We have received our trophies for the fifth and sixth grade Quiz Bowl teams. The fifth grade had a great first place finish and the sixth with a second place. The fifth grade will be in today, so will get to see the trophy and then we should put it in their school trophy case.
The seventh and eight grade Quiz Bowl teams also finished first ! We have done this for a number of years and this is the best finish ever ! The students did a great job of answering quickly and accurately and deserve a great deal of credit for besting the other teams in Iowa. There were 30 total teams in the seventh grade competition and 40 in the 8th grade. Their trophies will arrive soon. What an accomplishment !
The highest scorers in First in Math for first quarter had a party yesterday for their achievement. We had chicken for lunch and then they received gift cards as well. Now the competition is on for second quarter. Those students were Emily Robinson - 1st place, Kyle Jennett - 2nd place, Jay Wolfe - 3rd place, Audrey Fyock and Itzayanna Rubio - 4th place. All great workers !
In Math this week, the 7th grade is finishing a chapter on Number Theory and will be working on scientific notation today. They will have to do some research on how scientific notation is used in regard to space which should be interesting.
The 6th grade Math will be finishing a unit on Decimals before Thanksgiving and we are trying to make sure that the dividing is clear and will be retained.
Eighth grade Reading students are finishing "Murder on the Orient Express". Agatha Christie stories are still interesting even today - especially with a twist at the end.
The 7th graders are exploring some Mark Twain stories this week and the 6th grade is finishing some reading and research on Thomas Edison as they are going to a program in Des Moines on the inventor. They will be reading "Elephant Run" next by Roland Smith - an interesting tale that takes place mainly in Burma during World War II. I actually got interested in elephants after reading this book. I hope they will like it as well as the students last year.
I am working on finding funding to bring the author Gordon Korman to Creston next fall. We have been corresponding about his writing and as he is a nationally known author, the students are excited to hear him speak. I am hoping to locate some grants to help fund this speaker. He has written some of the "39 Clues" books and has several series of books that the kids love.
That's all for now !
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
More from November
One thing I forgot to add....
Seventh grade TAG read the book "Night", a memoir by Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, and the students wrote on and sent a birthday card to him. They received a letter back from Mr. Wiesel thanking them for the kind words and encouraging them to keep fighting against injustice and to continue reading It was very cool to receive the letter and he actually addressed all the students by name, which was impressive. This book had such a profound impact on the students in the way that it outlined the horrors suffered by the Jews during World War II. Many said that this was their favorite book that we have read, out of eleven whole class books.
Seventh grade TAG read the book "Night", a memoir by Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, and the students wrote on and sent a birthday card to him. They received a letter back from Mr. Wiesel thanking them for the kind words and encouraging them to keep fighting against injustice and to continue reading It was very cool to receive the letter and he actually addressed all the students by name, which was impressive. This book had such a profound impact on the students in the way that it outlined the horrors suffered by the Jews during World War II. Many said that this was their favorite book that we have read, out of eleven whole class books.
November TAG News
Sorry, it's been forever !
A few updates are:
1. The 5th graders are doing videos about information on the oceans and we hope we can put them on School Tube when they are done . It's pretty entertaining ! One example is learning about the uses of algae from an "algaeologist" (new word).The 5th grade will be doing Quiz Bowl today - November 3rd.
2. We won the Card of the Day contest for the month of October in First in Math ! That means our team will be posted all month on their web site and we won some prizes of the games and some awards to give out. I play the Card of the Day for each team every day and it is entered into a contest. Yea - we won !!!!
3. Emily Robinson (5th grade) was the highest scorer for First in Math for first quarter. Second place was Kyle Jennet. Third place was Jay Wolfe and 4th place were Audrey Fyock and Itzayanna Rubio.I have gotten them Subway gift cards and we will have lunch together one noon - chicken from Pizza Ranch. Congratulations on all your hard work !
4. The 8th grade TAG Reading is starting on "Murder on the Orient Express" - a great old Agatha Christie book. It will be fun.
5. 7th grade Reading is doing "Hope Was Here" and sixth graders are finishing presentations about "Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey" which we are also doing as videos.
6. In Math. the 7th grade is doing a great unit on Number Theory - inequalities, primes, composites, exponents, number sets - all the odd little mathematical theories that we need to learn and keep in our mathematical "bag of tricks'. They are taking notes and practicing as we go. Today they will be doing some with exponents and Mersenne primes using the "Math' magazine featuring the Jonas Brothers. Hopefully that will inspire them !
Well, that is a little update. Contact us if you can ! More later.
A few updates are:
1. The 5th graders are doing videos about information on the oceans and we hope we can put them on School Tube when they are done . It's pretty entertaining ! One example is learning about the uses of algae from an "algaeologist" (new word).The 5th grade will be doing Quiz Bowl today - November 3rd.
2. We won the Card of the Day contest for the month of October in First in Math ! That means our team will be posted all month on their web site and we won some prizes of the games and some awards to give out. I play the Card of the Day for each team every day and it is entered into a contest. Yea - we won !!!!
3. Emily Robinson (5th grade) was the highest scorer for First in Math for first quarter. Second place was Kyle Jennet. Third place was Jay Wolfe and 4th place were Audrey Fyock and Itzayanna Rubio.I have gotten them Subway gift cards and we will have lunch together one noon - chicken from Pizza Ranch. Congratulations on all your hard work !
4. The 8th grade TAG Reading is starting on "Murder on the Orient Express" - a great old Agatha Christie book. It will be fun.
5. 7th grade Reading is doing "Hope Was Here" and sixth graders are finishing presentations about "Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey" which we are also doing as videos.
6. In Math. the 7th grade is doing a great unit on Number Theory - inequalities, primes, composites, exponents, number sets - all the odd little mathematical theories that we need to learn and keep in our mathematical "bag of tricks'. They are taking notes and practicing as we go. Today they will be doing some with exponents and Mersenne primes using the "Math' magazine featuring the Jonas Brothers. Hopefully that will inspire them !
Well, that is a little update. Contact us if you can ! More later.
Friday, September 11, 2009
September 11, 2009
It's 4:40 PM on Friday and I will try to create a short, yet coherent summary of some of our activities this week.
We are going great on First in Math competition on the computer. Students from grades 3-8 are all working on it and we are working our way up in the rankings.
The 8th grade Reading finished a unit of Civil War fiction and non-fiction with a speaker today. O.J. Fargo spoke about conditions for the soldiers and told about the battles of the War. We learned that Iowa had more soldiers per capita than any other state and also had the oldest soldier who enlisted, who was 81 years old. Iowa was a key state in winning the battle for the North. We read several articles about younger soldiers in the War, and we learned to day that there were even a couple of 12 year olds who enlisted from Iowa. The students loved the talk and had a number of questions. some even came back during lunch to finish the discussion. Great Kids !
The 6th grade Reading group is tackling "The Miracle Worker" as it tied in with a shorter selection we had in the textbook. They are getting some tough vocabulary and are slowly learning about the relationships among the family members and how Annie Sullivan came to be such a key figure in Helen Keller's life.
Reading in the 7th Grade group is focused on "The Arabian Nights" right now - the stories of Scheherazade. Just pronouncing the names in the play is a challenge to the phonetic prowess of all of us. They read "The Lady or the Tiger" yesterday and wrote their own ending, which always causes great discussion. Several tweaked the story so that the door for the lady opened, but William didn't marry her, and still went back to the Princess, therefore guaranteeing a happy ending.I can't say that I blame them.
The 6th grade Math started on exponents today, which is always a challenge. We will be practicing those for a couple of days. It's really important as it comes up in every aspect of Math throughout their education. Just ask them what "5 squared" is and hopefully they'll have it down pat.
The e-pals connections have getting started.The 7th and 8th graders are starting to contact students in France and later in Italy. We hope to get messages back next week. It's always fun to see what students across the world have for interests and customs.
The fifth grade is working on Oceans to supplement their classrooms, 4th grade is doing Sherlock Holmes right now ("The Red-Headed League"), 3rd grade is learning about King Tut and the second worked on Johnny Appleseed this week. All the units give opportunities to improve Reading skills, cultural awareness, Social Studies understanding and Math skills, plus they're interesting topics.
No real "funnies" this week, but I'm sure something will come up soon, if I can remember to write it.
Anyway, the students are great, and I'll try to have them help write this - they are more interesting !
We are going great on First in Math competition on the computer. Students from grades 3-8 are all working on it and we are working our way up in the rankings.
The 8th grade Reading finished a unit of Civil War fiction and non-fiction with a speaker today. O.J. Fargo spoke about conditions for the soldiers and told about the battles of the War. We learned that Iowa had more soldiers per capita than any other state and also had the oldest soldier who enlisted, who was 81 years old. Iowa was a key state in winning the battle for the North. We read several articles about younger soldiers in the War, and we learned to day that there were even a couple of 12 year olds who enlisted from Iowa. The students loved the talk and had a number of questions. some even came back during lunch to finish the discussion. Great Kids !
The 6th grade Reading group is tackling "The Miracle Worker" as it tied in with a shorter selection we had in the textbook. They are getting some tough vocabulary and are slowly learning about the relationships among the family members and how Annie Sullivan came to be such a key figure in Helen Keller's life.
Reading in the 7th Grade group is focused on "The Arabian Nights" right now - the stories of Scheherazade. Just pronouncing the names in the play is a challenge to the phonetic prowess of all of us. They read "The Lady or the Tiger" yesterday and wrote their own ending, which always causes great discussion. Several tweaked the story so that the door for the lady opened, but William didn't marry her, and still went back to the Princess, therefore guaranteeing a happy ending.I can't say that I blame them.
The 6th grade Math started on exponents today, which is always a challenge. We will be practicing those for a couple of days. It's really important as it comes up in every aspect of Math throughout their education. Just ask them what "5 squared" is and hopefully they'll have it down pat.
The e-pals connections have getting started.The 7th and 8th graders are starting to contact students in France and later in Italy. We hope to get messages back next week. It's always fun to see what students across the world have for interests and customs.
The fifth grade is working on Oceans to supplement their classrooms, 4th grade is doing Sherlock Holmes right now ("The Red-Headed League"), 3rd grade is learning about King Tut and the second worked on Johnny Appleseed this week. All the units give opportunities to improve Reading skills, cultural awareness, Social Studies understanding and Math skills, plus they're interesting topics.
No real "funnies" this week, but I'm sure something will come up soon, if I can remember to write it.
Anyway, the students are great, and I'll try to have them help write this - they are more interesting !
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
September 1, 2009
We have a great week started ! Had some super discussions today in Reading classes. The 8th grade is finishing their unit on satire and parody. We have finished the "Animal Farm" play and George Orwell discussion and are doing some commercials that are parodies.(hilarious)
The 6th grade had read a story about claim jumping during the Klondike gold rush and the story was interesting, exciting and really made them think about the tough times back then. There was a a lot of debate about author's purpose. We'd had a read- aloud yesterday about life during the gold rush in the Klondike and it was learned that 70,000 people tried to get up to Alaska for gold, but only 30,000 made it. Also, that White Pass through the mountains became known as "dead horse trail" for obvious reasons.
The 7th graders read an article about kids being over-scheduled and then shared their schedules with us. It was interesting to hear how their days are arranged. Most of them are pretty well-organized and have some good extra-curricular activities, but no one seemed to be overwhelmed. Most had chores, as well.
First in Math has started and the students should be working on it when they can. It is motivating and educational and the students really enjoy the challenge. I am planning on two teams this year and want to have some 3rd and 4th graders try it as well as the older ones. They have their i.d.s and passwords and can work on it at home. Try to watch them when you get a chance!
The 6th grade had read a story about claim jumping during the Klondike gold rush and the story was interesting, exciting and really made them think about the tough times back then. There was a a lot of debate about author's purpose. We'd had a read- aloud yesterday about life during the gold rush in the Klondike and it was learned that 70,000 people tried to get up to Alaska for gold, but only 30,000 made it. Also, that White Pass through the mountains became known as "dead horse trail" for obvious reasons.
The 7th graders read an article about kids being over-scheduled and then shared their schedules with us. It was interesting to hear how their days are arranged. Most of them are pretty well-organized and have some good extra-curricular activities, but no one seemed to be overwhelmed. Most had chores, as well.
First in Math has started and the students should be working on it when they can. It is motivating and educational and the students really enjoy the challenge. I am planning on two teams this year and want to have some 3rd and 4th graders try it as well as the older ones. They have their i.d.s and passwords and can work on it at home. Try to watch them when you get a chance!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
First Week of School /8/26/09
We are getting into the first week and have started on some interesting units.
8th Grade Reading - We are reading about and discussing George Orwell who wrote "Animal Farm" and "1984". Literature circles read about and then presented a display sheet about Orwell's personal life and experiences. We will be reading about Burma today where Orwell lived for a time and the human rights issues there to put some of Orwell's political dissatisfaction into perspective. The literary focus for "Animal Farm" will be on satire and we will be analyzing and doing some creative presentations exemplifying satire.
6th graders in Reading brainstormed this week about things that we associate with summer, and then we "acted out' the vocabulary words while leading into the story called "The Sound of Summer Running". These students will be working on note cards this week also to study various terms associated with literature that may be used during the year to help them become familiar with the meanings for these terms. We'll be working on fluency today, also - how do you phrase your reading, etc. Next story will be "Stray" - students love a good animal story.
7th Reading - We're ready today for an Amy Tan story about a mother who desperately wanted her daughter to be a "genius" in some area - a by-product of many Chinese fleeing from Communism and desperately hoping for a better future. The story is "Two Kinds" and I'm sure will generate great discussion about the pressure kids may feel.
More later
8th Grade Reading - We are reading about and discussing George Orwell who wrote "Animal Farm" and "1984". Literature circles read about and then presented a display sheet about Orwell's personal life and experiences. We will be reading about Burma today where Orwell lived for a time and the human rights issues there to put some of Orwell's political dissatisfaction into perspective. The literary focus for "Animal Farm" will be on satire and we will be analyzing and doing some creative presentations exemplifying satire.
6th graders in Reading brainstormed this week about things that we associate with summer, and then we "acted out' the vocabulary words while leading into the story called "The Sound of Summer Running". These students will be working on note cards this week also to study various terms associated with literature that may be used during the year to help them become familiar with the meanings for these terms. We'll be working on fluency today, also - how do you phrase your reading, etc. Next story will be "Stray" - students love a good animal story.
7th Reading - We're ready today for an Amy Tan story about a mother who desperately wanted her daughter to be a "genius" in some area - a by-product of many Chinese fleeing from Communism and desperately hoping for a better future. The story is "Two Kinds" and I'm sure will generate great discussion about the pressure kids may feel.
More later
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Time to get ready
I've been working in my classroom a lot to get ready for August 18th, which is when the teachers start. It's best to have everything organized, because it is hard to fit everything in during the teacher's workshop before students come.
Got several new things to put in the room. I think I'll try the new digital bookmarks to help the students in keeping track of their independent reading times. I got twelve of them for $80, which was a bargain. Also, I have a new poster on which you put an answer and the students have to determine the question. I think that could be fun, but if anyone has ideas for what the answer could be for the first week, let me know. The students really like the poster called "Question of the Day", which is usually one about their opinions, so this should be good, also. I do have new book sets coming in. The 6th grade last year read about nine different books as a group, besides their independent reading, so I hope we can be as successful this year. Have to get to work - might as well get used to it.
Got several new things to put in the room. I think I'll try the new digital bookmarks to help the students in keeping track of their independent reading times. I got twelve of them for $80, which was a bargain. Also, I have a new poster on which you put an answer and the students have to determine the question. I think that could be fun, but if anyone has ideas for what the answer could be for the first week, let me know. The students really like the poster called "Question of the Day", which is usually one about their opinions, so this should be good, also. I do have new book sets coming in. The 6th grade last year read about nine different books as a group, besides their independent reading, so I hope we can be as successful this year. Have to get to work - might as well get used to it.
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