Week of January 17th-20th

Week of January 17th

A sincere thank you for making this week filled with so many blessings! We all feel so appreciated and supported!

We all hope you had a wonderful week. Even though it was a short week, it was filled with lots of learning. Please read through the whole blog because we have a TON of information this week for you!

In Reading, we continued to explore poetry. More specifically, we learned about the forms and parts of poetry.  Learners were exposed to and applied their understanding of vocabulary words such as, free verse, rhyme, and meter. Using rhyming poems and Haikus, learners expanded on their knowledge of poetry with rhythm and style. 

In Social Studies, learners dived deeper into European Explorers that colonized early Texas. We continued talking about early explorers' motives to colonizing new land. Moreover, learners began going through the Engineering Design Process for their Mind Mission, Cabeza' Cues.

In Writing, learners finished building solid sentences and began constructing sentence pyramids. Moreover, learners are going through the writing process using a different prompt for this week. Learners went home with a writing prompt for home fun. Each class discussed expectations for this assignment. Please make sure learners are going through the writing process (parent resource linked in below). The assignment is due this following Wednesday (01/25/16). 

https://docs.google.com/a/g.coppellisd.com/presentation/d/16zl5Fkn3TbN-l4GhAt6xb0wEtwR3S8M24Fjj4urk3hM/edit?usp=sharing

*In order to view the Google Presentation, you must login with your learner's g.coppellisd.com email.

Here are some 4th graders performing a punctuation rap that they came up with themselves!

In Math, we wrapped up our paper airplane challenge. Learners enjoyed being able to create and test out their our airplanes for data collection to analyze. Moreover, this week learners were introduced to multiplication and division key words. Learners worked on a Must do/May do board that included hexagonal thinking, Schoology discussions, and a multiplication scavenger hunt. 

In Science, this week we began our exploration of the three states of matter. We also looked at how each state of matter changes from one state to another. Next week, we will continue our hands on exploration with the physical properties of matter.

Announcements:

TCE Family Cookbook 

There have only been a few recipes submitted so far.  Please make sure to send in as many yummy recipes that you have.  It can be from family, friends, and friends of friends!  

Messages from Mrs. Martin:

SAVE THE DATE!

Jump Rope/Hoops for Heart is Coming to your school! You can get a “jump start” by fundraising online at www.heart.org/jump or www.heart.org/hoops.

All Students who raise $150 before the upcoming American Heart Association Kick-Off will be recognized at the event and receive Gabby, raise $200 and you will receive both Gabby AND Gus, our Zoo Crew plush characters!

KICK-OFF DATE: 01/20/2017

IMPORTANT:  ** Donations must be made by 6 PM the day PRIOR to the American Heart Association coming to our campus **

Week of January 9-13

This week was another great one down C-hall at Town Center. Please see below for the awesome learning that happened this week and important announcements!

In Reading, learners reviewed their knowledge on various forms of figurative language. More specifically, we discussed similes, metaphors, and idioms and applied our understandings. Moreover, we started our discussion on poetry. Learners explored the technical parts of poetry, such as lines and stanza, and then they practiced reading poems. We learned that poems require to be read more than once to really dig deep into the unique interpretations of various poems.

In Social Studies, learners explored the three main motives of explorers when colonizing what is known today as Texas. Understanding gold, God, and glory were the three main motives, learners then analyzed which motive was most important. Learners engaged in rich conversations to input their opinions. This week we built a strong foundation for our explorations and colonization of Texas unit.

In Math, learners were exposed to graphs and tables. Learners explored frequency tables, stem and leaf plots, dot plots. They collected data and determined what type of graph to use. Moreover, learners answered multiple step questions that were related to data collection and application. For data collection, learners are implementing an airplane challenge for authentic and hands on learning experiences.

In Science, learners dived deeper into the different forms of energy. Learners researched different forms of energy using learning ports. Moreover, learners applied their knowledge with a scavenger hunt. In the scavenger hunt, learners identified different forms of energy around the classroom.

Announcements:

This coming Wednesday (1/18/16) we will send a writing prompt home with learners. We are linking in a Google presentation in order to help learners go through the writing process. We thank you for your support!

https://docs.google.com/a/g.coppellisd.com/presentation/d/16zl5Fkn3TbN-l4GhAt6xb0wEtwR3S8M24Fjj4urk3hM/edit?usp=sharing

*In order to view the Google Presentation, you must login with your learner's g.coppellisd.com email.

TCE Family Cookbook 

There have only been a few recipes submitted so far.  Please make sure to send in as many yummy recipes that you have.  It can be from family, friends, and friends of friends!  

January 4th-6th

Welcome back Town Center Texans! We hope everyone had a wonderful and restful holiday break. It has been a great week getting back into the swing of things at school.

Please check with your child to see if they have a pair of working earbuds at school. If they need another pair you are more than welcome to send them to school and we will get them labeled.

TCE Family Cookbook 

There have only been a few recipes submitted so far.  Please make sure to send in as many yummy recipes that you have.  It can be from family, friends, and friends of friends!  

Week of December 5th

We hope you had a wonderful week and stayed warm!  It is getting closer and closer to the winter break and we know that everyone is excited for time off to spend with friends and family.  Please be on the look out for important dates in the upcoming days!

What's Happening in the Classroom?

In Reading, we continued our Junior Great Book stations. Learners reviewed the text with partners and then applied the story in a variety of stations. Through our Junior Great Book stations, learners became advocates of their own learning by monitoring their fluency, comprehension, and application of the text. As extensions, learners were able to apply the Junior Great Book to design and create their own connections to the text. 

In Math, this week we continued our journey with fractions. The learners use fraction tiles to find equivalent fractions and write them in their simplest forms. We also looked at fractions on a number line and explored finding unit fractions. At the end of the week we began to compose and decompose fractions with like denominators. In the next week your child will be given their Go Math workbook. This is a great tool for them to use at home to practice what we are working on in the classrooms. Your learner is more than welcome to bring these home and use them as an extra resource for practice. A video link can be found on your math teachers Google site with more information.

In Writing, we are continuing to work on the Writing Process, focusing on brainstorming and choosing three quality reasons. We will pick back up in January with Mentor Sentences and Spelling.  

In Science, we continued our ADI investigation that will include examining fossils from Germany and investigating what the ecosystem was like 49 millions years ago.  The learners observed 6 different fossils and made a T-Chart of things they OBSERVED and Things I WONDER.

We continued this week with  the 12 Days of Kindness Challenge. Be looking on our Twitter feeds for acts of kindness that are happening in the classroom. 

What's Happening at TCE?

The Giving Tree

When: November 30th-December 15th

Where: Place new, unwrapped toys under the Christmas Tree by the front office

What: Town Center 1st Graders are collecting new, unwrapped toys for children in need.  We will be donating the toys to the Lions Club.  When you place your toy under the tree, please sign your name on an ornament and hang it on the tree!

ADI Fossil Investigation

What was the ecosystem at Darmstadt like 49 million years ago?

                                  

TCE Family Cookbook 

There have only been a few recipes submitted so far.  Please make sure to send in as many yummy recipes that you have.  It can be from family, friends, and friends of friends!  

Holiday Party Volunteers
We will be rotating the children through various activities and games within the classroom.  Each will be very straight forward.  We need adult volunteers for oversight and scene control.  We could really use your assistance and your son/daughter will love having you there.  Please  email your room mom if you completed the volunteer background check and  would like to help.

Week of November 28th

Week of November 28th

We hope everyone had a wonderful week!  We can't believe we are getting so close to the winter break.  Please make sure to be on the look out for important dates and reminders as the next 2 weeks are super busy and filled with fun activities.

What's Happening in the Classroom?

In Reading, we started our a new story in our Junior Great Book. We read The No-Guitar Blues and Thank You Ma'am. Both stories addressed citizenship qualities that learners were encouraged to implement. This week we started stations that we will continue next week.

In Math, we continued our journey on fractions. We took out our fraction tiles and found ways to create equivalent fractions. We also looked at how fractions and decimals relate and can show the same value. 

In Writing, we are continuing to work on the Writing Process, focusing on brainstorming and choosing three quality reasons. We will pick back up in January with Mentor Sentences and next week will be the last week for spelling tests until January.

In Science, learners we are coming to a close with our study of electricity.  We began our ADI investigation that will include examining fossils from Germany and investigating what the land was like millions or years ago.

This week the classes also began the 12 Days of Kindness Challenge. Be looking on our Twitter feeds for acts of kindness that are happening in the classroom. 

What's Happening at TCE?

The Giving Tree

When: November 30th-December 15th

Where: Place new, unwrapped toys under the Christmas Tree by the front office

What: Town Center 1st Graders are collecting new, unwrapped toys for children in need.  We will be donating the toys to the Lions Club.  When you place your toy under the tree, please sign your name on an ornament and hang it on the tree!

Biodiversity Field Trip

We had a blast at the Coppell Nature Park!  We hiked, dissected Owl pellets, learned about the food web, and identified the different forms of water.

 TCE Family Cookbook 
There have only been a few recipes submitted so far.  Please make sure to send in as many yummy recipes that you have.  It can be from family, friends, and friends of friends!  

Creative Writing Competition
The deadline for the writing competition is December 7th! This writing competition is open to ALL 4th-12th grade learners. This is a great opportunity for your learner to try!