Dear families,
This week in Centering and Extensions, we’ve continued our conversations about responsibility, especially in our Conflict Resolution and Financial Management extensions. In Conflict Resolution, we discussed what acting responsibly would look like on our field trip to Lover’s Leap next week. Some of the ideas we came up with were being aware of your surroundings, keeping track of all of your gear, and staying in control of your body at all times. I also asked students to come up with a list of “buddies” whom they thought they could act responsibly with during the field trip, and I’ll use their lists to place each student with a buddy next week. In Financial Management, our class completed their chore proposals and they are ready to share them with you! Students know that these are “proposals,” and that proposals are subject to negotiation. This activity is intended as a one-week experiment, but feel free to continue the experiment if it works for your family. In Science, Ms. Chris has introduced our class to the periodic table of elements. This month in science will include deeper learning about atoms and elements as well as classroom experiments with cooking!
In Math, we’ve introduced the 6’s multiplication tables. Students are making their own flashcard set for 6’s, 7’s, 8’s, and 9’s, and they’ll be bringing them home next week. I’m going to ask that students use these flashcards much like they use their spelling words—as a tool to practice with each week until they feel like they’ve mastered them. The Blue Group is wrapping up their study of volume/capacity (both metric and English). They are able to convert between units fluently with only occasional reminders. Next week, the Blue Group will start our study of interpreting graphs.
In ELA, students have finally published their Information Books! We had a multi-day publishing party, and almost every student has had the chance to read their book to the class, fielding eager questions from the audience after they'd finished. I am so impressed with the work that each writer put into their book, and the dedication that came along with seeing this long, multi-stage process to completion. Book topics ranged from an introduction to parkour to a field guide to medicinal plants to a complete guide to NERF gun games. Next up for our Writers’ Workshop: fiction!
March gave us a firm reminder this week that we’re not through with winter yet. Don’t forget to send your child to school with warm, waterproof gear every day!
Our dodge ball tournament with the 5th-8th graders continues next week!