MRE Update
December 10, 2019
Make a note
Library
In Kindergarten we will conclude our Three-Little stories with The Three Little Tamales and The Three Little Christmas Pigs. The students enjoy comparing and contrasting these stories.
In grade one we will read Tough Cookie. When a gingerbread cookie does not taste good, what else can he be? We will also read The Runaway Latkes and compare it to our gingerbread stories.
In grade two we are reading books from the biography genre. We have read about Tony Sarge, Houdini, and will next read about Amelia Earhart. All these people have some things in common.
Grade three has started Greek Myths. We will start with King Midas and Pandora.
Grade four is still studying the works of Chris Van Allsburg. We will read The Polar Express this month.
Grade five will now know why Ken Burns titled his book about the presidents Grover Cleveland Again. We will now read about the 22nd and 24th president of the United States – Grover Cleveland.
Health
K Foods and Nutrition
· What is MyPlate?
· Nutritious Foods vs Treats
1 Having fun and getting fit
· Identifying exercise as fun activities
· Creating games out of exercise
2 Keeping a busy body
· Identifying exercise as fun activities
· Identifying how exercise supports our body
3 Decision Making
· What is a decision?
· How do I make a decision?
4 Decision Making
· Analyzing influences in decision making
· Stop, Think, Go! Method
· Demonstrating decision making
5 Decision Making
· Stop, Think, Go! Method
· Choices and Consequences in decision making
· Demonstrating decision making
Music
Kindergarten
Solo singing/using different voices on Hello There echo Song
Continue reinforcing steady beat through Folk music
Pitch direction - Up, Down or Same
Holidays around the World
Act out Story Song "Over in the Meadow"
Grade 2
Solo singing on echo songs
Demonstrate Phrasing through steady beat
Pitch echo and decode rhythms
Come See the Lights - perform rhythm on darbuka drums
Holidays around the world
Story song - There was a Bear
Grade 3
Reinforce Note reading letters B-A-G
online note reading practice www.musictheory.net
Music from the Nutcracker
Read story, watch parts of a performance
Grade 4
Review note names and values: Whole, half, quarter, eighth
Practice writing music adding to 4 beats
Introduce how pitches can move - step, skip, same, leap
Continue music writing on computer using Finale Notepad
Grade 5
New Song - Winter Fantasy
Continue xylophone playing on the melody of "Come see the Lights"
review concepts - 1st and 2nd endings, ledger lines, A and B sections
Introduce 2nd and 3rd xylophone parts to accompany melody
PE
Kindergarten will continue to focus on sports skills including throwing, catching, dribbling, kicking and striking.
Grades 1 through 5 will be learning different style dances, and creating their own dance routines in small groups based on that style. Grade 1 will focus on line dances. Grade 2 will be learning African style dance. Grade 3 is practicing dance based on a Native American style. Grade 4 will be building tango style line dances, and grade 5 will be learning Irish step dance.
Technology
Our focus in December shifts to coding to celebrate Code.org’s Hour of Code Week (Dec. 9-13). If you check the map on the link above you will see we are on it!!!
On the Half-Day December 13th every K-5 student will be doing coding! The Specialists will each take one grade and focus on one coding activity! It’s going to be so much fun and I am excited to see all the critical thinking and problem-solving that will be happening at MRE. I am even organizing a surprise event for the teachers...shhh check for pictures in our next newsletter.
So here is what has been happening in the lab:
Kindergarten: During November we have been working in Wixie creating a Counting (1-10) Sticker Book. The students have been doing a great job selecting, adding, moving and resizing the stickers. Next we will be using the Kodables App and website to start our coding adventure.
Grade 1: The students have been completing their Alphabet charts as well as a sheet with blended sounds (SH, CH, TH). They have been finding stickers in Wixie that have those sounds and adding, moving and resizing them. They will also be moving into coding (With the Foos).
Grade 2: The students have started their Continent booklets (we have done North America, South America and Europe so far). For each Continent they find stickers of famous landforms add them to their page and then label them. We will do coding in January for Grade 2 so they can finish this project first.
Grade 3: The students are close to finishing their Wampanoag and Pilgrim Slideshows. These will be posted when they are done. They will be doing some coding using Lightbot, and many of the activities on the Computer Science Week website.
Grade 4: Grade 4 is wrapping up their work on their Internet Safety BookCreator Books. We will publish them on Seesaw soon. They are also heading into coding with an introduction to Scratch as we head into January.
Grade 5: They have started their drone runs in the cafeteria. Thank you to all the volunteers! We cannot do this without your help. Starting on December 12th. the students will be running their drones with their pollinators that they have designed in their STEM class. This will definitely be exciting to see if they can swipe the “pollen” (ground-up chalk) off their flowers.
Lastly, we are still running our typing classes for the last pair of third grade classes. Any regular typing practice you can do at home (about 10 minutes a day) will be appreciated and greatly impact their speed. This goes for all grades 3-5 students.
In our community...
Holiday Concert offerings by NRHS
Mark your calendars for the upcoming holiday concert offerings from Nashoba Regional High School!
-- The Nashoba Regional High School Bands and Choruses will perform their combined holiday concert on Friday, December 13th, at 7 pm in the school auditorium. Admission for the Nashoba High School Band and Choir concert is $5 per person (seniors and students are free), payable at the door. Come early before the concert (and bring cash and/or your check book) to support the Nashoba Friends of Music Silent Auction and Holiday Market! Doors open at 6 pm. There will be theme baskets and a dozen pies to bid on, as well as a variety of holiday crafts and gifts to purchase. All proceeds support the music programs at Nashoba High School.
-- The Nashoba Symphonic Band, a band comprised of students and adult community members, will perform their annual Holiday Concert Thursday, December 5th at 7 pm at the Solomon Pond Mall, in the lobby outside of JCPenny. Come take the opportunity to do some holiday shopping and enjoy a free concert!
Mary Rowlandson Elementary
Email: jfrommer@nrsd.net
Website: https://rowlandson.nrsd.net/
Location: 103 Hollywood Drive, Lancaster, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 368-8482