Daniels Farm School Newsletter MAY 2017

Daniels Farm School Newsletter MAY 2017

→ From the desk of MR.KUNSCHAFT

Hello DFS Families,

It’s hard to believe we have less than forty days remaining in the school year, yet so many meaningful learning experiences to enjoy! Students are excited and bustling with energy. When spring arrives each year, the quickened pace at DFS reminds me of how impossible the task of providing our students a quality, well-rounded education would be without a top-notch staff. At the elementary school level, the joy of working with younger students demands the endurance of a marathoner and the flair of a Broadway performer on a daily basis. Teachers make hundreds of split-second decisions throughout the typical school day, each adding to the total school experience. Truly engaging instruction takes hours of planning and reflecting on what each student currently knows to maximize learning. I often joke that the job would be so much easier, but much more boring, if the students didn’t show up each day! Even with the demands and relentless nature of the profession, our DFS staff arrives smiling each day, ready for the unexpected challenges and breakthrough moments our students provide. We appreciate all our staff does for DFS students and families!

At DFS, our staff works hard to make students’ lives a great success!

Thank you for your support.

Together we make a difference!

→ KINDERGARTEN

Writing: As we head into May, we are starting our final unit of study, Persuasive Writing of All Kinds – Using Words to Make a Change. In this unit, students will write to make their classroom, their school, and their world into a better place. This writing involves making letters to be mailed, songs to be sung, speeches to be made, and signs to be displayed. They are writing particular kinds of texts for specific audiences. Kindergarteners do a lot of persuasive speaking all of the time. In this unit, they will be learning to use words and pictures to share their opinions and convince others to make a change.

Reading: The Kindergarteners have been working on looking deeper into the characters in the books we read. We are looking at both OUTSIDE and INSIDE character traits. We are building our vocabulary by using lots of read a-louds with rich discussions about characters. We continue to work on decoding tricky words. We have moved into learning about blends and how, when the sounds are stuck together, they help us read more efficiently. Please continue to practice reading and writing sight words, CVC, magic c, and words containing digraphs.

Math:This unit develops ideas about counting, representing data, carrying out a data investigation, sorting and classifying, and using data to solve a problem. In this unit, students sort a variety of objects according to their attributes, as well as sort data about their favorite lunch foods. They will represent numerical data about their class and carry out their own data investigation by collecting responses to their own survey questions. Please continue to work on mastering addition and subtraction facts to 5.

Science:As you all know, our favorite science unit has started - Hatching Chicks! Our eggs were delivered in late April and 21 days later, we hope to see some chicks hatching out! During that time, we study what happens in the egg. We have a great app that we share daily that shows them exactly how the chick looks as it grows. When the chicks hatch, we will begin our STEM unit (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) where the children will work together to determine which materials are best for creating a safe play area for the chicks. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new classmates!

Extra:May begins our ABC Countdown to the Last Day of Kindergarten. On Monday, May 15th, there will be 26 days of school left. Each day, we will celebrate using the corresponding letter of the alphabet. A detailed letter and calendar will be sent home soon. Please note that on P day (Tuesday, June 6th) we will be celebrating PARENTS DAY. If possible, please reserve that day from 2-3 to come in and be celebrated!

→ GRADE ONE

Fundations: In Fundations, we are working in Unit 13. Unit 13, introduces the suffix –es, as well as, reviewing –s, -ed, -ing, and learning how to add these suffixes to multisyllabic words. In June, we will complete Unit 14 which is a review of all the skills learned. We are coming close to the end of learning our 100 new first grade trick words. At the end of the year, there will be a cumulative test. You will be sent a copy of any words your child misspelled to practice over the summer. Remember to practice your trick words each night.

Writing: In writing, students are learning how to be persuasive writers. They began by writing their opinions about their own personal collections while persuading their friends to agree with their reasons. Next, they will look at what review writers do and write their own reviews of such things as movies, restaurants, video games etc. They will be taught how to implement the author’s craft to help them persuade others. Lastly, we will end with writing persuasive book reviews including making comparisons, using special print and taking into account their audience.

Reading: In Reading, the students are concentrating on comprehension in both fiction and non- fiction texts. Comprehension strategies help readers better understand what they read. In regards to nightly reading, please continue to read every night and fill out the May and June reading log.

Math: In Math, we are finishing in Unit 8 of Investigations called Two’s, Five’s and Ten’s. The children will be learning how to add and subtract two-digit numbers. We ask that you do not teach your child the algorithm. It will confuse them more if you help them at this point in their development. We will also be working in Unit 9 of Investigations called Blocks and Boxes. Students will learn the attributes of 3-D shapes. They will also learn to draw a 3-D figure. Please remember to work on X-tra Math at home. Each child is responsible for doing Xtra math twice each week at home. Math fact fluency and memorization should be starting to happen now in first grade.

Science: In Science, we will be doing our first STEM unit based on an Agricultural Engineering Story, Marianna Becomes a Butterfly. Students will learn what engineering and technology are and what engineers do. They will employ creativity and careful thinking to solve problems through hands-on learning. Students will follow the steps of the engineering design process by designing, creating, and improving solutions to an engineering problem.

Extra: Watch backpack mail for the ABC countdown to the end of the year. Fun activities coming soon!! In addition, we have two field trips, one to the Trumbull library and one to Hillcrest Middle School to visit our middle school reading partners.

→ GRADE TWO

Fundations: We will nearly complete the last three Fundations units during the month of May. In Unit 15, we will spell words with the double vowel teams of long u sound for words like “flute” and “cool.” In Unit 16, we will spell words that contain the double vowel teams of au and aw. In Unit 17, we will work with the last of the six syllable types, the consonant-le syllable. This syllable can only be used as the final syllable in a multisyllabic word. It can follow a closed syllable containing a short vowel sound (apple), an open syllable containing a long vowel sound (table), or an r-controlled syllable (sparkle). The remaining second-grade trick words will be presented in Units 16 and 17. Don’t forget to continue practicing trick words at home for our weekly assessments.

Writing: We will be revisiting our personal narrative unit before moving into our final writing unit of the year, poetry. In our personal narrative unit, we will work on writing gripping fictional stories with meaning and significance. As writers, we are getting our reader to live in the shoes of the characters we’re writing about, recreating the sounds and rhythms of stories, as well as prioritizing story structure, putting a spotlight on the works of a short story where the writer creates an “edge of your seat” type story.

Reading: We will be moving into a new unit on Summarizing. Students will work on summarizing the main ideas or events from both expository nonfiction as well as fictional texts. We will work on determining the important ideas from a story, using inference to explore what is important. Students will visualize parts of a story, and give reasons to support their thinking.Nightly reading is the expectation for second-grade homework. Please remember to write this down on the Daily Reading Log and return it to school each Monday.

Math:In May, second graders will spend time working with fractions in Investigations Unit 7: Parts of a Whole, Parts of a group. Students will work with halves, thirds and fourths of a whole and of a set, recognize equivalent fractions, and identify and name fractional parts that have numerators greater than 1. Following fractions, we move to Unit 8: Partners, Teams and Paper Clips, where students will revisit addition and subtraction with large numbers. Students will continue to practice efficient methods strategies, and should be fluent with addition and subtraction facts to 20. Please record your child’s nightly fact practice on his/her Math Fact Practice Log and return it to school each Monday. We will continue working with time and money. Second graders must be able to tell time on an analog clock to the nearest five minutes and understand the meaning of a.m. and p.m. They should know all coins and their values and be able to count groups of coins.

Science:We are continuing our study of soil, weathering, and erosion. The children are conducting experiments using soil, rocks, water, and wind. They are recording observations, drawing and labeling diagrams, and making predictions. They are learning about different soil types and how plants and animals depend on soil. We will set up worm farms in our classrooms, observe earthworm activity in the worm farms, and discuss how earthworms help create healthy soil.

Social Studies:During the month of May, we will continue to focus on holidays and cultural events, and current events using Time For Kids. Students will also continue to read about and discuss our health using The Great Body Shop.

Extra:May is a busy month that includes many fun activities: Jump Rope for Heart, a field trip to see Seussical, Field Day, and the ABC Countdown! The countdown, which marks the last 26 days of the school year, will begin on May 15th. The second-grade teachers will send home a notice explaining the ABC Countdown activities.

→ GRADE THREE

Writing: In Writing, we will continue to work in using our new program, the Writing Workshop from Lucy Calkins. We have continue our unit on persuasive/opinion writing! Students are “finding their voice” while working on their persuasive piece. They are also including specific details, examples and mini-stories to accompany their opinions.

Reading: In Reading, we will continue to work on a variety of comprehension skills. We will review the strategies taught throughout the year. We will do Reading Records this month to test what level the students are at for the end of the year. Remember, third grade students should be reading a minimum of 20 minutes each day/night at home. Encourage your child to read a variety of genres. They should experience not only fiction pieces, but nonfiction, poetry, and others as well.

Math: In Math, we will review addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions using regular math problems and in word problems. We will also be working on a unit involving patterns. ***Please make sure your child can tell time on an analog clock.

Science:In Science, we have begun our unit on rocks and minerals. Students will learn about metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks.

Social Studies: The classes will be finishing up each of the habitat topics they had been working on before beginning to learn about Native Americans/Indians.

Other: We also have an in-school assembly: Gem Rocks on May 2nd and Field Day is May 26th.

→ GRADE FOUR

Writing: Fourth graders continue to work on Informational Writing in the new Units of Study Writing Program. Students are using various websites and resources to gather information and take notes on a specific region of the United States. Writers have made good progress writing about a big and focused topic. The next step is to add text features to highlight important information in their books, include a glossary, and create a bibliography.As the unit progresses, writers are working to construct a 5 paragraph informational essay for their books. The organized essay should include a strong thesis, introduction, conclusion, elaboration, and the writer’s craft/voice.

Reading: In Making Meaning, the fourth graders are working in a unit titled Genre Study: Biography- Risk Takers. We will be reviewing the elements of a biography and learning information about different historical figures, including Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, and Lou Gehrig. Students will focus on determining the main idea of a nonfiction text and review summarizing an article. Students will also learn how to describe the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts or information of a text by looking at the chronology, comparing historical figures to others, identify cause and effect and looking at the problem and solution. We have completed the Language Arts portion of the SBAC for 4th grade 

Math: Students will finish up Unit 8 – How Many Packages? How Many Groups? which focused on multiplication and division of larger numbers. Next we will work in Unit 2-Describing the Shape of Data. This unit develops ideas about collecting, representing, describing and interpreting data, as well as describing and predicting the likelihood of events. The unit begins with students comparing 2 sets of data using a line plot. Then students measure their height and 1st graders height to compare 2 sets of data and determine the range, median and mode of a data set. Students then develop their own survey questions to collect data from other 4th graders, organize the data and draw conclusions from it. Students will be taking the Math portion of the SBAC during the weeks of May 1 and May 8.

Science: Students have moved into the final unit of study for this year – Plants! In the first part of the unit, students will observe what all plants have in common, and distinguish the difference between monocot and dicot plants. All students will plant seedlings in the classroom and chart their growth! Group activities in the classroom will allow students to observe/explore different plants and seeds. Our trip to the Trumbull Nature Center on May 23 offers a great learning experience for the students, and is a great extension to this unit.

Social studies: Some of fourth graders are studying the Midwest. They are exploring the geography and climates of the Midwest and their effects on farming. It looks at how wheat farming, railroads and ranching encouraged settlements on the Great Plains and how the settlers had to adapt to their surroundings. They will also explore who farms, ranches, and cities depend on each other. They will then explore other Plains regions in the world. Other 4th grade classrooms are revisiting the Northeast region or studying the West. Students are coming up with a focus topic related to this region. Then they are researching the topic, taking notes from various resources and using their notes to write an informational book in Writing.

→ GRADE FIVE

Writing:In writing, the students are engaged in a unit on informational writing. The focus is on the events leading up to the American Revolution. Students will research and write a piece on an event of their choosing.

Reading:In reading, students will be focusing on the unit involving making judgements and forming opinions.

Math:In math, students will use their knowledge of multiplying and dividing powers of 10 to aid in metric measurement conversions. They will then move into a geometry unit, which will also include finding the perimeter and area of rectangles. Students will also continue to apply those skills through multi-step word problems from the ‘Exemplar’ program.

Science:In science, students are engaged in the study of light energy. They will be moving through investigations on lenses and mirrors and their effect on light. The unit will also focus on the structure and function of the human eye.

Social Studies:In social studies, students will be learning about the events leading up to the American Revolution, from the French and Indian War to the Battle of Lexington and Concord.