Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

River Research Presentations

Last week, the students chose and researched a river using information packets and the internet. This week, they wrote and gave presentations and created posters to show their classmates. 

This was their first formal presentation and they did a really great job! The posters looked great, too!

Here are the video recordings.

Rivers, Ecosystems, and Disney, Oh My!

Here is a great video we watched in class today that shows examples of lots of our spelling words like river, rapids, bends, and waterfall. 

Also, there are some great visuals of 2 ecosystems- the river and a forest. An ecosystem includes the animals, the plants, the shape of the land (hills, mountains, water), and the weather. 

What parts of an ecosystem can you see?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DE5a80I8EU 

December Newsletter

ACI 1 News Date: December 3rd - December 21st
Special Note: Dear parents, We just wrapped up Matsumura’s Ice Sculpture, during which our students became little artists of their own! They made murals as well as collages in class in order to learn how to express themselves and collaborate with others. In addition, we end our math unit on time, temperature, and money.  As mentioned in the letter sent last week, we will begin having monthly in-class presentations. I cannot stress to you enough to encourage your child to do his/her own work. Our goal is to teach your child to become an independent learner in our classroom. Thank you.	Science: Unit 4: Ecosystems Ecosystems are important aspects of the earth’s environment. They define entire areas and are essential for all living and non-living things! Week 1: Introduction * The students will learn what an ecosystem is, what it consists of, and why it is vital for plant and animals survival Week 2: Deserts, Tundra * We will be discussing desert and tundra ecosystems, the animals that live in these areas, and how they interact with their environment Week 3: Temperate, Rainforest * We will be discussing temperate and rainforests ecosystems, the animals that live in these areas, and how they interact with their environment
Math Unit 4: Exploring Addition and Subtraction This month we will be building the foundations for math by learning basic concepts of addition and subtraction. We will discuss number patterns as well as children learn how to add 10 to change the second digit in number. We will also be working on word problems and the students learn to turn math numbers into words to understand stories and problems in a mathematical way.	English Language Arts: Unit 4: Follow a River This month, we will be reading Follow a River, a look into what makes a river, where a river goes, and how it affects the earth and life around it.   Week 1: Introduction Topic: We will begin the book with a walk in order to get a clear understanding of the basic concepts covered Week 2: Famous Rivers Topic: We will discuss some famous rivers in the world and their importance Week 3: Presentation Topic: We will be working on our in-class presentations, creating research and writing our speeches

Winter Collaboration Murals

As a final project for this unit, the students collaborated to create winter-themed murals that now proudly hang outside our classroom. I'm very impressed by their artwork as well as their ability to work together to make them! ^^

This was made by Julie, Jared, Leo, Silver, and Esther

This was made by Amy, Sophia, Sara, Eileen, Tony, and Benjamin.

Water Cycle Experiment

We have also been learning about the water cycle over the past month. Today, we performed an experiment demonstrating how water vapor collects to become clouds (condensation) and eventually makes rain (precipitation) when clouds can't hold anymore water.

Here is a similar photo of the experiment we did in class.

We also see a similar reaction on the mirror after a hot shower or on a glass of ice water on a hot day!

Collaboration

This week, we've been learning about "collaboration"- working together as a group. Many times art, books, music, and dance are made through 2 or more people collaborating together.

Here are two videos that show how collaboration can really be great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icp92mV6XeU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB5GNnWgs68&feature=fvst

November Newsletter

ACI 1 News Date: November 5th – November 30th
Special Note: Dear parents, Last month, we had a great time learning about the different parts of a story and how to make our own stories! We studied settings, plots, conflicts, themes and characters in depth and worked hard to create rough drafts and a final draft of our books. In science, we also learned about some very bizarre animal adaptations and some very extreme animal lifestyles! In addition, we created our own extreme animals. Meanwhile, in math, we studied different number patterns and ways of counting numbers. We definitely have a lot planned for this month too, so please continue to work and support your child as much as possible in this program! Thank you.	Science: Unit 3: Water A key component of everyday life is water. This month, we will be studying water in depth to better understand its importance and usages in our lives. Week 1: Introduction * The students will learn about what water is and how it behaves in the world. We will also learn about how we use water in different ways. Week 2: Water Cycle * We will be learning about the water cycle in nature, from evaporation to condensation to precipitation, creating the world we live in. Week 3: States of Water * Students will study the three states of water as solid, liquid, and gas, and how these forms appear in our lives in different ways.   Week 4: Review * We will review and combine the information we learned about the importance of water and its forms in nature.
Math Unit 3: Time, Money, and Temperature This month we will be learning very important and very useful key facts in every day life. We will be studying how to tell time both on a digital and on an analog clock. We will also learn how to read a calendar and make a schedule. In addition, we will learn how to read a thermometer to tell temperature, and also begin to count money to see how to “buy” different things in our lives. There will be a lot of great vocabulary learned this month, so please look forward to it!	English Language Arts: Unit 3: Matsumura’s Ice Sculpture This month, we will be reading Matsumura’s Ice Sculpture, a look into a somewhat unusual form of art— ice sculpting! Week 1: Introduction Topic: We will be reading the book in-depth and studying the related concepts of processes and art.   Week 2: Water and Ice Topic: We will be discussing how Matsumura used ice to create art and how we can also change ice to make things Week 3: Art Topic: We will be discussing what art is and different types of art styles.   Week 4: Project Topic: Students will be creating an art project of their own in class

Happy Halloween!!!

Math- Number Patterns

In math, we've been going over number patterns. Here are a few helpful songs to help students count by 2s, 5s, and 10s. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBas_4F-YzY&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSfjhkIUDvI&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLTlm3sDx8oOpdYPojSQ05oA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbV2bMQT2lE

Science- Extreme Lifestyles!!!

This week in science, we're learning about EXTREME animals with EXTREME lifestyles. Here are a few videos we've watched in class about some great examples of animals with surprising and exciting adaptations. ^^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-LTWFnGmeg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUC0_HjNFBs

Echolocation

In science this week, we learned about nocturnal animals (who sleep during the day and are awake at night) and diurnal animals like us (who sleep at night and are awake during the day). Here's a fun video where you guess the nocturnal animal based on the sound it makes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVloVe4jWMU

We also learned about echolocation. It's a kind of radar system that helps animals in dark places move around their habitats. The animals make sounds and listen for their echoes. If they hear an echo, they know there is an object nearby and move out of its way. They also use echolocation to find food and water. 

Here are two songs we went over in class.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dolphinecholocation+song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr-Y2Tt8gFE

Happy Chuseok!  ^^

October Newsletter

ACI 1 News Date: October 4th - November 2nd
Special Note: Dear parents, We’ve had a great start to our ACI program this month! We spent the month learning how to talk about our day schedules, ordering events, comparing and contrasting information, and how to organize information in useful ways. We also discussed how countries are different from Korea, and what is important in having a country. Now that you and your child have become familiarized with the ACI schedule and daily routines, we will be launching with full force into the curriculum, which will consist of weekly science, math, and English lessons to help improve your child’s fluency. Please continue to work and support your child as much as possible in this program! *Please note that the first Thursday and Friday will be review days due to Chuseok.*	Science: Unit 2: Animal Lifestyles Now that our students have learned how to become scientists, they will be using their newfound science skills to learn about different animal lifestyles. Week 1: Introduction * The students will discuss what a lifestyle is, and how all animals and even people have different lifestyles, habits, and needs. Week 2: Nocturnal and Diurnal Animals * We will be learning about nocturnal animals (animals that are awake at night), and diurnal animals (animals that are awake at day) Week 3: Extreme Animals * Some animals like to live in extreme conditions, such as extreme hot or cold!  We will learn how they adapt to these places. Week 4: Creating Our Own Animal * Our final project will review all the things we’ve learned to create an animal and animal lifestyle.
Math Unit 2: Number Relationships Now that we can recognize and create our own patterns and sorting rules, we can learn more about number relationships. This unit, we will be learning how to count, and how to organize different numbers, making groups of 10 and using groups of 10 to help us count to higher numbers.	English Language Arts: Unit 2: Beatrix Potter This month, we will be reading Beatrix Potter, a biography on the life of the author who wrote the story of Peter Rabbit. Week 1: Beatrix Potter Topic: Students will be learning about what a biography is and reading a biography about Beatrix Potter. Week 2: Characters Topic: Students will begin understanding what makes a character and how to create a good character. Week 3: Plot Topic: We will be discussing what makes a plot and what the parts of a plot are so we can create our own stories. Week 4: Creating a Story Topic: We will be creating our own stories, just as Beatrix Potter created Peter Rabbit!

Family Presentations

Hey everyone!
Tomorrow we will be doing short 3 minute presentations about our families!
Here are some tips to remember when speaking in front of a group. ^^



Try to LOOK at your audience (the people listening) as much as possible.

Don't speak too quietly or loudly. You want them to hear you, but not hurt their ears!

(This is Kory teacher!)

Don't read your paper to the class or hide behind it. They will pay more attention if they feel like you're talking to THEM. 

The Scientific Method

Hi everyone!

This week, one of our spelling words is the "scientific method". It's a very important concept that we'll be using all year for science. If you need a little help remembering, here is a great song! ^^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA86dYxrg4Q

Hi everyone!

It was a great first day in ACI 1. I can already tell that the class is going to be great. Today, the students wrote predictions on what they think the book "Oscar's Day" is about based on this cover. Some of the responses were really creative! ^^

The actual setting (place) of the book is in Bolivia, a South American country. We'll be learning more about it next week, but here is a slideshow showing pictures of Bolivia (and neighboring Peru) to give you some idea of the country and culture. Enjoy!

-Kory teacher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcKdmuj0js0

Yearly Schedule

ACI Calendar

Month	ELA	Science	Math
September	Oscar’s Day	We Are Scientists	Sorting and Patterning
October	Beatrix Potter	Animal Lifestyles	Number Relationships
November	Matsumura’s Ice Sculpture	How Water Shapes Our Earth	Time, Money, & Temperature
December	Follow a River	Earth’s Ecosystems	Exploring Addition & Subtraction
January	Eva the Beekeeper	Plant Life Cycles	Management & Probability
February	Inventing the Telephone	Simple Machines	3D Geometry
March	Clouds	Strong Structures	Addition & Subtraction to 100
April	All About Me	Measurement	Measurement, Area & Perimeter
May	Fun with Shadows	Light	2D Geometry & Patterning
June	Crossing the Atlantic	Plate Tectonics	Multiplication, Division, Fractions
July	Coconuts	Extreme Weather	Mass & Capacity
August	Could We Live on the Moon?	Amazing Science (Space, Pollution, Animal, Bacteria (Kimchi, Yogurt))	Review