Today was another day of firsts: first grade-level math class, first recess at Strawberry Creek Park, and first introduction this year to our Teaching Artist Julianne Hughes and the mind-mapping process.
In morning meeting, several students shared their summer artifacts. Then we transitioned to math class, with fifth graders in Cerrito Creek classroom with Mike Sinclaire and Hillary Bensky and fourth graders in Strawberry. Students got to know each other with the name game, played math games developing computational fluency, and got their first math homework, a survey about themselves as mathematicians and math learners.
Students spent time with their high-five partners examining world maps and finding locations using longitude and latitude coordinates in degrees, quite challenging for many. They also started creating their own geographic quizzes for classmates. Students seem to really relish silent reading after lunch, and we had our first read-aloud book, The Other Way to Listen. This prompted a discussion about paying attention and starting small, which tied in with our reflection about students' experiences last year in school and their hopes and dreams for themselves and the class. Such a practice of mindfulness also tied into work in Writers' workshop where students are thinking about themselves, their experiences, families, interests, etc. as a resource to develop for future writing.
Reminders:
Lake Anza, Friday, September 9 - If we did not receive a permission slip (mailed with the summer letter) for the Lake Anza trip for your child one was sent home with him or her today.
Emergency Forms – If you have not done so already, the school needs your child’s emergency form right away.
Summer Artifact (due tomorrow)
Journal Project (due tomorrow)
Homework, 9/7/11:
1. Fourth grade math: student survey (due tomorrow)
2. Fifth grade math (due tomorrow)
Write Mike a letter about you as a mathematician. What are your strengths and challenges? What is a story about one of your math experiences? It should be about 1 page in length, single-spaces, wide-ruled notebook paper.
3. Fourth/fifth grade reading survey (due tomorrow)
