Good evening, friends and families! This week we continued reading “The One and Only Ivan”. The main characters in the novel are of course, Ivan, a silverback gorilla, and Ruby a baby elephant. We are reading informational books and articles about elephants as a focus of study this week. We began our unit on elephants by filling out a KWL chart- What we Know about elephants, What we Want to know about elephants, and what we have Learned. We read the book called “Elephants of Africa” by Gail Gibbons to find out facts about elephants.
On Wednesday Ms. Stephanie from the Des Plaines Library came to our room to read us a great book called…
We then crafted these cute unicorns with paper…
Guest Readers…
This week in Math we…
Read and analyzed graphs, counted money, added three numbers together (included carrying), and solved story problems.
Ms. Demetra’s Class- Service Leaning Project on Birds…
Centers/Free Choice Time
Mystery Science- How Do We Sing?
Drop Everything and Read…
On Friday, Alyse from Wild Bird Shack came to talk to the students about a variety of birds. We also made nesting balls for birds to use to build their nests!
Hello, families and friends! We had a great week together preparing for conferences and beginning our new novel study– “The One and Only Ivan”.
Winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal and a #1 New York Times bestseller, this stirring and unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendship. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated novel is told from the point of view of Ivan himself.
In this timeless story, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create a tale of friendship, art, and hope.
When we return from Spring break, we will tie in a unit on gorillas and elephants.
Recess…
The Greek Independence Program…
Preparing for Parent/Teacher Conferences…
We visited Ms. Lisa’s Class to see their presentations on the animals from Fantastic Mr. Fox…
It was wonderful meeting with all of you at conferences this week! The kids so enjoyed sharing with you all they have done at school. They were very excited to help lead their conferences.
This week we wrapped up our novel study on “The Tale of Despereaux” by presenting our book reports and dioramas to all of the students on the first floor of our school. In their reports, the students described the scene they represented in their dioramas. For many, the part they chose was their favorite in the novel. For others it was the scene that stood out to them the most. The students wrote a rough draft, then we sat down together to edit their reports. I helped them with punctuation, grammar, and spelling, and then they wrote a final draft.
Library Visit…
Recess…
Writing our Book Reports…
Math Games…
Practice for our Greek Program…
Centers and Free Choice…
Presenting our book reports…
Reminders…
For the program tomorrow, students can wear either traditional Greek costumes OR dark pants/skirt with a white top OR a blue or white dress.
Monday is the last day to sign up for conferences. The Sign-up Genius is in Ms. Maria’s parent notes.
We had a great week as we finished reading our novel, “The Tale of Despereaux” by Kate DiCamillo. We also watched a video and learned about various aspects of castles including: their basic structure (like towers, walls, moats, drawbridges), the different types of castles (e.g., motte and bailey, keep, concentric), how they were used for defense, the people who lived in them (kings, queens, knights, servants), the daily life inside a castle, the weapons used to attack and defend them, famous castles around the world, and the history of castle building techniques and architectural styles across different time periods.
We celebrated Ada’s birthday on Friday by having her dad come in to read a favorite story. Happy birthday, Ada! We hope all your wishes come true.
Math…
Addition and Subtraction BINGO…
Mystery Science…
Journaling about Tale of Despereaux…
Ms. Stephanie’s Visit…
Ms. Stephanie came to read a wonderful book called “Dragon Bones: The Fantastic Fossil Discoveries of Mary Anning” by Sarah Glenn Marsh.
Dragon Bones is a picture book biography of fossil-hunter Mary Anning, who discovered a dinosaur skeleton that changed the landscape of paleontology.
At home in her seaside town in England, little Mary Anning stared out her window. Unlike other children, Mary couldn’t wait for a rainy day. Because when it rained… the bones were revealed.
With her father and brother, Mary would go out searching the damp soil after a storm, with the hopes of finding something nobody had seen before: a dinosaur.
After her father dies, Mary must continue her search, picking up his tools and venturing out alone. In her life, she discovered several creatures, but was never given credit…until recently.
We voted for our favorite Monarch book…
Making dioramas to represent a scene from The Tale Of Despereaux…
Dioramas are physical boxes built to showcase learning on a subject matter or topic. They are a way to incorporate craft projects into the understanding of a topic. They allow students to illustrate an academic subject, in our case-the plot of a story, or an event in history.
We had a fantastic week continuing our novel study on “The Tale Of Despereaux”. We continue to answer comprehension questions, work on new vocabulary words, and sequenced the events of the story in their correct order. We also began working on our culminating project– a shoebox diorama of our favorite scene of the book. If every student could please bring in one shoe box to school next week, that would be great!
Making models of Despereaux the Mouse from Model Magic…
Guest Readers…
Recess and P.E.
Trip to the Des Plaines Library…
Centers…
Practicing Mental Math with this Subtraction Dice Game…
This week we began our novel study over The Tale of Despereaux. During this unit I will be checking to see if the students are comprehending the story by asking questions about each chapter. We will also be focusing on the vocabulary in the story, and will be making text-to-self connections by answering questions in our writing journals.
A blurb about our novel… Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other’s lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.
The Importance of asking comprehension questions…
Asking students comprehension questions is crucial because it actively engages them with the text, allows teachers to assess their understanding of the material, and promotes deeper critical thinking by encouraging them to analyze, interpret, and connect ideas within the text, ultimately leading to better learning retention and application of knowledge.
Learning new vocabulary words…
Going over new vocabulary words with students allows them to understand the text more deeply by grasping the nuances of word meanings within the context of the narrative, leading to better reading comprehension and a richer understanding of the story’s themes and characters. Essentially, they learn words not just as definitions, but as they are naturally used in a real-life situation.
Princess Pea’s Castle…
Math…
This week we learned two new games and practiced regrouping subtraction problems with numbers up to 3 digits. We also did one story problem per day that involved solving a multiplication problem.
Happy Valentine’s Day!! This week we read books and wrote in our journals about what it means to be a good friend. At Plato we do a lot of learning through play and work hard at building friendships. This significantly contributes to their social and emotional development, boosting their self-esteem, building empathy, and helping the children navigate social situations throughout their lives. They also feel a sense of belonging and support through healthy friendships; essentially setting them up for positive relationships later on.
Heart Art…
Math- This week in Math we played a lot of Fraction Bingo and I feel like everyone has the concept down now. We also continued our work on solving story problems and adding and subtracting up to three digit numbers. Each day we completed the Number of the Day where we come up with five number sentences that have the sum of our special number. The students mental math for solving addition and subtraction problems is really improving!
This week we are discussing and writing about families!
It’s important for children to learn about families because it helps them develop a strong sense of identity, understand their own family dynamics, appreciate diversity, build healthy relationships, and feel connected to their heritage and community by learning about their family history, values, and traditions; essentially, it provides a foundation for understanding themselves and their place in the world.
Books Read this Week…
“Superfudge” by Judy Blume is a great book to read to kids because it realistically portrays the ups and downs of family life with humor and honesty, allowing children to relate to the characters’ experiences, particularly the challenges of having a younger sibling, while also learning about themes like love, forgiveness, and resilience, even when dealing with annoyances or conflicts within the family unit.
100 Days of School Celebration…
On Tuesday we celebrated the 100th day of school! Activities included making a sign and writing about what we have learned within the first 100 days, completing a 100 piece puzzle, designing a structure using 100 Lego, competing in a scavenger hunt to to find 100 numbers hidden around the room, writing our names over and over for 100 seconds, and finding out how a Tootsie Pop changes after 100 licks. 🙂
Mystery Science…
Fractured Fairytales Play…
Guest Readers…
Recess…
Ms. Stephanie’s Visit…
Ms. Stephanie read a picture book called Nigel and the Moon.
From debut author Antwan Eady and artist Gracey Zhang comes a glowing tale about the young dreaming big. A perfect story to demonstrate how pride in where we come from can bring a shining confidence.
When Nigel looks up at the moon, his future is bright. He imagines himself as…an astronaut, a dancer, a superhero, too!
Among the stars, he twirls. With pride, his chest swells. And his eyes, they glow. Nigel is the most brilliant body in the sky.
But it’s Career Week at school, and Nigel can’t find the courage to share his dreams. It’s easy to whisper them to the moon, but not to his classmates—especially when he already feels out of place.
Ms. Stephanie always has a fun craft that she brings along for the children to complete…
Math…
This week in math we learned about fractions by playing Fraction Bingo. We also practiced multiplication facts for the 2s and 5s. We read a line graph and interpreted information that it provided. Lastly we practiced addition and subtraction facts using number families.
Free Choice and Centers…
Trying Out Instruments…
Last Friday’s Pizza Party to Celebrate our Fundraiser…
I enjoy reading “Sideways Stories from Wayside School” to my students. It offers a collection of quirky, humorous, and often absurd short stories about the eccentric students in a strangely built school. It is a fun and engaging read for young readers while also subtly exploring themes like dealing with differences and understanding the complexities of school life, all presented with a lighthearted and imaginative tone.
This week we are talking about characterization.
Learning characterization is important because it allows readers to deeply understand the personalities, motivations, and backstories of characters in a story, which in turn makes the narrative more engaging and allows readers to connect with the characters on a deeper level, ultimately enhancing their experience of the literature.
Guest Readers…
Math Games… Fill the Stairs, What’s My Number, Pig
Centers/Free Choice
Secret Stories Phonics
Mystery Science
Sight Word Bingo
Ms. Anna brought her puppy to school to meet all of the kids!
This week we focused on reading and analyzing the story, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. This picture book offered so many benefits for the students including fostering imagination, developing visualization skills, promoting discussion about consequences of unchecked innovation, encouraging creative thinking, and a fun way to practice comprehension skills, particularly with its vivid descriptions of fantastical food weather in the town of Chewandswallow.
We drew pictures of our towns with food falling from the sky…
We wrote, edited and made a final copy of stories about food falling from the sky in our make-believe town…
Guest Readers…
Secret Stories Phonics…
Books Read this Week…
Ronald McDonald House Fundraiser…
We had a very successful fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities! Thanks so much for donating to our service learning project. Our school raised $2,759 for families in need of a place to stay while their child is being treated in the hospital. We were blown away by the generosity of the students, parents and teachers at Plato Academy.
Math…
This week in math we learned a new game called Proof where the students had to use mental math in addition and subtraction to come up with equations. We also practiced many story problems and telling time to the hour and half hour.
Recess
Free Choice and Centers…
Dancing after Lunchtime…
Making Valentines for the Senior Center in Des Plaines…
