Fifth Grade Update - Changes

I will not be seeing the children today, Oct. 27.  Between the early release schedule and the parties this afternoon there was not a solid block of time that I could get all the children.  Next week is our field trip.  I still have a few children who haven't turned in their permission slips and money.  I really need that by Monday so that I can call and confirm with the exhibit coordinator.

Upcoming Classes
Nov. 3 - Field Trip 10:00 am - 2:00 pm then GATE time.
Nov. 10 - Conferences - no class
Nov. 17 - Normal Day

Third Grade Update - Oct. 26

The third graders are such a fast working group of children that we are moving right along on our Mystery Writing Unit.  After we completed the brainwork and Think and Touch, I was able to give the children most of our time together to plan and begin writing their own mystery stories. They will have two weeks to work on writing and then we'll get to publishing.

I told them it is OK to start typing their stories, but not to worry about fancy fonts, paging, pictures or anything beyond getting the words on to the page.  Parents are allowed to type for the children as long as you type exactly what your child has written.  For some children dictation works well also.  But again, please type exactly what your child says.  You might ask them about dialog punctuation if they start giving a lot of back and forth dialog.  I will be covering that next week.

If you  have a flash drive for your child, please send it in with them next week.  We will be going to the computer lab to begin typing.  If your child has already begun typing at home, please send the document on the flash or you can email it to me and I can open it for them in the computer lab.

Second Grade Update - Oct. 26

Your children were the perfect audience for our guest author, Gordon Korman.  He was engaging and told wonderful stories about how he gets his inspiration for his books.  When we came back to the room the children were all buzzing about the presentation.

We had a bit of time to do our brainwork and I discussed the game project.  The children then were able to search for books no their chosen topic from my classroom library.  A couple of children also checked out Gordan Korman books. Yea!!

Game Project - Each student has chosen a topic to begin researching.  I asked that they read the books they checked out from me or they could go to the U City Library to get a book on their topic.  They will also be able to check out research books from the Flynn Park Library beyond their normal free choice books.  This week is just about research.  Each student needs 15 - 20 different items for their game that they will use as the "streets" of Monopoly.  For example: If the topic is cats, then your child should make a list of 15 - 20 different cats.  Then they can locate one to two facts about that particular cat that will go on the cards they make to go with the game.  Next week we'll begin making the game board and cards.

Brainwork - Can you name words that begin with x, or ex?  How about things that play?  These are the kind of questions I ask the students to think about when they first come in the classroom.  They also tried to make words with the letters: L, M, R, I, E, E, P  - Can you find a six letter word in these letters?

Fourth Grade Update - Oct. 25

Can you name things that play or words that start with x, or ex?  This is what your child did as they came into the classroom.  Take a moment to look over the amazing vocabulary your students are building.  I can always tell what they are studying in their regular classroom by the words they come up with each week.

We did two visual activities for our PETS time.  The first required matching similar shapes that had been turned or flipped.  This was much more difficult than the students expected.  Visual thinking is very difficult for many people.  The more you do these kinds of puzzles the better you get.

Last we went to the computer lab for a quick Microsoft Word lesson then time to either type or research for the A to Z project.  Students should be working on their project at home.  We will have limited time at school.  The due date will be Nov. 15 when we will have a book launch party.

First Grade Update - Oct. 25

Due to the Pumpkin Run we had a shortened class, but it was a wonderful time.  I loved looking through all the items the children brought in.  This may just have to be a new activity for all my grade levels.  I learn something new each week, but this was wonderful.  The children used the information to group and describe items they brought in.  At the end, they combined their items with their neighbor's items to create interesting groups.  Ask your child how they sorted their items.

Next week we're back to our usual schedule.  Book Orders for November will also come home next week.

Fifth Grade Update - Oct. 20

Things really settled down this week and we accomplished quite a bit.  All the teams are up and going on the Stock Market Game.  From here on out, the children need to research and keep an eye on their portfolios on their own time.  I will not be giving dedicated time to the game.  Teams will be given the opportunity to make trades during class, but not for the research and discussions that lead to a trade.

The teams have been set for the SuperHuman Olympics.  Students took their 60+ animal characteristics and brought it down to just 12 that they would use to modify a human for our competition.  We are going to see some very interesting creatures when they are done. The next few weeks will be focused on designing the creatures.  The first class in December (12/1) we'll have the Olympics.

Speaking of schedule...  Below is the tentative schedule for Fifth Grade GATE for the month of November.

Thursday, Oct. 27 - Early Release schedule due to parade / parties
- 9:30 - 10:45 - GATE time

Thursday, Nov. 3 - Field Trip  - Some students still need to send in permission slip and $6.00

10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Field Trip to DaVinici Exhibit
2:00 - 3:00 - They will come back to my classroom for follow up to field trip information.  Possibly attend the 2/4th grade concert at 2:30.

Thursday, Nov. 10 - Early Release Schedule due to Conferences
- 9:00 - 10:45 - GATE time

Thursday, Nov. 17 - Citizenship / Ambassador Assembly 2:15 pm
- 1:00p.m. - 3:30 with the assembly in the middle

Thursday, Nov. 24 is Thanksgiving.  I know, right?  Wow, already.

So, assuming everything goes my way, the schedule above is what I'm planning on following.  Your child is responsible for remembering their binder each and every Thursday.

Third Grade Update - Oct. 19

Wednesday went so fast, I'm always thrilled with how focused and engaged your children are when they come into my classroom.  We had the first full Think and Touch set of activities.  They were challenging, but I also heard a few say they were fun.  What could be better, fun and hard at the same time.

We also finished our Doggone Mystery.  Ask your child about this activity and see if they can remember important details from the information we were given.  The packet will come home next week and you'll be able to see the details we had to wade through to find the real dognapper.

Next week we'll begin writing our own mysteries.  The children should bring their flash drives to school.  I'll review the parts of a story and then the children can begin writing.  I like to let them choose between writing out a long hand rough draft of just begin typing.  Some children are just better at getting stories down when they can type. 

If your child is not a typist, it is fine with me if you type for them.  I just ask that you type EXACTLY what they've written.  It's important that they learn to edit their own work.  I will be showing them how to set up their word documents during our computer time.

Second Grade Update - Oct. 19

Wednesday became "one of those days".  I was only able to be with the children for about one hour.  We were able to do our brainwork and PETS activities.  We'll continue the PETS activity next week and move along on our game making unit.  We'll go to the library to do research on a topic your child has chosen to study.

Next week we'll also get to meet Gordan Korman, a wonderful author of children's books.  His visit it at 9:30 and I'm thrilled the second graders get to attend this "big kids" presentation.  I have many of his books available here in the classroom and have ordered more in anticipation of demand after the children hear him speak.

Fourth Grade Update - Oct. 18

Today we finished our Valentine Mystery.  We used secret codes, and logic grids to solve the mystery of who sent the secret message about a birthday party.  Ask you child to show you their work.
Also, we had our last day of in-class research in the computer lab.  A few students are already writing their books.  Students can begin typing in their pages.  Next week, I will show them how to set up their pages.  EVERYONE should bring their flashdrives with them next week.

Remember, I am always available on email at llecours@ucityschools.org.  I check email on a regular basis and should be able to get back to you during the school day or within a couple of hours if it's in the evening.  I am an early to bed person, so if you send it after 9:00 p.m., I'm not likely to see an email until the next morning, but I will try to reply from home if possible.

First Grade Update - Oct. 18

As you may have guessed the Pumpkin Run was cancelled due to rain.  We'll try again next week.

I did not get back to Frog and Toads today as planned, and now with the run postponed it maybe two weeks before that happens.  It all depends on how our time goes next week after the run.

This week we finished comparing and contrasting animals.  In fact, your child has brought home a sample to complete with you or another adult they spend time with.  I told the children they can do it with an older sibling, an adult from their day care or with you.  I hope they have fun and don't get too frustrated.  They have their previous work to look back on for ideas.

Also, I sent home a one-gallon zippy bag.  We need  your help.  Next week's activity requires many small interesting objects.  To get those objects, I'm asking that you and your child search your home for items that can come to school for the day next week.  All items will be sent home after we are done. I've advised the children not to bring back anything they cherish or would not want damaged as there is always that chance when children are handling things.

Homework
- Finish Alike / Different - Animal Page
- Fill the baggie

Bring Back Next Week: Binder w/homework page, Book, and Baggie

Stock Market Game Update

I checked standings today and discovered that one of our teams was not yet in the game.  After a little sleuthing and thanks to patient students, we discovered that I gave two teams the same team number.  Hence, we have one team that is now 8 people instead of just 4.  In order to back this out and start over the current team would loose the 2% commission on all the purchases the extra team placed on their portfolio.  So I am going to let it continue.  We may do this again in the Spring and I will double check my double checks to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Current Standings (Monday as of 10:40 am)
Team 49 - 8 / 21
Team 43 - 9 / 21
Team 41 - 11 / 21
Team 51 (the big team) 12 / 21
Team 47 - 16 / 21

My apologies to both teams impacted by my error.

Third Grade Update - Oct. 12

Third graders this week learned the last of the Think and Touch activities that we'll begin in full swing next week.  Ask them to show you some of our "problems".  They enjoy them so much, yet at the same time, they get frustrated.  It's wonderful to see their delight when they learn the "trick" to solving these problems.

We began a short activity called Doggone Mystery.  We are working through the elements of a crime to try to solve the mystery of a dog napping.  I am keeping this packet at school until we finish, just to make sure no one gets too excited and finishes the mystery before we're ready.  Next weeks part involves solving a very complicated logic puzzle, so that will be the focus of most of our class.

The students also had time to read more mysteries.  They seem to really love this genre, so I encourage you to visit the U City library to see if they have more that are at a slightly higher reading level. Mine are actually below their reading level so there is more comprehension accomplished since they are not struggling to read.  I am focusing on learning the elements of a mystery so they are ready to write their own in just a week or two when we begin the writing process.


There is no homework for the students.

Second Grade Update - Oct. 12

The students were challenged with using a variety of designs to fill a three-way Venn diagram.  This was a real challenge for most of the students.  Many made the task much harder than it needed to be, which I like, it shows that they are really trying to push themselves and they stuck it out and completed the assignment.

The children also had a chance to play each others games.  It was a lesson on writing directions to a game.  Some of the games needed a little help so that a person unfamiliar with the game could play.

I've asked the children to look over the game Monopoly.  If you have it at home it would be great if the children played it at least once before class next week. They will be creating their own version of Monopoly on a topic of their choice.  They will need to pick a topic and then gather information about their topic that can be used as the "streets" of their Monopoly.  So, instead of having Boardwalk, our St. Louis game might have The Gateway Arch.  Most of the children have already picked their topic.  We'll spend time in the Flynn Park library next week beginning our formal research.

On Wed., Oct. 26, children's author Gordan Korman will be visiting Flynn Park.  An assembly has been arranged for the older children but I will

Fifth Grade Update - Oct. 13

We were finally able to make stock purchase so EVERYONE is in the game.  By mid day Friday all teams will be ranked.   The children should continue to  research the stocks that were purchased to keep up on whether or not they are making money.  The teams may decide to sell some or all of their under performing stocks.  Also, students can research new stocks to recommend to their teams.
 
The students were given time in the computer lab yesterday to continue their search at asknature.org to find up to 20 animals / plants that would be included in his team's Super Human.  Next week the teams will be meeting to decide on the final "pieces" of their SuperHumans.  This is always an interesting process in give and take.

My biggest concern with the class this week was their social interaction during class time. Almost the second I pause, or begin to pass out paper, the students are talking.  I spent a great deal of class time settling the students back into our work.  Please ask your child how their behavior is impacting our class.


So... Homework this week:

Track purchased stocks
Research new stocks to purchase
Research more "parts" for your SuperHuman
Complete pages 16 and 17 of the math packet related to our stock market game.

Fourth Grade Update - Oct. 11

After completing our brain wake up exercises we finished up on our coded messages.  Each student is creating their own code, then writing a message to the class to decode.  Once I have all the codes I'll give everyone a copy to try to solve.

I also introduced a mystery that will take about three weeks to complete.  The first page introduces the story and gives us a coded message to solve.  The next activity is an elimination logic grid.  We've done these in the past but this one is a bit more complicated and I'll ask the students to do most of the work on their own.

Last we went to the Flynn Park Library to do further research on the alphabet book topics.  Many students were able to find books to help them further their research.  Some students used the encyclopedias.  There are a few students that will be dependent on the Internet for their research.

HOMEWORK:
1. Some students need to finish their personal codes.
2. Some students need to finish their coded messages.
3. All students need to have all 26 letters identified and at least 13 letters researched. This includes tracking sources and writing notes about the information.  I showed two students' work to give the others an idea for organization.

Please email me if you have any questions about what we are doing in GATE.

First Grade Update - Oct. 11

The first graders put the final touches on their Flat Stanley project today.  We completed a letter and addressed our envelopes to send our Flat people on their way.  They went into the mailbox Wednesday morning.   The students were given a map of the USA to color in all the states our Flat selves will be visiting.  We have nine students going to 8 different states from Oregon to Virginia and in between.  Hopefully we'll hear soon from our host families.

We also spent a bit of time on our PETS activity.  We compared animals that initially were very similar but by the third pairing they were not so much.  Next week, we'll move toward less and less similar animals to be compared.  This is a real stretch for the kids and I was very impressed with how well they worked.

Next week we'll steer back to frogs and toads.  We'll finish our research and do some summary writing about what we've learned.

Fifth Grade Update - Oct. 6

Thursday was very hectic.    Please ask your child how they are helping to keep us moving through our day.  Since I only have your children for two and one half hours a week, I move fairly quickly through our material.   Unfortunately, I had one-third of the class not prepared for Thursday's lessons.  I know it can be difficult to remember once a week events, but please help your child to remember to: 1. do their homework and 2. bring the homework and their GATE binder back to school each and every Thursday.

So, here's what we covered.

1. Thinking activity: letter A, things that are lost, letters: R,S,T,A,V,H,E
2. I reviewed the homework.  One third of the class had not finished this assignment.  They have two more pages for next week.
3. I introduced our next unit, Biomimicry / Inventions.  There will be a field trip on Nov. 3.  I wasn't able to pass out the field trip form, but will do that next week.
4. We went to the computer lab and watched a video on biomimicry and then I showed them how to begin their research for the next project.
5. We attempted to purchase stocks for the Stock Market Game. Unfortunately not enough students had done their research homework for us to make any purchases.

HOMEWORK:
1. Math pages 14 and 15
2. Research the ONE stock you want your team to buy and FILL out the form given out in class.
3. Begin research for SuperHuman / Biomimicry.  You'll need 10 - 20 characteristics you would want to include on the new and improved SuperHuman.

As always, please contact me if you have any questions. Also, I am available before school everyday.  Students can get permission to come see me.

Third Grade Update - Oct. 5

As with all the other classes, we began with our Brainwork activity.  This week was the letter A and things that are lost.  These activities force the children to stretch their thinking a bit and often they want me to tell them the "right" answer.  There are no right answers.  We are trying to come up with answers NO ONE else will think of each time.

I introduced the next Think and Touch activity which is adding and subtracting with Roman Numerals.  The twist is the equations I give them are incorrect and they are not written down, but constructed with toothpicks.  They are only allowed to move one toothpick to make the equation correct.  The students really had fun with this, so I am excited to begin giving them even more of these types of problems.

Last, we completed two activities to further our study on mystery novels.  First we did Cloze the Case.  Ask your child what CLOZE means.  The kids were given a prompt with missing words and they had to fill in the blank to make a coherent sentence. I was impressed with their thinking and creativity.  The second activity required the kids to read, make predictions and then continue reading a short mystery book.  Each cild was given a Cam Jansen myster book to work with.  The few students that didn't complete the assignment in class have brought it home to complete.

We are almost ready to begin the writing of our own myster stories.

Book orders were sent home.  Orders should be input or paper forms returned to me by Friday, Oct. 14.

Second Grade Update - Oct. 5

Second Graders were very busy this week.
We began with our regular "brainwork".  Each week they are given a letter of the alphabet and asked to write down all the words they can think of that start with that letter.  It is a great way for me to see a students vocabulary and discover something about their interests.

Next, we completed a PETS activity on attributes and Venn Diagrams.  This was very difficult for many of the children.  We will continue to work on attributes and how to compared objects.  The pages they completed will be in their binders next week.

Last they finished working on their St. Louis Landmark Games.  The students were in pairs to complete this activity. It is good to see how they work with a partner they did not choose.  Next week the students will rotate around and play each other's games.  The next step will be for them to design a game of their own.

Book order forms were sent home. Please enter the orders on line or return the paper orders by Friday, Oct. 14.

Fourth Grade Update - Oct. 4

Fourth graders this week finished up the PETS secret code activity, as well as spending time in the computer lab working on the alphabet book research.
Ask your child to show you the code they solved and then also the code they created.  I really pushed some of the children to force them out of their comfort zone.  Some of the students are taking the easy route when I ask them to complete an assignment.  They don't seem to like it too much when I ask them to try again.  This will be the norm as I expect everyone to do the very best work in my class as well as in their regular classroom.

Many students still had not identified the 26 items they would use for their books.  I had one student who still had not pinpointed their topic.  Topics and the identification of the 26 items must be complete by next week. 

All students can begin working on the information they will be sharing about their topic.  Students have the assignment sheet and grading rubric in their binders to guide them as they do their research.  They do not need to  begin typing yet, but they do need to organize their information for each letter.  They can put more than one letter on a page for note purposes, but not for the final project.

I will do a progress check next week and will be notifying parents if I think someone is too far behind in their work.

Book order forms were sent home. The orders need to be placed on line or turned into me by next Friday, Oct. 14.

First Grade Update - Oct. 4

Today was all about nouns and frogs and toads.  We began with words that start with the letter A.  Ask your child some of the wonderful words that the students came up with.  They were very challenging words.  After a child tells us the word, it is written on the board for all to see.  Your children are still developing the sounds letters make and there are so many exceptions in English that I think it is very important that the students see the word.  I also point out the exception or rule of spelling that the word illustrates.

Next, the children read non-fiction texts about Frogs and Toads.  They read in small groups of two or three.  Then they wrote down facts they had learned and we shared some of those as a whole group.  Next week we'll take our lists and turn them into a paragraph about frogs and toads.

Last, we read the Spring story from Frog and Toad are Friends and looked for nouns in the story.  We made a list of the nouns we found.  This brought up how words can be two things; IE: noun and a verb.  Ask your child to point out nouns while they read.

I have just four students that need to turn in their person that we will mail their Flat Stanley.  Please try to have those to me this week.  Next week, we'll write our friendly letters and I'll get the Stanleys off on their adventures.

I also sent home the October Book order forms.  These are due by Friday, Oct. 14.