Thoroughly Trustworthy Thursday!

Welcome!

We had a very productive week before leaving for Spring Break.  Our Lifelong Guideline was trustworthiness.  They gave high fives to those in the class who were trustworthy and had many good conversations about what it means to them.

A few quotes shared:

• Trust takes years to build, seconds to break and forever to repair.
• Trust is earned, respect is given, and loyalty is demonstrated.  Betrayal of any one of those is to lose all three.
• Trust:  The "us" is the most important part of trust.
• Never waste your feelings on people who don't value them.

Time is going just too fast!  When we return from Spring Break we will have about six weeks left in High Ability.  We will start up with our kindergarten groups the Monday we return.  I'm excited about that!  We will finish the year strong!  Those last couple of weeks, all the High Ability Instructors are stationed at Liberty Elementary recording data and finalizing our groups for next school year.  Don't blink because it will be here before we know it, wow!  

I recently re-supplied our treasure chest for the upcoming Green Slip Drawing at the end of the month.  We have so many to choose from!  This week I used them as exit passes one time for each LA/Math.  They were to tell me what Lifeskill or Lifelong Guideline they used while in class today.  It was pretty interesting. . . .some had to think a while on it.

I also have to share a funny story with you about what I now call my "green slip groupies".  They are students who, at the end of class, linger doing helpful tasks.  They will set up the attendance cards for the next class, organize our supply bins, sharpen pencils, and so on . . . just hoping for an extra green slip to increase their chances of being picked.  It's all very helpful to me and I do appreciate it, but I eventually have to kick them out, lol.

Fourth Grade LA:

Following up our long biography unit, we launched into reading a great mystery novel by Mac Barnett called The Brixton Brother's:  The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity.  With limited time left, we will spend time reading the book and focusing on the story elements.  I really want to get all the way through the book.  Last year, they had to finish the book on their own time which I've heard many did.  I'm determined this year to finish during class.  The way this book is being well received, I'm not worried in the least.  This is the first of currently five books in the series, so if they enjoy it . . . there's great summer reading ideas!  I've included a link with more information about the books.  We are also journaling along the way.

http://www.brixtonbrothers.com/brixton-brothers--1.html

Fourth Grade Math:
We got back in the habit of doing our problem of the day.  They buckle right down and get excited when it's up.  We also did our Math Masters timed tests.  They are all doing so well improving each and every time.  Having the chart to keep track helps them see that.  Congratulations to Cole for passing his multiplication facts, James for passing 90 division facts, Garrett for passing 100 division facts.  All have great attitudes and even when they miss just one they persevere.  We then returned to our multi-step problem solving worksheet.

Second Grade LA:




They worked very hard finishing up their word clouds and it sure did pay off!  They were given LOTS of multi-stepped directions in the computer lab to get this accomplished.  At first they were quick to ask for help when they were unsure.  There just wasn't enough of me to go around.  We re-grouped, I walked them through the steps again, then told them to "ask three before me."  I could see them gain confidence as they helped a neighbor and also practice patience and problem solving until I was able to help.  I'm going to make sure I have them laminated before sending them home.  They will be proud to see them displayed in our hallway.

Second Grade Math:
After solving the problem of the day, we went right into their timed tests.  I have two that are very close to passing their subtraction tests and then two who are onto multiplication!  They were very excited to learn this new skill.  It's hard to switch gears, but they are getting it.  All are working very hard!  I introduced another sequence of numbers to them.  We moved from Fibonacci to a Binary Sequence.  It didn't take them long to figure out the pattern.  They then had to put it into words and a Venn Diagram.  Even as they add larger numbers, I see that they are going back to the regrouping.  They are spot on! 

Third Grade LA:

This is quite the chatty bunch!  They easily launch into stories that somehow relate to our topic, lol, but I have to steer them back on track.  I really do enjoy them.  We all agree that Lewis Carroll can be quite confusing and have chosen to continue to listen to it on audible.com (instead of reading it on their own)  Hearing the voices do help keep the characters straight!  We continue to journal and will get into more activities when we return from break.  Love reading their journals.  It's great once we get the conversation going back and forth.
  

Third Grade Math:
This group was very anxious to start.  It's been two weeks since we've met, so they were ready to get back to business.  They didn't forget their facts because I had many pass.  Congratulations to Logan for passing his 8's and Caysen, Brandon and Jai for passing their 90 division facts. They are putting the pressure on my fourth graders. We've crossed over from fractions to decimals.  They were all given a place value sheet to refer back to.  We talked vocabulary and how to read it.  I like the questions they ask; you can see they really want to understand.  Decimal land doesn't follow the same rules.  Ask them what this means.  We matched up decimals and fractions towards the end of the day.

First Grade LA:
We rotated their stories, so each could use a rubric to grade someone else's persuasive writing.  It was eye opening for them to see it from another point of view.  Things they thought they had written on their final paper, were sometimes left off.  It just brings a nice close to their assignment.  They really do a nice job on these now.  We also tackled another no space cipher and talked about the importance of punctuation.  I read a book Yo? Yes! without expression or end marks.  You should have seen their faces, it was priceless.  They practiced putting in punctuation to a paragraph and reading various riddles.

First Grade Math:
Our problem of the day and math masters ate up most of our first day.  Congratulations to Kennedy on passing 90 subtraction problems.  Ten more and she moves onto multiplication, amazing!  All of my others continue to improve their score.  I switched gears with this bunch.  Instead of charting what they've missed, we are doing the ones right.  It's a more positive message for a big task.  They are doing great!  We've started another measurement packet.  We did a little with temperature and using a ruler to the quarter inch!  Some it didn't come easy to and others caught on right away.  This is a nice group.

Enjoy your break!

Yours in education,

Mrs. Koedyker

First Class Friday!

Hello All and Welcome Kindergarten Parents!

We talked about the Lifelong Guideline of Personal Best this week.  It's a great one to discuss that has all kinds of quotes to go with it.

Some of the quotes shared this week:

• The sky's the limit when your heart is in it.
• To be a winner, all you need to give is all you have.
• If it is to be, it is up to me.
• Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
• If better is possible, good is not enough.

Although we were back to a regular week, I was sick Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday.  I know my first and third grade math groups are chomping at the bit to get back in here since we missed all last week due to testing.  I stopped in today to finish up testing and tie up loose ends and had a first grade math student ask if I was taking them today, awww.  I promised next week!

Thanks for your patience on getting this blog to you.  I know it's usually sooner.

In math, we got back into the routine of doing our problem of the day (POD) and they welcomed that.  We do SO MUCH in the little time that we're in here, that sometimes things just have to give.  I'm happy we're back to it.  It touches on grade level skills just to refresh and sometimes teach a new skill.  It's great!  They love it more when they move up a grade or two.

Kindergarten will start up after spring break.  I'll see them on Wednesdays and Thursdays during their flex time.

Fourth Grade LA:

We finished up our biography presentations and they did SUCH a great job!!!  You could tell they were very proud of all they had accomplished.  I mentioned that I did video tape each of them with my phone and have been working on a way to get them to you.  I believe I'm close!  The file was too big to send directly from my phone and even from my computer, but if I share it through Google docs . . . it should work.  I hope to get them to you soon.  As a mom, I know it's just priceless to have a sneak peek into their world.  

Fourth Grade Math:

We made time this week to work on the Smartboard again and with this large group it's a bit of a juggling act.  I thought it ideal to split them into two groups, so there's less wait time.  One group worked on an independent activity while the other half were on the Smartboard.  They are the perfect group to do this with!  They listen well and get the most out of our class.  When it came to Math Masters this week, we had several move up a level and a bunch VERY close to passing.  Congratulations to Garrett for passing 90 division facts, James and Josh L. for passing 100 division facts, and Riley for passing division with remainder.  Your Smartie will be waiting for you and each will move onto their next challenge.

Second Grade LA:

We aren't quite ready to give up on our Edward just yet.  I first had each write a paragraph of their thoughts of the book, characters, favorite part, favorite characters, etc.  It was a free write of their ideas about the book.  We then went to the computer lab to type these up.  They learned quite a few bonus things about the computer too (right clicking, spell check, save as, save) and they caught right on.  I loved reading them!  We will copy/paste these next week into a word cloud.  I cannot wait to see their finished product!!!!

Second Grade Math:

We only had one day of math this week.  We started off with a problem of the day and Math Masters.  I am so excited for the progress that this whole group is making on their facts.  It's obvious they are working on them at home.  Congratulations to Kaden and Chris for passing their subtraction facts.  They will move onto learning multiplication facts.  I will help them through and have many tricks up my sleeve of how to remember them.  I bet they are excited!  The others are very close behind them.  It won't be long and they'll all be on multiplication, wow!  They also had time on the Smartboard.

Third Grade LA:

They are enjoying the story of Alice in Wonderland, but we often stop to discuss the story, the author, what's going on because it can be quite confusing.  Lewis Carroll has a wild imagination plus it's very different from the movie!  It's good they are making the comparisons and having the rich conversations they're having.  We also keep journaling and looking deeper into the book.

First Grade LA:

We finished up our persuasive paragraphs this week.  They are writing a paragraph to persuade you to buy them a certain gift.  Just wait until you read these.  You may want to post them on your refrigerator to refer back to often, hehehe.  We'll have them use a rubric to grade each others before sending them home.  They also had time on the Smartboard matching up synonyms and antonyms.  I had them go up several levels to challenge them. 

Yours in education,

Mrs. Koedyker 

Fantastic Friday!

Welcome!

Our blog this week will be short and sweet due to second grade testing for HA plus ISTEP in third and fourth.  We've just had to be very flexible in our schedule.  Next week we will finish up testing second grade, but I will see all my classes!  Whooohoooo!

We talked about the Lifelong Guideline of No Put Downs.

• Never criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins. (Native American Saying) 

As you can see, I saw very few classes this week . . .

Fourth Grade LA:

We began presenting our Google slide Biography Presentations this week.  I only saw my group once this week, so we'll do the others next week.  They did a fantastic job!  I am video taping them with my phone, but it's too big to send from my phone without editing.  I will look into it and try to send it computer to computer.  I'm really looking for them to add more to their presentation than just reading what is on their slides.  They've written their monologues and I've stressed this, so we should be good.

Fourth Grade Math:
The one day we met, we had a little fun with the Smartboard.  It was a welcomed relief with their ISTEP testing.  They just kind of exhaled . . . We didn't even bother with timed tests.  This is my largest group, so to make the most of the Smartboard, I split them into two groups.  One worked on an extreme dot-to-dot while the others used coordinates to complete a mosaic.  They had to choose their colors to match the first half of the picture.  It was a slow go at first, but they got pretty quick about it.

Second Grade LA:
After going over our crossword puzzle of Edward, I had them write a paragraph about Edward Tulane.  I set them free to just write.  What did they think about the book, their favorite part, describe Edward if they wanted, etc. We then went into the computer lab to type them into a Word document.  Our plan is to copy/paste them into a word cloud somewhat like the holiday name Wordles I did for everyone.  I'm so excited to see how these turn out!

Second Grade Math:
We did two days of Gynzy on the Smartboard.  We didn't take a timed test this week to keep pace with everyone else.  On one day we a coordinate picture where they had to match up the colors and recreate the picture.  The second day they figured math word problems.  This was neat because they were able to  actually write on the board their answer.  Fun!

Third Grade LA:
I only saw my third graders once this week.  We listened and journaled about Alice.  If you've never read the book, it's quite interesting and very different from the movie.  Listening and talking about it as we go really helps us follow along with Carroll's crazy ideas.

Third Grade Both:
The days we did not meet, I had my groups come down to help me log my second graders onto the computers for HA testing.  They were SUCH a HUGE help to me and really stepped up to the challenge!  I appreciate their extra hands.  They didn't want to leave and even asked if they could stay during testing, lol.

If you blinked, the blog is over.  Not even any pictures this week . . .darn!  Next week, we'll return to somewhat "normal", so I will see you next time!  Same bat time . . . same bat channel.  

Yours in education,

Mrs. Koedyker