Little Leopard News, January 2013

7/29/2019 Little Leopard News, January 2013

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LittleLeop

ard

es

Jan2012

Science and Technology in the ClassroomSome of the first science process skills thatstudents learned and applied in Mrs.

Rodriguesclass when learning about

animals were observation andclassification. Through the use of aPromethean smart board, studentsobserved representations of animals intheir natural environments. Then, based onthe physical characteristics and behavior ofthe animals, students dragged theanimals into their respective animal groupssuch as mammals, birds, fish, amphibians,reptiles, and insects. Mrs. Rodrigues

encouraged the students to explain thethinking behind their classification

decisions as they dragged the animals intothe animal groups. Students self-concluded that animals from differentanimal groups may share the samehabitat, which lead to a discussion aboutbasic survival needs of all living things andinterrelationships is the natural world.Without realizing, students were alsopracticing the science process skills ofinference and communication. !


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In Mrs. Rodrigues class, students have beenworking on a Social Studies project with their families

since the holidays. Students chose between creating afamily tree poster and writing an essay about theirfamilys ancestors and/or traditions. The projectsinclude very detailed and valued information thatstudents will be sharing with the class this week in thepresence of their relatives.

Students commented that they were very happywith the opportunity that was given to them to learnabout their families, especially about relatives that live

far away and/or are not with us anymore. Mrs.Rodrigues believes that the projects and theirrespective presentations will enable the class tocelebrate diversity and grow appreciation for who theyare individually and as a community. In addition,students will develop their presentation skills,attaching even more meaning to the content of the

projects, and growing their self-

Who is in your Family Tree?

Take a look at Mrs.Rodrigues website for more

photos of the projects, which canbe found through the Easton Area

School District website.

Cross Curricular

Holiday Project in 4th

Grade

The students in Mrs.

Maczkos 4th grade class

participated in a researchproject that began in the libraryand ended in the classroom.The students practiced theirresearch skills with the help ofMiss Kordek as they gatheredinformation about a topicrelated to the holidays.Working individually or with a

partner, students collectedinformation and recorded it ona graphic organizer.

Back in the classroom, theinformation was transformedinto a colorful poster. Eachgroup was required togenerate 3 questionsbased on their research.

The highlight of theproject was a GalleryWalk where studentswere given time to viewall of the posters andanswer the questions.The project was such asuccess that another jointproject with Miss Kordekis already being planned!
http://cmr9532.wix.com/mrsrodrigueshttp://cmr9532.wix.com/mrsrodrigueshttp://cmr9532.wix.com/mrsrodrigueshttp://cmr9532.wix.com/mrsrodrigues


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What is Phonemic Awareness? Phonemicawareness is not the same thing as phonics. Phonemicawareness deals with sounds in spoken words, whereasphonics involves the relationship between sounds and

written symbols. Phonics deals with learning sound-spelling relationships and isassociated with print. Most phonemic awareness tasks are purely oral.

-- Wiley Blevins in Phonics from A to Z: A Practical Guide

Phonemic Awareness is important because studies have shown:! It improves childrens word reading and comprehension! It helps with spelling

Practice Phonemic AwarenessActivities:!Cut magazine pictures (commercial cards are also available-Ive seen some atdollar stores) and match pictures that rhyme- a cat & a hat , a sign & a dime, a fish& a dish, etc.

! Sing songs! Practice making rhymes How many words can we think of that rhymewith__________! Play I Spy with beginning or ending sounds.! Create tongue twisters!Pick words (a childs name/family names are a great start) and clap, snap, or tapout the sounds. For example -Bill /b/ , /i/, /l/ Johnson is /j/, /o/, /n/, /s/, /o/, /n/! Read Dr. Seuss or other authors that use rhymes. Read the story, then re-readthe story leaving of some of the rhyming words-see if your child remembers them

or can come up with one of their own.

March School is off to a good startusing First in Math Online Program in

grades 2, 3, and 4. First In Math activities employDeep Practice techniques to rapidly increasecomputation, problem solving, critical thinking and

essential math basics. Skills that may take months ofregular practice can be mastered in a much shorter time

using Deep Practice techniques and the immediate feedback

online learning can provide. Children using FIM have showndramatic increases in math scoresacross the board from the

top students to the most math-challenged learners. We are excited tosee students' active engagement in theprogram again this year. Classroomshave already started earning weeklytrophies for being the team of the weekin their grade.

Top Five Players

Megumi B. # 6,235Tiah F. # 5,026Lyla V# 4,924

Salman A.#

4,694Estelle F. # 4,380

First in Math

Player of theMonth

Mason W.+ 3,029

Team of the MonthMrs. Maczko

+13,610

Reading Corner: Tips

for Parents


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The students have been trying many different types of fruits and vegetables. Somethat they know and others they do not. One of the fruits they tried this month is a

Meyer Lemon. It is a cross between a true lemon and either a mandarin or commonorange. They have a slightly sweeter taste then a true lemon but doesnt mean that

students didnt make faces.

Fresh Fruit and VeggieProgram

# The First Grade Students at F.A. March ElementarySchool participated in their second RIF day for the

2012-2013 school year. Students were invited to participatein various literacy-based centers which focused on phonicsand building reading fluency. The highlight of this event forthe students was taking home a very special book to add totheir own personal library. As you can see, everyone had a FAME-tastic

Reading is Fundamental& 1st Grade


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Winter WeatherArt

Winter weather was theinspiration for Januaryartwork. After reading"Snowmen at Night"students tackled thechallenge of winter

landscapes. Theycarefully studied theillustrations to notice theuse ofhorizon lines,foreground,middleground andbackground. First gradeapplied this to their ownlandscape paintingswhile second and thirdgraders created platesfor printmaking. To seemore examples by ourstudent artists, visit ouronline gallery hosted atwww.artsonia.com.

Happy New Year! The NewYear is a time to start anewand resolve to do something tomake oneself a better person. Mrs.Danyis ESL students discussed how wecan Start the New Year on the right foot.We discussed what we can do to be abetter son/daughter, brother/sister,student, neighbor, etc. Angel inkindergarten said, I will help my mom.Jeffery in 1st grade stated, I will be listen

to my daddy. Sara in 3rd

grade resolved,I will read more often. Rose in 4th gradeproclaimed, I want to get 4s in all of myclasses. As January rings in the newyear, we wish everyone a safe, happy,and healthy 2013!

Does the moon really change shape?This is the question that third gradeESL students explored as anintroduction to a unit related to themoon. After learning that the moon doesnot change shape, the students learnedabout the phases of the moon. Usingoreo cookies, the students demonstrated their knowledge of

each phase. It was so fun todepict a waxing crescent moonout of an oreo! A full moon wasyummy to eat because all of theicing stayed on the cookie. A newmoon was not so yummybecause no icing was needed toshow the darkened phase. Youcan do this at home, too. Have

fun!

ESL Stepping Onthe Right Foot

Science, OREOs

and ESL
http://www.artsonia.com/http://www.artsonia.com/


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VISIT THE SCHOOLWEBSITE @

HTTP://WWW.EASTONSD.ORG/MARCH/WELCOME.HTML

SCHOOL ADDRESS:

429 READER STEASTON, PA 18042

PHONE NUMBER:

610-250-2531

Articles

Contributions:

" K. Pasquel" N. Niosi

" M. Woodland

" J. Brunetti" C. Rodrigues

" M. Danyi" H Maczko

Compiled By: M. Kinney and C. Kordek

Its Hip to C ip: BoxtopsOur Little Leopards are doing a FAME-tastic job of clipping Box

Tops for the 2012-2013 school year. We set a goal of raising

$1,500.00. The money earned through the

collection of Box Tops will help to fund ourFAME prizes.

We are so excited to share that our school

has already collected $968.00 in box tops.

What a fabulous job! There is a new Box

Tops tracking chart in the hall to help our

school celebrate our progress. Don't forget

to clip box tops and bring them into

school because its HIP to CLIP!

Up ComingEvents

FebruaryFeb 2

# Groundhog Day

Feb 6# $2.00 BookstoreFeb 8

# No SchoolFeb 15

# No School

Feb 18

# No SchoolFeb 22

# March Pride

MarchMarch 1

# Dr. Seuss# CelebrationMarch 6

# $2.00 BookstoreMarch 27 - Apr 1

# No School# Spring Break
http://www.eastonsd.org/march/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.eastonsd.org/march/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.eastonsd.org/march/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.eastonsd.org/march/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.eastonsd.org/march/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.eastonsd.org/march/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.eastonsd.org/march/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.eastonsd.org/march/Welcome.html

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Little Leopard News, January 2013