Friction and Gravity

Students saw how friction can move objects along a conveyor belt.

Hi, here is the update for this week:

Flint Water Drive
The Ann Arbor STEAM Student Council is collecting water for the people of Flint.  The water needs to be brought to school by noon on Tuesday (that's tomorrow!).  To add an incentive, for every 100 bottles of water collected at A2STEAM, students and staff (names will be drawn randomly) will earn 1 water balloon to be thrown and Ms. Fitzgibbon and Mr. Broom during an all-school assembly!

Building Security Procedure Change
On February 2nd, the front door of the school will be officially locked at 8:30 am daily. All parents will have to be identified by camera and buzzed in by the main office staff before entering the building.  Doors will be unlocked at 2:55 pm each day for parents to pick up their children.

Valentine’s Day Cards
Last Tuesday I sent home a list of all the students in Room K-3.  It was printed on bright pink paper.  In preparation for Valentine’s Day I would like you to have your child prepare a valentine for every student in our class.  Stores like CVS and Target sell inexpensive valentines cards in sets specifically for school children.  You can use those cards or make something very simple. Students will pass out their valentines on Friday, February 12th—I just wanted to give enough time to create the cards with your child.  If you have any questions please email me.

Monday, February 1st
Next Monday, February 1st, is a district meeting day and there will be no school for students.

Blue and Clear Home Reading Book Bags
Most of you brought them in today, but if your student forgot their blue and clear home reading pouch, send them in this week, so I can get you fresh books for the long weekend. 

Curriculum Overview
Science - We are continuing to study forces like friction and gravity.  We are also looking at what happens to force when there is a collision.

Math - In math we are studying addition and understanding what the + symbol means.  We will also be comparing numbers using terms like ‘greater than’, ‘less than’ and ‘equals to’ and discussing the symbols that correspond to those words. 

Literacy - The books we've been reading have helped our class begin recognizing and empathizing with the emotions of others.  Ask your students about When Sophie’s Feeling were Really Really Hurt and The Girl Who Drew a Phoenix.  This week we will have similar themes but will also be tracking how character’s feeling change through a book.

Writing - Your students have really grown as writers.  This week we are studying what makes a complete sentence.  We are also writing about forces in our science unit.

Word Study - Identifying the vowel sounds found in each word.  This week we will continue work on short vowels. 

Pushes and Pulls

Our current Project Lead The Way unit is on forces.

I don’t have too much for you this week!  If you haven’t yet made it to the A2 STEAM Lost and Found please come and check it out.  Our gym teacher Ms. Lewit completely organized it so it is easy to browse for specific items.

Valentine’s Day Cards
Tomorrow, January 20th, I will send home a list of all the students in Room K-3.  I will print it on bright pink paper.  In preparation for Valentine’s Day I would like you to have your child prepare a valentine for every student in our class.  Stores like CVS and Target sell inexpensive valentines cards in sets specifically for school children.  You can use those cards or make something very simple. Students will pass out their valentines on Friday, February 12th—I just wanted to give enough time to create the cards with your child.  If you have any questions please email me.

Curriculum Overview
Science - The photo at the top of this post shows some of the learning we have done around understanding forces.  This week we will look more deeply at friction and gravity.

Math - We spent a couple of days reviewing two-dimensional shapes and how they can be broken up into other shapes (for example a square can be divided into two triangles or two rectangles).  This week we are going to be comparing numbers (for example 14 is two more than 12).

Literacy - The books we've been reading have helped our class begin recognizing and empathizing with the emotions of others.  Ask your students about When Sophie’s Feeling were Really Really Hurt.

Writing - Your students have really grown as writers.  This week we are studying what makes a complete sentence.

Word Study - Identifying the vowel sounds found in each word.  This week we will continue work on short vowels.  For example the word frog has the short o sound.

Students tested the paintbrushes they created by painting with them!

Designing Paintbrushes

Last week students designed and built their own paintbrushes.

I hope you enjoyed the snow this weekend.

Lost and Found
There are many items in the Ann Arbor STEAM lost and found.  If you are looking for something stop by because it is getting so full that soon everything will be donated to charity.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day
There will be no school this coming Monday, January 18th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  We will be celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. this week in a school-wide assembly.  We will also be reading about his life and work in class.

Curriculum Overview
Science - We are beginning a new Project Lead the Way unit on forces called ‘Pushes and Pulls’.  Students will learn about the forces in their life (using the swing on a playground, playing tug-o-war) and how those forces interact.

Math - This week we are looking closely at place value and understanding tens and ones.  Students will see that numbers like 15 are one ten and five ones.  They will be able to break apart numbers into their tens and ones (see drawing below).

Literacy - We are revisiting school and classroom expectations and reading books about staying safe at school, being a good friend, and being a good student.  Ask your child about books like Friends.

Writing - Students are writing about the paintbrush they designed for Project Lead the Way.

Word Study - Identifying the vowel sounds found in each word.  We will work on short vowels.  For example the word frog has the short o sound.

Thirty-six has 3 tens and 6 ones.

It is fine for students to leave a pair of gym shoes in the classroom.

Welcome Back

After constructing model houses using bricks, sticks, and straw we evaluated the sturdiness of each house (the fan is on high!)

Welcome back!  From what I have heard so far your students had a relaxing break.  They also seem to be excited to see their friends and get back to school here at A2Steam.

Indoor Gym Shoes
I know I’ve mentioned this before and you’ve also received some messages from the school about it as well.  But as the weather gets more and more wintry it is really important that students bring indoor gym shoes for school.  Room K-3 has gym class every Monday and Friday.  This will be especially important when construction on our new gym is finished.  With the opening of the new gym, we will be instituting a “clean gym shoe only” policy.  This means that students will need to have a pair of non-marking, rubber-soled shoes to participate in PE.  With our playground currently being so muddy, students really need to have an alternate pair of shoes for inside the building.  We are happy to work with any family for which this requirement may pose a concern.

Toys at School
I wasn’t clear about this in the fall, and I know young kids like to bring things in to share, but is most helpful if toys and games are left at home and not a distraction in students’ backpacks.  Students should not bring toys or anything valuable to school unless it directly relates to an academic project.

NWEA Testing
Students will be taking the Northwest Educational Assessment or NWEA this week.  The NWEA is a pair of assessment students take in our computer lab to assess their understanding of reading and math.  Room K-3 will be taking them on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Photo Gallery
There are lots of new photos in our classroom photo gallery again this week!  They are mostly of our current engineering unit on structure and function.  The username and password were sent out in the weekly email.

Curriculum Overview

Science - We are finishing up the unit on structure and function.  Before winter vacation we evaluated the strength of the houses we built by exposing them to a high-powered fan.  This week we will design, build, and test our own paintbrush.

Math - We are looking at the numbers 1 through 100 and discussing patterns that relate to place value in our number system.

Literacy - This week we will be revisiting school and classroom expectations and reading books about staying safe at school, being a good friend and student.  Ask your child about books like Kindness Is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler and Please Play Safe!

Writing - Students will be writing about the different experiences they have had with our Project Lead The Way unit on structure and function.  They will be sketching and writing about the house they built, as well as the paintbrush they will design.

Word Study - Identifying the vowel sounds found in each word.  We will start with long vowels.  For example the word jeep has the long e sound.

Students work on their family gifts before break.