Hello HA families!

FIRST GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS

Letters connect to words, and words connect to meaning.  What if our letters didn't connect to words in the way we are familiar?  Words would not make sense.  We had some fun deciphering codes this week.  Using a Caesar Shift Cipher, we took what appeared to be nonsense words and connected them in the way we know and understand.  The pictures below show our cipher wheels and the deciphering we have done.  

SECOND GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS

We began reading The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.  The book will be read in HA class and at home.  The students are assigned chapters 4-9 for homework due Monday, October 11.  The chapters are short, so it shouldn't be a problem getting the reading in over the next few days.  We've been discussing the setting, characters, and making connections.  I connected the book to Dumbo due to Despereaux's large ears and him being teased for being different than others.  One student made a child/parent connection and brought up how Despereaux's mother does not seem kind or loving.  The student explained the mother/child relationship was not like the student's own mother/child relationship. We also touched on the author's use of light and dark.  This is my first time reading this book, and I'm happy to share the experience with your students!

THIRD GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS

Continuing with the myths we read last week, students worked in pairs or independently to complete a retelling story map.  Being that myths are so different than most things we read, they are a challenge to follow and retell.  The students worked diligently to complete their retelling story maps.  I was pleased to hear students talking about change.  They were looking for change within their myths.  Your students are deep thinkers!

FOURTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS

As part of our study of change, we are currently focusing on people changing.  After interviewing me in class for practice, the students were asked to interview an adult at home for homework.  I'm pleased that almost everybody did their homework.  We have started writing multiple paragraph compositions based on their interviews.  As we know, change isn't always made by choice.  It can be easy/hard, positive/negative, happen quickly or over time, but always results in growth.  The students are contemplating those aspects of change. 

FIRST GRADE MATH

Writing in math is new to first graders.  Using words to explain how we solved a math problem is challenging.  Our HA math curriculum repeatedly uses Think Deeply questions and Think Frame graphic organizers to help students rise to the challenge of using words in math.  Using the Think Frame, we organize our thoughts to be able to answer questions completely.  We did this for the first time this week. Referring to the Lingo polygon gameboard we played with last week to review triangles, quaderilaterals, pentagons, and hexagons, we answered a math question in words.  I'm proud of your focused first graders!

SECOND GRADE MATH

Our study of symmetry continues.  As you may recall, students previously manipulated triangles to fit into squares following a given design and analyzed whether or not the designs were symmetrical.  This time around, students worked in pairs/small groups to manipulate triangles into squares of their own design.  They successfully created symmetrical designs!  Our hands-on study of symmetry continued by manipulating triangles into shapes other than squares.  While they were able to manipulate triangles into other shapes, they were challenged by figuring out whether or not their shapes were symmetrical.  This group’s enthusiasm is contagious, but we need to work on following our four main school rules.  Our time together is brief, so it’s important we make the most of it.  I love that they’re excited to be in here with friends from other homerooms:)

THIRD GRADE MATH

  Our HA math curriculum repeatedly uses Think Deeply questions and Think Frame graphic organizers to help students rise to the challenge of using words in math. We completed a Think Frame together to answer a Think Deeply question about a growing pattern.  The students realized it helped us organize our thoughts to completely answer a question.  The students then worked in pairs/small groups to answer a Think Deeply question without a Think Frame.  That did not go so well, so their appreciation of organizing their thoughts grew.  We all got a kick out of the experience.  In our class, we have some fun while straining our brains!

FOURTH GRADE MATH

 The students continued differentiating between expressions and equations.  Using the Think Frame to organize their thoughts has proved valuable.  The conversations they/we are having are often on organizing and expressing how we think about math. We also had a little time to solve some equations together.  The students are excited about algebra:)