Week of 9/17/07

The class is adjusting to the challenges of the daily schedule. The transitions between classes are starting to become routine, and students understand the importance of being organized and prepared for the next class.  They are realizing that the planner is an effective tool for organizing their assignments, and they use it as a reminder for long-term projects.

The class had a fantastic opportunity to create beautiful music together. Ms. Koshi invited a percussionist to come to our school and teach us how to build teamwork through music.  We got to combine different rhythms using percussion instruments and blend them into one rousing song. We rock!

In science the students have been working hard researching and collecting interesting information about their planet.  They take notes, which are then rewritten in complete sentences in an outline format that helps them to organize their report. They type their first draft from the outline, then edit it, making any necessary revisions. The students understand that it is important to give their best effort at each step of the process.

In math class we have been reviewing what we have learned by playing a math game called "Show Me What You Know." The students volunteer to come to the front of the class, draw a card with a math concept on it, and explain what they know to the class.  The class cheers them on, and the volunteer gets to call on a friend or the teacher if they get stuck.  This is a fun way to review math and develop public speaking skills.  Everyone has volunteered.  The next math concepts we will be covering are decimals, fractions, and percentages. We will continually reflect back and build on our past knowledge of place values, rounding and estimations, computations, and factors and multiples. The students' confidence in their problem-solving skills increases every day.

Posted on September 19, 2007 3:47 PM | Permalink