Updates in the classroom:
- Last week we focused on Problem Solving as our life skill for the week. Due to the short weeks we have decided to continue to work on this skill this week. I have been emphasizing problem solving less in the sense of conflict management but more-so to help solve the problem of redundant questions such as “Where do I turn this in?” or “There is a mess on the floor what should I do?”
Thank you to everyone for continuing to return weekly reflections. I told everyone today that I do not mind if these get turned in during the week as I understand Monday’s are hectic and they become easily forgotten from Friday. I have however really been a stickler about homework being turned in on time. I have provided students with a “homework pass” for a time in which they may have forgotten their homework. I am really trying to emphasize good habits and if students do not bring their homework they will either owe me the homework pass or will have to make it up during a recess time. Please feel free to email me if there is ever an issue beyond them “just not feeling like doing it” .
Last week we started A World in Motion with GradSWE.
Here is a little information about it:
A World in Motion with GradSWE
Last Friday, the Graduate Society of Women Engineers (GradSWE) from U of M started A World in Motion (AWIM) program from 1:30-2:30 pm that will continue for the next six weeks.
AWIM is a hands-on educational program developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers designed to:
· teach through direct, hands-on experience with materials and tools
· educate students about the engineering profession and engineering design process
· bring engineering specialists into the classroom to motivate future generations
We'll be doing the Jet Toy activity, which focuses on the concepts of jet propulsion, friction, and air resistance. Students will be working in small teams to design, build, and test balloon-powered toy cars, optimizing for speed, distance, and weight carried.
The GradSWE volunteers come from a broad variety of engineering backgrounds and levels, but all of us are incredibly excited to be working in Ms.Peck’s class these next several weeks!
- We will be taking a field trip on February 11th to the UMMA from 11am – 12 pm. I will be need the help of 6 parents as chaperones. If you would be interested in spending the morning with us touring the UMMA please send me an email.
- International Night is January 30th at Huron High School. Thank you to those of you that brought in posters to inform and decorate the school.
- The students worked really hard in their first math journals and I will be sending them home later this week. Please understand that any pages that are not complete were lessons in which supplemental activities were done in their place.
Writing and Reading:
We are continuing to explore informative non-fiction texts. This week we are focusing on the text structures of informative text and trying to incorporate the structures into our own writing. These text structures include description, cause and effect, compare and contrast, sequence, and problem and solution. We are paying close attention to the “signal words” that help us identify the structure of the text and also looking at how that structure helps us as readers. I will be starting some guided reading groups focusing on non-fiction this week.
We will be skipping this week’s word study sort as we had to take our last week word study test today. We will pick back up next week.
Science: We will begin an experiment in which students will investigate the properties of matter by exploring some “mystery” materials in balloons.
Social studies: We will continue touring the Southeast region. Focusing on summarizing notes from the text and stopping to focus on the area of Jamestown.
Math: We are starting Unit 7, which is on fractions. This week we will be reviewing what we already know about fractions, fractions on a number line, and learning about fractions of a whole.
- Last week we focused on Problem Solving as our life skill for the week. Due to the short weeks we have decided to continue to work on this skill this week. I have been emphasizing problem solving less in the sense of conflict management but more-so to help solve the problem of redundant questions such as “Where do I turn this in?” or “There is a mess on the floor what should I do?”
Thank you to everyone for continuing to return weekly reflections. I told everyone today that I do not mind if these get turned in during the week as I understand Monday’s are hectic and they become easily forgotten from Friday. I have however really been a stickler about homework being turned in on time. I have provided students with a “homework pass” for a time in which they may have forgotten their homework. I am really trying to emphasize good habits and if students do not bring their homework they will either owe me the homework pass or will have to make it up during a recess time. Please feel free to email me if there is ever an issue beyond them “just not feeling like doing it” .
Last week we started A World in Motion with GradSWE.
Here is a little information about it:
A World in Motion with GradSWE
Last Friday, the Graduate Society of Women Engineers (GradSWE) from U of M started A World in Motion (AWIM) program from 1:30-2:30 pm that will continue for the next six weeks.
AWIM is a hands-on educational program developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers designed to:
· teach through direct, hands-on experience with materials and tools
· educate students about the engineering profession and engineering design process
· bring engineering specialists into the classroom to motivate future generations
We'll be doing the Jet Toy activity, which focuses on the concepts of jet propulsion, friction, and air resistance. Students will be working in small teams to design, build, and test balloon-powered toy cars, optimizing for speed, distance, and weight carried.
The GradSWE volunteers come from a broad variety of engineering backgrounds and levels, but all of us are incredibly excited to be working in Ms.Peck’s class these next several weeks!
- We will be taking a field trip on February 11th to the UMMA from 11am – 12 pm. I will be need the help of 6 parents as chaperones. If you would be interested in spending the morning with us touring the UMMA please send me an email.
- International Night is January 30th at Huron High School. Thank you to those of you that brought in posters to inform and decorate the school.
- The students worked really hard in their first math journals and I will be sending them home later this week. Please understand that any pages that are not complete were lessons in which supplemental activities were done in their place.
Writing and Reading:
We are continuing to explore informative non-fiction texts. This week we are focusing on the text structures of informative text and trying to incorporate the structures into our own writing. These text structures include description, cause and effect, compare and contrast, sequence, and problem and solution. We are paying close attention to the “signal words” that help us identify the structure of the text and also looking at how that structure helps us as readers. I will be starting some guided reading groups focusing on non-fiction this week.
We will be skipping this week’s word study sort as we had to take our last week word study test today. We will pick back up next week.
Science: We will begin an experiment in which students will investigate the properties of matter by exploring some “mystery” materials in balloons.
Social studies: We will continue touring the Southeast region. Focusing on summarizing notes from the text and stopping to focus on the area of Jamestown.
Math: We are starting Unit 7, which is on fractions. This week we will be reviewing what we already know about fractions, fractions on a number line, and learning about fractions of a whole.