Weekly Updates 3/28- 4/1

NEWS/EVENTS

• Next week our marathoners are taking the ELA exams on Tuesday April 5th, Wednesday April 6th, and Thursday April 7th! Our philosophy is to go into testing days feeling cool, calm, prepared, and confident. Please support students by making sure they arrive to school on time, well rested, and having a good breakfast.
• There will be no assigned homework during the exams (except for getting rest!).
• The following week students will take the math state exams on Wednesday April 13th, Thursday April 14th, and Friday April 15th.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the short response question for "Exotic Animals Are not Pets" (this was distributed separately from the packet), fraction homework

Tuesday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the short response questions for "Following the Stars" (this was distributed separately from the packet), Mass/Volume Math Marathon homework

Wednesday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the short response questions for "Sleep and the Brain" (this was distributed separately from the packet), Mass/Volume Math Marathon homework

Thursday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the short response questions for "First in Flight" (this was distributed separately from the packet), Fraction Post Assessment takes place tomorrow (4/1)

Friday: Read for 30 minutes each day, Read and answer the short response question for "The Gift of Light" (this was distributed separately from the packet)

CURRICULUM

Reading- This week students will spend the majority of their time visiting centers based on highlighted areas where practice is needed. We will also revisit a few other genres such as poetry and narrative nonfiction, and look at features of these texts. On Friday we will have our last big reading marathon- sweats and track clothes are encouraged!

We are also launching some independent reading projects. Students are taking a close look at an area within their lives they would like to learn more about (dance, WWII, origami, ANYTHING) and will create a plan for collecting research and information. This enrichment project is meant to be fun, and will take place in school.

Writing- This week we will continue to explore extended response questions and will practice devising and rehearsing a plan, tying ideas together with strong evidence, and ranking and prioritizing the best details. Students will do this work in partnerships and independently.

Math- This is our last week in our fractions unit. All groups are reviewing content, and the post assessment will take place on Friday.

Social Studies- We are continuing to immerse ourselves in different folktales, and are noticing the differences between myths, legends, fables, and tall tales.

Weekly Updates 3/21-3/24

NEWS/EVENTS

• "Art to Remember" Forms are due no later than Wednesday
• There is no school Friday in observance of Good Friday

HOMEWORK:

Monday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and use the blue informational bookmark to mark up "Patriotic Pizza," and answer only the short response question attached, Fractions math HW

Tuesday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and use the blue informational bookmark to mark up "Living in the Clouds," and answer only the short response question attached, 

Wednesday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and use the blue informational bookmark to mark up "How Benny West Learned to be a Painter" answer only the short response questions attached, Fraction Group HW.

Thursday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and use the blue informational bookmark to mark up "Sea Turtles" and answer only the short response question attached (DO NOT DO THE EXTENDED), Fraction Group HW, Elapsed Time Marathon Practice HW.

CURRICULUM

Reading- This week we are exploring texts with unique structures from across a variety of different genres. We are exploring texts that are set up sequentially, showing a cause/effect relationship, as well as compare contrast. We are examining how one part of a text build on another. Students are continuing to mark up and annotate the text using the blue card stock bookmark in their training folders as they read, and use these annotations when revisiting parts of the text later on.

Writing- This week we are learning how to construct an extended response using a checklist to guide our planning. Today we did an inquiry, and explored previous students' examples to find out, "What makes a powerful extended response?" As the week progresses we will practice planning our work and then will shift into writing full responses.

Math- This week math students are exploring strategies to create equivalent fractions, and we are also learning about fractions of a set (as well as other fraction based word problems).

Social Studies: This week as we visit Folk Tale Centers we are learning about the differences between a fable, myth, legend, and fairytale.

Weekly Updates 3/14-3/18

NEWS/EVENTS

• Enrichment groups start meeting 7th period this Thursday, 3/17! Students will find out their placements tomorrow.
• This week we are launching Math Marathon Training in addition to what we have started with ELA.
• The 2016 ELA and Math Exams are coming up. The ELA will take place April 5th-7th, and the Math will take place April 13th-15th. If you missed the Curriculum Connection regarding the tests at the beginning of the month, you can find out more information at http://ps11chelsea.org/curriculum-connections/
• Our attitude towards the test is that the work we have done all year has prepared us, and that will be confident, calm, and ready!

HOMEWORK

*Starting this week we will alternate between fraction group homework and marathon math homework each night

*A note on Marathon Homework- if you want to review work with students, please encourage them to lead the review- let them show you their process. For short response work, encourage students to take out the short response checklist to self assess their work.

Monday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the questions for "Copycat Elephant," Fraction Group Homework

Tuesday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the questions for "Teeny Tiny Tardigrades," Marathon Graphing Homework p. 3-5

Wednesday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the questions for "Crazy Critters," Fraction Group HW

Thursday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the questions for "Horses Helping Others," Marathon Graphing Homework p. 6-9

Friday: Read for 30 minutes, Read and answer the questions for "Sand Castle," Fraction Group HW

CURRICULUM

Reading- This week our focus has shifted to informational reading passages. This week we will explore how to determine the main idea, reflect on the author's purpose, use text features, study context clues, and compare different text structures (compare/contrast, cause/effect, sequential)

Writing- This week we are visiting centers to practice short response questions and will have opportunities to receive feedback from our peers and Ms. Bouchard. On Thursday we will start to look at extended response style questions.

Math- This week in addition to rotating to our fractions groups, we are adding an additional period of marathon math training to the school day. Marathon math whole group instruction focuses on trends Ms. Bouchard has found in student data that students would benefit from practice in. This week our marathon focus is on creating and interpreting picture and bar graphs.

Social Studies- Students are visiting centers to explore different Folk Tales from around the world.

Weekly Updates 3/7-3/11

NEWS/UPDATES

• It was lovely meeting with you over the past week to discuss the progress of our students!
• Please read below for important information pertaining to our "Marathon Training" for the upcoming NY State ELA and Math exams.
• The deadline for permission slips highlighting students interested in participating in a track and field meet are due to Mr. Nichols by Wednesday March 9th. Slips were sent home a week and a half ago. Not all students will be selected in this lottery.
• Family Friday is this Friday- our theme is poetry! More information to come.

Homework

During our "marathon training" for state exams, I am giving students a break from nightly jotting and word study. In it's place, I am asking students to complete some practice homework to support strategies learned during the day. Students are still asked to read for 30 minutes each night to build stamina. Please follow the schedule below for this week's homework, and do not have students complete passages/problems beyond what is assigned. Students must return yellow marathon training folders to school each day. Many thanks!

Monday: Read for 30 minutes (no jotting required), Read "The Old Man and His Grandson" and answer the supporting short response question

Tuesday: Read for 30 minutes (no jotting required), Read "Secrets are Hard to Keep" and answer the supporting questions, Fraction Group HW

Wednesday: Read for 30 minutes (no jotting required), Read "Go Fish" and answer the supporting questions, Fraction Group HW

Thursday: Read for 30 minutes (no jotting required), Read "Sulka Saves the Savannah" and answer the supporting questions, Fraction Group HW

Friday: Read for 30 minutes (no jotting required), Read "Campfire Song" and answer the supporting questions, Fraction Group HW

CURRICULUM

Reading: Today we launched our "Marathon Training" for the ELA by reviewing strategies and skills tied to Narrative Passages (Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Fables, Folk Tales, Myths). Our week started with a shared experience as a class, and over the course of each day we move towards greater independence.

Writing: This week we are focusing on using all we know about writing to answer short response questions. Students will use a series of checklists and student examples to understand the components of a short response, and will work as a whole class, in partnerships, and independently for practice.

Math: This week we are continuing to explore fractions on a number line, and will study how to use number lines to compare unlike fractions. Later in the week we will review different ways to identify equivalent fractions.

Social Studies: We are continuing to explore Folk Tales, and are looking closely at the differences between myths, fairy tales, and legends.

Many thanks for all of your support!

Ms. Bouchard

Weekly Updates 2/29-3/4

NEWS/EVENTS

• This week (and next) parent teacher conferences will take place. If you arrive early to your conference, please take the green NYC schools survey, fill it out, and seal it. You can return this to me, and I will submit all sealed envelopes to the office to be mailed. PS 11 is shooting for a 100% participation rate, and your help with this is very much appreciated. If we have already met, I will send this home with your child.
• Next Friday March 11th is Family Friday- Our theme is poetry.
• On Wednesday March 9th there is a Curriculum Connection from 8:45-9:30 about the state exam.
• Our March Newsletter was emailed to all families yesterday. Please reach out to me if you did not receive it.

HOMEWORK

Word Study

Humble: Sort 9

Determined: Sort 33

Ambitious: Sort 32

Monday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, write words in word study notebook, math group HW

Tuesday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, pick a word study menu options, math group HW

Wednesday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, word study practice page (goes with sort in purple book), math group homework

Thursday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, glue words in purple workbook, study for spelling test

Friday: Reading response, math group HW

CURRICULUM

Reading- We are wrapping up our two week mini unit on mystery book clubs. This week we are piecing together evidence and clues to solve the mystery, and considering suspect motivations. Towards the end of the week we will think about lessons learned.

Writing- This week we are also wrapping up a two week poetry writing unit. After generating possible topics for poems we are spending the next days revising using a range of strategies to add depth to our work, such as weaving in figurative language, and considering white space and line breaks. Students will look through poems and search for a theme that could be highlighted in a poetry anthology.

Math- Students are learning about unit fractions and are using toolkits to compare, rank, and order fractions.

Social Studies: By the end of this week we are launching Literature Around the World- Folk Tales. Students will read a wide variety of Folk Tales and visit centers to consider how tales continue to teach us about the culture, economy, land, and history of a country.