Fun with Honey!

February Newsletter!

ACI 1 Newsletter February 4th to March 1st, 2013
Hello Families!      January was a great month!  We kept very busy with preparing for our Recipe Presentations and tending to our Kidney Bean Plant Project.  Our Kidney Bean Plant Project was a fun experience!      The students were excited to tend to their plant everyday and had many questions about why some were growing more quickly than others, why some had to be replanted and what could be done to make them grow faster.  At the end of each week, the students continued to complete their Plant Diary using their observation skills to describe how it looked and what life stage their plant was in.  We were happy to see many of them in different life stages!      As a precursor to the students doing their recipe presentations we did a simple, short and fun cooking activity to help them prepare for their presentations. We had a great time making Honey Joys!      We could see all the students worked really hard on their recipe posters as many of them were decorated with stickers, markers, crayons and fantastic hand drawn pictures of ingredients and of the food itself.  We will be posting presentation videos and pictures of the students with their posters later in the week.      This month we will be focusing on Simple Machines in Science, 3D Geometry in Math and Inventions in ELA.  The students will also be giving a short presentation on an inventor and their invention at the end of the month.   We look forward to what’s to come this month!	ELA:  “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Week 1 – What Are Inventions?      We will learn about inventions, why they are important and why people are continually trying to invent things.  Students will also think about things they use in their daily lives and what it would be like if they didn’t have certain inventions, for example, the telephone or TV. Week 2 – The Evolution of Inventions      We will learn about what a timeline is and how to create one.  We will choose an invention and create a timeline together and track how it has changed and improved (or not improved?) over time since it was first invented.  Students will start thinking about an inventor for their Inventions Presentation. Week 3 – Famous Inventors and Their Inventions      This week students will learn about some famous inventors who changed our daily lives because of their invention.  We will also learn about creating a biography and timeline about an inventor.  Students will also choose an inventor for their presentation. Week 4 – New and Emerging Inventions      We will discuss the importance of why new inventions are still needed.  What inventions do we still need and/or want to have?  The students will also think like an inventor and think about the important things we need to consider before inventing something. During this week we will also have our Inventions Presentations!
Math      This month we turn our focus to learning about 3D Geometry.       We will learn about the different geometric properties of 3D shapes, what makes them unique from 2D shapes and the different movements they can make.  Students will also learn how to compare and classify the shapes by their properties.       We’ll also have a great time constructing 3D and 2D shapes using different craft materials!	Science Week 1 – What Are Simple Machines?      We will learn about what simple machines are, the most common six types used in our everyday lives and why they are useful. Week 2 – Where Can I Find Simple Machines?      We will look around our classroom and school to try to identify different simple machines, describe their properties and how they make our lives easier. Week 3 – Creating My Own Catapult!      We will learn about what a catapult is, how it works, how it can be useful and finally, we get to construct our very own mini catapult! Week 4 – Testing My Catapult! YAY!      Experimentation Time!  In this final week of our unit of Simple Machines, we will be able to test our catapult by making hypotheses and observations about how far it launch small things like beads and marshmallows into the air!

Science: Kidney Beans- Week 2!

Sorry I didn't get a shot of the plants originally. Here they are at Week 2.

Here they are next to the heater. We used plastic wrap and sand to help keep them warm. During the first week, some seeds didn't make it, so some students have gotten new seeds that will hopefully start growing soon.

Every week, the students use their observation skills to write about their plant and describe what life stage it's in. Hopefully in the third week we'll see some sprouts! ^^

Hello Families!

This term is off to a great start!

        In the past week we learned about the different types of honeybees, drone, worker and Queen Bee and about how hard they work to build and maintain their hives as well as collecting nectar and their important roles as pollinators.

        In math, we began learning about probability and what it means to make a prediction and to think about the chance of something happening by using our new math vocabulary words, likely and unlikely. 

        We ended the week in a great way!  We planted our kidney beans!  This marks the beginning of our four-week Plant Diary, where we will track the progress of our plant in both writing and diagrams each week.  We’re excited to see what happens!

        We also look forward to learning about all the different recipes as we begin preparation for our Food Presentations!

January Newsletter

ACI 1 News Date: January 2nd - February 1st
Special Note: Dear parents, I hope you and your child enjoyed our last unit, Follow a River! We learned a lot of great facts about rivers and how they are formed and used in the world. In addition, we also had our first monthly presentations! The topic this month was a famous river. Students learned how to research information as well as how to create a good speech. They also learned important presentation skills. This month, our presentation will be on presenting a food recipe for a potluck at the end of the month. More details will be sent out later in the unit! So please look forward to it J Thank you.	Science: Unit 5: Plants One of the most important parts of an ecosystem is the plants. This month, we will be discussing plants in depth to better understand them. Week 2: Introduction and How Plants Grow * Students will learn about what a plant is, and the different parts of a plant.  * We will discuss how plants grow from a seed into a full adult. We will be growing our own plants! Week 3: Plant Reproduction * We will discuss how plants reproduce to create new seeds and promote diversity. Week 4: Weird Plants * We will learn about some interesting and unusual plants around the world.   Week 5: Importance * We will learn about the importance of plants in our lives and our ecosystems.
Math Unit 5: Probability Now that we have developed a strong base in the basics of mathematics (subtraction, addition, and math stories), we are ready to move on to probability. We will be focusing on what it means to make an educated guess, and how probability lets us predict things. We will also begin to figure out the probability of simple events such as flipping a coin, rolling dice, or choosing items out of a bag.	English Language Arts: Unit 5: Eva the Beekeeper This month, we will be reading Eva the Beekeeper, a look into what it is like to be a beekeeper and the lives of bees. Week 1: Introduction Topic: We will read and understand the book via discussions and book walks.  Week 2: Bees Topic: We will learn in depth how bees live. Week 3: Insects Topic: We will discuss other insects such as butterflies. Week 4: Presentation Preparation Topic: Students will be given time to develop their presentations and practice their speeches. Week 5: Cooking and Food Topic: Students learn cooking terminology and safety.

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.