Thumbs Up Thursday!

WELCOME!!!!

Look how many there are!

With it being the end of the month, we drew our green slips.  I decided to go ahead and pick four from now on.  This time my fourth grade LA class chose from our abundant number of green slips!  It may look suspicious because we did have two fourth graders, but I promise you they did not look.

 Our February winners are Klaire and Riley both in fourth grade and both for effort, Maya in third for effort and finally Chris in second for perseverance.  They each selected something from our treasure chest and were all excited to see their name posted in our window!

We have now covered all of our Lifeskills, so we will move onto our Lifelong Guidelines.  This week it was Active Listening.  They had a few directions on our morning message to do an activity involving Active Listening.  For example, one day they were to come in and listen for two minutes without talking.  We then discussed what we heard.  This is a struggle for some because as I'm going over the morning message they are wanting to jump in and tell me something related.  We also talked about how to be an active listener, you need to focus on the speaker and not what you're about to say in response.  I think we are all guilty of that . . . 

Some of the quotes discussed:

• If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two mouths and one ear.
• Every good conversation starts with good listening.
• Focus on being interested, not interesting.
• The world is giving you answers each day.  Learn to listen.
• Be All Ears!

It's a busy week coming up and we'll just have to be flexible with our schedules. I will test all of second grade for High Ability.  Also, third and fourth will be taking ISTEP testing.  I did my best to work out a schedule to get everything accomplished, yet some classes will not be seen.  Although, things continue to change, so we just need to be ready to go with the flow!  I've already gone over it with each class, but will remind them next week.

First and third grade for all will not be seen.  Fourth will only be affected Monday (LA) and Thursday (math).  Second is unaffected at this time during flex.  

Math Masters:

I have their squares color coordinated by grade level.  

Red=fourth

Orange=third

Yellow=second

Green=first

You can see by our updated chart that the colors are a bit mixed up which shows that some are above what's expected at grade level when it comes to math facts.  The students love gaining on any grade level above them.  They are even asking to take the timed tests twice a week!  How crazy is that?!?!  Even though many are very competitive, we chart our own progress each week.  Just take it one problem at a time and improve your score from last week.  They see this and get very excited to know that they are making progress.

Fourth Grade LA:

I couldn't be more proud of their Google Slide Presentations!  I'm sure they'll take it to an even higher level when they present next week.  I have quite a few characters in here who will surely get into their role.  I can't wait!  They are encouraged to dress up, bring props and really sell their presentations.  I think we've got most props covered, thanks.  With bathrooms directly across from our room, they can go in for a quick change before presenting.  I will video tape them all using my phone and hope to send your child's presentation to you via email.  Have the conversation this weekend with your child and make sure that they are ready and know what they are bringing.  I've taken care of having them prep their monologue, so they should be ready.  My first group will present Tuesday now since we will not flex on Monday.

Fourth Grade Math:

This group is thirsty for anything new they can get their hands on.  We've been working in small groups or independently on an Average Joe comic.  Last week, I had them divide and write their answer using a remainder.  I gave a brief lesson on how divide where your answer will be a decimal.  Got it!  Then I showed them how to write their answer when it has a repeating number.  Next!  I even showed one student who is a "mental math" learner how to do shorthand division.  He couldn't have been more excited!!!!  Congratulations to James and Josh for passing their 90 division facts.  Also kudos to Klaire and Riley for passing 100 division facts.  

Second Grade LA:

This group and their love for Edward is priceless.  They were given a super tough crossword puzzle which they tackled with enthusiasm.  Most worked in pairs, yet others in small groups.  I loved just listening to the chatter going on and how they discussed and remembered the story.  It was awesome!  Many had a book handy to use as a reference.  A majority of them finished, but we'll go over their answers on Monday.  

Second Grade Math:

This group really caught onto the Fibonacci sequence.  It was challenging for them, but you could see them just dig in and start calculating.  I loved the lesson because they had to decide whether to add or subtract depending on which number was missing.  They are great at regrouping while adding, but just being introduced to subtraction with regrouping.  I love that this group encourages each other on their work or on their timed tests!  They are SO close to passing and really take notice of their improvements.  I can tell they are practicing at home.

Third Grade LA:

Using audible.com, we are listening to several chapters as we journal and discuss.  It was very helpful on one particular chapter because Carroll did not break for paragraphs as the characters changed.  We discussed the organization of the text and how it helps you comprehend the story better when an author does that.  They also made time for journaling.  I look forward to reading these each week.  I can see that they are becoming more aware and deep in their responses.   Those that have seen the movie continue to make comparisons to the book which is wonderful.  They are quite different.

Third Grade Math:

We continue to work with our comic on adding and subtracting fractions.  I've been scaffolding for several days since there are multiple steps needed.  I went ahead and set them free to work in groups on the final two problems.  They worked on it for a bit before asking for a refresher lesson.  Most need to be stepped through the process, but I do have a couple who are catching on quickly.  Moving onto the next challenge in Math Masters is Tyler who passed multiplication and Jack who's onto division with remainders along with my fourth graders!

First Grade LA:
We started our week with our persuasive pre-write.  They, of course, had to sing our hamburger persuasive once again to kick it off.  They had to write a paragraph persuading their parents to buy them a particular gift for their birthday.  I'm noticing that the pre-writing is much easier for them this time.  They are able to list the reasons and write their conclusion quickly.  We spent a little time talking about intro words and how to incorporate them into their writing.  This is such a social group and we laugh about it!  I do love hearing all of their stories, but have to remind them that we have work to do.

First Grade Math:

We introduced measurement this week and found out what they already knew about it.  Many listed inches, feet, meters and yards as ways to measure things.  Then we listened to a fun song about measuring with paper clips.  They had a chance to measure different parts of their body using this non-standard object.  This group is working hard on their subtraction facts!  We continue to work at improving by 10 problem increments, so they can stay motivated.  I do believe seeing our wall of the other grades and how close they are to others, also keeps them in the game.  I have several who are close to passing and will move onto multiplication which they are thrilled about!  Way to go Trevor for passing 50 subtraction problems, Cal and Braxton for passing 60 problems and Kennedy who's next goal is 90 subtraction problems!  They love the CD we listen to often.  If any of you would like a copy of it, please send in a blank CD and I will gladly make you a copy.

Have a great weekend!  Spring's gotta be coming soon . . . right?!?!?!

Yours in education,

Mrs. Koedyker