Well, we made it through the first full week (at least the first full week of me in the classroom) since break. After the cold weather that forced us inside for recess, it was a welcome relief to be able to allow the children the chance to run outside and burn off some energy.
This week we began our unit on multiplication. We start slowly and introduce the children to the concept by having them develop their own groupings and then work with them to to figure out how many total items. For example, some students wrote:
There are three black labs.
Each black lab has four legs.
There are 12 legs in all.
Working this way ensures that the children know when and why they multiply. We have begun solving these problems by counting by the number in each group (in the above example we'd count by 4) or through repeated addition (4+4+4=12). Several of the children already have some multiplication facts memorized and I look forward to seeing more children master this skill.
In writing, we continue to focus on word choice. this week we analyzed student writing and graded it using the rubric that I grade the students on. The children were asked to analyze various pieces of writing and then describe the positive and negative aspects of each piece of writing. The goal is to help the children better understand what constitutes good word choice. Ultimately, I'd like the children to grade their own work as harshly as they graded these samples.
This week we began our next science chapter. This one focuses on force, work, and simple machines. We didn't get too far on this, because we needed to allot time for our winter MAP tests. Like the fall, these tests were lengthy and focused on the skills of reading and math. I will be discussing the results of this test with your child next week.
Next week we start the second week of the quarter and many students are already behind on their AR reading. Please remind your child to read nightly. I expect each child to read at least 20 minutes each evening.
