Room 7
December 21, 2007
Friday’s Message:
Sweet Lessons
Your child brought home his/her gingerbread house. My original plan was that it would take a couple of days; we spent 6 days. The first was making the icing and building the walls, then the roof. We played “What’s my rule?” when we sorted the candies; then we did a blending lesson as we spelled out the name of each.
We spent two days decorating the house and doing the landscaping. When decorating, they got to choose 25 candies at a time. Then they recorded with tally marks the number of each candy. Next they wrote a number sentence for that set of candies. Yesterday they wrote a story about their gingerbread house adventure. Ask your child
how they made their house or tell you the about the story s/he wrote.
Hanukkah
Jordan K’s mom, Tiffany, shared some of the Hanukkah traditions with us. She
read a story and explained how the holiday began its celebration over 2000 years ago.
She told us Hanukkah is a fun winter celebration; it is the celebration of lights.
We learned about the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days, instead of one. Then Tiffany showed as a menorah, and the 8 candles that represent each day the oil burned.
She told us how they light one candle for each night of Hanukkah, and that on the eighth night how bright the light shines! Then she lit the candles.
She showed the students a special dreidel that Jordan has, and our class read the symbols. She told us these Hebrew words actually mean “ a great miracle happened here.” Then she told us a special Hanukkah food is latkes. These potato pancakes are cooked in oil. It’s the oil that makes it an important holiday tradition. Then Jordan passed out a latke to everyone.
Time Capsule Container
When your child returns to school next year, have him/her bring in a clean plastic container (one pound size) with a lid. Please have your child label his/her container. We will be putting writings in it to save and to be opened in a couple of years.....
Winter Recess
Have a great winter break! There is no formal homework except to read and record in your child’s Reading Log.
See you next year!
Room
December 14, 2007
Friday’s Message:
Singing Lessons
David’s mom, Nancy, had the class singing songs related to themes we’ve been doing in class. Each student got to beat on a drum as they sang about the root vegetable they sliced, diced, and chopped a lot to put in our big soup pot.
We’re making rain books now, so she showed them a rain stick. Then they waved scarves to music to show the wind blowing. As the storm grew, they beat rhythm sticks together for thunder. When the storm subsided, they sang a song about how very very special they are. I hope they shared it with you.
Dutch Celebration
Aria’s mom and grandmother, Caroline and Oma (grandma in Dutch), came in and told us about Sinterklaas Day. This holiday is celebrated in Holland on December 5th.
It started long ago when a bishop from Spain traveled by boat to Holland. He would ride his horse through towns and children would sit on his lap. He would look up their names in a book and find out who had been good or bad that year. (Sound familiar?)
Kids would leave their shoes by the fireplace, and the next morning they would find little “goodies” in their shoes. In the evening, when families are celebrating together, there would be a knock on the door.....open it, and there would be gifts! Sometimes there would be “josh” gifts. Ask your child about it. There was a knock on our door, and they got such a gift. After opening the josh gift, they had a speculaas, a dutch cookie. The cookie was shaped like a windmill. We learned that windmills were an important part of Holland’s culture. They were used to grind flour and pump water into canals.
The Teamwork of Building Houses
This week we only were able to make the icing and assemble the gingerbread house. For the icing they read the recipe, measured the ingredients, and mixed the ingredients together. They separated egg whites from egg yolks. They measured and leveled the ingredients with partners. Then they took turns holding the bowl and using the electric beaters. Today they worked with a partner building the walls and roof ot their house.
We have been doing math activities with the candies they brought to share.
Next week they will record with tally marks the number of candies they put on their house.
More Buddy Work
Today they worked with their fourth/fifth grade buddies making tissue paper
decorations. We try to get together with them once a month. Have they told you about the older friend?
Time Capsule
When students return in January, they will be writing for a time capsule. Save a plastic jar or container with a wide mouth opening (at least a two pound size jar, like a peanut butter size jar or large yogurt size container). Your child can bring it to school when s/he returns in January 2008! Please have your child label their container.
This will be the last homework assignment for this year!
READING
Read and record in your Reading Log.
WRITING
The year 2007 is almost over. Have your child write one special thing that happened. Be sure to include why it is special. Write several sentences.
We’ve been working on using descriptive words and extending sentences/stories. Please encourage your child to do so.
MATH
Your child is bringing home his/her dreidel and the directions for the game. (We used beans instead of pennies.) When your child made the dreidel, they were using math concepts. Playing the game, they used more math.
Have your child play the dreidel game with you and/or the family at home. When your child plays, have him/her write at least a dozen number sentences (or more) to show what happens to his/her pile of beans/ or whatever counters you decide to use..
For example, in class each student started with ten beans. The dreidel is spun and lands on “shin;” the student writes 10 - 1 = 9. When it is time for another round / spin, everyone puts another bean in, including your child, so s/he would write 9 - 1- = 8. Spin the dreidel again, if it lands on gimel, your child takes all; write 8 + ___ (whatever is in the middle of the “pot”) = ____ (total amount). Continue to play and write number sentences.
The purpose of this week’s math assignment is to practice writing addition and subtraction number sentences, understanding when to add/plus or subtract/minus.
As student’s spun their dreidel, they read/told the name of the Hebrew symbol and did the action. Play the game with your child at home. This is the chart we used in the class.
HOW MUCH MORE?
We’ve been comparing numbers. Students have been building two digit numbers with manipulatives. They tell which number is larger / smaller. Then they tell how much more the larger number is than the smaller number.
Have your child practice this concept at home. Have two “piles” of things your child can compare (i. e. a handful of quarters to a handful of dimes, a pile of legos to a group of toy animals, apples to oranges, any two sets of objects) Have your child tell which pile has the bigger number. Then tell how much more it has. Have her/him “prove,” explain how s/he got his answer.
For the homework, have your child do at least 6 comparisons. Have your child write the two objects they are comparing, then the number each has. Then tell how much more they have of one object than the other.
Room 7
December 7, 2007
Friday’s Message:
Report Cards
Your child brought home their report card today. If you have questions / concerns, about your child’s report card, please send a note with your child and we can schedule a conference.
Conferences
I have just about completed conferencing with everyone. If at any time you would like another conference, feel free to contact me. You can send a note with your child and / or call the school office (879-1420) and leave a message. I will get back to you.
Root Vegetable Soup
Hopefully your child told you about the root vegetable soup we made. We had a variety of vegetables. Students did all the cutting with “real” knives. When we ate the soup, students noted the difference between raw and cooked vegetables.
We also did math with the vegetables. After everyone shared their vegetables,
I put them on one tray and everyone got to feel how heavy they were. Then they estimated how many pounds it was. We weighed them, then found out who had the closest estimate.
Another activity we did was to figure out how many trays I needed to serve the soup. There were 21 bowls of soup on the table. Six bowls fit on one tray. Only a couple of students know the answer, but we shared strategies on how to get the answer.
We wrote about the experience and learned a poem to go with the soup. (It’s an adaptation to Dennis Lee’s “Alligator Pie ) The words are:
Root vegetable soup, root vegetable soup
If I don’t get some, I think I’m gonna droop.
Give away my hockey stick, give away my hoop,
But don’t give away my root vegetable soup!
“Gingerbread” Houses
We will be making gingerbread (graham cracker) houses. They will work with a partner to build their house. A variety of math and language arts activities will be integrated into this project. Students will make the icing by following the recipe. They’ll sort, count by 10’s, graph, make comparisons, and do various number sentences with the candies. Then they’ll write about their houses and tell how they made them.
I will get the graham crackers and the ingredients for the icing, but would appreciate parent donations for the candies/ treats we’ll be using to decorate the houses. We need things like m&m’s, gum/spice drops, mini candy canes, holiday candy mixes, colorful breakfast cereal, and other treats you think the kids will have fun putting on their houses. Please send the candies early next week so we can start the oral language and math activities before using them. Thank you!
Winter Celebrations
If you have a special tradition or activity that you do this time of the year, it would be wonderful if you could share it with the class! If you would like to teach us a game, cook, show “artifacts,” do a project, show/teach us a dance or song, read a book, or do any other activity with the class we would truly welcome it! Please send a note with your child or come in so we can schedule you in!
READING
Read and record in your Reading Log.
WRITING
Have your child think of family and friends that they know outside of Oakland. Name
a few in California, then expand to other states and countries.
Take a map out and show your child where these places are in relationship to Oakland. Then have your child write the name of the city and the country. Remember to capitalize the name of the city/country and the person that lives there.
Write/name a dozen places/people outside of Oakland, California.
MATH
We have been working on related addition and subtraction facts. Students have been using manipulatives (unifix cubes, dominoes, number sets, beans) to show
combinations that use the same set of numbers. After proving each statement, students write the number sentence. They show/ prove two addition sentences, then two subtraction sentences. This is called a number fact family. Have your child prove, then write six number fact families. Below is an example of one.
5 + 3 = 8
3 + 5 = 8
8 - 3 = 5
8 - 5 =
SING A SONG
What is your favorite holiday song? Sing it at home. Choose a favorite stanza. Write the words (your favorite part of the song). Draw a picture of it.
Students will tell the name of the song and share their favorite phrase/picture.
If your child would like to sing the song, (part or all) we’d love to hear it.
Room 7
November 30, 2007
Friday’s Message:
Off to the Circus
Before starting off to see Circus Oz we learned a little geography. We identified the seven continents and found the island continent of Australia. I told them Australians sometimes refer to themselves as “Aussies” and to Australia as “Oz.” This is the only prep I could give the class (it’s my first time going to see this) besides theater etiquette. I told them it would be a fun, exciting day! I hope they are excited to tell you all about it! (You’ll find out about at least one of the acts because they have to write about it for homework. )
Thank you Alex A.’s, Grant’s, Jacky’s, Lucas’, Mari’s, and Sam’s parents,
Glenn, Peggy, Blanca, Yas, Lucy, and Dolly for driving and chaperoning us to the performance and park. We hope you enjoyed the day as much as us. Thank you.
Root Vegetable
We have been learning about plant parts we eat. Next Wednesday, we will be making root vegetable soup. Please bring one whole washed “root” / tuber vegetable to school on Monday. so we can do a variety of science, math , and language art activities prior to cutting the vegetables and making the soup.
You may want to take your child to the produce / grocery store this weekend so s/he can select his/her root vegetable. We’re hoping for a variety of root vegetables for our tasty soup!
Conferences
The following conferences are scheduled for next week.
Reese Monday Dec. 3 at 3:00
Aria Tuesday Dec. 4 at 3:00
Keziah Thursday Dec. 6 at 3:00
READING
Read and record in your Reading Log.
WRITING
Many special occasions are celebrated in December. Write about a holiday you celebrate with your family. Name the holiday and tell what special activities you do. Write complete sentences.
MATH
We’ve been counting by 5’s and adding on 1’s to get to specific number. We used the five and one pound weights your child brought to school to show the weight of each student. (Check out our hall bulletin board. Your child can tell you what we did.) Students also drew themselves and used tally marks to represent their weight.
This week’s homework is to choose a dozen numbers from 20 to 100. (Your child can cut out those numbers from food ads or other advertisements and/or just randomly choose a variety of odd/even numbers.) For each number have your child make the
tally marks that represent it.
Your child is welcome to do more than the twelve numbers and/ or a couple higher numbers if s/he wants.
CIRCUS ACT
Write about one of the circus acts. Describe it. Tell what was so amazing and/or what you liked about it. What did the people do? How many people did the “trick”? What happened to the music, sound or lighting during the act?
Draw a picture of the act you wrote about.
Room 7
November 9, 2007
Friday’s Message:
Bone Talk
Reese’s mom, Ann, brought in some real bones for us to look at and touch. We learned that bones give us structure and protect our vital organs. (Ask your child what the skull and/or ribs protect.) She told us about muscles and ligaments, and how muscles move bones. Then she showed us several joints, and we could see how the bones moved.
We also learned what bones are made of and how to take care of them. She asked students if they know what foods are good sources of calcium, vitamin D and K. They discussed it. She also told them which foods “suck out” these vitamins and minerals.
Ask your child what s/he needs to eat and do to build strong bones.
Thank you Ann for reinforcing what we need to do to take care of our bodies!
Welcome Grant
We have a new student, Grant. His parents are Peggy and Zack. Please welcome them to our Joaquin Miller family. Now we have an equal number of boys and girls and everyone can have a partner (when we are all here)! YES! The perfect mixture to our fantastic class.
Field Trip to Circus Oz
We will be going Cal Performances’ SchoolTime performance of Circus Oz on November 30. We will need parent drivers. The permission slip will be sent home at the beginning of next week.
Conferences
I have scheduled the following conferences for next week. Please send a note or call the school if you cannot make it. Thank you
Olivia Tuesday Nov. 13 at 7:45 a.m.
Lucas Tuesday Nov. 13 at 3:30p.m.
Leah Thursday Nov. 15 at 4:30p.m.
There are no conferences on Friday, Nov. 16 because it’s the start
of Thanksgiving vacation!
READING
Read and record in your Reading Log.
WRITING
This is a time when we often think about being thankful ( We have been discussing how they should be thankful every day.) Write five things you are thankful for. Extend your writing by explaining why.
MATH
This week’s math homework is to:
*Make graphs of the number of fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits/vegetables you have at home. Make a graph for the vegetables, and another for the fruit. Then use the information/data and write six observations.
.
For example:
I have ______more (vegetable) than (vegetable).
We have fresh, frozen, and canned corn.
We have more fresh vegetables than fresh fruit
If your child has difficulty figuring out “how much more,” with the graph, have him/her manipulate the vegetables by pairing the two kinds, and whatever is leftover, is the “more.” (We did this with their candy bones and pumpkin measurements.)
*After making the graph and comparisons , have your child list the kinds of vegetables your family has in the different categories. We will be making more comparisons in class with this information/data. Try to include varieties of some of the different fruits/vegetables.
CONTRACTIONS
We have been working on contractions for two weeks. Attached is a set of flash cards your child can make. Have your child cut it out. The cards are color coded to make the game easier. *Read the words
* Use the contraction/words in a sentence
* Match the contraction to it’s corresponding meaning
*Play memory / concentration
(line up “cards”, blank side up, turn over one blue and one pink to find matching set. If not a match, turn them to blank side and try again)
Now go on a contraction hunt. Find at least six contractions in books that you are reading. Write the contraction and the two words it means.
PLANTS WE EAT
Take your child to the grocery store/produce market (or look in your refridgerator). Have him/her find five vegetables that are: stems, leaves, flowers, roots/tubers, and seeds. Find 5 of each plant part. Sort the vegetables into plant parts they eat. Write the name and draw a picture or cut a picture of the vegetable. Happy healthy eating!