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Hello DII Parents, April 30, 2008
Curriculum
Theme:
Division IIıs theme of various countries has already brought us through many
adventures. We began in Canada, which provided for many opportunities to
learn its location and culture!! The countries of study for last week and
this week are France and Norway. Coq au vin was a great hit during France.
The students who were willing to try it loved it and wanted seconds. Mrs.
McKellipıs grandmother would be proud to hear that they enjoyed her cooking.
We were so excited to be able to learn some of the French language, explore
art of the cultures, and even have a special presenter, Sarah Ostrem, come
in for Norway. This provided for us to learn facts about Norway, sample
cuisine, and view items. A popular game from Norway called Hoppe-strikk,
allowed the students to get involved with a popular game from Norway.
Hopefully the students can teach you at home.
As we will be doing for the next four weeks, we filled out our various
countries fact books. This week we started student presentations of
countries. The students are providing so much information, props and food
tastings to support their personal presentations. We all look forward to
learning about the next three countries.
Language Arts:
Mrs. Stegmanıs Language Arts group read the stories Wilson Sat Alone and
Abuela this week. Along with the reading, the students completed spelling,
vocabulary, and comprehension activities. Abuela is a fantasy story
focusing on social studies and geography. The students wrote about an
adventure of flying over their neighborhood, indicating what the readers
might see if they were there! We also did a quick opposite word activity
using Versatiles. Next week we will readThe Enormous Turnip and Dinosaurs
Travel.
Mrs. McKellipıs Language Arts groups will be reading the stories Friends
Forever and At Home Around the World. Friends Forever provided the
opportunity for the group to practice with contractions and comparative
words. The students learned that when er or est is added to a base word, it
becomes a way of comparing two or more things. At Home Around the World
provided the group opportunity to practice with -ed, -ing, and -es endings.
Also, they wrote about what their dream house may look like. Both groups
worked through a phonics lesson using the classroom "Think-it-through"
tiles. These tiles motivate the children to not only decode unknown words,
but to use their thinking skills to place the correct answers on the tiles.
They love to manipulate the tiles to complete the worksheet.
Math:
Mrs. Stegmanıs math group had a blast with division! The students gained
knowledge and applied division skills in several ways. We ended the unit
with word problems and writing division problems as many different ways as
possible. This week we started fractions. The week started with an apple
chop activity to divide a whole into 16 equal parts! The students also
built a fraction wall in the DII classroom. The fraction wall divides
fraction parts from 1 to 1/10th. We will focus on halves, thirds, and
fourths at the end of this week. Next week the students will participate in
fraction centers; including separating beans into equals share and dividing
birthday candles on cakes to show equal parts. After wrapping up fractions
next week, we will begin geometry!
Mrs. McKellipıs math group is beginning measurementSYeaahh!! Last week, the
students really enjoyed their lessons about length. They created their own
rulers in order to learn multiple concepts including: the length of an inch,
the length of a centimeter and how many of each are in a foot. This allowed
for the students to answer measurement questions and practice measuring in
the real world. We finished length up with an introduction to the concept
of a yard. This week, the students are learning about volume. We are
utilizing measuring cups, bottles, and jugs to personally interpret how much
liquid it takes to fill up a larger container. For example, the students
realized that it takes 8 cups to equal one half gallon, therefore
calculating that it would take 16 cups to fill a whole gallon. This has
also provided the opportunity to teach a small amount of fractions.
Computers
There is a lot of excitement in Division I East and West these days!
Students are being exposed to the brand new iMacs and learning how to
operate OS X for the first time. Our focus is on taking care of the new
equipment and learning how to use the dock and the brand new KidPix!
Division II students are being introduced to the new iMacs as well and are
learning how to operate the new Mavis Beacon Typing suite. Division III is
continuing to work with the Scratch program but are now working individually
and using the new iMacs to take pictures of themselves to create their own
sprite images. Division IV is continuing to work on their PowerPoint book
projects and will soon be getting to work on the 2008-2009 school calendars
using iPhoto and the new iMacs. Division V is continuing to work in their
rotating groups on PowerPoint, Lego robot building and programming, Scratch
programming and stop motion video capturing.
Spanish
Division I Spanish vocabulary work will include the topics of sports and
nature. The students are learning two poems, Las Hojitas and Flores. These
poems help students memorize vocabulary while they practice their accent.
Division II students continue working on their show and tell in Spanish.
This activity will serve as a review of the vocabulary learned such as
greetings, adjectives, verbs and question words. Division III are learning
the vocabulary of city places and will create their dream city. Division IV
students are presenting their session between a phychologist and a patient.
After their presentation D IV will learn the vocabulary words associated
with a fiesta and break a piñata. D V will be presenting their airport play
and create a mosaic based on the Aztecıs Calender.
News:
-Beautiful weather has arrived! Please remember to send the appropriate
jacket/coat with your students, morning recess time is still a bit cool.
-Just a reminder the Spring Overnight is 5/15-5/16. Please remember the
blue sheets indicating your plans for the Spring Overnight are due today
(Wednesday, April 30). Students attending the overnight will bring home a
detailed packet on Thursday, 5/1, with the itinerary, menu, packing list,
and permission slip. Please let us know if you have any questions!
Important Dates:
-5/15-5/16-Spring Overnight at Cheyenne Mountain Resort
-5/26-Mrs. McKellip is due!
-5/26-No School-Memorial Day
-5/30-Picnic/Carnival/Last Day of School
-6/3-Report Card Day/Optional P/T/S Conferences
-6/9-RAEC begins
Thank you so much for all that you are doing to make this a great year!
Please remember if you have any questions, donıt hesitate to ask.
The DII teachers,
Mrs. McKellip and Mrs. Stegman
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