Mrs. Steffen's GATE Classes
December 2015
My wish.
After just celebrating Thanksgiving and heading into Christmas and looking towards the new year, it is my sincere wish that each of your families has a wonderful holiday season. I am especially thankful for being a teacher at a remarkable school with fantastic students who make me want to come to work everyday!
Important calendar dates for December:
December 7 - 18 - Winter MAP testing
December 7 - Get Cozy with Cocoa event
December 12 - Holiday Gift Shop
December 15 - Wear Red and Green Day
December 23 - Winter Fiestas
December 24 - Winter Break starts
GATE Goings On
Grade 1
Students in Grade 1 are working on harnessing their creativity. They are being introduced to a variety of activities designed to strengthen their creative capacity. Soon after, we will begin a Junior Great Books story.
Grade 2
Grade 2 students are being introduced to the Social Studies concepts of needs versus wants and how these influence our lives. They will be asked to apply these concepts through a variety of poems centered around this topic. Students will also begin to investigate elements of figurative language in poetry.
Grade 3
Students are starting a new STEM project around whether certain types of candies sink or float in water. They will first make predictions and then research the make-up of the candies to allow them to make connections between which ingredients will cause them to either float or sink. Students will then create their own science experiments to test their theories.
Grade 4
Students are finally in the midst of studying the brain and how it works. We have discussed the different parts of the brain and what they are responsible for. We will continue to explore how knowing more about the brain helps us become better students.
Grade 5
In grade 5, students have finished researched types of eco-friendly materials. They are now learning what an engineer does and the various parts of the engineering process. Decisions are being made about their design of their environmental issue t-shirt. Mostly likely, we will be able to order t-shirts with their designs before the holidays.