Week 26

Student doing an experiment at recess. . .She broke open a marker and soaked it in water

Class science experiment...We opened up a broken blow dryer

Ice cream party students earned through working on rocket math

Student with her personal science experiment (baking soda, fruit loops, and snow left outside overnight!)

Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Dr. Seuss Day

Class on Dr. Seuss Day!

For social studies, we talked about things changing over time....This is a timeline of how cartoons changed over time

We had a great week!

Special Activities: We had Dr. Seuss day this week.  Friday is Dr. Seuss's birthday, so we celebrated it on Thursday.  We read Dr. Seuss books.  We also made Dr. Seuss hats, and students got to have another teacher read a special book to the class.  

Another fun activity this week was a rocket math ice cream party.  We were so lucky to have a parent volunteer to do this to motivate students to learn math facts.  Students got toppings according to how many rocket math letters they passed off in the last month.  They loved it, and it really helped motivate them to work on math facts this last month.  

A mom came in to teach us about her son who is a soldier in Afghanistan, and students got to write letters to him.  

Funny Stuff From Kids: One girl said, "Call me Bethany now.  A girl in my book is called Bethany.  I'll ask my Dad if it's okay.  He had the power to give me my name, and he'll have the power to change it."

Some students love to do what they call science experiments during recess.  They'll do random things like put grass and water in a jar and call it a science experiment.  One of these was left over the weekend, and our room stunk really badly on Monday.  After getting the stink out of our room, you can imagine my shock when a student brought in a jar full of frozen mayonnaise and milk the next morning and said, "It won't stink because it's frozen!"

We changed desks on Thursday since it's a new month.  I have the desks arranged in partnerships.  One boy said, "Holy smokes, I'm with a girl now!"  

When misbehaving, one student has started trying to use the excuse, "My brain made me!"

One student came in from recess and said, "I got a scar at recess."  He had to be taught the difference between a scar and a scratch.  

Homework: Please help students keep up on their homework!

Social Studies: We had a few incredible social studies lessons this week.  We learned about and wrote letters to a student's older brother, who is an American soldier in Afghanistan.    

We also had a great discussion about how things change over time.  To facilitate this, I showed them cartoons from Steamboat Willie (black and white Mickey Mouse with no talking) all the way up to Dinosaur (a real-looking computer animated film).  They were amazed at the changes from decade to decade, and I made them describe them to me as I recorded them on our class timeline.   

Math: We have been focusing on making sure everyone can count, read, and write every number up to 120.  Students can count well, but we'll be doing more reinforcement on reading-and especially on writing-those numbers.

Project Read/Spelling: This week we focused on ending blends for the last week.  Students seem to have it down pretty well.  Prior to starting the last quarter of the school year, the next two weeks will focus on reviewing what we've done up to this point.    

Speedy Words and Rocket Math: Students have been working hard on their rocket math, and I'm trying to increase their abilities so they'll be prepared for success in second grade.  We will now be doing half-page timings on math facts instead of two-row timings so they can get ready for second grade.  

AR: Students keep progressing, and we got a new Samurai this week!!!!

Writing: This week we had a variety of writing activities.  We wrote rainbow stories to prepare for the upcoming "Leprechaun Day" this month.  We also learned about letter writing and wrote letters to a soldier in Afghanistan.  Lastly, we did writing along with our science experiments.    

Science: For science this week we did three things:

First of all, students have been on a kick of doing their own little science experiments during recess, and I've let them explore.

Secondly, we took apart a broken blow dryer to see what the inside looks like.

Thirdly, we dropped a handful of Mentos candy into a bottle of diet coke.  It creates a chemical reaction and shoots up into the air.