This week we talked about the Lifelong Guideline of Truthfulness. They gave each other high fives to let them know they could trust them and drew pictures of four people they could trust. Our quotes sparked SEVERAL great conversations which I just love.
- If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
- Be honest with yourself, so you will be honest with others. (Bernard Baruch)
- Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom. (Thomas Jefferson)
Invitations to participate in the High Ability Summer School program will go home in their report card folders on Friday. This really is a wonderful opportunity and I encourage you to take advantage of it. It's offered to identified students in Grades 1-3.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
We had our third "Green Slip Drawing" where my second grade LA class chose the winners. I added another winner since a student (GO Klaire) had won once before. I didn't want to count her out, yet wanted to make sure we got four NEW winners. The colored pens seemed to be the hot item this time around!
- Garrett B.-4th-responsibility
- Kelli F.-4th-initiative
- Kaden R.-4th-perseverance
- Aybriel S.-2nd-responsibility
- Klaire T.-4th-initiative
Kindergarten Math:
For sure, we got the most out of our two days together. We took our time going over the procedures, finding out what HA is all about, I introduced myself and shared a PowerPoint with them. Then we played a fun Name Game where they said their name and put an action word of something they like to do. You can see by the picture that they had a lot of fun doing this. We started them off right away with Math Masters. For kindergarten, they are expected to write their numbers (1-100) in ten minutes. Congratulations to Bayle, Sam, Camren, Attix, and Hannah for passing on their first time! They have their name on our Math Masters Wall plus each got a Smartie.
Next week, I'll break down the addition facts. (2's, 3's, etc) They also figured the Problem of the Day (POD) for first grade. They were nervous when I announced what grade it was until one pointed out that they were almost first graders! Love that! Finally, we just began on a graphing worksheet where they are asked to interpret the graph. They were eager and anxious to calculate their answers. We'll continue next week.
Next week, I'll break down the addition facts. (2's, 3's, etc) They also figured the Problem of the Day (POD) for first grade. They were nervous when I announced what grade it was until one pointed out that they were almost first graders! Love that! Finally, we just began on a graphing worksheet where they are asked to interpret the graph. They were eager and anxious to calculate their answers. We'll continue next week.
Fourth Grade LA:
My students anxiously returned to our book, The Brixton Brother's: The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity. We made a few predictions in our journals before diving back into the book. They have such insight into the book as I read their journals and comment back to them. I even snagged a reader who wasn't a big "mystery book" fan . . .AWESOME!!!
Fourth Grade Math:
I'm really pushing them in here. I explained the Order of Operations and a couple ways to remember them. We watched a quick YouTube video with a PEMDAS rap on the second day and it helped it click for many. My class is split on this . . . more half were anxious to get out of the gate and do it on their own . . . the others were just not ready to leave the next just yet. They are ALL getting it at their own pace and enjoying the challenge. THEY MUST SLOW DOWN AND TAKE THEIR TIME!!! Rushing through will be disastrous on multistep problems like these. It will be taught and used repeatedly as they continue on their educational journey. This group welcomes the challenge! Congratulations to Riley H. for passing his timed test of changing an improper fraction into a mixed number. He will move onto reversing the process next week. Also, congrats to Aerianna for passing multiplication; her perseverance paid off!
Second Grade LA:
I could eat this group up with how deep and involved they are with our discussions. I introduced them to a metaphor. Kate DiCamillo, author of Edward Tulane, started out her story with a this poem. We had a wonderful debate about what it meant and why did she start the book that way.
The heart breaks and breaks
and lives by breaking.
It is necessary to go
through dark and deeper dark
and not to turn.
-from "The Testing-Tree," by Stanley Kunitz
One student gives a great idea and then another takes it even a step farther. We also diagrammed a sentence finding the different parts of speech plus the complete subject and complete predicate. Finally, we began analyzing the metaphor. You may have seen the paper come home, but they had to answer higher level thinking questions pertaining to the poem. We'll do more of this next week!
The heart breaks and breaks
and lives by breaking.
It is necessary to go
through dark and deeper dark
and not to turn.
-from "The Testing-Tree," by Stanley Kunitz
One student gives a great idea and then another takes it even a step farther. We also diagrammed a sentence finding the different parts of speech plus the complete subject and complete predicate. Finally, we began analyzing the metaphor. You may have seen the paper come home, but they had to answer higher level thinking questions pertaining to the poem. We'll do more of this next week!
Second Grade Math:
We continue to work with yet another number sequence. I believe the Fibonacci's are still their favorite, either that or they just like to say the word, lol. This week we did Pascal's Triangles and Magic Triangles. They CRACK me up! They are breathing hard from mentally straining, talking about how frustrated they are, but all keep at it and really seem to enjoy these tough problems. It's great to watch.
Third Grade LA:
We did not journal this week, but did listen and discuss several chapters from Alice. They follow along responsibly and chuckle and giggle at the crazy writings of Lewis Carroll. I'm trying to time it just right so we can finish the book and compare it to the movie. Those who've seen it before notice big chunks that were not included in the movie. We also made a little time for an Alice maze and a crossword puzzle. They are chipping away at them a little each day.
Third Grade Math:
We reviewed our decimals with task cards using Kagen Showdown. We've done it in the past and it's a great strategy especially for math! All are engaged and active, yet they have time to solve the problem on their own with support in the end if they need it. We reviewed the place value keeping our handy-dandy reference sheet close at hand. They needed to add or subtract decimals making sure to line them up. It was definitely a challenge. A few were getting it by the end, but we need a few more days next week. This group is always excited to get to work and are shocked when I tell them it's time to clean up.
First Grade LA:
The HA curriculum for first is just outstanding. We continue to work on different ciphers. This week it was a matrix type one where they had to transfer letters into a chart correctly before deciphering the message vertically. It's funny how they must move to separate tables to tackle it privately. I introduced them to REBUS puzzles which is where pictures plus or minus letters comes out to be a word or phrase. We'll continue with those next week as well as tie in their homework about a Dime Store.
First Grade Math
This group also did a Kagen structure to review measurement. We did a Showdown using a Showdown captain to flip over the task cards. Ask your child to explain this, they really enjoyed it! We started off with support in that the cards had choices. It showed a ruled and they had to write down the correct measurement. A few struggled with the 1/2, but their teammates coached them to the correct answer. It's a bonus for all! I love to walk around during this time and see how they coach (explain) the correct answer to their group. It's priceless! As the game progressed, I cut off the answer choices. They stepped up to the challenge and had fun while learning. You can see how engaged they are from their body language and smiles! Congratulations to Braxton for passing 70 subtraction and Trevor for passing 60!
Have a great weekend!
Yours in education,
~Mrs. Koedyker
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