Gate Recap – Weeks of Dec. 3 - 21

 Group News

I am sorry for the delay in posting this month.  Not sure how I missed last week’s post, but alas I did.  Then I was out Monday and Tuesday, so here I am with a two week update and a look at next week.  Remember, there is NO SCHOOL, Friday, Dec. 21.  Enjoy the Winter Break.  I’ll see students again Thursday, Jan. 3 with GATE classes resuming the week of Jan. 7.

 

 

First Grade – Wednesday Mornings

Last week first graders were introduced to Max the Magician. Max uses visual and spatial perception to solve puzzles.  We looked at patterns and found errors in them. Then we figured out the corrected pattern.  This week I gave a pretest on visual thinking.  I’ll give the same activity at the end of the unit and see if the children do better.  These units will be repeated in some fashion all the way through fifth grade.  Children develop skills and build on them in the coming years.

I also introduced pentominoes.  Pentominoes are puzzle pieces made with five one-inch squares.  There are a total of 12 possible ways to combine the five pieces, allowing for there to always be one full side of each square touching at least one other square.  Now that we’ve found all 12 possible pieces we’ll use these to solve other puzzles.

This week we began a unit on Systems of the Human Body.  This week we began learning about the skeletal system.  We’ll also be learning about the digestive, circulatory and nerve/brain systems.

Next week, we’ll begin the pentominoe puzzles, work a Max puzzle and put together our skeletons that we cut out last week and begin labeling the bones of the human body.

Second Grade – Tuesday Mornings

Last week was all about research.  Everyone was able to use a computer to look up their topic and we worked together to gather information for our game boards.  The students are learning to pick and choose what information they need and what is “extra” information.  The students should continue to gather information that will become the game cards on our Monopoly game.

I am sorry to have missed the children this week, but next week, we’ll finish making the game cards and then when we return from break, we’ll make the game board and write the rules of the game.

Third Grade – Tuesday Afternoons

Math around the World took us to the game of Kahal.  Many of you know this game as Mancala.  The students have hopefully asked you to play with them.  Ella Greenberg was our champion of the Kalah tournament.

Our next activity is called Hanoi’s tower.  This will be introduced next week.

Fourth Grade – Monday Afternoons

The trial was wonderful.  I am so proud of how the children handled themselves and solved the problems they ran into on their own.  We will have to have a retrial on one of the murder counts, as the jury could not come to a unanimous decision on the death of one of the pigs.  We will conduct the retrial in an open forum so that students can problem solve together on how the witnesses, lawyers and jury could have better used the information they were given to come to a decision.  I am excited to see how this goes.   It’s difficult to let the children take the lead, but they have shown they are more than capable.

Fifth Grade – Wednesday Afternoons

This week the children were introduced to our wonderful tax system.  We looked at four different scenarios and calculated their tax liability based on their gross income.  We’ve covered a lot of information that may be confusion, but I promise we’ll continue to review past learning as we move forward with this unit. 

I also paired the students for the next Stock Market Game which runs Feb. 2 – April 10.  The students should be tracking about five stocks (they can do more), so that when it comes time to invest, we’re ready to go.

Next week we’ll finish the tax lesson, and then when we return in January I’ll be assigning the career research project. 

 

Gate Recap – Week Nov. 26 - 30

Group News

-          Book Club Orders:  December Book club forms should have come home Orders need to be turned into me (during the school day) or placed online by midnight Friday, Dec. 7.   You can get to the December Book Club forms at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs.  Our class code is GL7HN.  For some reason the November book club forms are showing on the log in page.  You will need to select December under the shop by tab.  Scholastic has been having website difficulties and it seems my choices aren’t always showing.   There is also a special Holiday Gift Book & End-of-year catalog you can reach under the specialty catalog menu to the right of the grade level books.

-          College for Kids:  I’ve just received the Spring College-for-Kids class list and registration forms.  I only received a few, but you can go to www.stlcc.edu/CFKids for more information. These classes are offered through the Continuing Education office of St. Louis Community College at Meramec.  Classes are on Saturdays from Feb 2 – March 9, 2013.  The college is at 11333 Big Bend Road.

First Grade – Wednesday Mornings

This week we finished our continents book.  We looked at South America.  In the process we learned that Brazil touches nearly every S. American country and that the Falkland Islands are governed by the UK even though they are very close to Argentina.  Flat Sage has been a busy world traveler.  After her time in Germany, she went to visit family in Arizona.  We were able to read her letter and look of pictures of her during her stay.  She’s heading to Los Angeles next.  Although we have finished the in class portion of the geography unit, we want to continue hearing from the travels of our Flat selves.  They may continue traveling as long as you have some place to send them.  A couple of weeks ago we talked about being able to travel through Panama.  During that conversation I mentioned Magellan and his world tour.  So this week I presented a map that shows the route Magellan’s ships took on their journey.  This was just for information and exposure.

Also, we had a not so successful day with our final lessons from Yolanda the Yarnspinner.  As I said in the Wednesday email, these lessons are very vocabulary heavy.  It’s ok that we weren’t successful, there was still learning happening and it gives me great information to build from for later lessons.

Our next set of lessons will come from the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley.  It’s called Frog Math.  We’ll read Frog and Toad books and use those stories as foundations for various math activities.

Second Grade – Tuesday Mornings

Second graders were introduced to the acronym SCAMPER.  SCAMPER is a tool that helps children (and adults) think of the many ways they could modify an idea.  We used it to modify one of three items (a shoe, an umbrella or a fishing rod.)  The end results were quite interesting.  Your child will bring home their SCAMPER item next week.

We also worked on using our research to being making the cards for the Monopoly game.  Please know that a bulk of the work for this unit will be done in class.  That said, it’s still very important for the children to be reading about their topics each week.  We’ll go back to our library next week, but due to the limited resources there most of the children will not be able to find more books on their topic.   We’ll continue to write our fact cards for a couple of weeks, and then we’ll make the game boards.

Third Grade – Tuesday Afternoons

Third graders tackled more advanced lesson in the Hands-on Equations program.  They are all doing a great job.  We’ll be back as a whole group after the Winter Break.  The children just learning the program were introduced to the concept of x and y last week.  Meanwhile the students with me did problems that involved fractions.  Wow, when I showed them the actual problem written in algebraic form, they were stunned at what they were able to accomplish.  I am very proud of them for the hard work they are doing.

When we moved into the Math Around the World I asked the children to explain our game of NIM, in writing.  They were not happy.  This is just the first of many games they will learn.  As they do more writing they will get better and when they get better it won’t’ be so hard for them and (hopefully) I won’t hear the groans I do now when I say, “please write an explanation.” 

This week’s new game was Kalah.  I am aware that many children have played mancala, but this version has a few rules that are different from how we are used to playing the game.  I am asking that everyone play the game by our rules. Next week we’ll talk strategies and test those out.  Hopefully we’ll have time for a Kalah tournament.

Fourth Grade – Monday Afternoons

Wow, Ms. Brown and I are both so blown away by the effort and enthusiasm we are seeing in the children.  They are so ready for the trial on Monday.  The amount of work they have put in, outside of class, really is showing.  He lawyers are ready, the reporters are ready and the witnesses, they were in full character this week.  While some were doing their trial prep, others were working on a One-Hour Mystery.  These are getting more difficult, but I see such growth in their ability to reason through the information.  They should have their One-hour mystery with them if they had time to work on it in class.  I’m saving them for the lawyers and reporters who have had no free time during class.

12/3 – TRIAL DAY! – We will stage the trial in room 105 (the old library space).  We are hoping to start at 1:30, but cannot guarantee just how long the trial will take. If you can stop by, feel free to quietly enter our courtroom any time from 1:30 – 3:15 when we’ll have to take a recess (if we aren’t done) and finish next week.

 

Fifth Grade – Wednesday Afternoons

I collected bedroom outlines this week.  I’ll be reviewing them for common threads of misunderstanding that I can then clear up next week.  We began the next section of Money Math. This set of lessons reviews careers and taxes.  We began with two simple exercises to expose the children to the many choices they have to look forward to.  We were first trying to see how math plays into different jobs. Then the students analyzed case studies of 13 different careers from Retail Salesperson to a Pediatric Cardiologist and everything in between.  The children looked for educational requirements, uses of math in the positions and finally salaries.  Now, my data is a bit old, but it still is relevant as the differences between the sales person and the doctor are still going to be huge.

Next week, we’ll make the connection between education and salary.  We will also look at the tax burden based on your income.  In a few weeks the children will begin a mini-project to find this same information out about the career they think they want to pursue.  This is a very real world activity that I’ve done in the past with much success.

Gate Recap – Week Nov. 12 - 16

Happy Thanksgiving

Group News

-         December Book club forms will come home beginning Monday, Nov.  19 and will be due Friday, Dec. 7.   You can get to the December Book Club forms at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs.  Our class code is GL7HN.  You will need to select December if it’s not showing on the homepage.  Scholastic has been having website difficulties and it seems my choices aren’t always showing.   There is also a special Holiday Book catalog you can reach under the specialty catalog menu to the right of the grade level books.

First Grade – Wednesday Mornings

This week’s geography lessons covered Germany and North America.  Flat Sage went to Germany and we were able to locate Heidelberg on Google Maps and then mark it on our map of Europe.  We also looked at the many countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, which are considered part of North America.  Hopefully you’ve seen the Thanksgiving booklet the children made.  We also did a very quick read of a book about Veteran’s Day and the five branches of the Armed Forces.  I do these kinds of lessons just to give the children an introduction to the many aspects of our lives here in America.   Our next class is Wed., Nov. 28.

Second Grade – Tuesday Mornings

Second graders jumped right back into our visual thinking lessons this week.  Ask them to tell you about the logic puzzles they completed.  Using just a few clues they were able to place our PETS characters in their correct locations.  The children are really getting good at these puzzles.  I also introduced the Game Making Unit. The main focus of this unit is on basic research skills.  I will guide the children through most of the research and game making during class time.  There may be a few homework assignments, but they will not be extensive.  I’ve asked the children to think of THREE topics they might like to learn more about. These topics will be the foundation for their Monopoly like game that they will create.

 Third Grade – Tuesday Afternoons

Third graders were introduced to Math Around the World this week.  We began with the game of NIM which hopefully you have played already.  Below are the basics of the game, just in case you didn’t see the email.  You will need 15 objects to use as markers.

Lay the markers as shown below.

O O O

O O O O O

O O O O O O O

Take turns removing pieces.

You may remove one or more pieces from any one row.

You may not pass.

You win by taking the LAST piece.

Fourth Grade – Monday Afternoons

Stacy Brown did a fabulous job explaining the ins and outs of a criminal court room and then answering the 50 questions posed by the children.  I’d say 99% of the questions were quite relevant. I then allowed the children to re-pick their job choice.  Jobs will be handed out on Monday.  Below is our current schedule for the trial preparations and presentation.  Also, the Big Bad Wolf is being held in room 213 until he can be put on trial.  Thank you to the Dobslaw’s for the loan.

11/12 - Homework: Read all the trial preparation papers.

11/19 –Review Trial Procedures – Jobs assigned

11/26 –Trial Prep – Mrs. Brown will be here to help the lawyers prepare for trial.

12/3 – TRIAL DAY!

Fifth Grade – Wednesday Afternoons

The bedroom outlines looked great as did the shopping lists.  We attempted to make scaled furniture for the rooms.  It’s seems I was not totally clear in my explanation of which scale to use.  So we had some with 1” = 1ft and others with ½“ = 1ft.  Then again someone else did ¼” = 1ft. That made for a very tiny drawing.   The concept and application of scale is a difficult one, but this exercise is giving the children many opportunities to work it through.  I have kept their binders until our next class, Wed., Nov. 29.

 

NOTE:  There will be NO post next week. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break.

Gate Recap – Week Nov. 5 - 9

Group News

-         Parent Conferences It was wonderful to see so many of you.  Please remember, I am available anytime you need to talk.  Just drop me an email and we can arrange a time to meet.

-         Book orders must be dropped off or entered on line by Monday, Nov. 12.  You can get to the November Book Club forms at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs.  Our class code is GL7HN. 

First Grade – Wednesday Mornings

Well, we are finally back to our regular schedule.  I don’t see any other disruptions in the near future.  This week we heard about the travels of Flat Anna and Flat Theresa.  They seem to be having a great time and are on to their next adventure.  In Geography we looked at Europe.  We located Germany, which is where Flat Sage went to visit a cousin stationed there.  We also saw Iceland which is more green than icy and Greenland which is more icy than green.  Next week, we’ll review North America and do a quick study of Thanksgiving.  Remember there is no school the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Second Grade – Tuesday Mornings

Second graders had the week off due to the election holiday.  Next week we’ll begin our Games Creation unit.  This will involve research and game theory.

Third Grade – Tuesday Afternoons

Third graders also had the day off.  Next week we’ll start Math Around the World.  This unit introduces games that have a math component.  I’ll also be working with the children on how to explain their thinking.  They like to say, “I just knew.”  With this unit they will have to explain strategy and math theory to each other and then in writing.

Fourth Grade – Monday Afternoons

This week the fourth graders had a wonderful discussion on communities and then on how to establish laws when a community first develops.  This is leading to our trial of the Big Bad Wolf. We are looking forward to having Stacy Brown (Isaac’s mom) come and tell us about criminal trials in a real courtroom next week.  I will be handing out the vocabulary and outline of the trial procedures for the children to study.  Then on Nov. 19 I will hand out the jobs.  Our trial will be on Dec. 3, if all goes as planned.

Fifth Grade – Wednesday Afternoons

This week it was Mrs. Schuler and Mrs. Thompson’s classes that were at the Art Museum.  When they returned we talked about the room project they should be working on. (See Below)  It seems only about half the children had gotten started.  If your child will need computer time at school they need to let us know so we can find the time in their very crowded schedules.

Fifth Grade Assignment

Measure and draw your bedroom (on the graph paper). Mark the windows, doors and closet. If you have other non-wall items, measure those too.  Then shop for the items you would use to redecorate your room. Your budget is $700.00

Tools for you to use:

Paint Calculator from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCalcInteriorPaintView?metric=false&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&cm_sp=13c81994-4202-4864-93e2-fd0f251fe555

Wallpaper Calculator from Home Depot:

https://secure2.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCalcWallPaperView?metric=false&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&

Flooring / Carpet (wall to wall)

https://secure2.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCalcCarpetView?metric=false&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&

Possible stores for décor items – Bed, Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, Amazon, your choiceWHAT YOU WILL TURN IN: A scale drawing of your bedroom. A list of the items you will purchase showing how you are spending your $700 budget.

Gate Recap – Week of October 29 – Nov. 2

Group News

-         Parent Conferences  - I will be in my room and available during the entire conference time.  I will have the curriculum out and hopefully some samples of student work for you to see.

-         Book Orders will be available during conferences and the week after during classes.  If you would like this month’s book order to be a gift, just send me an email and I’ll let you know when they arrive.  You can get to the November Book Club forms at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs.  Our class code is GL7HN.  Orders need to be placed by Monday, Nov. 12.  Hopefully then they will arrive before we go out for the Thanksgiving Break.  I will also have a December order right when we return from the break.

 

First Grade – Wednesday Mornings

We had a good class on Monday morning this week.  We were able to finish Flat Stanley and the Magic Lamp.  Ask your child about their flying adventures.  We also read the book Fortunately by Remy Charlip.  The children then created their own Good News / Bad News stories.  Next week we’ll continue with the good news / bad news idea and learn about the European and North American continents.  Also, we’ll get to see pictures of Flat Anna’s adventures in Kansas.

Second Grade – Tuesday Mornings

Second graders turned in some fabulous fairy tales. We took some time to read each other’s stories.  I think everyone read each of the other student’s stories.  If not they will have some time at the end of each class for reading and these stories will be available.  We then played a visual thinking game called Attribute Stax.  Hopefully you’ve been able to play this with your child this week as they brought home a set of cards.  If you like the game, there is a commercial game called SET that is available and follows the same idea.   I will share this game with the children at our next class, Tuesday, Nov. 13.  There is no class Nov. 6 as the school is closed on Election Day.

 

 

Third Grade – Tuesday Afternoons

We were finally back to our full two plus hours for class this week.  Mrs. Schwartz took her Hands-on Equations group again to give them a review of the basics as she’ll be moving into new concepts on Nov. 13 (our next class).

The other students worked on solving word problems using the Hands-on Equation materials.  We progressed into some really difficult problems. I’ll continue to challenge the students with these while the others are learning the foundation skills.

After our 50% homework rate last week, I am thrilled to report that we had 99% this week.  Just one student forgot their story.  The children were very excited as I took attendance to see how many of them remembered both their binder and their homework.  This is what I’d like every week. 

We are between units, so this week was low key after that.  We’ll start a new unit on Tuesday, Nov. 13, stay tuned for more information.

Fourth Grade – Monday Afternoons

This week was transition week.  I gave the students quite a bit of time to share their A to Z books with each other.  Those that had me bind the books were able to create their own covers.  We did complete our Language Arts Mind builders.  You can ask your child to show you their answers and hopefully they can explain the concept we covered too. 

I gave the students a very brief discussion of our trail unit and asked them to pick three jobs they might like to have in our simulation.  I will be watching students for the next couple of weeks as we prepare to see how their attention, participation and work completion stack up.  There are six jobs that are very intense and I need to choose wisely so those students can not only handle the extra work load, but will be able to do a good job in the process. Most of the prep work will have to be done outside of class.  Mrs. Braeske will be coming in to prep the students on what it’s like in a criminal courtroom and then will serve as our Judge when trial day arrives.

Fifth Grade – Wednesday Afternoons

When Mr. C’s students returned I gave the students their next assignment in our Money Math Unit.  This is a real world application of many math and finance principles.  Below is the assignment again, as posted in our email from Wed., Oct. 31.

Assignment

Measure and draw your bedroom (on the graph paper). Mark the windows, doors and closet. If you have other non-wall items, measure those too.  Then shop for the items you would use to redecorate your room. Your budget is $700.00

Tools for you to use:

Paint Calculator from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCalcInteriorPaintView?metric=false&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&cm_sp=13c81994-4202-4864-93e2-fd0f251fe555

Wallpaper Calculator from Home Depot:

https://secure2.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCalcWallPaperView?metric=false&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&

Flooring / Carpet (wall to wall)

https://secure2.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/THDCalcCarpetView?metric=false&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&

Possible stores for décor items – Bed, Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, Amazon, your choice

WHAT YOU WILL TURN IN: A scale drawing of your bedroom. A list of the items you will purchase showing how you are spending your $700 budget.

Schedule changes:

11/7 & 11/4 – Mrs. Thompson and Schuler’s students go to the St. Louis Art Museum while Mr. Christensen’s students come to GATE.  Mrs. Thompson and Schuler’s students will come to GATE when they return from the art museum.

Gate Recap – Week of October 22 - 26

 

Group News

-         Parent Conferences are next week.  I will be in my room and available during the entire conference time.  If you would like a private meeting, please send me a note or drop me an email message and I’ll schedule a time.  I will have the curriculum out and hopefully some samples of student work for you to see.

-         Book Orders will be available during conferences and the week after during classes.  If you would like this month’s book order to be a gift, just send me an email and I’ll let you know when they arrive.  You can get to the November Book Club forms at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs.  Our class code is GL7HN.  Orders need to be placed by Monday, Nov. 12.  Hopefully then they will arrive before we go out for the Thanksgiving Break.  I will also have a December order right when we return from the break.  NOTE:  Scholastic is having trouble showing the November Book orders on my Scholastic home page.  So, until that glitch is fixed you need to go the place order tab, and choose November for the catalog you are ording from.
 

First Grade – Wednesday Mornings

This week we continued our geography study.  We reviewed the seven continents, hemispheres and the oceans.  We then looked at Africa and Antarctica.  We looked at Antarctica on the globe to get a better idea of how it sits on Earth.  We also talked about how maps are changed when we try to flatten our planet to make it fit on a piece of paper.  Then we worked on using colorful words to improve very boring sentences.  Hopefully you were able to hear about this on Monday.  The homework is to finish the backside of the sentence activity sheet.  Last we started to read another chapter of Flat Stanley and the Magic Lamp.  We were mid-chapter when our time ended.  Ask your child if they remember what was about to happen when we stopped.  Class next week will be on MONDAY, OCT. 29 instead of Wed, Oct. 31 so that we can have a full class time and the students can participate in the Pumpkin Run.

Second Grade – Tuesday Mornings

Second graders worked some very difficult visual thinking problems this week.  After guiding them through the first example, I supported them on four more.  Then, for the last one, I had them do it completely on their own.  These types of activities really help me to understand who thinks visually, orally, or needs real support to solve these abstract puzzles.  Over the many years they’ll be with me, they will have ample opportunities to develop these skills.

After we finished with our critical thinking activities I gave the students time to work on their fairy tales.   I met with each student and reviewed the work they had done for their fairy tales.  If I had concerns or questions, you probably got an email from me on Tuesday.  Finished fairy tales are due Tuesday, Oct. 30.  Remember, it’s ok and I even encourage you to type for your child, as long as you are typing what they want.

Third Grade – Tuesday Afternoons

Our class was shortened again this week due to our author / illustrator visit.  We did still have time for our problem solving and time to work on the mysteries.  As I said in the email on Tuesday, only 50% of the students had work with them or were progressing.  Mysteries are due Tuesday, Oct. 30.  The stories can be typed or handwritten.  If you’d like you can email the finished story to me and I’ll print it out, or send in the flash drive and I’ll print it from there.

In problem solving we did some sample puzzles that required us to fit items into a group.  When given examples of animals or pictures that fit together in some way, students had to decide why they went together and then choose from another group something to add to the first group.  After doing four together I gave them a page with six more problems.  Some of the six were quite obvious or had more than one answer. Others were much more difficult.  Again, please remember these are developing skills and not all students are able to think as abstractly as these activities require.  I kept the final papers as a guide for me when planning future activities.

Fourth Grade – Monday Afternoons

Wow, I am so excited to read the A to Z books.  We had almost 100% turn in, which is amazing. The ones that weren’t turned in were due to absences and illness, not lack of work.  I am ecstatic.  We’ll be having a reading marathon on Monday, Oct. 29.

I gave the students the last one-hour mystery we’ll be doing for a while.  Some children were able to finish it in less than an hour, others took longer.  This really helps me to see how different children process information and which parts of the mystery they need help with tells me even more.  At the end of this mystery they were required to explain how they came to the solution. This proved very difficult for most.  They want to say: The clues told me.  They do not want to explain their thinking.  This is huge.  We stress how important it is to be able to tell someone why or how you come to a conclusion.  We’ll continue to work on this skill.

Fifth Grade – Wednesday Afternoons

This week was a half class in that I did not have Mr. C’s students.  Next week they will join us when they return from the Art Museum.  Please remind your children to keep an eye on their stocks and let me know if they want to purchase or sell any of their holdings.   We’re doing fairly well in the regional standings with a few teams in the top 10.

Next week we’ll continue the Money Math program. Hopefully, you now know the six steps to becoming a millionaire.  If not ask your child to show you the guidelines we went over.  They should be able to explain why each step is important. (NOTE: Mr. C’s students will get the last step next week.)

5^th Grade Schedule Changes:

10/31 – Mr. Christensen’s class will be attending a wonderful program at the St. Louis Art Museum.  Mrs. Thompson and Schuler’s classes will attend GATE as usual.  Mr. Christensen’s students will come to GATE when they return from the art museum.

11/7 & 11/4 – Mrs. Thompson and Schuler’s students go to the St. Louis Art Museum while Mr. Christensen’s students come to GATE.  Mrs. Thompson and Schuler’s students will come to GATE when they return from the art museum

 

 

Gate Recap - Week of Oct. 15 - 18

Group New

   Parent Conferences are in just two weeks.  I will be in my room and available during the entire conference time.  If you would like a private meeting, please send me a note or drop me an email message and I’ll schedule a time.  I will have the curriculum out and hopefully some samples of student work for you to see.

   First Grade – Wednesday Mornings

This week we continued our geography study.  We reviewed the seven continents and I introduced the equator and Prime Meridian as dividing lines for the four hemispheres.  I kept the work at school as we’ll be using it in the coming weeks.  We also began our newest Thinking Skills unit, Yolanda the Yarnspinner.  The students should have brought home a bookmark that they made.  On the book mark are the main concepts we’ll be covering during this unit.  Last we read another chapter of Flat Stanley and the Magic Lamp.  We had run out of time last week.  I was excited with how much of the story line the children remembered.  Ask your child about how being famous felt for Mrs. Lampchop.  Next week we’ll continue all of the same activities.    Looking ahead, we’ll have class on MONDAY, OCT. 29 instead of Wed, Oct. 31 so that we can have a full class time and the students can participate in the Pumpkin Run. 

Second Grade – Tuesday Mornings

Second graders did some hard thinking this week.  We did logic puzzles that were a bit more difficult than previous ones they’ve done.  It was really interesting to see how they attack the puzzles on their own. 

After we finished with our critical thinking activities I gave the students time to work on their fairy tales. They should be working on their rough drafts this week for homework.  I’ll look over what they have next week.  Then, I’d love to have finished stories by Oct. 30.  Parents may type their story for their child, if they want you to.  My only request is that you type exactly what your child has written and allow them to find errors or changes they may want to make.  It’s ok for you to proofread for them, but the hard part is not to impart our adult ideas into their story.

Next week we’ll be doing some visual problem solving puzzles and finish our rough drafts of the fairy tales so the students can begin working on their final copy of the story.

Third Grade – Tuesday Afternoons

This week we had a shortened class so that we could attend the 2^nd and 5^th grade concert.  I am so proud of what an excellent audience my students were for the other students.  Your child should have shown you our Chow Time activity.  This was our evaluative thinking activity for the day.  We’ve been learning about what goes into making an important decision.  Ask your child to explain the parts of the Decision Making Chart.   The Hands-on Equations students continued to work on their extra problems while the other students did the Think and Touch problems.  They are all getting better, but focus is needed to really accomplish these problems.  As I often see, the students want instant and correct answers.  They are just not used to being wrong and accepting that we can make mistakes and that’s ok.  On Oct. 23 we’ll be going to a talk with a children’s book illustrator before coming back to class to work on our mysteries.  Rough drafts should be complete and students can begin writing up the final draft.  Remember, Tuesday, Nov. 6 is Election Day so there is no school.  

Fourth Grade – Monday Afternoons

The A to Z books are in their final stages.  All books are due this Monday.  If you have any questions over the weekend, please email me. I do check email regularly and will get back to you as soon as I can. 

This week we were able to complete a One-Hour Mystery in just about an hour. The children were so excited to be able to work through an entire mystery in one sitting. This group continues to amaze me with their focus and commitment to our activities.   Next week begins a new quarter and we’ll take the day to transition from our A to Z books and into our new unit on the judicial system.

Fifth Grade – Wednesday Afternoons

Fifth graders had a big day on Wednesday.  I was not aware they were at the Green Center all morning, so when they came to my class, they were fairly relaxed.  We moved right into our word plexers, which are tons of fun.  But after that we got into how to become a millionaire.  I introduced the concepts of simple and compound interest.  I will review that again next week.  I also gave them the first five of the six steps to becoming a millionaire.  They should be sharing all of this work with you when they come home. The students should be able to explain the concept of opportunity cost in relation to money and time.   

At the end of the day they had time to read or work on Stock Market research.  The next four weeks are going to be a bit chaotic as the fifth grade classes begin their rotations to the St. Louis Art Museum for the ABC Art Program.  I will teach the next two lessons of Money Math while with the smaller group, then when the art group returns we’ll focus on plexers and the stock market game as there won’t be enough time for the Money Math at the end of the class.

5^th Grade Schedule Changes:

10/24 & 10/31 – Mr. Christensen’s class will be attending a wonderful program at the St. Louis Art Museum.  Mrs. Thompson and Schuler’s classes will attend GATE as usual.  Mr. Christensen’s students will come to GATE when they return from the art museum.

11/7 & 11/4 – Mrs. Thompson and Schuler’s students go to the St. Louis Art Museum while Mr. Christensen’s students come to GATE.  Mrs. Thompson and Schuler’s students will come to GATE when they return from the art museum