Sharing

Yesterday during sharing, I shared two article from NPR (National Public Radio) that connected to some of the discussions we have had during our sharing time. Some students wanted to access these articles from home so I thought I would post what I shared.

The first article I shared was about the future of children's books. Many book publishers are creating "multiplatform" books. Multiplatform books often include website access, cards, online playing, and videos. The most well-known multiplatform book series is the "39 Clues."

The second article came from our discussions of the environment and ways we can do our part to help nature. This article was about phosphates being pulled from dishwasher detergent. Many people have complained their dishes no longer come out clean since they pulled phosphates from dishwasher detergent.

December Sky

This December promises to be a big astronomy month. There is much going on. First, the annual Geminid meteor shower returns. The best date to see this meteor shower is December 13 - 14. You should be able to see "falling stars" beginning around 9 pm - 10 pm with meteors peaking around 2 am early on December 14. They are estimating 50 meteors per hour.

There will also be a lunar eclipse on the nights of December 20 and 21. This is the only lunar eclipse of 2010 and will be the best viewed lunar eclipse until 2014. The official time of the lunar eclipse is December 21 at 12:29 am.

To find out more information on both events, there are many websites offering tips on how to best view these two events. This article does a nice job of summarizing both events. Happy viewing!

Wonderful Days

Even though we have just come back from Thanksgiving break, yesterday and today have been such a treat! We started Monday with a lengthy discussion of revamping many classroom structures. To do that, I went straight to the kids. I asked them how they wanted to structure the day. In other words, when did they want to have sharing, math, social studies, etc. As a class, we created a structure, not much unlike what we had, but somewhat different. We placed the new schedule on the board so students know exactly what we are doing each day. Next, after a lengthy discussion concerning the importance of choosing good groups to work with, students created their own groups they felt they could work with. I will admit, I was a bit worried about this. But students did not choose groups based on who their best friends are, but who they felt they would work well with. I have had to speak very little to any group or individual for not working. In fact, classroom life has been a treat and I think everyone is aware of the difference.

We are moving in some new directions curriculum wise. In social studies, we have concluded our colonization simulation and are now in the direction of studying the early colonies such as Roanoke and Jamestown. In science, we are going to be studying the weather and in math, we are moving towards decimals. In writing, students are finishing their nonfiction writing. I will post some of their work after this Thursday.

I always enjoy this time of the year (between Thanksgiving and Christmas break). It gives us a nice chunk time with few interruptions. As we move forward, I will begin adding pictures to the blog so you can see your children in action.

By the way, our classroom is in charge of gathering this Friday, December 3. Hope to see you all soon.

"Discovery" Groups

We have officially begun participating in our Colonization simulation! These are the flags from each group. Happy sailing everyone!

"Discovery".

On Monday, we spent the better part of the morning deciding on the provisions each group will take to the New World. We first read the provisions list from the Mayflower. We discussed why those on the Mayflower would choose the provisions they did. This pushed us to think about the kinds of things each colony would bring on their trip.

Each colony had to decide how many people to bring, number of seeds, tools, muskets, household items, and farm animals. What each group decided would determine the success of their colony. For instance, a colony's hunting capabilities is dependent on the number of muskets - no musket, no hunting. In these pictures, each colony is deciding on the provisions they are taking on their trip.

PS: We finished four rounds of sailing from the Old World to the New World. In the course of those four rounds, one group didn't make it past the first round because they did not purchase enough food for all three ships, one group lost one ship, and one group landed.

Week of Nov. 8 - 12

Beginning tomorrow, we start the first major phase of "Discovery" - our colonization simulation. We will spend the morning looking at the cargo list of the Mayflower before turning our attention towards the cargo lists of each group. This is the most important part of the game. What each group decides to bring will determine their success in the simulation. Everyone is excited about reaching this point! By the time Curriculum Night comes around, we should begin the first rounds.

Ms. Madona, our MAT, will be in class full time (except Fridays) until Thanksgiving break. Starting Monday, she will begin working with students in a study of non-fiction texts. This will be a fun, and informative study, since students become more and more exposed to this type of reading material. What makes non-fiction reading even more interesting, is that meaning is carried in not just the print, but also the pictures, captions, titles, and labels. Students have to know how to navigate and comprehend this material. But not only do students have to navigate and comprehend this material, but they must also share information via writing, using their familiarity of this type of reading. This is what we hope to accomplish over the next several weeks.

Don't forget this Thursday is Curriculum Night at 6:30 pm. We will continue sharing some of what we have been working on in class. I also ask if you have questions about your child, please schedule an appointment instead to waiting for Curriculum Night.

Thanks,

Scott

Latest Happenings

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to Curriculum Night. It was good evening and the students had a great time sharing their jokes!

On Monday, I will be sending out Scholastic Book orders. Included in the book orders will be an additional paper that shows how to order online. You click on the website from here and the code you will be asked to enter: GPY4P. I have put the due date October 23rd. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Last week, we finished our study of the Native Americans and we have moved towards the explorers such as Christopher Columbus. This is always an exciting time because this portion of our history is always a fascinating one. Students learn about many brave explorers but this bravery often cost a price to others. This also means in the next week, we will begin participating in our colonization simulation. We will do an introductory survey and begin discussing how the simulation works. Tomorrow, we will view a movie the movie "Who Really Discovered America?" This was a two hour movie on the History Channel in which they discuss other possible explorers who who landed in the Americas first.

In math, students went outside to see how fast they could throw a ball. We gathered a set of data to use to study minimum, maximum, mode, median, range, and mean (average). Each child threw a ball three times. Today, we discussed all the ways we could use this data. Students wanted to find out information such as who threw the fastest and least fastest, which pitch was the classroom's fastest pitch, and the average speed for the group and individuals. They discussed how they could represent this data such as bar graphs and pie graphs. I'm very excited about this study. It's going to be fascinating seeing the different ways information can be represented.

I will write again soon with more details into our other studies.

Thanks,

Scott

Recess!

Recess is always an interesting time. While some students play with frisbees or soccer balls, these students like to mine for charcoal or nurse injured lizards (I wish I had pictures of these things). They also use this time to practice their recorders or build what look like giant bird's nests. Actually, this is not supposed to be a bird's nest but a Native American fort. Since there is no wood available, the next best thing - pine straw. All week, kids have been making Native American villages near the trees behind the stage. It's fun watching them play!

Classroom Update

Last week we started to move into more science. We are currently studying plants and animals and how they are classified. Students have learned there are many ways all living things can be classified, but there is a set list of classifications all animals and plants fall under. For instance, animals are either vertebrates or invertebrates; plants are flowering or non-flowering. Using this set of classifications, we are classifying various animals and plants and attempting to come up with a way to organize and graph them.

In social studies, we should be wrapping up our study of Native Americans in the next week. So far we have gathered information on the various regions of Native Americans using a graphic organizer we created as a class. This information will be used to compare and contrast the different regions.

We have been playing a fun math game called Math Dice. Student have to come up with different names for the a certain number. For instance, if the target number is 8, they have to come up with an equation, using certain numbers they have rolled with the dice, that equals 8. They can use addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Students are also creating original pieces of art using their knowledge of geometry. They are using their compasses and protractors to create geometric art. You will be able to view these pieces of art curing Curricular Conversations.

We have also just wrapped up some writing using homophones (e.g., chute / shoot). Students were asked to create jokes using their understanding of homophones. We will share our book of jokes with you during Curricular Conversations. We should also have copies of their joke book available that evening.

Next week is Curricular Conversations. We look forward to seeing you then!

First Post

Now that I have sent out invitations to join this blog, it is time for me to post something everyone can read when the visit. There is a lot that goes on in this blog. First of all, the blog is set to "private" so the only way to view and post comments to accept the invitation I sent out. Since you are reading this, you probably have already done this. If you know someone else who would like to view this blog, please send me their email and I'll send out an invitation.

To get this blog off and running, I have included a few pictures from our zoo trip. I will begin posting more pictures and video during the week.

Thanks for visiting!