• Monday, December 6th - School Board Meeting
• Thursday, December 9th - NO SCHOOL due to Professional Development for Staff, NOT an eLearning Day!
• Friday, December 17th - End of Second Nine Weeks
• Monday, December 20th - Monday, January 3rd:  NO SCHOOL/Winter Break
• Tuesday, January 4th - Classes Resume

1^st Grade: This week the kids began working on word ladders.  “Word Ladders” is a game said to be invented by Lewis Carroll, author of Alice and Wonderland.  Carroll loved words and first called his game “Word Links” and then referred to it as “Doublets”.  “Doublets” became a big hit in London and it has been a fun word play game ever since.  These puzzles are now often called “Word Ladders”.  A “Word Ladder” is a way to show children how words can change by changing one or two letters.  For instance, if we start with the word fly and we want to end up with the word cry, what letters can change to make the new word.  Fly becomes fry and then cry.  The kids were given multiple worksheets that asked them to start with one word and then change one letter to end with up with another word.  That worked with words that could be changed in one step but also words that needed two steps to change.  Each child was given a baggy with letter tiles of the alphabet.  They used these to start but quickly figured out that they did not need to use them.  A few kids wanted to work in pairs, and a few decided to work independently.  I walked around to offer support.  The kids did really well, and I even printed out extra word ladders for a few. 

 

2nd Grade:  We continued this week on our journey reading Despereaux.  The girls took a quick check up quiz which showed that they are all reading.  Then we discussed the use of light and dark within the chapters they have read.  Since last week they decided to have the book read to them in class, and they also decided that they wanted to finish the book at home, we ended our week by playing a game of Blooket.  Blooket is an online educational game where the kids are asked questions, in this case about Despereaux, and play against each other. After talking so much about the book it was a nice change to play a game.

 

 

 

3rd Grade:  We continued discussing Fairy Tales this week.  The kids filled in Fairy Tale on their Folklore posters and then we added to our Ven diagram.  We added another circle to the Myth/Legend and Tall Tale Ven diagram.  Each kid was given sticky notes and asked to figure out how a Fairy Tale was alike or different from a Myth/Legend or Tall Tale.  The hard part was figuring out if all three had a similarity. 

 

4th Grade:  Our biography studies are still going strong.  The kids continued filling in the worksheet that will become their timeline.  I huddled up with each group to make sure they were on track.  We discussed working as a group and figuring out what roles each child will play.  

1^st Grade:   This week the kids took a chapter one checkup.  They all did well, and it was so nice to see that they are understanding the lessons!  Once they finished, I gave them a worksheet that asked them if different shapes were or were not a polygon.  They not only needed to say if it was a polygon, but they needed to tell me why they decided it was not a polygon, or the name of the shape if it was a polygon.  It has been awhile since we talked about the attributes of a polygon.  We went over what makes a polygon a polygon and we discussed the first few shapes together before I set them free. 

 

2nd Grade:  My seconds grade kiddos took their chapter 1 checkup over the last month of work.  I am excited to report that they all scored an A!  We went over the checkups on Thursday and discussed the little mistakes they made.  Once we finished, they were able to play another Blooket game on tessellating tiles.  These kids are rocking HA!   

 

3rd Grade:  We started the week with a worksheet on missing parts on a hundred chart.  The kids were shown parts of a hundred chart and were asked to fill in the blanks.  In order to do these, they needed to use their knowledge of how the 100s chart is set up.  For instance, columns move down by 10 and rows move over by 1.  The questions got increasing difficult when “ink” was spilled on the question, so the kids had to imagine what numbers lay underneath the ink.  After we finished a couple problems together, the boys took off and finished the worksheet.  The next day, the boys played a Blooket that tested their knowledge of the 100s chart with missing blocks.  They did a great job and furthered their understanding of patterns within the chart! 

 

4th Grade:  The kids took a chapter 1 checkup.  This is a quiz over what they studied the last month.  They were asked to fill in algebra words, to solve equations, story problems and a number table.  They were also asked to rewrite expressions using variables and math symbols.  A few did not listen when I said that they did not need to solve the equation unless told to do so.  Those that solved lost a half point.  That is okay, they will learn from their mistakes.  Four kids managed 100 % which blew me away!  Apart from one lower score due to not reading the directions carefully, every other kid got an A or B!  That is amazing since we are working on some 5^th grade standards!   The kids completed the test with time to spare so we dove right back into Zaccarro problems.  These are challenging as many of the questions involve Math they have not learned or mastered yet.  We have been doing some especially difficult story problems.  I am proud of these kids and their hunger for Math!  Our secretary walked into our class one day and explained, “Algebra, already!”  These kids are ready and are being set up with the skills to rock 5^th grade!