Meet our pre-student teacher--Mr. Nussbaum

Today we had our first day with Mr. Nussbaum.  He will be spending the next two weeks with us.  Check out more about him HERE!

Video for Collaborative Inquiry Class

My final meeting for the class I've been taking is tomorrow.  I have really enjoyed the class and I know my students have benefited from what I've learned.   I put this quick video together as a wrap up of what I've brought to my classroom because of this class.   There are 2 things I wish I could change:  the quotes stay up longer and get rid of the "text here" slides at the end....

I'm still pleased with the overall final product:

Spring Break Count Down

It's always great to get a little break and recharge!   It's even better when the weather is warm and sunny....doesn't look like we will have the warm weather but I hope you will all make sure to enjoy some sunshine when spring break starts on Friday, March 10 at 3:20!

If you'd like to read our newsletter for the week or check out the spelling list, you can find it HERE.

This Week's Newsletter

Want to read the weekly newsletter?  CLICK HERE!


You can also follow along with us on our classroom facebook page:  HERE.

Collaborative Inquiry

Yesterday was the first day of the class that I am taking this year.  (Each year I take a grad class to keep ideas fresh and stay up to date on new things in education---usually I take the class at the beginning of the summer.  This year I found an amazing opportunity that is 3 Saturdays and will be done just in time for spring break!!).  I knew this class would be great because the instructor is one that I absolutely love.  Every time I've taken a class or even a workshop with her I have left with ideas that I could use right away.  Yesterday was no different!!

I left the house at 6:30 because I wasn't sure about the directions.  I made my way with no hurry or worry about time because google told me I would arrive by 8:30.  Even with a stop at Wal-mart and a gas station, I arrived at 8:28.  (Next time I will leave about 1/2 an hour later).

Went inside, picked my seat, chatted with Deb, and took a quick little walk around Shannon before class started.  Once everyone arrived, Deb went over the class layout and collected fees.  Everyone completed the registration process and the day began.  GAMES GAMES GAMES.

My notes:

How can I get kids to learn the content with games?   What about taking the learning to the next level?

If you’re playing games for fun that’s okay but honor that.

Competition does different things for different kids.

Where the Cool Wind Blows (add content)

Codename

With spelling words

With vocab

With topics

Card Games

Canadian Salad

Spades Rule

I've never taken a class that holds people over but nobody complains.  That happened.  We were all so busy and enjoying what we were doing that at 3:10 when we realized it was past the dismissal time, we just kept playing!  Deb wrapped up the day and gave us our "assignment" for next class.  I'm so excited to create my games.  I got home and had to share some game time with the family, too!  

Wrapping up the Week

This week was such a fun-filled and fabulous one!  Here is a link to our newsletter.

I also wanted to share some fabulous resources that go along with our IMMIGRATION Unit.  We started with a 4 corners poster activity to brainstorm what we knew and to record some of our questions.    Then we did a literature log to go along with this story:  Dreaming of America by Eve Bunting.  If you follow the link, you can listen to the story again.  There were so many great thoughts and questions as we read the story.  Afterwards Michael did some extra research about the main character.   Here's a link to one of the sites that he read.

Next week we will be welcoming a new friend to our classroom.  Thanks for checking out what's happening!

Writing with Different Purposes

This week I shared a couple of lessons on Author's Purpose with the class.  I'm really happy with the end results even though our time was cut short due to a snow day on Wednesday.   Below you will find examples of what students wrote to show persuade, inform, or entertain.   Enjoy!   Feel free to leave us a comment here or on our facebook page!

Persuade
     Everyone should have a cat.  If you had a cat you would be healthier and happier.  Cats provide an instant feeling of calm that you would enjoy.  Take it from someone like me, everyone should have a cat.

     When was the last time that you went for a walk with a dog?   If you were outside in the cool air holding on to the leather leash of a fine, divine dog, you would know just how wonderful taking a walk with a dog can be.


Inform
    Dairy cows are very interesting animals.  They are raised for producing milk.  Cows have 4 stomachs to digest many things that we can't. The four stomachs are the Rumen, Reticulum, Abomasom, and Omasom.  You may think the only way to milk a cow is by hand but there are many ways to milk cows.  You can milk by hand, by machine, or with a robot.  Calves are young cows.  Calves drink milk.

     I'd like to tell you all about dogs.  Let's get started.  Sometimes dogs can get a fever and to tell that a dog has a fever your dog might be vomiting, have a dry nose, not eat, and so on.  The way to get rid of a dog's fever is to put wet towels over their ears and paws.  Rest is also important.  After awhile try to give them some food and water but don't push them to eat it.  Give them time and space.  After a little while they should be feeling better.  If the dogs ears are hot, they might have a fever.  These are excellent ways to tell if your dog has a fever.

Entertain
   I have a husky named Lexie.  Would you believe that she cleans my room and does my homework?  She is very happy.   She even looks like a leopard.   She is so cute to watch especially when we are having Nerf Gun wars.  We have so much fun together.  While I am at school Lexie usually sleeps in a tin can.  She's a tiny husky.  One time she got stuck in the tin can.  We got her out with a silver spoon.  This little husky named Lexie weighs just one pound.

   Have you met Zoey the Zebra?  You haven't?  Well I will tell you her story.  Get comfy.  This might take a while.  Zoey is one of a kind.  She was a rap star like no other:  funny, nice, and rich.  She had one problem.  Her problem was that she was the sassy kind.  One day she was bragging on and on telling everyone that she had so much money.  A witch came along with some words to warn her.  The witch let Zoey know that if she didn't stop bragging, Scarlet the pup would disappear.  The witch was very specific with her expectations. She said that at noon the next day Zoey would lose Scarlet.  Everyone knows to trust a warning from a witch but Zoey didn't think it could be real.  She really thought the witch had been part of a dream.  Well sure enough when 12:00 came, Scarlet the pup shrunk away.  Some people say that she still runs around Zoey's house late at night or early in the morning.  There are even reports that the witch and Scarlet check out Zoey's house every day at noon.