Second Grade: Prepping for Pretzel Day!

Recently in math, the second graders have been exploring money. We began the process by taking a closer look at each of the different coins and challenging ourselves to see if we can correctly identify each coin. We have noticed that each coin gives us clues to help with this process.

We learned that the penny is worth one cent. We know that Abraham Lincoln is on the front of the penny and is facing right. The Lincoln Memorial is on the back and the penny is the only copper coin. 

We know the nickel is worth five cents. We also know Thomas Jefferson is on the front of nickel and the White House is on the back. The nickel is silver. 

We know that the dime is the smallest size coin, is silver and is worth ten cents. Franklin D. Roosevelt is on the front and a torch with an olive branch and oak tree branch is on the back.   

We know that the quarter is the largest size coin out of the four that we are studying. It is worth 25 cents and is silver. The front of the quarter is always George Washington facing the left. There are also many different images on the back, one of which is the eagle. 

One activity that second grade participated in was to see the different ways we could make 75 cents. The quickest combination was to use 3 quarters. This uses the fewest coins. We also discovered that using 75 pennies uses the most coins and would be the most "annoying, time consuming and overwhelming way to pay for one pretzel.  

We also learned that if you are buying...

 2 pretzels  will cost $1.50

3 pretzels will cost $2.25

4 pretzels will cost $3.00

5 pretzels will cost $3.75

Some advice we have for the third graders when selling pretzels would be:

"Make sure you have a lot of pretzels to sell."

"If you have dimes remember to count by tens."

"Always start by counting the larger amount coins first."

"If you are unsure of the coin flip it over and see if you can identify it from the back."

" If you receive a dollar the person's change will always be 25 cents."

( This blog was written by the second graders who are excitedly awaiting pretzel day!)

Let There Be Mold!

We made it to Mold Symposium!

On Wednesday, January 23rd our fourth grade students traveled to Plymouth Meeting Friends School to present all of the moldy facts they had been learning about in science class for the past month and a half.

Our adventure began outside with a walk around campus. We searched for as many kinds of fungi we could find. We then used the iNaturalist app on the iPads to identify them.

In science class we learned about the steps of the Scientific Method and practiced applying them by questioning whether different types of bread in different locations around the classroom would grow mold. The students concluded that bread that is moist and kept in places with limited sunlight grows more mold than bread that is dry and kept in places with extreme sunlight.

Once the students felt well-versed in their knowledge about mold, they set out to choose food items they wanted to use to study for five weeks and report about at Mold Symposium. The students came up with wonderful ideas and brought in items such blue cheese (the stinkiest project), cheddar cheese, strawberries (the moldiest project), apples, tortilla chips (the project with the least amount of mold or none at all for that matter) and more. We took pictures as we proceeded through the process. The students experienced many mixed emotions such as surprise, excitement, disgust, and disappointment. 

 Consumed by nervous energy yet excited to enter the final phase, the students presented their work. After debriefing about the Mold Symposium, I found that students loved the experience. Many students said they enjoyed meeting and playing with peers from the other schools, they enjoyed feeling successful after standing in front of groups of unfamiliar people and sharing the information from their display boards that they had worked so hard to create. The best part about the experience was the fun they had singing and dancing to the song they created entitled "Don't Touch It!"

Everything Panda in Third Grade

Third graders are immersed in the study of pandas. Research happens in a variety of ways. Students watch videos of pandas from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and take notes in their panda research journal. Some of the observations include noticing how panda cubs play with each other and communicate and how often the pandas eat bamboo. They also note the part of the bamboo plant that pandas prefer. The following is a link to a video from Chengdu. Chengdu Research Base-Panda video and another video from the National Geographic Site about the Giant Panda Breeding Center https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/0000015f-302f-d805-a95f-ba7ffd630000?source=searchvideo

Books and articles are also a way that third grade students are locating information about pandas. Students have learned to use the contents page, index, glossary, headings and pictures to find the parts of the book that will answer the questions that students have about pandas. They discuss their findings in small groups and then record information in their own words in a journal and a packet about pandas that is divided into categories that include: diet, habitat, body, bamboo, life cycle and conservation. 

Empathy Obstacle Course

In first grade, we introduce a "Word of the Week" at the start of each week.  The words are intended to help the students focus on and develop positive attitudes and behaviors.  'Empathy' was one of our recent words and we actually spent two weeks on it since its true meaning was tricky for the students to grasp.  Many believed it to mean helpful or flexible instead of understanding the feelings, thoughts or experiences of another.

On Friday, Charity, Andrea and Kathy guided the students through an obstacle course to help make the meaning more clear.  This was a brand new, untried activity and we wondered how it would go.

There were five stations that partner teams visited for 6 - 7 minutes each.  Each station had the students experiencing the ways others live their lives or how they thought about others' experiences.  At each station, both partners had a turn to experience the two parts of the activity that was set up before moving to the next station.  At the blue station, one partner was blindfolded and had to make their way across the rug while their partner gave them only verbal directions to avoid obstacles in their path.

The green station posed two school scenarios that the students had to think about and answer questions about feelings and actions.  Next, at the yellow station, the students had to hold one arm behind their back and remove a stack of books to the floor with the other arm and then sit down and complete a writing activity still with only the one arm.  Then the books had to be returned to the table as they found them.

The purple station asked them to differentiate between empathy and sympathy and to write their ideas on a poster at that table.

The final station, the red station, had one partner trying to write or solve a math problem while their partner made noises or sang songs to distract them.

Once everyone had completed all the stations we spent time reflecting on what they had learned, what was challenging or not, and how they felt about this activity.  The energy level was extremely high and everyone had lots to share!! Everyone agreed that not being able to see where they were going and following verbal cues was very difficult. If they were told to step up or jump up, they didn't know how high or how big of a step.  Sometimes the directions were not easy to understand.  Using one arm we discovered was much more challenging if you chose to use your non-dominant arm to complete the activities.  One student figured out that if he leaned his chest into the table, he could hold the paper still while he was trying to write.  Removing the books from the table was not as hard as getting them back up.  Writing about sympathy and empathy and the scenarios was"a little hard to do" but one student commented that once they came up with their idea they felt like what they wrote "was really good." The red station was really challenging because the distractors were so good at distracting their partners!!  Although, one student said it was hard for him because his partner "wasn't distracted at all!"

Everyone agreed that these stations made it easier to understand the difficulties that others face, sometimes each and everyday. It also helped them have empathy for two young heroes that we read about who live with physical disabilities and the challenges that they overcame to not only help themselves but to help others around the world.  One student's final remark was, "this is the best social studies class that I have ever had!"  The Empathy Obstacle Course is a keeper!!

Kindergarten Addition Number Stories

Number stories, also called story problems or word problems, illustrate how math is used to solve problems. These stories help students make sense of number relationships by combining literacy and connecting math to real life in a fun way, resulting in the creation of some very imaginative stories.

After teacher modeling of what a number sentence could look like with sea creature manipulatives and an imaginary trip to the beach, the kindergartners were ready to tackle the number story problem head on.

After sharing in the large group some of their own number story ideas, the mathematicians were  ready to practice individual story telling and show there understanding that addition is making the total larger, except, of course, when you add zero to a number!

Each student had a different way to approach the activity. Should I write the number sentence first? Should I draw first? Can I write the story first? With teacher guidance, each student was able to craft a simple and concise story to relay the intended number sentence.

During this math activity, each student practiced fine motor skills by writing numbers and drawing detailed pictures to illustrate their stories. They also practiced using math vocabulary such as addition, adding, total, all together, and sum as they talked with friends and when dictating their number stories to teachers.

The end results were some creative endeavors that showed the kindergarteners beginning understandings of addition of numbers to ten and how numbers can relate to one another.  The pages were compiled into a class number addition story book and individual pages are on display on the hallway bulletin boards. Take a peek when you have a chance!

Lower School Book Club

Join us for our next Lower School Book Club for adults led by Ann Botel-Barnard, our Language Arts Specialist. We are excited to come together to share a love for a great story!

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Location: Lower School Library from 8-9am

Date: February 22, 2019

Enjoy a light breakfast and great conversation as we discuss what we loved about the book, what we had questions about and what we could connect to. Feel free to join us even if you have not read the entire book. You will still have a lot to contribute and the discussion will enhance your reading of the book. You are welcome to bring adult friends and relatives that are also interested in discussing this book. RSVP: abotel-barnard@abingtonfriends.net

Fourth Grade - Sizzle POP Boom!

Students have been exploring various forms of figurative language to make their writing more impactful and fresh. They are delving into comparison with their use of metaphor and simile. They are learning to personify nouns, projecting human qualities to the inanimate objects they are writing about and enjoying adding onomatopoeias to sentences that need to sound particularly real or fun. 

Amidst lessons to strengthen these skills our students have been viewing one-minute film clips in class and then immediately write paragraphs describing the imagery they observed. Their paper is a blank canvas that they are adding color, mood, sound, and scent to. After their initial write, they share out phrases they particularly like and are proud of, or decide to share the entire piece.  The students then receive feedback from one and other. They later go back into their writing finding places to expand their comparisons and descriptions with their added figurative language tool kit.

The students are enjoying the process and are adding their own characters and twists to the clips they have viewed. Although we all watch the same one minute clip it is uncanny how varied and different each students paragraph is.

Kindergarten At The Arden

We all enjoyed a spectacular performance of Charlotte’s Web at the Arden Theater!  We have been reading the chapter book in school and discussing how kindness influences the actions of the characters.  Now we are comparing and contrasting the play and the book, and we also worked on developing our writing skills by creating a page about our favorite part of the play.  Encouraging the love of stories is a big part of our work in kindergarten.

                                            Two of our students got invited to go on stage!

 The children were amazed by how the character Charlotte the spider moved around the stage. Here they are showing her how they can walk just like she did.

We gave  The children an opportunity to strengthen their literacy skills by having them draw a picture of one of their favorite parts of the play.   Then they further developed their writing skills by adding words to their papers .   When academic activities are introduced in the context of something that the children are excited about, deeper learning occurs.