Zoo field trip!

We had a great time at the zoo! Here are some pictures:

Week of May 12, 2014

I know, so sad that my daily blog has become more of a weekly one... sorry but here is our week:

We have begun every day with Genius Hour. What has your kiddo been researching? In Math, students are working on one of two projects. Either "Life in a Geometrical Town" or making a 3-D scale model of their bedroom. In Reader's Workshop, we've been working with Time for Kids and our StoryWorks as well as just reading for pleasure and working on puzzles to help with critical thinking. Finally, we began writing a narrative based on a LEGO character that we created.

This afternoon, we created our t-shirts for Field Day. I'm going to take them home over the required 72-hours and wash them inside out. They will be waiting here for your kiddos on Monday morning to change into.

              

 


Tomorrow is our field trip to the zoo! I'll post, hopefully, lots of fun pictures from our trip!

TGIF! May 9

We had an odd day because the 5th grade students needed absolute quiet during their final OAA today. So, we began with taking a M4T test. Then, we read about fossils and completed some comprehension questions about what we read. Finally, we watched the movie, Cars. We're calling it a celebration of the end of testing. :) After lunch and outside recess (thanks, rain for staying away!), we finished Bud, Not Buddy and then went to a dance party in the gym for the 4th and 5th grade students. We came back to the room and Mrs. Vidic came in for Guidance.

Happy Mother's Day!!

... Thursday, May 8

Sorry that it has been awhile--stressful times: i.e. my daughter broke her foot, my husband is finally back from China! :), OAA's...

Last Friday, we prepared ourselves for testing by moving the furniture and seats to give us more room to work. We also played a Vocabulary Quiz Game Show on the Smart Board.

On Monday, we focused our economic discussion on entrepreneurs and used Skype to learn about starting a business. We Skyped with Trew, one of the founders of Tom + Chee-a new restaurant coming to Hilliard in June with a grilled cheese and tomato soup specialty. Hopefully, your kiddo told you about this discussion. (I tweeted about it too, as did Mr. Hennes on our Alton Darby twitter feed and we were retweeted by HCSD!) Another thing we did to prepare for testing was to use a video game remote CONTROL to focus on the plethora of things we CAN control with the OAA's. This was really informative to them and I think they felt empowered.

On Tuesday, students worked extremely hard on the Reading OAA. I was uber impressed! By the way, they LOVED their notes of encouragement from home!! Thank you to those that sent notes in!!  That afternoon, we completed obstacle courses in a group special with 4th and 5th grade students and practiced math for the next OAA.

Yesterday, after our Brain Gym exercises, we took the Math OAA. I didn't see as much effort as I did the day before but maybe they were more confident in Math? I'm not sure but I let them keep their booklets for a little longer and I noticed that quite a few of them went back and checked and re-checked their work. They each got a medal for completing the OAA!! I was out in the afternoon because Ella was getting her cast put on but Mr. S filled in and did a good job. There were a few issues but I took care of them this morning and hopefully all was resolved. They had a lesson introduces Genius Hour and I'm going to let your child tell you more about what this is.

Today, we began with the students catching me up on Genius Hour from yesterday and finished picking their topics. Then, after Music, we re-arranged the tables, thanks to the design of Samuel, and then played Farkle and/or Yahtzee! After a blazing and sweaty recess, we went back to the Media Center for a second lesson on Genius Hour. When we returned to our room, we completed the work that was started yesterday in Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop, read silently, visited the library and finished the Thank You letter to Trew from Tom + Chee for Skyping with us.

It's been such a busy, crazy week and we're not even finished yet!

Thursday, May 1

We spent a lot of time out of the classroom today! We started in the computer lab working on our Fossil Webquest. Then, after Music, we played a Math Game Show in the Media Center. After recess, we went back to the Media Center and played a Vocabulary Game Show. Finally, we came back to the room, read silently and wrote Invitation Poetry. Busy day!

Wednesday, April 30

Our day began in the Computer Lab working on a Webquest on Fossils. Students take on a role-archaeologist, geologist, paleontologist or reporter-and do their part to find information about fossils. After Art, we visited Mrs. Dornburgh's class to listen to their research presentation on animals. Our kiddos did a good job listening and asking questions and they did an amazing job on their research and presentation! For Math, we finished our practice around the room and then went over our answers. How did your child do? Unfortunately, we aren't ducks so we had recess inside today. Then, we listened to Bud, Not Buddy. After listening, we wrote some characteristics about Herman E. Calloway and Bud--how they've changed throughout the story. In Reader's Workshop, we got caught up on some of the work we have been working on this week, read silently (ish) and broadened our vocabulary. Then, we continued our work with writing an invitation poem, from yesterday, or worked with parts of speech in Mad Libs.

Tuesday, April 29

Students work so much harder on their Math 4 Today when it is Technology Tuesday... Anyway, we worked on our M4T and then used our technology to get our brains going. Emma was very involved in homeroom this morning and may kiddos read with her! (The compassion and care that some of these students have is amazing!)                                  

             

      

After getting our brains worked up, we finished watching the Bill Nye video about fossils and then went to gym. After gym, we switched things up a little for Math. I took a practice OAA and they had to grade and score my assessment. They had to decide if my answer was correct and if not, had to correct it. Then, they scored my assessment--I failed. :( They caught most of my mistakes and were able to fix them AND also explain what I did wrong. Good job analyzing! We then walked around the room answering practice questions.
The rain stopped just in time for recess and we were able to play outside--it was glorious! After recess, we listened to Bud, Not Buddy and wrote down an inference that we made along with evidence as to why/how we felt this way. In Reader's Workshop, we worked with a Time For Kids about video games and learned some new vocabulary--does your child know what equine means?? We also read silently and independently. We worked with poetry in Writer's Workshop today. We were a little competitive with Funglish yesterday so we're going to take a day off. :)

Monday, April 28

After today, only 3 more Monday's left in 4th grade! Wow! We began with Math 4 Today but this group doesn't work too well with intrinsic motivation so if they didn't get 3 out of 4 on today's problems, they would be working at recess to correct their mistakes. Guess what? Then, we made Government "trees" to show the branches of government at local, state and federal levels. In Math, we played BINGO and some did quite a bit better than others...if they know the vocabulary of Math, they will be more prepared for the upcoming OAA's. After multiple rounds and very few winners, (Blaine, Blaine, Blaine and Brock) we decided to end Math playing Yahtzee. After indoor recess, we listened to Bud, Not Buddy and Bud found Herman E. Calloway--whom he suspects to be his father! In Reader's Workshop, we got a new StoryWorks magazine and read, "The Girl Who Discovered the Dinosaurs," practiced parts of speech using MadLibs and tried to read silently--some (all boys) are still struggling with this and refusing to read... We played Funglish in Writer's Workshop-ask your kiddo about this fun game!

TGIFriday, April 25

Well...we began our day with an epic Pinterest fail on my part... I tried to kick-off our Life Science Unit on Fossils with fossil cookies... and they were so cool/cute before I cooked them...

Then, when they puffed up in the oven, they lost their impressions. :( So, we ended up having fossil cookie crumbles. :) It's the thought that counts, right?!

After an amazing Art (we earned a potato head piece! One more to go...), we worked with 2-dimensional shapes and their properties. We made ADE's twitter feed during our Quadrilateral Roundup 

and then worked with lines of symmetry in a very artistic manner. Unfortunately, it was indoor recess but then we listened to more of Bud, Not Buddy through iTunes. In Reader's Workshop, we found letters with symmetry using the capital alphabet, enjoyed some of the activities within our StoryWorks magazine and read silently and independently. To finish out the day, we wrote a narrative about how we'd spend a week if we were a dollar bill. I can't wait to read these!

Thursday, April 24

Late Start--happy 1/2 day for kiddos! We had a weird schedule today...

We started our day with Yahtzee! This was a good way to practice math in a fun way, since we only had about 30 minutes. After Math, we had a shortened special, lunch, recess and Guidance. When I finally got my kiddos back, we read silently--building our stamina and pleasure for reading--and then worked with a practice OAA passage. We finished our work with Dictionary skills and played Dictionary/Thesaurus Roll-a-Word to finish out the day.

Wednesday, April 23

Do you remember School House Rocks?? We started learning about Government and Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities so I showed a couple videos this morning. We watched "Three-Ring Government" and my absolute favorite, "I'm Just a Bill" along with a second viewing of "Preamble." LOVE those videos! Then, students worked more with the Ohio Studies Weekly on Rights and Responsibilities. After gym, we took Math outside and did some multiple choice test prep by moving to our answer choice. They really enjoyed this. After that, we worked in the room on writing expressions and equations and using Venn Diagrams with math and numbers. After a brisk but beautiful recess, we listened to more of Bud, Not Buddy. Afterwards, we played a matching game with synonyms and antonyms before settling into Reader's Workshop, where we read independently, worked on main idea and inference using a non-fiction passage and played a synonym/antonym superhero game. For Writer's Workshop today, we continued our work with Dictionary skills and played Dictionary/Thesaurus Roll-a-Word.

Monday, April 21-Tuesday, April 22

Sorry...my husband is in China for another 3 weeks and I'm a little behind...

We began our day (Monday) with the Checkpoint Writing Assessment. It was an opinion piece given to all 4th graders in HCSD. I've only looked at a few at this point and it looks like most students--according to this rubric--are falling in the 2nd-3rd grade level. I will continue to grade and let you know of the trends I notice but mostly, students are not giving ENOUGH! After Art, we went over our practice Math OAA from last week (hopefully, they shared these with you as they were to bring them home yesterday). Then, we spent some time working with vocabulary. Today, we'll continue with vocabulary and OAA practice/review. After recess, we worked in the computer lab with Mrs. Dorr to go over the TRAILS assessment that students took in October. This assessment looked at topics like bibliographies, primary sources, reading a graph, identifying a publisher, when to use a specific resource, etc. Then, we went over a practice Reading OAA passage we had completed last week. Finally, we reviewed using a Dictionary and ALL of the parts included in an entry and played a game using a Dictionary and/or Thesaurus.

Today, after a grueling Math 4 Today, students participated in Technology Tuesday (one of their favorite things to do!) In Social Studies, we talked about citizenship rights and responsibilities and related these things to their lives as students. Just as they have rights and responsibilities as a student, citizens have rights along with responsibilities--like voting and jury duty. We read and completed an Ohio Studies Weekly to help with this understanding. The students started their guitar unit in music today and loved it! In Math, we played a little Pictionary/Cherades/Win, Lose or Draw with the vocabulary of Math. Does your kiddo know what a prime number is? What about an expression? After recess, we caught back up with Bud, Not Buddy. Reader's Workshop was noisy but they did some learning. We worked with main idea and inference with Story Works, played a game of Synonym-Antonym Superhero Scuffle and read/visited the library or worked with me. For Writer's Workshop today, we continued our dictionary work and played another round of Dictionary or Thesaurus Roll-a-Word! 

TGIThursday, April 17

(Sorry that there isn't a blog from yesterday. My mom was rushed to the hospital and I had to leave early.)

We began our day with test preparation. Some of the things we discussed was the vocabulary of testing, common mistakes made by students and that both the math and reading tests really test reading ability too. We watched some testing parodies yesterday which were clever, cute and funny. Some students have decided to create their own parodies too! Here are the links to some of the ones we watched: Thrift Shop Testing Parody
Test Me Maybe
What Does the Test Say?
All the Harman Students

After gym (Mr. Burkhart said that our class is too competitive for school gym...this leads to poor sportsmanship.), we took the 1/2 length Math Practice OAA...ugh! Their stamina was icky and they seemed way too stressed out to give their best effort. This was only a practice test! We will be working to build stamina, work in a silent work environment and persevere and problem solve over the next couple of weeks. Recess was beautiful! (I hope it stays around this time.) Bud had his first kiss today which was a big LOL moment for the class. Our brain break was a fire drill but at least we got outside for a few more moments. Then, we read, silently and independently for 20 minutes solid. This was EXTREMELY hard for some students! Please help to build the stamina. It should be nothing for a 4th grader to read for 20 minutes at one sitting. After reading, they wrote a summary of what they read. Their summaries are getting better. Finally, we ended our day in the computer lab writing our personal narratives.

Tuesday, April 15

Do you wanna build a snowman... (I know that April showers bring May flowers but what does April SNOW bring?!)

After Technology Tuesday fun, we looked at the OAA test blueprints for Reading and Math. We learned that just like we learn how to read non-fiction and fiction, reading tests and test-taking is a genre. One thing we figured out was how long it SHOULD take to read the assessment only--at least 45 minutes. This proved that no one should turn in their tests too quickly. I explained that they give us 2 and 1/2 hours for a reason... After Art, we looked at angles as part of a circle and then learned how to use a protractor. We completed a game, Guess my angle, and practiced naming and measuring angles. After lunch and indoor recess (Brrr!), we listened to more of Bud, Not Buddy. Does your kiddo enjoy listening to this audiobook or do they prefer when I read it? In Reader's Workshop, we read silently and then wrote a 3-5 sentence summary of what was read. We also played Vocabulary Rock-n-Roll and completed a reading passage and questions or worked on challenges on MangaHigh. For Writer's Workshop, we went to the computer lab to work on our personal narratives.

Monday, April 14

In Social Studies, we continued our look at African Americans in Ohio during segregation and slavery and completed an OSW about this and the Underground Railroad. In Math, we kept going with geometry and reviewed all of the vocabulary needed to move forward. We started a new read aloud book today, Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. We are listening to the audiobook on iTunes--James Avery (uncle Phil from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) is the narrator and does an amazing job! In Reader's Workshop, we worked with vocabulary and summaries. Some students still really need to build their stamina with reading so we're going to work on this skill too. We focused on writing personal narratives today in Writer's Workshop. Which event is your child writing about?

Thursday, April 10

Our day was a little different today but here's what we did:

Do you know the difference between brown eggs and white eggs? How many eggs does a hen lay in a day? A year? We found the answer to these questions this morning and much more! We learned about having a nutritional breakfast and the 6g of protein we get from just one egg. Then, we designed ideal breakfasts using the template through choosemyplate.gov. In Music, we participated in a webcast with the quartet "Carpe Diem" and the children loved it. After that, we learned some basic geometry terms and played, "Mrs. Lambright says." Ask your kiddo about this game. After recess, we took a virtual field trip to a farm where we saw the process of eggs--from farm to table! We submitted three questions but they didn't pick ours to read during the webcast. Oh well. Finally, we continued our work on our opinion/persuasive essays. 

Wednesday, April 9

What a gorgeous day! I'm actually looking forward to recess duty today...

We began our day getting caught up with Science, Math, Writing, Social Studies... After a very, sweaty gym, we used spring scales and balances to weigh the objects that we listed yesterday. How close were their estimates? After recess, we finished 26 Fairmount Avenue. I think some kiddos have another series-ish of books to read now. We worked on close-reading questions that correspond with the fiction story from Story Works, worked with me on writing summaries from non-fiction text and some students completed measurement challenges from mangahigh. In Writer's Workshop, we continued our work with our persuasive/opinion papers.

Tuesday, April 8

Unfortunately, I spent the morning at the doctor with my daughter and getting x-rays of her foot...hopefully it isn't broken but we're waiting to hear back...at least it isn't severe! Anyway, Mrs. Park was here this morning and helped the kiddos with the following: In Science, they completed their Physical Science post-tests on electricity and circuits. They were able to use any resources needed to complete this work. In Math, they worked with weight and estimating a gram, kilogram, ounce and pound. Tomorrow we'll check their estimates. After a glorious outdoor recess, I began a new read aloud with them. We are reading a memoir by Tomie dePaola called 26 Fairmount Avenue. Ask your child about a memoir and hopefully they will tell you that it is like a long personal narrative. Finally, our day ended with working on our persuasive writing/opinion piece on if they should have assigned seats at lunch.

Monday, April 7

Our day began with the final installation of "Econ and Me." Then, we completed our packet of work on economics pertaining to Ohio. Unfortunately, some students needed to work at recess to complete this work. In Math, we worked with word problems finding length, width, area and perimeter, played a game, Rugs and Fences, where we had to find area and perimeter of polygons and completed an exit slip. After indoor recess, we finished Granny Torrelli Makes Soup. This was a great book--Tutto va bene! Each day this week, one reading group will be performing their reader's theater for our first grade buddies. Today, the red group performed, "Where the Wild Things Are." In Reader's Workshop, we struggled to read silently and independently..., practiced our scripts and read the fiction story in StoryWorks. By this point in the year, students should be pretty independent with their writing so today I introduced them to their next opinion/persuasive essay: Should we continue to have assigned seats in the cafeteria? Some of them are struggling!! This should be a 5 paragraph essay giving their 'argument' and backing their reasoning up with support. Ask your child their opinion on this question--I think some of you would be surprised at their response.

TGIFriday, April 4

We started our day making poetry with our buddies! We went to their room and wrote Poetry for Two Voices and then made pictures of each other. After gym, we worked more with area and perimeter and it was very clear that this group of kiddos wants a quick answer or someone to give them the answer. This group is lacking perseverance and problem-solving. Please help your kiddos to solve problems and figure things out on their own, at home. Or, next time you want to plant a garden, paint a room, double a recipe, pay the bills, etc., ask them to help you. This way, they can see how to work through a problem and will help with their solving of math problems here at school. After another indoor recess, we read Granny Torelli Makes Soup and enjoyed Rosie's sassy attitude! (We think she's jealous!) In Reader's Workshop, we practiced our Reader's Theaters, worked on summaries of non-fiction text and answered comprehension questions about poetry. Finally, we wrote some poetry--no tears today, though!

Wednesday and Thursday, April 2-3

Yesterday, there was a substitute in the afternoon as I had to go to a funeral for a dear friend. Here's what been going on over the last two days:

Wednesday
We worked with economics by watching the first two installments of "Econ and Me." Then, we continued our work with the vocabulary and understanding of how economy relates to Ohio. In Math, we continued our work with area and perimeter by playing Cover the Area and then completing an activity about cookie cutters. After indoor recess, with the substitute, they read some poetry for Read Aloud, worked independently on homophones and comprehension of non-fiction text in Reader's Workshop and wrote and illustrated poetry for Writer's Workshop. (Check out our poe-TREE)

Thursday
Today, we watched the third installment of "Econ and Me" and then continued our work with Ohio's economy. In Math, we made area and perimeter "selfies" and then completed an exit slip with a real-world problem. As always, they can find perimeter and area but can't APPLY this thinking to solve realistic problems. We'll spend one more day on this and then we'll be moving on--we still have geometry to get in! After indoor recess, we read Granny Torelli Makes Soup and saw a sassier side of Rosie. She's a little jealous of the new girl, Janine! In Reader's Workshop, we read a poem, These Trees, and answered some questions about it. Ask your kiddo what the word, apt, means. We also practiced our reader's theaters and read silently. Finally, we tried to develop our poetry more. We are still writing very surface level poetry with little feeling and emotion. Today, we focused on digging deeper to get more feeling into our work. (We even had a few tears... )

Tuesday, April 1

Technology Tuesday started our day off great! In Social Studies, we continued our work with economics and students were more productive with working through the assignment. They need to SEARCH for the answers and they don't quite realize that...if they knew everything, they wouldn't need school! After gym, we worked with area and perimeter. Students had done a good job with finding area and perimeter until they had to find/solve a real world problem with area and perimeter. Our exit slips weren't that great so we'll be completing more of the real world problem solving this week as it pertains to area and perimeter. After a wonderfully, glorious outdoor recess, we read more about "that Bailey!" in Granny Torelli Makes Soup. Tutto va Bene! In Reader's Workshop, we worked with our Reader's Theater scripts and the themes of these dramas as well as completed some graphing work with the Time For Kids and map skills and comprehension with an Ohio Studies Weekly. In Writer's Workshop, we made a cinquain poem and illustrated our poetry with a fortune teller. (Some kiddos struggled big time with folding the paper! They got too stuck in their heads and gave up.) We discussed how to be more positive with their thinking instead of giving up. Ask them for a more positive way to say, "I'm not good at Math."

Monday, March 31

We made it through our first day back after break! We started our day with watching some videos from the Our Ohio series on economics in Ohio. Then, we began working through activities to learn more about economics. In Math, we continued our work with area and perimeter by making tape outlines on the floor and then finding the area and perimeter of our shapes. Students are doing pretty good with this concept. This week, their homework is to find the perimeter and area of the bedrooms! We began a new book for Read Aloud today titled, Granny Torelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech. I'm not sure how to describe how it is written-maybe a cross between a narrative and poetry. Then, in Reader's Workshop, we worked with comprehension of poetry through riddles. Ask your child what their poem was describing and how they knew what it was. We wrote poetry in Writer's Workshop and took a pre-test on homophones for Word Study. Vocabulary and context is extremely important this week!

TGIFriday, March 21

Happy Friday! Our day was a little out of the ordinary with preparation for our City of Ember museum. We began by taking our Math 4 Today test and then making any final touches on our research presentation and Ember buildings. In Math, we made 3 rectangles that fit within certain dimensions for perimeter and area. Then, we set up our city. After recess, students from all grade levels along with many parents, viewed our projects. Below are some pictures. Have a great week off!

Thursday, March 20

We had an EXCELLENT day! We started the day with Guidance and just talking about how we treat others and what the golden rule truly means for 4th graders. In Math, we viewed a power point about area and perimeter and then started some practice with finding area and perimeter. Students were shocked when I told them that part of their homework could be to play Minecraft... After a chilly recess, we visited the 2nd grade classrooms to see their marble tracks. The students loved to see their hard work and earned their 2nd potato head piece of the day for their respect during our visit. Once we returned to the classroom, we read our independent reading books, read articles from a Time For Kids, free wrote some poetry or met with me to read through a Reader's Theater. Afterwards, we headed down to the gym to watch the 1st grade musical--Jungle Party. Soo cute!

Wednesday, March 19

In Science, we finished our presentations and anything needed for our City of Ember museum on Friday. After music, we practiced a tornado drill in the bathroom--ick! Better to be safe though. In Math, we finished some work on line plots from yesterday and completed some more measuring and plotting. Students have done amazingly with this skill and are actually ahead of the game. Kudos! We will be moving on to area and perimeter tomorrow. After indoor recess, blah, we finished Love That Dog. Of course, another character died, Sky, Jack's dog, was hit by a car. However, a beautiful poem came from that tragedy which emphasized the point that poetry is feeling and emotion. In Reader's Workshop, we got a new StoryWorks magazine and read the poem inside and answered one of the close reading questions about a funny line. We also read silently, visited the library or worked on a Reader's Theater with me. We continued to write poetry in Writer's Workshop and practiced writing figurative language. Some students shared out their poetry and figurative language. We also have a "Poe-TREE" hanging on the bulletin board where kids can share poems they write or find.

Monday, 3/17 and Tuesday, 3/18

(I couldn't get blogger to work yesterday~sorry.)
Monday
We worked on completing the electrical construction of Ember. We will have our museum on Friday from 1:30-3:00 if you'd like to come and view our hard work. In Math, we worked with measuring and data in the form of line plots. Students read, interpreted and created line plots about many different topics where the data is reported with fractions. Ask your child for a situation in which this could occur. We began a new read aloud, Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech. This book is written in the form of poetry. Some of the children were very apprehensive about reading this book. Hopefully, they won't feel that way too long. In Reader's Workshop, we worked with the drama, "I Would Rather Die" about Frederick Douglas, where we found the theme of this drama as well as answered a couple of thought provoking questions about it. We also read independently and worked on summarizing the main points of their Ohio Studies Weekly about Specialization and Interdependence or Productive Resources. In Writer's Workshop, we discussed and wrote about poetry and ended our day with a refresher in figurative language.

Tuesday
Our day began with M4T and Technology Tuesday. Then, we shared out our summaries from our OSW's about economics. In math, we continued our work with line plots with interpretation and creation of line plots with fractions. We will spend one more day on this before moving on. We had a beautiful outdoor recess and read a little more from Love That Dog. I think kiddos were more interested in this book today. Through the main character-Jack's poetry, we are connecting to him and truly feeling his emotion. This has helped them to enjoy the book more, I think. Then...
We celebrated earning our final potato head piece with the movie, Frozen and frozen treats!! (ice cream sandwiches)

Friday, March 14

Today was the last day for construction on Ember. Almost everybody got their lights to work! We ended up using alligator clips to help make the connection stronger. In Math, we played computer games to practice measurement and conversions. Students also completed a more detailed exit slip so that I can see where misconceptions are happening. Keep working on those conversions at home too! After a beautiful outdoor recess, we finished The Real Boy! Lord Cooper pulled Oscar out and Callie nursed him back from his near-drowning. Together, Callie and Oscar helped to save the City children and instead of "patching up" the hole in the magic, they got rid of the magic altogether. Hopefully, that will keep all other monsters from growing. It was a different book but overall, well written and pretty good. What did your child think? Since we took the time to finish the book, Reader's Workshop consisted of reading silently and independently and getting caught up on the puzzles and work we've done this week. We had a fire drill but when we returned we finished up Ember or our fictional narratives.

Thursday, March 13

Our day began with Social Studies this day and discussing Ohio's economy. We worked with Ohio Studies Weekly newspapers and instead of only completing the crossword puzzles about the information presented. Instead, students read and took notes on the most important parts and then we will share out this information. In Math, we continued with measurement conversions. Students are very frustrated with this process and unfortunately, it is all memorization and practice. After another indoor recess, Oscar defeated the monster! Now, he needs saved... In Reader's Workshop students completed the comprehension work they have been working on throughout the week and we worked on narratives and dialogue in Writer's Workshop. Our day ended with sharing more ways that we can show kindness to ourselves, each other and our school.

Wednesday, March 12

What an icky day! Rain, snow, cold... We continued our work with Ember-both on the construction of our buildings and electricity as well as with our presentations from our research. In Math, today was all about the Metric System. We made Metric Staircases and practiced conversions among the units. Ask your kiddo about King Henry. We were stuck inside for recess but the class did great. Oscar has come up with a plan to help the City children AND save the rest from the "monster." Will it work? In Reader's Workshop, kiddos read about a Guinness Record and answered comprehension questions about what they read, met with me in group or read independently and worked with the Time For Kids magazines about symbols. In Writer's Workshop, students either worked on their fictional narratives (some have CHAPTERS instead of paragraphs!), kept working on their magical creatures zoo story or "rolled" a story for a prompt. We ended our day with more examples of what being kind to ourselves, kind to others and kind to our school looks like. Does your child do all of these examples?

Tuesday, March 11

The weather is glorious~I wish it wasn't ending tomorrow... We began our day with Math 4 Today and Technology Tuesday! I think this day is students' favorite day of the week (when it comes to morning work, at least.) In Math, we looked at measurement by way of elapsed time. Students were able to spin to create the time it took for different activities and then create a chart based on the elapsed time. **Ask your kiddo how long their school day ended up being! In The Real Boy, Callie and Oscar realized that Oscar isn't made of wood...the City children are! Will they be right this time? What can they do to help the City kids that are "sick"? In Reader's Workshop, we completed a puzzle that taught us some new vocabulary words (quintet, unison) but also synonyms and rhyming. We read a Time For Kids magazine about important women in history and now and completed a comprehension sheet about what we read. Since about half of the class is finished writing their fictional narratives, I gave them an exciting prompt to write about today: Describe a day at a zoo that specializes in magical and mythological creatures. I got more writing out of some kiddos than I have in a long time! What mythological creatures were in your child's zoo? Or are they still working on their fictional narrative? The questions you ask can tell you a lot about them as learners... Finally, we completed our day filling in more of our chart about what being kind to ourselves, each other and our school looks like.

Monday, March 10

We were electricians this morning in Science and began to run electricity to our buildings of Ember. Ask your kiddo how they felt about this process. In Math, we began measurement by taking a closer look at the ruler. We looked at inches and all the little marks between the whole inches~ask your kiddo about the different sizes of lines and what they mean. Then, we used what we know about decimals to measure in centimeters. Finally, we practiced measuring. After a brisk recess, we read from The Real Boy where Oscar encountered a MONSTER! Hmmm.... what could it be? How will Oscar remedy the situation? In Reader's Workshop, we read silently and worked on a word/number puzzle. Students are still struggling with reading the directions to figure out what to do and working until they figure it out. I gave some hints and advice and they did better. Some students from Mrs. Slatinsky's class came in to perform a Reader's Theater for us. We continued writing our fictional narratives in Writer's Workshop and ended the day coming up with ideas for how we can show that we are: kind to ourselves, kind to others and kind to our school in the different areas of school.

Thursday, March 6

We started our day with guidance and discussing self-discipline. Then, after Music, we went over our study guides for Math and practiced for our assessment tomorrow. Students seemed to do really well on the study guide and hopefully will do just as well on the assessment. After another OUTDOOR recess :), we read from The Real Boy and Oscar confronted Master Caleb about his shady behavior and if he was the one cutting down the trees... In Reader's Workshop, we completed another word puzzle and again, students needed to figure out what to do and work through it to complete the puzzles--they did a much better job this time. We also read silently or visited the library and completed the Writing Rescue in our StoryWorks magazines. To complete our day, we worked on our fictional narratives or worked on Ember, read or other work that might have needed accomplished.

Wednesday, March 5

Late Start: Our day started with Math. We finished looking at decimals with a linear model and area model and I introduced a regional model, which the children really liked. Tomorrow, we will go over our Study Guide and practice for the assessment on Friday. There will also be a page of review questions from fractions so don't let them forget to practice those too! Then, we had special, lunch and OUTSIDE recess! After recess, we had a LIVE webcast with the Google Doodlers. Ask your kiddo what a doodler for google does. We also tweeted with them and sent in some pictures and questions. There is a contest and many students are now interested in submitting their entries. For more information about the contest, visit: google.com/doodle4google . After our webcast, we read aloud from The Real Boy in observance of World Read Aloud Day. Oscar went searching through Caleb's workshop and found some troubling things and thinks that he was created out of magic!! Finally, students ended our short day by working on their fictional narrative or reading.

 Here is a doodle a student did along with the webcast of an "angry astronaut cat."

 You can view our tweets if you search for #Doodle4Google.

Tuesday, March 4

We began our day with Math 4 Today and then Technology Tuesday! Students are doing much better with accuracy on M4T. In Social Studies, we learned that Ohio's birthday was this past Saturday. On March 1, 2014, Ohio turned 211! We also discussed about Ohio'd growing economy after statehood and how Ohio became a leader in farming and industry. In Math, we continued our work with comparing decimals to the metric system using bead and meter sticks. Students are looking at decimals using a linear model, area model and region model. After another indoor recess (bundle up tomorrow because I think we'll be outside), we read The Real Boy. We found out about the wizards and the trees and the magic that has kept the plague out of Aletheia. I think we'll get more information tomorrow on World Read Aloud Day! We worked with word puzzles and a Time For Kids in Reader's Workshop and continued work on our fictional narrative is Writer's Workshop. We ended our day with a quiz of 16 more high frequency words.

Monday, March 3

Today was fairly productive. We completed the construction of the buildings for Ember and will begin the electricity on Friday. In Math, we used a calculator to "count" decimals by tenths and hundredths and began a look at correlating decimals and the metric system. Our assessment will be Friday over decimals. After indoor recess, we learned more about the sick children in the shining city. Things are looking very bleak for them but the people in the shining city should be protected by magic... In Reader's Workshop, we completed a crossword puzzle on the drama in StoryWorks and worked with math puzzles. Students are really struggling with problem solving and reading directions! They would rather just have a partner or me tell them what to do. Please try to help them become more independent with these skills by practicing at home. Next, we continued writing our fictional narratives in Writer's Workshop and ended our day with a little high frequency words quiz.

TGIFriday, February 28

Construction continued on Ember today, complete with a little hammering too! In Math we finished Trash Can Basketball from yesterday and corrected our double number lines. After indoor recess, we found out a little more about Callie, Madame Mariel's apprentice. I am really drawn to Oscar. Do your kiddos connect with him at all? Our work with theme and poetry in Reader's Workshop today, consisted of finding a poem to pair with the poem they found yesterday. They then had to explain how it paired with the other. We finished our day with working on our fictional narratives. Most are working to publish their narrative by typing it in Google Apps.

Thursday, February 27

Our day began with working on Math 4 Today and then continuing our construction of Ember. In Math, we played Trash Can Basketball. Ask your kiddo what that had to do with decimals and fractions. In the midst of our learning, we headed down to class pictures where we waited and waited to get our class picture but they were so behind that we had to go back down at 1:30 to get our individual pictures. In Read Aloud, Oscar took Callie to the forest to show her the glass palace of imported plants and herbs only to find that it had been destroyed! They went to tell someone and found out that something fishy is going on with all of the magicians... After we returned from round 2 of pictures, we worked more with poetry and theme. Students picked a theme this time and found poems that matched that theme. They then provided textual evidence from the poem to prove that this was the theme. In Writer's Workshop, we continued to write our fictional narratives.

Week of 2/24/14... Monday-Wednesday

Things are crazy at home--my husband has been in China for 2 weeks now...one more to go! Sorry the blogs have been sporadic lately.

Monday:
We began our planning for our City of Ember. I sent an email asking for volunteers to help with circuit construction as well as some supplies (especially 9volt batteries) that are still needed. Please send me an email if you are able to help out. In math, we took a little check point quiz on decimals and students did fairly well. We will keep up with instruction this week but hopefully, will take our assessment next week. We also solved a Decimal Duty Dilemma. In The Real Boy, Oscar is taking another role in the magic shop and kind of substituting as Caleb's apprentice. Our focus for Reader's Workshop this week is with theme and poetry. Students are reading poetry and figuring out THE MEssage the author has intended. They are doing really well with this part. Now, I'm trying to get them to give textual evidence to support their thinking. In Writer's Workshop, we began brainstorming for our fictional narratives with dialogue.

Tuesday:
Construction is under way for Ember! Students are doing a great job with checking the book to make their building authentic too. In Math, I cleared up some misconceptions that were discovered on the check point quiz and we did some practice matching up decimals with their fraction, word and base-10 block equivalent forms. We also worked with placing decimals on number lines. After indoor recess, Oscar decided that Callie can help him with people skills and he can help her with what he knows about plants and herbs. It's always good to give and receive help! In Reader's Workshop, we continued our work with theme and in Writer's Workshop, we continued the writing process with our fictional narratives.

Wednesday:
I was out this morning for an appointment but students continued construction with Ember for Science and worked with creating decimal number lines in Math. This afternoon, in The Real Boy, Oscar was able to put some of what Callie taught him about people to use with customers in the shop. We read an amazing poem by Langston Hughes called "Mother to Son" and then sketched the theme for Reader's Workshop. Next, they worked with partners to find the theme of other poetry. In Writer's Workshop, some students finished their short fictional narratives while others kept chugging along with writing and adding narrative.

Thursday, February 20

We weren't as great as yesterday but we were determined to have a "Ridiculously Amazing" day. (This was our motto.) :) Mrs. Vidic fell outside on her way into school so we didn't have Guidance this morning and decided to have an impromptu research session in the Media Center instead. (She is ok-no worries.) In Math, we continued our decimal work and Math Olympics with an ordering decimals event. The final event tomorrow, will be a quiz. They are doing fairly well with this, as long as they keep remembering the money correlation. After indoor recess, we read The Real Boy. Caleb is back and proud of Oscar and how he handled the shop BUT Wolf is dead and we do not know how or why or if magic was involved. OOO... In Reader's Workshop, we finished our work with the article we were working on in StoryWorks and tomorrow, we will take a comprehension quiz over the story. On Monday, our groups are switching up a little bit. We used conversation hearts to practice quotation marks and adding dialogue to our stories today.

Wednesday, February 19

Today was wonderful! We even earned a Potato-Head piece! Great job kids! Our day began with research for Science. In Math, we continued with our Math Olympics by finishing with the Paper Airplane event and completing the Hop event too. With these timed events, we added decimals to determine a team total. Then, we ordered the decimals to rank the teams. Tomorrow, we will finish with two more events--ordering decimals and a quiz. After OUTDOOR recess :), we read more about Oscar in The Real Boy. He was left in charge of the shop and I have a feeling that Caleb, the magician, will not be too happy about how he "sold" and handled things while he was away. Also, something terrible has happened to Wolf! I met with groups in Reader's Workshop and they worked on different skills using stories from their StoryWorks. Students read silently and independently while I worked with groups. In Writer's Workshop, we corrected stories with dialogue.

Tuesday, February 18

What a heat wave! However, we were stuck inside for recess again... Technology Tuesday started our day-we researched for Science. In Math, we designed flags and got together with partners for our "Math Olympics!" Our first event, Paper Airplane toss, began as well. Our "Math Olympics" will focus on decimals. We will say, write, order and add decimals over the next couple of days. We still haven't gotten very far in The Real Boy, our read aloud, but I'm liking Oscar more and more each page. He seems like the underdog and I always love the underdog! In Reader's Workshop, we tried to build stamina with our independent reading, worked with some subject/verb agreement from StoryWorks and responded to what we read through sequencing or visited the library. We used awesome expressions to create a conversation with friend to practice using dialogue in Writer's Workshop.

Wednesday and Thursday, February 12-13

Wednesday
We had Mrs. Bowers, an amazing substitute, so that I could assess children with reading. In Science, they began their research on electricity. They continued their work with decimals in Math and the afternoon was spent on literacy. Students read silently, worked with their reading groups on critical thinking with an article in their StoryWorks, completed some prefix practice and learned about dialogue and quotation marks using comic strips.

Thursday
We began our day with passing out valentines. It was chaotic! Then, we did a word search, word puzzle and math problems about Valentine's Day. After music, we made some "decimal designs." Using 100 grids, we made designs and then found the decimal and fraction equivalents. Then, using the same process, we found the decimal and fraction equivalents for our names. After OUTDOOR recess (woohoo!), we began a new book for read aloud. The Real Boy, is a fantasy book about magic and a magician's apprentice. I can't wait to see what happens! For Reading, we continued to work on our critical thinking with our reading groups, read silently and worked with vocabulary. Finally, our day ended with quotation mark practice and writing comic strips.

Tuesday, February 11

Today was NOT a good day. The morning started off great. We talked about Ember and creating our city and they were eager for learning. I loved the excitement in their eyes! Then, in Math, they were on fire! We began learning about decimals and they did wonderful~seemed to grasp the concept quickly and asked questions and everything. Unfortunately, things went down hill from there... I guess lunch was bad because Mrs. Root gave them assigned seats in the lunch room for the rest of the week. I also returned from recess to find 3 notes of apology on my desk. They were loud throughout the afternoon and continued to talk and socialize after numerous reminders. Students will be receiving pink Behavior Reflections for any offense that breaks our rule that "Every child shall be safe and able to learn." I think I'll be sending a lot of these home over the next couple days. Hopefully, that will curb the behaviors. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to email me. We took the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) after recess and most students showed growth from fall. When we returned to the room, we had about 20 minutes to finish our work with the TFK article about cheating in school. We tried to have some fun with quotation marks in Writer's Workshop. Ask them what macaroni has to do with dialogue!

We have a substitute tomorrow. I'll be finishing their assessments in Reading. I'm a little nervous about behavior...

Monday, February 10

We had a few things out of the ordinary today so our schedule was a little off. We began our day tidying up our chair sacks and organizing our things. Then, we worked on Ohio Studies Weekly. During our Math time, we took the SMI in the computer lab. Students did great! Almost everyone increased their score from the fall. We also got our math tests back. I encouraged them to correct their mistakes. After recess, we browsed the Barnes and Noble Book Fair. Then, we read silently, read a Non-fiction article about students cheating in school and received our new StoryWorks! Finally, we learned a little about dialogue and quotation marks.

TGIF, February 7

We began our day with our Math 4 Today Test. Then, we worked to get caught up with some things we had started this week. After Art, we took our Fraction Assessment. (Only 11 students chose to complete and turn in their Study Guides so hopefully, the assessments will be good...) After recess, indoor of course, we finished our Conference Presentations, StoryWorks comprehension activity and had a chance to silently read, visit the library or continue to get caught up. Finally, our day ended with completion of our brochures. Some students are bringing them home to work on them over the weekend. Please help them to get these finished.

Tuesday, February 4

Our day began with concentrating on the 4 problems for Math 4 Today. We did much better with making sure we understood and had correct answers for the problems today. Kudos for the better effort! Then, we went to the computer lab and played the electricity and circuit games and simulations. After getting sweaty in gym with "Titanic," we worked on applying our knowledge of fractions through a problem solving activity. We also went over our homework from last night and some even had a chance to begin (and maybe finish) homework for tonight over the next fraction standard-adding and subtracting fractions. Unfortunately, indoor recess was loud, too goofy and dangerous. Lucky was even dropped and students were not showing good judgement with having the privilege of holding him at recess. So, the recess teacher has taken away our next indoor recess. With so many indoor recesses lately, it is hard to be stuck inside, however, it is what it is and we have to follow the rule that "Every student shall be safe and able to learn." After recess, we worked on our conference presentations and worked on vocabulary and comprehension from our StoryWorks magazines. Finally, we finished our day with working on our brochures. 

**It is anticipated that there will be a snow day tomorrow. We will have our Math Assessment on Friday, regardless, so I am sending home the study guide that we would've worked on tomorrow in class. If we do have school, they are to bring it back and we will work on it/complete in class. If not, they should probably get a jump start on it and then we will finish it on Thursday.

Monday, February 3

We took a little extra time this morning focusing on our Math 4 Today. Students did much better and I hope are putting more effort into solving and searching for the correct answers rather than just guessing. For Science, we used a website to practice making different circuits. We'll take another day or two with this and then we will be ready to build our City of Ember! We could still use a couple shoe boxes if you have them to send in. In Math, we worked with fractional parts of a whole using pattern blocks and then focused on equivalent fractions and comparing fractions. **Homework tonight is to complete worksheets over these first two fraction standards. These are due back tomorrow!** The entire afternoon was spent in the computer lab developing our presentations for conferences. They did an amazing job! We will be working on these throughout the week to make them perfect for when they share them with you. They may be working at home too.

Friday, January 31

I was out this morning for an eye doctor appointment and hanging with a sick kiddo so a substitute was here in my place. She worked with them on their circuits and electricity inquiry for Science and helped them with fractional parts in Math. After recess, I was here and we finished City of Ember! The city was created in case of demolition/destruction on land and was made UNDERGROUND! Lina and Doon are now out and experiencing trees, birds, the sun and moon and even an encounter with a fox. This was such a good book and it has a sequel, People of Sparks, that starts at their arrival to the above ground world. After that, we Dropped Everything And Read for January's spirit day. Finally, we completed our day working on our brochures.

Thursday, January 30

Wow! We had a whole day of learning! :) We began our day with Science and continuing our work with circuits and electricity. Then, after gym, we took a pop-quiz over fractions! Hopefully, they'll show that they are right on track and secure with at least the first 3 fraction standards: equivalent fractions, comparing fractions and adding and subtracting fractions. The 4th standard, multiplying fractions by a whole number should still be developing. Keep your fingers crossed! After recess, we worked on our circuits a little more before reading City of Ember, to get caught up. Lina and Doon made it to the Pipeworks and got the boat into the water! In Reader's Workshop, we read silently and worked in our Storyworks magazines. In Writer's Workshop, we worked on our brochures-these are how we are representing our research this time around. Finally, we sorted our spelling words and found that they all have either a prefix or suffix.

**Blizzard Bags: The district has decided to use Blizzard Bags to help keep up with this arctic winter! If we have another snow day, I will post some assignments that kiddos can do from home. They can find these on my eCampus website. I will show them how to get to it but wanted you to be aware as well. Go to ecampus.hboe.org to access my page. From there, students should enter their login and password that they use to access all district computers and programs. They should find my course listed under my name within Alton Darby. The enrollment key is lucky (our class pet.) They will only need to enroll one time. After this one time enrollment, after logging in with their name and password, they should only have to go to My Courses at the top left to find our page. [I didn't get around to showing this to them yet. Hopefully, we'll have time tomorrow but you are welcome to have your kiddo try it tonight.]

**Here are some real world fractions for you... 13/21 students failed the pop quiz. 8/21 students passed-some barely. 1/21 students scored an A on the pop quiz. 4/21 students scored a B. Students are bringing this home so that they can correct the problems. This is due Monday.**

Monday, January 27

What a short day! We did things a little different but actually got quite a bit completed. We took the morning to reiterate how important it is to give our personal best in everything we do. Each morning, we warm up our brains with Math 4 Today. It is only 4 problems each day with lots of different math topics and on Friday is a "test" over the skills practiced throughout the week. Last week, the scores on the "test" were horrible! So, we took a little extra time today with going over our work. Then, we had a shortened-non letter day special and then lunch and recess. After recess, we read from City of Ember and Lina was captured by the guards! Then, she broke free and is about to meet Doon to leave Ember... The children were so upset when Read Aloud was over today! We then, worked with on electricity inquiry project for Science, read, created a layout for our brochure to showcase our research on our favorite place to visit and ended the day with a Word Study pretest. Whew! I'm ready to head home now... Stay warm!

TGIF but Brrr!

Today was a rough day, behaviorally. The class as a whole was talkative, chatty and didn't seem to follow directions too well. We began our day not with what was planned-electricity-but with getting caught up and re-doing some things. In Math, we started the day with an exit slip and I'd say that the majority of the class did great (with a little help and explanation) on this. Then, we completed a performance task about a cookout and played a game. MOST of the class can use lots of flexible application with fractions. This is why homework this week is to find and use fractions in the real world. They are doing fairly well with the activities in the class but need to have a plethora of opportunities to practice using these skills. We had 2 birthday treats during Read Aloud today. Thank you so much for helping to keep these healthy this year. One student today, made homemade granola bars! How creative, healthy and yummy! In City of Ember, Lina and Doon are being hunted down by the security guards for spreading vicious lies about the mayor. Gasp! What will they do?! Finally, we finished our day in the computer lab typing up our informational report/narrative about our favorite place. Some kiddos are struggling with the conventions of typing: indenting (use TAB), space after a period, just continue to type-don't hit return at the end of a line, etc. If you can, help them with these things at home when they are on the computer. Maybe you could dictate something for them to type?

Thursday, January 23

Brrr!! I was out yesterday for Professional Development and there was a substitute. Hopefully, your kiddo was able to talk about their day with you. They learned a little more about what led to Ohio becoming a state in Social Studies, worked with fractions by using Tangrams in Math, learned about Ohio's Inventors by reading about them and creating resumes for the inventors and the day ended with research. Today, we began our day with Guidance. Mrs. Vidic was working with them to discover who they are and what their likes are to help guide their futures. In Math, we completed our Tangram work. Their exit slips looked good although the actual Tangram task proved problematic for some. This is the problem they have shown in Math: they understand skills singularly and solitarily but when asked to apply, combine or use the skill in a way other than they learned, they cannot make it happen. I think we might have a pop quiz next week to see where these misunderstandings may be before going any further. After recess, we participated in a webinar with/from Antarctica! Time For Kids hosted a webcast live from Antarctica which was very cool! Ask your kiddo about it. Afterwards, we worked on our Ohio Inventors Resumes and research. Stay warm!

Tuesday, January 21

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend! We began our day with Science and our electricity/circuits inquiry projects. Students are feeling much more secure and confident with completing the circuits than they did last week. In Math, we played two games, Fraction Match and Fraction Of as well as found fractions of liquid volumes in what the kiddos said was a "gross way." In City of Ember, Lina and Doon found the way out! They also discovered some "candles," "matches," and a "boat." They did not know what these things were and had to infer and discover their uses. In Reader's Workshop, we read about the Cool Inventions in 2013 and read a timeline to learn about some of Edison's inventions. Finally, we completed our day with researching about our favorite place to visit.

TGIF!

We worked with our inquiry project with circuits and electricity today in Science to begin our day. In Math, we practiced multiplying fractions with whole numbers. (Students that didn't finish, brought it home and it was suggested that they work on it over the long weekend--this can count toward their Math homework.) In City of Ember, Lina got some help from Clary about the Instructions and Doon had an epiphany about some rocks he's seen along the river. Some students from Miss Cross' class came in and performed a Reader's Theater about Martin Luther King, Jr. after Read Aloud. Then, for Reader's Workshop, they used the information they got from reading about MLK yesterday, to answer the question as to why we have Monday off and a whole day observance for him. In Writer's Workshop, we began researching a place. This place comes from their favorite place to visit that they described yesterday. They had a tough time coming up with questions for this research.

Thursday, January 16

We started our day with Science and our first day of electricity. Today's challenge was to use a wire, battery and bulb to complete the circuit and get the bulb to light up. After about 30 minutes of them complaining that the batteries were dead or that I gave them an impossible task, bulbs began lighting as students figured out how to complete the circuit! (Perseverance...) Below are some pictures. In Math, we made colored fraction bars and wrote clues to have partners try to guess the colors in our fraction bars. Students should be making connections between fractions and multiplication and division. It might take a few more lessons and application to different situations for this to occur so keep them challenging themselves at home. I've re-submitted the challenges on mangahigh as they had expired and there's always the games and websites from the packet I sent home at the beginning of the unit. When reading City of Ember today, we learned that the mayor is stealing food and supplies and keeping them all to himself! Lina and Doon shared this information with the guards. I wonder what will happen... In Reader's Workshop, we continued our work with taking important details and information from two different sources on the same topic. Today we learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. Finally, we ended our day with our Electronics Party!

January 13-15

Sorry for not keeping up~my kiddos are sick! Luckily, Mr. Lambright was able to stay home with them today. :) In Science, we fixed our Earth's Processes assessment as a review to keep up with what we've learned previously and then today, took a pre-test over electricity. Some tricky words for them--which we will be learning--were conductors, insulators and electromagnet. No worries, tomorrow we will begin our inquiry study on circuits and electricity. We also worked a little with Ohio's road to Statehood. In Math, we have been focusing on fractions of sets and the connection with multiplication and division. I think they are finally realizing how important those basic facts are! I don't like for substitutes to read our chapter book during Read Aloud (I guess I'm stingy and subs don't do the voices as well...) so on Monday, the substitute read Miz Berlin Walks by Jane Yolen and yesterday, she read The Stupids Die. The book yesterday with the crazy title dealt with a family that went through a blackout and thought they were all dead. This was just a comical short read that they were able to connect to City of Ember. In Reader's Workshop, we compared two different informational texts about the same topic and completed a chart to show the most important information within the texts. Today, we made these connections and discussed why we may need to consult two texts about the same topic-validity. Finally, in Writer's Workshop, we continued learning about researching by completing an Ohio Studies Weekly on the basics of researching. We also described our favorite place to visit using details.

TGIF January, 10

Happy Friday! Today, we met with our first grade buddies to make 2014 calendars. We made a crazy mess but had a lot of fun! After special, we continued our review of fractions. Students showed a ton more understanding and security with what we've learned so far. I feel much better about moving forward next week. After indoor recess, Lina and Doon explored the Pipeworks and found someone else down there...Also, Lina's grandmother passed away. :( The students, while yelling at me for picking books where an animal or person always seems to die, made some great connections to other books that we've read this year. Kudos for that! In Reader's Workshop, we completed our 2013 Year in Pictures timelines and then finished the day reminiscing about 2013 while looking ahead to 2014.

Thursday, January 9

Happy Thursday! Kiddos were a little less chatty today so if the pattern continues, we'll be back to usual tomorrow. We had Guidance with Mrs. Vidic today~ask your kiddo what life lesson they discussed today. In Math, we discussed that we've been doing a lot of problem-solving, inquiry and self-discovery but some are still struggling with making it all make sense so I took today to instruct them directly on what we've learned and help them to make the connections, especially with common denominators. Then, they had time to practice and apply. I feel that they did much better showing their understanding and actually seemed to persevere and problem solve more than with the activities that are supposed to promote problem-solving...hmmm...My game plan for the future is to mix the two types of instruction more and hopefully, we'll have a better balance. Your child should be able to find equivalent fractions, make common denominators, add and subtract fractions with like denominators and compare fractions. Next week, we're moving on to multiplying fractions. Please help your child to review their basic facts as this will make this skill much easier for them. After indoor recess, Lina showed Doon the "Instructions" that she found and he was definitely excited and thought that they were important too! In Reader's Workshop, students created their "Year in Pictures" for their 2013 and in Writer's Workshop, we wrote our SMART goals for this trimester. They will be bringing them home to share them with you tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 8

Welcome Back! I hope you had a good break. We picked up right where we left off~with a few reminders! :) We started our day discussing our break. I figured that if we got it all out of our systems, we wouldn't be talking all day long BUT some still talked throughout the day... In Math, we reviewed what we had learned of fractions. Unfortunately, kiddos are not showing the security of the skills as I'd liked so we are going to take the rest of this week to help solidify this understanding. After indoor recess (I got our classroom a Rainbow Loom!), we read more from City of Ember. Lina found the Instructions! But to what? Is it to get them help? In Reader's Workshop, we read about 2013 in Time For Kids through a Year in Pictures article. Tomorrow, students will create their own Year in Pictures using things from their personal lives. In Writer's Workshop, we watched a video on history.com about New Year's and the customs and traditions of the past and present. Then, we discussed resolutions and goal writing/setting. We talked about how our goals should be SMART--does your child remember what each letter stands for? Tomorrow, we will be writing academic goals to complete this trimester.