Deciphering Decimals

Some friendly fraction competition

Using tools to
build decimal numbers

As we close this unit in mathematics students are using what they know understand about fractions to explore their relationship with decimals. Showing our thinking in numbers, sketches and words helps us to represent and explain our understanding and justify why our strategies make sense. Games like Decimals More or Less and Fractions and Decimals help us to collaborate to make sense of this relationship in concrete (and fun!) ways.

Student writers give each other
feedback to polish their writing pieces

Writers used the peer editing process to polish their biography information pieces to prepare for our Vermont History Museum next Friday. We have learned lots of interesting and important facts about our famous Vermonters and we can't wait to share our thinking with you.


In our January Four Winds Nature studies activities this week we learned about how animals like bears, snakes, and frogs survive during the winter. These hands on activities were an engaging way to thinking about the natural world around us. Thanks so much to our parent volunteers!

Report cards are coming home today (1/26) and we would appreciate it if you could send the signed envelope back to school so we can reuse it in the spring. Thanks!

Fondly,
Jess and Liz

Biography Buffs

Biographers have been hard at work during literacy time. First they chose a famous Vermonter to research and used appropriate tools and elements of a biography to take notes about different categories they would include in their informational writing.

Students have learned a lot about their person's childhood, education, challenges, and accomplishments. They have also been looking for character traits to describe their person. We have been supporting that work during our read aloud time by reading biography picture books and looking at the way the author structured his/her text. Using mentor texts helps to inspire writers to push the level of their thinking.

Another way to push your writing is to understand the goal of the writing genre. To do that work students have been looking at what makes a quality lead, strong organization, and elaboration in an informational writing piece. They are currently aiming to have:

 * A lead/introduction that hooks their reader by telling an important fact, uses a quote or gives a big picture idea. The lead also lets the reader know they will learn about different parts of this person's life.

* They are looking to organize their writing into logical categories that stick to one topic/idea throughout the paragraphs. For some sections they are aiming to have multiple paragraphs.

* Writers are aiming to elaborate each section by giving specific details like dates, names, and examples that teach the reader even more.

Next week we will edit our pieces and begin to add visual elements like timelines, photos with captions, and other nonfiction elements to create a strong presentation for our culminating event-The Mosaic Vermont History Museum. The museum will be "open" for you to visit on the morning of February 2 from 8:00-8:45. We will send home a formal invite this week and we hope that you can all make it to the museum and learn from your students' hard work.

Budding Biographers

The first week back at school was brief and below zero, but we excitedly began our new integrated unit on biographies. During read aloud students listened carefully for the elements that this special nonfiction genre contains.

Once we had created a through list of elements (i.e. challenges the person faced, accomplishments, education, told in third person, chronological structure, etc.) students then worked as biography detectives, reading  biography passages from a wonderful digital resource called Newsela and checking off the elements that they found.

This week the students will transfer what they learned as readers into their writing as they begin to interview each other and write autobiographies. Once this genre of writing is "in their bones" they will choose a famous Vermonter to research and write an informational report about.

Students will turn Mosaic into a live Wax Museum for the culminating project of this unit. The date will be in early February. Stay tuned for more information and a formal "ticket" to our exhibit.

Please remember that we head outside for fresh air and movement daily and students should come prepared with all of the winter gear they'll need to do so. They should also bring a pair of shoes to change into as winter boots are chilly on the feet and they salt they collect can damage our lovely new carpets.

Stay warm!

Liz and Jess

Our Great State

This week in our Vermont history/geography  theme unit we moved ahead in time  from the Abenaki to the late 1700's when Vermont was settled as a state. The two fourth grade classes participated in a simulation where one class represented the New Hampshire Grants and the other class played the role of the (New) Yorkers. These two groups of people were sold the same plot of land and it was up to the unpopular King George to settle the dispute. He sided with the Yorkers and that launched the rebellion by the well known Green Mountain Boys. The students loved debating their opinions and came up with ideas for their own Vermont Constitution that sounded very similar to the one that was written so many years ago.

Now students will use what they know about Vermont history in a special literacy project that will combine their new understandings with poetry.

We also explored equivalent fractions by using tools to build what these fractions represent. Using tools and models can help to make more abstract concepts like fractions seem more concrete and accessible to mathematicians at this stage of learning.


Next week we will lead up to the break with some exciting events. The holiday concert will be on Wednesday, followed by R.A.D. (Reading All Day) on Thursday and our Craft Morning and Cinema Day on Friday. Thank you to all that are going to be volunteering your time or snacks. We know it is a busy time of year and we greatly appreciate the help.

We hope thatyour families have a peaceful holiday and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year.

Fondly,
Jess and Liz

Ready Researchers

This week we read about the Abenaki people and then Mosaic students identified questions they were interested in researching to learn more about their amazing culture. Students were introduced to a concept web as a tool to take notes as well as guidance on how to search appropriate, accurate sites using key words and phrases.

After finding the answers to their questions they came back together in subtopic groups to participated in a discussion about what they learned. Former Mosaic students (now on Swift) volunteered their time to help us have a productive discussion and guided students to pull out key details and terminology to create a word cloud.
Next students will use these word clouds to help them sketch ideas for how they will tell about what they learned in a mural they will be making in art class with Mrs. Beeken. Stay tuned for how their new understandings take shape in a collaborative painting for all to enjoy.

A sign-up sheet for our Mosaic Holiday Craft Morning went home in the Friday folder. If you are able to volunteer please send the form back in with your child as soon as you can. We thank you for helping us make this festive day a success.

Don't forget to look through your (2-6th grade) books for our Mosaic book exchange on Thursday, December 21st. The more books that come in, the more books students will go home with to read in the new year.

Happy Holiday,
Liz and Jess

Googling Geographers

To complete our Vermont geography mini-unit the young geographers worked in teams to create an interactive Google map full of information about different Vermont Attractions. Using online resources and a new micro-progression for writing with strong word choice they created an informative map for anyone looking to visit the Green Mountain State. Visit it here.

Putting notes and key details
 into our own writing

Pinning our locations
 on our Google Maps

We also ended our math unit this week and showed what we now understand about strategies for solving more complex multiplication problems and division problems that involve remainders. To do this challenging work students use visual models. Seeing, touching, and sketching ideas create pictures in the mind's eye, helping learners construct, understand, and apply mathematical ideas.  Next week we will reflect on our goals and move into Unit 3, where we will explore fractions and decimals. See here for more information on this unit's big ideas.

Using tile to model the solution to a
division story problem. 

Homemade feeders for our
 feathered friends to enjoy this winter

Our Four Winds Volunteers came in on Thursday and we all learned so much about the migratory behaviors of our feathered friends. This inspired one student to bring in his homemade birdhouse and bird feeder to hang up outside the classroom windows. Hopefully we will see some of the species we learned about this winter.

Please remember that as we head into the winter months your students will be going outside each day. They should have boots, snow pants, gloves, and hats daily. Please feel free to leave a pair in school.

We have a few fun events to look forward to this month. Stay tuned for more information about our R.A.D. Celebration and our Craft Morning in your child's Friday folder.

Think Snow,

Jess and Liz

Here Comes The Sun

Thank you to our parent volunteers who made our Harvest Craftermorning a success! The students always look forward to this day and after the excitement of the storm and no school it was a nice way to ease back into the week!

We spent some of the rainy days last week using our data and what we learned from Gary B and his solar bus to build our prototypes. Then the sun finally shined and we were able to test them. None of the teams were entirely successful with melting the cheese on their nachos, but they did discover that by adding plastic to the tops they were able to create a greenhouse effect and many of them got hot! We wrapped up our solar energy unit by using all of our new understandings to write reflections about how successful our designs were for how they heated up and how much of an impact they had on the environment.

Now the students are moving into a social studies unit. They will learn about the geography of Vermont and follow its history from the days of the Abenaki to its statehood. Students will head to the Flynn this week to see a presentation about the Abenaki tribe presented by the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association. They will then work in small research groups to become "experts" on an aspect of Abenaki culture. Their informational writing will be on display alongside a mural  that they will create in art class with Mrs. Beeken. Stay tuned for more photos and information on this unit of study.

The days are turning colder but we still want students to be able to head outside during the day for fresh air. Please help your students to be sure and pack accordingly so they can be warm and dry during the cold winter months. We hope that you all enjoy a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday with your families.

Fondly,

Liz and Jess