Thawing Out Thursday!

Begin with the End in Mind:

• Friday, November 30th - Student Council "Spirit Day"
• Wednesday, December 5th - Meet with HA Math (Mrs. Wermuth will shadow)
• Thursday, December 6th - Meet with HA Math (Mrs. Wermuth will shadow)
• Monday, December 10th - Projected date for HA classes to resume their normal schedules with Mrs. Wermuth.

Fourth Grade LA:

We have been talking about systems and how they go together to achieve a goal.  Last time we met, we brainstormed ideas for a system for being a successful student.  We also watched a step-by-step video on the procedure to brush your teeth.  How do these go together?!?!?!  We listed several ideas on things they do which helps them be a successful student.  From there, it was up to them to come up with a detailed step in the routine or system.  Now some lend themselves more to a step by step than others, so I had them consider this before selecting their idea.  I then had them spread out to begin.  It was important to be clear on their steps, but if possible they were able to combine ideas where applicable.  I took advantage of my fourth grade being split into two sections.  I read the papers of my first section to the second group.  They were able to figure out the mystery, but noted that a few steps needed to be clarified.  For the second group, I had them trade papers and read each others.  A few who finished before their class, I had them work on adding a variation of transition words.  We will continue working on these when we meet again.

Second Grade LA:

I made sure to set this lesson up very carefully because this poem is difficult for second graders to understand.  I talk a lot of growth mindset because just because something is difficult . . . it doesn't mean that they won't get it.  Often times HA students, students in general, will shut down with difficult topics.  I wanted them to know that there was no wrong answer to this activity.  They were to use what they knew and help it make sense.  We read Eldorado by Edgar Allen Poe together using the doc cam.  We took it line by line discussing and pulling out ideas we were familiar with.  We also tried to make sense of parts that were unfamiliar to us.  For example, one line states, 'And o'er his heart a shadow'.  We talked about the word o'er and how that is not how we speak.  One student substituted a v in for the apostrophe to make over.  I had them spread out in the room and write down their thoughts about what the poem was about.  All were able to give me at least one prediction sentence and a few dug in and gave me more.  After they answered, I had them use the remaining time to write to me.  They could ask me questions, share their thoughts, or tell me a funny story.  I love doing this!  We'll have a written dialogue back and forth which is always pretty comical.

Third Grade LA:

We moved, this week, into animal interactions.  I showed the chart with missing pieces on the doc cam.  They needed to list the specific cat/dog behavior, if it was positive or negative and the inferred interaction.  These books are always HUGE winners with this age group.  Several asked if they could take it home.  One tried to smuggle it out of our classroom, hehehe.  Many walked out saying they were going to ask for this book for Christmas.  They had their choice of How to Speak DOG or How to Speak Cat.  Button buddies wasn't the way to pair up this time because we had definite lines drawn (dog/cat), so they paired themselves up!  The book is full of speech bubbles which illustrates what the dog/cat is saying. I gave specific directions that they were not to write exactly what was printed, but to infer the behavior and what the dog/cat is saying.  Before setting them free to work, we looked at how the book was laid out.  They shared that it was a non-fiction book.  We talked about how using the index would be a great way to navigate the book quickly to find just what they needed.  At times, all they were given was negative.  It was up to them to find a negative dog/cat behavior and fill in the rest.  They did an excellent job!  This bunch worked efficiently and quite well together!