May 4, 2009
*********IMPORTANT NOTICE**********
Dear Parents,
This is information sent from Central Region today:
The Central Region Gifted & Talented EXPO, scheduled for Saturday, May 9 is CANCELED. There is a concern since there would be large numbers of parents, students, and families from 40+ different school communities in one enclosed area during this period. Plans call for re-scheduling the EXPO to take place during Fall 2009. Without question, the G/T EXPO is a wonderful idea and an opportunity to highlight the amazing things so many of our Region’s students are doing — taking teaching and learning to an entirely different level! We also know that many students have nearly completed, if not already completed, their projects which they had hoped to display/demonstrate during the EXPO.
******If your child has completed a special project for the Expo please bring it to school by Thursday. We will have our own mini-Expo here at Twain by displaying the projects in the hallway outside my room.
Thanks to all who had planned to participate and who worked with their children on special projects. I hope that the process of completing the project was enjoyable and educational for you and your child! Please let me know if you have any questions.
------------------------------------------------------
*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
April 17, 2009
Dear Parents,
Hope you are enjoying spring! I know the students are participating in lots of outdoor activities right now. We are having fun with our new planners and still reflecting somewhat on our past planners. Below is a description of what we are working on at each grade level.
*******SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!********************
The first annual HISD Central Region GT Expo is coming up on Saturday, May 9th! The expo is a chance for our school to highlight some of the wonderful work our GT students are doing both at school and at home. I plan to display some of the projects they have completed in my class as well as in their homeroom class. We are looking for independent projects students have done that extend what they have learned in their classroom. The Expo takes place at Ryan Middle School and our school will have an area alongside other PYP schools to display our projects. Renzulli Learning will be there to offer ideas on how to use the Renzulli website with children during the summer. Mad Science will also be there to conduct scientific shows! Please let me know if your child can participate. I will have a sign up sheet in my room next week. :)
****1st GRADE****
1st graders finished making Toothpick Games AND writing instructions on how to play the game and win the game. Please play the game with your child and let them explain how to play it. It’s fun and educational! We will begin doing a little algebra, 1st grade style, by playing number games and solving riddles. Ask them to give you an algebra problem to solve.
We continue to learn about simple machines and how they help people do work easier. Levers, inclined planes, wheels and axles, and pulleys are some of the machines we have explored. It’s been fun making each of the simple machines. A fun activity is to ask your child to locate as many simple machines as possible in your car. The blinker handle is a lever, the steering wheel is a wheel and axle…you get the idea! During the past couple of weeks we dissected the machines you sent with your child. Students recorded each simple machine they found and had fun using screwdrivers to take things apart. To end the year we will explore the world of Rube Goldberg machines and learn how some machines make doing things harder instead of easier!!
****2nd GRADE****
Most of the 2nd graders have finished making their invention. I will be displaying the inventions in the library on a rotational basis by replacing our wonderful chairs with our wonderful inventions! Please come by to see them when you get a chance. When I send home the inventions I will also send home your child’s self assessment of the invention planner. One of the most important things we learned about being an inventor is that we have to be persistent! I thought many of the reflections were very insightful!
Our name of our next planner is “The Medieval Ages”! The Central Idea is: Structures within a society can affect people’s roles and responsibilities. It is an inquiry into Feudalism, the process of becoming a knight, the system of heraldry and castle structure. Ask your child to describe feudalism and how it compares to our country’s government structure. Next we will take a look at the process of becoming a knight – it wasn’t all fun and swords!
*****We will need LOTS of small empty boxes from cereal, toothpaste, crackers, cookies, etc. as well as cylinders like paper towel rolls (without the paper towels) to build our castles at the end of the year – PLEASE SEND AS MANY AS YOU HAVE! I will be collecting them for a few weeks. ********
2ND GRADE MATH
We have used our knowledge of shape transformations and used it work with pentominoes and nets. Our last project was making a net of 20 triangles to form an icosahedron. From here we go move on to CIRCLES! Circles have special properties which make them interesting for students to investigate. We have already learned basic measurements of circles – radius, diameter and circumference. We recorded the three measurements using flower pots, cups, plates, Coke cans and more! Ask your child about Lady Di and Sir Cumference. You can reinforce your child’s understanding of these three measurements by letting them measure circular objects at home. Now we will expand our basic knowledge and learn about inscribing polygons in circles using a compass and a ruler.
****3rd Grade****
The Discovery Corps of the Lewis and Clark Expedition have chosen who to take and what to take on the journey. Now we will set off on our “keel boat” to find a route to the Pacific Ocean! Thanks for sending artifacts related to this planner, they have enhanced our learning about the expedition. Some of the reflections students wrote about which items they would take on the expedition are displayed in the hallway outside my room. Come by and take a look if you get a chance. Now we are learning about codes and ciphers. President Jefferson often communicated with Lewis and Clark through the use of ciphers. When the weather permits we will also be going outside to take “tree samples”. Jefferson was very interested in learning about any new animals and plants that were discovered on the expedition so Lewis and Clark had to record detailed information about what they saw.
3rd GRADE MATH
We finished our unit on measurement by making “sand babies”. Hopefully all the babies made it home safely! After getting enough sand to match their weight as a baby, students had to determine the size of their head, legs and torso in order to match their length as a baby. This part took some calculating, adjusting and recalculating in order to get the proper length. I hear that some students extended the project at home by making extra items to make their “baby” more comfortable!
To end the year in math we will be increasing our understanding of probability and statistics - from flipping coins and forecasting weather to baseball statistics and the chances of rolling a certain number with one die.
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. Thanks!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Norris
Education Gateways makes no warranty for SchoolNotes.com.
Information on this site is generated by the users. The views
expressed are not necessarily those of Education Gateways or its members, and
Education Gateways is not responsible for user's conduct on SchoolNotes.com.
