Our first graders are studying life cycles!  Last week we had caterpillars and this week we already have chrysalis formed! Hoping we get to meet our butterflies before Wednesday!

We have also been practicing our math facts…in shaving cream!!!

Last week students in 1st and 2nd grade planted beautiful flowers in front of the school.  The flowers we planted attract butterflies and humingbirds!

Kindergarten students had a day of magnet exploration!  Students tested objects and created a T-chart to document their findings.

Today’s classes had the challenging of creating a catapult using given materials.  While students were given basic directions, many groups decided to modify their prototype.

Check out their creations!

4th and 5th grade students created some AWESOME shirts using the Sharpie Pen Tie Dye Method!  Check out their creations…

This week, upper elementary students will be taking home an experiment to practice going through the scientific method.  3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will take home the Gummy Bear Lab and bring their results back next week.

PROCEDURE

1.  Label the two cups with the name of the liquid.  One cup must contain water.  Students can choose what they want to put in the other cup.

2.  Place one gummy bear in each of the cups.

3.  After two days, observe what is happening to the gummy bears.  Record your observations.

4.  After two more days, observe your gummy bears again.  Record your observations.

5.  Write down your conclusion.  Was your hypothesis correct?  What did you learn from the experiment?  What questions do you have now?

Feel free to email me with any questions  farhatm@dearbornschools.org

Students can also email me pictures or videos of their experiments

Our kindergarten classes are practicing numbers! Today, we counted dots on dominoes and matched them to the correct number. We learned that there are many ways to make numbers.

First graders are learning about properties of objects. We tested different candies to see if they would sink or float. What do you think will happen?

Happy holidays from the 1st graders! Friday we graphed our favorite cookie shape and created number stories about what else?! COOKIES!!

This week, students in grades 3-5 are going to take part in the Hour of Code!  We are joining students allover the country and code.org to learn simple coding!

What is coding you ask?  Coding is basically a computer science that is used to create computer software, websites, games, and apps.

Why computer science?

Happy December! This week students are busy, busy, busy! Here’s what’s happening this week:

*kindergarten–we are practicing logging in to the computers in the computer lab! Students who have mastered logging in have been playing number games on abcya.com
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.2
Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1).

*1st grade–we have been practicing basic computation skills using Xtra Math
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.C.6
Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within 10. Use strategies such as counting on; making ten (e.g., 8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14); decomposing a number leading to a ten (e.g., 13 – 4 = 13 – 3 – 1 = 10 – 1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one knows 12 – 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or known sums (e.g., adding 6 + 7 by creating the known equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13)

*2nd grade–students were given access to Khan Academy to practice math skills
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.OA.B.2
Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies.2 By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.

*3rd grade–we are trying to solve The Case of the Jogging Gingerbread Man! Students are using their time telling, money counting, and multiplication skills to solve the case!
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.1
Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 × 7.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.A.1
Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram.

*4th grade & 5th grade–we are practicing using Google Classroom! All students have been assigned to a classroom. This week, we solved multistep word problems.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.B.3.D
Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole and having like denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.A.2
Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole, including cases of unlike denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem. Use benchmark fractions and number sense of fractions to estimate mentally and assess the reasonableness of answers. For example, recognize an incorrect result 2/5 + 1/2 = 3/7, by observing that 3/7 < 1/2.

This week, students in grades 3-5 will get their Google Classroom accounts set up.  We will be using Google Classroom to post and comment to our classmates as well as to complete assignments.  This is new and we are looking forward t o learning how to navigate Google Classroom!

Students in grades k-2 will continue practicing how to log in.  This week, we will log in to our Xtra Math accounts!  This is a great website to practice math fact fluency!

Make sure that you ask your child if their teacher has set them up on XtraMath!  You should have received a flyer showing you how to enroll your child so that they can practice at home.

Click HERE to get to Xtra Math!