Weekly Update for April 24th-28th

Hi Families,
We had a good first week back from the April break. We dove into some folktales from around the world, related geometry and fractions to telling time, and launched our science unit on organisms and their habitats. On Friday, we welcomed a new student, John, to class! Everyone was very excited.

​Important Upcoming Dates

• Friday, May 5th, 12:10-12:40pm: Country Presentation. Parents, please join us!

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Community Building
Students have had a number of overly silly moments this week, some that build our sense of community, others that have hindered teaching and learning. We had a conversation about how to reign in our silliness when needed (finding ways to get calm), and how to balance having fun with each other with “letting teachers teach and learners learn.”

Literacy 
We learned about the characteristics of folktales and read some from around the world. Highlights:

• Read aloud 4 folktales, “The Little Half-Chick” (Spanish); “The Crowded, Noisy House” (Jewish); “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” (English); “All Stories are Anansi’s” (Ashanti);
• Asked and answered literal, inferential, and evaluative questions about each folktale;
• Learned and practiced new vocabulary words related to each fable, such as “intricate,” “obedient,” “pondered,” and “quarrel;”
• Practiced fluency with a decodable story featuring words with “oi” and “oy” spellings.

Writing
This week we wrote to enhance our comprehension of the folktales we read. Highlights:

• Practiced recognizing sentences versus fragments, turning fragments into complete sentences about “The Little Half-Chick;”
• Used the “Because, But, So” framework to explore reasons, contrast, and cause and effect in “The Crowded, Noisy House;”
• Drafted the beginning of a spinoff story of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” as a class, and then students each continued writing the next part of the story, trying to stay in alignment with the original.

Phonics
We finished Unit 12 of Fundations on words with “oi” and “oy.” Highlights:

• Practiced reading and spelling single-syllable and multisyllabic words with “oi” and “oy;”
• Learned new trick words and compared their sounds to their unexpected spellings: ocean, early, and favorite;
• Played a word game where students wrote silly sentences using a given set of words with “oi” and “oy;”
• Took our Unit 12 Phonics Test.

For at-home Phonics information and practice:

• Next: Fundations Home Support Packet for Unit 13
• Review: Fundations Home Support Packet for Unit 12

Math
We continued our work in Unit 6 on Geometry, Time, and Money. We worked through Section B on Fractions and began Section C on Telling Time. Highlights:

• Partitioned circles and rectangles into halves, thirds, and fourths in different ways.
• Compared the size of pieces in halves, thirds, and fourths of circles.
• Described two halves, three thirds, and four fourths as one whole;
• Labeled shaded parts of a shape using “half of,” “a third of,” and “a quarter of;”
• Explored how an analog clock works and told time using the words half past, quarter past, and quarter till.

For at-home Math information and practice:

• Current: Illustrative Math Family Support Materials for Unit 6
• Review:  Illustrative Math Family Support Materials for Unit 5

Science
We had a pausing point in Social Studies to launch Science, exploring organisms and their habitats. Highlights:

• Sowed seeds for observation;
• Reviewed background knowledge of plants and their needs;
• Learned what a “land lab” is and questioned what it would need to be a good habitat for butterflies;
• Compared some traits of plants and animals.

Don’t forget, our Country Presentation will be Friday, May 5th at 12:10-12:40pm. Parents are encouraged to join us!

Below, students drawing butterfly habitats, turning and talking during Literacy, and sorting cards for a math activity.

​​Thank you for taking the time to read the entire update! Please reach out with any questions, or to connect to discuss your child’s progress. Have a great weekend!