Curriculum Talking Points

For the Week ending 10/8/10

Kindergarten:

• LANGUAGE ARTS: Students continued with letter/sound and reading assessments, and were introduced to the object box. The class talked about adjectives and ways of describing people, places, and things, noting how they can be different or the same. Students began writing in their journals with the first entry: “Over the weekend I…” The class continued with Book Buddies and read-alouds, and began accepting sign-ups for the guest reader activity.

 

• MATH: Students were introduced to Attribute Blocks and talked about ways of describing objects by size, shape, color, feel, etc. The class talked about comparing and matching up objects based on their attributes, and reinforced the attributes unit with a lesson on describing and sorting buttons. Students were introduced to geometric solids, learning different ways of sorting and grouping them. The class also did a unit on making an Attendance Stick, using Unifix Cubes to represent and count students in the class.

• SOCIAL STUDIES: Students began their “All About Me” projects by making All About Me folders and self-portraits. The class read Apples and How They Grow, and learned about directions (north, south, east, and west). Students traced fall leaves for the classroom tree, cutting them and using watercolors to paint them.

 

• ART: The class completed a unit on primary colors by using acrylic paint and oil pastels. Students made pictures using thumbprints and fingerprints.

• LIBRARY: In addition to learning book-handling skills and practicing with their shelf markers, students listened to Tom Thumb as retold by Richard Jesse Watson.

 

• MUSIC: The class learned a new song in minor tonality called “Fireman, Fireman.” Students refined their rhythmic passing game, and practiced audiation by “silently singing” a phrase in their partner-dance song.

• PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Students used playground balls to practice skills such as throwing, catching, visual tracking, accuracy, and control with both their right and left hands.

 

• RELIGION: (This refers to the elective religious education that is provided upon request to Catholic families.) Students gave praise and thanks to God for how wonderfully he made each and every one of us.

• SCIENCE: The class reviewed the five senses and how we use them. Students felt objects hidden in touch boxes, guessing what those objects were without looking. They observed other objects with magnifying glasses and illustrated the details they saw on a piece of paper.

 

• YOGA: After beginning with the om and namaste songs, students walked mindfully into the love and peace circle where they learned a sequence of yoga postures. The class played a yoga freeze game, freezing in these various new postures.

 

Lower Level:

• LANGUAGE ARTS: Students studied the elements of a story and wrote their own Halloween stories. The class continued learning about the steps of the writing process. So far they have learned how to plan, write, revise, and check their work. Continuing their study of phonics, students learned how letters are formed, the sounds of letters, and sight words.

 

• MATH: First graders practiced ordering numbers from least to greatest, comparing quantities, connecting number names with written numbers and the quantities they represent, and recording a solution to a problem. Second graders reviewed the 100s board, strategies for counting accurately, manipulating equations to represent a number, and coins.

• ART: The class completed unit on Pablo Picasso by drawing simple faces with bright colors, and making a face in the cubism style.

 

• COMPUTER: The class began a story-writing project for Halloween. Students will illustrate and type out their stories in KidPix Deluxe 3X.

• LIBRARY: The class is working on Fairy Tales throughout October and began a comparison of two versions of Wiley and the Hairy Man, as retold by Molly Bang and Judy Sierra.

 

• MUSIC: First Graders were introduced to rests, and began reading and composing four and eight beat patterns using quarter notes, eighth notes and rests on felt manipulatives. Students also learned the Hebrew round, “Hinei Ma Tov” (“Oh how good it is for us to be here together”). Second Graders reviewed so, mi and la, using dance, games and worksheets. Students learned a canon, “Leaves Are Falling.”

• PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Students played a variety of games to help them determine right from left and to improve body and spatial awareness. The class was introduced to the musical genre of Rockabilly.

 

• RELIGION: (This refers to the elective religious education that is provided upon request to Catholic families.) First graders heard the story of St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, which teaches us to make peace with our enemies, and they heard the story of St. Francis and the birds, which teaches us to praise and thank God. Second graders learned that sacraments are signs of holiness. They talked about baptism and learned the reasons for holy water, holy oil, the white garment and the baptismal candle in that sacrament.

• SCIENCE: After selecting a dinosaur from a bin filled with pictures of various dinosaur species, students consulted the giant, fifteen-foot long dinosaur timeline on the classroom wall to help them figure out where to appropriately place the dinosaurs on their own dinosaur timelines.

 

• SPANISH: Students continued learning the Spanish alphabet through song and interactive games. The class covered letters A-Z, and students are in the final stages of finishing their class alphabet booklet.

• YOGA: After beginning with the om and namaste songs, students walked mindfully into the love and peace circle where they learned a sequence of yoga postures. The class played a yoga freeze game, freezing in these various new postures.

 

Middle Level:

• LANGUAGE ARTS: The class worked on some fundamental phonics concepts:  all sounds vs. ill and ell sounds; th blends; ed suffixes with the id, duh, t, sounds; r controlled vowels and syllables. Students also added to their writer’s notebooks with many different prompts. One in particular was re-watching a five-minute clip from “Life of Mammals” about marmots in the alpine region. Students wrote a story about the “characters” and described the scene using details from the movie. The class continued read-alouds of Poppy and Poppy’s Return––Ereth and Poppy are involved in important adventures!

 

• MATH: Third graders rotated through work stations set up around the classroom, exploring such concepts as: finding alternative addition combinations to reach a single sum, adding money and making change, and using number lines to show addition and subtraction work. Fourth graders worked at stations to boost their understanding of factors and multiples. They played Multiple Turn Over, Factor Pairs, and practiced multiplication math facts.

• SOCIAL STUDIES: Students learned about continents, the Fertile Crescent, Pangea, and the earliest human migration patterns.

 

• ART: Students learned the term en plein air, French for “in open air.” In preparation for the fishing trip and the upcoming High Line trip, the class talked about how working outdoors as an artist is different from working in a studio. Students saw work of Cezanne, Hartley, and others who worked en plein air.

• LATIN: Fourth graders took a quiz and began a new vocabulary unit.

 

• LIBRARY: The class is working on Fairy Tales throughout October and began a comparison of two versions of Wiley and the Hairy Man, as retold by Molly Bang and Judy Sierra.

• MUSIC: Third graders began “Three to Get Ready,” a packet designed to teach and reinforce sight-reading on the recorder. Using “Three to Get Ready,” students learned the traditional names to rhythms they have been speaking in music class for years, such as half notes, dotted half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes. It also helped them reinforce their understanding of meter and time signature. Fourth graders learned a 400-year-old canon, “Three Blind Mice,” using voice and barred instruments. Students also continued learning about the development of the first music staff 1000 years ago.

 

• PHYSICAL EDUCATION: The class wrapped up its soccer unit with a series of games. Students demonstrated solid team play and an array of improved skills, including goaltending, throw-ins, long balls, and trapping and passing the ball with both feet. In fitness work, students worked on endurance runs as a build up to the mile run. Students learned proper running stride, and how to pace themselves.

• RELIGION: (This refers to the elective religious education that is provided upon request to Catholic families.) Third graders talked about how St. Francis learned from Matthew 10:9-13 that he should live a simple life and spread peace wherever he went. Fourth graders met on the Feast of St. Francis and heard about his life.

 

• SCIENCE: Students presented their posters to the class about the native species in the Caedmon aquarium. The class read an article about invasive species and how they threaten native wildlife around the world.

• SPANISH: Students continued reviewing the Spanish alphabet and completed a formal assessment of alphabet letters A-M.

 

• YOGA: Third graders learned and practiced the Sun Salute. Twelve yoga postures that flow together, the Sun Salute builds endurance, flexibility and concentration. The theme of yoga partner work was a bridge.

 

Upper Level:

• LANGUAGE ARTS: Students continued drafting their essays on literary themes and dissected the structure of a paragraph. They also began outlining the their latest essay on junk food.

 

• MATH: With various math games and puzzles, students worked to improve their conceptual understanding of fractions and percentages.

• SOCIAL STUDIES: Students identified key questions to ask when researching ancient history. The wide range of questions addressed culture, ethnicity, daily life, education, government and beliefs. Students also began creating their own interpretations of the geography of ancient Mesopotamia.

 

• ART: Students finished their sketchbook cover pages and glued them onto their sketchbooks. The class began a discussion of what art is and why it’s made. As part of that discussion, students looked at a few Egyptian pieces.

• LATIN: Students took a quiz on last week’s vocabulary, and in addition to starting a new vocabulary unit, devoted some time to studying the parts of speech. The class looked at Roman mythology, comparing the Roman gods to their Greek counterparts, and learning a few myths. This will be an important class topic for the next few weeks.

 

• MUSIC: Students continued learning a number of canons, including “Freedom Train” and the 400-year-old “Three Blind Mice.” Students also learned about the development of the first music staff 1000 years ago.

• PHYSICAL EDUCATION: The class wrapped up its soccer unit with a series of games. Students demonstrated solid team play and an array of improved skills, including goaltending, throw-ins, long balls, and trapping and passing the ball with both feet. In fitness work, students worked on endurance runs as a build up to the mile run. Students learned proper running stride, and how to pace themselves.

 

• RELIGION: (This refers to the elective religious education that is provided upon request to Catholic families.) Students read the Gospel for this coming Sunday (Luke 17:11-19) and discussed being grateful for God’s healing and grace.

• SCIENCE: Students received all the necessary materials to begin fundraising for the Caedmon Water Walk. The class learned about where water in NYC comes from by mapping the location of reservoirs using Google Earth. Students were asked to locate each reservoir and measure its distance from the city. 

 

• SPANISH: Students completed their formal assessment on alphabet letters A-Z and began a new unit on greetings, feelings, and farewells.