Whew! What a whirlwind two weeks! Thank you families for such a wonderful conference period. We loved talking to you about your child and the amazing growth we’ve already seen this year. We appreciate all the snacks provided as well as we kept our energy up with yummy treats. We hope your long weekends were restful and rejuvenating. In addition to last week and this week’s recap, below are some things to look forward to as you ad them to your family calendars.
Cultural Studies
For the last week and a half, Cerrito Creek has been learning about map features—namely titles, scales, key/legends, and compass roses—as well as the latitude and longitude coordinate system. Students explored finding exact locations using latitude and longitude through a computer game and activities using real U.S. and world maps. We tested out our skills with real coordinates of major California locations (including Berkeley, Lake Tahoe, and Death Valley) and labeled them on a gridded CA map. We reflected on the importance of the decimals, as some locations appeared too close together—such as Berkeley and Oakland—if you only look at the whole numbers! We also did a map scavenger hunt using different international maps to practice our map-reading skills. Additionally, we had the pleasure of hosting Micha Salomon, a cartographer and Marian’s dad, who lead us in a map/math exploration of scale.
Writer’s Workshop
Cerrito students have been working non-stop to finish up their memoirs over these last two weeks. After typing up their drafts on Google Docs, each student met one-on-one with a teacher to edit a printed version of their story. Students then made the corrections to their story, and met with Sam or Rachel for a final look over before printing it out (one last and final time) and attaching it to a colored piece of paper. In order to prep for our first edition of The Chanterelle, students created illustrations for their stories and some submitted cover designs. Students who finished this week also got to try out Typing Club!
Reader’s Workshop
Cerrito kiddos continued to work their way through Island of the Blue Dolphins in Reader’s Workshop these last 2 weeks. Students wrote a written response to a question regarding a cultural norm created by Scott O’Dell—that women of the Ghalas-At tribe are not allowed to make weapons. Why might have he created that norm? Cerrito Creek also got to do another round of book speed dating with our personal SSR books.
5th Grade Math
5th graders in Strawberry and Cerrito spent the last two weeks wrapping up our investigation of volume and reviewing new (or old) multiplication strategies. As a culmination of our multiplication practice, 5th graders worked in partnerships or small groups to create posters on 3 different multiplication strategies of their choosing. We gave each other feedback and took a post-assessment on our volume unit. Next week we will do some work around the connections between multiplication and division.
4th Grade Math
This week we began a new unit, exploring factors of 10 and place value. Students solved riddles using number tiles and a place value mat, manipulating their numbers to match the clues, such as, “Make the largest, 8-digit number, with more even than odd digits, and the sum of the last two digits is less than one-third of a dozen.” The kiddos loved the challenge and developed some strong foundations in place value. Using our new tools, the number tiles, they worked together in small groups to build the number 10,000. Problem solving, discussion, and hands on learning resulted in a large 100×100 square and success all around!
Science
In science, Cerrito kids continued to work with mixtures using 3 familiar materials: diatomaceous earth, salt and gravel. This time, their challenge was to separate out each material. Given a number of tools including a screen, coffee filter, and funnel, table groups made filtration systems to separate out each ingredient. In order to do so, students had to take into consideration the physical properties of the materials. After carrying out their hypotheses, we shifted our focus to talk about chemistry. We started by asking ourselves, “What is the smallest thing in the world?” On Thursday, we were introduced to atoms and elements, and even formed a human atom using our own bodies!
Additional Announcements
- Tuesday, October 22nd- 5th Graders shadow tour 6th grade. This will give student a chance to see what Middle School is like and share it with the 4th graders!
- Thursday, October 24th – Field trip to the Oakland Museum of California; 8:30am – 1pm. We will be leaving at 8:35 to get to the museum on time so please arrive before 8:30!
- Thursday, October 31st – Halloween Parade! TBS will be having our annual Halloween parade of costumes. Please refer to the family handbook and Newsnotes about Halloween costume guidelines.
- Thursday, November 7th – Math Night; 6pm-7:30pm; Curious what and how your child is learning math this year? Come to Math Night, where you will be led through games and investigations by your young mathematician.
- Scholastic Book OrdersIt’s not too late to order books for the month of October. If you are interested in purchasing books for your ever growing reader, check out this month’s offerings from Scholastic Book Clubs. These books are typically cheaper than buying them at a bookstore and you can check out recommended reads from your teachers by looking for the star icon. Books are organized by grade and can often be searched by reading level also, so it will be easier to find books that match the reading levels reported out to you at conferences. Linked here are the 4th grade and 5th grade flyers. When you browse online, you have access to all the different catalogs from grade levels, so younger and older readers aren’t left out! Please use this link to access the website, and use class code W6RVJ when signing up your child to connect to Teacher Samantha Snook. Happy shopping! Please pay for books of your choice through the website rather than sending in checks. Through this site we have the opportunity to build our classroom libraries by getting credit from your purchases. Last month with just a few family purchases, we were already able to add 2 new books to our classroom library! Submit your orders by the end of the month for the maximum bonus points. Happy shopping!
A new book in our library thanks to your purchases!
Noa’s already reading this new book in our library!
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