Dear Families,
This week the kids began presenting their teaching projects to the class. On Wednesday we learned to play Croca-dilla-dilla and a card game called Add It. Today we learned to make paper snowflakes and fold paper jets. Afterward everyone filled out reflection sheets detailing what they learned, how it was taught, and what was either hard or easy about learning this new game, craft, or skill. Those doing the teaching are doing their own reflections around questions such as "Did they learn? How do you know?", "What was hard about teaching this?", and "What would you do differently next time?".
In a few days we're going to go back through our data and begin looking for patterns as we ask ourselves:
* What types of teaching most help us to learn?
* What sorts of things sometimes get in the way of our learning?
* What does this mean to us in terms of helping others in class when they're struggling to do something?
I've already noticed some of our teachers have talked everyone through the tricky parts, others have grabbed the materials and did the work for them, while others have largely ignored calls for help and kept moving forward. This is great data! I can't wait to see what the kids are noticing. Our conversations will help support those who haven't presented just yet. Our goal is to become mentors for one another as well as consider what types of learners we are - visual, auditory, or hands-on. Of course, while each of us have our preferences we learn in all three ways.
In math we have been exploring computation. Our MAT, Mrs. Stewart, taught us a game called "More." In this game the kids flip a card, determine its value, calculate the difference between their card and their partner, and then collect that many blocks. After twelve rounds they count each of their stacks of blocks and calculate the difference between the two. As they played this game we talked about multiple ways of counting - such as by 2s, 5s, and 10s. Soon we'll be pulling out our coins and talking about money as we continue to think about skip counting, adding, and subtracting. One way we'll work toward making this work easier is to explore different combinations that make ten (such as 9/1, 8/2, 7/3, and so on).
In reading this week the kids worked in groups to perform their Readers Theater skits for the class. Each performance went very well. Preparation included reading and rereading in search of a smooth delivery, planning the movement piece of the plays, creating props, and working to resolve issues within the group. I was very proud of how responsible they were in doing this. Now that we have reached the fourth or fifth week of school I notice the kids really settling in and working hard. Next week we will return to word solving strategies as well as introduce a new structure - language appreciation. Language appreciation is an opportunity for us all to visit a shared text, think about its meaning, talk about what we notice in the text, and teach each other from those noticings. Topics often include spelling patterns, rhyming words, new vocabulary, connections to the text, the conventions of writing, etc.
Tomorrow our class is visiting the Richland County Public Library. If your child does not have a library card here yet please send it in tomorrow morning. We always enjoy bringing back a handful of good books!
Finally, there have been some issues in the school with students incorrectly using Chromebooks and Google accounts. I do not believe this has occurred with anyone in our class. However, I'm attaching a message from Mrs. Hucks regarding these issues just so you're aware of them...
Dear Parents,
As part of 1TWO1 Computing, many teachers are having students use their district Google accounts at home for homework purposes. That is wonderful and totally along the guidelines of the district. However, some students have begun using their district Google account as their personal account as well. This behavior goes against the RUP that students and parents signed at the beginning of the school year. Students may only use their district Google accounts for school purposes. If they are not allowed to use a certain program at school, then they should not be using it at home (i.e YouTube and Google Play).
You Tube and Google Play are blocked for students on the district network. Even though they are able to access it from home, they may not access it on their district Google account. This behavior is causing accounts to not work properly at school. We are reminding students of proper behavior while using their district Google accounts. Please help us by ensuring your student is following the same behavior at home while using their district Google account. A good rule of thumb would be: If the teacher did not ask you to use it, then you probably should not be using it.
Thank you so much for your cooperation!
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