by Sarah Segall | Nov 21, 2015 | Preschool
Hoy y el Pasado
This week the preschool classes continued working with El Pasado/Past y El Presente/Present. We read about different examples of daily life in the USA during the Colonial Age. We also discussed their grandparents and how things might have been when they were growing up.
We made comparisons between the past and the student’s actual life. They all did a great job with this. We used quite a variety of different types of examples and activities during all our explorations. It was great fun recognizing different things of the past and present.
Letras y Números
We had a great time with the letters Mm and Ss / la letra Mm y Ss. The letter S and the letter M make the same sounds in Spanish as they do in English. Some sample words we used to practice beginning sounds were silencio/silence, sopa/soup and serpiente/snake. The children also did a great job recognizing the Ss sound in their numbers. Seis y siete.
Some of our M words this week were mother/mamá, hand/mano, butterfly/mariposa, bat/murciélago.
For our number focus this week we worked with the numbers 1-7 doing quite a few activities. We used our counting skills during a Thanksgiving project doing a turkey/ pavo. All the students were very excited to do this project. You might notice your child singing a lot. We sang a LOT this week, especially songs related with numbers 1-7 and letters Mm and Ss.
by Sarah Segall | Nov 15, 2015 | In The Loop, Preschool
Every year Spanish With Sarah offers 1-2 PNO’s. These are a TON of fun! It’s great babysitting for the parents while the kiddos are having a blast:
- playing lots of games (think carnival)
- having dinner with friends
- making and wrapping a holiday family gift
- getting in pajamas and watching a group movie
Please RSVP for your child by December 4th. The sign-up form is located on the table in the school office.
When: Friday, December 11th 4:00-8:00 (Students are permitted to stay after school and will have a supervised recess before the PNO begins.)
Where: Spanish With Sarah and lunch room
Who: Students and siblings ages 4+
Why: It’s FUN! (Every student will make and wrap a special gift for their family.)
PNO December
by Sarah Segall | Nov 14, 2015 | In The Loop
Please be on the lookout Monday for a signup sheet as we gear up for December 4th conferences!
Language Arts
In Literacy, we dove into our new unit Energy in Action! During oral language development, we discussed and shared our thoughts about what we know about energy. Some of the guiding questions involved: What is energy? What different forms of energy do we know? Do we use more or less energy than our ancestors did and why? Is energy the same as power? After having an insightful discussion, students were asked to read an expository text that presented information about the topic discussed. This was a great opportunity to review non-fiction text features.
Students are reading Albert Einstein’s biography. On Friday, they took a short homework packet which is due on Monday. Please make sure your child is prepared to discuss and answer questions about their reading next week.
The highlight of our week was, without a doubt, reading our books to the Kindergarten class. Our accomplished 4th and 5th grade authors did a remarkable job sharing their magnificent writing pieces. Thank you so much maestra Sarah and the kindergarten class for being such a respectful and wonderful audience!
Math
This week we dove into adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. The students were very focused and engaged as we worked toward mastering the steps involved with each. Next week we will continue working with mixed numbers specifically. Homework practice packets are due on Tuesday of next week.
Social Studies
In Social Studies, we began research on our reports. Students chose an important Renaissance figure to investigate and write about. Next week we will be creating a portrait of the individual and finally, dressing up as and giving a speech in first person to share all about his life. Right now speeches are planned for next Friday afternoon before our Thanksgiving break commences.
Science
After reviewing concepts previously learned (Saturated Solution), we conducted the third part of investigation: The Saturation Puzzle! Students were presented with a “mystery material”.
“This chemical was in the kit with the salt and citric acid, but there was no label on the container”. Our challenge was to find out what the mystery material was, based on our knowledge of the properties of known materials and interpreting the data on a chemical data sheet. Working collaboratively, students came up with their own plans, made their predictions, selected their tools and carried out the experiment. Students did a fantastic job solving the mystery!
by Sarah Segall | Nov 14, 2015 | In The Loop
Language Arts
This week we read a great non-fiction piece: Criaturas de la ciudad. This story was about all the wildlife that can be found in the city. We practiced the following skills throughout the week:
- Drawing conclusions and siting specific clues in the reading that lead you to draw those conclusions.
- Short answer writing in response to comprehension questions from our story. (The students did a phenomenal job on this!!!)
- Identifying and using commas in a series.
- Students also read aloud and with partners.
- Book number 8 was read and passed out on Friday. Students have a homework response sheet that is due Friday.
- We added quite a few new words to our word study journals. (This is always a favorite.)
Spelling/ ortografia
The students did a great job on their spelling words. They will receive their next list on Monday for a test on 12/1.
Math
This was a fun week working on our understanding of multiplication and how it works. We played a fun Monster Math game where students multiplied two dice and then covered the product on a table. The first player to get four products in a row was the winner. This is a great way to practice our math facts (and to show how immediate recall of facts comes in handy). Ask your child to tell you about our multiplication wheels. (These were great practice of our facts as well as a natural lead in for division.)
We talked quite a bit about the different methods we can use to solve our multiplication problems. On Friday we completed a class multiplication table in which the students used a variety of methods to show each fact. They are quite proud of their finished …product (no pun intended).
Social Studies
We have been reading about the decline of the Roman Empire this week. The class was suprised to learn that the phrase “fiddleing around” came from a story of one of Rome’s not so popular Emperors Nero, whom supposedly played the fiddle while Rome burned. This was a good example of how Roman rulers became very self involved with little thought of the betterment of the Empire and it’s people. We watched a film on Ancient Rome, called Kids Animated History With Pipo. The class has also been working on their opinion paragraph on what they believe to be Romes greatest lasting contribution. We have a wide variety of ideas from architecture to politics to the arts and even baths. We will be sharing these in class hopefully before Thanks Giving break.
Science
This week we continue our Light and Sound domain in science. The class watched two short animated film on Light and Light absorption, refraction, and reflection. This is a great site for all kinds of science videos and information http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science . On Thursday we did an experiment using spoons to demonstrate concave and convex. The class tried drawing themselves in both reflected ways. We also compared these reflections to that of a plane mirror. We read more about refraction and lenses and we began to make a T -chart to help us remember what we have learned so far.
English Spelling/Grammar Review.
The class had no spelling this week. I have been pulling individuals to do spelling and reading assessments to get ready for the report cards and conferences. While I assess, the class worked on grammar practice and their Social Studies opinion paper. For grammar review we have been working on commas. Last weeks spelling test was fantastic! Almost everyone got 100% plus bonus words. I am now adding weekly vocabulary to some of the spelling test as bonus words. Your child can study these right out of their planners if they would like. The bonus words on the test are optional but they can bump up their score if they miss one of their sort words. Keep up the good work on sort activity homework, we had two weeks now with everyone turning them in for full credit.
by Sarah Segall | Nov 14, 2015 | In The Loop
Language Art
This week we continued practice using the table of contents while reading as a class and while doing our individual reading. We also practiced using imagery. During whole class reading I had the kids either close their eyes or draw what they heard happening in the story before showing them any of the illustrations. Then we shared our ideas and drawings with each other. I used this time to also briefly introduce comparing and contrasting with our different drawings and ideas. The kids loved being able to draw their own illustrations to the stories we read in class. Next week we will use the imagery we learned to create a sequel to the story Llueve (Rain) in class. Each student will write and illustrate their own short story.
We also began working with new morning worksheets. These worksheets focus on certain sounds. This week we worked with Bb and Ff. Each worksheet contains a short story of only a few sentences with some follow up questions. Each student has shown that they can read and understand the story on their own, which is fantastic! What I am really looking for is each student to create full sentences to answer each follow up question instead of single word answers. We discussed different strategies such as using the words in the question itself to answer as well as checking back to the story.
Math
In math this week we discussed subtraction with the number 0. We recalled that in addition any number plus zero will be the original number. We also talked about how in addition the order of the two numbers does not affect our result. We then used counters to figure out if these same rules applied to subtraction. Together we found out that any number minus zero will equal the original number but that we cannot subtract a number from zero. We discussed how zero is a special number because of this. We also did more “tests” with our counters and found that the order of our numbers in a subtraction problem is very important and that we must pay close attention to it.
We worked with subtraction story problems this week. We used the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday as a topic for our subtraction math stories. The kids understood these stories right away and it even helped others develop a more concrete understanding of subtraction.
I hope everyone was able to see our math turkeys on our bulletin board as they show several ways to represent numbers to build addition and subtraction sentences that all have the same result. The kids had so much fun figuring out their math sentences and then using different ways to represent them. We were even able to use numbers from 11-20 instead of 1-10 without any trouble.
Social Studies & Science
This week we have continued to learn about the ocean habitat in our Science domain unit. We have begun making some fun sea animals and writing about them. On Tuesday we dropped our Sea Monkey eggs into their little aquarium. I had to explain several times that despite the name, we would would not be seeing fury little aquatic monkeys swimming around in our tank. We discussed how these animals are actually a type of Brine Shrimp witch is a form of zoo plankton. We eagerly (myself included) await to see what these little guys are going to be like. This week we also have been talking about habitat destruction and endangered species. Its wonderful to hear how passionate our class is about protecting the planet and its creatures! As a class we are trying to decide on a conservation activity that we can do, one of the more popular ideas is to adopt a sloth.
In our Early World Civilizations unit we have begun reading about the three major world religions. We started off by reviewing the difference between a polytheistic and monotheistic faiths, multiple gods vs one god. We discussed how the three religions we will be learning about are monotheistic and how they all began in the Middle East. We talked about how Jerusalem is considered a holy city by all three of these religions and we looked at pictures of the Western Wall (“Wailing Wall”), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Dome of the Rock. On Tuesday we read more ineptly about Judaism. We talked about some of this religions holidays and holy symbols. The class learned some new vocabulary such as rabbi, synagogue, Torah, and Shabbat to name a few. We began working on a comparison chart to better understand the three religions we are studying. I would love to invite some guest speakers into the class to discuss their traditions associated with the three religions, especially in the context of world history. If you or someone you know would be interested please let me know.
English Spelling/Grammar review
Along with working on our sorts and journals this week, we have been doing assessments to get ready for report cards and conferences. Each student has been reading with me individually and as a class we did a spelling assessment. We did a some grammar work with nouns this week. The class worked on recognizing what a noun was and identifying proper nouns and common ones. Next week we will begin writing our Animal Habitat reports.
by Sarah Segall | Nov 14, 2015 | In The Loop
Language Arts
We read a great realistic fiction story: El principe solitario. This is a story about a prince who has everything he could possibly want, except a friend. In the end he learns how to be a friend in order to have a friend. Other things we focused on this week were:
oral blending of compound words and syllable pictures- capital letters, high-frequency words, exclamation marks, word length, question marks, print directionality
- Comprehension strategies of monitoring and clarifying, predicting, making connections, and drawing conclusions.
- Classification of vocabulary (This helps us to really look at each word before deciding which category to place it in.)
- Writing notes and messages to friends and loved ones (This was a great way for us to begin preparing for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday!)
- Words that describe how many
- We had a lovely story time from our 4th/5th grade class.
Our specific syllable studies this week were: fa, ha, ja, ka.
Our sight word studies this week included: cuatro, cinco, seis, siete. Being able to read number words is important. This will be useful when we start story problems in math.
Math
We began using our number line more this week. We use the number line to practice counting on and counting backwards. (At the beginning of November we added a countdown until Thanksgiving vacation to our daily calendar routine.)
We used these cute baggies so the students could move the zipper along when they counted on. This is a great way for them to see they can start at any given number and then count on to add. (No need to start back at the beginning each time.) Students also practice subitizing as one of our line-up routines. This is instant recognition of a set of dice or tallies.
Social Studies & Science
Well, Columbus’ perseverance paid off. After trying to get support from a king and queen for seven years, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand finally decided to financially support his voyage by supplying the ships, crew and supplies. This week we learned about Columbus’ two month voyage across the Atlantic. We know that he pushed onward even with the doubts and fears of his crew. We learned that they finally found land but unbeknownst to Columbus, he did not find the land he thought they did. The kids had great fun reenacting the crews’ sentiments aboard the ships. See if they can explain this activity that we did.
On Tuesday, we did a Veteran’s Day lesson and craft. We will be sending notes to recovering veterans thanking them for their service.
Next Friday, November 20th, we will have an informal, Thanksgiving performance for parents. Parents are invited to come early (2:40) to the classroom to hear some of the Fall songs and poems they have been learning in class. See you soon!
by Sarah Segall | Nov 14, 2015 | Preschool
El Pasado y El Presente
This week we began our new unit about El Pasado/Past y El Presente/Present. We read about different ways that people used to dress before and how they dress now. The students were able to point out the different kinds of television, telephones, toys, etc. We had fun comparing through different examples and activities during this topic.
The students had a great time recognizing different things of the past and present. Another activity was for them to determine if pictures represent the past or the present based on the fashion. They were given pictures by the teacher and then put in the correct place. They enjoyed this activity. They were surprised by some of the oldest toys and older televisions.
La letras y los números
This week we learned about the letter Ss /la letra Ss. Please be sure to point out the letter that we practice when you are reading. The English letter name for Ss is /es/. While the Spanish pronunciation is S (eh seh). Examples of words we used this week with this letter are: museo/museum, casa/house, silencio/silence, and serpiente/snake.
We also learned all about the number 7 this week. We worked with the number 7 doing different
activities, such as counting through the body of a gusano/worm, placing numbers inside of each part of the body. We sang songs related to the number 7 and letter Ss.
by Sarah Segall | Nov 8, 2015 | In The Loop, Preschool
Thank you to our fabulous S.P.A. and to all those who helped make our annual Pumpkin Fun Run such a success!!
The students ran a TON of laps and raised over $3,500! This will go a long way towards making our dream of an outdoor learning space into a reality.
We plan to:
- add a fence
- put in natural seating for group discussions
- add a viewable worm composter
- add a viewable plant growth container
- add a water feature pump for exploration
- add a natural building/engineering section for free exploration
THANK YOU for helping to make this possible!
by Sarah Segall | Nov 8, 2015 | In The Loop, Preschool
SWS will be hosting an Usborne Book Fair the week of 11/30-12/4. We will have tables of books set up for students to look through and make wish lists and for parents to place orders. After school on early release Wednesday 12/2 would be a great time to look through the books with your child. An Usborne representative will be availabe on 12/2 after school. The displays will also be available during the parent teacher conference day on 12/4.
Usborne e-show order link
This link can be used now and will be open until 12/06/15 and can be shared with parents and anyone out of town/state who may want to order as part of the book fair. All orders placed using this link will go towards the total, and will help the school earn free books!
Flyers for this bookfair will be sent home by 11/16.
by Sarah Segall | Nov 7, 2015 | In The Loop
Language Arts
In Literacy this week, students worked on identifying adjetivos y adverbios. Reading different sentences and paragraphs, we were able to see how adjectives modify nouns. Similarly, we also determined how adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.
Students received their new spelling list. Once again, they did a great job coming up with very creative sentences for the dictado we will have next Thursday. Some of the goals for our students during word work are to be able to identify patterns in words and transfer the new words they learn to other contexts. Students’ word bank has increased tremendously and we can observe this growth through their writing. During this week, I had a chance to sit down with all students and provide feedback on their writing. Most of the editing has been done and we can’t wait to see all pieces published! We will be very excited to share our pieces with you all next week!
Math
We had such a great time this week learning how to solve numeric expressions using the proper order of operations. Every student picked up on and mastered this within the week! Many really enjoyed it, some looking forward to working more from home on continued practice! I was really proud of everyone’s hard work. Monday we’ll start a new chapter. We’re moving right along!
Social Studies
We finished our reading and exploration of the Renaissance and Reformation this week. Next week we will begin an exciting project to show what we know! The project, to be explained on Monday, will be a fun opportunity for hands on, independent learning and presenting. Stay tuned for details!
Science
“Do you like it when a glass of super-sour lemonade makes your lips pucker? Do you like having a piece of sour candy that makes your eyes water? If something that leaves a sour taste in your mouth is okay with you, then you’re a fan a citric acid!” This week, we spent our science time investigating the properties of this acid. We found out that citric acid is a white, solid acid. We also discovered, through our investigation, that it is highly soluble in water. Ask your child to tell you about this experience. We talked 
about where we find this acid in its natural form and we got to taste some delicious citric fruits. Good job everyone turning in and sharing their experience with their science homework packets. The goofy putty and the slime are a blast! What a great science week.
On Friday, your child took home conversation cards. There are several questions that are meant to be discussed and answered as a family. The questions are in Spanish, so your child’s job is to read and explain these questions to you. Have your child be prepared to share what the family discussed on Monday. Have a good weekend!
Art
In 4th and 5th grade art, some of the students needed to finish their eagle drawings. Be sure to look at their beautiful drawings on the bulletin board at school, which celebrates Veteran’s Day. We also started a still life resist painting for Thanksgiving. The students looked at fall fruits and vegetables, and created great designs with oil pastels and watercolors.
