Powerful Presenters

We were really looking forward to presenting our slideshows to our Kaleidoscope friends on Friday, but a frozen pipe interrupted our internet connection and we were unable to share all of our hard work with them. Instead we'd like to share our presentations with you. Here is the introduction that Anna and Adam wrote for the audience. Then you can click on the links to take a tour of our amazing weather houses. Enjoy the show! 

Introduction
By: Anna and Adam 

Welcome!

We have been working on these weather houses. We starting off by finding a location and studying precipitation and wind speed and temperature. Then we started  to make slides and we had to  answer four questions- They were where it happens, when it happens, how it impacts people and animals and what causes this weather to happen. Then we had to use the steps of the EDP (That’s the engineer design process) to build a house that can stand up to  our weather and then we had to make these slides. I hope enjoy the slides.

Link to Parker Weather Houses
Link to Eaton Weather Houses

Also, please help your student to be sure they have all of the appropriate winter gear they need to head outside and get fresh air at recess. You can feel free to keep any extra sets of snowpants, boots, etc. at school for easy access.

Weather Watchers

We all returned from the Thanksgiving break rested and ready to work hard. This week the students used the notes  they took before the break to create strong, informational writing pieces. These mini weather reports will serve as the first piece of information in the Google Slideshows they are creating. After writing they used their engineering plan and Google Drawing tools to create blueprints of what their "dream home" would look like. The home has to contain features that would help it withstand their type of extreme weather. We had features like heated roofs and driveways, emergency bunkers, and water collection tanks to name just a few. For students who wanted to take on the extra challenge they were encouraged to add a glossary and import photos of their weather to make their presentation even more educational and entertaining. We will practice our presentations and share with our Kaleidoscope friends on Thursday. Stay tuned for pics!

This week in math we participated in two different surveys. Then we analyzed the data and create picture and bar graphs to represent our data. The students had to practice using a scaled graph, labeling axes, and giving their graphs a clear and meaningful title.

We ended the week getting dirty in Four Winds. The students learned all about the decomposition process of trees. We were amazed at how long it takes for one tree to break down...over ten years! We enjoyed pulling apart logs from the DeSantos' yard and we found LOTS of critters who were making their home inside these snags.

There are many events this month including a two Mosaic Traditions. The first is our R.A.D. (Reading All Day) event which will be held on Wednesday, December 21st. Students are allowed to come to school in their PJs with a small lovely and a blanket if they'd like. We have guest readers, buddy reads, digital reading, and much more. We are encouraging our students to bring in gently used books (appropriate for 3rd and 4th graders) that they would like to contribute to a class book swap. It doesn't matter how many they donate. All of the books are compiled and we turn the class into a "book store" to shop for books to take home.

On Thursday, December 22nd we will have another Mosaic Craft Morning. We are looking for parent volunteers to come in and run a festive, winter craft. A sign up sheet will come home soon. We hope to see you there.

Ask About:
What type of extreme weather did you study? What did you learn about it?
How did you design your house? What features did you think it should have?

Rocking The Vote

This past week in math we have been investigating efficient strategies for solving multiplication problems. The goal is to move students beyond the use of repeated addition to use known facts and structure to make sense of more complex equations. We did this by using cubes to build "multiple trains." Then we made observations about what these different trains had in common and thought about ideas such as, "How can knowing 10x6 help you to solve 5x6?" Being able to develop efficient strategies and think flexibly about multiplication helps students to develop a conceptual understanding that will help them as we build fact fluency and explore factors, arrays, and multi-digit problems in the future.

After working hard to prepare and deliver our campaign speeches, the students used Google Forms to vote for the fictional character whom they thought would make the best president and vice president. J.K. Rowling would be proud that both of her characters were winners. Harry Potter was the clear victor for President and his friend Hermione Granger was elected V.P. The students also got to take a tour of the real polling station and ask questions of the volunteers who were dedicating their time on Tuesday.

We have now moved in to our next integrated unit of study where students will be studying weather. The focus will be on the causes and effects of extreme weather phenomenon like hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards. Students will be learning about cause and effect relationships and how to use text and digital tools to research. They will also be tracking and graphing weather data on a location where their type of extreme weather occurs to observe and record patterns. The engineering challenge will combine this new knowledge and their design skills as they work in groups to design a virtual blueprint of a home that could withstand the effects of the extreme weather. Stay tuned for more exciting learning ahead!

The weather has been mild, but as we head into the winter season please be sure that your child has the necessary winter gear for heading outdoors for recess. We go out everyday unless it is below zero.

Please remember that we do not have school next week. We hope that you have a restful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.

Fondly,
Jess and Liz 

Celebrating the Season

We started the week out sweetly with our Harvest Crafternoon (or Crafter-morning) as the schedule would have it. Thank you to all who volunteered their time and contributed snacks and beverages. The students loved it! We then headed outside with all of the 3/4 teams to put the school garden down to rest with songs and cider.

This week the students continued to work on their persuasive speeches. The students thought about how to add strong words to their pieces that would convince the "voters" to elect their nominee. Then we learned how to add an image to the speech making sure to be good digital citizens and give credit to where the photo came from.

As the week came to a close the speeches were being edited and students began to think about how to read and present their speeches with fluency and confidence. We watched one of our favorite public speakers, Kid President and created a list of things to remember when public speaking. Here's a few things that they came up with:

• Speak with enthusiasm
• Use body language
• Look at your audience
• Use a loud crowd voice
• When you're nervous...just fake it! 

Students practiced with partners and used a checklist to score each other and give feedback. Next week they will present to other voters in small groups and then rock their own fictional vote on Tuesday.

Ask about....

• Who did you nominate for a fictional president? 
• What character traits does that character have that makes you think they'd be a good president? 
• Talk to your children about how you get informed as a voter and what traits you look for in a leader. 

Speech Writers

This past week students used the characteristics they determined a president needed to have to comb through various examples of fiction stories looking for a character they felt worthy of the presidency. We have a variety of candidates from Harry Potter to Olivia the Pig to Luke Skywalker. Students then had to provide evidence to support their theory about their character. For example, if they said that this character was determined, they needed to have an example or quote to prove it. They took these ideas and began to craft an opinion piece of writing that will be presented in speeches this week.

We are working on building our students confidence daily in a variety of ways. Speaking in public is an area that is new to our students and can test the confidence of even the most outgoing student. We are going to scaffold this process by observing and discussing other speeches, working in partners, and finally presenting in small groups. Then we will vote at the end of the week to see which character will become our fictional President of Mosaic! Stay tuned for the election results.

We also had the students register to vote this week. As they were filling out their registration forms we both noticed that many of our students do not know they addresses by heart. This is an important piece of information and we encourage you to remind them of their home address.

Thank you to any families who have volunteered to be a part of our Harvest Craftermorning event on Monday. We appreciate you volunteering your time and/or contributing snacks for us to enjoy on this fun-filled day.

Fondly,
Jess and Liz

Close Readers

This past week we began an integrated unit of study that combines social studies and literacy. The students began to closely read and analyze Judith St. George's book So You Think You Want to Be President to gather evidence about the character traits of presidents. Next we will follow the election process as students use familiar  books to "nominate" fictional characters whom they believe possess the traits of a leader. They will be writing opinion pieces to convince the "voters" of why their character would be fit for the important role of president. This interactive unit will have students reading closely, writing persuasive arguments, learning about the election process, and public speaking. Stay tuned for more information as the unit unfolds over the next two weeks.

We wrapped up Unit 1 of our math unit on efficient strategies for addition and subtraction and students were able to show all that they have learned in a post-assessment. This week we will be reflecting on those assessments and you will see both the pre/post assessments coming home. We like to provide you both so that you can celebrate the growth that your mathematician has made throughout the unit. They may not have mastered all of the skills around addition and subtraction yet, but everyone is able to see how far they have come since the start of the school year. We also use the post assessment reflection to set goals for upcoming practice within other units.

This week we will begin Unit 2. The concepts that we will cover throughout this unit are aimed to introduce students to multiplication by providing them with hands on opportunities to build off of the understandings they have around addition. Click here for more information about the content that will be covered during this unit.

Next Monday we will be having our annual Fall Harvest "Crafter" Morning. A notice went home in your child's homework folder today. We'd love to have parent volunteers sign up to run a craft/activity. If you have an idea please let us know. If you'd like to help but aren't sure what to do, just let us know on the form and we'll provide you with an activity. We look forward to a fun and spirited celebration.

Energetic Engineers

After learning about the E.D.P. (Engineer Design Process) this week the third graders were ready to use the process right away. They were given their first design challenge which was to build a tower that could "save" a beenie baby from a predator. The tower had to be at least 10 inches high and could only be constructed out of paper, index cards, and tape. Not one design looked the same and the groups had to learn to work together in a short amount of time to ask, imagine, plan, create and improve.

Next they will be using the EDP in our integrated unit of study on weather. The students will be reading and researching about a weather phenomenon in our country. Then they will have to use the EDP to create a house that could withstand the effects of that type of weather. Stay tuned to see some of the amazing "dream homes" they create using Google Drawing.

Yo! Yes?

This week students returned to some favorite big books to explore how author's use different types of punctuation marks to help us readers to understand the text and read with fluency and expression. We then read and practiced these skills with Chris Rashcha's book Yo! Yes?. Students also learned how to access their Google Drive and created a published version of their Someday Hope and Dream project.

In preparation for our upcoming unit on Weather and Climate we began to think like scientists and engineers by brainstorming ideas to answer the question..."What is technology?" Some of the responses were:

"Technology is something that you plug in."
"Tech is something that is an electronic."
"It's like an iPad or gaming system."

The students were shocked to realize that things like windmills, hairbrushes, and even pencils were actually considered technology because they were man-made items that solve a problem or meet a need.

Next we began to look at the job of an Engineer, the people who create these amazing technologies. All engineers follow the E.D.P. (Engineer Design Process) and so will we as we study extreme weather forces and design digital houses  that can withstand the effects of tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods. Stay tuned!

Ask About...

• What are the steps of the EDP? 
• What is a type of technology that you don't plug in? 

Leaf Peepers

This week Mosaic students spent time thinking about their hopes and dreams for the future and then set goals for what they could do today to achieve these goals. We were inspired by Lori Heller's beautiful book Someday. Students brainstormed ideas, planned their writing using drawing and/or graphic organizers, then drafted and created art to accompany their text. Next week they will type up their pieces and they will hang in our space as a reminder of our hopes and dreams for the year.

 We also thought a lot about what it means to live a literate life and used Patricia Pollacco's book Thank You, Mr. Falker as a mentor text that got a lot of rich conversation going. The students then used a jigsaw technique to create posters about how readers choose books, why they abandon books, what readers think about and talk about, and what it looks like to "fake" read. These anchor charts are full of amazing strategies and habits that third graders already know about and use. We will learn more literacy skills and strategies over the course of the year and watch our charts and our reading grow!

 Mathematicians are working on building their fact fluency for addition and subtraction. We have introduced work place games that allow them to practice in a lively hands-on way. We have also discussed strategies for addition and subtraction and practiced what it looks like to represent our math thinking in numbers, pictures, and words. Heard in class this week, "It's an easy fact, but what's hard is explaining what I'm thinking in my brain!" That is the challenge, but something that all mathematicians are expected to do!

 We used our Chrome books this week to learn how to use Google Drawing tools and Read and Write for Google to create meaningful sentences. We had a few technical glitches and are figuring out how to work the track pad, but the students are savvy and have persevered!

 We ended the week with our first Four Winds Nature Studies activity. This year we will be learning about ecosystems. Today the focus was on producers and consumers and we explored how leaves play a pivotal role in the food chain.

 Just a reminder that picture day is on Wednesday, September 28th. Enjoy the beautiful first signs of fall.

Ask about:

• What subtraction strategies do you use? 
• Do you like to show your math thinking in numbers, pictures, or words?
• How do you choose a new book? What makes you abandon a book?  
• 
  

Fondly,
Jess and Liz

Make Your Mark

Wordsmiths practicing a
buddy sort during
Word Study time

This week we started to learn the routines of our Word Study block. Students learned about the different types of sorts and practiced the routines and expectations in partnerships. We use the Words Their Way word study program which focuses on different word patterns. Every Monday the small groups analyze the pattern, make observations and sort them by their sound/symbol relationship. Then the students practice reading, writing, and sorting the words in different ways throughout the week. They keep a resource notebook and create reflective statements about what they notice in the pattern and how it can help them as a reader or a speller. For example, this week we looked at the difference between short o words like sock and long o words like home. Students noticed that almost all of the words with a long O ended with an e. This can help us as spellers and as readers when we come across words with long and short sounds.

We also reviewed the addition table and learned different ways to encourage fact fluency. Students learned how to play a game called Make The Sum, where they are aiming for a target number and combine different numbers in as many possible equations as possible. Next week we will review our strategies for single digit subtraction facts. We also introduced students to Moby Max, an online math practice site that targets instruction based on students' individual goals and development of mathematical skills. This will eventually be something that your mathematician may want to work on at home for additional practice.

Building our Fact Fluency
through Work Place
games

Students wrote acrostic name poems this week and we read several different books picture books and students identified the SMART message in each one and wrote about how the character showed that characteristic. They also brainstormed how they could show that SMART trait at WCS.

It was nice to meet many new families and visit with returning Mosaic members at Curriculum Night. Please know that we are always here to answer any questions that may come up for you and your family.

Students of the Week reporting
live at Mornings With Mosaic
Team Meeting

Just a reminder that school pictures are on Wednesday, September 28th. Order forms went home last week in your students' yellow folder.

Ask About....

• Friday Workshops: What are they? How do you get to go? 
• Morning Meeting: What activities do you do? 
• What is Reading Stamina? How do you read long and strong? 

  

  Students mark their mark for Dot Day 2016
  during our Friday Workshop Time

A SMART Start

Pattern Block Creations

Brain Break

The Mosaic team is off to a SMART start at WCS. During our first few days together we have gotten to know each other, our team, and the new school. In math we have thought about how we can be a community of learners who support each other and we had fun exploring the different math materials that the Bridges program uses for hands on exploration. We used this video starring some of our old friends to launch the concept of growth mindset. This will be a focus for us not only as mathematicians, but in all areas of learning.

In literacy we have shared books that are special to us and have practiced choosing "just right" books and building our reading stamina during independent reading.

Reading Long and Strong

Next week we will begin word study, write poetry, explore our Chromebooks and begin our Hopes and Dreams. Thanks to all of you who made it to our Mosaic Dessert Social. It was nice to meet new families and welcome back familiar faces, too.

We hope to see you on Thursday night for our Curriculum Night. We will meet in the Mosaic wing from 6:30-7:30. If you are unable to make it on Thursday we will be sure to link our presentation in next week's blog.

 Ask your child...
* What does S.M.A.R.T. stand for? What are brain cells?
 * What's GO NOODLE?
 * How do you choose a Just Right book?

Welcome Third Graders and Families

Mrs. Eaton's daughter, Lucille catches up on her summer reading!

We hope that you have all enjoyed an amazing summer soaking up the sunshine and time with family. We were both busy enjoying time with our own children, traveling, reading, and most recently prepping for the upcoming school year. 

 This blog serves as our primary source of communication with families throughout the school year. Each week we post an update about our learning and investigations and photos and videos are often included. 

To subscribe to the blog enter your email on the sidebar to the right of this message where it says 'Sign up for Email Updates'. Then you will need to confirm your subscription in an email from FeedBurner. After that you will automatically receive any blog updates in your inbox. 

We look forward to meeting you all in a few weeks and starting our exciting learning journey together. Until then, keep playing,  reading, and enjoying all that a Vermont summer has to offer!

The Last Week!

I can’t believe this is our last blog of the year and our last week with this amazing group of about-to-be middle schoolers! This time has gone by in a flash. I (Ms. M) have only been here throughout this one year and it’s been such a joy that I will really miss coming in to see these bright young people, I can’t imagine how Mrs. Eaton and Mrs. Parker feel having spent two years with them!

This past week we spent most of our time working on projects that bring together many of our skills at once. In math, we continued to design and research our playgrounds, imagining factors such as cost and scale of the space as well as safety of the items. Our mathematicians are keen to fit all that they dream of in their playground safely in their space and have been collaborating with partners to come up with the best laid plan. In literacy we used all our of poetry smarts to analyze a poem and had a special type of discussion called a Socratic circle. This was an engaging way to share our thoughts on the poem while also practicing being an active participant. Our poets have worked on their final 4th grade writing by reimagining a poem by Mr. William Carlos Williams, originally shared in the poetic novel we read, Love that Dog. Mr. WCW’s poem, “A red wheelbarrow”, led us to think about how important “the small things” are in our lives, from which we started to think about what was really important to each of us. Students wrote beautiful pieces about how “so much depends upon…” a soccer ball, a big brother, Nepal, a dirt bike, me, a little gray cat, my family, and a window sill, to name just a few. Students published their pieces with illustrations and shared them outside in the gazebo for our first “4th grade Mosaic Poetry Slam” on Friday morning. I think we all really loved this project and seeing the students’ commitment to their poems when they were given so much choice of what to write after “so much depends upon” was fantastic. One student was heard saying “I didn’t think I would like this because I didn’t think I would be good at it or it would be fun… but writing this is a lot more fun than I thought!”

Again we had a few changes to our schedule this week for a variety of end-of-year events. We were able to see wonderful performances by our 3rd and 4th grade chorus and our 4th grade beginner band. It’s clear how much time and perseverance these students put into studying and practicing music. On Wednesday, our students also had a presentation and question and answer session with 5th grade teachers and 5th grade students while our new 3rd grade students came in to meet their teachers and get to know Mosaic. It’s exciting to see a new group of students and think about what’s to come next, but like I said before, definitely bittersweet to see this group grow up!

We’ve been carrying out the 4th grade tradition of writing fun activities on a slip of paper, putting it in a balloon and popping one each day to do something special in our last few days together. There have been popsicles, an outdoor classroom, extra reading time, special water balloon/ice balloon activities, extra morning meeting games and extra recess just to name a few so far. We have five more days of finishing up and popping balloons so we will see what comes next!

This Thursday afternoon we will have our Mosaic Staycation with crafts and activities. Thank you to parents who have signed up to help out. On Friday morning at 8:30 we will have our 4th grade Moving Up Ceremony in the auditorium. Families are welcome to join us that morning and back in our classroom for a special snack and sharing of heartfelt letters students have been writing to each other for the end of the year.

The best way parents can support their children’s learning throughout the summer is by giving them opportunities and encouragement to read, read, read. Reading anything will truly help students keep up with their skills. We also encourage continuing to practice math facts for fact fluency. Lastly, students need to get outside, play, and learn from the world around them.

Thank you for sharing your children with us. It’s been wonderful to teach and learn from them. We wish you all a restful and adventure-filled summer. Come back and visit us!

Winding Down

This has been a busy and warm week in 4th grade. In literacy we have continued to look at mood, speaker and theme of poems including a fun matching game on Friday where students had to use reasoning skills to figure out which theme made sense with each poem. Students also shared their weathering and erosion learning as well as practiced their presentation skills by creating a collaborative Google slide presentation and presenting their individual slide to the class. These scientists shared knowledge on hoodoos and mushroom rocks, wind erosion and ice erosion, where to live to protect yourself from weathering and tons of other information in between.

Imaginative mathematicians began to design our dream playground this week. We brainstormed ideas, learned about simple machines and how they impact our playgrounds, measured our actual playground and some items within it and used data and graphing to determine which items were most important to us all. Students are very excited about this project and were beginning early on to draft ideas of how to best arrange their dream playgrounds.

We had a few “zig zags” in our schedule this week. For one, we were welcomed to a puppet show presentation put on by Swift House students called “Banish Bullying.” These middle school students have been working on a special curriculum which culminated in sharing this show with us. The puppets were entertaining and the content were meaningful. Our students were able to think critically about what to do in situations of bullying and to consider how best they can be an ally to others.

Another change was the Kaleidoscope House play on a variety of science topics Thursday morning. Our students enjoyed this show that combined music, theatre and singing to showcase the Kaleidoscope’s learning this year. On Thursday afternoon we visited with Swift House students again for their annual “Swiftville.” Each year Swift students design their own currency and economy with each student or group of students developing a plan for an item or experience to “sell” and working hard to get other students that visit the house to buy or invest in their product. Our students loved this afternoon and most brought home some treats as proof of their purchases! :)

We’ve also loved to get outside this week for snack on the tennis courts. Getting some sun and fresh air mid morning has been quite a treat!

Next week we are looking forward to completing our playground designs and building models, writing poems inspired by Love that Dog and listening to our dedicated 4th grade musicians in their first beginning band concert!