Kids And Company-Together For Safety

On Friday morning, we had our first Kids and Company lesson with Mrs. McIllvaine. The 2nd grade curriculum reviews concepts and strategies taught and practiced in first grade. The children reviewed how to use a telephone. Please review with you child the phones available in your house. We discussed the difference between a landline and cellphone. Then, the children reviewed scenarios and determined which would require a 911 call and which would be taken care of by a phone call to a trusted adult. Please check to see if your child knows his/her address and where phone numbers are posted. The children are bringing home a sheet to record important numbers.

OPEN HOUSE- Wednesday April 13th

Open House

We hope that all current Cutler families will be able to join us on Wednesday, April 13 between 5-7pm for our annual Open House. This evening time is set aside to depict 'Your Student's Day at Cutler School'. Your child will be able to share important parts of his or her school day with you. In most classrooms, students serve as tour guides, leading their families through learning activities that are essential to their everyday routines. They will be proud to share different types of journals, show ongoing projects, and demonstrate math and science activities. We aim to make this a demonstration of a typical day, so we refrain from too much emphasis on finished projects, but rather, highlight the ongoing tools that are used for learning each day. This is a great opportunity to visit with your child's current teacher and to see the changes and growth in the classroom over the course of the year. Families are welcome to come to their child's classroom any time during the two hour window. Looking forward to seeing you then!

Composing And Decomposing Numbers

We are learning how to represent numbers in a variety of formats. We are thinking about how to use our understanding of tens and ones to help us solve a problem involving composing and decomposing.

There are 43 pizzas. 28 are small. How many are large?

We are not using the standard algorithm but are using manipulative (base 10 blocks), visual diagrams and expanded notation to help us solve these problems.

This work supported the following:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.NBT.B.7
Add and subtract within 1000, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method. Understand that in adding or subtracting three-digit numbers, one adds or subtracts hundreds and hundreds, tens and tens, ones and ones; and sometimes it is necessary to compose or decompose tens or hundreds.

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

Mathematically proficient students understand and use stated assumptions, definitions, and previously established results in constructing arguments. They make conjectures and build a logical progression of statements to explore the truth of their conjectures. They are able to analyze situations by breaking them into cases, and can recognize and use counterexamples. They justify their conclusions, communicate them to others, and respond to the arguments of others. They reason inductively about data, making plausible arguments that take into account the context from which the data arose. Mathematically proficient students are also able to compare the effectiveness of two plausible arguments, distinguish correct logic or reasoning from that which is flawed, and—if there is a flaw in an argument—explain what it is. Elementary students can construct arguments using concrete referents such as objects, drawings, diagrams, and actions. Such arguments can make sense and be correct, even though they are not generalized or made formal until later grades. Later, students learn to determine domains to which an argument applies. Students at all grades can listen or read the arguments of others, decide whether they make sense, and ask useful questions to clarify or improve the arguments.

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.

Mathematically proficient students can apply the mathematics they know to solve problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace. In early grades, this might be as simple as writing an addition equation to describe a situation. In middle grades, a student might apply proportional reasoning to plan a school event or analyze a problem in the community. By high school, a student might use geometry to solve a design problem or use a function to describe how one quantity of interest depends on another. Mathematically proficient students who can apply what they know are comfortable making assumptions and approximations to simplify a complicated situation, realizing that these may need revision later. They are able to identify important quantities in a practical situation and map their relationships using such tools as diagrams, two-way tables, graphs, flowcharts and formulas. They can analyze those relationships mathematically to draw conclusions. They routinely interpret their mathematical results in the context of the situation and reflect on whether the results make sense, possibly improving the model if it has not served its purpose.

We Had An "Egg"cellent Time!

On Thursday, we enjoyed a fun and engaging engineering challenge! We designed a way to protect a raw egg! The designs were creative and diverse. The children did a wonderful job explaining their design choices to a friend. Our thanks to all the parent helpers.

Grace Lin- Thinking About Your Child's Book Selections

I would recommend this TED talk by Massachusetts author and illustrator Grace Lin.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wQ8wiV3FVo&sns=em

Research- Facts From and About Atlases

This week, the children wrote and illustrated mini books based on information from our class set of Atlases. We are learning how to research and write facts in our own words.

The Big Read- Energy Island

We enjoyed sharing this year's Big Read experience with our 4th grade buddies. This year's selection continued the work began last year with the Change Is Simple program and the discussion around the book, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind. This year, we read Energy Island and learned about the difference between renewable and non renewable resources. We viewed a video about Samso and then read the book. It was fun to compare the characters in the book to the people in the video. After, we went outside and worked with our buddies to determine the best place to build a windmill at Cutler School. This past week, we created our own anemometers and decided to change the cup size and material. This design change allowed for more rotations per minute.  The children were encouraged to test their anemometers at home. Our thanks to Mrs. Hebert for organizing this school wide program. Here is the link to the video we watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmJxUsXWajo