Monday P.E. | Tuesday In and About | Wednesday Art | Thursday Geek Out Poetry Night After School | Friday All School Meeting 1:05 Dismissal Empty Bowls After School |
Calendar Highlights
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Youth Poetry Reading in Portland - An excellent opportunity share your poetry with the community and it’s free for youth! The reading will be held on January 11, 2019 from 6:00pm - 7:30pm. Follow the link for more information.
Slideshow
A while back, the Merlins came up with the idea of a pet slideshow, and really enjoyed showing off their furry (and feathery/scaly/wet/etc.) friends at home. This week they asked if we could have another slideshow, and I decided that it would be fun to have a weekly (or biweekly) slideshow to give them all a chance to have 10 seconds in the projector screen spotlight. If you are able and your student would like to share a photo, please email it to me so I can include it for them. If you are unable to do so and would like to talk about alternate methods of photo transfer, please let me know. I am sure we can work something out.
Sign Up for Level 3 Poetry Night!
Just as a reminder, in order to attend the poetry night, we need to sign your student up for a reading time. If you are not signed up, we are assuming that you are not coming. We will send a list of reading times out on Tuesday evening. Poetry night will be this Thursday, November 21st, from 5:30-7:30! Students and families can choose between a 5:30 reading time or a 6:30 reading time. Sign up by filling out this google form.
Project
This week, we walked over to Pacific University and were introduced to a couple different ways that they strive to keep their campus running in an environmentally friendly way. We were shown the inner workings of a LEED Platinum certified building, and learned about all of the different criteria that must be met both in the construction process and the operation of a building in order for it to earn this status. We also experienced the ways in which the Cafeteria in the Washburn University Center focuses on efficient food and energy use. The new food service affiliate Bon Appetit uses imperfect produce to save on cost and cut down on waste, as well as reusing leftover food in the next day’s soups. Food that cannot be reused in next-day recipes is sold at a lower price so that other people may still be able to buy it, lastly, they send what they can to local pig farms before composting anything else. This not only cuts down on food waste, but also helps out other consumers in the system. They also offer reusable dish-ware in lieu of to-go containers to minimize the amount of plastic waste produced.
Ask: why do LEED buildings have specific construction requirements? Are you still here?
Extend the learning: Try this fun quiz about being environmentally friendly. Do you know more than your parents?
Literacy
This week, students continued digging deeper into their nature adventure books. Students focused on the mood and language in their books, and they found evidence of the use of sensory language, foreshadowing, simile, and alliteration. They hunted down their favorite writing skills that the author of their book used, and they reflected which skill they would borrow and why. Students also prepared discussion questions and predictions for their second literature circle meeting that was held at the end of this week.
For writing, students finished the first draft of their poetry anthologies and added some finishing touches to poems they wrote earlier in the year. Next, students will have the opportunity to peer review, respond to feedback, and further polish their anthologies for poetry night.
Students, talk about a writing skill (foreshadowing, simile, sensory language, alliteration, juicy words) that the author of your nature adventure book uses. How does the use of this skill make the book more interesting/exciting?
Ask: How have you grown as a poet? What is your favorite style of poetry?
5th grade math
This week, 5th grade mathematicians focused on using different methods to find common denominators and simplify fractions. First, they learned how to find least common multiples in order to compare, add, or subtract fractions with unlike denominators. We discussed ways in which this method would be more efficient than finding the easiest common denominator. Later in the week, 5th grade mathematicians learned how to simplify fractions using the greatest common factor. They discovered that the LCM and GCF are often confused so 5th graders shared ideas about how they might remember which method to use depending on the math problem they are trying to solve.
Ask: Why would we use LCM (least common multiple)? Why would we use GCF (greatest common factor)? What is the difference between LCM and GCF?
6th Grade Math
This week in sixth grade math, we revisited some of those fraction abbreviations that we learned last year. We came back to the Greatest Common Factor and used trees and listing to find it, as well as reviewing the lowest common multiple/denominator, which helps us to find common ground when comparing two fractions. At the end of the week we started to do some SBAC practice. Students were able to see that the SBAC is going to ask questions that they have already been learning how to solve. My hope is that this weekly practice will help them feel more prepared and confident in the spring when it is time to test. Lastly, I have had some students express interest in peer mentoring for 6th grade math concepts, who generally have some time during class, as well as outside of class. Please let me know ([email protected]) if your student is interested in doing some work with a peer mentor.
Ask: What is your preferred strategy for finding the GCF? What is the difference between the GCF and LCM? How do you know that a fraction is in simplest form?