Cambridge Happening’s At Barnette

December 2016 Volume 2, Issue 4

Below are some of the ways that Christmas is celebrated around the world.

In Argentina, houses are beautifully decorated with lights and wreaths of green, gold, red and white flowers. Red and white garlands are hung on the doors of houses. Also, Christmas Cards typically aren't common in Argentina.

In Greenland, families like to visit each other and have parties within the Polar Inuit’s, which are typical small villages. Often, they will drink coffee and eat cakes and exchange brightly wrapped parcels. Most of the traditional presents consist of: model sledges, a pairs of polished walrus tusks, or sealskin mitts. Everyone in the village gets a gift and children go from house to house, singing songs.

In Ethiopia, Christmas is still celebrated based on the old Julian calendar. As a result of this, Ethiopians actually celebrate Christmas on January 7th, not December 25th! A traditional Christmas meal is called a “wat.” This is a thick and spicy stew that contains meat, vegetables and sometimes eggs.

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In Greece, many children, especially boys, often go out singing 'kalanda' (carols) in the streets during Christmas Eve. They play drums and triangles as they sing, and sometimes will also carry model boats decorated with nuts which are painted gold. Since Greece is close to the sea, carrying a boat is a very old custom in the Greek Islands.

CAMBRIDGE MATH:During a recent visit to Ms. Walker’s 4th grade classroom, the students were involved in a wonderful discussion on using multiple strategies to relate multiplication and division together through Fact Families. Through this discussion, key vocabulary such as: dividend, divisor, and quotient were being utilized by the students in an effective manner. Recently, Ms. Walker also had her students working together in collaborative groups based on a “Monkey Business” activity. With the support of our TD teacher Mrs. Hurst, the students were to solve a multiple step word problem, specifically utilizing the “Working Backwards” method. Taking it a step further, several students then utilized the “Working Forward” method to check their work and answers. Currently, the students are discussing and more importantly, proving how there were multiple strategies and methods to solving multiplication and division word problems.

Mrs. Huffman’s 5th graders are currently involved with their fraction unit. As part of this unit, the students were provided a Task Rubric based on specific requirements to create a “Fraction Friend.” This character could be a real person, a book or television character, or even an animal. In all, there are six different tasks for the students to complete, based on specific requirements. Through recent I-Weekly studies, the students have begun to read and learn about the current Standing Rock issue based on the Dakota Pipeline, as well as the recent wildfires in Tennessee. Within these activities, the students were learning about the motive behind the protest, the benefits and concerns of the pipeline, environmental issues, and the overall government’s connection and role. Additionally, they discussed and learned about “heroism,” and what makes a hero. Just another great opportunity for the students to utilize technology through Google Classroom, while being engaged in learning about current events. As an additionally way to provide students with math resources, the students have been working on the Khan Academy website to practice current math skills related to fractions and division.

Below: Examples of several “Monkey Business” displays form Ms. Walker’s students.

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Below: Mrs. Huffman’s “Fraction Friend” Activity.

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Below: The recent cover photos from this month’s I-Weekly discussion.

CAMBRIDGE LITERACY:Though Mrs. Terry’s students recently completed their research projects and presentations from their astronaut studies, I did want to share a few examples of “Biography Times” products as seen below.

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As part of their recent studies, the students were learning about “Parodies,” in preparation to begin writing their own. As a way to increase student understanding, the students in Mrs. Terry’s class watched a few brief Sesame Street videos based on The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars. However, to understand the overall concept of a Parody, they watched: Cookie of Oz and Star S’mores, as seen below.

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Mrs. Terry’s students have also been discussing and working with similes. Below is a recent example that was shared in the classroom as a way to model and build understanding for the students.

In Mrs. Mckenley’s classroom, the students have recently been working on Poetry, and the different components that can go into a poem. In order to help her students further develop an understanding of poetry and these characteristics, they were to work together and come up with their own Holiday Poetic song based on the below criteria:

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Below: Students from Mrs. Mckenley’s class collaborating and creating their own Holiday Poetic Songs.

Below: Link to a video of Mrs. Mckenley’s students singing their Holiday Poetic Song.

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Next up in Mrs. Mckenley’s class, the students are beginning to analyze and communicate ideas about the Holocaust. To help her students truly understand and realize the true meaning of this event, she began by sharing

testimonials from survivors of various concentration camps. To further build upon previous connections, Mrs. Mckenley was able to remind the students from previous discussions during the American Revolution.

Below: Mrs. Mckenley’s Bulletin Board depicting Colonial America.

CAMBRIDGE SCIENCE:In Mrs. Terry’s 4th grade science class, the students have been conducting experiments on light reflection. Based on small group discussions with Mrs. Gibson, the students created their own rating system based on how well objects reflect light. Below are some pictures from this wonderful learning experience. During another recent visit, I had the opportunity to review several of the students’ Science Weekly Notebooks. Lots of wonderful information within these pages to support learning and understanding. With the students currently studying rocks and minerals, they had completed a KWL chart to activate their prior knowledge, had information pertaining to key vocabulary and drawings to support their work. Additionally, there were opportunities for self-reflection and self-rating at the end of the notebook. Just another great way of how our students are accountable for their own learning.

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In 5th grade, Mrs. Key’s students have been learning about conduction, convection, and the entire heating and cooling process. In order to help her students understand the overall process and how heating and cooling can affect different materials, she has had her students create a “Heat House” as a way to help them connect their learning to their everyday lives. With the culminating Heat Transfer Test, the students were to “show” their understanding of their new knowledge by completing an illustration and labeling the following terms: convection, conduction, and radiation. Another great way to demonstrate authentic learning as a result of their “Heat House” activities.

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Below: Mrs. Key’s model of the “Heat House” that she created to share with her students.

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Below: Student examples of the “Heat House.”

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Zone News/Updates:

As a kick-off to our 2017-18 Cambridge Application Process, several of our teachers participated in an informational night recently at Hopewell High School. This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the amazing things all of the Cambridge schools are doing within our zone. Below is the presentation in case anyone is interested.

http://prezi.com/tnb26q3spwjz/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Below: Another example of a recent I-Weekly assignment from one of Mrs. Huffman’s students based on the recent US Presidential Election.