I had an enjoyable day up at the Carroll School yesterday where I visited to meet with them about the implementation of our math curriculum. Things are going well in our math world and as you know we recently completed our second math assessment. The students have settled into the routine of our math packets, they've become accustomed to collaborating with their thinking and we continue to work to stretch our ideas in different ways as flexibility in mathematics is so important.
We have moved into using numbers in our What's' My Rule cognitive activity. This is a great way for me to incorporate mathematical language and concepts into a cognitive activity. In these pictures the students had to figure out what the rule was for each individual circle as well as the shared space in the center. The rules of both circles must apply in that space.
It's a lot of fun to see their thinking unfold as they try out different possibilities and conversations erupt about what makes sense and why. Students are probed to explain why they chose to put a certain number in a certain place. They're catching on beautifully!
In Social Studies we have begun a project about colonial life. Students are planning out a lesson about an aspect of colonial life that they will teach to the class. We began at Plimoth Plantation where we collected information about our topic and asked questions of the Natives and Colonists we visited there. Our next step was to research our topic further and the students are working with collecting main ideas and details. They will teach three main ideas with two details to the class. As the teacher, they will create the two-column notes for their classmates and will create a visual and hands on piece to go along with their lesson. We are talking about what makes a captivating lesson and what do they want their "students" to walk away understanding. This project involves a lot of prioritizing, extracting salient information, and synthesizing of pieces - all higher level Executive Functioning skills. I am breaking down the how's and why's of these pieces so students are successful with them. Lastly, the research involved in this project is a wonderful introduction to the large-scope research paper the students will be writing in our next unit, the American Revolution.
As we lead up to Thanksgiving, we'll be looking at the real story of Thanksgiving from both the Wampanoag and Plymouth colonists' perspectives. The students were surprised to learn that Squanto spoke English because he was taken as a slave by English explorers/settlers and later escaped England and make his way back to this area.
Important Dates to remember:
11/19 Authorfest and Luncheon.
11/22 Holiday Hope selections are due (just the sign up - not the item. Please wait for confirmation!) Information is going home. We are participating as an SBS division, all grades together.
11/24-11/28 is Thanksgiving Break
11/29 Classes resume
Fare well all!
Laura
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