Newsletter: January 12

One of our classmates recently stepped up to the mic and sang one of our class favorites,
"Down on the Corner", at Beef O'Brady's. In this pic, the kids are watching the video of his
fun impromptu performance. Because I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video, they had
to turn their heads sideways to watch. I had a hilarious time watching them watch the video.

Dear Families,

We have a new MAT in our classroom this semester! The kids were quite sad to see Mrs. Schumacher leave last November but are excitedly building new relationships with Ms. Wilson. Here's a short introduction she wrote up for you all...

Ms. Wilson helping a group of students during Social Studies.

My name is Shanna C. Wilson and I am from Scranton, South Carolina. I have a degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Winthrop University. Currently, I am pursuing a Masters of Arts in Teaching Elementary Education from The University of South Carolina. To complete my degree program, I will participate in two internships. My internships will be completed here at The Center For Inquiry. The first half of the year, I was in Ms. Whitecotton’s class. For my second internship,  I am working in Mr. Hass’ class.  As the school year continues on, I look forward to getting to know all the kids, both academically and personally. I am excited to grow with the students and teach them new things. I am most excited to learn from them and gain new insight on how to be the best teacher.

And now a look at our most recent curricular studies...

In math we are learning about area.

The kids have a variety of engagements to choose from daily as they explore this concept. In the
photo above they are working to create different shapes that all have the area of four
square units. This is spatially confusing from many of them because some shapes look
larger than the others though they have identical measurements of area.

Here you can see them working around the room to cut, calculate, and paste. Today I challenged
them to find both the perimeter and area of their foot. This is especially tricky because our feet
are not exactly an easy shape to work with. Together, we discussed strategies to address these challenges.

In social studies we are learning about the effects of the colonization of what is not the
United States for various groups of people living here. 

The kids are working in small groups to draw on what they've learned as well as
generate new possibilities to determine what each group had to gain as well as had to
lose in the settlement of the European Americans.

We'll soon be moving this study into the American Revolution.

In Reading Workshop we are continuing our study of biographies.

After reading a number of biographies as a whole class, the kids were introduced to a
text set of about twenty-five different titles from which to select a biography they'd really
like to read.

Today they read these books, from John Coletrane to Teddy Roosevelt to Stephen Curry. After
finishing the book they went back through to determine and record the important information they
had learned. They also began identifying the questions they still had. All of this work will soon
support us as we research, plan, and create our own biographies.

Many of the kids are eager to declare who they will research for this upcoming "Expert Project."
However, while they will read all sorts of biographies, the parameters of this project
will be strictly defined - while leaving plenty of room for personal choice. For this reason,
I've told them not to get their hearts set on any one person at this point because they
don't know the specifics of the research project just yet.

Finally, though I don't have any fun photos, in Writing Workshop the kids are sharing some of their favorite songs with us, analyzing these songs for structure, and going out to create songs of their own. There is SO MUCH energy around this work right now. The kids have been so excited. Yesterday at least four or five asked if they could take their writing journals home so they could continue on their songs at home. That's the mark of an inquiry with legs!

That's it for this week. As always, thanks so much for taking the time to check in and learn more about the work your kids are engaged in alongside me, and now Ms. Wilson. I hope you all enjoy your long weekend ahead!

Chris and Shanna