Dear Parents,

As second grade moves into the weeks of April we have begun working on the science unit of Systems in Nature. 

Within this unit we will be focusing on the enduring understandings of:

• Interactions and outputs of a system change.
• Systems can be productive or dysfunctional.
• Systems are made up of smaller systems.
• Over time, human systems adapt, change, or are replaced.

We’re tying this unit into language arts in a number of ways including using Junior Great Books with the story Jack and the Beanstalk. 

As we are bringing the literature piece to a close next week using a shared inquiry (a small group discussion using student questions about the literature) we will also be bridging the science connection with the essential question:  What is the relationship between an organism and its habitat?

The students will also be participating in writer’s workshop over the remaining weeks, as we explore what good writing looks like and how we can use sensory writing (hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling)to make our writing better.  We are using our own “mini-field trip” around the school grounds to encourage the use of these images.

In third grade students are working through the science unit – Structures in Nature.  In this unit we are looking at the interrelationships that exit among organisms and their living and non-living surroundings. 

Our grade level theme at third grade is structures and the our unit is based on uniting the theme with the scientific goals of understanding basic patterns an cycles occurring in nature.

Some essential questions that we are discussing in class are:

• How does energy drive cycles in nature?
• How are natural cycles related? 

Building connections to literature has been fun as we have begun two pieces of literature to support these two essential science questions.  We are or will begin reading the Junior Great Book story, The Green Man and some us are also reading the novel, The Green Book.  Both stories bring in discussion on many different levels of the idea of cycles and changes both in nature and in man.

We will then be taking a couple of weeks to focus on government both on the local level and national level.   We will be discussing the structure of our system and how they work together to support each other… as well as, how they are combined to form a larger structure.

When we return to our focus on science we will be focusing on soil.  Some resources that you may want to look at include:  How We Use Soil, by Carol Ballard and Dirt: The Scoop on Soil, by Natalie M. Rosinsky.

Please also don’t hesitate to visit the Norfolk Botanical Garden to learn more about cycles in nature and how they connect to the soil/gardens around us.

In 4^th grade we have been focusing on Land and Ocean Ecosystems.  Within the unit we are strengthening the relationship students should see as the ecosystem is a “living system” that is interdependent on the world around us.  Students will be comparing both the ecosystems found in “terrestrial” land as well as, “aquatic” water areas.    After some time delving into these topics and doing some research, our final product will be a scientific ecosystem issue/solution paper that is called a “Whitepaper”. 

Our focus on these enduring understandings guides this unit:

• Patterns often reveal relationships.
• Relationships are defined by the interactions between the physical world and living systems.

In 4^th grade Language arts we have been bringing in Japanese and Chinese folktales with its focus on nature and interdependent relationships, as we begin the process of writing our own haikus and poetry. Please take time to look for some of our Kimono haikus blowing in the wind… over the next week.

In 5^th grade we have been focusing on Rebuilding Virginia…yes, this is referring to the Reconstruction period in history. The enduring understandings that we have been connecting to in our discussions is – Wars have political, social, and economic effects and change generates additional change.

We are encouraging the students to be evaluating information and establishing an argument supported by evidence.  We are also building opportunities for the use of personal devices into our lessons through the use of QR code readings and primary sources while analyzing some of these tough issues with Jim Crow laws with Sandra Kaplan’s depth and complexity icons.

To stretch your brain and your child’s … try this visual synectic…

The Freedmen’s Bureau is like a blowdryer because ________________________________.

This is one way for us to assess understanding of the role of the Freedman’s Bureau.

Today your child had the opportunity to apply the knowledge he/she has gained about simple machines in order to build and program a compound machine.  In doing so, your student was immersed in the engineering design process, which involves the following steps:

1.  Investigate – brainstorm possible solutions
2. Plan – Develop possible solutions and design plans
3. Create – Choose one idea and use it to create/prototype
4. Evaluate – Test and evaluate how the prototype worked
5. Act – communicate how you designed the prototype and how you would make it better

Today’s challenge was to use the LEGO WeDo kit and software to build and program an alligator.  The alligator itself is composed of multiple simple machines.  In completing this activity, your child had to work with a partner, follow a sequence of instructions, troubleshoot, make repairs, program the alligator, watch it operate, and then create a new program to provide additional capability for the alligator.  At the end of the activity, students were shown how the activity they just completed is very similar to the engineering involved in designing and building boats for the US Navy.

The engineering process will be used often in units to come, and provides the opportunity to apply learned knowledge in unique ways, using it to solve problems and create objects to meet a need.  This process is in line with VBCPS’ Compass to 2015, which seeks to create effective communicators/collaborators, and to develop critical and creative thinkers who become innovators and problem solvers.

Please ask your child to share what he/she created with simple machines today. 

This activity was made possible through an Education Partnership Agreement between VBCPS and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division.

Sincerely,

Third Grade Teachers
Mrs. Hawley, GRT

We’ve sprinted to the end of the fourth week of school! I want to thank each of you that attended Trantwood’s Open House on Tuesday, September 18^th. I loved having the opportunity to meet some of you and answer questions. Please remember we are looking for parental help with a number of different clubs and the science labs.  We also have a 5^th grade Parent Workshop- this workshop is open to all 5^th grade parents to learn about the 5^th Grade Gifted Screening Process/Identification and Middle School–on Monday, October 1^st from 3:00 – 4:00 pm. Please mark your calendars — a reminder went home this week electronically.

We are hoping to get up and running a number of different clubs this year:

1. Mad Science – Registration for this club is now closed.  We have 3 full classes of students participating in the Mad Science Club, as well as a number of students on the wait list.  We’re looking at hosting Mad Science for a second time during this school year… so please stay posted for upcoming dates.  The beginning date is Wednesday, October 3 – Wednesday November 7^th, 2012.  Let the excitement for learning and science continue!!

1. Trantwood’s Friends of Change Club– This is a one time a month club that will meet at different locations to promote giving back to the community. We have an informational meeting for students at Trantwood, September 28^th from 2:45 – 3:45.  At this time, the group will brainstorm what they are interested in doing throughout the school year one time a month to build a sense of community and provide a service to others.  Parent participation, transportation, and support will be needed for some of these adventures! This club is open to all students in Grades 4-5 and as we move into the spring, we may include interested third graders.  At this time we have over 40 interested students coming to learn more about this great opportunity to give back to the school and our community.  Way to go Community Cardinals!!

1. Trantwood’s Page Turners Club – These forms will go home in next Friday’s Folder. This will be run very much like an adult book club.  The students will be told or have a choice in their book title throughout the year.  They will be asked to get their own copy and then read it independently on their own.  There will be an interest sign-up sheet in my room and a way for me to monitor the pace that the students are reading the book chosen.  When most of the participants have finished the book, I will host a book chat at Trantwood for all the students that participated after school.  I’m predicting that this will be about once a month.  The Page Turners Club is open to all students in grades 3-5.  As we move into the Spring I will be meeting with students in second grade in small groups during the school day as a lunch bunch.

RESOURCE – (once in a while I will try to place a resource or a site that I feel you may find useful to explore)

Internet Site for those with a curiosity – A great resource to check out is http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm   The focus the month of October is on gifted testing and assessment. 

In the Classroom of our Resource-Cluster Classes..

The weeks have been filled with strategies to promote continuous learning in the classrooms, while wrapping the grade level themes throughout each grade level’s studies.

In 5^th grade over the last few weeks, Dr. Ruszala finished the first research project of the year.  The students created their VOKI characters and wrote a script to share what they had learned within their research process.  As another branch to this research project the students are creating a “suitcase” that will hold their memorabilia from their visit to a specific region.  At the conclusion of this project, the students will be using a data retrieval chart to gather information from the other group’s projects to add to what they have learned about the regions.  You may be thinking that this is a lot for the first project, but this came out of a discussion with the students as we brainstormed, grouped our ideas about what we would like to do and used a creative problem solving tool called S-M-L to organize our short, medium and long term goals in order to stay on target. As we continue to work through our project, we’re asking the students to demonstrate this generalization within their region project — Change can happen naturally or be caused by people.  

Ms. Dungan and I planned the mathematics instruction to include a Math Exemplar pre-assessment based on the objective focus of number sense.  A Math Exemplar is a multi-step word problem that can be very open-ended.  It allows the teachers to see the student’s understanding of the objective and their ability to communicate their understanding through writing.

We also delved into a Socratic Seminar to question what we were learning about the Earth’s layers, plate tectonics and the changes that impact the Earth’s surface over time.  We learned how an ancient Greek philosopher and teacher thought this strategy of questioning learning, assumptions, and beliefs to be the way to create critical thinkers of information.  After polling the class to check their feelings about how instruction should be delivered within the classroom setting, it was interesting to the teacher and I to see how many students’ opinions and thoughts changed because of this experience.  The students will be continuing to reflect on this experience through blogging, as well as, comparing it to a different discussion experience in Dr. Ruszala’s class with Shared Inquiry with the literature piece – “Charles”. 

In fourth grade, Mrs. Wright-Owens, Mrs. Calaman and I continued to build their understanding with our grade level theme of Relationships and focused on the generalization statement – All relationships are purposeful. We continue to read literature each week, The Bad Case of Stripes, The Old Woman Who Named Things and now the short novel The Green Book.  We had the students prioritize each of the titles since the beginning of the year based on which they feel best demonstrated the grade level theme.  We also used a graphic organizer to organize our work for literary analysis of the relationships and the changes these relationships go through during the story.  In each piece of literature, we discussed the changes in ourselves from reading the literature.

 The short novel, The Green Book, shared during reading time supports the class’s work with the study of Earth, Moon and Sun. While reading this novel we have been able to talk about the hierarchy that evolves in new civilizations based on choices, the impact of human actions on others, as well as, the role of children in discovery and growth within a civilization using a strategy called Here’s What?, Now What?, So What?.   This novel allows the teachers and me to bring in past discussions about the ancient civilizations, the needs of people for survival, and how sustainability is a part of it all.

With Mrs. Birdwell’s and Mrs. Mello’s classes, both teachers have been working on the unit Earth, Moon, and Sun.  Within these classes, we have been encouraging the students to synthesize ideas to create novel products and solutions.  One way that we have done this was to have discussions about the patterns that we see around us and what we have learned in our past grade levels about patterns.  From this discussion, we asked the students to look at what was discussed and find relationships between the patterns shared and to explain that relationship.  One relationship that the students noticed was between the phases of the moon and the tides of the ocean.  We asked the students to prove this idea.  After brainstorming possible ways, the students settled on using a line graph to plot the percentage of the phases of the moon, and the times of the am tides over a month’s time.  We used a transparency (a clear graph) that could be laid over top of other transparencies.  Using Kaplan (symbolic tools to encourage deeper thinking) we tried to prove the relationship between the two patterns using mathematics and questioning.  The students were so excited to see the actual patterns emerge between the months of each, as well as, between the tide and the phases of the moon when we placed one line graph(phases of the moon) over the second line graph(ocean am high tides)!  One class even took it further by creating line plots of this data over the whole year and placed these around the classroom walls to remind them.

In third grade, Mrs. Mckee, Mrs. Catt and I continue to build discussions around our grade level theme of Structures.  We will continue these lessons in the weeks ahead as the students create their own examples and non-examples of structures.  In third grade, we have also been doing a lot of pre-assessments to learn more about each of the students and their strengths.  One of these was a math exemplar to learn more about their multi –step problem solving abilities and number sense.  This was used with other formative assessments to help us determine groups for instruction during the weeks.  We have also learned about other structures to push us in expanding our thinking about mathematics with using Challenge Math with mental calculations and M3 (Mentoring Mathematical Minds Series) lessons that focus on written expression, questioning and the communication of mathematical ideas.  These strategies and lessons have been done in a combination of whole group introduction, and then moved into small group instruction based on the demonstrated needs of each student. 

In second grade, Mrs. McCallum and I have worked on wrapping our first unit together –Introducing Systems.  This was a unit that brings in the study of habitats and economics as we learn about the concept of systems. 

With Mrs. McCallum, we have learned about how to use graphic organizers to gather our ideas to share what we know about a topic.  The students now know that Mrs. Hawley loves graphic organizers…and have even asked when other graphic organizers have been used, if it came from Mrs. Hawley.  J  The students will be moving into a matter unit that will have them working toward the gifted benchmark that students will demonstrate fluent, flexible, elaborative, and original thinking.  A bench mark is a goal for students to work towards at different grade levels.  In gifted cluster classes, we use these benchmarks as part of our teaching process to evaluate individuals’ progress.

To encourage this same benchmark in other areas, we have also been doing exemplars (multi-step problems that encourage critical and creative thinking).  We worked on a problem that asked us how many different ways could we create 10 feet to live in an apartment using people and animals.  We had so many creative thinkers… for example one child, thought there could be one person living with two birds, a dog and snake.  (2 +2+2+4+0=10)  The possibilities were endless.  Can you think of others?

We are continuing with our reflection/process logs and have added blogging and Edmodo as other avenues to our ongoing efforts to communicate our thinking.  In this way we can poll to gather opinions, predict, process, connect, goal set, and reflect in an ongoing way. What is really nice about each of these methods, is that it can be archived…filed away and retrieved at a later date to build upon or demonstrate growth. For some where writing is an issue, the technology avenue opens up away for the teachers to see what they are thinking because they are more willing to respond in written form. We will continue to use this to do mini-pulse checks on each child’s thinking and build connections they make to the work we are doing in class. 

As always, thank you for all you continue to do at home and school to support us!   Have an enjoyable weekend!

Wow, what a fantastic first week back to school!  Trantwood’s resource-cluster teachers have very much enjoyed meeting your children.  We have an exciting, motivational, and educational year planned out.  Please come to Trantwood’s Open House on Tuesday, September 18^th at 6:30. I will be here if you have any questions. We are looking for parental help with a number of different clubs and the science labs.  We also have a 5^th grade Parent Workshop- this workshop is open to all 5^th grade parents to learn about the 5^th Grade Gifted Screening Process/Identification and Middle School– September 21^st from 12 – 1pm in Room 22 at Trantwood. Please mark your calendars and look for the RSVP.

We are hoping to get up and running a number of different clubs this year:

1. Mad Science – Registration begins September 12 and the first day is Wednesday, Oct. 3^rd from 2:45 – 3:45 and runs to November 7th.  The cost is about $80.  This is an amazing scientific experience that truly creates wonder in the students about what is possible in science.  Each club day they will be given a take-home that emphasizes what was taught. This club is open to all students in Grades 1-5.

1. Trantwood’s Friends of Change Club– This is a one time a month club that will meet at different locations to promote giving back to the community.  This will be registered through Disney’s Friends of Change program .  Our first meeting will be at Trantwood, September  28^th from 2:45 – 3:45.  At this time the group will brainstorm what they are interested in doing throughout the school year one time a month to build a sense of community and provide a service to others.  Parent participation, transportation, and support will be needed for some of these adventures! This club is open to all students in Grades 4-5 and as we move into the Spring, we may include interested third graders.

1. Trantwood’s Page Turners Club – This will be run very much like an adult book club.  The students will be told or have a choice in their book title throughout the year.  They will be asked to get their own copy and then read it independently on their own.  There will be an interest sign-up sheet in my room and a way for me to monitor the pace that the students are reading the book chosen.  When most of the participants have finished the book, I will host a book chat at Trantwood for all the students that participated after school.  I’m predicting that this will be about once a month.  The Page Turners Club is open to all students in grades 3-5.  As we move into the Spring I will be meeting with students in second grade in small groups during the school day as a lunch bunch.

During our first week back I was able to get into every resource-cluster class in Grades 2-5 at least once.   As the year proceeds, I will be in each of the cluster classes about 1 – 3x a week depending on the projects that we are doing together. Please keep in mind that I am an advocate for your child’s needs and a resource for you. If you have questions or concerns, please let me know.

In 5^th grade this week, Dr. Ruszala and I spent our time together beginning our unit on Virginia and it’s regions.  This is a review for many of the students.  So after checking their understanding of the necessary objectives we are accelerating our lessons to allow more time for a more in depth research project in the weeks ahead.  We also learned about our 5^th grade level theme Change and how this can be found everywhere.  Our focus the next two weeks is on one specific generalization: Change can happen naturally or be caused by people.  

Ms. Dungan and I also taught a lesson based on inquiry within mathematics, building upon what the students know about numbers, we looked for patterns in what we saw and tried to connect new learning about prime, composite and square numbers to what we already know about numbers.

In fourth grade, Mrs. Wright-Owens, Mrs. Calaman and I introduced the students to our grade level theme of Relationships and focused on the generalization statement – All relationships are purposeful. We have tied this to our daily readings, stories, writing and why we group students by their interests sometimes and by their learning profile other times.  As the year progresses, we will continue to learn about ourselves as learners.

In third grade, Mrs. Mckee, Mrs. Catt and I began our time together as we introduced the students to the grade level theme of Structures.  We defined the term, looked at understanding the characteristics of the term and learned the hand –motions to support each generalization.  We will continue this lesson next week as the students create their own examples and non-examples of structures out of clay to demonstrate a generalization statement based on the student’s choice.  Please look for our finished structures and our reflections at our Open House on Sept. 18th!

In second grade, Mrs. McCallum and I have worked on beginning our first unit together –Introducing Systems.  This is a two week unit that brings in the study of habitats and economics as we learn about the concept of systems.  This week was filled with pre-assessments to learn more about each student’s understanding of habitats, economy, and mathematics, but we also took time out to learn a new strategy called mind mapping.  We viewed a Youtube video to learn the laws of mind mapping and then practiced the strategy together.  The students used this strategy to then share about themselves and write a letter to you about the strategy.  Please look for your child’s finished mind map and their letter to you in the halls by the end of next week.  We will be adding to these initial mind maps throughout the year and then they will be sent home to you at the end of the year.  We do this activity with the students on an ongoing basis to demonstrate the growth that occurs with each of them through this second grade year.  It truly will be amazing how much they change and grow.

 In every grade level, the students have started their own reflection/process logs that will be ongoing.  We use these to do mini-pulse checks on their thinking and the connections they make to the work we are doing in class. 

Each class will be bringing technology into their classwork and homework, as well.  You will find that on occasion some of their homework will be a blog post or a response to another’s post.  If any student does not have access to a computer at home, time will be provided during the day using the school’s computer to meet this expectation.

Thank you for all you continue to do at home and school to support us!   Have an enjoyable weekend!

Summary:
Information about upcoming 5th grade gifted screening offered to all 5th grade students late September – early October in VBCPS. Screening does not change the status of students already identified, but allows VBCPS to update scores.

Hello! My name is Mrs. Hawley and I am Trantwood Elementary’s Gifted Resource Teacher. In the weeks ahead, I will be working in all kindergarten and first grade classrooms and the gifted resource-cluster classes at grades 2– 5. I wanted to introduce myself as a resource for you and to let you know that I am here to answer questions you may have about VBCPS Gifted Education testing and programs! Please don’t hesitate — call.
Dates of Interest: (all applications can be found online)
First Quarter Gifted Screening for 5th grade students – end of September, 2012
Second Quarter Gifted Testing — testing date TBD usually mid-October to end of November**
• Suggested for: Grades 2—New to school division in 2012 and students in Grades 3, 4
Third Quarter Gifted Testing for students interested in applying for Old Donation Center (elementary gifted school) and Kemps Landing Magnet – (this is also the time to finalize gifted testing for 5th grade students
-Date: TBD
Fourth Quarter Gifted Testing for students new to school division since February, 2013 and second grade HOLD students already determined.
**Students tested and who do not qualify for services, must wait one full year from test date before applying again.
Please check the Trantwood Calendar
Stay tuned for the following upcoming events:
• 5th Grade Middle school options: Plaza Middle School’s International Baccalaureate Program and Kemps Landing Middle School (applications available in November)
• Parent Workshop: Gifted Referral and Identification Process
• Old Donation Center Open houses for dance and art programs

The mind is not a vessel to be filled,
but a fire to be ignited. ~ Plutarch

Please feel free to contact me any time with questions at 648-4000 ext.) 55042 or email me at mthawley@vbschools.com

Dear Parents,
The STARLAB has returned for another visit to Trantwood Elementary. For those that don’t know, the STARLAB is a portable planetarium that allows us to view the night sky during the regular school day. During their visit each grade level focused on a specific area that related directly to their curriculum and would enrich their understanding of the topic being covered.

Kindergarten – Investigated how each of us is an explorer in life. We discussed how scientists also use their senses (sight, sound, touch…) to understand the world around them. We also used positional words as we discussed the stars and moon above us and developed questions from our observations.

First Grade – When we visited the Starlab focused on explaining how the patterns of day and night are caused by the earth’s rotation. We predicted outcomes (seasons) based on actual observations of the moon’s and constellations positions in the night time sky.

Second Grade – As a class, we discussed the night time sky and how it is a system that has been in place for a long time. We discussed what we see today when we look to the skies, and then we looked at what the Ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Native Americans saw when they looked at the sky. We discussed similarities and differences between each based on the constellations that were used by each group.

Third Grade – We visited the Starlab to investigate how the moon cycle was seen in the skies above and the Earth’s role as it rotates on its axis. We also shared how explorers from the past may have used the stars and the moon in their travels. This provided a structure to their travel that some continue to use today. Under the night sky of the portable planetarium, we looked for how the explores could have used these celestial objects with reliability.

Fourth Grade – This grade level reviewed the changes in the Earth –Sun- Moon System. We discussed patterns in nature and the cycles that can occur with this topic. We shared how that they occur both quickly and over time and the relationship among the Earth cycles that can cause changes with other living things. We shared about ancient astronomers and their theories that have changed how we view the skies above us and described the phases of the moon that occur and what they look like in the night time sky.

Fifth Grade – We discussed how to use inquiry skills when we look at the world around us from the night time skies above (North Star being used for guidance) to the plates below us in the Earth’s many layers. Our discussion focused on investigating the changing Earth – plate tectonics and how their different movements cause changes in the surface of the world we know.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Hawley, GRT
Trantwood Classroom Teachers

As the beginning of November arrives, I wanted to give you a glimpse into each of the cluster classrooms and what they are working on at each of the different grade levels. This week’s focus is on the 5th Grade team of Dr. Ruszala and Ms. Dungan.

In Dr. Ruszala’s class, we are working in the big concept of Cyclic Change. As we look at the world around us and in literature to find examples to support these ideas. We have begun our novel studies to support this search, reading stories such as The Watsons Go To Birmingham, A Long Way to Chicago, and Chasing Vermeer. In each story, we are grappling with the vocabulary terms, the chapter and how it ties to our class concept, as well as, working with a literature circle role. A literature circle role, is a perspective a student takes as they read the assigned chapters. We gave each student a chance to share which role they prefer to be responsible for and over the next three weeks, they will rotate their job responsibilities to take on different roles. This encourages the students to think back upon readings from a specific perspective and then when we come together, they will each share within a smaller group their positions. Each group will have a Discussion Director, a Summarizer, a Passage Master, a Connector, and a Question Writer and will be led entirely by the students will the teacher acting as the facilitator of the discussions. We hope to see through the student’s work examples of connections or a maturity in their reflections and contributions. Each student will rotate through a leadership type role over the next three weeks and then we will close all our novel discussions with a larger literature discussion that will have two people from each novel to share about common questions between each of the novels.
Throughout the weeks, Dr. Ruszala, Ms. Teri, and I have also been able to bring in more online dialogue with our 5th grade blogging. We have over 1,000 student posts to literature questions from our readings and social studies discoveries. Each question is geared to encourage the students to reflect and add to their class’s discussion of the topic with a follow up point or question. We’re getting better at using support from our readings in our responses and learning how to import pictures or video to support our thoughts. It is an ongoing process, but one that each of the students seem to be enjoying as they gain insight about their fellow classmates in a safe environment.
In our work in Ms. Dungan’s class we are working with the VBCPS gifted unit titled: I Feel the Earth Move. This unit begins with a whole class introduction to geology and changes in the earth’s structure over time. For those students with advanced proficiency with the concepts, the differentiated unit facilitates extension and enrichment of the key concepts. Students study the theories of associated with Pangaea, Continental Drift Theory, and plate tectonics. To reinforce how the forces are impacting the Earth the students will be participating in a field trip to reinforce unit concepts and help answer the student’s unanswered questions from our classroom discoveries. In early February we will also be incorporating use of Starlab (a portable planetarium) for helping students make authentic connections to our classroom discussions.