Season's Greeting Everyone!!
Sorry it's been awhile since the last update. The end of the 1st trimester is such a busy time and transitioning activities takes a lot of preparation. I hope you are all doing well and gearing up for our upcoming Winter Break!
Kindergarten:
Kindergarten students have been practicing being creative. They looked at the book "10 Dots" and "Curious George's ABC's" to see how dots and the alphabet can be used to create things we see in the world around us. The kids were then given dots and letters of their own and asked to use their imaginations to create their own versions of things we see in the world. Some very creative uses of the letters and dots. You can expect to see these come home soon.
First Grade:
First Grade students have finished up their detective work with Dudley the Detective by looking for clues and using their logic to solve puzzles. We are now on another adventure with our friend DOT entitled DOT's ADVENTURE IN THE SNOW-how appropriate. This time, students are recording their answers on a sheet instead of discussing all of the questions out loud together.
2nd Grade:
Second Grade students continue to have fun with Yolanda the Yarnspinner and learning how to have fun with words. They heard a story called "That's Good, That's Bad" and created their own versions of Good News/Bad News, some very fun and creative stuff. They are currently working on creating their own animal riddles, and if time permits, they'll perform in Packer's Comedy Playhouse and tell each other their jokes.
3rd Grade Math:
3rd Grade Math students continue to work on logic and problem solving, using guess and check strategies on 5th grade material.
3rd Grade Reading:
Reading students are creating their own "Just So Stories" in a Google Doc that can be worked on anywhere they have internet access and a keyboard. They are required to have dialogue, and a moral to their story. Mr. Packer will edit their stories over Winter Break.
4th Grade Math:
4th Grade Math students are beginning to learn about being consumers and investing their money. They are learning about various businesses and the Stock Market. After break they will be given "$10,000" to invest in the Stock Market Game", buying and selling stock in imaginary companies.
4th Grade Reading:
Students are reading "The Breadwinner", a story about an 11 year old Afghanistan girl who, due to circumstances beyond her control and the Taliban, needs to become the caretaker for her family. It's pretty deep and we've had some great discussions about the Taliban and Afghanistan.
5th Grade Math:
Students are working on CCSS-Rational Numbers-operations with positive and negative numbers, plotting points on a graph, and using algebra to solve for x and y. Along with some of their peers and 4th grade students they have competed in the 2nd of 5 Math Olympiads.
5th Grade Reading:
Students in Packer Reading are just beginning to read the novel "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt and we began with a discussion of the pros and cons of eternal life, making some predictions after reading the dialogue, and identifying similes and metaphors that the author uses in the story.
Have a great holiday season, and a Happy New Year. See you in January.
All my best,
Mr. Packer
