Searingtown November Happenings
Herricks UFSD ~ November 2013
Welcome to the November 2013 Issue of Searingtown School Happenings!
Kindergarten
First Grade
During the month of November the first graders at Searingtown School were very busy. We enjoyed learning about the season of fall and the many things in life we are thankful for. Learning about Thanksgiving lead us to many discussions about family and we worked on different projects to show all of our different families and traditions. We celebrated American Education and had our families into our classes to see Family First Grade Math Day and other hands on projects.
We read the book, Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson and discovered how each kindness makes the world a little better, even the smallest amount of kindness goes a long way. In Writers Workshop we worked on writing “How To” books.
Lastly in science we began exploring properties and matter. Did you know everything is matter? Have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving.
Second Grade
“Getting to Know Characters and Their Stories” was the Second Grade unit of study in Reading Workshop. The students learned that the essential skills and strategies for reading fiction are:
• Thinking carefully about characters and their stories
• Asking and answering questions
• Drawing on strategies when books are hard to understand
• Considering what an author intends for the reader to learn through a character’s journey
• Reading dialogue with increased fluency and expression was emphasized too.
In addition, the students have been expertly writing and illustrating their “All About/How To” nonfiction books during Writing Workshop.
During our Designing Mixture investigation Science lessons, the students used property words to describe orange soda. After reading Solving Dissolving and experimenting with different ingredients, our second grade scientists determined the combinations and amounts of ingredients to make the best soda ever. The students have been recording new scientific terms on a Science/Everyday Word chart as well as learning about procedural writing.
Mathematically speaking, the students are solving word problems with precision and perseverance. Taking one-minute Mastering Math facts tests and exploring place value to 100 during the enVisionMATH, Math Investigations, and the New York State Common Core Modules has kept the students engaged.
Learning about Diwali, UNICEF, Election Day, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving made our Social Studies lessons very enlightening. Nutrition was the perfect topic for our “Great Body Shop” Health lessons. Having the parents visit the classrooms during American Education Month was very special.
Counting on Frank by Rod Clement was this month’s Character Education book selection. It emphasized how one young boy “used his brain” to challenge the world around him. He courageously asked questions and looked at the world differently from others. The boy also answered his questions using math equations, estimations, calculations, and facts.
Learning more about bus safety during our second bus drill of the year was very informative. We congratulated and celebrated our Second Grade Physical Education Students of the Month too. November is truly a wonderful time to reflect on how lucky and grateful we are to be in Searingtown School together.
Third Grade
This year in third grade seems to be flying by! We feel as if we were just celebrating Halloween. Our days have been busy and filled with academic endeavors, and the children have been working hard in all curriculum areas. In reading, we have the children pushing their thinking with a focus on characters – character behaviors that allow the children to identify the traits that behavior is indicative of and asking for text based evidence to support their thinking. We are also asking them to identify and think about secondary characters, the role they play in a story, and how to monitor tension between a main character and secondary character. We are asking them to do all of this as well as hold onto and apply all of the reading skills and strategies we have built upon since the beginning of the year. Mathematics has brought excitement as we have begun our study of multiplication! This always brings cheers of excitement from third graders who can’t wait to flex their multiplication facts muscles! Please keep in mind that our focus is about understanding what multiplication is, and not just rote recall of facts. In science we are studying sound. Ask your children to explain how and why sound varies. Ask them about pitch, volume, how sound travels, and what causes sounds to sound different. They are excellent scientists!
So as we say goodbye to November we wanted to say that today and everyday we “give thanks” for our Searingtown families and friends, especially during this Thanksgiving season. Thank you for coming in to share some time in our classrooms to celebrate American Education, thank you for all of your support, thank you for your wonderful children. We are looking forward to the excitement of the winter months to come!
Fourth Grade
Learning with their friends, in a wonderful place like Searingtown, is just one of many things Fourth Graders are thankful for this November.
Students' math skills are multiplying every minute and they have the visual representations to prove it. Students are using number disks and tape diagrams to facilitate deeper math comprehension as they solve problems. As they move on to multiplying single-digit numbers by multiples of 10, 100, and 1,000, it's clear to see their math muscles are growing stronger every day!
It's time to say good-bye to the lively crustaceans that have been sharing our classrooms. Students have finished up their study on crayfish, and the little creatures will be taking up residence in some lucky students' homes. Lucky for the crayfish- these students are experts in humane treatment. Students have thoroughly enjoyed learning all about crustaceans as they studied their body parts, behavior, and conducted research. Remember if you're looking for a crayfish expert, be sure to visit a fourth grade classroom!
Speaking of experts, students are learning how readers rev up to read nonfiction using text features and structures. Students are honing their skills as they read all kinds of non fiction material so they can become expert researchers!
Fifth Grade
November has us giving thanks for many different reasons.Foremost the fifth grade would like to thank the PTA for sponsoring the Mad Science program, Marvels of Motion. Mad Scientist, Willy, took us on an exploration that Isaac Newton would have been proud of! We explored the laws of motion in this abundantly engaging physics performance. We observed the power of all sorts of forces including gravity, centrifugal force, inertia and much more. Then we even harnessed the power of these forces together to create astonishing jetpacks and even a rocket-propelled car! Needless to say this was a fun and very interactive learning experience for all of us.
Thankfully, to a strong multiplication background students have begun to divide numbers with ease. Using the base knowledge of partial products students are exploring partial quotients and the relationship between multiplication and division to fully understand the reasonableness of answers and remainders.
In writing, students have finished up their personal narratives and begun research on informational writing. This genre of information writing is remarkably a wide open one. Under the lens of history our fifth graders chose topics depicting an event or person during the Westward Expansion time period. Children are using a variety of sources for close reading to help them extract the key ideas related to their topic. This close reading will help students craft their own informational writing in a more focused manner.
Our fifth grade citizens have learned why they should be thankful to our forefathers. Students learned that our original attempt at a written form of government, The Articles of Confederation, proved to be a too weak. Through learning about the constitutional convention and exploring such documents, as the New Jersey Plan and The Virginia plan, students were able to surmise that a new written form of government was needed. Hence, The Constitution was born!
With our new found understanding of the US Government and the Constitution our wagons are hitched and loaded to head west! Students will be delving into the reasons behind our move and the arduous journey of the people who helped make America what it is today. The fifth grade staff would like to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!
Library Learning Commons
November was a busy month for the library! Mrs. Kliegman attended the American Association of School Librarians conference, where she got to meet our PTA-sponsored visiting author for this year, Meghan McCarthy!
While our youngest students enjoyed Thanksgiving-related stories, such as the Native American tale, Baby Rattlesnake, first graders were learning about how our fiction books are organized in the library. They learned that every book in the library has its own special "address" just like a house does.
In second grade, students learned about parts of a book. We read the book, A Book is Just Like You, and followed up with SmartBoard lessons to reinforce what we learned. We also watched one of our Capstone Digital Books on parts of a book.
Third grade students are excited to learn how to set up their own personal accounts on DestinyQuest! They will soon be able to review books and recommend books to their Searingtown friends via DestinyQuest. Also, third grade parents should be on the lookout for a NOOK Permission Slip. Starting in January, third graders with signed permission slips will be able to borrow one of our NOOKcolors for a week!
Mrs. Kenny's students are working hard on ALIENS IN NEW YORK . The NYS regional teams read a FollettShelf ebook about NYS Native Americans and used FollettShelf's note-taking app to research how NYS natural resources and geography played a part in the survival of the Native Americans. Next, they had to collaborate in their groups to paraphrase their notes on a post-it that was their "ticket out the door".
Other fourth grade classes have been working on their "Be a Super Searcher" project. This project teaches students how to search for a book on their reading level in DestinyQuest, our online catalog and how to navigate the Virtual Library Website. Students investigated the many online research tools, author websites, and free eBooks available through the Virtual Library.
In fifth grade we have been working hard on our DIGITAL LITERACY lessons. Classes learned how to evaluate Internet websites via a lesson called "Spoof or Truth" - starting with a spoof - a website called "The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus". After spending a half hour researching the habitat, size, etc. of this "species", students were shocked that they were tricked! We had a good laugh as we discussed the clues on the site that clearly were ridiculous - such as octopuses that live in trees and listing Sasquatch as a predator of the tree octopus! We followed that with students working in teams, comparing and evaluating two sites on the same topic - one site a valid one and one a hoax. Students were able to point out the 'giveaways' on the hoax sites and explain what made a valid site a trusted site. We will continue our digital literacy lessons in December, focusing on copyright, plagiarism, paraphrasing, and citation.
Art Studio
1st grades begin to learn about the very oldest art every found!
Very excited to see slides of the very earliest art, the first graders created their own art history journals! This is the place they keep all of the drawings they make from the slides of artwork during the year. This month we saw a video of the caves of Lascaux in France. I is videotaped as the photographer walked through, so it feels like you are in the cave!
I would love you to see what they saw so click here!
Painting trees in 2nd grade!
My students learn the secret of the surprising relationship between wax and water when they make watercolor/ crayon resist paintings! They are always awed by the shocking way the watercolor is separated by the waxy crayon marks, It is especially pleasing when they use a totally different color watercolor over the crayon. here are some examples from Mrs. DeMarco's class.
Mrs. Grogan's students check out the clouds !
When you walk down the hallway from the small gym towards the 3rd grade and art wings, you will see silhouettes of some students looking out the windows they created! Many people have remarked to me how real they look at first glance. In fact , they were just 3rd grader tracing other third graders and then that brown paper was painted black to give a feeling of a silhouette. They still have a few to complete so you might be surprised again!
4th grades working on portraits, using torn white paper as a drawing tool.
First 4th graders created a quick sketch of head and neck and shoulders next to a value chart of 6 shades of gray between white and black. Then they began making a new portrait on very good heavy duty paper with use of a mirror and lightly sketched pencil. The amazing transformation begins when an artist wants to make a change to the drawing, so he pastes a piece of white paper over that part and redraws on the scrap of paper!
5th grades are working at understanding tints and shades and how to navigate those in between colors. So they are creating their own color wheels as a preview for applying their new knowledge to creating a painting! Come back to see the results, next month!
ESL
Kindergarteners and First Graders learned about the first Thanksgiving. We learned about the Pilgrims and Native Americans and some of the foods that they grew. Some of the stories we read were The Story Of Thanksgiving by Nancy J. Skarmeas, Thanksgiving is For Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland, My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola and Celebrating Thanksgiving by Joel Kupperstein.
In light of the fall holidays, second grade ELLs read Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara for Halloween. Students wrote spooky stories, using Microsoft Word to create a cover page with a picture. They were excited to share, and scare, their stories with their classmates. For Thanksgiving, students read This is the Turkey by Abby Levine. Students wrote books in which they expressed their gratitude.
Third grade ELLs continued with their polar region unit and explored animal life in these frigid climates!
Each student chose an animal that interested him or her. Ms. Vanore then provided the classes with a variety of non-fiction material from which they took notes. Next - since we have new net books in our classrooms - Ms. Vanore introduced three wonderful websites available on Searingtown's Virtual Library. Students explored these sites and took additional notes. After writing draft copies, they are now busy using our computers to type their reports.
Ms. Vanore's student teacher introduced the fourth grade students to the world of aviation. Since questions about flying arose during lessons on the Titanic, we decided to teach them about the history of airplanes.
Fifth grade ELLs are learning about wolves. Children were inspired about canines after studying service dogs and the many ways they help humans. We will now discover the similarities and differences between these "cousins."
Music
Speech - Tip of the Month
As we enter this holiday season, celebrations and festivities abound. Family gatherings often involve special dishes and types of food. Cooking with your child provides a delicious way to incorporate not only language skills into your daily life, but math, chemistry, health and nutrition knowledge as well.
We suggest beginning with simple recipes such as snacks and move on to more complicated baking later.
Cooking involves vocabulary in terms of the various ingredients and utensils needed. It is a step by step activity which can help a child learn sequencing skills. It also teaches the importance of following directions accurately and the reward for good listening skills is a delicious treat!
When cooking with your child, make sure you:
· Review the steps of the recipe before you begin (written instructions are great with older kids.) Have your child repeat the directions back to you to help them practice recalling and sequencing information, and to make sure they understand the process.
· Gather all materials needed (ingredients, cookware, etc) and review their names.
· Discuss the importance of following directions (e.g. what would happen if you don’t follow the directions? Why the recipe would fail?)
· Allow the children to be ‘hands on’ where appropriate (e.g. measuring, mixing, pouring)
Use the activity as an opportunity to involve with your child in an open conversation.
Children will often open up while engaging in structured activities in a way that they don’t during direct questioning.
Cooking with kids is a great way to build both social and academic language skills.
Enjoy the time with your family and Bon Appétit!
Searingtown School Happenings
Website: http://herricks.org/searingtown.cfm