Hello everyone!
Science:
We loved our exploration of space this week! We learned all kinds of cool things about the sun… that it is a star, that it is so huge that hundreds of earths could fit inside it, and that the earth orbits (one of our new vocabulary words) the sun. Some of the kids got a little mixed up on this point, so we talked about it again the next day just to make sure everyone understood – the sun is stationary, and the earth and all the other planets orbit around it. We will act this out next week as we start to learn about the other planets as well. We also discussed sunspots (giant “storms” on the sun) and solar flares (energy released from the sun in an eruption), and acted out solar flares “shooting” out of the sun and into space.
One of the NASA photos of the day this week showcased the constellation Orion, which linked nicely into our study of the sun and stars! We watched a Brainpop video to learn more about Orion, Orion’s Belt, and the science and mythology behind constellations in general. We also learned that the stars that are visible to us aren't visible in Australia, and that the visibility of stars changes by seasons. Cool!
Literacy:
During library time with Ms. Zupancic we read and then compared/contrasted fiction and non-fiction books about outer space! We also have started to discuss the difference between facts and opinions. We learned that “facts” were true/false things, that we could go somewhere and check. For example, “the sky is blue” is a fact that we could go outside and check to verify. “George Washington was our first president” is also a fact that we could check by doing research or asking a history teacher. Opinions have to do with how people feel or what they think about something… for example, “I think George Washington was the best president!’ is an opinion, because another person might think Abraham Lincoln was the best president, and still somebody else might think President Obama was the best. Ana announced that Calvin Coolidge was her favorite president… which got her the “history trivia” merit badge for the day! ;) We will continue discussing and identifying fact vs opinion in the weeks to come.
We are continuing to work hard on stories about our lives in Writer’s Workshop… lately our lessons have focused on how stories incorporate what people said and how people felt, and is told with a “storyteller voice” rather than simply stating isolated facts. It also needs to have a beginning, middle, and end. We will wrap up this unit next week, so stay posted for finished books coming home soon if they haven’t already!
Math:
Wow, this week we have been busy little bees in Math! We continued to focus on Odd and Even, looking at number patterns and playing games that required the children to find odd and even numbers. We learnt a fantastic rhyme to help us remember what odd and even numbers end in. We even tweaked the rhyme ourselves in order to make it more memorable. The rhyme goes “0,2,4,6,8 who do we appreciate? Even Steven! 1,3,5,7,9, Odd Todd is in a line!” Feel free to practice it at home, maybe you can look for odd and even numbers on your street.
Perhaps the most exciting activity this week though was making a human clock! We went down to the atrium and used the large circle on the ground as a clock face. The children helped put the digits around the circle to make the clock first and then Mrs K became the long hand, lying down in the circle and pointing to 12. The children then took turns to help make a time by becoming the short hand and choosing an hour to point to. We focused on o’clock and the position of the long minute hand and short hour hand. We got lots of comments from other passing teachers who thought it looked super fun. They were of course right, it was!! We also listened to a fun song called Hip Hop around the clock, which we will be learning over the next few weeks. The photos of our human clock can be found on our shutterfly website. Enjoy!
Our Math Stations over the last week include:
In Other News:
We continued our study of basic coding this week, with a visit to the computer lab. Students programmed mini-robots called Bee-Bots to go through obstacle courses, and then got to use a coding app called “Daisy the Dinosaur” on the iPads. We will be incorporating Daisy into workstations in our room for further practice in the weeks to come, just as we have done with our coding board game Robot Turtles.
Big thanks to our Mystery Reader, Max’s mom Sheri! Happy birthday to Lily M, who turned 6 this week! We had a great time celebrating with Lily’s mom and dad, Ali and Barry, and little brother Drew too!
Please check your child’s backpack for 1) overdue notices from the library (if applicable…) and 2) a letter from Ms. Mandelbaum, explaining some at-home steps and conversations to have regarding our recent series of lessons on stranger danger and personal space / privacy.
Have a great weekend!
Science:
We loved our exploration of space this week! We learned all kinds of cool things about the sun… that it is a star, that it is so huge that hundreds of earths could fit inside it, and that the earth orbits (one of our new vocabulary words) the sun. Some of the kids got a little mixed up on this point, so we talked about it again the next day just to make sure everyone understood – the sun is stationary, and the earth and all the other planets orbit around it. We will act this out next week as we start to learn about the other planets as well. We also discussed sunspots (giant “storms” on the sun) and solar flares (energy released from the sun in an eruption), and acted out solar flares “shooting” out of the sun and into space.
One of the NASA photos of the day this week showcased the constellation Orion, which linked nicely into our study of the sun and stars! We watched a Brainpop video to learn more about Orion, Orion’s Belt, and the science and mythology behind constellations in general. We also learned that the stars that are visible to us aren't visible in Australia, and that the visibility of stars changes by seasons. Cool!
Literacy:
During library time with Ms. Zupancic we read and then compared/contrasted fiction and non-fiction books about outer space! We also have started to discuss the difference between facts and opinions. We learned that “facts” were true/false things, that we could go somewhere and check. For example, “the sky is blue” is a fact that we could go outside and check to verify. “George Washington was our first president” is also a fact that we could check by doing research or asking a history teacher. Opinions have to do with how people feel or what they think about something… for example, “I think George Washington was the best president!’ is an opinion, because another person might think Abraham Lincoln was the best president, and still somebody else might think President Obama was the best. Ana announced that Calvin Coolidge was her favorite president… which got her the “history trivia” merit badge for the day! ;) We will continue discussing and identifying fact vs opinion in the weeks to come.
We are continuing to work hard on stories about our lives in Writer’s Workshop… lately our lessons have focused on how stories incorporate what people said and how people felt, and is told with a “storyteller voice” rather than simply stating isolated facts. It also needs to have a beginning, middle, and end. We will wrap up this unit next week, so stay posted for finished books coming home soon if they haven’t already!
Math:
Wow, this week we have been busy little bees in Math! We continued to focus on Odd and Even, looking at number patterns and playing games that required the children to find odd and even numbers. We learnt a fantastic rhyme to help us remember what odd and even numbers end in. We even tweaked the rhyme ourselves in order to make it more memorable. The rhyme goes “0,2,4,6,8 who do we appreciate? Even Steven! 1,3,5,7,9, Odd Todd is in a line!” Feel free to practice it at home, maybe you can look for odd and even numbers on your street.
Perhaps the most exciting activity this week though was making a human clock! We went down to the atrium and used the large circle on the ground as a clock face. The children helped put the digits around the circle to make the clock first and then Mrs K became the long hand, lying down in the circle and pointing to 12. The children then took turns to help make a time by becoming the short hand and choosing an hour to point to. We focused on o’clock and the position of the long minute hand and short hour hand. We got lots of comments from other passing teachers who thought it looked super fun. They were of course right, it was!! We also listened to a fun song called Hip Hop around the clock, which we will be learning over the next few weeks. The photos of our human clock can be found on our shutterfly website. Enjoy!
Our Math Stations over the last week include:
- Making our own clocks out of paper plates with Mrs K
- Space Rocket game - we continued to play the game where you spin the rocket spinner and see who can make their rocket go the highest
- Base Ten Write the room - where the children found cards across the room with pictures of ten rods and one cubes, counting them and writing down their findings
- 3D Shape stack, slide and roll- where the children investigated which 3D shapes they could stack, slide and roll
- Solid shape race - where each child rolls a die, moving forward after naming the 3D shape they land on
- Odd and Even sort- where the children sorted cards with digits on them into odd and even
- Hula clocks- where the children used clocks made from hula hoops and a long/short paper hands to show the time.
- Computers- this week we continued to use the fantastic website www.abcya.com to consolidate our learning in addition. The children played the penguin addition game, where you are given an addition sum and then find the answer using pictures manipulatives
In Other News:
We continued our study of basic coding this week, with a visit to the computer lab. Students programmed mini-robots called Bee-Bots to go through obstacle courses, and then got to use a coding app called “Daisy the Dinosaur” on the iPads. We will be incorporating Daisy into workstations in our room for further practice in the weeks to come, just as we have done with our coding board game Robot Turtles.
Big thanks to our Mystery Reader, Max’s mom Sheri! Happy birthday to Lily M, who turned 6 this week! We had a great time celebrating with Lily’s mom and dad, Ali and Barry, and little brother Drew too!
Please check your child’s backpack for 1) overdue notices from the library (if applicable…) and 2) a letter from Ms. Mandelbaum, explaining some at-home steps and conversations to have regarding our recent series of lessons on stranger danger and personal space / privacy.
Have a great weekend!