Dear Moms and Dads,

Last Thursday, we had a wonderful lesson in the Four Winds program with Mrs. Bolger, Mrs. Aiken, and Ms. Ransom. The children learned a song to help them remember the three body part names of insects, they watched a puppet show about how insects have body parts to help them adapt to their life style, and went outside to collect bugs. We have to be able to tell how we knew we had collected an insect such as it had 6 legs or a head, thorax, and abdomen.

The Four Winds lesson provided a perfect opportunity for us to work on another type of writing: reports. We wrote a group report about insects using the painted essay format. The painted essay has three parts:

Context or background (red in color)

Focus and details (yellow in color). The details support or prove the focus.

Conclusion (green in color). This is a place to restate the focus in different words and to write about what the big idea or AHA is for the report. I have attached a copy for your information and enjoyment.

Scroll down to see a photo of the insect hunters!

Our next report will be about our trip to the Shelburne Museum. We’ll write the context together as a group. I’ll give the kids the focus and they will independently write details to support the focus. Then we’ll write the conclusion together. Thus, learning how to write a report is broken up into steps from whole group work to independent writing. When they are ready to write a whole report independently, they will write one piece of the report, using the painted essay format, during each setting. Thus, it won’t become overwhelming for anyone.

Our trip to the museum was fabulous! The clouds opened up just as we got there to let the sun keep us warm. The children were well behaved and a museum staff member said, "Come back again".

Loree Silvis, a model teacher for mathematics, visited our classroom Wednesday morning. She did a lesson for first graders and a lesson for second graders. Loree focused on building a deep understanding of number. For example, the children made numbers different ways such as using their fingers, rekenreks, counting ropes and other math tools.

First graders with Loree Silvis

Second graders with Loree

Moretown firefighters came to do an assembly about fire safety this morning. Please ask your child what the fire fighters told us.

Here are some questions to ask your child this week:

What did you like best at the Shelburne Museum?

What are "fast hands" in math?

What is a rekenrek?

Do you know what to do if there is a fire in our house?

How do insects differ from people?

DATES TO REMEMBER: