Newsletter 19.05.17

Good Afternoon,

A few quick notes for you from the Chameleon class. 

In English this week children wrote their reason paragraphs fully, I was able to meet with a lot of children and ensure that they understood the writing process well. I’m pleased with what I have been seeing and I feel confident that all children will be ready to hand in published copies on time. Children are able to work on their English at home if they wish, however I urge parents not to give too much support as this will be formerly assessed. 

We started the week by completing the first part of the math assessment, this was in the form of a short test which checked their knowledge of geometry vocabulary. Then, on Wednesday, I introduced the next part of the assessment to children. The next section involves becoming a city planner and designing four different districts in a city onto a grid. Each district has specific geometric and building specifications that children need to follow as they design it. This will be assessed by me asking them to point to the specific geometric terms as they are shown on their design. Children will also need to identify the area and perimeter of all the shapes drawn on their districts. Students seem to be really enjoying this activity and I’m excited to assess this with them. Due to the fact that this is a formal assessment, children cannot work on this at home. 

In science this week we introduced our scientific method project. We took a look at the scientific method again and the 8 step process which is consists of. Then, using a work booklet provided, children started to plan out their investigation. They had to first choose an area to study that was related to the following topics: states of matter, weather or erosion. Children then spent some time on the computer researching their chosen area and write a hypothesis that they would then test with an experiment. All children should now have spent time writing up the experiment that they want to undertake. Children will now be able to start conducting their experiments in school or at home depending on what they need. For those performing their experiments at home, they will need to video or photograph the process and results. 

Over the past few weeks in ICT we have been getting used to using a program called Scratch2. Scratch2 is a piece of software that easily and intuitively allows children to create games, animations and stories. We have started to understand and apply some basic things in Scratch2 and I’ve been amazed at what some children have produced. Some children asked to be able to work on Scratch2 at home so here is the link https://scratch.mit.edu/ .

In sports we have been practicing for the Bundesjugendspiele, I am really impressed with the focus and self-direction that children have been showing during these training sessions. Children have been pushing themselves to try and beat their personal bests to ensure they are ready for Wednesday.

Thank you to those who handed the Wegscheide letters in on time, if you would like your child to go to Wegscheide I need to know by Monday. 

Below are a number of dates that you should be aware of in May and June.

Important Dates:

-         

-          May 24^th – Bundesjugendspiele (weather permitting)

-          May 25^th and 26^th – School closed.

-          May 29^th – June 2^nd – Formal Math conference of Geometry Project

-          May 29^th – June 2^nd – Published Literary Essay to be handed in

Here is an overview of the areas of study we will focus on throughout the next week:

Next week:

Due to the fact that we will only realistically have Monday and Tuesday next week with any real lesson time and the fact that both the English published piece and the formal math assessments are due in on the week of the 29^th, I will be allowing children to choose what they would like to work on out of English, Math or Science during the lessons on these days. I have trialled this before in single sessions and the Chameleons have been excellent at staying motivated and choosing appropriate work to work on. I explain to the children that this is an excellent way for children to get used to managing their own time whilst still in an established environment, a skill which will be vital for Wegscheide and further schooling after grade 4. I will still offer guidance to children and will be conferencing to give support in all lessons. 

There will still be a couple of mini-lessons on Monday which focus in on how to write the conclusion of their literary essay and how to correctly calculate the area and perimeter of some irregular shapes. 

German:

Liebe Eltern der Chamäleon-Klasse,

in dieser Woche haben die Schüler eine Personenbeschreibung (Bild: Lehrerin) geschrieben und diese in einer Schreibkonferenz mit ihrem Partner und mit Hilfe eines Überarbeitungsbogens verbessert. Die verbesserten Aufsätze habe ich anschließend korrigiert und letzte Tipps vermerkt. Zudem haben wir die Zeitformen Präsens, Präteritum, Perfekt und Futur in verschiedenen Übungen und Spielen gefestigt.

 Zur Erinnerung: Die letzte Klassenarbeit schreiben wir am Montag, den 22.05.2017 (Themen: Personenbeschreibung / Zeitformen Präsens, Präteritum, Perfekt und Futur I).

 Im Anhang finden Sie das Bild der Lehrerin (Übungsaufsatz) sowie ein weiteres Bild zur freiwilligen Übung. Desweiteren finden Sie im Anhang einen Bogen mit den Bewertungskriterien zur Personenbeschreibung.

Ich wünsche Ihnen ein erholsames Wochenende!

Agnes Fojcik

Enjoy the long weekend.

Sincerely,

Mario Civico and the entire Chameleon team.

Newsletter 12.05.17

Good Afternoon,

A few quick notes for you from the Chameleon class. 

In English this week we began to draft our essays. I was really pleased to see that everyone had chosen to write the literary essay about Sing or a well known text and almost everyone had completely finished their plans. This set them up in a perfect place to start writing. I modeled how to write a summary which connects to the thesis sentence and we looked at drafting our first behavior paragraph. To teach this a used the saying ‘we’ll make our paragraphs B.E.T.R’. This is a four step process to writing paragraphs which focuses on students explaining the reason they chose their evidence to represent that specific behavior. This is a slightly trickier skill for students however it is far more valuable and demonstrates and better understanding of both the character strength and the film or text.

Out math sessions this week were full of mini lessons that taught children everything they needed to know for the small quiz on Tuesday. We started by recapping 2d and 3d shapes (I have provided a handout for those children who wanted it), then moved on to perpendicular and parallel lines, next came angles, how to identify and label them as well as being able to measure them with a protractor or set square, Wednesday included learning out the diameter and radius of a circle and then finally we started to cover area and perimeter. This does sound like a lot but the majority of it is recap from last year. All of these terms will need to be known for the quiz on Tuesday.

In science this week we revisited the water cycle and began to look at the impacts of the water cycle on our planet. We learned about weathering and erosion and demonstrated how erosion can change how the earth looks. We also did our first experiment for the unit which looked at the rate at which water cools.

A quick reminder to say that the Wegscheide permission letters need to be returned by May 19^th.

Thank you for all the scrap donations, we now have an enormous amount of materials to build with. I’m really excited to see the giant city that children will build using what you have provided.

Below are a number of dates that you should be aware of in May, a few of these are related to assessments in both Math and English. More details can be found in their respective sections below.

Important Dates:

-          May 16^th – Formal Math quiz related to Vocabulary

-          May 19^th –Deadline for Wegscheide permission letters

-          May 24^th – Bundesjugendspiele (weather permitting)

-          May 29^th – June 2^nd – Formal Math conference of Geometry Project

-          May 29^th – June 2^nd – Published Literary Essay to be handed in

Here is an overview of the areas of study we will focus on throughout the next week:

English:

Next week in English we will continue to the write the guided literary essay based around a character from Sing, children are now deep within the writing process. Please check in with your child at home to see what stage of the their writing they are on. I would expect children to be some way through drafting their behavior paragraphs by now.

I will also continue to assess reading using the readers workshop non-fiction rubric.

Math:

On Tuesday we will write a short quiz which will ensure children have comprehended all the vocabulary related to geometry and shapes that we have covered, this will go towards the final math formal assessment grade. I will then introduce the next part of the assessment which will be to design and build a miniature city using strict guidelines that we will provide.

Science:

This week children will begin to develop their own hypotheses for the next part of the changing matter project. They will then conduct the experiment and perform a short presentation which looks at the impacts of their topic of experimentation.

German:

Liebe Eltern der Chamäleon-Klasse,

in dieser Woche haben wir verschiedene Übungen zur Personenbeschreibung durchgeführt (vor allem zur treffenden Wortwahl: Verben, Adjektive, Nomen, Satzanfänge).

Desweiteren haben die Schüler neue Lernwörter erhalten (s. Anhang). In dieser Woche fand auch die letzte Stunde unserer Lesepatenschaft mit der 1. Klasse statt.

Die letzte Klassenarbeit in diesem Schuljahr schreiben wir am Montag, den 22. Mai 2017. Für Schüler sollen eine Personenbeschreibung anfertigen sowie die Zeitformen Präsens, Präteritum, Perfekt und Futur I richtig anwenden.

Ich wünsche Ihnen ein erholsames Wochenende!

Agnes Fojcik

Enjoy the long weekend.

Sincerely,

Mario Civico and the entire Chameleon team.

Newsletter 05.05.17

Good Afternoon,

A few quick notes for you from the Chameleon class. 

We started the week with a really incredible field trip to Hessenpark, this open-air museum was a wonderful example of what life in Hessen was like up to 600 years ago. Children took part in a number of different activities. After getting feedback from the class I gather that everyone enjoyed themselves with the only comment being that they wished we’d had more time there.

In English this week we began to plan out our literary essays, there is an example essay that we are writing together and I have ensured that no one in the class is doing the same as me. By having this example essay I will be able to show the class how to write the essay and what I am expecting from their published piece. The deadline has been set for this to be handed in, this is due on the week of 29^th May (the week before Wegscheide). I also continued to meet with children for the reading assessments.

In math we jumped into the new unit of geometry, firstly we focused on 2d and 3d shapes. We did some recap as a few students were a little uncomfortable with the names of the shapes. We also started to look at the different types of angles and how to measure them. I introduced a lot of new vocabulary to the children this week and I will be testing their knowledge of this vocabulary on 16^th May. This will be the first part of the final math formal assessment, a larger part of the assessment will come from a project based activity which we will complete before Wegscheide. More details will follow regarding this.

We didn’t have much time for science this week due to the holiday on Monday and then our trip to Hessenpark, I was able to fit in a recap session of the changes of state materials as well as briefly discussing the water cycle again.

I handed out a pack of 4 pages to children this afternoon, this contains information regarding Wegscheide. Please take a lot of this with your child and return the permission slips by May 19^th.

Thank you for all the scrap donations, we now have an enormous amount of materials to build with. I’m really excited to see the giant city that children will build using what you have provided.

Below are a number of dates that you should be aware of in May, a few of these are related to assessments in both Math and English. More details can be found in their respective sections below.

Important Dates:

-          May 2^nd – Field trip to Hessenpark (information to follow next week)

-          May 12^th – Science quiz related to the changes of state and the water cycle.

-          May 16^th – Formal Math quiz related to Vocabulary

-          May 24^th – Bundesjugendspiele (weather permitting)

-          May 29^th – June 2^nd – Formal Math conference of Geometry Project

-          May 29^th – June 2^nd – Published Literary Essay to be handed in

Here is an overview of the areas of study we will focus on throughout the next week:

English:

Next week in English we will continue to the write the guided literary essay based around a character from Sing, almost all children have now completely planned their literary essay and are ready to start drafting their paragraphs.

I will also continue to assess reading using the readers workshop non-fiction rubric.

Math:

We will be continuing to work on geometry in math, reviewing 2d and 3d shapes again as well as covering the vocabulary which will be on the assessment quiz. I will also begin to look at the concept of area and perimeter and children will need to be able to calculate the area and perimeter of different shapes using their rulers and squared paper.

Science:

We will begin to discuss the experiment process, looking firstly at creating their own hypothesis, discussing experimental variables and then also testing those hypotheses. As well as this we will take a brief look the impacts of the water cycle in the form of erosion and weathering.

German:

Liebe Eltern der Chamäleon-Klasse,

in dieser Woche haben wir mit der Personenbeschreibung begonnen. Die Schüler haben eine Geschichte über zwei Freunde gelesen, die sich auf einem Stadtfest aus den Augen verlieren und dazu Personenbeschreibungen verfasst. Außerdem haben die Schüler im Rahmen unserer Lesepatenschaften Erstklässlern vorgelesen und sich vorlesen lassen.   

Ich wünsche Ihnen eine erholsames Wochenende!

Agnes Fojcik

Enjoy the weekend.

Sincerely,

Mario Civico and the entire Chameleon team.