Today was packed full of excitement. We began with taking roll. Many students did not have their binders with them. Also, many did not have a completed story. We will no longer have school time to finish the mysteries. These will need to be finished at home. You may email them to me, bring in a printed copy, or bring me a flash drive which I will open and print from.
After our brain stretching activities we learned a new way to organize our thoughts when trying to make an important decision. It's called a Future's Wheel. I did a demonstration on electric cars and then had the students work in small groups on the topic of school uniforms. They were very excited to complete their wheel activity. The wheels allow the students to organize their thoughts into pros and cons of a topic. Ask your child to explain their wheel. They should be able to draw a Futures Wheel chart. After we made the charts we met as a whole group simply to read over each others ideas. I then asked the student to choose a side and write a letter to Mrs. Blumberg explaining why they are for or against school uniforms. I will review the letters this week and have the students write final drafts next week that I will present to Mrs. Blumberg. She is always interested in student's opinions and the school uniform issue is one that comes up often.
Last, I introduced the game of Equations to the children. I gave them a very simplified version of the game. I think I have found some more players for our teams. Some of the children may not have signed up before but want to now. I am happy to take more players. If you don't have the form any longer, just send in a note with the child's name, parents' names, phone number and email address. If you are willing to coach or help coach please let me know.
Book orders were also passed out, but we ran short. Look down the blog a bit and you will find a link to look at the order forms on line.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Second Grade Update - Nov. 30
After completing the brain work (the letter G and things that jump) we moved right in to working on our board games. The students were so focused today, it was amazing. They had an hour and a half to work and most of them were working the entire time. I am pushing them to do their BEST work, not quickest. It was wonderful to see the concentration and excitement as the games came together. Next week we'll work on the rules of the game. Everyone may have small variations, but we'll work on the basic set of directions together.
Book orders are due next Friday, Dec. 9.
Book orders are due next Friday, Dec. 9.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Fourth Grade Update - Nov. 29
Today was another busy day in GATE. I tend to over plan, and today was definitely one of those days. The brain work we do at the beginning of the day is always eye opening for me. Today's thinking questions were: words that begin with G and things that jump. Your children are very imaginative and come up with interesting ways to answer these problems. My favorite answer this week for the jump questions, was: Students who jump to conclusions. I LOVE it when students come up with such original answers. Sitting here now writing this, I want to say it was Mereya Riopedre who came up with this solution. If I'm wrong I apologize. Great job to all the children on their wonderful creative thinking.
Next, we got back into our PETS activities. Today, I introduced Evaluative Thinking which uses criterion based decision making to help students choose the best choice of solutions based on factual criteria. That is quite a mouthful I know, but the students seemed to understand it. You will know if they did with their homework this week. They are to work with you to come up with five criteria for purchasing a car. We did two examples in class, so should your child be having difficulty explaining the concept to you, please have them come see me and I'll go over it again.
Last, I gave the students a pre-test on the concepts of groups of three or three groups. They had to explain how these two statements are different. I am happy to report that a majority of the students were able to do this very clearly. Some gave wonderful examples. There were just two that weren't what I would want from a GATE student. I had one student who knew the difference but just wasn't able to put it into words correctly, but I could tell they understood. And I had just one student who wasn't able to explain at all. Through activities we'll be doing over the next few weeks, we'll explore, in more detail, the concepts of division and apply those to gradually more difficult problems. Often I think this unit is going to be too easy for students, but every year, my students seem to be challenged by the problems I pose, which is why I continue to offer this short but important unit.
Remember, book orders are due next Friday, Dec. 9. Drop me an email if you want your order to be a surprise. I will email you or call, whichever you prefer, when the books come in.
Next, we got back into our PETS activities. Today, I introduced Evaluative Thinking which uses criterion based decision making to help students choose the best choice of solutions based on factual criteria. That is quite a mouthful I know, but the students seemed to understand it. You will know if they did with their homework this week. They are to work with you to come up with five criteria for purchasing a car. We did two examples in class, so should your child be having difficulty explaining the concept to you, please have them come see me and I'll go over it again.
Last, I gave the students a pre-test on the concepts of groups of three or three groups. They had to explain how these two statements are different. I am happy to report that a majority of the students were able to do this very clearly. Some gave wonderful examples. There were just two that weren't what I would want from a GATE student. I had one student who knew the difference but just wasn't able to put it into words correctly, but I could tell they understood. And I had just one student who wasn't able to explain at all. Through activities we'll be doing over the next few weeks, we'll explore, in more detail, the concepts of division and apply those to gradually more difficult problems. Often I think this unit is going to be too easy for students, but every year, my students seem to be challenged by the problems I pose, which is why I continue to offer this short but important unit.
Remember, book orders are due next Friday, Dec. 9. Drop me an email if you want your order to be a surprise. I will email you or call, whichever you prefer, when the books come in.
First Grade Update Nov. 29
The big word of the day was hemisphere. We were lucky enough to receive Flat Michael yesterday all the way from Seoul, South Korea. We found Korea on our big classroom map, then on a printed map of the world as well as a smaller map of just the Eastern hemisphere. This is the first time the children have heard the term hemisphere. I certainly don't expect them to fully understand it yet, but each time we get a person back we can now talk about where in the world that place is. Flat Michael jetted off today with Mrs. Standish to Toronto where she will be working. How fun for Flat Michael. We also got an email last week of Flat Claudia's visit to NYC. We located New York state and the city on our USA maps today also.
We also learned about stretching a basic sentence today. I am trying to move away from making very silly sentences to sentences that makes sense and is real. The students and I worked together to expand the following sentences: The boy ran. My mom reads. The baby cried. The house sits. The children did a wonderful job.
Also today we reviewed the To, Too and Two page. Many students didn't seem to show this to their parents when it came home two weeks ago. We reviewed it together. We'll continue to work on the differences between the three forms of the word.
Book orders came home last week, so don't forget to place those holiday orders before Friday, Dec. 9 in order to get them back by the winter break.
We also learned about stretching a basic sentence today. I am trying to move away from making very silly sentences to sentences that makes sense and is real. The students and I worked together to expand the following sentences: The boy ran. My mom reads. The baby cried. The house sits. The children did a wonderful job.
Also today we reviewed the To, Too and Two page. Many students didn't seem to show this to their parents when it came home two weeks ago. We reviewed it together. We'll continue to work on the differences between the three forms of the word.
Book orders came home last week, so don't forget to place those holiday orders before Friday, Dec. 9 in order to get them back by the winter break.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
December Book Orders - Holiday Suprises
For December I've added a Gift Books catalog in addition to the regular grade level choices. I often have gift orders placed in December. If you would like me to keep your secret, feel free to drop me an email at llecours@ucityschools.org and I'll email you back when the order arrives.
In order to make sure the December book club order arrives prior to our Winter Break, I will be sending the forms home late this week and early next week. Forms will be due by Friday, Dec. 9. I will place the order as soon as ordering closes to make sure the orders arrive prior to our leaving for Winter Break.
To Order Online
Website: www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
Click on I am a parent. NOTE: The first time you will need to set up a login id and password. Classroom Activation Code: GL7HN
Thanksgiving Week Updates
First Grade - We had a somewhat normal class. The students continued to work on spelling the Fry List Words. We did 10 more today. I had only three students with their To, Too, Two handout completed. Many of the students couldn't find the page in their binders. Please help them look for the page. I kept the binders, as it is Thanksgiving and I don't like to give new assignments just before a holiday.
Second Grade - There will not be a GATE class this week for 2nd grade. Due to Wednesday's shorten schedule, I will be pushing into the classes to check on game research progress. If your child would like, they can always come get cards from me to work on their game after they finish their normal classwork.
Third Grade - No Class due to the early release day. Students should be finishing the typing of their mysteries. Stories are due next Wednesday, Nov. 30. The stories can be submitted three ways: in print, via email or brought to class on a flash drive and I'll print it out.
Fourth Grade - Tuesday was a relaxing day of reading and brain games. We shared the published A to Z books with each other, then played various games requiring a bit more thinking than the kids sometimes like to do. They also had time to read and choose a new book from the classroom library to read after they eat all that wonderful food on Thursday.
Fifth Grade - The students will be coming for about an hour on Wednesday to hopefully finish the Super Humans. We'll begin the competition next week.
Second Grade - There will not be a GATE class this week for 2nd grade. Due to Wednesday's shorten schedule, I will be pushing into the classes to check on game research progress. If your child would like, they can always come get cards from me to work on their game after they finish their normal classwork.
Third Grade - No Class due to the early release day. Students should be finishing the typing of their mysteries. Stories are due next Wednesday, Nov. 30. The stories can be submitted three ways: in print, via email or brought to class on a flash drive and I'll print it out.
Fourth Grade - Tuesday was a relaxing day of reading and brain games. We shared the published A to Z books with each other, then played various games requiring a bit more thinking than the kids sometimes like to do. They also had time to read and choose a new book from the classroom library to read after they eat all that wonderful food on Thursday.
Fifth Grade - The students will be coming for about an hour on Wednesday to hopefully finish the Super Humans. We'll begin the competition next week.
To One and All: HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Friday, November 18, 2011
Fifth Grade - Nov. 17
There was no class on Thursday, Nov. 17 due to my absence. See you all on Dec. 1 to finish the Super Humans.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Third Grade Nov. 16
After completing our brainwork the students' PETS activity was a card came of sorts. They were shown three cards that had some common factor. Then they were shown five cards to choose from and pick the ONE best card to fit into the first set of cards. This was a wonderful activity to watch in action. The minute the second set of cards was shown (on the overhead) they sprang into conversation to convince their table mates why they thought their card choice was the right answer. As with most PETS activities the first few seemed obvious and as the demonstration continued the choice was harder to make. I then gave the students a hand out with six more problems. I asked them first to do it on their own, without any help from their neighbors. After most had finished, I let them talk together to see if they agreed. On some problems there could be more than one right answer, but the explanation had to be there to support the decision. I will be looking over their papers and will return them next class.
Speaking of next class... Due to the early release day next Wednesday, I will not be seeing the third graders. I have asked them get their stories typed and printed if possible. Please let me know if either the typing or printing is an issue. Students can bring their flash drives to me and I'll print out the story or they can email me the final story to llecours@ucityschools.org.
We have not been getting enough time in the computer lab due to the tight scheduling of that space. If there is any reason your child can't get to a computer at home, just let me know and I'll work with them to get the story typed at school.
All stories are due Wed., Nov. 30.
HOMEWORK: Finish your mystery. Have a final copy ready to turn in on Wed., Nov. 30.
Speaking of next class... Due to the early release day next Wednesday, I will not be seeing the third graders. I have asked them get their stories typed and printed if possible. Please let me know if either the typing or printing is an issue. Students can bring their flash drives to me and I'll print out the story or they can email me the final story to llecours@ucityschools.org.
We have not been getting enough time in the computer lab due to the tight scheduling of that space. If there is any reason your child can't get to a computer at home, just let me know and I'll work with them to get the story typed at school.
All stories are due Wed., Nov. 30.
HOMEWORK: Finish your mystery. Have a final copy ready to turn in on Wed., Nov. 30.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Second Grade - Nov. 16
Today was again a game working day. I had intended for the students to complete their game cards, but so many students either didn't bring their research or hadn't done the research that only about half were able to start on the cards. I realize that your children are just in second grade, they need your help to remember their GATE things. By mid year this should be ingrained in their schedule. Check with your child to see where they are at in the research process. I know many students had been working hard, but then without the information at school they were unable to continue working on the final project.
Due to the early release day next week we will have a shortened class time. We will meet from 9 - 10:40 a.m. It is really important that the children have their binders, research books and any extra information they may have that will help them finish their game. November 30 will be the last day we work on the games in class. After that they will need to come home to get finished. We'll play the games on Dec. 7.
Due to the early release day next week we will have a shortened class time. We will meet from 9 - 10:40 a.m. It is really important that the children have their binders, research books and any extra information they may have that will help them finish their game. November 30 will be the last day we work on the games in class. After that they will need to come home to get finished. We'll play the games on Dec. 7.
Fourth Grade - Nov. 15
Most of the A to Z books were turned in yesterday. It took awhile to get them all printed but they look terrific. I can't wait to read them. I always learn so much from the student's research. We always say that we learn from our students, but every time a project is turned in I am amazed by the work some students put into their books. We will be able to share the books next week when they are all bound and ready to be handled.
I will be using the scoring rubric given out at the beginning of the unit to score the books. While I don't give letter grades, I do complete an evaluation on work completion, being prepared, self motivation, and staying on task among other areas. Please check with your child to see if they need to bring in any pages for their book. Some students neglected to complete the Title / Author page as indicated on the project outline.
We also did our regular brain work. This week's letter is F and we also tried to think of things that glow. As always so pretty amazing concepts came up during this activity.
I will be using the scoring rubric given out at the beginning of the unit to score the books. While I don't give letter grades, I do complete an evaluation on work completion, being prepared, self motivation, and staying on task among other areas. Please check with your child to see if they need to bring in any pages for their book. Some students neglected to complete the Title / Author page as indicated on the project outline.
We also did our regular brain work. This week's letter is F and we also tried to think of things that glow. As always so pretty amazing concepts came up during this activity.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
First Grade - Nov. 15
Today was all about words and writing. We, of course, started our day with our thinking activity, words that begin with the letter F. The kids did great. We had to pull out the dictionary for flabbergasted and other multi-syllablic words the kids came up with. Our other thinking activity was things that glow. This was difficult, but I was still so impressed with what they did come up with for this topic.
Next, the children were asked to write three super sentences about school. Super sentences are something they are learning in their regular classroom. These activities are wonderful for me to see as they give me a sense of their everyday work. I was impressed with the creativity of the sentences. I will ask them to think about super sentences when we do our writing in GATE.
I also gave the children a short spelling test on 10 random words from the Fry 100 list. Your child has their paper in their binder. Please continue to review these words each week. I will ask them to spell 10 words again next week. A couple of the words will be words most of the students missed this week. Last, I gave the students a short activity on the homophone set: to, too and two. They should complete the worksheet and return it next week.
Homework: Study the Fry 100; complete the To, Two and Too worksheet.
Next, the children were asked to write three super sentences about school. Super sentences are something they are learning in their regular classroom. These activities are wonderful for me to see as they give me a sense of their everyday work. I was impressed with the creativity of the sentences. I will ask them to think about super sentences when we do our writing in GATE.
I also gave the children a short spelling test on 10 random words from the Fry 100 list. Your child has their paper in their binder. Please continue to review these words each week. I will ask them to spell 10 words again next week. A couple of the words will be words most of the students missed this week. Last, I gave the students a short activity on the homophone set: to, too and two. They should complete the worksheet and return it next week.
Homework: Study the Fry 100; complete the To, Two and Too worksheet.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Another Crazy Week - All Grades Updated Here for the Week of Nov. 14
ALL GRADES - The thinking activity this week for grades 1 - 4 was to come up with words that begin with W and items that fold. What can you come up with?
First Grade - Wow we were busy on Tuesday. The day was all about stories. We are beginning Yolanda the Yarnspinner in the PETS series. Yolanda is all about being creative with words. We'll be doing more with stories for this unit, we'll read them, write them, and read aloud as much as we can.
I gave the kids a list of the 100 most used words and had them read them to me. I found out that I have a group of excellent readers. However, there were many words, that while they could read them, the students weren't so sure about how to use them properly in a sentence. So we will work through those words to make sure we can use them all properly.
We also did a short non-fiction writing activity. A few weeks ago we researched frogs and toads. I asked the students to use their notes from that research to write at least two sentences about frogs and toads and then they were to illustrate the idea being presented. Their work can be seen on the bulletin board outside my classroom.
Next week, I'm going to focus on some of the words the kids were unsure of and see if we can create unique sentences that still give us the meaning of the words.
Second Grade - Second graders learned a new thinking game called Attribute Stax. There is a commercial game called SET that is very similar. The children will play the game again next week and then I will let them bring a deck of cards home so they can teach you the game.
I guided the students through the process of laying out their game boards for our special Monopoly games. Next week we will begin to apply all the research the students have been doing to their game. They will choose which spaces to put each item they've learned about. They will also make fact cards for each space they put on their board. All of this work will be done in the classroom. Students will need to be sure to have their binders and research with them each week to be ready to work.
Third Grade - Third graders were introduced to criterion based decision making. That's a mouthful isn't it. Well, hopefully they are talking to you about the grid we learned to use when making an important decision. We did a couple of examples together as a whole class then each table group worked on a decision grid for choosing a restaurant for the entire family to enjoy. It was really interesting to see what they deemed important in deciding about a restaurant. I asked the children to show you the grid and see if you agree with their decisions. I can't wait to find out how those conversations turned out.
We also spent a great deal of time on the mysteries. Those that had a written or printed version of their stories were able to trade with a classmate to get feedback. It is wonderful if you, the parents, want to help your child. Once the story is typed into the computer (just as written please) have your child look at all the errors that the word processing program will so kindly point out with the red and green wavy lines. Ask your child to try and figure out why the computer program thinks there is an error. The student should be trying to fix the errors, but it is fine for you to help them should they need a little guidance. Often the gifted child will want to write and use vocabulary well beyond what they have learned to date. I would also appreciate a heads up to any particular writing or word choice that is cropping up that you think I might need to address. Last week I should the children how to punctuate dialog because I saw so much of it being used in their rough drafts. I hope to have the stories done the week after Thanksgiving.
Fourth Grade did not meet this week as I had to be out of the building. They should be FINISHING their A to Z books which are due Tuesday, Nov. 15. They may be turned in three different ways: 1. printed and bound; 2. printed and I will get it bound; 3. on a jump/flash drive and I will get it printed and bound. Please let me know if there are obstacles to getting this project completed.
Fifth Grade - I was able to meet with the fifth graders for about an hour on Thruway. The entire time was spent creating the Super Humans. Those will be finished next week during another shortened class. We are back to normal after Thanksgiving. You can see the in-progress Super Human outside room 213. They are really interesting creatures.
First Grade - Wow we were busy on Tuesday. The day was all about stories. We are beginning Yolanda the Yarnspinner in the PETS series. Yolanda is all about being creative with words. We'll be doing more with stories for this unit, we'll read them, write them, and read aloud as much as we can.
I gave the kids a list of the 100 most used words and had them read them to me. I found out that I have a group of excellent readers. However, there were many words, that while they could read them, the students weren't so sure about how to use them properly in a sentence. So we will work through those words to make sure we can use them all properly.
We also did a short non-fiction writing activity. A few weeks ago we researched frogs and toads. I asked the students to use their notes from that research to write at least two sentences about frogs and toads and then they were to illustrate the idea being presented. Their work can be seen on the bulletin board outside my classroom.
Next week, I'm going to focus on some of the words the kids were unsure of and see if we can create unique sentences that still give us the meaning of the words.
Second Grade - Second graders learned a new thinking game called Attribute Stax. There is a commercial game called SET that is very similar. The children will play the game again next week and then I will let them bring a deck of cards home so they can teach you the game.
I guided the students through the process of laying out their game boards for our special Monopoly games. Next week we will begin to apply all the research the students have been doing to their game. They will choose which spaces to put each item they've learned about. They will also make fact cards for each space they put on their board. All of this work will be done in the classroom. Students will need to be sure to have their binders and research with them each week to be ready to work.
Third Grade - Third graders were introduced to criterion based decision making. That's a mouthful isn't it. Well, hopefully they are talking to you about the grid we learned to use when making an important decision. We did a couple of examples together as a whole class then each table group worked on a decision grid for choosing a restaurant for the entire family to enjoy. It was really interesting to see what they deemed important in deciding about a restaurant. I asked the children to show you the grid and see if you agree with their decisions. I can't wait to find out how those conversations turned out.
We also spent a great deal of time on the mysteries. Those that had a written or printed version of their stories were able to trade with a classmate to get feedback. It is wonderful if you, the parents, want to help your child. Once the story is typed into the computer (just as written please) have your child look at all the errors that the word processing program will so kindly point out with the red and green wavy lines. Ask your child to try and figure out why the computer program thinks there is an error. The student should be trying to fix the errors, but it is fine for you to help them should they need a little guidance. Often the gifted child will want to write and use vocabulary well beyond what they have learned to date. I would also appreciate a heads up to any particular writing or word choice that is cropping up that you think I might need to address. Last week I should the children how to punctuate dialog because I saw so much of it being used in their rough drafts. I hope to have the stories done the week after Thanksgiving.
Fourth Grade did not meet this week as I had to be out of the building. They should be FINISHING their A to Z books which are due Tuesday, Nov. 15. They may be turned in three different ways: 1. printed and bound; 2. printed and I will get it bound; 3. on a jump/flash drive and I will get it printed and bound. Please let me know if there are obstacles to getting this project completed.
Fifth Grade - I was able to meet with the fifth graders for about an hour on Thruway. The entire time was spent creating the Super Humans. Those will be finished next week during another shortened class. We are back to normal after Thanksgiving. You can see the in-progress Super Human outside room 213. They are really interesting creatures.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Crazy Week - Multiple Grade Levels on This Post
I am so sorry for the delay. Somehow it's Friday already, and I'm not quite sure what happened to the rest of the week.
Book Orders: Everyone should have received the first quarterly GATE program newsletter along with the book orders. Order forms need to be to me by Noon on Friday, Nov. 11 (end of conferences) or please place your on line order by midnight Friday. I will submit the order over the weekend.
Second Grade
Second Graders worked very hard on visual puzzles that required some very tough abstract thinking. I hope they told you about the puzzles. After I do them puzzles with another class I will allow students to borrow the puzzle bags overnight so they can bring one home to challenge the family.
They also spent a great deal of time in the library working on their game topic research. I also met with everyone in the library again today during their regular classroom library time to help them check out appropriate books for their projects. I have suggested to many students that they pay a visit to the University City library to do further research. The larger library is certain to have more books on a student's chosen topic than we are able to house here at Flynn. Everyone is doing a wonderful job so far. We'll work on organizing our thoughts next week.
Third Grade
After a mini-lesson on punctuating conversations, the students were given time to work on their mystery stories. We were able to get into the computer lab at the end of the day. However, we ran into a little snag. It seems, for the time being, the student computers in our building are loaded with Microsoft 2003. So, if your child's story was saved as a 2007 document, we were unable to open it in the computer lab. For this reason I am going to have to ask that the stories be typed at home. I can open them in my classroom, on my teacher computer, and then print them, no matter the version of Word that the document is saved in. I will again give the children time next week to edit and revise their stories. I am hoping to have enough done or near done that the children will have a chance to peer review their stories.
Fifth Grade
The fifth graders had a fantastic experience at the Da Vinci Machines Exhibit. We were treated like royalty from the minute we arrived. The students first watched short videos about Da Vinci's life, his inventions, his art and his rivalry with Michelangelo. They were silent for the entire time. It helped a little that they were eating lunch at the same time. After a detailed guided tour of all the machines in the museum, the students were given time to explore with their hands. This was fantastic. I highly recommend this exhibit to anyone with an interest in Da Vinci, inventions or just plan hands-on fun and learning. The information on the exhibit can be found at http://www.davinciexhibitstl.com/. I purchased the exhibit companion book and will have that available to view during conferences.
When we returned to school the children worked on their Super Humans. The works in progress can be seen out side the classroom.
Book Orders: Everyone should have received the first quarterly GATE program newsletter along with the book orders. Order forms need to be to me by Noon on Friday, Nov. 11 (end of conferences) or please place your on line order by midnight Friday. I will submit the order over the weekend.
Second Grade
Second Graders worked very hard on visual puzzles that required some very tough abstract thinking. I hope they told you about the puzzles. After I do them puzzles with another class I will allow students to borrow the puzzle bags overnight so they can bring one home to challenge the family.
They also spent a great deal of time in the library working on their game topic research. I also met with everyone in the library again today during their regular classroom library time to help them check out appropriate books for their projects. I have suggested to many students that they pay a visit to the University City library to do further research. The larger library is certain to have more books on a student's chosen topic than we are able to house here at Flynn. Everyone is doing a wonderful job so far. We'll work on organizing our thoughts next week.
Third Grade
After a mini-lesson on punctuating conversations, the students were given time to work on their mystery stories. We were able to get into the computer lab at the end of the day. However, we ran into a little snag. It seems, for the time being, the student computers in our building are loaded with Microsoft 2003. So, if your child's story was saved as a 2007 document, we were unable to open it in the computer lab. For this reason I am going to have to ask that the stories be typed at home. I can open them in my classroom, on my teacher computer, and then print them, no matter the version of Word that the document is saved in. I will again give the children time next week to edit and revise their stories. I am hoping to have enough done or near done that the children will have a chance to peer review their stories.
Fifth Grade
The fifth graders had a fantastic experience at the Da Vinci Machines Exhibit. We were treated like royalty from the minute we arrived. The students first watched short videos about Da Vinci's life, his inventions, his art and his rivalry with Michelangelo. They were silent for the entire time. It helped a little that they were eating lunch at the same time. After a detailed guided tour of all the machines in the museum, the students were given time to explore with their hands. This was fantastic. I highly recommend this exhibit to anyone with an interest in Da Vinci, inventions or just plan hands-on fun and learning. The information on the exhibit can be found at http://www.davinciexhibitstl.com/. I purchased the exhibit companion book and will have that available to view during conferences.
When we returned to school the children worked on their Super Humans. The works in progress can be seen out side the classroom.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Fourth Grade Update - Nov. 1
There will be no Fourth Grade GATE class next week, Tuesday, Nov. 8. I had the students write a note to help them remember. They now have two weeks to finish their A to Z books. Some students mentioned they were still doing research, that should have been completed last week. I have reminded them repeatedly to not wait until the last moment to let me know if they get behind. I will be at school every day and they are welcome to come see me with questions. Also, I am always available via email.
Students are welcome to bring me their flash drive or email their books to me to be printed prior to the deadline. Each student has an outline of what MUST be in the book. Please help them to check over their work and see that they have everything they need.
We also did a visual thinking activity. Ask your child about the "game" they played with their classmates. If students would like they can come by the classroom and borrow a set of materials to bring home to share with you what we are doing in class when there is no paper trail to explain the activity.
Your child should have brought home a newsletter and the book orders yesterday. I am only sending one per family so if you have two children in the GATE program you will only receive one newsletter and one set of book club order forms. Book orders are due by Friday, Nov. 11.
Students are welcome to bring me their flash drive or email their books to me to be printed prior to the deadline. Each student has an outline of what MUST be in the book. Please help them to check over their work and see that they have everything they need.
We also did a visual thinking activity. Ask your child about the "game" they played with their classmates. If students would like they can come by the classroom and borrow a set of materials to bring home to share with you what we are doing in class when there is no paper trail to explain the activity.
Your child should have brought home a newsletter and the book orders yesterday. I am only sending one per family so if you have two children in the GATE program you will only receive one newsletter and one set of book club order forms. Book orders are due by Friday, Nov. 11.
First Grade Update - 11/1/11
Tuesday's primary activity was learning about analogies. We did some together, then I gave the children a chance to do some on their own. This lesson works into our PETS activities on Analytical Thinking. The children did a great job. I will be throwing more analogies in as the year progresses just to keep them on their toes.
Brainwork this week was words that begin with E, but not EX words. Also they thought of things that are square. What can you come up with?
Next week we'll focus on writing a paragraph about frogs and toads. I've taken a short break from this series of lessons to work on vocabulary and classifying information in preparation of the writing process. We'll focus on main idea and supporting details.
Please let us know if you hear back from your flat person during their adventure. We love to share what they are doing while we are back here in St. Louis. We saw a picture of Flat Claudia enjoying Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this week.
The first newsletter of the year, along with book orders should have come home Tuesday. Book orders are due by next Friday, Nov. 11.
Brainwork this week was words that begin with E, but not EX words. Also they thought of things that are square. What can you come up with?
Next week we'll focus on writing a paragraph about frogs and toads. I've taken a short break from this series of lessons to work on vocabulary and classifying information in preparation of the writing process. We'll focus on main idea and supporting details.
Please let us know if you hear back from your flat person during their adventure. We love to share what they are doing while we are back here in St. Louis. We saw a picture of Flat Claudia enjoying Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this week.
The first newsletter of the year, along with book orders should have come home Tuesday. Book orders are due by next Friday, Nov. 11.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)