News for 12/18

It's winter break! We can't believe that the first half of the school year is over. We have had such a wonderful semester and are looking forward to a great 2018!

Math:

3rd Grade- 

Third grade has had a great time with our Data Analysis unit. We have learned about line plots, stem and leaf plots, as well as bar graphs and frequency tables. We will wrap up our unit when we return in January.

4th Grade-

We spent the week wrapping up our decimal multiplication and division unit.  Students played BINGO, a spinner game and did a cut/glue matching activity to show off their knowledge.  We took our DCA test over multiplication and division of fractions and decimals Wednesday to end the week.

5th Grade-

Students spent the week studying the differences between expressions, equations and inequalities.  We used a fun website called SolveMe to solve lots of equations, and completed a fun pennant flag project to place in the hallway.  We took our DCA over rates, ratios and percents and expressions and equations on Wednesday.

ELA Enrichment & ISP:

1st Grade- 

We spent the week studying snowflakes!  We learned that snowflakes have 6 sides, just like a hexagon.  Students used all kinds of fun materials to create a symmetrical 6 sided snowflake.  You can see them on display at STEAM night in January!

2nd Grade-

Building is now complete! The students are so excited about how their rooms have turned out. They are looking forward to displaying them in January at STEAM night. We also had a little fun this week with some pentominoe challenges. It really got our brains thinking!

3rd Grade-

We have nearly completed construction of our houses. The students are excited to share them at STEAM night in January. We are also looking forward to wrapping up our novel study when we return.

4th Grade-

Building is nearly complete and the houses look great! We are also looking forward to wrapping up our Mr. Lemoncello novel study when we return.

5th Grade-

Fifth grade has begun writing their scripts for their Mysterious Benedict Society novel study. We can't wait to see them develop and are excited to share them with the group!

Have a wonderful holiday break and see you next year!

Important Dates:

12/25-1/8 Winter Break

1/9      Students back to school

News for 12/4

What a week! We had some warm weather, cold weather, and then ended with a light dusting of snow! It's been a great week!

Announcement: 
Please join us for our Fall Open House on December 12th from 3-4pm. This is a student-led fall showcase for all current TAG students. Please bring your student with you when you come. They will be your tour guide and will be sharing their work with you. This is a come and go event. We hope to see you there!

Math:

3rd Grade- 

Third grade has completed their division unit this week. We explored a variety of division strategies and put them into practice. We also began our unit on Data Analysis and will be exploring a variety of graphs and ways to collect and interpret data.

4th Grade-

Fourth graders have had a great week wrapping up our learning about fractions. Students have had the opportunity to show off their knowledge by completing a menu project.  They were given a menu of activities, and chose a combination of small projects and math problems to add up to 100.  They've been hard at work on them all week, in between visits to the robolab.  Projects are due on Monday, 12/11/17.  I can't wait to see their showcases of learning!

5th Grade-

Fifth graders spent the week learning about finding percents, parts of a whole and whole amounts when given different variables.  We started the week just giving the problems a try, but they quickly figured out we needed a formula!  We learned all about setting up ratios as a proportional relationship, and were able to solve lots of problems using the formula soon after.  We ended the week by applying our learning about proportions to problems about eating at a restaurant using a coupon and paying tax, and a pizza delivery fee increase.  We've had a great week of learning! 

ELA Enrichment & ISP:

1st Grade- 

First graders started the week with some Math practice.  We played a dice game where we added the numbers we rolled, then completed a snowman color by number with our answers.  We read the book The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle and learned some fun things about crickets!  We wrote about our learning, labeled the parts of a cricket and made a puzzle from a cricket picture.  It's been a busy, but fun, week!  

2nd Grade-

We have been building, building, building this week! Several students have completed their room projects and are excited to share them in January. We were also super excited to have some surprise visitors outside our window on Wednesday. We had the pleasure of taking a moment to observe 4 Blue Jays in the tree outside. There was conversation about how they looked, what they were doing, and why they might have all been there at once. We snapped a somewhat fuzzy picture of one of them before they headed off. It is always fun to be able to learn from the world around us!

3rd Grade-

We are eagerly awaiting our holiday cards from the exchange and are ready to study where they have come from. In the meantime, students have been hard at work building their houses to meet the goal of displaying them in January at STEAM night!

4th Grade-

In fourth grade, we have been busy building houses. Many students are almost done and will be ready to work on some technological aspects to our projects. They are looking forward to showing off their work in January!

5th Grade-

Fifth grade is hard at work finalizing the planning for their model sets and scripts. We worked on character identification and began developing their role in our scripts.

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Important Dates:

12/12    6:15 Singing Stars Caroling

12/13    8:00 3rd Grade December Around the World               performance for families
12/21    Sweater Spirit Day and class holiday parties
12/25-1/8 Winter Break
1/9      Students back to school

News for 11/27

What a great week we have had! It has been great to be back and see everyone. The students have been hard at work and having fun!

Announcement: 
Please join us for our Fall Open House on December 12th from 3-4pm. This is a student-led fall showcase for all current TAG students. Please bring your student with you when you come. They will be your tour guide and will be sharing their work with you. This is a come and go event. We hope to see you there!

REMINDER: The window to refer students for TAG testing and submit all paperwork closes at 4:00pm on Friday, December 8th. 

Math:

3rd Grade- 

Third grade has begun working on their division unit. We have been working on learning different strategies for dividing multi-digit dividends by single and double digit divisors. They have been working on solving problems using the standard algorithm, area model, and strip diagram models. It has been a lot of fun to work with problems in a variety of ways.

4th Grade-

4th graders have been exploring multiplying fractions this week. We practiced our skills by creating holiday cards for a unique card exchange across the world.  Students used stars on their cards, and depicted a problem multiplying a whole number and a fraction with their stars.  We wrapped up the week by creating a shopping list for a huge holiday baking project.  We had nine recipes and students had to calculate how much of each ingredient was needed for multiple batches of each recipe.  We had fun, and their brains worked hard!

5th Grade-

5th graders have spent the week studying ration, rates and unit rates.  We created holiday cards for a card exchange our TAG students are participating in.  Students created cards that used stars and showed a ratio relationship with their stars.  Some of them got really creative and measured the sizes of stars down to the millimeter to show a perfect ratio!

We spent some time on rates and discussed real life examples- miles per gallon, points in basketball games, and price per box of cereal to name a few.  We dug deeper with unit rates and had a whole lesson using candy!  Students had a great time finding the total number of candies in one box, and then finding ratios and percentages of each color and the unit rate for one piece of candy.  We ranked the candies from the best unit rate to the worst. Check out our posters in the hall outside Mrs. Hamilton's room!  

ELA Enrichment & ISP:

**ISP supply note...the students have been creating materials lists for their ISP projects in class. Please know that we will be using found objects as much as possible. The students are not expected to purchase special supplies for these projects. 

1st Grade- 

1st graders had a great week studying the book Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle.  We read the book several times, and loved seeing the unique clear overlay pages to enhance the illustrations!  Students colored and cut out seahorses using the unique color collage style of Eric Carle and added yarn fins to their creations.  They turned out great!

2nd Grade-

Second grade participated in a holiday card exchange program that our TAG classes are a part of. We are sending out 29 holiday cards and will be receiving 29 cards back. We are excited to use our received cards for some fun math activities! 
The students have also been hard at work completing the typing of their ISP essays this week.

3rd Grade-

Third grade also participated in a holiday card exchange program that our TAG classes are a part of. We are sending out 29 holiday cards and will be receiving 29 cards back. We are excited to use our received cards for some fun math connections to place value, addition, subtraction, and division!
The students have also been hard at work completing the building of  their ISP projects. They are getting closer to completion!

4th Grade-

ISP has been the theme of our time this week. We have been working hard to compete our houses for the January STEAM night. The students are excited to show off their hard work!

5th Grade-

Fifth grade has begun planning and developing their TV script ideas for their novel study. We have been brainstorming ideas for scenes and will start working on scripts soon. They have also been working on their "Think Tank Thursday" Environmental projects. They are looking forward to sharing knowledge with the other students in school.

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Important Dates:

12/7     6:30 Singing Stars Concert

12/12    6:15 Singing Stars Caroling
12/13    8:00 3rd Grade December Around the World               performance for families
12/21    Sweater Spirit Day
12/25-1/8 Winter Break
1/9      Students back to school

News for 11/13

Happy Thanksgiving!
We are thankful for all of our amazing TAG students and families. We hope you have a wonderful week!

Announcement: 

The TAG Referral window for students not currently in the TAG program is now open. The link to refer students for testing for the TAG program is available on the CCE website under the "What's Happening" section. The window to refer students and submit all paperwork closes at 4:00pm on Friday, December 8th. 

Math:

3rd Grade- 

Third grade has been practicing their multiplication strategies in many forms. We are working on a multiplication tessellation project that connects to problem solving and strategy use. This is an Art+Math project inspired by the geometric style of artist Paul Klee. The students are having a great time being creative with math. We also began talking about divisibility rules this week. We will continue with exploring various division strategies when we return from Thanksgiving break.

4th Grade-

4th graders wrapped up unit 4 this week by practicing adding and subtracting fractions.  We used fraction circles to model problems, solved some practice problems on task cards set up around the classroom, and even squeezed in some creative coloring with a puzzle sheet of practice problems.  We ended the week by taking our DCA test over units 3 and 4.  Results will be available in Home Access Center after the Thanksgiving break.

5th Grade-

5th graders wrapped up unit 4 by practicing adding and subtracting positive and negative integers.  We started the week by making a fortune teller with all the rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing integers.  We also practiced our skills by completing problems on a number line, word problems and changing subtraction to adding in 4 stations.  We ended the week taking our DCA over Unit 3.  Results will be available in  Home Access Center after the Thanksgiving break.

ELA Enrichment & ISP:

**ISP supply note...the students have been creating materials lists for their ISP projects in class. Please know that we will be using found objects as much as possible. The students are not expected to purchase special supplies for these projects. 

1st Grade- 

We spent this week making some cute turkeys that showed off our math skills!  Students chose a number between 11 and 50, and showed 6 representations of the number on the feathers of a turkey.  There were so many creative ways to show the numbers!

2nd Grade-

Second grade has been hard at work creating number sense turkeys. The students selected a number between 75-125 and worked to show six different ways to represent their number. We also continued building our rooms and worked on typing our essays. It's been a busy week!

3rd Grade-

Students are blazing through their novel study of "Rump". They just can't put it down! They are refining their summarization skills and are able to identify important information from text. They are also making great progress on their ISP house projects. They are really starting to come together!

4th Grade-

Some students have solved the mystery and have "Escaped from Mr. Lemoncello's Library"! They are now working on their player cards for our card tournament. We are also incorporating technology by creating book trailers in iMovie so that we can share the excitement and encourage others to explore this awesome book! 

In ISP, the students are hard at work building their houses. They have made great progress and are on their way to some pretty cool things!

5th Grade-

This week 5th grade spent time digging into their novel study of the "Mysterious Benedict Society". They are loving the book. It's a real page turner! We also began to discuss our project for this novel. We will be creating a TV show script and model set for a scene from the book. It will be so much fun to bring this book to life!

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Important Dates:

11/20-24 Thanksgiving Break

11/30    4th Grade Coffee House Poetry Begins
         8am Picture Make-up Day
         Author Visit- Chris Barton 
12/7     6:30 Singing Stars Concert
12/12    6:15 Singing Stars Caroling
12/13    8:00 3rd Grade December Around the World               performance for families
12/21    Sweater Spirit Day
12/25-1/8 Winter Break
1/9      Students back to school

News for 11/6

November is flying by. We are learning a lot and having fun too. We are excited to continue working on our projects as well as begin new ones. Check out what we've been up to below.

Announcement: 

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Our Annual Thanksgiving Day Feast is Wednesday, November 15th during your child’s regular lunch time. We love to have family members join us! Please complete this quick google form so we know how many people to plan for. Thank you!

Click here to reserve your place

Math:

3rd Grade- 

We have been busy exploring multiplication and division this week. The students have been practicing solving multi-digit multiplication using different strategies. They worked to create a mystery multiples hidden picture using their knowledge of factors and multiples. We will continue to explore multiplication and division for the next two weeks.

4th Grade-

We've spent the week exploring fractions.  We've used fraction circles as models to make equivalent fractions, and compare fractions.  We played the game "Uncover" with our circles and also did a partner activity to explore equivalent fractions.  The students had the opportunity to race each other to make fractions that were less than, more than and equivalent to one fraction, and then traded to check each other's work.  It was a great lesson in working together and being held accountable to each other!  We ended the week by adding fractions with Cuisenaire Rods- a fun way to explore this skill! 

5th Grade-

With 5th graders visiting the RoboLab with their homerooms, we've had a week of small classes in TAG.  Students have spent the week showing off their skills with the four operations and decimals.  They created a checkbook project for one month of expenses and earnings, complete with a real checkbook register and making the mistake of overdrawing their accounts.  Students have really gotten into the project, and have been so creative in the ways they are earning and spending their money!

ELA Enrichment & ISP:

**ISP supply note...the students have been creating materials lists for their ISP projects in class. Please know that we will be using found objects as much as possible. The students are not expected to purchase special supplies for these projects. 

1st Grade- 

We started the week with some turkey math cards to practice addition using part-part-whole.  The cards were set around the room, so we had fun moving around to solve the problems.  We also read Little Cloud by Eric Carle.  We made our own clouds using blots of white paint on blue paper and wrote about the shapes we made.  It was a great activity to stretch our minds to think about one thing looking like something else!

2nd Grade-

Second grade enjoyed problem solving with Splat images. They had to determine the hidden quantity based on the information they were given. They have also begun building their ISP room projects. We are super excited to share these at the campus STEAM night in January.

3rd Grade-

Third grade is hard at work building their ISP project houses that will be displayed at STEAM night in January. They are also enjoying moving further along in their novel "Rump". 

4th Grade-

Building is everywhere! Fourth graders are working hard on their ISP house projects and excited to show off their ideas. They have also begun to finalize the rules for their game based on the novel study "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library". 

5th Grade-

Think Tank Thursday is well under way and the students are excited to showcase their learning. They are also enjoying their novel study of "The Mysterious Benedict Society". They just can't put it down!

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Important Dates:

11/13-17 Book Fair in Library

11/14    Progress Reports go home
11/15    Thanksgiving meal during lunch times
11/17    8am Kinder Turkey Tango Performance 
11/20-24 Thanksgiving Break
11/30    4th Grade Coffee House Poetry Begins
         8am Picture Make-up Day

News for 10/30

Happy November! We are full steam ahead in TAG. It has been another great week of learning!

Announcement: 
TAG Referral Parent Information Night
Canyon Creek will be hosting TAG Referral Information Night for families interested in referring their students for TAG testing. This night is designed for families of students not currently enrolled in the TAG program but are interested in testing. Please join us in the library on November 8th from 6:00-7:00pm for more information about how to complete the referral process. 

Math:

3rd Grade- 

Third grade completed their unit exploring Patterns in Input/Output Tables. The students worked to prove and disprove problems and explain their answers. They also practiced creating the numerical expression to solve the pattern in the table. Next week we will begin our unit study of Multiplication and Division. 

4th Grade-

We have spent the week wrapping up Unit 3 by studying patterns, expressions, and plotting points in the first quadrant of the coordinate grid.  Students created shields on the coordinate grid using ordered pairs, then personalized them to their liking.  Check Seesaw for your child's project! Students also practiced some problems using tables and ordered pairs in small groups.  Each group had to choose the same answer choice (A,B,C or D) for each problem, and tell the class whether it was right or wrong.  It was interesting to watch them slow down and have to think about what made some answers incorrect!  

5th Grade-

We have spent the week plotting points in all four quadrants of the coordinate grid, and multiplying and dividing fractions.  Students created their name in block letters on a grid, then recorded the ordered pairs for their project.  A partner had to recreate the original name using the list of ordered pairs.  It was so fun to watch the kids light up as their partner actually recreated their projects!  They are up in the hall outside Mrs. Hamilton's room- check them out if you're around!

We wrapped up the week with some time spent on multiplying and dividing fractions.  Through our various activities, we focused on explaining why we choose certain strategies and how they work.  Their logic and reasoning skills really shined in all of this!

ELA Enrichment & ISP:

**ISP supply note...the students have been creating materials lists for their ISP projects in class. Please know that we will be using found objects as much as possible. The students are not expected to purchase special supplies for these projects. 

1st Grade- 

We started the week off with some pumpkin number matching cards and activities with the numbers 1-20.  We also finished up our study of A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle with a sequencing/sorting activity that will go in our Eric Carle books.  We finished the week today by reading I'm Gonna Like Me  by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell, followed by a discussion about what we love about ourselves and learning to be kind to ourselves about some of the things that might make us different from others.  It's been a great week!

2nd Grade-

Second grade completed their words of wisdom fish from their study of the book "Only One You". They were charged with the task of creating a meaningful saying to inspire others to make the world a better place. We created a display outside our door in the hall. They are also hard at work typing final versions of their ISP research essays.

3rd Grade-

Third grade had a great time playing a Kahoot review game of the chapters we have read so far in our novel "Rump". They are working on chapter summaries as well. For ISP, students have began building and the projects look great!

4th Grade-

Fourth grade is deep into their novel study of "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library". They have begun to develop their card game and are working hard to solve the puzzle the characters are facing in the novel. In ISP, many students are hard at work building their projects. It has been awesome to see their ideas become reality.

5th Grade-

Fifth grade has dove into their novel study of "The Mysterious Benedict Society". They are eager to learn about the adventure the four gifted characters will experience. We have begun a character study of the characters we have met so far and are creating a character gallery that depicts their traits. 

We have also implemented "Think Tank Thursday". The fifth grade students have selected a topic of interest, the Environment, that they will research. They have been given the opportunity to research a particular aspect of the topic and select a way of presenting and educating others. The project methods range from creating a picture book to writing a small screen play to designing a digital game. Their creative and academic abilities are shining through. We can't wait to share what they are producing!

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Important Dates:

11/7     6pm PTA Meeting & 5th Grade Music Performance

11/8     6pm TAG Referral Parent Information Meeting             (for new program referrals)
11/10    8am Veteran's Day Assembly
11/13-17 Book Fair in Library
11/14    Progress Reports go home
11/15    Thanksgiving meal during lunch times
11/17    8am Kinder Turkey Tango Performance 
11/20-24 Thanksgiving Break
11/30    4th Grade Coffee House Poetry Begins
         8am Picture Make-up Day