First Grade
Last month in Carl Sandburg’s first grade, they
were enjoying field trips and learning activities.
In Ms. Delude’s class, they were learning
about genres, at the time they were learning
about the characteristics of folktales. In addition to genre’ they were learning about how to
write persuasive writing, and in math, they
were learning expanded form, for example
“1000+200+30+2=1232.” One of their special
activities they participated in was a lesson
about dental health. In Ms. Repking’s class,
they were learning about making connections
i.e. text to self, text to text, text to world in a
“Reader’s Workshop” and in writing they were
doing persuasive writing as well. In her math
class, they were learning number sense which
is like, “If 3+5=8, then 30+50=80.” The students of Ms. Repking also enjoyed a Valen-
tine’s Day Party, which includes exchanging
valentines with candy. Ms. Czak’s class they
were learning about genre as well, to be specific, informational texts at the time. In writing
they were learning about opinion writing as
well. In math, they were learning about place
value, as well as skip counting, e.g. “5, 10, 15,
20, etc.” Ms. Nordland’s students were learning about the genres Fantasy and Realistic
Fiction and were comparing the two, and in
writing they were supporting their opinions.
Their math class was very busy. They have a
math workshop which is split into four groups:
one group has a small “group” or discussion
with a teacher or student teacher, another is
working on their own, yet another is playing
math games, and the final group is using tablets and computers to practice math concepts.
In addition to all that, they were learning about
space. One student said about the space unit,
“I like everything [about space] the same.”
Recently, all the first grade classes went to the
Lincoln Log Cabin, on Friday the 12th, which
also happened to be Abraham Lincoln’s 207 th
birthday! One student said that he enjoyed
touching sheep wool. Another student enjoyed
a game called “Poor Old Tom.” In Poor Old
Tom, one person is “Tom” and tries to makes
everybody laugh by saying, “Meow.” Overall it
seems that the first graders
are enjoying their year and
are looking forward to the rest
of it!
By Lahiru Periyannan
Second Grade
The second graders at Carl Sandburg are working hard! They are currently being taught all about the leaders of our country in honor of President's Day. Some of the students will be writing reports about specific
presidents, which they will then present to their classes. In reading, the
second graders are analyzing biographies about famous people, specifically Hellen Kellen and Anne Sullivan. The teachers have also been
educating their about different types of genres. They are currently focusing on fairy tales, folktales, and fables. The students are very excited about their upcoming project, which is a written
fractured fairy tale. This involves taking a classic, well
known fairytale and changing it or combining a few
different ones.
In mathematics, the kids are being taught about all
the different coins and their values. They will also be
learning how to add and subtract coins. To reinforce
these lessons, the second grade teachers recently
brought their students to First Neighbor Bank in
Charleston. The kids got to listen to staff at the bank talk about their
work and procedures. The children were especially interested in the
bank vault and the "money machine". Students also were taught about
how a checking account works.
Second graders have had the privilege of going on multiple field trips
this year, including the Staerkel Planetarium in Champaign. In April,
they will be heading to the Indianapolis Children's museum. Many EIU
students get to serve as student teachers at Carl
Sandburg. They get to assist the teacher, plan lessons, and work with students. One EIU student from
Malaysia, Ms. Koay, is teaching the students in Mr.
Taylor's second grade class. Another student teacher,
Miss Bauffman, is assisting in Miss Kennedy’s second
grade class.
By Rachel Thomas
Third Grade
In Carl Sandburg the third graders are working on many things. In Mrs.
Smith’s room they have just finished reading the I Survived: Pearl Harbor. They also incorporated some of the unit into Social Studies by
talking about Pearl Harbor. In Math they have just finished a unit on
multiplying and dividing and they are on to fractions. In Mrs. Bosler’s
class, they have just finished a unit on Helen Keller. Some activities
they did are reading a biography
about her, some experiments like
drawing a picture blindfolded, sign
language, and learning how to decipher braille. In spelling most teacher have activities like pick 6 words
from a list and write them in sentences. They also use technology very
well in spelling and math. They use an app called Spelling City and they
use in math they have apps on subjects they use in stations.
Carl Sandburg
In almost all classes they did a Valentine’s Party. In Mr.
Francis’ room they watched a video and exchanged cards
and candy. In Mrs. Bosler’s room they played a game
where you had gloves on and had to unwrap a piece of
candy. Overall the kids said they had a good time. In Mrs. Bosler’s
room and many other, they are taking lots or reading counts or RC
quizzes. An RC quiz is when you read a book and then take a 10 question quiz. If you get 7 out of 10 or higher than you get the points your
book is worth. Then your total points equal what prize you get. The
overall class total is over 4,500. One student is almost at 500 himself.
The third grade is doing great and having fun overall.
By Chase Bosler
Classroom Courier, page 5