HomeroomThis week in homeroom we focused more on having fun. We're starting to wrap up our current project and our stress levels are a little elevated as we get closer to the deadline. We have also had a lot of conversations about how when working in a group understanding that different people work at different paces. Instead of focusing on the quantity of the work someone is doing focusing on if they are trying their best. It's lead to a lot of great conversations about the different ways we learn and work. MathMonday: We just focused on working in our books on Monday. Tuesday: We completed Sprints that focused on adding fractions. Wednesday: Word Problem #6 Thursday: Progress Check and Conferences Friday: Game Day! ScienceProject time this week has been mostly focused on putting together our field guides. Groups start each class period talking with each other about what they want to finished during the class period. There have been a lot of great conversations about working together and learning about how other people get stuff done. On Tuesday this week we had our first "No Computer Day". Last week we spent most of our time researching and preparing to build our field guides. Part of that process was filling out a series of research sheets. On Tuesday I told students that they wouldn't have access to their computers all class period. This was to test the quality of their research and to see if they looked up enough information to get their work finished. Some groups were prepared and some weren't. If they weren't I asked them to think about what they could have done differently. By the end of the week their work started to come together. The rough drafts of their field guides look great and I'm really excited for you all to see their work on Oct. 31st from 12:30 to 1:15 during the Project Showcase. If you can't make it I'll make sure you child is able to bring a copy of their project home for you to see. Questions to Ask Your ChildIn this section I'll try and give you a few questions to ask your kids to see what they learned this week or some of the ideas they were forming.
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HomeroomWe started the week with parent-teacher conferences. It's always a good experience when we get together and talk about what we've been working on in class. For some students this is their first time being an active participant in a conference. This is a good opportunity for them to be able to practice advocating for themselves. As the year progresses please continue to ask them questions about school and they need to be both the best student they can be and the the best version of themselves as possible. We also worked on a few other skills in homeroom time this week. Lauren lead a great activity on how to handle worries. We had a discussion about what we feel when we worry. We also talked about how to identify the parts of our lives that our under our control and the parts that aren't. Kat finished the week with a discussion about identity. Students shared some aspects of themselves that they feel define them as a person. They then looked up images, song lyrics, or quotes that reflect that identify. As your child starts their journey into young adulthood they're starting to form and refine their identify and how they see themselves in the world. MathMonday: No School Tuesday: Sprints. We focused on writing equivalent fractions. This is an extension of our conversation on factors and multiples. Wednesday: Word Problem Practice #5 Thursday: Progress Check and Conferences Friday: Game Day! ScienceStudents have entered the last phase of this project. Students have been busy conducting research on their ecosystems and locations. We've also been talking about how to work with others. The framework we're using is pictured below. We've also been working on taking a large task and breaking it into a series of short term goals with clear evidence of completion. This might be something like stating a clear research goal on a specific topic or a specific drawing they're looking to complete. Hopefully by the end of this project students have developed new skills to be able to tackle large long term projects. Questions to Ask Your ChildIn this section I'll try and give you a few questions to ask your kids to see what they learned this week or some of the ideas they were forming.
HomeroomWe started the week in homeroom by taking some time to reflect on our progress so far this year to prepare for conferences. Students were asked to think about some success and some areas for growth. They were also asked to think of a few artifacts of their learning to show off during the conference. We also spent some time working on our social skills. We spent some time talking about the difference between the intent of our words and their impact on others. We framed the conversation around the phrase "I was just joking" and how we correctly handle when we accidentally hurt someone's feelings. We finished the week by leading a great discussion on compliments. Both how to give them and how to take them. We had a long discussion about how we feel when we give compliments and how it's OK to say something nice to another person. MathMonday: We worked on a brainteaser on how to guess a number using the fewest amount of questions. Tuesday: We continued working on Sprints that focused on factors and multiples. Wednesday: Here's the word problem we completed as a group. Thursday: Weekly Progress Conference Friday: Game Day! ProjectThis week we visited our last park for this unit, Lower Huron Metropark. While at the park we explored three different ecosystems and talked about how they work and some of the plant species there. Now that we have completed all of the park visits and Spotlight lessons for this unit we can transition to working on the final project for this unit. Students were divided into four groups and asked to select an ecosystem found in Michigan, find a park that contains the ecosystem, and build a guide for someone visiting that location. As a group we went over the rubric for the project. While going over the rubric students were asked to take notes on the conversation. Be sure to ask for their notes on the conversation. We wrapped up the week with students creating a plan and mapping it out so they can complete the guide by the October 31st due date. Questions to Ask Your KidsIn this section I'll try and give you a few questions to ask your kids to see what they learned this week or some of the ideas they were forming.
Homeroom
This week in homeroom we had some great discussions about the difference between an introvert and an extrovert and about respecting the personal space of others. The talk about personal space included how our personal space bubbles change depending on how we're feeling and the person involved. We also talked about not making assumptions about another persons personal space and that if they ask you to back away you should respect that. This conversation ended with us talking about our own personal space and what we're comfortable with.
Don't forget to sign up for conferences if you haven't already. Check your email for the link to the sign up sheet. Math
Monday: We worked on a brainteaser about how we divide up groups in our head. This type of conversion is great for learning about how others think about numbers.
Tuesday: We worked on Sprints that covered what factors and multiples are. Having a solid understanding of factors and multiples helps students work with fractions. Especially when they need to either find a common denominator or simplify a fraction.
Wednesday: We worked on Word Problem #3. Project
We started the week by wrapping up our Spotlight lesson on Biodiversity and exploring solutions for threats to biodiversity. We started our last Spotlight lesson on how humans and ecosystems interact with each other. The main focus of this topic was seeing how ecosystems are under threat around the world and what young people are doing to help. We focused on two different stories. Here are the videos we watched in class on.
We also spent some time exploring Huron Meadows Metropark. While there we walked through a series of different ecosystems and thinking about why different ecosystems exist in such a small area. Next week we'll visit another Metropark. This will be the last Metropark we visit for the unit.
Questions to Ask Your Kids
In this section I'll try and give you a few questions to ask your kids to see what they learned this week or some of the ideas they were forming.
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