We HAD Jazz

After a week absorbed by We Haz Jazz rehearsals, students are excited to get back into the swing of things. In math, students continue to learn about fractions. We have used pattern blocks to both add and subtract. When computing, we consider the hexagon to be ONE. To add, we simply put blocks together. To subtract, we use one of two methods: the cover-up method or the take-away method. In cover-up, we simply put the smaller fraction amount on top of the larger and identify the difference. In take-away, we take the smaller from the larger. For those who are ready, I have also introduced using equivalencies to add fractions with unlike denominators; we will be learning about subtraction later this week. Students are learning to identify equivalent fractions now; soon we will be ordering based upon size. Near the end of the unit, students will also spend time exploring probability.

Students are nearing the completion of their colony research. We have spent a number of sessions researching both books as well as online sources, and the experience has proven challenging. Many sources that teach about Colonial America are written at a high level, so students need a great deal of support to extricate relevant information from them. In most cases, students identified other students who are studying similar topics about other colonies; they often worked together to navigate texts. Today students identified online images to use as their visuals in their Voice Thread projects and wrote their first drafts of their narrative pieces. In many cases, students realized that they needed more research to write higher quality paragraphs. We will spend one more session filling in our research holes and continue working on our drafts. By the end of this week or the beginning of next week, students will have recorded their finished paragraphs. Then, colony groups will gather for a final time to review and fine tune their Voice Thread projects. Late next week the students will view one another's projects and learn about other colonies that the ones they researching, noting both similarities and differences. Voice Threads will be published as soon as the groups have met and finalized their projects next week.

In reading, we have begun "writing long" about books. In this process, students are learning to take seed ideas from their Post-its and write more in depth about their opinions. Today, after some modeling, students identified traits of quality written text reflections:

1. writing sticks to one topic
2. the topics need the support of specific textual evidence
3. sentences are detailed and complete

Currently, students are writing about books that are read aloud; soon, they will need to transfer these skills to write long about books they are reading with their partners. Students are completing this work in their reading notebooks which remain at school; I am happy to share their work with anytime, including during conferences this week.

In writing, we have taken a break from our fiction writing unit of study, but students are eager to dive back in. We have focused most intently on developing problems and resolutions that help show character change over time. Of course, the plot of the story facilitates this change, and characters are the vision of the change, so story lines must support believable resolutions as well as characters who are visible to their audiences. Next on our plate is to consider the importance of strong endings that allow for resolutions and connect back to the beginnings of stories. Many students are very close to final revisions of their pieces and well on their ways to publishing.

Coming near the end of February is our annual reading week. During this week, of number of celebratory events are planned:

• Tuesday, February 21 is dress as your favorite book character day. Students may come to school dressed in costume.
• Wednesday, February 22 is our school-wide Drop Everything and Read day. For a period that day, the entire student body will grab a book, venture outside with a blanket and towel, and read together in the picnic area.
• Thursday, February 23 is partner reading day; on this day, our class will pair up with another and read together.
• Friday, February 24 is Oldie Goldie. Bins are already located outside our classrooms in which students may donate gently used books for the sale.

The week after reading week is our science celebration week. During this week, among other things, we will be teaching a science lesson to Junior Kindergarten students, and Mrs. Owen's first graders will be teaching US a lesson. Stay tuned for more information on science week in next week's blog.

Upcoming important events:
February 9: Conference day
February 14: Valentine's Day party (2:00 p.m.)
February 17 and 20: no school
February 21 - 24: reading week
February 27 - March 2: science week