End of the week

I went to a concert last night so I wasn't able to blog. Sorry! Here is what we did yesterday as well as today.

Thursday~
Out of My Mind-Melody shared how her teacher treated her like she was dumb and knew nothing and she got really frustrated. This led me to ask the children if they had ever felt this way. They shared stories of how previous teachers wouldn't always allow them to answer questions or how many substitutes made them to do work that was too easy. Surprisingly, they also shared that they have also been overestimated by teachers before too where teachers didn't explain because they thought they could just do anything. It was actually a really great conversation!
We participated in a scavenger hunt with Mrs. Schultz to make sure we knew all about where books were in the media center, too. I love our media center! We also continued revising and editing our small moment story and finished our class logos. We kept working to become more precise and efficient in math and after lunch and recess, read two books, It's Tough to Lose Your Balloon and Salt In His Shoes, about perseverance.

Friday~
After special, we had an Arrow Team meeting where we discussed a few things that we are doing well with and some we can work on. Ask your kiddo about both! Then, we went outside and played, "Blobs." Once we returned, we read more about Melody and found out she also has a little sister who does not have cerebral palsy. We also decorated our writer's notebooks and read before having a schoolwide safety drill. During the drill, we discussed the reason for drills and how to best react. As scientists, we finished up what we had been working on separately so that we can come back together next week to do some further work and in math, in 4th grade, continued working with division and in 5th, multiplication.

Blah

Do you ever just feel kind of blah? I think that was me this morning. However, when the kids arrived, it made me smile. :)
After special, in Out of My Mind, Melody told us about Mrs. V, her neighbor that has been helping her to roll over and reach for things she wants and to read and... pretty much, Mrs. V has believed in Melody that she can do anything and helps her to achieve her goals! Then, we responded on a padlet, about empathy. (You can check it out here: https://padlet.com/heather_lambrig/OutOfMyMind1) They then read and worked on their class logo. Next, we discussed revising and began to revise our small moment story. In Science, we continued our erosion stations and Mrs. Tanner had them make a scale model of the universe. In math, the 5th graders continued with Japanese multiplication or multiplication with powers of 10 while we started on division in 4th grade. It was another day outside for recess, thankfully and then after quiet time, we tried to complete our Rubik's cube. I finally completed my cube!! (I've tried for 4 years and finally got it!)

SMART

We began discussing SMART goals today as we will be writing them soon for our WEPs (Written Education Plans). Today, we watched a pep talk from Kid President and then discussed the acronym, SMART. Next, we wrote short SMART goals that we hope to accomplish by this Sunday. I want us to be sure we understand and are great at writing these goals when we need to write our WEPs.
After special, we continued reading Out of My Mind. Today, Melody told us about school and the kids in her class. I can already tell that this book will be leading us to great discussion! Next, we read independently and worked on our class logo designs. (These need to be submitted by Friday, when we'll vote!) We also finished writing our small moment narrative. As Scientists, we started some erosion simulations in my room and in Mrs. Tanner's room, I believe they continued with understanding seasons. In Math, in Mr. Smith and my rooms, we completed (or at least tried to complete) the factor puzzle we began yesterday. I'm happy to say that after yesterday and today, I was able to complete it! (I love to do things alongside them so I can get in their mindset.) No worries, though because a couple of students finished too. At the end of the class, I shared my headings with them so they should be able to put in all the numbers. You could help them show perseverance by asking them to finish tonight. In Mrs. Tanner's room, they tried Japanese multiplication! (You'll have to ask about Mrs. Kelly's room as I didn't make it to see them in action.) Although it was a bit wet, the kiddos made it outside for recess!

Time to go already??

Our new schedule wasn't too bad, however, we were STARVING by 12:46 and after quiet time, we only had about 15-20 minutes before we needed to pack up! Crazy!
After special, we discussed Fish In a Tree and made a visual to help us understand the main idea, characters, setting and theme before moving on to our next read aloud, Out of My Mind. Melody is confined to a wheelchair with little control of her arms and legs. She also is unable to speak even though she has perfect, if not above average, intelligence. We are already hooked and can't wait to read tomorrow! We also met for our first Any Book Book Club meeting. Today, we introduced our group to the book we picked and why we picked it. Then, we read. Some went to the library today too. Next, we continued drafting our small moment story. In Science, we put the final touches on our prototypes to slow down erosion while those in Mrs. Tanner's room learned more about seasons. In math, in my room and Mr. Smith's rooms, we continued our prime clumb visual and then used it to help us try to complete a factor puzzle. It was a good lunch and indoor recess followed by trying to finish up solving our Rubik's cubes. I am sooo close!

STEM adventure day!

Today was a day filled with team building, coding, building and FUN!! We first had special and then started with Ozobots. We used markers to make coded lines for these little guys to follow. Then, we used Lego Mindstorms to create Battle Bots. We even got to battle it out in the arena! Next, we participated in hour of code. Finally, we finished up with Gaga ball and sno cones! After lunch and recess, we finished up Fish In a Tree and made (well, tried to make) friendship bracelets!

Good times!

I am having a blast with these kiddos! We are learning and connecting and building relationships and showing our differences and I love it!

After special, in Fish In a Tree, Mr. Daniels talked to the class about all the successful people that had learning difficulties or learning differences. Ally is so much more carefree now that she isn't holding this secret inside of her! Next, we read independently and worked on designing our class logo while some played chess (like Ally). Then, we continued writing our small moment narrative adding in the details and creativity we discovered yesterday with the legos. Today was the last day for designing our erosion prototypes. In math, we had new groups but both worked on Prime Climb and trying to discover the patterns of the 100 numbers and follow them to fill in the rest of the numbers. It was fun and challenging and a little like a mystery. Finally, after lunch and recess, we solved the white corners and the middle layer of our Rubik's cubes. Some are at the point where they need to decide how to persevere and others showed great progress!

Much less chaotic...

Yesterday was crazy with out of the ordinaries but luckily, we had a typical day today. :)

After special, in Fish In a Tree, we are really able to see how Ally has changed over the course of the book and how some of the picture books we've been reading have connected to this book. Some of the social-emotional lessons we discussed were to allow others to see us, alone vs. lonely, being different isn't a bad thing, allow others to help you... We read independently and worked to create our class logo design and then to help us to visualize and show details in our small moment story, we used the Lego StoryStarters! FUN! We switched for Science and in our room, we continued to make our prototypes for slowing down erosion while in Mrs. Tanner's room, they continued their work with understanding time. Fourth grade finished up unit 1 today and we will be in new groups starting tomorrow for unit 2. Fifth grade is still trucking along with decimals and multiplication and division. After lunch and recess, we worked on algorithms for solving at least the white cross of our Rubik's cubes. Problem solving and perseverance were definitely needed!

Weird day

Today was a little weird as we had a lot of out of the ordinaries, it seems. After special, we went to the Media Center and played a Kahoot! and checked out some books. Then, in Fish In a Tree, Ally won class president!! (touche: we learned this phrase and your kiddo should be able to tell you how it related to the book) Then, we took a creativity pre-assessment about uses of rubber bands, either continued brainstorming small moments or began our rough drafts of our narratives and read independently. Due to all of the other classes also going down to the media center, we ended up not switching for science or math so we decided to learn a little about binary code and even wrote our names in binary! Finally, after lunch and recess, we had some guest speakers speak to us about our friend that unfortunately has been diagnosed with Cancer since she began at Arrow.

Guest Speaker

After special, we had an AMAZING guest speaker!! Durya Nadeem (a former Hilliard Student and one of Mrs. Kelly's former students) came to talk to us about herself and leadership. She has already done so so much and guess what?! She's only 18! Hopefully, your kiddo can tell you lots about her but here is a link for more information: http://gatehousenews.com/everydayheroes2018/durya-nadeem/site/dispatch.com/. She was so inspiring!

We also read independently, had some mandatory writing time, worked on designing a submission for our class logo and caught up with Ally in Fish In a Tree. Today, was not a great day for Ally... As Scientists, we worked on day and night or designed something to slow down erosion and weathering. We focused on attending to precision with our addition and subtraction in 4th grade math and the 5th graders continued their work with operations and algebraic thinking. It was indoor recess today and then, after quiet time, we shared a little about ourselves with our likes, dislikes and sometimes likes. We also read, Too Shy for Show and Tell and then wrote in our planners. We also got our first book order today. If you'd like to order books:  https://orders.scholastic.com/GPYKT .

You CAN solve it!

We are going to work on perseverance as well as math, science and history with Rubik's cubes. Your kiddo may have brought their cube home to try the algorithms out in order to solve it.

We started our day with some dyslexia and learning difference simulations using the laptops. We wanted to "walk in Ally's shoes" and show compassion and empathy for what she's going through. Next, we read, The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, about being different yet similar in ways before catching up with Fish In a Tree. We also discussed how we want our Any Book Book Clubs to look and decided if we were going to be reading fiction or non-fiction. We even took some time to begin narrative writing by discussing seeds and small moments as well as writing down or drawing seeds that we have. We switched for science and math (scmath as we are calling it) and continued our work in our respective classrooms. 4th graders took their unit 1 post test today. After lunch and recess, we walked over and took some pictures around the Hilliard Tharp sign since a lot of us were wearing our shirts today.

Snack and Chat

Today was a great day! We are getting into a groove and (good) habits are forming creating a nice environment. After special, in Fish In a Tree, Ally spoke to her dad via Skype and shared that she's having more and more silver dollar days with Mr. Daniels helping her and making friends with Keisha and Albert. Then, we tried to walk in Ally's shoes, however, we were blocked by our school filter. Hopefully, they are able to get into Canvas at home to try and I'm going to try and sign out computers for tomorrow to see if that helps us to get in. After reading for about 15 minutes independently, and in order to start Any Book Book Clubs next week, we got into small groups and talked about what we are reading while snacking on some popcorn. As I walked around, WONDERFUL conversations were happening! :) Then, we continued our work on researching for designing our class logo by looking at what we like in logos and what we do not like as well as some that have been rebranded. I think we have some good ideas flowing in some of their brains already! We switched up for science and in my room used Brain Pop! to learn more about erosion, weathering, and glaciers while in Mrs. Tanner's room, they did something with the sun and time, I think... We also switched for math and 4th graders are about ready to take the post-test. When it comes to post-tests, students will sign up to take it when they feel ready so with this unit, they will either be testing tomorrow or Monday. After lunch and recess, we read, Wilma Jean the Worry Machine and discussed our worries and fears and how some are in our control while others are not and how some are rational fears and others are very irrational. :) We also looked at some of the tools in our sensory toolbox that can help us get into and stay in the green zone.

Sorry to be MIA...

Hello there! I'm so sorry that I have been missing from here but my aunt passed away and I've been with family and at services. I'm back now, though! Here's what we've been up to this week:

Fish In a Tree: Ally does have dyslexia and she is gifted so Mr. Daniels is going to be helping her with her learning differences. We discussed learning differences and made some mind movies, like Ally does.

Class Logo: We are busy researching about what makes a good logo as we'll be creating our own classroom logo.

We are Scientists: We took a look at the big blue marble and wrote our notices and wonders. 4th grade students are zooming in on Earth while 5th grade students are zooming out.

Math: We are busy working with whole numbers and operations in algebraic thinking but mostly we are focusing on the math practices--solving problems and persevering through them, attention to precision, modeling with math, reasoning abstractly and quantitatively, critiquing the reasoning of others, using appropriate tools strategically, look for structure and repeated reasoning.

We are also reading, writing and learning about kindness as well as learning about and writing about heroes in response to 9/11 yesterday. We are having great conversation and allowing ourselves to find and be ourselves!

Had to leave early...

I'm so sorry but I had to leave early as my aunt was not doing well in the hospital...I dropped the kiddos off at lunch and then headed up to see her.

This morning, we took quite a bit of time with some "housekeeping" and organizational tasks. We organized our binders and added our planner pages. We'll be getting into the habit of writing down assignments and reminders. Also, they will be keeping all of their work in their binder so if you ever want to see what we've done, have them show you! We only read a tiny bit of Fish In a Tree and then got all set up with Kidblog. Next, we learned about the Depth and Complexity icons. We discussed that this year we want to go deeper and with more complex tasks and these symbols will allow us to have a common language and know exactly what is being asked of us. Over the last couple of weeks we've learned about/used Details and Rules and today we focused on Language of the Discipline. Ask your kiddo about the fun activity we did where they came up with 5 specific words that described something and we had to guess what their "discipline" was. We also practiced with a couple of word ladders. We switched for math and I did not have time to find out what they did in all the rooms so you'll have to ask your child for the specifics of their math class. In my room, we reviewed our QR code activity from yesterday and any misconceptions and then went over the Rules for place and value. Next, we played Musical Places (like musical chairs but with place value) and practiced reading and identifying numbers' places and values. Finally, we worked on some mystery puzzles.

Math and Power of Yet

Our day always truly begins after special. Today, in Fish In a Tree, we found out where Albert's bruises are coming from and learned why Shay dislikes Ally so much...funny story, actually! We also discussed how we are beginning to see the characters changing. Next, we wrote and shared our squiggle stories. These kiddos have such amazing imaginations and their writing has such voice. I had previously expressed to them that writing was their biggest weakness. After hearing from them, that statement was amended and putting pencil to paper is their biggest weakness and that they are so unwilling (I asked them what a nicer word than lazy was and this is what they decided) to write that it seems to be their biggest weakness. Hopefully, this will change!! Then, we continued as Scientists and worked with our paper airplanes. Afterward, we switched around for math and in 4th grade, we worked to review place and value of whole numbers with a QR code scavenger hunt-type-of-thing, in Mrs. Tanner's class, they worked on a "challenging" problem that they seemed to love and in Mrs. Kelly's class, they worked with finding mystery numbers.
After lunch, we shared our favorite winter activities in hopes that it would cool us down faster and then focused on the power of YET. We "read" Giraffes Can't Dance and then wrote down three things: something we are really good at, something we probably won't ever be able to do and then something that we just can't do YET. We shared these things and then watched a video about "Why Penguins Can't Fly" and discovered that their archaic ancestors could fly but they weren't very good and the reason they stopped flying is because they would rather swim! We ended with a Sesame Street video singing a little jingle about the Power of Yet! :)

Be Kind

As the book jacket states, "Two words that can change the world." We read the book, Be Kind, shared kind things about each other and then made an ABC book of kindness. :)

After special, in Fish In a Tree, Ally invited Albert to sit with her and Keisha at lunch. They are a fun little group of kiddos together! (and remind me of some of the kiddos in here!) Ask your children how they feel about the characters. We read independently (we even set up our Epic! accounts!) and then we made squiggles. Ask what we are going to do with these squiggles tomorrow. Next, we continued our focus on being Scientists with our paper airplanes by discussing variables and qualitative/quantitative data. We had some time left and read an article on Newsela about the physics of spaghetti and then tested it out for ourselves. Again, ask about this because it was pretty cool! As mathematicians, we completed a 3-act task about arcade tickets, completed some "Would You Rather? Math" and then got familiar with some practice resources: Khan Academy and Prodigy. After lunch and almost melting at such a hot recess, we spent quiet time getting our minds right for the afternoon.