This scientific animation from Space.com is very informative: click here
PLEASE NOTE: There is no current danger from this or any asteroid. This is a trial of the system - 'proof of concept' was the term I heard used.
This morning, we learned about NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, which will be livestreamed starting at 3pm, impact at 4:14pm, on nasa.gov/live.
This scientific animation from Space.com is very informative: click here PLEASE NOTE: There is no current danger from this or any asteroid. This is a trial of the system - 'proof of concept' was the term I heard used. "Blasting off WHERE?" you might be wondering. The first lesson (which is more like a chapter) focuses on the essential question: Where in the world is our community? By "community" we mean Glendale, and by "world" we literally mean planet Earth.
Our introductory activity today led us into geography (the study of Earth—its spaces, land, water, air, and people) by challenging us to write directions and draw a sketch map the would help someone get from Keppel's main entrance up to our classroom. We found it to be a hard task, even though we started by walking the path ourselves, noticing how we walked from the front doors up to room 1321! The "blasting off" starts tomorrow when we will envision ourselves as astronauts aboard a space shuttle (this part of the curriculum was written before the space shuttle program was retired - haha) and we need to get back to our landing spot. Along the way we will learn/review all we need to know about hemispheres, continents, oceans, countries, states, and cities --- even the prime meridian! This lesson opens with a photograph of the International Space Station (ISS) and so we HAD to discuss that! In case you weren't aware you can sign up to receive email or text alerts on your cellphone when the ISS will be clearly visible from your location. Click here to go to NASA's Spot the Station website. There's lots of great information and the sign-up button is on the opening page, on the right. Just know that the reason that we can see the ISS as it travels across the sky is the same reason that we can see the Moon --- both reflect the Sun's light. And, as the Moon is hard to see in daylight, the ISS is impossible to see in daylight. The only way for us to see it is just before sunrise or just after sunset, when our sky is dark to our eyes, but the ISS is high enough above Earth that it is still able to catch the Sun's rays and reflect them back down to us. Check out NASA's website for more information (and a better explanation - haha). We're still following NASA news about the launch of Artemis 1 and I will update you here (and your kiddos in class). i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment - We are making good progress here - a few more kiddos are finishing their second part (math/reading) and once all have completed, I'll send home the Family Report in Thursday folders. That won't happen this week since all are not finished, but next week, for sure. In the meantime, students who are finished testing have been working on the i-Ready lessons of their choice. Starting next week, i-Ready lessons will be an at-home activity. Students who are below grade level (even a bit) in either reading or math will likely benefit from 45 minutes of i-Ready lessons each week. I'll send more information about how i-Ready might benefit your child when I sent their results. Third Grade Skills - Here are a few things your child should already be able to do independently (without assistance):
We are coping pretty well here in 1321, all things considered. True, the power outage at the end of lunch recess was not ideal, but we didn't actually notice it right away as we were "recessing" in the classroom with the lights off (we get a lot of daylight streaming through our south-facing windows, even with the blinds). But after a few minutes, we could feel that the air-conditioning had shut off. We were glad the outage was only a half hour.
Please continue to send a water bottle and brimmed hat - kids are outside for morning snack recess (9:30-9:45am), though they can remain under the lunch patio, if desired. And kids are no longer waiting in line to come up to the classroom. They earned the privilege of walking themselves up after morning recess and lunch by doing a REALLY good job all last week. Math homework from the enVision Math book is coming home today for the first time. This is a page that is very much like what we worked on in class today. I told students, and you will note on the HW webpage, that this page will NOT be returned to school. Students ARE to complete it, with the following caveats:
I am currently kicking myself because I left school earlier than planned (family in town at the last minute and only for the afternoon) and I left my notes for this post on my desk at school. I'm sure there will be something I intended to include that I will forget - apologies.
Artemis 1 might launch tomorrow morning (Saturday). The new window for launch opens at 11:17am PDT. Here is the short news story about possible launch. If you want to watch, you can log onto nasa.gov/live to watch on your computer. Illness prevented us from starting our Theatre class this week, but we will definitely get in all ten lessons. I'll let you know when we're getting started. Writers have been pushing themselves to write small moment stories from their lives. I am pleading with you NOT to critique these early attempts in their notebooks. Most kids have not written this way before and, as I said yesterday, this is tough! I promise that we will get to writing conventions (spelling, punctuation, capitalization) but first we need to have something to edit. And before that, we need to have something to revise. So right now, we just need LOTS of small moment stories collected in our black writing notebooks so that we have something to choose from. Your budding writer should have brought home their writing NB today. Why? Because writers never know when they might have a moment they want to capture in their notebook! (If you are having a deja vu moment, you might be recalling that I send home "just right" reading books over the weekend in the same way . . . "You never know when you might want read and it would be sad if you wanted to read but didn't have your book.") We will be starting a Social-Emotional Learning Workshop. These whole-class lessons will address non-academic areas that, in fact, have a big impact on students' academic progress, including social relationships, self management, and responsible decision making. Our counseling staff will be leading these monthly lessons. Please check your email for more detailed information. A few housekeeping matters:
The ability to write well is an important life skill. As you've read in my back-to-school materials, I've had the opportunity of studying the teaching of reading and writing under one of the greats: Dr Lucy Calkins, Teachers College, Columbia University.
When it comes to writing, it really is true that one gets better at writing the more that one writes. To that end, I aim for writing daily (there's rarely a week that we manage to get five days of writing in at school, but it's still my goal). Not every third grader starts the year loving writing. In fact, not many do! But I always begin with personal narrative, which means that students are writing the true stories of their lives. We start by writing what we know and learning various writerly moves as we go. Many students (and their parents!) are pleasantly surprised to find that they are enjoying writing, once they get going. Please encourage your child's efforts and do not be overly critical. These are just first tries at writing and it's tough! Right now, our emphasis is on getting as much of the story on the page as we can. Elaboration, revision, and editing come later. i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment - A few students have finished one section (reading or math) and have begun the second. I expect that most students will have finished one section by tomorrow. (Our assessment block was cut short by school pictures this morning.) Please do not worry if your child reports that they have not finished a section. Better that they do their best than that they finish early by rushing and making careless mistakes. We've got our first field trip on the calendar: Warrior Queen: Anahit the Brave. I'll wait to send home the permission slip until October, but (for you planning purposes) we will attend this play at The Colony Theatre in Burbank on Tuesday, November 15. It's a morning performance and we will arrive back at Keppel in time for lunch. We don't know yet what we will be receiving from PTA in terms of field trip bus funds, so we are collecting the total cost this trip: $20 per person. We will definitely be going on more field trips this year so we will use those funds another time. . . . which gives me the opportunity to make a plug for joining our wonderful Keppel PTA! It really is the best bargain in town at $10 per membership. Our goal is to get every family to purchase at least one membership. |
AuthorDebbie Bamberger is thrilled to be a part of the Keppel team and honored to share this year with twenty-six amazing children. Archives
May 2024
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