Learning About The Human Body

Students created paper diagrams of the human body.

We’ve been learning about the human body in class and it has been really interesting and exciting for both the students and myself.  Ask your students about bones and the parts of the brain!

Schools Closed for Special Election Next Tuesday, May 3rd
Ann Arbor Schools will be closed next Tuesday, May 3rd.  The city is holding a vote on a Special Education Millage Proposal.  AAPS encourages all district families to participate and vote.  More information about the proposal can be found here.

Seesaw Learning Portfolio
A2 STEAM has been using an app called Seesaw in the primary grades to create a digital portfolio of some of the work your student does here at school.  A flyer showing you how to access your child’s work went home in student folders today.  When you access your child’s portfolio you will see many photos and videos going back to the fall.  Items tagged with green were created in Room K-3.  Some of the first items you will see reflect our current study of the human body.  You will also see work tagged pink from Sr. Steuer’s Spanish class.

Blue Book Bags
If you haven’t already, send in your child’s blue book bag so I can send out new books to read at home.  Also, thank you for helping them with their homework each night, I sent the March homework back with notes of encouragement because I really appreciate the work you do at home.

Curriculum Overview
Science - We are in the middle of our unit on the human body.  Students have been learning about bones, muscles, and the brain.

Math - This week we will work with fractions.  I will also introduce students to a function machine where one number is inputed and another number is outputed based on a specific rule.  For example if the function is ‘minus 2’ when you put in the number 10 you get back the number 8.

Literacy - We are reading books about the human body to support the learning of our Project Lead The Way unit on the structure and function of the Human Body. 

Writing - Students have been writing about what they have learned about bones and muscles.

Word Study - This week we will go over some more complex word families and look at how words are spelled with the oo and -ould sounds which can sometimes be confusing.  We will also study some initial consonant blends like pr- tr- and dr-.

Partnership Reading

Great Learning On the Field Trip

On the field trip students took mental images of the bark on different trees.

Parent Input Form
Just a reminder that the A2STEAM online class placement form that went home electronically from the school last week is due this Friday April, 22nd.

Mr. Luxon Absent on Monday
Unfortunately I was not at school today.  I will be back at school on Tuesday.

Field Trip
Thank you so much for getting all the Room K-3 students ready for the field trip last week.  A huge thank you as well to the chaperones.  The trip went well, there are many photos up in the Room K-3 Photo gallery.

Music Informance
Thank you for coming out to Mrs. Huckabone’s Music Informance.  They students were excited to perform for you.  If you have children in the upper grades Ms. Huckabone asked that I pass along this schedule of performances for every grade level.

Curriculum Overview
Science - We are beginning a Project Lead The Way unit on the structure and function of the human body!  Students began assembling a miniature (and simplified) human body on paper last week.

Math - In class this week we will introduce the analog clock and begin learning how to read time.

Literacy - We are reading books about the human body to support the learning of our Project Lead The Way unit on the Human Body.  We will also read a few fiction books to review the feeling of characters and how they change across a text.

Writing - Students are going to be doing some writing around the new Project Lead The Way unit on the Human Body.  Before that begins I want to do some writing about characters and their feelings in fiction books.

Word Study - This week we will go over some more complex word families and look at how words are spelled with the -oo and -ould sounds which can sometimes be confusing.  Words like room, wood, and could.

Field Trip Is This Thursday!

Thank you for attending our Expo!

Important Field Trip Information
We are taking a field trip this Thursday to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens.  The experience will review the work we did for the STEAM Expo around living things.  Here is what you need to know for the trip:

-Students will eat lunch during the trip.  All students must bring a paper bag sack lunch.
-Students will be outside.  All students need to wear warm clothes and closed toed shoes that are good for hiking.
-Students will take a bus to and from the gardens.  We leave around 9:30 and return around 12:45. 

If you have emailed me about chaperoning, thank you!  I will send you an email with more information today.

Music Informance This Friday
This Friday, April 15th our music instructor Ms. Huckabone is hosting a informance for the families of Room K-3 students in her classroom.  Come experience a performance and music lesson simultaneously!  The presentation is from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM.

STEAM Expo
Thank you so much for coming to our STEAM Expo.  It was a great having you all come in to celebrate the learning we have been doing here at A2STEAM.  Thank you!

Curriculum Overview
Science - We are beginning a Project Lead The Way unit on the structure and function of the human body!  We started today by exploring the idea of bones and muscles, as well as organs like the lungs, heart, and stomach.

Math - We are studying the US coins, their values, and how to do simple addition and subtraction with money.  As a society we don’t often use coins anymore.  If you can, take a minute, show your student a handful of coins, and review with them the names and values.

Literacy - We are reading books about the human body to support the learning of our Project Lead The Way unit on the Human Body.  We will also read a few fiction books to review the feeling of characters and how they change across a text.

Writing - Students are going to be doing some writing around the new Project Lead The Way unit on the Human Body.  Before that begins I want to do some writing about characters and their feelings in fiction books.

Word Study - This week we are going to review syllables and go over some more complex word families like -ould and -ight words.

The Friday before break Ms. Fitzgibbon helped us wrap up March is Reading Month

by reading Keiko Kasza’s My Lucky Day.  It was also pajama day.

Over the break the plant many of you saw at expo reached through the hole and into the sunlight.