Category: Curriculum

4th Grade’s AG in the Classroom

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District Strategic Goal #1:

Continuously Improve Student Growth and Achievement

Students in 4th grade invited Agriculture in the Classroom back to DGS and this time, they learned about where our milk comes from. Mrs. Spencer explained that before we can drink milk, it goes though the process of Pasteurization to rid the milk of any bacteria. We also learned which nutrients are present in milk such as vitamins, minerals and proteins. To demonstrate this, groups of students were given a tin of milk and added a few drops of food coloring to see that the color stayed put and did not mix or dissolve. Then, a drop of dish soap was put in the tin and students watched the color start to mix and move around. This is due to the fat protein molecules moving around and becoming sensitive to the changes that occurred. After learning this, students were given a chance to try a favorite among dairy products…cheese!

Science of Simple Machines

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District Strategic Goal #1:

Continuously Improve Student Growth and Achievement

The students of 3M and 3L are seeing firsthand how simple machines make work easier! After learning about the six simple machines, the students were asked to construct a figure (3M: the face of a clown/3L: a frog) using LEGOS. These figures contained one of the six simple machines. The students were able to see how the simple machine helped complete a task. For example, by using a wheel and axel, the students of 3M were able to move the eyes and the mouth of the clown at the same time!

 

Rebecca Caudill Awards

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5th Grade Students voted on the Rebecca Caudill student choice book for 2013.  The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award is an annual award given to the author of the book voted most outstanding by students in grades four through eight in participating Illinois schools. The award is named in honor of Rebecca Caudill who lived and wrote in Urbana, Illinois, for nearly 50 years. The award is given in recognition for her literary talent and the universal appeal of her books which have touched the hearts of many children and young adults.

The fifth graders voted yesterday for the book they thought should receive the award.  There were two books that stood out from the others: Smile by Raina Telgemeier and Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.  Smile won with 13 votes. Mrs. Piper will be at the Illinois Reading Council Conference in Springfield when the winner is announced in the Mid-March.

You can learn more about the award at:

http://www.rcyrba.org/

The Master List for the 2013 Nominees are:

Angleberger, Tom
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Amulet
2010
Grades 4-8

Baskin, Nora Raleigh
Anything but Typical
Simon & Schuster
2009
Grades 5-8

Draper, Sharon M.
Out of My Mind
Atheneum
2010
Grades 4-8

Falls, Kat
Dark Life
Scholastic
2010
Grades 5-8

Ferrari, Michael
Born to Fly
Delacorte
2009
Grades 4-7

Friend, Natasha
Bounce
Scholastic
2007
Grades 7-8

Gaiman, Neil
The Graveyard Book
HarperCollins
2008
Grades 5-8

Gephart, Donna
How to Survive Middle School
Delacorte
2010
Grades 4-8

Hawkins, Aaron
The Year Money Grew on Trees
Houghton Mifflin
2010
Grades 5-8

Holm, Jennifer L.
Turtle in Paradise
Random House
2010
Grades 4-6

LaFleur, Suzanne
Love, Aubrey
Random House
2009
Grades 4-7

Lai, Thanhha
Inside Out & Back Again
HarperCollins
2011
Grades 4-8

Meyer, Susan Lynn
Black Radishes
Delacorte
2010
Grades 5-8

Mulligan, Andy
Trash
Random House
2010
Grades 7-8

Perkins, Lynne Rae
As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth
Greenwillow
2010
Grades 6-8

Rhodes, Jewell Parker
Ninth Ward
Little, Brown
2010
Grades 5-8

Senzai, N. H.
Shooting Kabul
Simon & Schuster
2010
Grades 4-8

Telgemeier, Raina
Smile
Graphix
2010
Grades 4-8

Wiles, Deborah
Countdown
Scholastic
2010
Grades 5-8

Williams-Garcia, Rita
One Crazy Summer
Amistad
2010
Grades 6-8

Fundations at DGS

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District Strategic Goal #1
Continuously Improve Student Growth and Achievement

Students in Kindergarten and First Grade develop reading skills through Fundations work in their classroom. Fundations encourages skill development in the following areas:

  • Letter Formation
  • Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
  • Sound Mastery
  • Phonics
  • Vocabulary
  • Irregular (Trick Word) Instruction
  • Fluency
  • Comprehension
  • Written Composition

Student activities provide for hands-on learning of letter concepts. Students utilize magnetic tile boards like the one below to create words according to the target learning skills.

 

A larger version of the magnetic tile board is used by the teacher to teach the concepts to the whole group. Individual letter cards are used to drill letter names and sounds. The letter cards are color coded according to vowel, consonant or blends. In addition, “Marks” are used to indicate welded/glued sounds, digraphs, suffixes, and bonus letters.

Teachers lead students through a series of scaffolded lessons and sessions to build skills in the whole group, small groups, and individually. Fundations thoroughly teaches the Foundational Skills of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and significantly supports other CCSS standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.To learn more about fundations, check out their website at: http://www.fundations.com/overview.aspx

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