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