A Week Packed with Learning, Friendships and Discoveries

It was another packed week of learning, discoveries, and fun here at SOS.  The days are flying by and we have developed new friendships and are on the path to success.
Everyday brings new ways of learning and expressing ourselves.  Take a look at our week:

4th Graders

 

As you can see the children are very engaged in their learning. We have begun writing personal narratives.  The students feel right at home in choosing where they want to work. They have the bean bags, the learning commons, or even at their tables in the classroom.  After a quick mini lesson for the day, they go right to the spot of their choice and let their writing begin. 

 

You can see that some choose to work alone,  and others with  their writing partners.  Wherever they go, there are always great conversations about their pieces, especially during the revising and editing times. 

 

The children seem very involved in their work.  They continue to check in with me before finalizing their pieces.  They ask for suggestions and learn from one another. 

Class Dojo keeps all of the students on task and engaged.  They love to watch the video and then discuss the lesson it teaches for that particular video.  We have had topics such as not giving up, getting motivated and having the right mindset.  After each video, there are discussion questions.  This is all student led.  It is a time when I can step back and let the children have the conversations based on what the video showed.  I choose 1 student a day to lead the conversation.  This develops into excellent discussion times. 

The intensity of some of these student led discussions is amazing.  It is a time of reflecting on how they can change their mindset and do better each and every day.  I am so glad that I started using Class Dojo.  The 3 children with the highest points at the end of the day get some type of reward.  

 

We have some prospective producers in our 4th grade.  The children in Mrs. D'Amico's class just finished recording their book reviews of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and presented the videos to their classmates.  Very unique and expressive talent.  They did a great job and hope to do more projects like this.

 

 

We have begun a new program called Words Their Way.  It is a program that will reinforce spelling patterns and word recognition.  The children will be placed in groups based on a benchmark assessment they were given.  Each week they will have a new set of words and will do various activities with them.  They will take their words home, along with their notebooks, if they do not finish the work in school.  The children will sort their words, study their words and be tested on them.  

5th Graders:

 

As you can see, the fifth graders are up and running on the Summit Platform.  They are engaged in their note taking, reading various articles and watching certain videos that will prepare them for their upcoming project of Comparing and Contrasting Stories.  They should have already chosen their 2 short stories and reading them in order to complete this upcoming task.  You can see that many of them are independently working or with my guidance.  Each student works at their pace and turn in various assignments at different times.  

We are also continuing with the book titled Crash.  Most of it is being read in small groups, while others decide that they want to read it silently on their own.  We also listen to it on You Tube for those that prefer it read to them.  Many choices are given to them with the opportunities to be successful.

Halloween Safety

Office Jay held a Halloween Safety assembly on Friday with the entire school.  He talked about the many safety precautions they should take before heading out on Halloween night.  They each were given a treat bag at the end of the day.

What a week!  

I hope everyone enjoys their night on Halloween and a friendly reminder: Please do not send in your child with a costume on Thursday.  Many have been asking, but we do not allow them to get into their costume.  Also, do not send in candy for snack time.  We have many children with allergies and do not want to have anyone have some sort of reaction.  Thank you

Immersed in Bushels of Learning

Fall is definitely in the air!! Crisp mornings, colorful leaves, brisk walks on cool evenings.  The days are getting shorter and the learning continues to progress.  We are immersed in discoveries and the children are evolving into lifelong learners. 

Fourth Grade:

 

We continue to write our personal narratives and watch our mindset videos from Class Dojo.  The conversations that occur are very thoughtful and in depth.  We are still building friendships and learning more about one another.  Our videos are powerful and send out great messages.  

 

Mrs. D'Amico's class is producing book reviews based on Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  Now that they have finished the book, they will present the reviews that they are recording on their chrome books.  They are very engaged and have written up scripts.  

 

We learn from each other.  The children have been helpful in showing one another how to record on their chrome book and helping one another create scripts.  They are very involved and motivated with these book reviews. 


Fifth Grade
 We continue to work from the Summit Platform and are reading Crash.  The fifth graders are progressing along with their English project. They are reading and viewing resources for Comparing and Contrasting Stories.  There is a lot of note taking going on, students are practicing with Quizlet and watching videos from the chrome books. 

 

There are many great things going on.  I love to see how involved and focused they are.  They collaborate with one another, discuss what they read and help one another become  successful for the goals they have set.  

 

Our circle up activity on Friday gave us an opportunity to discuss respecting one another, here at school and home.  The children do a wonderful job taking turns and are learning from each other.  They love seeing what we will do during circle time.  Even our most reluctant speakers are getting involved and share their stories. 
There will be more activities, lessons and writing revolving around Respect in the next few weeks.

As we continue with our days, there will be more and more involvement in reading about respect, writing about it and overall showing what it is all about.  This is revolved around our new PBIS initiative that we will be kicking off in the next week or so.  There will be more information to follow.

Discovering and Creating Wonderful Things

It was another exciting week at SOS and the children are doing a great job!

Our motto is- I can't do that Yet!!
Many times the children say, "I don't know how to do it."  I tell that that they cannot do it yet, but they will eventually learn how to.  We are trying to keep this motto going throughout all of the classrooms.  It's not that they don't know how to do it or can't do it, it's that they are learning the skills to be able to do it, so eventually they will learn how.  I love to keep things positive and upbeat. 

4th Grade:
     

 

On Monday we start the day with station rotation.  Each station is dedicated to a particular activity.  There is a Reading station a Writing station and a Technology station.  The students enjoy moving from one station to the next.  There is a lot of group work and collaboration that takes place.  They can always help each other out if someone is stuck on a particular skill. 

 

The children have also been reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing in small groups.  They read the book together, discuss what is going on and write summaries. There are wonderful conversations taking place and many make connections with characters or situations in the book.  They run their small group efficiently and cooperation is always a must.  Everyone participates in his or her own way.  

  Each afternoon, before lunch, we gather in front of our big screen computer and watch a small video about mindfulness.  It is part of our Dojo classroom.  The video is watched, we discuss the questions and then we share it with parents, in hopes of continuing the conversations at home.  It is a wonderful way to learn more about one another and build relationships with classmates and teachers. 

Mrs. D'Amico's class is busy creating book reviews.  They are writing scripts and recording them on their chromebooks.  They will be sharing them with their classmates by the end of the week.  We have some future directors and actors/actresses  in the classroom.  Can't wait to see their final products.

 

All the rain this week did not keep the children from having fun during indoor recess time.  They played board games, spent some down time on the computers and even had some drawing.  Lots of happy faces and fun times.

Our classroom book a day is growing each day.  After reading the book, we discuss what connection we made, or what lesson was learned.  The children look forward to it and enjoy discussing and sharing their stories.

5th Grade:

 
We are on the Summit Platform and the children have been given their first English project.  The platform provides many resources for the students to go to and take notes on articles or videos.  They seem to be adjusting nicely to this and are becoming independent, self learners, also with guidance and directions from all of their teachers.  They are also reading Crash and seem to enjoy reading in small groups.

 

 


So many happy faces and learning going on.  They are very involved and on task.  They are using all spaces available to them.  Many enjoy staying in the classroom while others enjoy using the learning commons, and the bean bags are also a hit.  They make choices, discuss the reading and produce great work and effort on their part.  I am looking forward to seeing how their 1st project turns out (Comparing and Contrasting stories). 

Whether listening to a video or taking notes on an article they just read, the children are engaged and focused.  I love watching them discover new things or have aha moments as they read. 

I am thrilled to be a part of your child's learning and can't wait to watch them blossom into wonderful, self independent learners.  It is so important to give them choices in how they learn and watch them make discoveries.  Many great things are happening at SOS. Stay tuned for many new and exciting things taking place.