September 23, 2012

Hello everyone,

Here is an update of what has been going on with GTD Resource services since the last post.

Kindergarten
Mr. Packer has gone into each of the Kindergarten classroom's and introduced himself and played a game using movement to help him get to know each of the student's names.  Our first activity will be reading a book called "Tomorrow's Alphabet" in which the students have to think about what something will be in the future.  We may do an activity where they will create their own page.

1st Grade
Dot has been coming with Mr. Packer to each of the 1st grade classroom. This adventure is "Dot Goes To School".  We discuss varioius strategies for solving the problems and questions that arise as Dot continues on his/her adventure.  Look for your child to create their very own Dot story.

2nd Grade
2nd Graders have had two thinking skills activities. The first, "How Old Are....?" was an activity that introduced the concept of solving for unknowns by working backwards.  The 2nd activity "Number on a Hat" introduces solving for unknowns by using clues to narrow down our choices and reading clues carefully.

3rd Grade
Math
3rd Grade math students are getting acclimated to the 4th grade curriculum and their teachers.  With Mr. Packer we have been working on logic problems (strategies for solving) and our multiplication facts.
Language Arts
Groups have not begun, but will start in the coming weeks beginning with a read of Rudyard Kipling's "Just So"stories.

4th Grade
Math
We have been working on learning about Data Collection and landmarks, prepping ourselves for the upcoming election where we will take a poll of one class and make election prediction outcomes for the whole school.
Language Arts
We are reading Ellen Raskin's "The Westing Game".  A great book to discuss plot, plot twists, and characters.  Look for us to create Google Docs and create character snapshots for each of "suspects" in Sam Westing's final game

5th Grade
Math
We are working in Everyday Math.  Having finished Unit 1 on data collection, we have started a project that should take us up to the end of the trimester (see side bar ).  We have begun Unit 2, operations with decimals and Powers of 10.
Language Arts
We have started to read Edgar Allen Poe and are reading and discussing "The Fall of the House of Usher"