Hello all, I hope everyone's break has been relaxing and enjoyable! I thought I would let you know what exciting moments students had the opportunity to do leading up to break. Students had the privilege to spend a few days learning how to code for National Coding Week. Our PYP Coordinator, Mrs. Chelf, spent three days teaching students how to code by first learning important vocabulary words: coding, debugging, algorithm, and function. They also learned the different coding symbols. They spent a day coding using pen and paper and then took their skills and began coding on a computer. They were so into it! Students also learned to type their first essays! They learned how to use the "tab" button to indent, where the comma and period button are located, how a space is needed after punctuation, and how to edit their spelling. We finished Module 2 in math and will be starting Module 3 right after break. Module 3 gets in to multiplication and division again. We will be adding variables (letters) to our multiplication problems. Yes.....this does look like pre-algebra material. WHOA. But how exciting to expose them to concepts they will be using for years to come! Please do not forget that if your child read over break to record it on the paper that came home before break. It does need a parent signature in order to be counted for their Gold For the Gold hours! Have a Happy New Year!
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I certainly do apologize for my lack of communication the past couple of weeks. We have had some busy weeks, and I have had some busy weekends. Just to update you all real quick....
We had a great time working with our buddies a couple weeks ago. We have Kindergarten buddies and the students all do such a wonderful job working with their buddy. They helped their buddies determine what is realistic and fantasy. They helped their buddies write two short stores: one realistic and one fantasy. They are loving being the older buddies this year! We spent lots of time writing, writing, and writing some more. Students have completed their rough drafts about a special moment they have had. Some wrote about the first time they ate sushi, their favorite ride at Disneyland, getting a puppy, and lots of other fun things! We will begin typing those rough drafts up into something they will be proud of. Students will become familiar with typing and learning how to use correct punctuation. We learned how to include dialogue into our writing pieces using commas and quotations. We talked about how "said is dead" and that we can use better words than said when using dialogue. The students got really into that. :) Students also learned how to write compound sentences, too! They have worked very hard on these personal narratives. We have discussed mililiters and liters, grams and kilograms, and time in math the past couple weeks. Students learned that when we hear one gram, they should think the mass of a paper clip, or if they hear one kilogram, they should think the size of a dictionary or large textbook. They have also worked with elapsed time on a number line. This can be a difficult concept for students. We have also been working on two and three-digit addition. Something that can also be quite tricky. They are beginning to get the hang of it. We have continued to read books and watch a couple movies about force and motion. Students became experts that force affects motion. They have learned three examples of forces: push, pull, and gravity. We will continue to dive deeper into force and motion as well as natural hazards (i.e. natural disasters). I have seen such great improvements with students' reading skills. Students will continue to buddy read in class to help improve fluency as well as meet with me in small groups. Students learned how to make words plural by adding either an -e or an -es or even having to "Drop the y, add an i, and finish with an -es" (adding -ies). We also looked at the suffix -ful and learned that adding -ful to the end of word means the word has a lot of something. For example, the word beautiful means lots of beauty. Please return report card envelopes and yellow assessment folders ASAP. Please remember that I keep the contents in the yellow folder and that you just sign the assessments showing me you have looked over them. They will be sent home Tuesday, December 8th. |
Sept. 14th- First Day of Online Learning
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