Good Morning,
It is hard to believe that February is already over (as far as school goes). It is amazing how time definitely seems to fly. This morning we watched the 5th and 6th graders present their learning about African masks and dance. The students seemed very impressed with the big, bold, and beautiful masks.
The two snow days and the compass cup activities presented a huge "bump" in my plans for social studies and science this week. I have decided that I will use this afternoon to learn about Rosa Parks and how she made a difference. This will be in place of the Daily 5 and Weekly News routines that we usually do.
IMPORTANT: I have a conflict with the parent conferences that are scheduled for March 17th and March 18th. I will be out of town with my brother. When I originally scheduled for this time, I didn't see the conference dates on my schedule. So, after break I will be sending out a Google Document that will allow you to sign up for times the following week (3/21/16). I will make anything work for you, so if you don;t see a time that would work, just let me know.
I hope you have a wonderful break, and for those who need the rest and time to get healthy, have the chance to do just that. I am looking forward to spending some time with my family. We are headed to Montreal for half of the break and am hoping for some snow and winter weather.
Peace,
Tommy
February 19, 2016
February 8, 2016
February 8, 2016
Good Afternoon,
The kids have very busy two weeks in front of them and with many illnesses abound, it will certainly be a dogged race to the end (before break). Today we talked about the illustrations that were created in Martin's Big Words. In this case, the illustrator used stained glass windows as a metaphor for Martin's ideas. We discussed this metaphor and what the purpose might be. The kids are in the process of creating their own windows and will write about the meaning of theirs and the use of the colors they chose.
Valentine's will be celebrated on Friday afternoon from 1:45-2:15. We will not be writing in our Weekly News journals that day. If you would like to send in a treat for the celebration, please do so.
Next week, I will be testing kids reading, writing, and spelling skills. I will use this information as I work on report cards over the break.
Notes:
*It looks like a go for skiing and snowboarding this week. Please make sure to have your child bring their gear.
*I will not be posting a blog post on Friday. As I reminder, I will be out Wednesday-Friday this week.
*Valentine Class List: Jaedyn, Zach, Parker, Hannah, Alex, Noa, Adde, Waylon, Wyatt, Chip, Blaise, Mariah, Logan, Navin, Anelise, Byrnley, and Isaac,
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
The kids have very busy two weeks in front of them and with many illnesses abound, it will certainly be a dogged race to the end (before break). Today we talked about the illustrations that were created in Martin's Big Words. In this case, the illustrator used stained glass windows as a metaphor for Martin's ideas. We discussed this metaphor and what the purpose might be. The kids are in the process of creating their own windows and will write about the meaning of theirs and the use of the colors they chose.
Valentine's will be celebrated on Friday afternoon from 1:45-2:15. We will not be writing in our Weekly News journals that day. If you would like to send in a treat for the celebration, please do so.
Next week, I will be testing kids reading, writing, and spelling skills. I will use this information as I work on report cards over the break.
Notes:
*It looks like a go for skiing and snowboarding this week. Please make sure to have your child bring their gear.
*I will not be posting a blog post on Friday. As I reminder, I will be out Wednesday-Friday this week.
*Valentine Class List: Jaedyn, Zach, Parker, Hannah, Alex, Noa, Adde, Waylon, Wyatt, Chip, Blaise, Mariah, Logan, Navin, Anelise, Byrnley, and Isaac,
I hope you all have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
February 5, 2016
February 5, 2016
Good Morning,
On Wednesday, we read the book The Wonderful Towers of Watts by Patricia Zelver. A description of this true story can be found at http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-688-12649-0. The class then watched a quick documentary about the towers and Simon Rodia, the creator of the towers. We then talked about how scientist will report out on their learning by writing for different types of publications. We looked at an example of a newspaper article about a Lego maker and explored different components of the article. The students then filled in an outline for their own article about the Watts' Towers. Next week, they will write their own articles using their outline.
We also continued looking at the words of Martin Luther King. The students have been drawing pictures of what they think Love and Peace look like to them or to Dr. King. Next week they will be finishing up with Dr. King and then learning about Rosa Parks.
Notes:
*Thank you for the paper towel rolls. We should be set with what we have.
*Your child has weekend reading. They have a Time for kids sheet in their homework bag.
*Their Weekly News Journal is also in their bag. Please take a moment to respond.
*A reminder that I am at my state meeting on Wednesday and in Washington DC on Thursday and Friday.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
On Wednesday, we read the book The Wonderful Towers of Watts by Patricia Zelver. A description of this true story can be found at http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-688-12649-0. The class then watched a quick documentary about the towers and Simon Rodia, the creator of the towers. We then talked about how scientist will report out on their learning by writing for different types of publications. We looked at an example of a newspaper article about a Lego maker and explored different components of the article. The students then filled in an outline for their own article about the Watts' Towers. Next week, they will write their own articles using their outline.
We also continued looking at the words of Martin Luther King. The students have been drawing pictures of what they think Love and Peace look like to them or to Dr. King. Next week they will be finishing up with Dr. King and then learning about Rosa Parks.
Notes:
*Thank you for the paper towel rolls. We should be set with what we have.
*Your child has weekend reading. They have a Time for kids sheet in their homework bag.
*Their Weekly News Journal is also in their bag. Please take a moment to respond.
*A reminder that I am at my state meeting on Wednesday and in Washington DC on Thursday and Friday.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
February 1, 2016
February 1, 2016
Good Afternoon,
Today we continued our study of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We reread the book, Martin's Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport. We talked about the quotes that the author used, from Dr. King's speech, and why the use of quotes was used in the story. Tomorrow we will listen for other quotes in the story and then look at some of the vocabulary from the story.
Wednesday's weather does not look good for our winter program. If it is cancelled, I will use the time to kickoff our next science unit. This unit will have an engineering focus and I think the kids will really get into it.
Notes:
* A class list of names was sent home last week. Please use that list for Valentines, if your child is bringing them in. If you would like to make a treat for the event, please let me know.
*Please make sure your child is reading each night. As a reminder, it should be between 15-20 minutes for 1st graders and 25-30 for 2nd graders.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
Today we continued our study of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We reread the book, Martin's Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport. We talked about the quotes that the author used, from Dr. King's speech, and why the use of quotes was used in the story. Tomorrow we will listen for other quotes in the story and then look at some of the vocabulary from the story.
Wednesday's weather does not look good for our winter program. If it is cancelled, I will use the time to kickoff our next science unit. This unit will have an engineering focus and I think the kids will really get into it.
Notes:
* A class list of names was sent home last week. Please use that list for Valentines, if your child is bringing them in. If you would like to make a treat for the event, please let me know.
*Please make sure your child is reading each night. As a reminder, it should be between 15-20 minutes for 1st graders and 25-30 for 2nd graders.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace,
Tommy
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