Early Childhood
I can’t believe the year is over! We had an amazing month learning about bugs and butterflies. We have caterpillars in our classroom and we are waiting for them to transform into butterflies. Our theme was author studies about Eric Carle and Mo Williams. In the AM, we worked on printing letters in our Green Books. Green Books will come home, over the summer feel free to practice printing using the books. In the PM, we practiced Jolly Phonics, spring vocabulary words, initial letter sounds, patterns and teen numbers. Over the summer continuing practice Jolly Phonics sounds and teen numbers! Have a wonderful SUMMER!
Kindergarten
Kindergarten has had an amazing year exploring about how to be a learner. We became leaders, listeners, singers, dancers, scientists, readers, mathematicians, explorers, artists, friends and superstars. We will continue to learn and grow as we read more over the summer. Keep reading and writing this summer as well as add and subtract. Most importantly have fun with your family!
First Grade
First grade encourages all students to read and write during the summer. Check your library for summer reading incentives. There are so many fun programs offered. Have a wonderful and safe summer!
Second Grade
Second graders have been solving three digit addition and subtraction problems. Students have been demonstrating their knowledge of regrouping and basic facts to solve these problems. During this spring, second graders have been exploring different ways that seeds are dispersed. Different methods of seed dispersal, such as wind, water, and animals, allow plants to grow and make nature beautiful. Perhaps the second graders will take a cue from the plants and continue to grow this summer.
Third Grade
Third grade students have accomplished a lot this year! One area that they would like to showcase is their writing. These students have worked hard to compose narrative, expository, and opinion pieces. Students worked their way through the writing process to complete their published pieces.
Fourth Grade
- In Reading 4th grade continues to learn about Greek Mythology and allusions.
- In Math we are exploring fractions, specifically adding and subtracting mixed numbers.
- Over the summer, be sure to practice your math facts and read daily.
Fifth Grade
Math: We are in the midst of geometry, our final unit. In this unit we are learning about ordered pairs, coordinate grids, and line plots. The unit will conclude with polygon and angle classification. In this final quarter, we will also be practicing our new skills through group and independent projects.
Science: We have just begun our final science unit on matter and its interactions. In these lessons, we will be learning about elements and atoms, and how they can combine. We are learning the differences between mass, weight, density, and volume. We are also studying the different states matter can take: solid, liquid, or gas.
ELA: We are entering the final phase of our tri-fold book report. Work will continue on this for the next few weeks as we complete the five components of our report: character, setting, plot, and theme, as well as a book recommendation. We are continuing or practice with figurative language and writing skills through our poetry unit. We will also be starting a final research project on a college of our choice. Students will be choosing a school they would like to attend and complete a short research project that includes available majors, cost, requirements for admission, etc. We hope that it will get us excited about our continuing education.
Other: We are also looking forward to celebrating the end of our time at Country Trails with our Fifth Grade Send-Off. A lot of hard work has gone into the planning and we know it will be a memorable party.
Reading
The students have learned a variety of important strategies throughout the year to improve their literacy skills and confidence as readers. The key components of literacy include:
- Phonemic Awareness (the ability to hear and use sounds in words)
- Phonics (the relationship between the written language and their sounds)
- Fluency (the ability to read smoothly with appropriate phrasing, expression,
accuracy and a steady reading rate)
- Comprehension (the ability to understand what the text means)
- Vocabulary (using and understanding the key words in the text)
Some of the specific comprehension strategies include activating background knowledge, predicting, questioning, visualizing, inferring, determining importance and synthesizing information.
Here are some literacy websites for additional information:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/
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ELL
The end of the year was a time where students got to show off all the skills that they have been practicing all school year long. Students completed projects about the books they read and presented them to their groups to practice their speaking skills. New vocabulary has been incorporated into both speaking and writing activities, and students always impress us when using words we learned in the past. We are proud of the hard work students have put in this school year developing their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Enjoy Summer Break and we look forward to seeing everyone in the fall.
Art
Kindergarten-Third grade spent the year creating art centered around the elements of art, famous artists, and different cultures. They did painting, drawing and created things with clay. Fourth and fifth graders worked on developing their own artistic voices. They designed their own projects and worked independently or with groups. They planned, created and reflected on their work. They used their imaginations and creativity to create artwork that was unique to them.
Here is a link to a summer art challenge for any students who would like to participate.
Music
This month in music class, upper grades are wrapping up their assessments on reading notes on the treble clef music staff. Students used kahoots to practice their note-reading skills for the test.
Picture:
4th grade students doing a Kahoot to practice note reading.
First and second graders talked about expression, dynamics and tempo markings, this month in music. They learned various symbols for loud, soft, fast and slow. Second graders then added those symbols and markings to a poem and performed that poem for the class.
Pictures:
2nd graders practicing their poems
2nd Graders working on their poems.
Physical Education and Health
In Health students are working on their bones project in groups. Throughout this unit students will be exploring the bones and joints used in their favorite movements/activities.
In PE students are participating in the baseball unit. During this unit we teach skills such as fielding, hitting, catching, and strategy for the game. We also do a tournament and a home run derby for grades second through fifth. Something to look forward to next year will be our new bean bags unit. We are hoping your kids stay active during the summer and use the games we taught them throughout the year.