What's+Happening+in+Room+09+in+December?

December is such a busy month. Especially, in Room 09.
=SPECIAL EVENTS:=

Frank Lloyd Wright- Inspired Gingerbread Houses
===Our December Innovator is Frank Lloyd Wright. Banning Jones came back from a holiday trip to the East coast. He had visited Falling Water and thought Wright was someone we should include on our list. I had given some thought to him earlier and I loved that he was student-suggested. I think our Wright-inspired project should be some gingerbread houses. Elizabeth, Banning's mom, is going to help with this and we have chosen to do it on the afternoon of Weds., Dec. 15th. I am hoping to get a team of parents to make the glue-like frosting in the morning and others to actually be present during the activity. All students will need a $3.00 materials fee, a 12 x 12 or 12 x 15 piece of foil-covered cardboard, and a small ziploc bag of candy with which to decorate.===

Seasonal Plays
===We will be doing 4 short plays. Students usually have multiple roles. They read from the script. Since these are our first performances of the year, we don't have an invited audience. Our Greek play at the end of the year is our first true performance.===

=﻿CURRICLUM NEWS:=

Math
===This week I will be assessing students on a number of things we learned during the first trimester. Multiplication facts - 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, complex addition and subtraction, graph construction and data interpretation, multiples, factors, simple multiplication, problem solving including story problems, etc.=== ===Our new unit is //Multiple Towers and Division Stories//. We have been studying a strategy for 2-digit multiplication called "Break Apart" and everyone appears to be mastering it quickly and showing good understanding of the thinking behind it. Number sense seems to be improving and I have been very pleased with the observations students are making about number relationships during class discussions.===

Reading
===We are reading __Island of the Blue Dolphins__ as a class. Two thirds finished. Everyone seems to be enjoying it. Rate and accuracy have improved with this daily oral reading practice. Our class discussions are about setting, character traits and motivation, the evolution of a character, themes, etc. I have an Island of the Blue Dolphins Jeopardy game that is fun to play when we finish. Also a short assessment. Of course. :)=== ===The Mystery Unit is off to a slow start. I think the snowstorm and the holidays have had an impact. If you have not signed a Mystery Reading Contract, please, ask your child to bring it home. Help them set a goal. Today, one child revealed that he had read only 38 pages since Nov. 20th. That is two pages per day and is not nearly enough to maintain rate and comprehension growth. We have some fun books available. I would appreciate your assistance in helping your child to make a plan to read daily. My class read-aloud is __The Wright 3__, a fun book involving a mystery surrounding the Robie House, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Chicago. It's a fun tie-in.=== ===Tomorrow we start the writing of the Island Reports. To this point they have been a research (reading) project. I will be checking over everyone's cards this evening. I thank you in advance for your help with them.===

Writing
===We have been practicing prewriting strategies. The students have completed a number of mindmaps and one outline. We will be doing a number of exercises that help writers think fluently PRIOR to beginning a piece with the idea that every individual will find a "tool" that is a good fit.=== ===Pearl Journal. They all have one. They need to make 5 entries this month. They are to be turned in when we return in Jan. We will do one together this week. Five or six sentences about a memorable moment ( actually, more like an event). We will be turning it into a little piece of memoir in Jan. but each and every one needs to develop his/her "Writer's Eye" and jot down some moments that have potential.=== ===Next week, after completing the Island reports each student will write a letter urging a friend/relative to visit their island. It will essentially be a three paragraph reason essay. Beginning with a mindmap. Good practice.===