Tuesday, October 30, 2012

2nd Grade - Students spent the day in Crystal Pond Woods solving logic puzzles that included an additional challenge of identifying attributes.

4th Grade - Goad, anything that pricks, prods or urges, was today's vocabulary word. President Jimmy Carter, their explorer, was influential in bringing about a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt during his term as President. The affective lesson focused on tolerance and how to deal with "pet peeves". Students created brochures for Veltzar, an imaginary planet, based on a real planet they researched. The Discovery lesson centered around cultural borrowing and identifying items we use that came from other countries.

5th Grade - Their vocabulary word was Succor, which means help; relief; assistance. George Washington Carver, who had a secret garden, was today's explorer. They completed the Quotation Quizzler for the warm-up activity. The affective lesson focused on tolerance and empathy. After lunch students watched a brief video about the Oregon Trail and purchased supplies for their "trip".

Monday, October 29, 2012

2nd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Loquacious. Someone who is loquacious talks too much. Our investigator was not loquacious. Lydia Darragh was a spy for George Washington and didn't even tell her husband military secrets she heard. Students completed a Quotation Quizzler for the warm-up activity.

5th Grade - Their vocabulary word was Succor, which means help; relief; assistance. Today's class was cut short due to meetings and an assembly, which didn't leave time for an explorer. They completed the Quotation Quizzler for the warm-up activity. The affective lesson on tolerance and empathy was completed by students individually. After lunch students watched a brief video about the Oregon Trail and purchased supplies for their "trip".

Friday, October 26, 2012

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Sequester which means to remove and hold in isolation. The investigator was Cher, a high school drop out who over came many obstacles to become successful in the music industry. A What in the World puzzle from an old National Geographic Kids magazine was today's warm-up activity. The affective lesson focused on caring. The relationships lesson focused on comparing family relationships through analogies. In the Discovery lesson, students experimented with a potato in fresh and compared it to a potato in salt water. We are trying to discover why people should not try to survive on salt water.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

4th Grade - These students were practicing for their program this evening. This class was canceled.

5th Grade - Their vocabulary word was Craven which means cowardly. The fifth grade investigator was Luther Burbank, who invented the Idaho Potato.They also completed the What in the World warm-up puzzle. The affective lesson focused on self-discipline. Students spent time "shopping" for items they would take if they were part of the westward movement. The exploration lesson had students researching Mancala, which originated in Africa. Several students discovered the game's popularity is greatest in the United States.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

2nd Grade - Students traveled to Crystal Pond Woods where they continued to work on their Convergent Thinking skills. Today's focus was attributes. Students played a game where they had to change attributes from one card to the next.

4th Grade - Due to the 4th grade program, class was canceled today.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

2nd Grade - Students worked on setting goals and the purpose for developing them.

5th Grade - Their vocabulary word was Craven which means cowardly. The fifth grade investigator was Luther Burbank, who invented the Idaho Potato.They also completed the What in the World warm-up puzzle. The affective lesson focused on self-discipline. Students spent time "shopping" for items they would take if they were part of the westward movement. The exploration lesson had students researching Mancala, which originated in Africa. Several students discovered the game's popularity is greatest in the United States.

Monday, October 22, 2012

2nd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Infallible. Someone who is infallible never makes a mistake. Their investigator was Sylvia Earle, who spent over 6,000 hours under water. The warm-up activity was a What in the World Puzzle. Students were given 7 very close views of items with a clue and asked to identify the items.

5th Grade - Their vocabulary word was Craven which means cowardly. The fifth grade investigator was Luther Burbank, who invented the Idaho Potato.They also completed the What in the World warm-up puzzle. The affective lesson focused on self-discipline. Students spent time "shopping" for items they would take if they were part of the westward movement. The exploration lesson had students researching Mancala, which originated in Africa. Several students discovered the game's popularity is greatest in the United States.

Friday, October 19, 2012

3rd Grade - Solicitous, which means attentive and concerned, was today's vocabulary word. Jim Carrey was today's investigator. Mr. Carrey was an A student until he had to help his family financially. He overcame many hardships to become the famous actor he is today. The warm-up activity was a Stories with Holes problem that has students still trying to figure out the outcome. Our affective lesson focused on Courage. Students had to give a one minute spontaneous speech. In Crystal Pond Woods, students had more opportunities to use deductive thinking while solving logic elimination puzzles. The final activity was a creativity lesson regarding the ocean. Students had to draw conclusions about the paragraph in order to draw the scene on paper.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

4th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Elegant which means characterized or exhibiting elegance; excellent. Elizabeth Blackwell, America's first woman doctor, was today's investigator. This group was stumped by the Stories with Holes problem that was the warm-up activity. The affective lesson focused on reviewing family characteristics in order to determine our own strengths and weaknesses. The jury members wrote and delivered speeches trying to gain support for their opinion of the case's outcome. This particular group found Marco Polo guilty of lying regarding his trip to China. Students worked to develop a Munrack from Veltzar for the Space system study.

5th Grade - Their vocabulary word was Endorse which means to give approval or support. The inventor was Levi Strauss, who invented blue jeans. They had a Stories with Holes problem for their warm-up activity. They were able to quickly solve the first problem unfortunately, they were stumped by the second problem. Our affective lesson focused on dependability. Students added information to a timeline they will be building regarding the westward movement structure. The jury members wrote and delivered speeches trying to gain support for their opinion of the case's outcome. This particular group found Marco Polo guilty of lying about his trip to China.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

2nd Grade - Students demonstrated their ability to use Deductive thinking skills by putting the characters from Crystal Pond Woods into a grid following special clues.

4th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Elegant which means characterized or exhibiting elegance; excellent. Elizabeth Blackwell, America's first woman doctor, was today's investigator. This group was stumped by the Stories with Holes problem that was the warm-up activity. The affective lesson focused on reviewing family characteristics in order to determine our own strengths and weaknesses. The jury members wrote and delivered speeches trying to gain support for their opinion of the case's outcome. This particular group found Marco Polo guilty of lying regarding his trip to China. Students worked to develop a Munrack from Veltzar for the Space system study.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

2nd Grade - Students worked to complete their "Fingerprints of Greatness" stories. The focus was what we could do well, not what we could not do.

4th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Elegant which means characterized or exhibiting elegance; excellent. Elizabeth Blackwell, America's first woman doctor, was today's investigator. This group was stumped by the Stories with Holes problem that was the warm-up activity. The affective lesson focused on reviewing family characteristics in order to determine our own strengths and weaknesses. The jury members wrote and delivered speeches trying to gain support for their opinion of the case's outcome. This particular group found Marco Polo guilty of lying regarding his trip to China. Students worked to develop a Munrack from Veltzar for the Space system study.

5th Grade - Their vocabulary word was Endorse which means to give approval or support. The inventor was Levi Strauss, who invented blue jeans. They had a Stories with Holes problem for their warm-up activity. They were able to quickly solve the first problem unfortunately, they were stumped by the second problem. Our affective lesson focused on dependability. Students added information to a timeline they will be building regarding the westward movement structure. The jury members wrote and delivered speeches trying to gain support for their opinion of the case's outcome. This particular group found Marco Polo not guilty of lying about his trip to China.

Resources for Researchers has been funded!

This morning I learned that my Limeades for Learning project, Resources for Researchers, has been fully funded. Thank you for your contributions and votes. My students will really appreciate these tablets and make good use of them.

Very thankful,
Marcia Rains
Enrichment Specialist, Washington Irving Elementary School

Monday, October 15, 2012

2nd Grade - Their vocabulary word for today was Benign. Something that is Benign is harmless. Thomas Jefferson, our third President, actually had grizzly bears on display at the White House. For our warm up activity, the students played 20 questions. We started working on a writing project about ourselves that we will finish tomorrow.

5th Grade - Their vocabulary word was Endorse which means to give approval or support. The inventor was Levi Strauss, who invented blue jeans. They had a Stories with Holes problem for their warm-up activity. Unfortunately, they were stumped by the problem. Our affective lesson focused on dependability. Students added information to a timeline they will be building regarding the westward movement structure. The jury members wrote and delivered speeches trying to gain support for their opinion of the case's outcome. This particular group found Marco Polo not guilty of lying about his trip to China.

Please remember to vote for our Limeades for Learning project titled, "Resources for Researchers."

My students need your help!

Hi Friends,

Can you feel it? It's autumn! My class could really use help with supplies in order to finish off the school year strong. So I've created a classroom project request on a 501(c)3 charity website called DonorsChoose.org.
I'm writing to ask for any donations possible for my students - no matter the size, it will help my kids. This week only, any donation you make to my project will be doubled! If you know anyone who is passionate about education, please pass this along. Your tax-deductible donation will have a direct impact on at least 30 students (and many more in the future), and you'll hear back from our class about your impact on our learning!

To learn more or donate:

Visit my Teacher Page, http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/569531

Choose one of my projects, enter the amount of your donation, and click "Give"

During check-out, enter the word PUMPKIN where it says "Match or gift code", and your donation will be matched dollar for dollar.

The PUMPKIN match code will double your donation until the end of the day on Monday, Ocotber 15. So exciting!

Please feel free to send me any questions you may have, and know that my students and I greatly appreciate your support.

Happy Fall!

Marcia Rains

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

2nd Grade - The trip to Crystal Pond Woods had students continuing their study in Convergent Thinking. Sybil the Scientist had students labeling containers then sorting them on a shelf.

5th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Carp which means to complain. Alexander Graham Bell, today's explorer, was able to get his dog to "talk" when Mr. Bell held his throat just right. Students completed a Quotation Quizzler for the warm-up activity. The affective lesson focused on respect. The Defense presented their side of the case for Marco Polo. Our structures lesson had students reading about the Westward Expansion.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Today was a very busy day trying to get in classes before fall break. Here are the things we did in Enrichment today:

2nd Grade - After listening to the book I'm Gonna Like Me by Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornell, we discussed self-esteem. Students then drew up a storyboard regarding things they liked about themselves.

4th Grade (from Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Roan, Mrs. Holbrook and Mrs. Tarpley): The vocabulary word of the day was Culture which means products of human work at a particular time. Today's explorer was Mary McLeod Bethune who wanted to give the gift of learning to African American girls. Students had to determine the Mystery Object for the warm-up activity. The affective lesson had student focusing on traits they have in common with other family members. This class heard from the defense side of the case of The City-State of Venice v. Marco Polo.

5th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Carp which means to complain. Alexander Graham Bell, today's explorer, was able to get his dog to "talk" when Mr. Bell held his throat just right. Students completed a Quotation Quizzler for the warm-up activity. The affective lesson focused on respect. The Defense presented their side of the case for Marco Polo. Our structures lesson had students reading about the Westward Expansion.

We will have a PTO update meeting next Tuesday, October 16^th at 6:00 pm here at WI.

Please remember to vote at Limeades for Learning. Our project is titled: Resources for Researchers.

Thank you!

Friday, October 5, 2012

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Pejorative which means disparaging (negative). The explorer was Lucille Ball who persevered until she became a super star. Our warm-up activity was 20 questions. The five characteristics of gifted focused on task commitment and motivators. Hurricanes were the focus of the Discovery lessons.  We took the opportunity to experiment with water to make a hurricane in class and observe what happens to items in the eye of the storm.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

4th Grade - The vocabulary word of the day was Culture which means products of human work at a particular time. Today's explorer was Mary McLeod Bethune who wanted to give the gift of learning to African American girls. Students had to determine the Mystery Object for the warm-up activity. The affective lesson had student focusing on traits they have in common with other family members. This class was able to conclude the case of The City-State of Venice v. Marco Polo.Students also began doing some research on the Solar System.

5th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Carp which means to complain. Alexander Graham Bell, today's explorer, was able to get his dog to "talk" when Mr. Bell held his throat just right. Students completed a Quotation Quizzler for the warm-up activity. The affective lesson focused on respect. The Defense presented their side of the case for Marco Polo. Our structures lesson had students reading about the Westward Expansion.

Monday, October 1, 2012

2nd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Interminable. Interminable means something that seems forever, as if there's no end in sight. The explorer was Molly Pitcher (Mary Hays McCauly) who provided water for George Washington's army as well as manned a cannon when her husband fainted from the heat. Students completed a Quotation Quizzler for the warm-up activity.

5th Grade - The fifth grade enjoyed a field trip to hear the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

Mrs. Rains will be attending a conference on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Classes will resume on Thursday, October 4.

Please remember to vote for our Limeades for Learning project.