A Visitor from Long Ago...

This week we had a visitor from a reenactor of the Ethan Allen Homestead!  He was brought to SCS to teach us about how Vermont settlers and soldiers lived long ago.  This tied in with our Shelburne History unit that we did earlier in the year.  Be sure to ask your child about our guest!  What did they find most interesting?

This week in writer's workshop we continued to work on our persuasive speeches.  We talked about looking over our writing and finding ways to make improvements such as, organization, punctuation, adding details, elaborating.  We also learned that writers of persuasive pieces often write down all they know about a topic to help build strong reasons for their opinions.  They then can take all they know and organize it into reasons with evidence and examples.

In science, Miss Niles' class is finishing up the cart investigation and making observations about wheel and axle systems.  This week the children had to build a cart that could roll with a small push or a pull.  Next week, they will use the same carts and make improvements to the features of the cart to see if they can get it to roll a further distance!

In readers workshop we are finishing reading Red Clover books and voting on our favorite.  What's your child's favorite book?  During the month of February, we will continue to work on comprehension strategies in our reading.

In math, we are finishing our fraction and measurement unit with some work with Jack and the Beanstalk! After retelling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, the children were given paper beanstalks (about 3 ft. high) to measure.  They measured the length of the stalk and measured the leaves to the nearest half-inch and the nearest quarter-inch. They then used a line plot graph to display this data.  Ask your child to show you what a line plot graph looks like!

The month of February is filled with many events at SCS.  Be on the lookout for more information coming home soon!  If you have questions, please contact Miss Deb or Miss Niles.  Happy weekend!

Forces and Interaction

We had a great four-day week on Team Esprit!    

Our new science unit continues to move along! Miss Niles' class completed two investigations with magnets, focusing on what happens when magnets interact with paperclips and discovering if magnetic force can work at a distance. These scientists did a great job following the scientific method, making predictions, collecting data, and drawing conclusions. Miss Deb's class completed an investigation about patterns of motion. They built a variety of wheel-and-axle systems and observed what happened when they rolled them down a ramp. They discovered that they can change the motion of wheels rolling down ramps by changing the size and placement of the wheels they use.

We continue to read Red Clover Books this month!  Ms. Deb's class read Frankencrayon and Penguin Problems and created fun, animal cartoons and some great crayon drawings! Miss Niles' class read Daniel Finds a Poem and Ada's Violin and crated haiku poems about nature and instruments made from recycled materials.  We are really enjoying these books!  Has your child found a favorite yet?

In writing, we are working on our persuasive speeches either about a problem in our school or community or a speech that recognizes a person or place as being important or notable.  Last week we worked on creating a strong thesis and having reasons and examples to back up our opinions. This week we talked about ways to make our persuasive writing more convincing.  One way is talking directly to the audience.  This can be done by using phrases such as, "I know you might you be thinking...", "Let me explain...", or "Have you ever wondered...".  What has your child started writing about?

During math, we continued to learn about measurement and used our knowledge to solve story problems.  We then turned our attention to fractions.  We folded paper into rectangles and labeled them with fractions and used those fractional pieces to compare and order fractions from smallest to largest.  As we worked, we realized that the larger the number of people sharing something, the smaller the share!
 
Have a great weekend!

A Visit From "Batman" and Nearby Nature

This week Barry and Maureen, from the Vermont Bat Center, visited the Esprit Team.  They taught us many interesting facts about bats and shared information about how they help bats at the Vermont Bat Center.  Did you know there are nine species of bats in Vermont, many of which are on the Endangered or Threatened lists?  Ask your child what he/she learned about bats!

A big thank you our Nearby Nature parents who taught us about skulls this week.  We learned that the shape and structure of skulls and teeth are adaptations related to an animal's food and way of life.  We also learned that teeth and eye placement of carnivores differ from those of herbivores, omnivores, or insectivores.  Ask your child what he/she learned about skulls

In Math, we are currently learning about various forms of measurement.  We have been practicing telling time to the minute and have been discussing the difference between "weight" and "mass".  We have been comparing the metric system to the customary system of measurement and learning about a variety of units to measure in both systems.  This week we practiced estimating and finding the mass of a different objects using a pan balance.  We also practiced estimating and measuring liquid volume.  You can support this unit at home by helping your child practice telling time on an analog clock.
During Writer's Workshop we have been learning about speech writing to change the world through our Opinion Writing Unit.  This week we practiced writing about problems in our school community and solutions for those problems.  We also wrote about noteworthy people in our school community.

In Reader's Workshop we are reading this year's Red Clover books and working on comprehension strategies.  Some books we have read so far include Dragon Was Terrible, Ada's Violin, I Dissent and The Princess and the Warrior.  When we are finished reading all of the Red Clover Books we will vote on our favorite.  Ask your child what his/her favorite book is so far.

We kicked off our Forces and Interactions unit this week with a brainstorm of what we know and what we want to know about forces and interactions.  Our first investigation focused on observing and measuring the patterns of an object's motion in various situations to predict future motion.  Students
learned that objects in contact exert forces on each other, that electric and magnetic forces between a pair of objects do not require that objects be in contact.

We have stepped away from Word Study for a bit while we learn cursive handwriting.  So far, we have learned letters L, E, H, B, F, K I, J, P and R.  As we learn more letters, we will begin writing complete words and sentences using cursive writing.  If you would like to support your child's learning of cursive writing you can encourage him/her to begin to write in cursive at home.
Have a great weekend,
Deb and Jenn