Thumbs Up Thursday!

Hello Yost Parents and Friends!

This week's post will be much different than usual.  December has officially blown by us!  I've returned from my High Ability Conference in Indy where I learned SO much.  I am excited and anxious to try out many of the wonderful things I learned there.  

It was sweet that many of my students stopped in to hug me or say HELLO and many waved like crazy when I saw them in the hallway.  It's so nice that they were excited to see me return.  I missed them as well!

I pulled all my LA (due to conference), fourth (no flex this week) and third (met once due to parties) grade math kiddos in for a brief moment on Thursday to give them a little gift I made for them, since they were not seen this week. 

First grade math was only seen once due to the Book Battle.  It was an exciting event to miss HA for!  I'm glad were able to cheer them on.

With that being said . . . .We haven't used the Smartboard much compared to last year . . . and they won't let me forget it, lol.  I took the opportunity this week to take advantage of the excellent technology we have available all while listening to the soundtrack to Polar Express.  It was the perfect week with our mixed up schedule!  We did various holiday themed activities like Memory, Number Image, Hangman and even a game show!  It was a nice break from the norm and perfect for leading into our break. 

Enjoy your two weeks with your family!  Get lots done, get lots of rest whichever you have planned.  I hope for a little of both.  I'll see you when we return in 2015.

Yours in education,
Mrs. Koedyker

Thinking Thursday!

Thanks for stopping by!

What time we have left in High Ability is winding down.  We will, of course, continue after break, but we only have two days next week.  I will only see my math groups next week.  I'll be at a High Ability Conference learning all kinds of great information!  I do plan on pulling in my LA kiddos for a brief minute to give them a little special gift I've been working on.

This week we focused on problem solving for our Lifeskill.  It's part of our language in here all the time.  Some will voice a small problem, my pencil is broken, and I tell them to be a problem solver.  Those who've had me before, go right into action.

Problem solving quotes for the week:

• There are two ways to deal with problems.  Solve them or change your perception of them.
• Turn your stumbling blocks into stepping stones.
• If you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
• A problem well stated is a problem half solved. (Charles Kettering)

I cannot say enough good things about our new LA curriculum put out the the Indiana Department of Education.  It's just fantastic!  The units are excellent and the lessons are so in depth.  The only draw back is that our schedule only allows for each group to be seen twice a week as you already know, so some lessons are drawn out.  Believe me, the kids are great about it and are not loosing interest at all!  We have run into a problem in second. . . .

My second graders have fallen in love with Edward Tulane, as I knew they would!  The only thing is we will have to stop . . .  right . . . . in . . .  the . . . . middle . . . . of . . .  the . . . . book and won't read again until AFTER break!  I typed up an invitation and gave to each of them, inviting them to come back to our classroom to read on their own if they'd like to find out what happens to our dear Edward.  On that first day . . .a majority of them gave up their recess to do just that!!!!  I gave them a quiet place to read and off they went.   I gave them the choice, so it was totally up to them.  They are welcome to finish it at home as many of them did not finish.  They'll just have to keep the ending a secret to those who've yet to finish it!  We'll pick right back up with the lessons, review what we've read, discuss vocab, talk about his journey and play more rounds of Jeopardy for review after break!

Math for All:

On day two of math we did some logic puzzles with popsicle sticks.  They started off somewhat easy and progressively got more difficult.  All grades enjoyed it!

Fourth Grade LA:

Our timelines are coming along nicely.  I gave them a paper that went over their "timeline requirements".  I just love that this group really is motivated to do their best even though things are not graded.  That says a lot about the character of each and everyone!!!  We have quite a few who have their ten events typed out along with their pictures and are now constructing their timeline.  They need to be aware of how they arrange them, so that their dates are appropriately spaced. They have chosen pictures to add once finished.  We'll finish these up after break and begin on the PowerPoint presentations.

Fourth Grade Math:

On Wednesday we wrapped up our logic problems.  After our problem of the day we went over the answers.  Some were right on, but a few got off course.  That's how it is with logic, you go down the wrong path and then they are all off.  It was challenging to them and I believe they welcomed this.  

Second Grade LA:

If you still have some holiday shopping left to do . . . may I suggest the book we're reading, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  You can even find it as an audio book.  It's one that is a keeper to have in your collection and enjoy a second time together.  To say they've gotten into it, would be an understatement!  

You can see them working on diagraming a sentence.  It's a tough skill, but we are working through it together.  I'm looking to build on the basics as they learn.  We're starting with having them identify the complete subject and complete predicate along with the nouns in the sentence.  A few caught right on while others are lost!  It will be an ongoing skill 

Second Grade Math:

We were a day behind since I was out last week, so we picked up with our Pet Shop Game.  They all started with $5.00 then rolled the dice to make their way around the board.  They drew task cards which allowed them to buy a pet or at times rewarded them because their pet had babies.  We worked on adding and subtracting money on paper.  It was very challenging for them.  Their biggest obstacle was lining up their ones, tens and hundreds.  

Third Grade LA:

This week we worked around the third grade study trip to the Indiana Dunes, so the group was split up on each day.  We followed up learning about the Edmund Fitzgerald by filling out a map of the Great Lakes.  It's perfect since we live in this area!  It's something they should know.  They labeled the Great Lakes, the surrounding states and the tragic path that they Edmund Fitzgerald followed before disappearing.  What an interesting legend to learn about!  They really got into it!  They finished up their drawings of the ship and I posted them outside our room for all to see.

Third Grade Math:

We got back to work on our Fraction Avenue projects.  They're doing such a wonderful job on it.  It's a neat and exciting way to review fractions.  They were very unsure and uncomfortable when we first introduced fractions, but I can see that things are making sense to them now.  Congrats to Jack, Caysen, Brandon Logan, Jai and Tyler for passing their facts!

First Grade LA:

My first graders learned yet another cipher called over and under.  They were given a coded message and a box of letters.  It didn't take them long to figure it out.  I then moved them onto "word ladders".  It's where they take a word and make it into another word.  They can only change one letter at a time and it has to be a real word.  They struggled at first and we laughed as they verbalized the silly words they came up with.  "Is ______ a word?"  I would ask them to use it in a sentence.  They were enjoying themselves and knew the answer to their question before they asked it. By the end, they had solved most of their ladders.  We began with one step and moved onto two step ones.

First Grade Math:

We got back to work on our addition mazes.  These were frustrating when we left off last week.  They definitely have it now, it's just not something that's quick and easy like they are used to.  On a few, they have to slow down while adding two digit numbers which really isn't a first grade skill.  When it was one 2-digit number I had them count up, but if it was two 2-digit numbers they added with regrouping.  This group takes on the challenge willingly!

Yours in education,

Mrs. Koedyker

Finally Friday!

Welcome back from Thanksgiving!

It's always hard getting started after a nice break, but we got a lot done this week.  

Unfortunately, I was out on Thursday, so my 2nd and 3rd grade math classes were not seen.  Fourth and first are not seen on early dismissal days.

Our LifeSkill this week was perseverance.  

• Be like a postage stamp:  Stick to one thing until you get there.
• Winners never quit.  Quitters never win.
• Failure isn't falling down, it's staying down.

Fourth Grade LA:

We continue to gather information for our biographies in the lab.  Now is where they are all in different places depending on their pace.  What I love about fourth grade is they can teach others.  I have those that are further, go back and teach their peers the step they just learned.  It's great to watch!  They were to synthesize their information to list at least ten important dates for their timeline.  Many have moved onto the next step which is finding five pictures to go on their timeline.  I'm showing them how to copy/paste images while multitasking in Word.  They pick up SO quickly with technology!  Some have moved onto typing up their ten events to paste onto their timeline.  They are very excited to share all they've learned and many couldn't wait to share, so they shared some with me.

Fourth Grade Math:

We continue with our logic problems.  With the days missed in math with this group, I can see that they are about done.  I have a few groups that are right in the middle of their current one and don't want to break it up yet.  I allowed some to move onto their dot-to-dot while those deep in logic continued.  Perseverance!  We only met once this week due to the early dismissal.  We'll finish up logic next week and go over the answers together.  I almost forgot to take a picture since I had them only once.  I quickly herded my stragglers into staging a picture for the blog, lol, great actors!

Second Grade LA:

This week we slowed our pace a bit.  Even though we've read, discussed and talked about the intricate plot that is happening, I wanted to see where each one of them was. We did a short five question paper answering questions from the story.  Most "got it", but I see I'll have to revisit a few concepts as we read, but they also reviewed during our game of Jeopardy. They were given time to re-read chapters 1-5 to prepare for their big Jeopardy Showdown!  We are on chapter nine now, so I thought it best if they went back to refresh their memories.  We had a great time playing the game and reviewing what's happened so far.  It's funny how when you're up there on the spot . . . your mind just goes blank!  It was much easier to remember the answer when they were in the audience.

Second Grade Math:

We used a Kagen technique called Rally Table to review our dollar amounts.  As you can see from the picture below they are all actively engaged in the activity.  How it works is a piece of paper and pencil starts with one person and is then passed around.  We used it to show different ways to show a dollar amount.  If I showed them $1.32.  One person would write down one way to show that using coins.  It was passed to the next person and so on . . . they could not repeat what had already been written.  This group quickly got into a pattern, so I had to break it up by requiring them to use at least three different coins.  It stopped the 132 pennies right away.

Third Grade LA:

I was excited to start this lesson on the real life modern legend, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"!  Students first listened to the poem aloud.  We talked about the mood and the colors they'd use to depict that mood.  We read the poem again asking them to visualize the story as they heard it.  I gave them time to draw a sketch of the story based on what they heard.  They listened to it once again as they added more detail until no white was showing.  I asked them what they thought the music would sound like . . . then we listened to the song.  Later we watched a short clip on the tragedy from the History Channel and further discussed.  They really got into this!

Third Grade Math:

This group started a fun fraction activity.  They had to make a street with certain requirements which all referred to fractions.  1/8 of the houses are for sale, there are trees in the front yard of 1/2 of the houses, 2/8 of the homes have dogs outside, etc.  They were anxious to jump in and get started.  After they worked for a while, they were allowed to send one "scout" out to check out the other neighborhoods.  Also, they keep moving through their facts and building their cones.  Congratulations to Brandon, Jack, Tyler and Caysen for passing their latest test!  Great job!

First Grade LA:

We finished up our persuasive paragraphs on whether all first graders should learn Pig Latin.  It was good for them to go from their pre-writing to their actual paragraph together because eventually they will do one on their own.  We also graded our writing using a rubric which makes it very clear what is expected. There's a place where they had to suggest another word to use, so I showed them how to use a thesaurus.  It took them a while to understand the concept of ABC order even though I know they do that in class.  They started off flipping page by page looking for their word which would have taken forever!

Look for these on our HA board. They did a really nice job on them!

First Grade Math:
We did a tough addition maze together.  They had to work their way through the maze by adding numbers.  Once they found their sum, they followed the path to their next problem.  We introduced regrouping which is not a first grade skill, but they were anxious to learn the next concept.  It has us winding our way though, so we will continue this into next week.  I apologize for not attaching a picture.  I forgot on Wednesday, then was out on Thursday.  I'll make sure that I get one next week.

Yours in education,

Mrs. Koedyker