We'll continue to review the Lifelong Guidelines and LifeSkills for the rest of the year. Every day I focus on one of the many that we've talked about over the year (for kindergarten, they are brand new) and have the students guess which one it is. I did not pass out green slips for correct answers like I did last week.
- Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. (Victor Borge) (SENSE OF HUMORE)
- Quality is pride of workmanship. (W. Edwards Deming) (PRIDE)
- If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges. (Pat Riley, coach) (EFFORT)
- Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not. (Oprah Winfrey)
During Language Arts, I've started something new with them. They will have a series of word riddles to solve on the white board when they walk in . . . very much like the Problem of the Day in Math. Not many solved them on the first day, but knowing now what's expected, they will improve. Plus it takes a little practice and training, so that your brain can tackle problems like these. Ask them to share a few with you! Can you guess the answers to these?
Second grade did such a nice job on their word clouds! They took their heartfelt paragraphs about the book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and made them into a word cloud using www.tagxedo.com. It's a free site if anyone is interested in exploring! If you have questions, I'd be happy to help. I displayed them proudly outside of our doorway. They are anxious to bring them home . . . very soon!
Our last day of HA for the school year will be Thursday, May 21st. There's SO much going on at the end of the year, especially with fourth grade, that the days may be even fewer. Many will have their end of the year study trips plus fourth will have orientation and their track meet to name a few. We will do the best to fit the most in!
Kindergarten Math:
We went into the "field" as mathematicians scouring the halls for people to survey about what their favorite color was. We prepped our survey first by selecting the colors and practicing how to introduce themselves/ask the question. (it was priceless) Each student was responsible for surveying a different adult. You could see the excitement on their faces as they walked through the school, feeling very important with their clipboards. So fun! Then we took our data and began to analyze it. Group picture day limited our time, so we'll continue next week. We closed with two of my favorite "doubles" songs. It helps them remember their doubles facts. (2+2 is 4) If you send in a blank CD, I'd be happy to copy the disc for you . . . many GREAT math songs!!! Congratulations to Attix, Isabel and Hannah for passing their plus 1's and Camren for passing his plus 2's!!! They all work so hard and I love that!
We went into the "field" as mathematicians scouring the halls for people to survey about what their favorite color was. We prepped our survey first by selecting the colors and practicing how to introduce themselves/ask the question. (it was priceless) Each student was responsible for surveying a different adult. You could see the excitement on their faces as they walked through the school, feeling very important with their clipboards. So fun! Then we took our data and began to analyze it. Group picture day limited our time, so we'll continue next week. We closed with two of my favorite "doubles" songs. It helps them remember their doubles facts. (2+2 is 4) If you send in a blank CD, I'd be happy to copy the disc for you . . . many GREAT math songs!!! Congratulations to Attix, Isabel and Hannah for passing their plus 1's and Camren for passing his plus 2's!!! They all work so hard and I love that!
Fourth Grade LA:
We met Mac Barnett, author of the Brixton Brother's books, via YouTube video. Seeing the title once again after having read much of the book, the title clicked. They got it! They enjoyed Mr. Barnett's sense of humor and seeing what a young author he is. It isn't hard to see where the humor in his books comes from. We filled in the conflict and setting of the story before getting back to reading. I had them summarize what they've already read since last time we met, they read independently. On the second day we began the first of our post-assessments. They are working hard to do their best, but were excited to have a little time in the end to read.
Fourth Grade Math:
We started prime factorization. We first discussed what makes a number prime and made a quick list. Then they used factor trees to figure the equations. There are many ways to figure a problem in math and for factor trees, it's the same way. I encouraged them to go "off road" if their numbers didn't fit the tree. They will still get to the same place, with the same numbers, it's all good. They were so productive that they did today and tomorrow's lesson which was a good thing since Thursday is the Book Bowl and Spelling Bee. Good luck! Congratulations to Kelli for passing her multiplication, Kaden and Troy for passing 90 division facts, Ben for passing division with remainder, Josh L. for passing mixed numbers and Riley for passing %, fractions, decimals!!! Whoaaaa, that's a lot of Smarties. . . .
We started prime factorization. We first discussed what makes a number prime and made a quick list. Then they used factor trees to figure the equations. There are many ways to figure a problem in math and for factor trees, it's the same way. I encouraged them to go "off road" if their numbers didn't fit the tree. They will still get to the same place, with the same numbers, it's all good. They were so productive that they did today and tomorrow's lesson which was a good thing since Thursday is the Book Bowl and Spelling Bee. Good luck! Congratulations to Kelli for passing her multiplication, Kaden and Troy for passing 90 division facts, Ben for passing division with remainder, Josh L. for passing mixed numbers and Riley for passing %, fractions, decimals!!! Whoaaaa, that's a lot of Smarties. . . .
Second Grade LA:
We met once again to look deeper into the poem excerpts. To remind you, last week we did two together and this week they worked in "button buddies" to interpret two new ones. For example, they are given a sentence like, Love sought is good, but given unsought is better (Twelfth Night). Their task is to write what the quote is about THEN connect it to Edward's journey. FANTASTIC HA STUFF!!! I floated around the room to listen, converse and coach. I heard some great conversations! They have started to analyze two on their own. Day two we started post-assessments. They know more than they think . . . some are hesitant to jump right in, so I'm encouraging them that, "they've GOT this!"
Second Grade Math:
I thought they might tire of these number puzzles, but not a chance! You can see them just dig in and get to it. I love to see their perseverance even when they are tough and frustrating. We are solving Latin squares and even got to create their own which was not easy. We've just started the Sudoku like puzzles and will continue next week. Congratulations to Cyrus for passing his subtraction test and Kaden for passing 50 multiplication facts! When they are at a level that's above their grade level (multiplication), I reward them starting at 50 correct problems, then by increments of 10. Great job to you both!
Third Grade LA:
We started off the week with their post assessments. Comparing to their sentences from earlier, they've made a big improvement. We tested on the first day and part of the second because a student's schedule was different. We didn't want to move ahead with Alice and leave them out. I love their flexibility! They compromised and worked half of the time on their assessment while hoping to get on the Smartboard. It wasn't cooperating, so we punted the last ten minutes.
Third Grade Math:
To continue with decimals, we are now rounding to the nearest tenth and hundredth. I drew a picture of a hill and numbers lining it with the five at the top. For numbers 1-4, they will come right back to the number they started with, but for five and higher . . . they can go over. For several of them, they needed it repeated many times before they got it. They need to "go next door" to decide what they do with the number. I have two that picked up on it right away! We rounded to the nearest tenth and hundredth this week. Next week we'll do some Kagen strategies to continue and review. Congratulations to Jai and Tyler for passing their 100 division facts!
To continue with decimals, we are now rounding to the nearest tenth and hundredth. I drew a picture of a hill and numbers lining it with the five at the top. For numbers 1-4, they will come right back to the number they started with, but for five and higher . . . they can go over. For several of them, they needed it repeated many times before they got it. They need to "go next door" to decide what they do with the number. I have two that picked up on it right away! We rounded to the nearest tenth and hundredth this week. Next week we'll do some Kagen strategies to continue and review. Congratulations to Jai and Tyler for passing their 100 division facts!
First Grade LA:
We wrapped up our REBUS ciphers this week. Not only did they come up with their own from a list of "grocery store" words, but they made an original for the class to guess. I loved to see how much they got into this . . .especially the part where they got to sit in our "fun chair" while their classmates guessed. We finished the week with a post assessment. They are unsure, but again know more than they think!
First Grade Math:
Beside having Gallon Guy to refer back to, they now also have an additional page of reference. It was helpful when we did the challenging measurement activity. My group is varied, so I need to make sure I challenge those who are ready for it, but make the others comfortable to take chances. Some problems were very tough, but most they could solve. We made sure to talk about it and work together as we went. It definitely got easier as we practiced. Congratulations to Kennedy for passing her 100 subtraction facts! She will move onto multiplication next week, oh my! I took time out with the whole class to share some neat multiplication tricks. Ask them to share one or two with you . . .
It has been a GREAT week full of "push your thinking" learning! We'll meet back next week to do it again.
Yours in education,
Mrs. Koedyker
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