Medcalf Minutes
December 14th - 18th
Field Trip on Tuesday, Dec. 15th
Anderson Grove's Purpose and Direction
Purpose: The purpose of Anderson Grove Elementary is to prepare all students to achieve their greatest potential and to positively impact the future.
Values & Beliefs:
Family Atmosphere
Collaboration and Communication
Integrity
Continuous Improvement
3 Be’s – Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible
Be Known
Anderson Grove is Known for Being a . . .
Collaborative
Dedicated
Positive
Community
Upcoming Events
Dec. 18- Winter Parties - 2:00
Dec. 21- Jan. 4- No School - Winter Break
Jan. 5- School resumes
Specials Schedule
Tuesday (Day 9)- No Specials due to field trip
Wednesday (Day 10) - Music
Thursday (Day 1) - PE
Friday (Day 2) - Music
A Note from Ms. Levin
This week, students will be continuing their silhouette animal drawings. On day one, we looked at animal pictures for reference and talked about how we can draw animals by using shapes, then making slight changes to the shapes to make them realistic. After the animal was drawn, we added a horizon line and a habitat behind the animal (some students even added some other animals friends!) The animal was silhouetted by coloring them in; creating contrast and positive and negative space. Many students colored in their background in a sunset style..very cool! At home, encourage your student to draw objects around the house, maybe a favorite toy or even the family pet. Remind them to break down what they see into shapes. This will help with their drawing and grow their skill of hand eye coordination in art. J
A Peek at our Week
Reading – Readers will review the strategy of choosing a "just right" book. We follow a 5-finger rule to determine if a new book is a good fit. Here are the steps to the 5-finger rule:
- Open the book to a page with a lot of words.
- Read the page aloud.
- Every time you come to an unfamiliar word, hold up one finger.
- When you finish the page, count how many fingers you are holding up.
- If you are holding up fewer than 2 fingers, the book may be too easy.
- If you are holding up 2-3 fingers, the book is just right.
- If you are holding up 4-5 fingers, the book is too hard.
At Home – Ask your child to demonstrate this technique with a book they are reading at home. If your students is interested in reading a book that is too difficult for them, try reading it aloud with them. Most children have a higher listening comprehension level than their reading level.
Writing – Writers will continue the the cause-and-effect paragraphs they began last week. We will carefully draft paragraphs as well as edit and revise the paragraphs to prepare for a final draft.
At Home - Check out these websites for cause-and-effect paragraph samples, comprehension questions, and quizzes.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/reproducibles/litplace/r980217e.htm
http://www.quia.com/mc/20632.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20131225235813/http://wps.ablongman.com/long_long_rw_1/0,8256,1453913-,00.html
Math – Mathematicians will work on congruent and symmetrical shapes as we wrap up our current math unit. Students will show what they know towards the end of the week.
At Home – Ask your student to draw a line of symmetry on shapes around your house or draw shapes and ask your student to identify if they are congruent.
http://www.fuelthebrain.com/Game/play.php?ID=131
Social Studies – Students will show what they know on their Social Studies Unit 2 assessment. We have discussed the difference between rules and laws, the importance of following each, how to be a good citizen, contributions of immigrants, and impacts of new technology. Students will review in the beginning of the week prior to assessment.
At Home – Share your family’s history. Does your child have ancestors that immigrated through Ellis or Angel Island? Check out these websites with your child to get more background information on early immigration:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/
http://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/
http://www.history.com/topics/ellis-island
http://www.kqed.org/w/pacificlink/history/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/asian-american/angel_island/
Spelling – This week students will continue to study words spelled with word patterns -oy and -oi. This is the same sort as last week. We will take the spelling test on Friday.
At Home – It is important that students practice sorting their words at home to understand the relationships of their words. Students can practice sorting activities at home as well as play games at http://www.spellingcity.com/BeckyMedcalf/ to have more practice with their words.
Thank you Families! Have a wonderful last week before break!