Trent's dad, Mr. Seaman, visited our classroom on Thursday to share the ways scientists and mathematicians use data to solve problems. He began with simple questions like "What is your favorite fruit" and then moved to more complex issues such as the correlation between amount of schooling and unemployment rate/salary. We also learned there is a relationship between the amount of television children view in one day and how well they achieve in school. Mr. Seaman provided us an opportunity to read a whole variety of graphs. The kids thought it was pretty funny to find out that if you were a turkey you'd want to live in South Africa. Why? Because according to the data their citizens only eat about a pound of turkey each year (as opposed to about 17 pounds per year in the U.S.)We also spent time this week building toward a conceptual understanding of multiplication. This began with a fun game...Circles and Stars. The kids brought this game home to play against a parent or sibling and I hope you all enjoyed the opportunity to play along. This game helped us to think about repeated addition such as 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 is 12. We transitioned to writing this as "4 groups of 3 = 12". Next week we'll begin using the standard 3 x 4 = 12. There are lots of fun multiplication games to choose from. We'll share one with you next Thursday at Curriculum Night.
In reading we've been enjoying some rich picture books. As I've read the books aloud the kids have created sketches that illustrate their understanding of the book. Their illustrations are then used to fuel discussions with a partner as well as the whole group. We often think in words (with internal conversation, oral discussion, and writing) but this provides an opportunity to both develop and sort out our thinking using a different sign system - art. At the heart of this work is the task of thinking more deeply about the texts we read. I've noticed that many of our readers in class are becoming quite comfortable solving words and reading with a comfortable rhythm. However, I notice a good number of them are still struggling to engage with the text deeply enough to really grab a sense of the characters and plot. This is developmental. Our work over the remainder of the year, as well as next year, will be to read for greater understanding.
Here are a few random notes of interest...
* Next week is my final week of coursework at USC. I will drive home on Wednesday evening, drop into a chair, and let out the biggest sigh of relief ever known to man. While I love my classes they do make it hard at times to breathe because I'm also working hard to be the best teacher, coach, dad, and husband I can be. That said, I apologize if there has been a week or two over the past couple of months when I missed a newsletter or took a bit longer to respond to an e-mail.
* Next week is Mrs. Simpson's final full week with us. Her last day will be a week from Monday and then she will move on to graduation, applications, interviews, and hopefully a job! She has worked really hard this past semester and truly enjoyed her time with the kids. Be sure to thank her at Curriculum Night.
* Hopefully you saw my e-mail yesterday about our Sparkleberry Fair performance this month. We'll be on stage singing our original songs at 10:55am on Saturday, April 28th. Please be there about 15 minutes early. I'm not sure what stage number we'll be on just yet. They usually tell me just a few days before the event. I'll let you know as soon as I find out.
* I really liked the idea of the nightly sheets explaining what work needs to be done. I think they helped the kids keep track of their responsibilities. Just after we started this new sheet Mrs. Simpson took over and I stepped out of the classroom for two weeks. I didn't ask Mrs. Simpson to continue this new routine during her two-weeks of full time teaching because she had so much to keep track of already. However, we will return to the sheet next week so be sure to look for it each night.
And finally, a classroom concern...
The kids and I have talked a lot this past week about responsibility. While they are extremely responsible for their behavior and their work in the classroom many of them continue to struggle to clean up after themselves. While this creates for a messy room it also leads to broken and lost materials. Jackets are left lying on the floor, papers get randomly stuffed into backpacks, decks of cards get thrown into cabinets without a case, chairs are left in the middle of the floor, trash litters the carpet, classroom library books are destroyed or lost, pencils are scattered about everywhere, math journals cannot be found in cubbies, etc.
We are going to really work very hard over these next few weeks to address this. Please discuss this at home and take a moment to think about the responsibilities your child has at home. Do you pick up his or her towel and dirty clothes from the bathroom floor each day? Do you clear everyone's dishes after breakfast or dinner? If the answer is yes you might want to think about ways of helping your child begin to take responsibility for these types of tasks. Second and third grade is a great time for children to begin learning to vacuum floors, straighten toys, put away dishes, take out trash, and even clean the bathroom. I know this comes more easily for some children than others (there is evidence of this at my house each and every night as we remind the same three kids to hang their bath towel on the rack).
If you don't mind sharing, e-mail me a few of the weekly responsibilities your child has around the house and I'll compile these and include them in a future newsletter. All responses will be anonymous but we'll all have an opportunity to see what kinds of things other families are doing at home. This will make for some really great data!
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