February 23, 2001

 

Dear Parents and Friends,

 

We have had a busy few weeks.  Everyone is ready for vacation !

 

Jack McDermott volunteered to come talk to our class about electricity.  He gave a wonderful presentation and immediately caught and kept the group’s attention with his demonstrations and stories.  The students gained a better understanding of how a battery works when Mr. McDermott made an analogy to a soda can and the effect shaking has upon it.  He also brought in battery testers, a solar panel, and computer chips.  Students listened carefully and caught some contradictions between some of the material presented in class and some of the material Mr. McDermott presented.  This was very useful because it made students think about just what the correct answer might be and not to trust every source just because it appears to be “official.”  Many thanks to Mr. McDermott for sharing his knowledge with us and for explaining the reasons behind some of the contradictions.

 

As our study of electric circuits ends, students have been in the process of designing a circuit for a flashlight and then constructing the flashlight.  Clearly, everyone understood how to make the proper circuit since all the flashlights lit up.

 

Everyone has completed at least one book for their independent reading as well as individual reading packets.  Students appreciated the opportunity to read books of particular interest to them.

 

One recent writing prompt resulted in some letters which were sent to President Bush.  Students read their weekly “Time For Kids” which included letters about important issues other children around the country had written.  Students were then asked to write to someone about an issue of particular significance.  Hopefully, students will receive responses.

 

Our Investigations units in geometry provided students with a conceptual understanding of this area in math.  The lessons helped develop each student’s visual/spatial sense.  Our focus on math facts is ongoing.  Please encourage your child to keep reviewing them, particularly multiplication facts.