your child with you on your next trip to the grocery store or farmer’s market. Find a variety of fruit which might be exciting or unfamiliar to your child, and stoke their curiosity by asking: What kind of fruit do you think this is? What do you think it tastes like? (Then, of course, try that fruit!)

Academics

9/28/18

• 3rd Math - We'll have an exploratory lesson on equal shares, equal groups and measuring mass before taking the Unit 1 assessment.
• 4th Math - Next week we have a two geometry lessons before taking the Unit 1 assessment mid-week.
• 5th Math - Students are working on conversion between different units of measurement and comparing unit lengths, units squared and units cubed. Next week we'll be taking the Unit 1 Assessment.
• Reading and Writing - Connecting to GRA by writing letters to our partner schools, and focusing on developing characters that feel real.
• Social Studies - Students are beginning an exploration of geography through a research project surrounding U.S. Landmarks (3rd Grade) , and UNESCO International Heritage Sites (4th & 5th Grade) .
• Four/Five Science - This week students were introduced to constellations, and learned how there are different constellations visible each season. Take this opportunity to have your child show you how their “Universe in a Box” works. Ask them: Why do we see different constellations each season? What are some constellations we will see if we go outside tonight? If you have an iPhone or iPad, check out “SkyGuide” for iPhone and iPad. It lets you point your phone at any part of the sky, and then it will show you what constellation you’re seeing. It costs $1.99 and can be downloaded here: http://tinyurl.com/nouzqfa
• Third Science - This week we learned about flowers: what they do for the plant, how they work, and more. We finished the mystery, “Why do plants grow flowers?” (It’s to attract pollinators!) Our plant study continued with, 'Why do plants grow fruit?' You can help support this week’s learning by involving your child when cutting vegetables or fruits. Ask them, “What should I look for, to know if what I’m cutting was once part of the flower?” (Answer: Look for seeds!)

Academics

9/19/18

• 3rd Math - Time and multiplication are the focus for Unit 1.
• 4th Math - Place value to the millions and more complex addition and subtraction are what Unit 1 is all about.
• 5th Math - Area and and volume are the main ideas for Unit 1.
• Reading and Writing - All classes are beginning Narrative Units. Ask your student about the 40 book challenge.

Academics

5/25/18

Please scroll down to 5/18 for the most recent academic updates.

Academics

05/18/18

• In READING and WRITING we're all looking forward to find out how 39 Clues is going to end. In ELA rooms, students are working on different things.
  • Ms. Cornwell - We just launched our Fairy Tale Unit! Ask your student which classic Fairy Tale they're adapting.
  • Mrs. Bridges Reading - Ask your student how their play is going and what Mystery they are reading in addition to Maze of Bones.
• MATHEMATICS all students are working through Unit 7. Remember to review vocabulary and Anytime Activities in the Family Letter for additional practice.
• In SCIENCE third grade is studying weather and four/five is learning about our bodies and our brains. Ask your scientist about the cool things we made this week.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES students are working on geography units. Ask your student to tell you more about what their doing.

Academics

05/11/18

• In READING and WRITING students are working on different things.
  • Ms. Cornwell - We're learning about Mysteries through reading 39 Clues together. In writing, we're continuing writing poetry.
  • Mrs. Bridges Reading - This week we worked on writing stage directions to accompany dialog in plays and next week students will write their own fairytale play adaptations. While continuing the mystery with 39 Clues.
• MATHEMATICS all students will be taking the NHSAS Math assessment this week and will be working on Unit 7.
• In SCIENCE third grade is studying weather and four/five is learning about our bodies and our brains.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES students are working on geography units. Ask your student to tell you more about what their doing.

Academics

05/4/18

• In READING and WRITING students are working on different things. We grouped students based upon their body of work to this point and assessments. Ask your student who they are receiving their literacy instruction from for this unit.
  • Ms. Cornwell - We're learning about Mysteries through reading 39 Clues together. In writing, we're writing poetry.
  • Mrs. Bridges Reading - We're learning about how to read, interpret and write plays and scripts. Additionally, we'll be choosing mysteries to read at school, while reading 39 Clues at home.
• In THIRD MATHEMATICS we are beginning Unit 7 on Monday. Review your family letter to help your student find success.
• In FOURTH and FIFTH MATHEMATICS students will be taking the Unit 6 assessment this week, so expect homework related to the Unit 7 Family Letter mid-week.
• In SCIENCE we're going to continue working in the school garden, so that we can enjoy the benefits of our efforts come fall.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES students are working on geography units. Ask your student to tell you more about what their doing.

Academics

04/13/18

• In READING and WRITING UE in between major units we will be focusing on poetry and plays. Stay tuned for information about the upcoming Book Pals program in collaboration with the Friends of the Davis Public Library.
• In MATHEMATICS all grade levels are partially through Unit 6.
• In SCIENCE next week students are presenting their conservation projects. Ask your student for more details.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES the Colonies to Country Expo was an amazing success. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the kids and hear their stories and all their hard work. 5th graders will begin the planning stages of their Capstone Projects next week (more to come soon). 3rd & 4th grade will begin a geography unit.

Academics

03/23/18

• In READING and WRITING UE students are working on different things. We grouped students based upon their body of work to this point and assessments. Ask your student who they are recieving their literacy instruction from for this unit.
  • Ms. Cornwell - We're continuing our character study with book groups. Students have found patterns in their character's traits, and are using these observations to write literacy essays.
  • Mrs. Bridges Reading - Your student is deepening their knowledge of informational text through researching and creating projects on the birth of our country.
• In THIRD MATHEMATICS began their Unit 5 Assessment today, and will be continuing with this on Monday. Expect the Family Letter on Monday.
• In FOURTH and FIFTH MATHEMATICS students completed the last lesson in Unit 5 today, will have a review day Monday and test Tuesday and Thursday. Watch for the Family Letter to come home early next week.
• In SCIENCE we're wrapping our study with the Harris Center. Ask your child about the amazing evidence we've found around JFES!
• In SOCIAL STUDIES students are in the midst of rich work preparing to share all they have learned about the development of our country.

Academics

03/09/18

• In READING and WRITING
  • Ms. Cornwell - revisiting characters. This week when reading we formed opinions on our character's traits by focusing in on what they say and do. In writing we started writing literacy essays.
  • Mrs. Bridges Reading - using informational text skills to begin history projects.
• In MATHEMATICS all grades are working toward the end of Unit 5.
• In SCIENCE the Harris Center will be working with all classes for the month of may.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES students are working on individual or group New World Projects. Students have at least two hours a week to work on this in class, and need to be working on it for a comparable amount of time at home throughout the week.

Academic Updates - Please scroll down to 2/16 for most recent academics.

Academics

02/16/18

• In READING and WRITING we're deepening our Non-fiction knowledge through everything Olympics.
• In MATHEMATICS all classes will be beginning Unit 5. Check your family letter that came home this week for more information and help with homework.
• In SCIENCE all classes are spending the next week focusing on our Trout in the Classroom.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES colonial life simulations are progressing. Ask your student what their goal is in the New World.

Academics

02/02/18

• In READING we are coming to the end of our Nonfiction unit. Talk to your students about the projects they are working on in class.
• In WRITING students are working on persuasive speeches and petitions. Ask your child to tell you about their thesis (topic), reasons and audience.
• In THIRD GRADE MATHEMATICS with the end of Unit 4 we'll be taking assessments, and beginning I-Ready math towards the end of the week.
• In FOURTH GRADE MATHEMATICS with the end of Unit 4 we'll be taking assessments, and beginning I-Ready math towards the end of the week.
• In FIFTH GRADE MATHEMATICS we took the Unit 4 assessment this week and will begin the I-Ready Math next week. Talk to you child about the importance of taking this test seriously, so they can show what they know.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we're continuing to learn about invisible forces by looking at friction. One fun thing you can do with your child to help support this week’s learning is to watch a video of this new invention, called “liquiglide.” This is a situation where removing friction would make your life easier. The grape jelly video is impressive: http://liquiglide.com/videos/
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we'll be taking the assessment for our force and motion unit.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES ask your student to tell you about their colonial life group project.

Academics

1/19/18

• In READING we are going to be taking the I-Ready assessment next week. Talk to you child about the importance of taking this test seriously, so they can show what they know.
• In WRITING students will continue editing and revising to strengthen their essays and speeches.
• in THIRD GRADE MATHEMATICS students are taking what they learned about area and perimeter, and applying it to real-world situations.
• in FOURTH GRADE MATHEMATICS students are practicing multi-digit multiplication through real-world applications like money and area and perimeter.
• In FIFTH GRADE MATHEMATICS we are finishing up our work with coordinate planes and ordered pairs this week by working on an open response performance task.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we didn't meet this week due to the snow day and MLK Day; see last week for more information.
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE our focus is shifting to electrical force. This is also a good time to discuss electrical safety, such as never sticking anything besides a plug into an outlet and never using electrical devices near or in water.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES We missed Social Studies this week due to MLK day, we will be continuing our colonial life simulation group project this week.

Academics

1/12/18

• In READING we are shifting our focus from main ideas and details to non-fiction text structures such as compare and contrast, cause and effect, or problem and solution.
• In WRITING students will be learning new strategies for editing and revising to strengthen their essays and speeches.
• In WORD WORK many groups have graduated from Fundations to Words Their Way. See the Word Work Tab for more info.
• in THIRD GRADE MATHEMATICS students are working on area and perimeter.
• in FOURTH GRADE MATHEMATICS students are working on multi-digit multiplication and metric units of mass.
• In FIFTH GRADE MATHEMATICS we are taking a short break from decimals to learn about how to read, create and use coordinate planes and ordered pairs.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we're continuing our study of force by investigating bridges. Use the link below to look at bridges around the world with your child. http://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/30-of-the-craziest-bridges-in-the-world
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE every student needs to bring in an object(s) for the chain reaction machines their building Monday.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES we will be continuing our colonial life simulation group project. Last week students "got on the boat" and this week they will

Academics

1/5/18

• In READING we are continuing to read nonfiction text and some students will be researching and presenting on specific topics next week.
• In WRITING we are writing a first personal and/or persuasive essay.
• In WORD WORK many groups have graduated from Fundations to Words Their Way. See the Word Work Tab for more info.
• In MATHEMATICS all classes have begun unit 4. 5th grade is now focusing on decimals, 4th grades focus is multi digit multiplication and 3rd grade focus is shifting to geometry with a focus on shapes, area and perimeter.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we have completed our Animals Through Time unit. Next week we'll begin our Invisible Forces Unit with pushes & pulls.
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we continued our study of energy by exploring how energy is stored and transferred in various situations involving "chain reactions" (also known as Rube Goldberg devices).
• In SOCIAL STUDIES we will begin a colonial life simulation group project.

Academics

12/15/17

• In READING we're shifting from reading all Non-Fiction to reading for specific research purposes. Our model focus will be weather.
• In WRITING we are focusing on organization for opinion pieces. Help your child by working together to brainstorm a possible thesis.
• In FUNDATIONS each group is taking their assessment before leaving for vacation.
• In MATHEMATICS all classes are taking the Unit 3 Assessment before vacation.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we're learning about how humans have created new breeds of dogs. Next week we're going to investigate if selection occurs naturally.
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we're moving from how height effects energy to collisions transferring energy.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES we're learning about the holidays in Colonial America.

Academics

11/17/17 - Scroll down to 11/9 for most recent academic updates.

Academics

11/09/17

• In READING we're wrapping up our current Fiction Unit and finishing our mentor text Tiger Rising. Ask your student to tell you about what happened in our reading today; so exciting!
• In WRITING we're going to do some pre-asessing for persuasive essays beginning after Thanksgiving, and spend some time with direct instruction on certain skills we're all still struggling with like properly punctuating dialogue and paragraphing.
• In FUNDATIONS all groups took their first assessments. Based on results, your child may be moved to an entirely new group that fits their current level better. On Monday your child will get the homework packet that correlates with the unit they'll be working on, and you can check the Fundations tab on the website then for more information.
• In MATHEMATICS all groups are beginning Unit 3. Unit Letters came home today with specific information about this Unit, ideas for practice at home, and answers to all Home Links.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we pushed out Animals Through Time Unit back to do some fall harvesting. Next week we'll cook beets, squash and kale!
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we'll build our rubber-band racers and use them to explore energy and motion.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES we're going to relate the activities we did at Strawberry Banke back to learning we're doing in the classroom about Colonial New England.

Academics

11/3/17

• In READING we worked this week on building interpretations and looking at themes across the whole book to make meaning of the fiction stories we are reading.
• In WRITING Next week will be a time for assessment in writing. Independent Fiction projects will continue to be celebrated through out the year but our focus will shift to Personal and Persuasive Essays just after Thanksgiving.
• In MATHEMATICS all grades will be participating in the Unit 2 assessment next week.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we're beginning our next unit Animals Through Time on Monday.
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we are starting our Energy Unit, which will last until Christmas Vacation.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES we are going to attempt the Strawbery Banke trip (take 3 !) Next Wednesday Nov. 8th. Contact me ASAP if you would like to join us as a chaperone.

Academics

10/27/17

• In READING we have just wrapped up our focus on literary debates . Next week we will begin building interpretations to make meaning of the fiction stories we are reading.
• In WRITING we will wrap up our fiction writing unit next week. Students are currently working on their 2nd fiction piece of the year. It is an independently designed fiction project, showing all they have learned over the first trimester of writing instruction.
• In FUNDATIONS we're doing good work, but as expected review was needed and all groups will be spending an additional week on their current Unit. A Fundations Page will be added to the website soon, so you can better understand the expectations for practice at home and access the testing schedule for your child's small group.
• In THIRD GRADE MATHEMATICS we'll be finishing Unit 2 and taking the assessment at the end of next week.
• In FOURTH GRADE MATHEMATICS Unit 2 comes to a close with geometry lessons before the unit assessment.
• In FIFTH GRADE MATHEMATICS this week students finished up their work on U.S. Traditional Multiplication - you will be able to see their work on understanding the many facets of multiplying numbers in their Multiplication Museum displayed in the hall next week. Next week we will focus hard on division to close out the unit.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we're taking the Unit Assessment on traits, hereditary and life cycles this coming Wednesday.
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we completed our Geology Unit and took the assessment. We're currently doing a Halloween themed mini-unit on bones.
• In SOCIAL STUDIES you can help your child get the most out of their Strawbery Banke trip by ensuring they are dressed properly for this event.

Academics

10/20/17

• In READING we're continuing or character work by analyzing character traits and using textual evidence to support debatable ideas about literature.
• In WRITING our student authors will continue to celebrate their first completed pieces of realistic fiction. Our final work with narrative writing will be creating a second piece independently, using of the the skills we've acquired over the last six weeks.
• In THIRD GRADE MATHEMATICS our upcoming week is all about division. See the Unit 2 Family Letter for specifics.
• In FOURTH GRADE MATHEMATICS we're continuing to build on multiplication number stories using time and measurement.
• In FIFTH GRADE MATHEMATICS we'll go deeper into multiplication with 2 digit times 2 digit and finish the week with division work.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we'll be continuing our plant unit by solving the mystery: How could you make the biggest fruit in the world?
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we continued our geology unit about rocks. Your child learned about landslides and how a steep slope plus rain can cause broken rocks to tumble and cause real damage. We solved the mystery, “How can you survive a landslide?”
• In SOCIAL STUDIES we're so excited to experience colonial life first hand with our visit to Strawbery Banke this Wednesday! Forecast says rain, so help you student dress appropriately for being outside.

Academics

10/13/17

• In READING this week we shifted from learning how to read intensely to How to Grow Ideas about Characters. This shift is reflective of our movement away from the introductory units of the year and into the creative and exciting work of digging into good pieces of literature. Students are absorbing books, some 3-4 novels a week, and are filling up their post-it notes with noticings about character traits and motivations. Today we were talking about finding patterns in the characters and building theories about those characters.
• In WRITING our focus will be shifting from revising to editing. Students will be challenged to use everything they know about grammar and punctuation to edit their work with great care. As a class we'll be creating an anthology of short stories, then author's hard work will be celebrated in small reading circles. Your child will add one last page to their story titled "Critics Agree," where their peers will write rave reviews!
• In THIRD GRADE MATHEMATICS this week is all about number stories. Many students find these difficult, especially because for the first time third graders are being introduced to multiple step problems. You can help your student succeed by working to memorize facts at home. You child should be able to automatically make groups of ten (7+3, 4+6, etc.) and making progress on memorizing all single digit multiplication facts. Ten minutes a day of fact practice in the car can be the difference between students having fun in math class, or feeling frustrated and left behind by their peers.
• In FOURTH GRADE MATHEMATICS Unit 2 is all about Multiplication and Geometry. Already there is a divide between those students who have their multiplication facts memorized, and those who don't. The expectation is for all students to have multiplication fact fluency by the end of third grade. Now that we are putting these skills into solving real world problems with area and perimeter, those lacking fact fluency are struggling. Help your child find success by using fact triangles for daily multiplication and division practice.
• In FIFTH GRADE MATHEMATICS Unit 2's focus is on Whole Number Place Value and Operations. We began the unit this week with work in reviewing large multi-digit numbers and their place values- noticing the multiplicative relationships between the places in multidigit numbers and how this is the basis of our "Base 10 Number System". We continued this work Thursday and Friday with an introduction to the Powers of 10 and Exponential Notation. This is a new concept and we will continue this work as the year goes on.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we're continuing our Power of Flowers unit by working to put our school garden to bed for the season next week. So far your scientist has developed the idea that by studying how plants reproduce and pass on their traits, we human beings have figured out how to make food plants even more useful to us. Students first discovered how plants reproduce by exploring the process of pollination and fruiting. Then students were introduced to the process of plant domestication (selection of traits based on inheritance and variation) with our apple mystery last week.
• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we continued our geology unit about rocks. Your child learned about weathering, the process when solid rocks break into smaller pieces. This can happen when plant roots grow into cracks or when freezing water expands in small cracks, exerting tremendous force on the rock to break into pieces. Students also investigated how tumbling rocks can wear down and break apart by shaking sugar cubes. We solved the mystery, “Will a mountain last forever?”

You can support this week’s learning by taking a walk with your child around where you live. Together you can point out and discuss examples of weathering like cracks in the sidewalk, potholes in the street or bricks that have started to chip away.

Here’s another idea: to demonstrate how frozen water expands (key to ice wedging), you could try filling a glass bottle or jar completely full of water, closing it really tight and putting it in the freezer overnight. It’s likely that the glass will burst so use a glass container that you don’t care about and put it in a bag so the pieces don’t scatter. Be safe!

• In SOCIAL STUDIES we continued our European Explorers study this week. Students learned where the French, Spanish and English explorers were settling and what natural resources they were looking for. Strawberry Banke field trip forms when home this week. Students will be able to learn about real colonial immigrants in the workshop led by Museum staff. The workshop description is below. For more information visit: Strawberry Banke
  • Becoming Americans: Three Centuries of Immigration

What is it like leave your home and move to a new country? In this workshop, a ‘Passport to the Past’ gives you the character of a real immigrant from history. Working together, research why your character came to America and the obstacles they faced. Then make the journey, exploring and comparing your new homes and new lives in America on an up-close visit to the museum’s buildings.

Academics

10/06/17

• In READING this week students were informed of their current reading level as measured by their most recent i-Ready testing. This test was able to give us a window into growth and change in their reading comprehension . We discussed how there are many different ways we see reading levels of books marked, DRA numbers, Guided Reading letters, Lexile measures are just a few of the many you may come across. At JFES we do use all three listed above, because each gives us a new "lens" with which to see most accurately where your reader is at and what they are ready for in-terms of growth. A Lexile Measure is the numeric representation of an individual's reading ability . This is a scientifically calculated formula which tells a reader which text will be comfortable, which text will encourage positive growth, and which text will, at this time, be too difficult and therefor frustrating. Each student has their lexile measure range written in their agenda today. A book leveling site I highly recommend for finding good fit books is the Scholastic Book Wizard. When ordering books from our monthly Scholastic Book Order the Lexile of all books is listed enabling you to make informed decisions about the books you are choosing for your child.
• In WRITING we are preparing for publication with an audience in mind. This upcoming week will be spent on revision and editing. First, through the revision process we'll use mentor texts and our writing partners to get ideas to improve our draf ts. Later in the week, our focus will shift to editing. We'll stress the importance of rereading our work multiple times each time with a different lens: paragraphing, punctuation, spelling and using our writing partners as a learning tool during this process.
• In MATHEMATICS third and fifth grade have completed Unit 1 assessments, so you can expect the Unit 2 Letter to come home Tuesday. Remember to keep this in a safe place as it has all of the information you need for helping with/checking homework. Also, ideas for "Anytime Activities" in place of fact practice. Fourth grade will be taking the Unit 1 assessment on Tuesday, so we'll most likely begin Unit 2 on Thursday.
• In THIRD GRADE SCIENCE we learned about plant domestication, or how thousands of years ago we chose plants from the wild, such as tiny apples, and by carefully selecting seeds generation after generation, we’ve made them sweeter and bigger. We solved the mystery, "Why are some apples red, and some green?"

You can support this week’s learning by including your child on a trip to the grocery store’s produce section! Ask them to look for different varieties of one type of fruit. Consider asking them to find some new they’d like to try, such as a variety of apple or pear they’ve never tasted.

• In FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE we continued our study of volcanoes. Your child learned about different kinds of volcanoes and how the thickness of the lava can explain the shape and eruption pattern of the volcanoes. Using lava made out of water and flour, they tested how different lavas create different shapes and trap gases differently. We solved the mystery, “Why do some volcanoes explode?”

You can support this week’s learning by watching this high definition video of lava flowing in Hawaii with your child: http://safeYouTube.net/w/iel. See if you can figure out the shape of the volcano that’s producing the lava. (hint: the lava is pretty thin so it doesn’t trap the gas very well.) Good luck!

• In SOCIAL STUDIES our Colonial Life unit began this week with discussions about European Explorers (such as Christopher Columbus) why they left Europe and what they were looking for. Talk to your child this weekend about new knowledge they have gained about Christopher Columbus and other European Explorers. This work set the stage for the work we will be doing to learn about the development of the colonies. See above for information regarding our upcoming UE field trip to Strawberry Banke.