General News
This week in SEL we used our flex time to talk about different types of communication. We discussed the difference between passive, aggressive, and assertive communication. Assertive is the goal! In small groups we roleplayed different common middle school scenarios one might encounter and ways one might handle that in various different communication styles.
We are collecting food for the Hope Food pantry and have been using our Delta grati-turkey to reflect on the everyday blessings we sometimes forget to count. Our school is also “adopting” three families through an organization called Housing Support Services Alliance. Cameron (Ms. Lorrie’s partner) is very involved with this group: they provide amazing (tailored, timely) support to families facing eviction. Be on the lookout for a sign-up coming soon if you are able/interested to help provide some assistance to families for the holiday season. (100% optional, of course!)
Reading/Writing Update
This week we entered the research part of our scientific storytelling project! After selecting their scientist we got busy finding our information about their lives and accomplishments. We reviewed how to tell if something is a good source (.edu, .org, .gov, etc.) and practiced writing down our sources as we go. All of these research skills are already majorly improved from last quarter and it is so wonderful to see so much growth happen so quickly! On Thursday we filled out a story mapping guide by thinking about what genre we are writing in: realistic fiction, historical fiction, or science-inspired fiction. We also mapped out the setting, main characters, other characters, problem/conflict, and connection to real science. Finally we sketched the beginning, middle, and end before starting to write! Next week we’ll be deep into creative writing mode and look forward to it!
Math Update
Ms. Lorrie is having a blast teaching 6th grade math again, but let’s just say the Whippermathers website is not getting nearly as much love this year due to the demands of pivoting with curriculum/P&P. To help support with video refreshers, we’ll start sending a weekly email with a tiny video refresher (Weekly Math Update – with topic included) to students (and we’ll CC you!) That way, if your kid is out/confused THEY have an easy-access (timely!) place to look for a refresher/support. This is all a work in progress so please reach out if you have suggestions and/or ideas for ways to make math support as seamless as possible.
Year 1 kiddos became experts as dividing with fractions. It was so cool to see how quickly they “took” to this new skill. We started with models (as we do) and then moved onward to the standard algorithm (Copy! Change! Flip!) We crafted visuals with story problems involving dividing whole numbers by fractions! (It gets BIGGER…what?!?!) And then, did the same with dividing unit fractions by whole numbers (It gets SMALLER!) We practiced SIMPLIFYING before solving in (some nice pre-Algebra skills) using a strange name a kid invented a million years ago: The Hash Slinging Slasher! (Your Delta will know about all this!) Year 2 kids absolutely sparkled with their practice with solving for unknowns in proportion story problems. It was absolutely lovely to watch their understanding (and skill grow!) Great week in math class!
Theme Update
It was all about internalizing last week’s learning about the different eras of earth’s history this week in theme. We divided into teams and began working on floor to ceiling infographics detailing the major biological and geological events taking place during each period of history. Each student was assigned to one of four eras and the group worked together to create a display. We can’t wait to show you the finished products at POP! Mr. Steve took the class outside for a short lab to explore how the angles of the shadows of the run relate to our earth’s position. We finished the week with a fun, cumulative game of Jeopardy. The kids showed they really know their stuff! Next week, we’ll move into exploring the fossil record. (We plan to make our own fossils of a historically significant item in their OWN history so maybe start percolating on what might make a great fossil! We’ll do this lab after Thanksgiving break!)
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