CAP CHAT
Mrs. Tuttle's CAP Class ~ Shields Elementary
January 5, 2017
Mission Statement
We, the Wizards of the CAP House, will participate in advanced level learning, have a growth mindset, and work towards BIG dreams, by following our school rules, and having fun!
CAP NORMS
- Be prepared
- Be respectful
- Be Kind
- Persevere
What's Happening??
1/16 - No School - Martin Luther King Day
1/25 - End of Marking Period 2
1/26-1/27 - No School - Teacher Professional Development Days
THURSDAY NOTE
HAPPY NEW YEAR! We are rocking and rolling in CAP so far in 2017! I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing holiday vacation.
I had a few vacation papers come in this week and it sounds like some fun trips are in the works. When students are out on vacation, I cannot assign work ahead of time. Much of what we do in class is collaborative and varies depending on the needs of the students and what we accomplish each day. When students return from vacation, I will review what they missed and what needs to be accomplished. I will work with them, teaching any missed content and allow them to catch up in class or during recess. What can't be caught up in class, I will send home to be completed.
Part of my doctorates research is studying how to better personalize learning while allowing students to take ownership of their learning with more of a constructivist approach. I'm doing a little study on the idea of allowing students to choose what and how to study when completing homework. You will see on the math homework this week there is an option for students to choose something they will do to practice math concepts we are working in class. Many times students will share a game or website they found or a new strategy they used with problems they created so I am hoping this may encourage them to continue and inspire others to follow. If you hear anything about the idea or have thoughts for how it could be made better, please share!
Happy Thursday,
Mrs. Melissa Tuttle
Shields Surfer
Reading
We are halfway through Phantom Tollbooth and have enjoyed the language in the book. It is great seeing the students "get" the play on words within the book and hear them chuckle as they read.
Writing
Students completed an organizer listing all the things they considered themselves "experts" in and decided on a topic for their first essay. The next step is to divide the topic into subtopics to better organize information. Students will also learn how to add a variety of text features to their informational pieces.
Home-School Connection As you are reading informational pieces talk to your child about the features the article contains such as pictures with captions, diagrams, tables, charts, heading, subheadings, definitions, etc.
Math
An overarching message we have been talking A LOT about in class is the idea that we must think before we do . Instead of always relying on one strategy to solve all problems it is important to first think about what the question is asking (make sense of the problem) and then think of an efficient strategy to solve the problem (use appropriate tools strategically).
4th grade
We worked on division and using the partial quotient method to solve division problems with single digit divisors and up to 3 digit dividends. Since many of our problems have remainders, we discussed what to do with remainders and how to interpret the remainder. There are four ways the remainder can be used: 1) as a fraction, 2) ignored, 3) used as the answer, or 4) rounds up the quotient to the nearest whole. Students practiced solving division problems and interpreting remainders. Division is an operation that will be ongoing this year and next!
Our factors, multiples, and leftovers unit will be finished tomorrow or Monday and then we move into fractions!
Home-School Connection: See if your child can teach you the partial quotient method to solving a division problem since this method may not be something you were ever taught.
5th grade
We are working on fractions and this week reviewed comparing and ordering fractions and worked on adding fractions with unlike denominators. We created a fraction clothesline and set up gameboards to play Fraction Tracks tomorrow by creating fraction number lines. Next week, we will work with subtracting fractions, which can be a little tricky when you have to regroup the whole just like with whole number subtraction.
Home-School Connection: Give your child 2-5 fractions and have them put them in order. Then let them explain how they did it. All their strategies may surprise you because chances are they won't be using the common denominator!
All Pictures are provided by Media Muggles and Picture Professors
We have new jobs for November and December so the pictures below were photgraphed by...
Macie, Travers, Jaxon, Aidan W, and AustinGiving the Gift of Compliments!
Ravenclaw wins the house cup for December!
2016 Memories
Connect with Us!
Email: melissa.tuttle@cape.k12.de.us
Website: www.mrstuttlesclass.com
Location: 910 Shields Avenue, Lewes, DE, United States
Phone: 302-645-7748
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mrstuttlesclass
Twitter: @TuttlesTechies