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G R A D E - O C T O B E R - 2 0 1 6

the

AIG Connection
School to Home News You Can Use
Math Corner

Reading Nook
Happy OctoberWe have been busy this month! We began to dip
our toes into different note-taking styles this month, focusing on
web-style note-taking (how to use when researching & when
answering multi-step questions). Students were asked to complete
their homework using webs and its been interesting to see how
some have taken to it right away, while others have been much
more resistant. Ive told them that trying the different styles is part
of finding what works best for you and that in quarter two well
experiment with some different styles.
Academically, the students are continuing their focus on our
concept of CONNECTIONS. The Chinese folktales, fables, myths
& legends that we began the quarter with have morphed into two
realistic fiction novels (The Year of the Dog & The Year of the Rat &
Dumpling Days), focusing on a Taiwanese-American family and
how they connect their Taiwanese heritage to the Americanized
culture in which they live. We have been looking in depth at
character traits, how illustrations add to understanding of text, how
to utilize context clues and capturing the main idea, while backing it
up with supporting details.
Q1 Projects

We also completed our quarter 1 projects for Reading & Math this month
(involving fables, Chinese Zodiac, comparisons & their own Numeration
System). We worked hard with the students and not only learned a lot
about the Chinese Zodiac, fables and number systems, but also about
work habits, time management, and Google Docs. Students will present
their projects this week and reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of
their project and create a goal for next quarters project.

Helpful Info
EK Powe Family Game Night
NEW DATE & TIME
Friday, Nov 18th 6-8pm

Ancient Egyptian and Chinese

numeral systems were a BIG HIT
with students this quarter. We
really enjoyed exploring Place
Value vs Face Value and took a
brief look at other systems that are
different from ours (such as base 3
or base 20 systems). Did you know
that our system is base 10 because
we happen to have 10 fingers/toes
(or digits)? And that the history
behind our number system was to
catch cheaters?! We found there is
a lot of cool history behind
numbers.
Our interest led us to creating our
own number systems, complete
with symbols and the history
behind our own creations.
Students are also exploring
different types of quadrilaterals and
the rules that define the various
types.
Quarter 1 Concept & Questions
CONNECTIONS

What are connections?

How am I connected to the
world?
How are connections
created? Changed?