Monday, October 31, 2016

5th Grade - Today's learning started with Diaphanous, the vocabulary word, which means translucent, transparent.The explorer was Tom Adams an inventor. Tom's friend, Santa Anna, suggested he try inventing with chicle from Mexico. When that failed, he tried chewing it and invented chewing gum. A Surprise in the Middle drawing was today's warm up activity. The focus of the affective lesson was to have the students identify what was important to themselves. We reviewed the results of the insulated cup project then discussed ways to improve upon their designs. The final activity was to discover different items we have as a result of cultural borrowing.

2nd Grade - The vocabulary word for today was Predict which means to say that (something) will or might happen in the future. Their explorer was Sybil Luddington who warned men in her father's militia the British were heading their way. Our lesson said Sybil was a "female Paul Revere." The students had a lot of questions regarding Paul Revere so we watched a short Liberty Kids video regarding the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.

Friday, October 28, 2016

3rd Grade - These students learned that Infer means to form (an opinion) from evidence: to reach (a conclusion) based on known facts. Cher was today's explorer. She started her musical career as a flop but when she joined up with Sonny Bono the team made several hit records. The warm up activity was Mystery Object or 20 Questions which the students were able so solve in less than 20 questions. Caring was the focus of the affective lesson. In Crystal Pond Woods, students worked to solve some logic elimination puzzles. Our #ICE lesson had students discovering more about natural disasters and the importance of storing drinking water instead of drinking salt water.

5th Grade - The fifth grade students had two vocabulary words this week: Sequester which means to remove and hold in isolation, and Civilized means marked by well-organized laws and rules about how people behave with each other. Their explorer was George Washington Carver who found over 300 uses for the peanut. Students worked together to solve the 20 questions/Mystery Object that was the warm up activity. The social/emotional lesson focused on tolerance and empathy. Our exploration study had students discovering what makes a culture and a civilization. The final activity was to build an object that would keep a cup of water cold for one hour.

2nd Grade - Today were were able to have our #ICE lesson. Students learned more about hurricanes and the importance of not drinking salt water.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Today was a make up day from the holiday we had on Monday.

5th Grade - The fifth grade students had two vocabulary words this week: Sequester which means to remove and hold in isolation, and Civilized means marked by well-organized laws and rules about how people behave with each other. Their explorer was George Washington Carver who found over 300 uses for the peanut. Students worked together to solve the 20 questions/Mystery Object that was the warm up activity. The social/emotional lesson focused on tolerance and empathy. Our exploration study had students discovering what makes a culture and a civilization. The final activity was to build an object that would keep a cup of water cold for one hour.

2nd Grade - This group took their weekly trip to Crystal Pond Woods where they continued to expand their Convergent Thinking skills. Students played a game and had to change cards according to their attributes.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

5th Grade - The fifth grade students had two vocabulary words this week: Sequester which means to remove and hold in isolation, and Civilized means marked by well-organized laws and rules about how people behave with each other. Their explorer was George Washington Carver who found over 300 uses for the peanut. Students worked together to solve the 20 questions/Mystery Object that was the warm up activity. The social/emotional lesson focused on tolerance and empathy. Our exploration study had students discovering what makes a culture and a civilization. The final activity was to build an object that would keep a cup of water cold for one hour.

4th Grade - Our learning today began with the vocabulary word Benevolent which means kind and caring. Jimmy Carter our 39th President was today's explorer who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Student solved the Mystery Object in less than 20 questions for the warm up activity. Dealing with Confidence and Insecurity was the focus of today's social/emotional lesson. The focus of our Exploration lesson was: What is a culture? What is civilization? Our final activity was to answer some questions regarding windmills and energy.

2nd Grade - These students had the opportunity to demonstrate another characteristic of successful people - creativity. Each student was given a bag of materials from which they had to create an animal.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

4th Grade - Our learning today began with the vocabulary word Benevolent which means kind and caring. Jimmy Carter our 39th President was today's explorer who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Student solved the Mystery Object in less than 20 questions for the warm up activity. Dealing with Confidence and Insecurity was the focus of today's social/emotional lesson. The focus of our Exploration lesson was: What is a culture? What is civilization? Our final activity was to answer some questions regarding windmills and energy.

2nd Grade - The vocabulary word for this group was Character which means one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual. The explorer was James Madison our 4th President and one of the framers of the Bill of Rights. These students were also able to solve the Mystery Object in less than 20 questions for the warm up activity.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

5th Grade - With a shortened week and shortened class period due to a music program, students were given the opportunity to work on computer coding through code.org and building bridges with K'Nex to learn about structures.

4th Grade - There were several vocabulary words for this week as many of these will be the focus of our social emotional lessons for the next few months:
Loquacious - someone who talks too much
Potential - capable of being or becoming
Motivation - willingness of action
Isolation - a feeling of being disliked or alone
Procrastination - the action of delaying or postponing something
Rachel Carson was today's explorer. Ms. Carson was instrumental in outlawing the pesticide DDT. Students completed balloon drawings for the warm up activity. The social/emotional lesson focused on levels of negative tolerance and their effects on behavior. Students then had 25 minutes to build their windmills. Class time concluded so we will discuss what we learned and methods of improvement next week.

2nd Grade - These students were enjoying a pizza party celebration so class was canceled for today.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

4th Grade - There were several vocabulary words for this week as many of these will be the focus of our social emotional lessons for the next few months:
Loquacious - someone who talks too much
Potential - capable of being or becoming
Motivation - willingness of action
Isolation - a feeling of being disliked or alone
Procrastination - the action of delaying or postponing something
Rachel Carson was today's explorer. Ms. Carson was instrumental in outlawing the pesticide DDT. Students completed balloon drawings for the warm up activity. The social/emotional lesson focused on levels of negative tolerance and their effects on behavior. Students then had 25 minutes to build their windmills. Class time concluded so we will discuss what we learned and methods of improvement next week.

2nd Grade - Today we had the social/emotional lesson. The focus of the lesson was the understanding that successful people demonstrate task commitment.  Each group of student had to build something from styrofoam and toothpicks along with a positive or negative motivator.

Monday, October 17, 2016

5th Grade - With a shortened week and shortened class period due to a music program, students were given the opportunity to work on computer coding through code.org or building bridges with K'Nex.

2nd Grade - This group learned that a Trial is a test of the quality, value, or usefulness of something. Lydia Darragh, an unknown spy for George Washington during the Revolutionary War, was today's explorer, Students drew balloon creatures for the warm up activity. While they finished their drawings, we finished watching Abel's Island.

Friday, October 14, 2016

3rd Grade - Primitive was the vocabulary word for this week and it means of, belonging to, or seeming to come from an early time in the very ancient past. Jim Carrey was the explorer. Mr. Carrey was an "A" student until his father lost his job and Jim had to go to work. The affective lesson focused on courage. Students were to give a one minute speech on a random topic. Having each student give a speech and celebrate each success took quite a bit of time this morning. The remaining time was spent working on logic elimination puzzles.

5th Grade - This week's word was Solicitous which means attentive, concerned. The explorer was Luther Burbank who had more than 3,000 experiments going at the same time. One of his experiments was to develop a potato that could withstand blight which led to the development of the Idaho potato. Students solved Plexer puzzles for the warm up activity. Plexers are common words or phrases put into picture form that the students have to solve. Self discipline was the focus of the affective lesson. They had an opportunity to demonstrate self-discipline while Dr. Rains took care of a quick errand. The final activity for the Marco Polo study was to create a newspaper headline. Students then researched more about insulation and developed a plan for their problem which we will build next week.

Special activities kept the second graders busy at the end of the day.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Dr. Rains spent most of the day out and about the building providing enrichment activities to small groups of students.

2nd Grade - We do not have enough time in Enrichment to read a book. so today we watched the video of Abel's Island by William Steig. Students will be completing projects around this book in the future.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

5th Grade - This week's word was Solicitous which means attentive, concerned. The explorer was Luther Burbank who had more than 3,000 experiments going at the same time. One of his experiments was to develop a potato that could withstand blight which led to the development of the Idaho potato. Students solved Plexer puzzles for the warm up activity. Plexers are common words or phrases put into picture form that the students have to solve. Self discipline was the focus of the affective lesson. They had an opportunity to demonstrate self-discipline while Dr. Rains took care of a quick errand. The final activity for the Marco Polo study was to create a newspaper headline. Students then researched more about insulation and developed a plan for their problem which we will build next week.

4th Grade - The word for these students was Infallible which means someone who never makes a mistake. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor in the United States, was today's explorer. Students solved several Plexer puzzles for the warm  up activity. Over the next several weeks, the fourth graders will be looking at issues successful people deal with on a daily basis and how they can impact students. Before we start the lessons, students took a pre-assessment to determine where they are with each issue. They also created a house plan to help them visualize the impact of each area. In the case of Marco Polo, students have left their positions as jurors and today became newspaper editors. They had to design a headline regarding the outcome of the case. The final activity was to spend time researching windmills then planning a new and improved design.

2nd Grade - The weekly trip to Crystal Pond Woods had students completing logic elimination puzzles with manipulatives.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

4th Grade - The word for these students was Infallible which means someone who never makes a mistake. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor in the United States, was today's explorer. Students solved several Plexer puzzles for the warm  up activity. Over the next several weeks, the fourth graders will be looking at issues successful people deal with on a daily basis and how they can impact students. Before we start the lessons, students took a pre-assessment to determine where they are with each issue. They also created a house plan to help them visualize the impact of each area. In the case of Marco Polo, students have left their positions as jurors and today became newspaper editors. They had to design a headline regarding the outcome of the case. The final activity was to spend time researching windmills then planning a new and improved design.

2nd Grade - The affective lesson today focused on the idea that successful people set goals.

Monday, October 10, 2016

5th Grade - This week's word was Solicitous which means attentive, concerned. The explorer was Luther Burbank who had more than 3,000 experiments going at the same time. One of his experiments was to develop a potato that could withstand blight which led to the development of the Idaho potato. Students solved Plexer puzzles for the warm up activity. Plexers are common words or phrases put into picture form that the students have to solve. Self discipline was the focus of the affective lesson. They had an opportunity to demonstrate self-discipline while Dr. Rains took care of a quick errand. The final activity for the Marco Polo study was to create a newspaper headline. Students then researched more about insulation and developed a plan for their problem which we will build next week.

2nd Grade - They learned that Civilized means marked by well-organized laws and rules about how people behave with each other. Today's explorer, Sylvia Earle, spent more than 6,000 hours under the sea. The warm up activity for this week had students solving several Plexer puzzles.

Friday, October 7, 2016

3rd Grade - Prioritize was the vocabulary word for today which means to list or rate (as projects or goals) in order of priority. Our explorer today was Lucille Ball who had been told by a drama teacher that she had no talent. The affective lesson focused on task commitment and the various types of motivators. In Crystal Pond Woods, students were given several logic elimination puzzles to solve. The final activity was to hear about the book Abel's Island. We learned a little bit about hurricanes because that is how Abel ended up on a deserted island.

5th Grade - The vocabulary word for the day was Pejorative which means disparaging or negative comments. Levi Strauss was the investigator for today. He had moved to California during the gold rush to sell material. When he couldn't sell his canvas, he sewed it up into some pants inventing blue jeans. The warm up activity was a brainstorming session from Odyssey of the Mind. Students were to create a rhyme of an animal. The affective lesson focused on dependability. Students heard closing arguments from fellow jurors today in the case of Marco Polo vs. the City/State of Venice. Finally, students spent some time researching insulators.

2nd Grade - Students wrote stories about themselves called "Fingerprints of Greatness.)

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Dr. Rains was out and about the building teaching coding lessons to different classrooms.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

5th Grade - The vocabulary word for the day was Pejorative which means disparaging or negative comments. Levi Strauss was the investigator for today. He had moved to California during the gold rush to sell material. When he couldn't sell his canvas, he sewed it up into some pants inventing blue jeans. The warm up activity was a brainstorming session from Odyssey of the Mind. Students were to create a rhyme of an animal. The affective lesson focused on dependability. Students heard closing arguments from fellow jurors today in the case of Marco Polo vs. the City/State of Venice. Finally, students spent some time researching insulators.

4th Grade - First, the vocabulary word was Benign which means something that is harmless. Their explorer was Mary McLeod Bethune who started a school for black children following the Civil War. The warm up activity was a brainstorming activity from Odyssey of the Mind. For the affective lesson students finished their Gifted Trait Family Tree. The objective of this lesson was to help students understand that their giftedness comes from their heritage just as other traits they have comes from their ancestors. Marco Polo had his final day in court as students listened to their fellow jurors present their side of the case in deciding if he is guilty or not guilty of fraud.

Dr. Rains had a funeral to attend in the afternoon unfortunately having to cancel the 2nd Grade class.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Mrs. Hart graciously filled in for Dr. Rains while she was attending a professional development conference. Here is what the students learned:

4th Grade - First, the vocabulary word was Benign which means something that is harmless. Their explorer was Mary McLeod Bethune who started a school for black children following the Civil War. The warm up activity was a brainstorming activity from Odyssey of the Mind. For the affective lesson students finished their Gifted Trait Family Tree. The objective of this lesson was to help students understand that their giftedness comes from their heritage just as other traits they have comes from their ancestors. Marco Polo had his final day in court as students listened to their fellow jurors present their side of the case in deciding if he is guilty or not guilty of fraud.

2nd Grade - The new vocabulary word for this group was Watercraft which is a craft for water transport: ship, boat. Their explorer was Thomas Jefferson Who actually had a couple of grizzly bears on the White House lawn while he was President. Their warm up activity was the Odyssey of the Mind brainstorming activity.

Monday, October 3, 2016

5th Grade - The vocabulary word for the day was Pejorative which means disparaging or negative comments. Levi Strauss was the investigator for today. He had moved to California during the gold rush to sell material. When he couldn't sell his canvas, he sewed it up into some pants inventing blue jeans. The warm up activity was a brainstorming session from Odyssey of the Mind. Students were to create a rhyme of an animal. The affective lesson focused on dependability. Students heard closing arguments from fellow jurors today in the case of Marco Polo vs. the City/State of Venice. Finally, students spent some time researching insulators.

2nd Grade - Dr. Rains was out of the building this afternoon and had to cancel this class.