Have you heard about Classroom Meeting? Or has your child come home singing "One Day...One Day" and you don't know where it is coming from? (see video above :) Classroom meeting is a time when we focus on building community and learning more about ourselves (aka: human behavior!). At the beginning of the year, I like to introduce the themes that we will focus on in more depth later in the year. This week, we have discussed belonging, kindness, compassion, conflict, and perseverance. These are great themes for building our community at the beginning of the year. To share messages and start discussions with students, I utilize picturebooks, videos, and music in our classroom meetings. Many literacy concepts are embedded in these lessons. As we delve deeper into each theme, students will analyze related quotes and learn key vocabulary that connects to the theme. (Theme is actually a BIG 4th and 5th grade reading concept!) They will also set goals for each theme and reflect on how they did during the week--like coming up with a strategy/action for being more kind during our "kindness" focus week.
On Tuesday, we read Each Kindness. (You can ask your child to tell you about the story and the message). Today, we rewrote some of the events of Each Kindness to make Chloe exhibit more compassion. I also taught students the definitions for compassion and empathy. (This allows us to have a common definition and common language as we talk with one another about these concepts throughout the year. It's amazing what students will soak up during these lessons!)
Classroom meeting is one of my favorite parts of the day! I hope it quickly becomes one of your child's favorites too!
Mrs. Apelgren launched our Engineering program today. She got us thinking about what engineers do and led us through the engineering design process. Check out this video that defines engineering and describes how engineers impact our daily lives:
To begin understanding the Engineering Design Cycle, students were challenged to build a structure that could stand on its own using paper towel rolls and toothpicks. The engineering design cycle includes:
Ask:
-What is the problem? -What information do I need to solve the problem? -What are the constraints and criteria (rules)? -What information do I have already? -What materials do I have or could I get?
Explore:
-Learn new skills -Play with materials -Brainstorm ideas -Decide which idea is best-sketch your idea
Model:
-Build a model-Make changes as needed
Evaluate:
-How can I test my model to see if it solved the problem?
-What are the strengths and weaknesses of my design?
Explain:
-Can I demonstrate how my model solves or doesn’t solve the problem?
-Can I communicate ways in which my model could be improved?
We will work to help students get better and better at each stage of the design cycle.
Here are some pictures from our work today:
Last, Mrs. Apelgren inspired us with a Kid President Video about being an inventor. He visited the GE plant in Durham, NC.
I'm looking forward to what we have in store in our Engineering focus this year! I know your child is too!
It is going to be a great year! I am MORE excited to see what surprises we have in store than simply feeling excited about what I already know we have planned! It was so nice to meet many of you at Open House. I have heard nothing but great things about this group of children and I am ready to make my impact on their education. As students are learning, I know I will be learning too! It's one of the PRICELESS gifts of being a teacher!
