Studying the Brain

A neurologist (and parent of a Room K-3 student) came to our class to teach us about the brain and how it interacts with the rest of the body.

Schools Closed Tomorrow for a Special Election
Ann Arbor Schools will be closed tomorrow, 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.

NWEA Math
Next week students will take the math portion of their NWEA end-of-year exam.  They will have time to complete the exam on Monday, May 9th and Wednesday, May 11th.  The students will take the exam on the computer.  It is a visual test and the questions will be read out loud to students through the computer.  Make sure your children get a good night sleep on Sunday and Wednesday night.  Also, make sure they know that this is an assessment not a game and they should do their best--sometimes the computer format makes it seem like a game.  They also can take as much time as they need, if they do not finish on our given days additional time will be provided.

Seesaw Learning Portfolio
As I mentioned last week, A2 STEAM has been using an app called Seesaw in the primary grades to create a digital portfolio of some of the work we do at school.  A flyer showing you how to access your child’s work went home in student folders last week and again 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.

Bike To School Day
Bike to School Day is this Wednesday.

Mr. Luxon Not in Class
On Tuesday, May 10th I will not be in Room K-3.  I will be at school but I will be in a meeting with other teachers.  A visiting teacher will be teaching in my absence.

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.  This week we will focus on the structure of the hand and why it is so advantageous to have multiple bones and joints in our hand.

Math - This week we will do a little bit more work with a ‘function machine’ where one number is inputted and another number is outputted based on a specific rule (like subtract 4).  We will also review place value, addition, and subtraction.

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 the human body.  Some of that writing is on Seesaw.

Word Study - We are finishing our study of more complex word families as well as some initial consonant blends like pr- tr- and dr-.