We have started our unit on Measurement. We began with a 'Math Talk' looking at the pictures of the two trees above. What I love about 'Math Talks' is watching students mentally think about a Math problem and how they would explain their answer to their peers. It is so important in Math and for language development for students to be able to explain their thinking. Afterward I ask students to come up and explain what they think the answer is. This is always great when there is no right answer (like the which tree is the biggest question). One of the most widely held misconceptions about mathematics is that a math problem has a unique correct answer. By engaging in activities like this, I hope to break this belief early on. This activity also helped us develop some vocabulary using words like: taller, wider, shorter, longer, fatter, etc. This week we will be measuring a variety of things using standard and non-standard linear measurments. During our writers' workshop, we have been continuing to craft personal narrative stories. Over the past couple days, we have been learning about how to revise our writing by digging deeper and adding details. I am so impressed by the improvement I am seeing since our last round of writing. I am excited to get to the publishing stage, so that your little one can share their work with you once more. After a student inquiry on 'why some books have different authors and illustrators,' I have reached out to a number of art communities to try and find 'real artists' to illustrate our stories. We are also carrying on with our novel study on the Wizard of Oz. With the variety of books, video clips, graphic novels, and novels, this is a fantastic way to differentiate listening comprehension. If you are looking to read this to your child at home, you can sign up for a free one month membership of Epic, and find the novel there. On Monday, Frances taught us about pollen and the importance of pollination. Bees are one of the biggest contributors of pollen from one plant to another. First, our little learners went outside to find pollen on flowers in our gardens. Next Frances gave each of student a little bee to put on their fingers. Students fingers represented the bees legs. She then gave each child a flower and some cheese balls. Students were instructed to eat the cheese balls, but not to lick their fingers. After students ate the cheese balls they were told to fly their bees from flower to flower, wiping off their hands on each one. This model taught out little ones how pollen moves on insects legs to pollinate other plants. We finished off by reading a story called 'The Reason for a Flower.' Today we watched some videos about how bees make honey from nectar that they collect from flowers. Students searched the gardens for some expertly hidden "nectar" and used pipettes to suck it up and transfer it to their "hive." We learned that it takes many trips to fill up a hive with nectar.
Once we filled up our hive, we used our wings to fan the nectar just like bees, in order to make some honey. We are having a great week of hands on, guided inquiry. See you tonight for the concert (weather permitting) Please return bee hive field trip forms as soon as possible. If your little one lost their form between school and home, please let me know, so that I can provide you with a new one.
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March 2017
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