AT Times
Newsletter from Mrs. Mogle's Class
Interim Grades
On Tuesday, December 2, I printed the current grades for students. Some classes received them on Tuesday, and others later in the week or today. If you haven't seen your child's grades yet, ask him or her. Please note that we have been taking several tests in math and completing several assignments in reading last week and this week. These grades may cause your child's average to change. Also, if your child has been absent, the make-up work may not yet be reflected in the grade that was printed last Tuesday. If you have questions, please let me know.
Gift Ideas
This year our class has a few different needs than we have in the past. I would like to suggest that, instead of giving the AT teacher a gift, you may want to give something to the AT classroom. We can always use boxes of tissues, colored pencils, and small hand-held pencil sharpeners. We can also use some games, such as Equate, Muggins and related games (http://www.mugginsmath.com/store.asp), Rush Hour, The Towers of Hanoi, Pathwords, chess, and others. Happy Cubes is a type of foam puzzle you can find on Amazon.com. Please do not feel obligated: I am just making suggestions in case you are interested. You may also want to purchase one of these games for your child to play at home. MindWare (http://www.mindware.com/) is another place where you can find great games and hands-on puzzles.
Math Classes Multiply Learning and Divide Problems
All three grade levels have been studying multiplication and division. Third graders have been learning the concepts of multiplication and division through pictures, objects, and number lines while practicing their basic multiplication facts. They have also been applying their knowledge through problem solving. Fourth graders have mastered multiplying 2-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers and dividing 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. They will continue to extend their division skills in the days to come. They have also learned to write the factors or multiples of a given number and how to identify prime numbers. Fifth graders have mastered multiplication and division with whole numbers and are beginning to multiply decimals. All three grade levels continue to be challenged by unusual problem-solving activities.
Third Graders Travel to Southwestern Illinois (Or is it Missouri?)
The third graders have been on a virtual field trip to Kaskaskia, Illinois. Did you know that this part of Illinois is WEST of the Mississippi River? Your third grader can tell you all about it. Meanwhile, we are learning lots of vocabulary and doing critical thinking as we ask ourselves questions about the text.
Fourth Graders Scan the News
In fourth grade reading, students have been reading and discussing the news. We read about a study that seemed to show that time away from electronic devices can help students improve their ability to read social cues like facial expressions. We also read about a museum that offers Girl Scouts only one STEM class dealing with how to create makeup, while it offers Boy Scouts several STEM options. Most recently, the students chose to read an article about a sport called Parkour. They wondered about how safe the sport can be and whether they would like to try it. They also applied what they learned about drawing in Mrs. Collins's art class to depicting the activities of Parkour. The discussions students had as we studied these articles were lively and filled with thinking!
Fifth Graders Cross the Bridge to Terabithia
After analyzing the various conflicts among the characters in Bridge to Terabithia, students are identifying the main conflict and supporting their choice in an essay. Some students have proposed other creative projects, so we may extend our unit a bit to accommodate those ideas. This story seems to be a favorite.