Trimester One
8/26/19-11/25/19
15 Sessions
8/26/19-11/25/19
15 Sessions
Kindergarten: Session 1 - Orientation: students were introduced to the sections of the library, how to take books off of the shelves using shelf markers, expectations, and book care. We read the book, What Happened to Marion's Books. Students checked out two books. S 2 - We read and discussed the book, The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale. Next, students were put into groups of four and given the task of building the tallest building they could using only the number of Keva Planks provided. As a group, we discussed the benefits of collaboration vs. splitting the number of planks and learned how to make a building taller and taller using the same number of planks (learning and thinking of ways to improve). S 3 - We read the book The Dot and brainstormed what a dot could be. Students created their own "A dot can be..." pictures, that will later be turned into a digital class book. S 4 - Students looked for signs of fall as we watched and discussed Fletcher and the Falling Leaves on BookFlix.. Students were introduced to our Maker Space building section. Now after check-out time, they have the choice to read or build. S 5 - We learned the difference between fiction and nonfiction books. Students used clues from cover illustrations/photos and titles to make predictions before even reading the books. We read Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies and Grizzly Bears. Students found many facts in the Grizzly Bears book. Now that students have been introduced to nonfiction books, they may now check out one nonfiction and one everyone (picture) book. Exciting times!!! S 6 - We read the nonfiction book, Let's Look at Fall. Next, we brainstormed things we see in the fall. I introduced the My Story app, in preparation for our "Seasons" digital books we will start in the next couple of weeks. S 7 - We began an author Study of Mo Willems. We read and discussed his books, Knuffle Bunny, That Is Not A Good Idea, and Leonardo the Terrible Monster. S 8 - We continued our author study of Mo Willems and read and discussed the books, Knuffle Bunny Too, Edwina, The Dinosaur that Didn't Know She Was Extinct, and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay UP Late. S 9 - Students used the iPads and My Story app to create the title page of our year long project, "Seasons" book. S 10 - Students were introduced to our BeeBot robots. They used directional words and signs to plan and code the BeeBots to move Forward. Turn Left, Turn Right, and Go/Run. S 11 - We viewed, listened to, and discussed a reading of the book Spookly the Square Pumpkin. Next, students chose between circle, square, and triangle tracers to create their very own unique Spooklys. S 12 - We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. We read the book Turkey Trouble! S 13-14 - Students worked on the "Fall" page of their My Story App "Seasons" book. Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - We read the books Bear Says Thanks and Thanksgiving is Here! Students brainstormed reasons to be thankful. We all shared what we were thankful for this year.
1st Grade: Session 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, how to take books off of the shelves using shelf markers, expectations, and book care. We read the books, What Happened to Marion's Books and The Perfectly Messed-Up Story. Students checked out two books. S 2 - We read and discussed the books Those Darn Squirrels and Grey Squirrels. Students identified one as fiction and the other as nonfiction. We reviewed what makes a book fiction or nonfiction. We also reviewed some nonfiction text features that students will use when they begin to research. S 3 - We began our study of Author's Purpose. Students learned that sometimes authors write to persuade, inform, or entertain. We read the books I Wanna Iguana and I Wanna New Room. We noticed how the main character tries to persuade, or change his mother's and father's opinion about having an iguana and his own room. Ask your children if it worked! S 4 - This week we learned that sometimes authors write to inform. We watched and discussed the book How Do We Know It's Fall? on BookFlix. S 5 - We read The Monkey Goes Bananas and decided that the author wrote the book to entertain us! The book Don't Play With Your Food was a little tricky, but students caught on to the bunnies persuading Buddy not to eat them. They discovered that books can be written to be both persuasive and entertaining! S 6 - Over the next few weeks, story elements will be introduced. This week, we discussed the story element: Setting. We learned that the setting of a story is not only where the story is taking place, but also when. We read my favorite example of setting in a picture book, The Little House. Throughout the book students noticed the where: starting in the country, the city moving ever closer with each turn of the page, then finally a return to a country setting. They also noticed the when: changing seasons and days and nights. S 7 - We discussed the story element: Character. Students learned that physical traits are what we can see on the outside, what a character looks like. Character traits, on the other hand, are what's on the inside, how a character acts and feels. We read the book, Lilly's Big Day, and discussed both the main character's physical and character traits. S 8 - During this session, we discussed Beginning, Middle, End. We read the book, Otis and the Scarecrow. Students identified the events that happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. They also provided evidence when identifying setting, and physical and character traits of the main characters. S 9 - We read the book, Hair-pocolypse. Students identified the problem (his hair wanted to be washed) and solution (the main character and his air agreed to take a shower on weeknights/be grubby on weekends) to the story. S 10 - Students used their imaginations and designed and labeled their dream rooms using the book, If I Built a House, as inspiration. S 11 - We read and discussed the book Creepy Carrots. Students labeled a four sectioned paper with the sequence words: First, Next, Then, & Finally. Next, they drew pictures in the sections to retell the story. S 12 - We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. Students had a refresher session on the My Story app. S 13-14 - Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - We read the book Thanksgiving in the White House. We learned that President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. He was also the 1st president to pardon a Thanksgiving turkey (thanks to his son Tad). We viewed and discussed the PebbleGo article on Thanksgiving. Students wrote one fact they learned and why the holiday is important.
2nd Grade: Session 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, how to take books off of the shelves using shelf markers, expectations, and book care. We read chapter one of our Fantasy novel, The Secrets of Droon: The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet. Students were excited to check out up to three books. S 2 - We read the book, Goldiesocks and the Three Libearians, a perfect way to introduce the 5 Finger Rule. This rule helps students decide whether a book choice is to easy (not challenging enough), too hard (too frustrating), or "just right". Parents: Want to learn more about the 5 finger rule?...Ask your child to explain how it works, or contact me. I'm happy to provide more info. We read chapter two of our novel. S 3 - We read the book The Great Fuzz Frenzy to kick off the topic of our first research project "Underground Animals" - Animals that burrow. Even though it's a fantastic book, we noticed it would not be a good choice to use for research! Students chose the burrowing animals they would like to research. We continued to read our class novel. S 4 - We began a demo lesson on how to research burrowing animals. As a whole group, students pulled facts out of the book Striped Skunks and decided to what section of our notes the facts belonged.. We continued our class novel. S 5 - We continued our practice research and class novel. S 6 - During this session, partners recorded the title and author of the books they will be using for research. Our class novel is full of elements of fantasy...and getting quite exciting! S 7-8 - Students used nonfiction books to research facts about their underground animals: Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Diet, Behavior, Life Cycle, Predators, and Other Interesting Facts. We continued reading our novel and discussing the elements of fantasy found in each chapter. S 9 - Students practiced logging on to iPads and navigating to the PebbleGo database. S 10 - Students listed the fantasy elements found in our class novel and catagorized them by: Objects, Wizards, and Creatures. S 11 - In honor of Halloween, we read the book Boris and Bella. Students learned that good researchers find and check facts using multiple sources. Students checked an added to their research using the PebbleGo database. S 12 - Students were introduced to the Book Creator app in preparation for creating their burrowing animal digital books. We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. S 13-14 - Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - We read the book Thanksgiving in the White House. We learned that President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. He was also the 1st president to pardon a Thanksgiving turkey (thanks to his son Tad). In order to explain the process of setting up our book in the Book Creator app, I use the analogy of building a house. Our research is our blueprint/plan, adding a new book to the app is our foundation. Adding the pages is building the structure. Most second grade classes are at this step. Soon we will add walls (add headings for each page), paint (choose cover design & page colors), load furniture (add facts), and hang pictures (add photos).
3rd Grade: Session 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, expectations and book care. We read chapter one of our Realistic Fiction novel. Frindle. Students checked out up to three books. S 2 - Students were introduced to the many fiction series available in the library, We reviewed the 5 Finger Rule, that will assist in picking "just right" books for our varying reading levels. We read chapter two of our novel. S 3 - We reviewed how to use our library catalog in order to search for wanted books. Third graders will become experts at navigating the library! We continued to read our class novel. S 4 - Third grade is the perfect year for teaching students how to navigate the library independently. We practiced placing three letter combinations in alphabetical order. This is a skill that is necessary for locating books on specific shelves. We continued our class novel. S 5 - Students practiced putting "book spines" in alphabetical shelf order using the books' call numbers as a guide. We continued our class novel. S 6 - Students visited several other "book spine" stations. Their skills have greatly improved in just one week's time! We learned what our main character's "big plan" is in our class novel Frindle. S 7-8 - Students were introduced to the ten sections of the Dewey Decimal System.. Next, they played a Dewey game where they had to figure what section they would have to look to find a book to help answer a question. We continued our class novel. S 9-10 - Using our class novel as inspiration, students created new words to represent objects or actions. Next, they completed dictionary entries for their new words. We will assemble a GAE Library "Frindle" dictionary that students can add to for years to come! S 11-12 - Students had a refresher session on the PicEdu app. Next, students created digital posters advertising one of the ten sections of the Dewey Decimal nonfiction section of the library. We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. S 13-14 - We finished our first class novel , Frindle. It was so wonderful to watch the students' reactions through out the novel! They thoroughly enjoyed it! Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - Students completed their Dewey posters. Our new class novel, The Wild Robot was introduced.
4th Grade: Sessions 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, expectations and book care. We read chapter one of our Historic Fiction novel. The War That Saved My Life. Students checked out up to four books. S 2 - We reviewed the elements of the many genres of fiction, including: Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Mystery. We learned that on many occasions books have more than one overlapping genres. We read chapter two of our historical fiction novel. S 3 - We began to discuss the requirements of our first research project, "Pennsylvania Regions". Students will choose a region and explore its places of interest, physical characteristics, industry, and history. We continued to read our class novel. S 4 - We read about the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Ridge and Valley regions as a whole group. Students pulled facts as we read and decided if they had to do with the regions' places of interest, physical characteristics, industry, or history. We continued to read our class novel. S 5 - During this session, we read about the Allegheny Plateau and the Lake Erie Coastal Plain. We continued our class novel. S 6 - Students decided on the region they would like to research. Some are choosing to take notes on paper and others will use the notes app to record their research. Students are really enjoying our class novel. S 7-10 - Students worked in groups to discuss record research facts. We continued our class novel. S 11 - Each region group shared research facts with the rest of the class. S 12- Students wrote a persuasive paragraph about their researched PA region. Students will make a green screen video reciting the paragraph as part of their coding website in the second trimester. We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. S 13-14 - Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - Students visited the web page "Birch's View of Philadelphia". They were able to compare the changes over time, viewing engravings/photos of places in Philadelphia in the years 1800, 1960, & 2000. We are half way through our class novel, The War that Saved My Life. The students find it fascinating watching our main character evolve and navigate through her new environment.
5th Grade: Session 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, expectations and book care. We discussed the opportunity to join the Reading Olympics Team, and give book talks. We read chapter one of our Science Fiction novel, Among the Hidden. Students checked out up to four books. S 2 - We discussed how to evaluate websites and make the best choices to find information. We reviewed the three sites, Britannica School, Mount Vernon.org, and Bio.com to compare articles about George Washington. We compared the sites "Accuracy", "Authority", "Objectivity", "Currency", and "Coverage". Students found the Britannica School database to be the most useful. We read chapter two of our novel. S 3 - In preparation for fifth grade's field trip to TCHS, Mrs. Stewart and I are presenting a three session Career Unit. In the first session we discussed the differences between jobs and careers, nontraditional careers for both males and females, and the importance of choosing a career that both matches a person's strengths and one they find enjoyable. We continued to read our class novel. S 4 - In the second session we addressed Skills employers want and on the job training skills they use everyday at school. Students learned why it is important to have a plan B when seeking professional sports or entertainment careers. Students took a survey to help identify a career cluster that matches with their personalities and interests. We continued to read our class novel. S 5 - Students explored careers in their matching career clusters. We continued our class novel. S 6 - Students were introduced to their new research project: U.S. Regions. We reviewed requirements and available resources. The main character in our class novel may not be so lonely for very long! S 7-10 - Students decided on U.S. Regions to research, set up notes, and began to discuss and record research in small groups. We continued to read our class novel. S 11 - Each region group shared research facts with the rest of the class. S 12 - Students continued US Region research. We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. S 13-14 - Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - Students completed US. Region research. We are half way through our class novel, Among the Hidden. Our main character, Luke, comes to realize he is not the only "third child" in existence. With the help of his new neighbor and fellow "third child", a new and sometimes terrifying world opens up for Luke!
1st Grade: Session 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, how to take books off of the shelves using shelf markers, expectations, and book care. We read the books, What Happened to Marion's Books and The Perfectly Messed-Up Story. Students checked out two books. S 2 - We read and discussed the books Those Darn Squirrels and Grey Squirrels. Students identified one as fiction and the other as nonfiction. We reviewed what makes a book fiction or nonfiction. We also reviewed some nonfiction text features that students will use when they begin to research. S 3 - We began our study of Author's Purpose. Students learned that sometimes authors write to persuade, inform, or entertain. We read the books I Wanna Iguana and I Wanna New Room. We noticed how the main character tries to persuade, or change his mother's and father's opinion about having an iguana and his own room. Ask your children if it worked! S 4 - This week we learned that sometimes authors write to inform. We watched and discussed the book How Do We Know It's Fall? on BookFlix. S 5 - We read The Monkey Goes Bananas and decided that the author wrote the book to entertain us! The book Don't Play With Your Food was a little tricky, but students caught on to the bunnies persuading Buddy not to eat them. They discovered that books can be written to be both persuasive and entertaining! S 6 - Over the next few weeks, story elements will be introduced. This week, we discussed the story element: Setting. We learned that the setting of a story is not only where the story is taking place, but also when. We read my favorite example of setting in a picture book, The Little House. Throughout the book students noticed the where: starting in the country, the city moving ever closer with each turn of the page, then finally a return to a country setting. They also noticed the when: changing seasons and days and nights. S 7 - We discussed the story element: Character. Students learned that physical traits are what we can see on the outside, what a character looks like. Character traits, on the other hand, are what's on the inside, how a character acts and feels. We read the book, Lilly's Big Day, and discussed both the main character's physical and character traits. S 8 - During this session, we discussed Beginning, Middle, End. We read the book, Otis and the Scarecrow. Students identified the events that happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. They also provided evidence when identifying setting, and physical and character traits of the main characters. S 9 - We read the book, Hair-pocolypse. Students identified the problem (his hair wanted to be washed) and solution (the main character and his air agreed to take a shower on weeknights/be grubby on weekends) to the story. S 10 - Students used their imaginations and designed and labeled their dream rooms using the book, If I Built a House, as inspiration. S 11 - We read and discussed the book Creepy Carrots. Students labeled a four sectioned paper with the sequence words: First, Next, Then, & Finally. Next, they drew pictures in the sections to retell the story. S 12 - We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. Students had a refresher session on the My Story app. S 13-14 - Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - We read the book Thanksgiving in the White House. We learned that President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. He was also the 1st president to pardon a Thanksgiving turkey (thanks to his son Tad). We viewed and discussed the PebbleGo article on Thanksgiving. Students wrote one fact they learned and why the holiday is important.
2nd Grade: Session 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, how to take books off of the shelves using shelf markers, expectations, and book care. We read chapter one of our Fantasy novel, The Secrets of Droon: The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet. Students were excited to check out up to three books. S 2 - We read the book, Goldiesocks and the Three Libearians, a perfect way to introduce the 5 Finger Rule. This rule helps students decide whether a book choice is to easy (not challenging enough), too hard (too frustrating), or "just right". Parents: Want to learn more about the 5 finger rule?...Ask your child to explain how it works, or contact me. I'm happy to provide more info. We read chapter two of our novel. S 3 - We read the book The Great Fuzz Frenzy to kick off the topic of our first research project "Underground Animals" - Animals that burrow. Even though it's a fantastic book, we noticed it would not be a good choice to use for research! Students chose the burrowing animals they would like to research. We continued to read our class novel. S 4 - We began a demo lesson on how to research burrowing animals. As a whole group, students pulled facts out of the book Striped Skunks and decided to what section of our notes the facts belonged.. We continued our class novel. S 5 - We continued our practice research and class novel. S 6 - During this session, partners recorded the title and author of the books they will be using for research. Our class novel is full of elements of fantasy...and getting quite exciting! S 7-8 - Students used nonfiction books to research facts about their underground animals: Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Diet, Behavior, Life Cycle, Predators, and Other Interesting Facts. We continued reading our novel and discussing the elements of fantasy found in each chapter. S 9 - Students practiced logging on to iPads and navigating to the PebbleGo database. S 10 - Students listed the fantasy elements found in our class novel and catagorized them by: Objects, Wizards, and Creatures. S 11 - In honor of Halloween, we read the book Boris and Bella. Students learned that good researchers find and check facts using multiple sources. Students checked an added to their research using the PebbleGo database. S 12 - Students were introduced to the Book Creator app in preparation for creating their burrowing animal digital books. We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. S 13-14 - Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - We read the book Thanksgiving in the White House. We learned that President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. He was also the 1st president to pardon a Thanksgiving turkey (thanks to his son Tad). In order to explain the process of setting up our book in the Book Creator app, I use the analogy of building a house. Our research is our blueprint/plan, adding a new book to the app is our foundation. Adding the pages is building the structure. Most second grade classes are at this step. Soon we will add walls (add headings for each page), paint (choose cover design & page colors), load furniture (add facts), and hang pictures (add photos).
3rd Grade: Session 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, expectations and book care. We read chapter one of our Realistic Fiction novel. Frindle. Students checked out up to three books. S 2 - Students were introduced to the many fiction series available in the library, We reviewed the 5 Finger Rule, that will assist in picking "just right" books for our varying reading levels. We read chapter two of our novel. S 3 - We reviewed how to use our library catalog in order to search for wanted books. Third graders will become experts at navigating the library! We continued to read our class novel. S 4 - Third grade is the perfect year for teaching students how to navigate the library independently. We practiced placing three letter combinations in alphabetical order. This is a skill that is necessary for locating books on specific shelves. We continued our class novel. S 5 - Students practiced putting "book spines" in alphabetical shelf order using the books' call numbers as a guide. We continued our class novel. S 6 - Students visited several other "book spine" stations. Their skills have greatly improved in just one week's time! We learned what our main character's "big plan" is in our class novel Frindle. S 7-8 - Students were introduced to the ten sections of the Dewey Decimal System.. Next, they played a Dewey game where they had to figure what section they would have to look to find a book to help answer a question. We continued our class novel. S 9-10 - Using our class novel as inspiration, students created new words to represent objects or actions. Next, they completed dictionary entries for their new words. We will assemble a GAE Library "Frindle" dictionary that students can add to for years to come! S 11-12 - Students had a refresher session on the PicEdu app. Next, students created digital posters advertising one of the ten sections of the Dewey Decimal nonfiction section of the library. We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. S 13-14 - We finished our first class novel , Frindle. It was so wonderful to watch the students' reactions through out the novel! They thoroughly enjoyed it! Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - Students completed their Dewey posters. Our new class novel, The Wild Robot was introduced.
4th Grade: Sessions 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, expectations and book care. We read chapter one of our Historic Fiction novel. The War That Saved My Life. Students checked out up to four books. S 2 - We reviewed the elements of the many genres of fiction, including: Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Mystery. We learned that on many occasions books have more than one overlapping genres. We read chapter two of our historical fiction novel. S 3 - We began to discuss the requirements of our first research project, "Pennsylvania Regions". Students will choose a region and explore its places of interest, physical characteristics, industry, and history. We continued to read our class novel. S 4 - We read about the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Ridge and Valley regions as a whole group. Students pulled facts as we read and decided if they had to do with the regions' places of interest, physical characteristics, industry, or history. We continued to read our class novel. S 5 - During this session, we read about the Allegheny Plateau and the Lake Erie Coastal Plain. We continued our class novel. S 6 - Students decided on the region they would like to research. Some are choosing to take notes on paper and others will use the notes app to record their research. Students are really enjoying our class novel. S 7-10 - Students worked in groups to discuss record research facts. We continued our class novel. S 11 - Each region group shared research facts with the rest of the class. S 12- Students wrote a persuasive paragraph about their researched PA region. Students will make a green screen video reciting the paragraph as part of their coding website in the second trimester. We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. S 13-14 - Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - Students visited the web page "Birch's View of Philadelphia". They were able to compare the changes over time, viewing engravings/photos of places in Philadelphia in the years 1800, 1960, & 2000. We are half way through our class novel, The War that Saved My Life. The students find it fascinating watching our main character evolve and navigate through her new environment.
5th Grade: Session 1 - Orientation: students reviewed the sections of the library, expectations and book care. We discussed the opportunity to join the Reading Olympics Team, and give book talks. We read chapter one of our Science Fiction novel, Among the Hidden. Students checked out up to four books. S 2 - We discussed how to evaluate websites and make the best choices to find information. We reviewed the three sites, Britannica School, Mount Vernon.org, and Bio.com to compare articles about George Washington. We compared the sites "Accuracy", "Authority", "Objectivity", "Currency", and "Coverage". Students found the Britannica School database to be the most useful. We read chapter two of our novel. S 3 - In preparation for fifth grade's field trip to TCHS, Mrs. Stewart and I are presenting a three session Career Unit. In the first session we discussed the differences between jobs and careers, nontraditional careers for both males and females, and the importance of choosing a career that both matches a person's strengths and one they find enjoyable. We continued to read our class novel. S 4 - In the second session we addressed Skills employers want and on the job training skills they use everyday at school. Students learned why it is important to have a plan B when seeking professional sports or entertainment careers. Students took a survey to help identify a career cluster that matches with their personalities and interests. We continued to read our class novel. S 5 - Students explored careers in their matching career clusters. We continued our class novel. S 6 - Students were introduced to their new research project: U.S. Regions. We reviewed requirements and available resources. The main character in our class novel may not be so lonely for very long! S 7-10 - Students decided on U.S. Regions to research, set up notes, and began to discuss and record research in small groups. We continued to read our class novel. S 11 - Each region group shared research facts with the rest of the class. S 12 - Students continued US Region research. We listened to book talks of titles available at the upcoming book fair. S 13-14 - Book Fair Preview & Shopping. S 15 - Students completed US. Region research. We are half way through our class novel, Among the Hidden. Our main character, Luke, comes to realize he is not the only "third child" in existence. With the help of his new neighbor and fellow "third child", a new and sometimes terrifying world opens up for Luke!
Trimester Two
11/26/19-3/5/20
15 Sessions
Kindergarten: Session 1 - We read the book, The Chanukkah Guest. Students learned the importance of the menorah during Hanukkah. Students drew candles and and labeled the nights on their own menorah. S 2 - We learned more about Hanukkah on Pebble Go. We read There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Dreidel. Students learned the rules of the Dreidel game and practiced spinning a dreidel. S 3 - We read the books, Twas the Night Before Christmas and The Twelve Days of Christmas. Students chose one of the days of Christmas and drew a representation on a paper ornament. S 4 - We read the books, Moosletoe, Kwanzaa, and The Seven Days of Kwanzaa. S 5 - We read the books, Blizzard and Are You Ready for Winter? Next, we brainstormed what we see and do during winter.. Students worked on the Winter page of their "Seasons" My Story app book. S 6 - We read the book, A Long Winter's Nap. Students completed their Winter page. S 7 - We began our study of Story Elements. This session, we discussed the story element "Character". Students learned that characters in stories, as well as everyone around them, have "outside traits"(traits we can see on the outside - physical traits) and "inside traits" (how a character acts or feels - character traits). We read the book, Chrysanthemum, and discussed the main characters inside and outside traits. S 8 - This week we moved onto the story element "Setting". Students learned that the setting of a story is where and when the story is taking place. We read the book, Beekle, and identified the setting beginning on Imaginary Island. Next, Beekle ventures to the real world, where he is finally imagined, only to return to Imaginary Island with his new friends! S 9 - Next, we discussed how the beginning, middle, and end of stories differ. In the beginning, readers learn about the setting and main characters of the story. The middle of the story is full of wonderful details, Finally, the end of the story is where any problems are solved, and the story details wrap up. We practiced using the details from the story, The Three Snow Bears. S 10 - In honor of Ground hog's Day we read the book, Gretchen Groundhog, It's your Day! and watched a video full of interesting facts about groundhogs (also known as woodchucks!). S 11 - This week, we concluded our study of story elements with "Problem and Solution". We read the book, A Bad Case of Stripes. We will continue to discuss the story elements of the books we read throughout the rest of the year. S 12 - We read the book, Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story, in honor of Valentin's Day. S 13 - Did you know George Washington had trouble with his teeth for his entire adult life? Were you taught that he had wooden teeth? We learned what his false teeth were really made of in the book, George Washington's Teeth. Ask your children about it! S 14 - While reading the book, The Branch, we learned the main character saw "the potential" in her favorite playing branch. Instead of getting rid of it after it cracked off the tree in the ice storm, she created something new! Students brainstormed ideas for their own branches and then drew plans. S 15 - During this session, students will find the potential in their branches and create something new!
1st Grade: Session 1 - We used the PebbleGo app to discuss several U.S. Symbols. S 2 - Each class researched a specific U.S. Symbol. Students recorded one fact and and the reason for its importance. We read the book, Snow Bear's Christmas Countdown. S 3 - Students were introduced to the Pic Edu app in preparation for their U.S. Symbols digital posters. We read the books Twas the Night Before Christmas and Hanukkah. S 4 - We read the books, My Pen Pal Santa, and The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes. S 5 - We discussed the word "Genre" (type of book), and the genre Mystery. Students identified some elements of mystery (detective, suspects, clues, something missing/puzzling, problem, solution, suspense.) We read the first chapter of our mystery novel, Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery. Next, we began to work on our U.S. Symbols poster using the Pic EDU app. S 6 - We continued to work on our poster. We added a background and three photos. We read chapter two of our class novel. S 7 - Students added facts to their U.S. Symbols poster. S 8 - Students were introduced to the Biography section PebbleGo. We worked together as a class to research, asrtonaut, Mae Jemison, the first African American Woman to fly in space. We discussed the expectations and format in preparation for students' independent research. S 9-10 - Students independently researched people of their choice using the PebbleGo app. We continued our class novel. S 11 - Students learned how to save a photo from PebbleGo onto their iPads. Next, they were introduced to the Book Creator app. Students practiced how to add a book, use the pen feature to write their names, and use the photo feature to add their saved photos. We continued our class novel. S 12 - We read the book, Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story, In honor of Valentine's Day. S 13 - Did you know George Washington had trouble with his teeth for his entire adult life? Were you taught that he had wooden teeth? We learned what his false teeth were really made of in the book, George Washington's Teeth. Ask your children about it! We were so excited to finish our Mystery class novel! We reviewed the story elements of Mystery using examples from the text. S 14 - Students explored the differences between the point of view of a human vs. an ant. We read the book, Two Bad Ants. The text was written from the ant's perspective, while the illustrations displayed how a human would view the scene. Students heard the text before seeing the illustrations and tried to figure out what the ants were experiencing. After the reading and discussing, we charted examples of the differing points of view. S 15 - This session we will continue our discussion of Point of View. We read the book, Once upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude. In this story the two narrators argue as they take turns telling their versions. Both the illustrations, and letter font have three distinct styles (one for the narrators, one for the girl narrator's version, and one for the boy narrator's version. In the end, the narrators discover working together and blending their writing styles makes for a great story!
2nd Grade: Session 1 - 3 - Students have been working very hard on their Book Creator animal books. Students have added headings to pages and are in the process of writing sentences using their researched facts. We began the new novel, Ranger in Time: Race to the South Pole. S 4 - We read the books, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblin and The Great Reindeer Rebellion. S 5-7 - Students continued to work on typing facts into their books. We continued reading our class novel. S 8 - After working so hard on our animal books, we took a session to switch gears and create in makerspace! S 9 - This week, we began our study of Folk Tales. Utilizing an interactive Nearpod lesson, students learned the elements of a Fable: short stories, fiction, talking animals, trickster, and ends with a moral or lesson. S 10 - Next, we used Nearpod to study Tall Tales:: stories of real people, based in America, truth stretched through exaggeration, super-human characteristics and has lots of action. S 11 - Students were excited to complete our third Nearpod lesson, Fairy Tales. We learned the elements of Fairy Tale: begins with "Once upon a time...", happened "Long, long, ago..." setting of an enchanted forest or castle, good vs. evil, problem & solution, magic, and ends with "...Happily ever after". S 12 - Over the next several weeks, we will travel around the world exploring traditional Cinderella stories. Cinderella stories are found in almost every culture. We will focus on the most familiar version to our students, the European version, Next, we will travel to Egypt, India, and finally Mexico. Students will learn that no matter which traditional version we read, there will be the same elements in each: mistreated girl, mean people, helper, party, important man, and lost item. As we read and discuss the stories, students will learn that though the elements are the same, the people or objects change to reflect the culture. This week, we read Cinderella, we noticed that she may have gotten her name because she slept among the cinders. We also noticed fireplaces, ball gowns, fancy shoes, coaches, and royalty (prince) are all things that were a part of the European culture. S 13 - This week, we traveled to Egypt and met what is thought to be the "original Cinderella" in the book, The Egyptian Cinderella. Her name was Rhodopis, a slave girl, stolen by pirates from Greece. Rhodopis and the Pharaoh she married really existed! S 14 - Next, we traveled to India and met Cinduri in the book, Anklet for a Princess. This book, enriched with Indian culture led to wonderful discussions. S 15 - This session we travel to Mexico, as we read Domitila: A Cinderella Story from the Mexican Tradition. In the next trimester, we will focus on how Traditional Fairy Tales differ from Fractured Fairy Tales.
3rd Grade: Session 1 - In preparation for our coding project, students were introduced to the coding tags/commands for creating headings and paragraphs: <h2>, </h2>, <p>, </p>. Students learned that computers will only do what we program them to do! We also discussed the difference between being a consumer of code (dropping blocks to code) and being producers of code (actually writing the code). We will produce code to create our own websites! We began our class novel, The Wild Robot. S 2 - Students were introduced to the coding platform BSD. We continued our novel. S 3 - Students coded the title of their websites. We continued our novel. S 4 - We read the books, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblin and The Great Reindeer Rebellion. S 5-6 - Students have begun writing code to produce their own websites! So far they have written <h1> tags for their titles and <h2> tags for their headings. We continued to read our class novel. S 7-8 - Students are making great progress on their websites. They created <p> tags to write paragraphs about themselves, their favorite hobbies, animals, and foods. We continued to read our class novel and make connections to our coding and what was learned about animal adaptation in their classrooms! S 9-11 - Students learned how to code image tags, which allowed them to insert images to their websites. Next, students used CSS coding language to make font style, font size, and background color changes to their websites. S 12-13 - Students finished their practice programs and are now working in "open code mode". They are now able to manipulate all of the lines of code. They can add to their paragraphs, edit prior work, and make any changes to personalize their websites. S 14-15 - Students continue working in "open code mode". Many are experimenting with CSS, as they change background colors, font colors, font styles and sizes.
4th Grade: Session 1 - In preparation for our coding project, students reviewed coding tags/commands for creating headings and paragraphs. We continued our novel. S 2-3 - Using the BSD coding platform, students coded the title and headings of their practice website. We continued our novel. S 4 - We read the books, Oskar and the Eight Blessings and The Twelve Days of Christmas in Pennsylvania. S 5-6 - Students are flying through their paragraph and image sections of code. Soon we will complete the practice section of the platform. Students will then be able to manipulate all the lines of code to transfer research information into their websites! We continued to read our class novel. S 7-8 - Many students have completed the practice "closed code mode" section of their websites and are now in the process of transferring PA Region research information in "open code mode" (students are able to manipulate all lines of code in open mode!). Other students are quickly approaching "open code mode". S 9-15 - All students are in the process of "working in "open code mode". Soon they will begin creating their persuasive videos using green screen technology.
5th Grade: Session 1-2 - We read the book, Silver Packages in preparation for our fifth grade annual tradition. Students reflected on their years at Glen Acres and chose an adult (teacher, aide, custodian, etc., that made a difference in their lives. Students wrote letters of appreciation to those specially chosen people and wrapped them in silver. As anyone at GAE will tell you, being the recipient of one of these silver packages means the world! S 3 - In preparation for our coding project, students reviewed coding tags/commands for creating headings and paragraphs. We continued our novel. S 4 - We read the books, Oskar and the Eight Blessings and The Twelve Days of Christmas in Pennsylvania. S 5-6 - Students are flying through their paragraph and image sections of code. Soon we will complete the practice section of the platform. Students will then be able to manipulate all the lines of code to transfer research information into their websites! We continued to read our class novel. S 7-8 - Most students have completed the practice "closed code mode" section of their websites and are now in the process of transferring U.S. Region research information in "open code mode" (students are able to manipulate all lines of code in open mode!). Other students are quickly approaching "open code mode". S 9-13 - All students are in the process of "working in "open code mode". Soon they will begin creating their persuasive videos using green screen technology. S 14-15 - Students are putting their finishing touches on their websites. Many students have experimented with CSS to change background colors, font colors, font styles and sizes. In the third trimester we begin work on our Colonial Fair!
1st Grade: Session 1 - We used the PebbleGo app to discuss several U.S. Symbols. S 2 - Each class researched a specific U.S. Symbol. Students recorded one fact and and the reason for its importance. We read the book, Snow Bear's Christmas Countdown. S 3 - Students were introduced to the Pic Edu app in preparation for their U.S. Symbols digital posters. We read the books Twas the Night Before Christmas and Hanukkah. S 4 - We read the books, My Pen Pal Santa, and The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes. S 5 - We discussed the word "Genre" (type of book), and the genre Mystery. Students identified some elements of mystery (detective, suspects, clues, something missing/puzzling, problem, solution, suspense.) We read the first chapter of our mystery novel, Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery. Next, we began to work on our U.S. Symbols poster using the Pic EDU app. S 6 - We continued to work on our poster. We added a background and three photos. We read chapter two of our class novel. S 7 - Students added facts to their U.S. Symbols poster. S 8 - Students were introduced to the Biography section PebbleGo. We worked together as a class to research, asrtonaut, Mae Jemison, the first African American Woman to fly in space. We discussed the expectations and format in preparation for students' independent research. S 9-10 - Students independently researched people of their choice using the PebbleGo app. We continued our class novel. S 11 - Students learned how to save a photo from PebbleGo onto their iPads. Next, they were introduced to the Book Creator app. Students practiced how to add a book, use the pen feature to write their names, and use the photo feature to add their saved photos. We continued our class novel. S 12 - We read the book, Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story, In honor of Valentine's Day. S 13 - Did you know George Washington had trouble with his teeth for his entire adult life? Were you taught that he had wooden teeth? We learned what his false teeth were really made of in the book, George Washington's Teeth. Ask your children about it! We were so excited to finish our Mystery class novel! We reviewed the story elements of Mystery using examples from the text. S 14 - Students explored the differences between the point of view of a human vs. an ant. We read the book, Two Bad Ants. The text was written from the ant's perspective, while the illustrations displayed how a human would view the scene. Students heard the text before seeing the illustrations and tried to figure out what the ants were experiencing. After the reading and discussing, we charted examples of the differing points of view. S 15 - This session we will continue our discussion of Point of View. We read the book, Once upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude. In this story the two narrators argue as they take turns telling their versions. Both the illustrations, and letter font have three distinct styles (one for the narrators, one for the girl narrator's version, and one for the boy narrator's version. In the end, the narrators discover working together and blending their writing styles makes for a great story!
2nd Grade: Session 1 - 3 - Students have been working very hard on their Book Creator animal books. Students have added headings to pages and are in the process of writing sentences using their researched facts. We began the new novel, Ranger in Time: Race to the South Pole. S 4 - We read the books, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblin and The Great Reindeer Rebellion. S 5-7 - Students continued to work on typing facts into their books. We continued reading our class novel. S 8 - After working so hard on our animal books, we took a session to switch gears and create in makerspace! S 9 - This week, we began our study of Folk Tales. Utilizing an interactive Nearpod lesson, students learned the elements of a Fable: short stories, fiction, talking animals, trickster, and ends with a moral or lesson. S 10 - Next, we used Nearpod to study Tall Tales:: stories of real people, based in America, truth stretched through exaggeration, super-human characteristics and has lots of action. S 11 - Students were excited to complete our third Nearpod lesson, Fairy Tales. We learned the elements of Fairy Tale: begins with "Once upon a time...", happened "Long, long, ago..." setting of an enchanted forest or castle, good vs. evil, problem & solution, magic, and ends with "...Happily ever after". S 12 - Over the next several weeks, we will travel around the world exploring traditional Cinderella stories. Cinderella stories are found in almost every culture. We will focus on the most familiar version to our students, the European version, Next, we will travel to Egypt, India, and finally Mexico. Students will learn that no matter which traditional version we read, there will be the same elements in each: mistreated girl, mean people, helper, party, important man, and lost item. As we read and discuss the stories, students will learn that though the elements are the same, the people or objects change to reflect the culture. This week, we read Cinderella, we noticed that she may have gotten her name because she slept among the cinders. We also noticed fireplaces, ball gowns, fancy shoes, coaches, and royalty (prince) are all things that were a part of the European culture. S 13 - This week, we traveled to Egypt and met what is thought to be the "original Cinderella" in the book, The Egyptian Cinderella. Her name was Rhodopis, a slave girl, stolen by pirates from Greece. Rhodopis and the Pharaoh she married really existed! S 14 - Next, we traveled to India and met Cinduri in the book, Anklet for a Princess. This book, enriched with Indian culture led to wonderful discussions. S 15 - This session we travel to Mexico, as we read Domitila: A Cinderella Story from the Mexican Tradition. In the next trimester, we will focus on how Traditional Fairy Tales differ from Fractured Fairy Tales.
3rd Grade: Session 1 - In preparation for our coding project, students were introduced to the coding tags/commands for creating headings and paragraphs: <h2>, </h2>, <p>, </p>. Students learned that computers will only do what we program them to do! We also discussed the difference between being a consumer of code (dropping blocks to code) and being producers of code (actually writing the code). We will produce code to create our own websites! We began our class novel, The Wild Robot. S 2 - Students were introduced to the coding platform BSD. We continued our novel. S 3 - Students coded the title of their websites. We continued our novel. S 4 - We read the books, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblin and The Great Reindeer Rebellion. S 5-6 - Students have begun writing code to produce their own websites! So far they have written <h1> tags for their titles and <h2> tags for their headings. We continued to read our class novel. S 7-8 - Students are making great progress on their websites. They created <p> tags to write paragraphs about themselves, their favorite hobbies, animals, and foods. We continued to read our class novel and make connections to our coding and what was learned about animal adaptation in their classrooms! S 9-11 - Students learned how to code image tags, which allowed them to insert images to their websites. Next, students used CSS coding language to make font style, font size, and background color changes to their websites. S 12-13 - Students finished their practice programs and are now working in "open code mode". They are now able to manipulate all of the lines of code. They can add to their paragraphs, edit prior work, and make any changes to personalize their websites. S 14-15 - Students continue working in "open code mode". Many are experimenting with CSS, as they change background colors, font colors, font styles and sizes.
4th Grade: Session 1 - In preparation for our coding project, students reviewed coding tags/commands for creating headings and paragraphs. We continued our novel. S 2-3 - Using the BSD coding platform, students coded the title and headings of their practice website. We continued our novel. S 4 - We read the books, Oskar and the Eight Blessings and The Twelve Days of Christmas in Pennsylvania. S 5-6 - Students are flying through their paragraph and image sections of code. Soon we will complete the practice section of the platform. Students will then be able to manipulate all the lines of code to transfer research information into their websites! We continued to read our class novel. S 7-8 - Many students have completed the practice "closed code mode" section of their websites and are now in the process of transferring PA Region research information in "open code mode" (students are able to manipulate all lines of code in open mode!). Other students are quickly approaching "open code mode". S 9-15 - All students are in the process of "working in "open code mode". Soon they will begin creating their persuasive videos using green screen technology.
5th Grade: Session 1-2 - We read the book, Silver Packages in preparation for our fifth grade annual tradition. Students reflected on their years at Glen Acres and chose an adult (teacher, aide, custodian, etc., that made a difference in their lives. Students wrote letters of appreciation to those specially chosen people and wrapped them in silver. As anyone at GAE will tell you, being the recipient of one of these silver packages means the world! S 3 - In preparation for our coding project, students reviewed coding tags/commands for creating headings and paragraphs. We continued our novel. S 4 - We read the books, Oskar and the Eight Blessings and The Twelve Days of Christmas in Pennsylvania. S 5-6 - Students are flying through their paragraph and image sections of code. Soon we will complete the practice section of the platform. Students will then be able to manipulate all the lines of code to transfer research information into their websites! We continued to read our class novel. S 7-8 - Most students have completed the practice "closed code mode" section of their websites and are now in the process of transferring U.S. Region research information in "open code mode" (students are able to manipulate all lines of code in open mode!). Other students are quickly approaching "open code mode". S 9-13 - All students are in the process of "working in "open code mode". Soon they will begin creating their persuasive videos using green screen technology. S 14-15 - Students are putting their finishing touches on their websites. Many students have experimented with CSS to change background colors, font colors, font styles and sizes. In the third trimester we begin work on our Colonial Fair!
Trimester Three
3/6/20-6/9/20
15 Sessions
****Please see Mrs. C's Library at Home
Google Slide for Assignments****
Kindergarten: Session 1 -
1st Grade: Session 1 -
2nd Grade: Session 1 -
3rd Grade: Session 1 -
4th Grade: Session 1 -
5th Grade: Session 1 -