Hi teachers,

Spring break came and went way too fast, but we’re back and ready to roll into the final stretch of the school year. These last two months always feel like a sprint, and this week is no exception.

Math: Geometry is HERE​
You know it’s the end of the year when geometry finally makes its appearance. This week, we’re diving into classifying polygons using hierarchies and Venn diagrams.

That whole “every square is a rectangle, but not every rectangle is a square” idea can really trip kids up, so we lean heavily on color-coded anchor charts to make the relationships clear.

And when it comes to triangles… we bring out one of our all-time favorite teaching tools: the triangle family story.

We honestly have no idea where this originated, but it has lived in our classrooms for years:

• Ed Equilateral (dad) – dependable, always the same, treats everyone equally
• Iris Isosceles (mom) – changes her look, but she likes balance so always keeps two sides the same
• Grandma Scalene – nothing is quite “even” anymore

And the kids:

• Ronnie Right – sits up straight, does everything right
• Ozzie Obtuse – laid back, always reclining
• Annie Acute – small and cute

As we tell the story, we sketch the family on chart paper and students recreate it in their notebooks. The best part is when they realize the overlap: the “adults” were once kids (so they have angle classifications), and the kids will grow up (so they’ll have side classifications). That’s when the lightbulbs start going off.

We’re including a free geometry notes page to go along with this unit. It’s perfect for student notebooks and helps make all those shape relationships a lot more visual and manageable.

👉 Classifying Shapes Notes​

If you want something to reinforce this thinking with application, we love using this:
👉 Classifying Shapes Word Problems​

Reading: Flush is a hit (and also… we feel old 😅)​
We’re continuing our novel study of Flush, and the kids are hooked on the mystery.

We did have a moment last week though…

A student asked when the story takes place. We said “modern day,” and they immediately asked what a cassette and a VCR were.

We confidently said, “Well, it was published in 2005, so it’s pretty new.”

…yeah. That did not land the way we expected.

Turns out 2005 was 20 years ago. So that’s where we’re at now 😂

Thankfully, the story still holds up and students are fully invested. We’re just over here processing our age.

Project Season is in full swing​
We’ve got a lot happening right now:

• Some students are wrapping up their Revolutionary War Battle Circle Books (still one of our favorite projects of the year)
• At the same time, we’re launching into our Earth’s Water research unit

For research, we lean heavily on BrainPop’s research videos to kick things off. They do a great job helping students narrow their focus and develop strong guiding questions before they dive in. Our school pays for a subscription for our classes, so it is worth asking your admin about if you don't have access to the program already.

Test Prep: Getting ready for state testing​
We’re starting to gear up for state testing season. Here in California, that means the Smarter Balanced assessment.

Honestly, this is a big reason we created Instructron in the first place.

Our students have been using it all year, so now they’re super comfortable working through practice questions and getting real-time coaching from Tronnie, the built-in AI coach.

If you want to check it out, you can head to:
👉 instructron.com​
Use code TOPFLOOR20 for a discount.

And if AI is something you’re unsure about, just know:

• It can be turned off for individual students
• Or turned off entirely

So it’s as flexible as you need it to be.

As always, if there’s something you’d want to see added or adjusted, let us know. We’re building this with real classrooms in mind.

We’re excited to be back and finishing the year strong. Let’s do this!

Quyen & Joe
Top Floor Teachers

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