Learning in 215
October 2017
October Happenings!
If September means yellow school buses, sharp pencils and memories of summer in the air, October means bright leaves, new sweatshirts, and starting to feel like home in our classroom. October has been full of learning and excitement at SEM. I enjoyed meeting many of you again at Parent Conferences and look forward to more fun-filled days of learning this fall.
I Am Poems
I Am a Daler!
During Spirit Week, students celebrated their uniqueness and also their membership in the Daler club! At the end of Spirit Week, we thought about the qualities that make us special and explored that in an "I am" poem. Students wrote their poems then recorded themselves reading it in their SeeSaw digital portfolio.
Writing For Readers
Our first unit of study in writing was Writing for Readers! We studied the idea that writers use punctuation, paragraphs, capital letters, and correct spelling to help their readers understand the important message they share. We noticed how authors play with punctuation to make the readers read the words a certain way. We studied the book The Love Monster to see how punctuation was used in interesting ways!
Fire Safety!
We appreciate the firefighters who came to teach us about fire safety and show us how all the equipment works! We loved learning from them.
Multiplication and Division
In October, we finished our first unit of math on adding, subtracting, and place value. We will continue to review these concepts throughout the year. We began our study of multiplication and division. Students are learning that multiplying is repeated addition and a more efficient way to add when you have equal groups. Division can be thought of as "fair sharing" or making sure each group has the same amount of an object. We will continue to explore this topic during November!
See What Our Class Read in October!
Innovation Lab Learning
We have been loving our time in the Innovation Lab with Mrs. Corazzata and Mrs. DeTommaso. Students researched extreme weather using online databases and books. Each student read a fact about the extreme weather in front of the green screen! In the Innovation Lab this month, students also took part in a Breakout EDU game where they had to figure out puzzles to unlock 5 locks and "break out" of the imaginary dungeon they were placed in! Some students also had the opportunity to talk about the Breakout EDU experience on Flipgrid, a site where students can create a short video to share their thoughts. Students are learning to think creatively and collaborate. On Halloween, students used Google Classroom to access a link to a presentation where they could decorate their own pumpkin (virtually). We all look forward to learning and thinking outside the box in the Innovation Lab!
Extreme Weather Videos
https://youtu.be/y4UPi4RtgIs
https://youtu.be/QssAuVB9VyA
https://youtu.be/45f3CIJRLHs
https://youtu.be/hbc5sZH_hlo
Shields of Resilience
This month, we learned what it means to be resilient, to bounce back after a setback or hard time. We brainstormed ways to feel better after a rough day and created "Shields of Resilience." Students shared about their shields through Flipgrid.
Kindergarten Buddies!
We've teamed up with Mrs. Mondello's Kindergarten Class this year. Each student has been assigned a kindergarten buddy to get to know and help. We made a pumpkin craft together and did a Go Noodle brain break. We are excited to go back to Mrs. Mondello's class and see our buddies again.
Halloween!
We had so much fun on Halloween! The SEM Parade was a great way to kick off the day. Students wrote Halloween poems and explored Buncee as a way to present their poems. Our class party included painting monster rocks, wrapping up a friend as a mummy, and delicious treats. Thank you to Mrs. LoGiudice and Mrs. Corr for organizing the party and all the family members who contributed items and helped out! The students had a fantastic time.