COMMUNITY READ: Ten Beautiful Things by Molly Beth Griffin
This book is about a girl, Lily, who is moving to live with her Gram. On the way with Gram to her new home, they play a road trip game- looking for ten beautiful things. Lily finds a plentiful number of beautiful things along the way and realizes there are many reasons to be appreciative. Lily's journey with her Gram encourages us to "open our eyes to the world around us, letting it fill us up, one beautiful thing at a time."
In class, students will discuss the meaning of the word GRATITUDE and think about things they are grateful for and why. Throughout the story, the teacher will stop and ask students about Lily's feelings, and how they change over time along with her perspective on what is beautiful.
Emotional Management
We will be:
- reviewing the Zones of Regulation with a focus on ways to help us move from Blue, Yellow or Red back to the Green Zone during school
- practicing identifying our own emotions and reading body language to identify other people's emotions
- learning strategies such as deep breathing, positive self-talk, and rethinking problems to manage their emotions
- learning the concept of empathy and consider ways to show compassion to others. We will discuss how to respectfully accept differences in opinion
FREE FRIDAYS!
Our students in K-5 are working hard to demonstrate good manners, cooperation with our Lunch and Recess Supervisors, and helping to clean up after both lunch and recess. We've been tracking their efforts and posting their success on our new 72 inch screen in the cafeteria.
Several grade levels are approaching their rewards, Free Fridays. This incentive will allow all students on a grade level to sit with their peers of choice on Fridays for 4 weeks. Check out the 'Good Morning, KES' video from 10/24.
We have been very pleased with the overall tone of lunch and recess so far this year. Our students, teachers, and lunch and recess supervisors have demonstrated a shared interest and effort to improving the overall experience during this time of the day.
We anticipate much colder weather in the coming weeks. Jackets, fleeces and sweatshirts (not shorts!) are recommended for days that hover in the 40’s.
Once winter weather arrives, we will ask for more substantial articles of clothing like boots, gloves, and hats. Recess will continue to take place in cold weather and will remain outdoors as long as temperatures do not feel lower than 20 degrees.
It is recommended that you write your child’s initials or their name on the tags of outerwear items that come into school. This will allow us to return your child’s jacket or fleece if it is misplaced and brought to the lost and found. Thank you for your continued support.
K-5 Curriculum Updates
Each month, we will be providing curriculum highlights from each grade level. Please know that these are snapshots and do not reflect all the curriculum and learning in the classroom.
Students in kindergarten will continue to develop their knowledge of letters—their names, associated sounds, and formation. Students will learn to read books that contain familiar ‘snap words’ and leverage their alphabet knowledge to help them check their reading as they go. In writing, students will learn how to engage in the beginning process of spelling: drawing, labeling, revising, and writing the most salient sounds. In math, students will continue to explore and compare numbers to 10 through a variety of lessons, activities, and games. In science, the students have taken on the role of scientists to investigate how plants and animals get what they need to live and grow.
Students in first grade will take on the role of word detectives during our reading workshop time. Reading lessons will focus on looking closely from the start to the end of a word and looking for word endings like -s and -ing. During our writing workshop time, students will study mentor texts like Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements to “copy-cat” writing features like sound words and bolded words. In math, students will work on addition and subtraction strategies with numbers up to 20. Students will learn how to make a “friendly 10” to add and subtract larger numbers. Our social studies time will include a lesson about how first graders can take part in Election Day. We will hold an “election” on November 4 to decide between two choices for a 1st Grade Spirit Day which will be celebrated on November 6. In science, students will continue to learn about what plants and animals need to do to survive.
Students in second grade will be writing informational chapter books, just like experts. To help support their efforts, they will be learning all about non-fiction conventions in reading workshop. We can’t wait to see their writing and reading skills evolve! In math, the second graders are exploring hands-on tools to help them solve addition problems. Many of these tools will lead them to mental strategies that will stay with them a lifetime. The second graders will also be spending November continuing their social studies unit on Communities. They will be traveling back in time to see how communities have changed over the decades, culminating in a fun 1950s event on the 50th day of school! As scientists, the 2nd graders will continue learning about properties of materials and what will make both a sticky AND strong glue! Our students will also learn the meaning and importance of Veteran’s Day. We’re so grateful for all that our Veterans have done for us. We’re happy to commemorate them as November 11th approaches.
Students in third grade will begin the Mystery Unit in reading workshop. They will read mysteries closely to infer and notice clues and “Who Done It?” Mystery readers will need to wonder when characters are really telling the truth and be on the lookout for any Red Herrings. In writing, students will begin by writing a personal narrative and then creating multiple realistic fiction stories. Students will generate a series with common characters, conflicts and resolutions. Students will revise their work using mentor texts as guides. In math, students will work on fluently multiplying and dividing within 100, honing their skills in selecting and applying suitable strategies for these operations. They will also explore and develop a deeper understanding of the connection between area, multiplication, and addition. In social studies, students will study immigration, cultural diversity, and community improvement. They'll explore reasons people come to the U.S., identify cultural contributions, and learn about community problem-solvers. Students will develop skills in map reading, source analysis, and understanding how people adapt to their environments. In science, students will continue their study of Forces of Motion. They will learn about unbalanced forces and apply this knowledge to explain the transition of a train from floating to falling. This unit helps students understand how forces affect object movement and stability.
Students in fourth grade are wrapping up their first writing unit on personal narratives. We have examined mentor texts and studied the way authors like Patricia Polacco and Rukhsana Khan use craft moves to tell personal stories, before we will draft and publish our own. In Social Studies, students will embark upon a cross-curricular study, learning about Indigenous groups in New York State and beyond, and studying informational texts to gather information. In Science, we are concluding our first unit, looking at how fossils form and learning about how the landscape can change over time, forming rocks, fossils, and different environments. In math, students are learning new strategies for multidigit multiplication, and beginning to understand strategies for division.
Students in fifth grade will be honing their non-fiction skills as they explore the various ways that authors structure nonfiction. They will learn how to monitor comprehension as these texts become more complex. In math, fifth graders will explore multiplying and dividing decimals and whole numbers. In science, we are finishing our first unit and starting Modeling Matter. In social studies, we will be learning about the early people of the Western Hemisphere. Throughout the month, students will be using KES library data bases to research topics from American history and create multimedia presentations and 3D floats in preparation for a "Day Before Thanksgiving Day" Parade on Wednesday, November 27. Fifth grade parents will be welcome to attend. More details to follow!
As part of the implementation of the new Computer Science Digital Fluency Standards,Technology Teaching Assistant, Tenesha Mezzo will continue teaching lessons in each classroom, K-5.
A topic summary of these Digital Citizenship lessons can be viewed HERE.
You can find the complete CSDF Standards HERE.
Library
We are “Fall-ing” into November in the KES Library.
Kindergarten students will be immersed in “leaf” themed literature, such as Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade. We will be doing some leaf collecting of our own and creating our very own “leaf people!”
First and second grade students will learn coding using the Dash robots. Our first graders will use the Wonder Workshop apps GO and PATH to learn to code with Dash. Our second graders will use BLOCKLY to use drag and drop to code Dash. Both grades will engage in Thanksgiving designed coding challenges.
Third and fourth graders will enjoy KNOW-vember in the library with a focus on non-fiction. We will continue to explore our online catalog, Destiny Discover, identifying non-fiction books of interest and using our non-fiction online databases. Third graders will engage in beginning note taking strategies using graphic organizers. Fourth graders will learn how to generate inquiry questions about a topic and find answers to their questions using both print and online resources.
Fifth graders will be wrapping up their research for their “Day Before Thanksgiving Day Parade” project. They will be synthesizing their research and creating collaborative presentation slides in Keynote.
In addition, all grades will have the opportunity to listen to stories about being thankful and ways to express gratitude this month.
*A quick note to please remember to return library books in a timely manner. Thank you in advance for your support! 🙂
Art
This past month in the art room artists were busy with fall icons- some traditional and some modern and unconventional.
Kindergarten artists were inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s iconic abstract pumpkins and 4th and 5th graders created different versions of her wild obliteration rooms. Look up Kusama’s “Obliteration Rooms,” they are fun and fascinating!
First graders observed many real pumpkins (from Mrs. Eckler’s garden) and drew representational ones with gorgeous blends of a new medium: chalk pastels.
Second graders created mixed media Autumn Sunsets. This lesson included painting, frottage (crayon rubbing), both tearing and cutting to build a tree collage, and more frottage (from the French “to rub”).
Third graders studied organic & geometric shapes and warm & cool colors. They drew first then painted countless blends of watercolors in their shapes.
General Music
Kindergarten:
- Establishing proper vocal tone production
- Experiencing short rhythm patterns through speech, body percussion and unpitched instruments
- Experiencing dramatic play through song
- Demonstrating proper mallet technique
- Native American culture songs
First Grade:
Maintaining a steady beat while singing and/or playing unpitched instruments
Developing a singing voice (matching pitch)
Identifying and performing quarter notes, quarter rests, and eighth note rhythms
Diwali and Native American cultural songs
Performing songs of gratitude
Second Grade:
- Identifying and performing tied quarter notes as half notes
- Identifying and performing half rest
- Developing a singing voice
- Performing vocal ostinato
- Native American culture songs and dances
Third Grade:
Developing part independence: Singing rounds and partner songs
Identifying and performing eighth notes, half notes, and dotted rhythms
Using dynamics in music performance
Singing two-part harmony: Holiday songs
Diwali and Native American cultural songs
Fourth Grade:
- Developing a singing voice
- Performing songs in rounds by singing and playing pitched instruments
- Identifying the Orchestral Woodwind family
- Native American culture songs and dances
Fifth Grade:
- Developing a singing voice
- Performing- singing and 2-part harmony
- Conducting songs in ¾ time signature
- Demonstrating musical expression through speaking, singing and moving
- Native American culture songs and dances
Physical Education
During the month of November, we will continue with our PE department fitness goals for all grades. Grades K-5 will take part in an exciting scooter unit followed by a unit filled with challenging bean bag activities. We will close out the month with all students participating in a variety of fun Thanksgiving themed games and fitness.
Cristy Harris, Principal and KES Dignity Act Coordinator 763-7700 or charris@klschools.org
Kweon Stambaugh, Assistant Principal (designee) 763-7705 or kstambaugh@klschools.org
Jessica Fulton, Social Worker (designee) 763-7669 or jfulton@klschools.org.