Weekly Updates 3/23-3/27

NEWS/EVENTS

• Students participating in the Track and Field meet will participate this upcoming Thursday, March 26th. 
• Family Friday is this Friday, March 27th due to the track meet! We are presenting Wax Museum Exhibits in the Auditorium, and will meet downstairs at 8:50 am.
• Spring break will take place Friday April 3rd- Sunday April 12th.
• The ELA State exam will take place Tuesday April 14- Thursday April 16th, and the Math exams will take place Wednesday April 22nd- Friday April 24th.

HOMEWORK

Monday: Read for 30 minutes, read and answer questions for "Build the Perfect Sand Castle," and complete equivalent fraction practice HW. 

Tuesday: Read for 30 minutes, read and answer questions for "How Benny West Learned to be a Painter," and complete equivalent fraction practice HW. Practice Wax Museum Presentation for 10 minutes.

Wednesday: Read for 30 minutes, read and answer questions for "Crazy Critters," and complete Marathon Math practice around elapsed time. Practice Wax Museum Presentation for 10 minutes.

Thursday: Read for 30 minutes, read and answer questions for "Copycat Elephants," and complete Marathon Math practice around elapsed time. Practice Wax Museum Presentation for 10 minutes.

Friday: Read for at least 30 minutes each day. Complete Marathon Math practice around elapsed time.

CURRICULUM

Reading: This week our marathon training is shifting towards nonfiction reading strategies. Throughout the week we will revisit finding Main Idea, identifying structures in texts, using context clues to learn new vocabulary, studying how parts of a text relate to each other, and identifying Main Idea in Disguise.

Writing: This week our marathon training practice is shifting from short response work to extended responses, which mirror work we have done previously in our baby literary essay unit.

Math: This week we are reviewing equivalent fraction strategies and are tackling different word problems addressing fractions. Next week we will engage in fraction review centers and will take the fraction post assessment on Wednesday April 1st.

Social Studies: We are continuing to visit centers about Nigeria!

See you soon!

Ms. Bouchard

Wax Museum Projects

Hi Families of 3-509!

I just wanted to confirm that next Friday March 27th we will have our biography Wax Museum presentation. This will be our monthly family Friday! The presentations/ exhibit will take place from about 8:50-9:30.

See you then, and have a great weekend!

Ms. Bouchard

Weekly Updates 3/16-3/20

NEWS/UPDATES

Please read below for important information pertaining to Parent Teacher Conferences and our "Marathon Training" for the upcoming NY State ELA and Math exams.

EVENTS:

• Parent Teacher Conferences are starting this week! If you haven't signed up for a slot please do so as soon as possible to ensure you have a time that works with your schedule. Visit: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4babab2aa6fa7-march
• Thursday is a half day. Dismissal is at 11:50 am.
• Our Biography wax museum presentations will most likely take place first period on Friday March 27th- this will be our new family Friday date. I will confirm this by this upcoming Friday.
• Students participating in Track and Field have a meet next Thursday March 26th.

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. Please follow the schedule below for this week's homework.

Throughout the week/weekend: Work on biography poster ( 1 hour). 

Monday: Read for 40 minutes, complete fraction number line practice 

Tuesday: Read for 30 minutes, read and answer questions for "Mr. Hacker" and "The Secret Message" (it is okay if this is part of the 30 minutes of reading, I discussed this with kids as they are still reading), fraction number line practice, bar graph practice p. 4-5 in math graph packet

Wednesday: Read for 30 minutes, read and answer questions for "Hand Me Down Crayons" (it is okay if this is part of the 30 minutes of reading, I discussed this with kids as they are still reading), fraction number line practice, picture graph practice p. 10 in math graph packet

Thursday: Read for 30 minutes, read and answer questions for "Sulka Saves the Savanna" (it is okay if this is part of the 30 minutes of reading, I discussed this with kids as they are still reading), equivalent fraction practice, picture graph practice p. 14-15 in math graph packet

Friday: Read for 30 minutes, read and answer questions for "Go Fish" (it is okay if this is part of the 30 minutes of reading, I discussed this with kids as they are still reading), equivalent fraction practice, make a graph using data

CURRICULUM

Visit our P.S. 11 site for our monthly newsletter @ http://ps11chelsea.org/storage/3509Bouchard%20March%20Newsletter%202015.pdf

Reading: This week 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 will have another rotation of Nigeria Centers Thursday, and will connect some of our marathon work to a Nigerian Folk Tale.

Many thanks for all of your support!

Ms. Bouchard

Weekly Updates 3/9-3/13

NEWS/EVENTS

• Our Sign Up Genius link is now up and ready for Parent Teacher Conference sign ups! If you haven't had the chance to sign up, please do so by the end of the week. Visit: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0F4BABAB2AA6FA7-march 
• Family Friday will actually be Family Thursday (March 26th) this month due to Peter Pan performances on Friday March 27th. Although it hasn't been officially decided, we will most likely use this time to share biography wax museum projects.
• Next week we are starting our "Marathon" themed test preparation unit. PS 11's philosophy is that the rich work we do throughout the year takes on a much more organic form of test preparation, and therefore we do not teach to the test. During this "marathon" we will be inspired by uplifting marathon music, we will create a "training plan," and will address stress coping skills. We are introducing kids to test format and question types, building stamina, and reviewing both content and test-taking strategies. We want our kids to feel calm and prepared, and if we all take on this attitude as a community I think our kids will feel great. The ELA state exam takes place on April 14th-16th, and the Math State exams will take place April 22-24th.

Homework this week:

**A few notes on homework: This week students will be given time in class to work on their biography projects during reading workshop. I asked students to spend 75 each week on their projects for homework as well throughout the week. I am fine with how they want to split this time. It could be 15 minutes a day, or one longer evening. It is really what is best for their schedule. I suggested that they spend this week collecting, sorting, and growing ideas about their research. Next week they can start to plan their poster.

Monday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, fraction HW, work on biography project for about 15-20 minutes

Tuesday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, work on biography project for about 15-20 minutes (no math tonight)

Wednesday: Reading response, read for 30 min, fraction numberline HW

Thursday: Read and jot for 30 minutes, fraction HW, work on biography project for about 15-20 minutes

Friday: Read for at least 30 minutes each day, work on biography project

CURRICULUM:

Reading: This week we are reflecting on lessons learned from our subjects, as well as why their stories are still shared. We are considering, what was their legacy? We are working on our biography wax museum projects.

Writing: Last week we launched poetry! After generating ideas and starting to draft some poems, this week we are taking a look at revision strategies, such as using line breaks, similes, and metaphors to emphasize more complex ideas in our poems.

Math: This week we are taking a close look at fractions along a number line- how to identify equivalent fractions, how to determine missing pieces, and how to partition a line into parts.

Social Studies: This week we are launching Nigeria centers. At these centers students will study photographs, artifacts, statistics, articles, music, and videos highlighting life in Nigeria.

Weekly Updates 3/2-3/6

News/Events

• Our students were amazing at last week's African Dance performance. If you have video clips or pictures please feel free to share them with our group.
• A big congrats to our third grade chess team members that came in 5th place at this weekend's tournament in Saratoga Springs! Amazing!
• Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up! Evening conferences will take place Wednesday March 18th and daytime conferences will take place the afternoon of Thursday March 19th. In addition to this, I will provide a handful of opportunities for families to meet mornings before the work day starts. I will email the sign up genius link this upcoming Friday afternoon March 6th.
• Family Friday will take place Friday March 27th.

Homework this week:

1) Monday- Read for 30 minutes and jot, equivalent fraction HW, study for spelling test (postponed from last Friday

2)  Tuesday- Read for 30 minutes and jot, equivalent fraction HW

3) Wednesday- Read for 30 minutes, reading response, equivalent fraction HW

4) Thursday- Read for 30 minutes and jot, fraction HW, work on Wax Museum project

5) Friday- Read for 30 minutes and jot, fraction HW, work on Wax Museum project

Curriculum

Reading: This week students are continuing to learn about various biography subjects, engaging in their third rotation of book centers (each bin has a theme- inventors, activists, artists, etc). This Wednesday students are selecting a subject they would like to continue researching, and will commit to creating a Wax Museum project and presentation due in a few weeks.

Writing: This week we launched poetry! We are starting to generate ideas for our own poems by immersing ourselves in poetry and studying the works of mentor authors, such as Shel Silverstein.

Math: Last week we launched our fourth unit of the year- fractions! We spent time last week learning about fractions of a set. This week we are taking a close look at comparing fractions to find sets that are equivalent.

Social Studies: This week we are launching Nigeria. Today we launched the unit with a mini-lecture giving a brief overview of the country, it's location, and some of the landmarks and resources available. Later this week we will Google Maps as a tool to study Lagos. By the end of the week we will start to visit centers.

Reading Responses

Hi Everyone,

For the very first time our students were assigned a reading response. On reading response days nightly jotting is not required.

We have been working hard this year to organically make the transition from jotting to creating a response. Now that our students have gone through the process of creating a big bold claim to support a baby literary essay and then come up with supporting reasons, they are ready to make this transition. They should reflect on a previous jot that represents a big idea, and then write long about this idea.

Please let students do this work independently, and I recommend that they take no more than a half hour to complete their response. Setting a timer might help pace them. I would also recommend encouraging the students to "lead a conference" with you after, so they can explain their thinking and review their work. I want students to feel empowered sharing their ideas!

Here is an example of an exemplary reading response. I am not expecting this quality work with their first attempt, and it does not have to be two pages. However, I am sharing this with you to give you an idea of what we are hoping to move towards.

Thanks for your ongoing support!

Introducing...Hannah Ticoll!!!!!

February 10, 2015

Dear Parents and Students of 3-509,

After four years of teaching, I'm very excited to be taking the year off to study at Teachers College. For the past four years, I was a classroom teacher in French Immersion schools in Toronto where I taught fourth grade, a combined class of first and second grade students, and most recently third grade. Before becoming a teacher, I spent several years volunteering at Frontier College, a national literacy organization that provides free tutoring and other literacy-related activities for at-risk communities. While working with elementary-school children at Frontier College, I became passionate about literacy and decided to pursue teaching as a career.

After teaching for a few years, I decided I wanted to improve my practice by pursuing a Masters Degree. I have always learned the most from watching other teachers and from co-teaching with colleagues so I only sought out programs with internship components. Last semester, I interned in a first grade classroom at P.S. 29 and it was an incredible learning experience. I’m happy to be teaching in 3-509 this semester and I feel extremely fortunate to have been placed with Aimee. 

I am thrilled to be living in New York City this year. I have never lived outside of Canada and I'm excited for all of the new experiences to come.  After living here for only a few months, I am already starting to feel at home and well acquainted with the city. In my free time, I enjoy walking around the city, running and spending time outdoors with friends. I also love reading cooking blogs and trying out new recipes!

            I’m so happy to be working with your children this semester and hopefully I will get a chance to meet some parents too!

Sincerely,

Hannah Ticoll