Article posted May 23, 2013 at 06:59 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 132
This week, students have been working on reviewing what they know about author's purpose. Each one of us has written a blog entry that shows one of the four author's purposes we have been learning about. We are asking YOU to read our entries and see if you can identify the author's purpose! Could it be to entertain? To give an opinion? To tell about feelings? Or maybe to send a message? Comment on the students' blog posts to show what you know! Click on any student blog to the right to test your knowledge!
Article posted May 23, 2013 at 06:59 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 132
Article posted April 22, 2013 at 07:18 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 985
Today we were lucky enough to have Amy from Catherine's Cupboard join us in our classroom in celebration of Earth Day! She talked with students about how the Earth provides us with healthy foods to nourish our growing bodies, and we even got to make some tasty treats! Students loved using fruits, yogurt, kale, and juice to make kale smoothies, and had so much fun making, cooking, and eating kale chips! At one station students were able to discuss our carbon footprint and the impact a large carbon footprint can have on our Earth. In an effort to give back to the Earth while maintaining a small carbon footprint, we made bird seed feeders (instead of buying them)! Check out our "Smilebox" Collage below to see pictures from our Earth Day Celebration! Thank you again to Amy and Catherine's Cupboard for helping us to learn about caring for our bodies and our Earth!
A picture collage by Smilebox
Article posted April 22, 2013 at 07:18 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 985
Article posted April 8, 2013 at 01:57 PM GMT0 •
comment (1) • Reads 317
Over the past few weeks, students have been working on their second reader's theater entitled, "What's My Job?"! Students worked hard to choose their parts, practice reading fluently and with expression, and even wrote parts of the play themselves! In this reader's theater, students act out a game show in which players have to guess the occupation of the "mystery guests"! We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed creating it!
Article posted February 27, 2013 at 03:55 PM GMT0 •
comment (1) • Reads 1306
This week we were lucky enough to "visit" California via a virtual filed trip! As part of our Black History Month unit of study, we began learning about slave labor and the large role that cotton played in the lives of slaves on southern plantations. We learned about Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin and the impact this invention had on the demand for slave labor! Our favorite part of our virtual field trip was getting to "dissect" cotton ourselves. Students were amazed at how difficult it was to clean the cotton and get all the seeds out!
Article posted February 12, 2013 at 02:02 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 225
This week we have tried a new strategy for learning our vocabulary words! To help scaffold and support students as they learn new words, we used comprehension process motions! Students worked together to come up with movements to accompany their robust vocabulary words and had so much fun doing it! Here's a quick video to show you some of the motions we came up with this week!
Article posted February 12, 2013 at 02:02 AM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 225
Article posted December 27, 2012 at 08:31 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 3059
In lieu of a traditional classroom discussion about symmetry, this week, we tried something new! In a typical whole group discussion, students are invited to join in the conversation by raising their hands, usually speaking one at a time. While learning about lines of symmetry this week, we used our iPads and TodaysMeet.com to have a "silent discussion". Students were all able to log in to this student-friendly chat site, where they could engage in a discussion about symmetry. Students were able to read my questions, as well as one anothers' responses throughout the lesson in real time. This improved student engagement, allowed for sufficient think time, and enabled all students to share their thinking! Check out the short video clips for a peek into this "silent discussion" about symmetry!
