Our First Day of Exploratory Centers

We got a lot of work done today!

We started our day working in the Math Rules problem solving program.  We are focusing on finding the important information in the word problem and in the illustration.  We also discussed the key words that tell us if we need to add or subtract and ways we can show our thinking.

Next, using Microsoft Word as our tool, the students worked to type their paragraph.  Along the way, we learned to use the "tab" key to indent, the space bar to space appropriately between words and after punctuation, right-click to correct spelling errors and to save and print our documents.  When they completed typing their paragraph, they we able to format their font for style.  Their paragraphs look great!

After recess and lunch, the students began working in their Exploratory area.  The students who were present were able to complete the Knowledge and Comprehension level tasks.  They are now able to select any of the remaining tasks to complete.  Ask your child to tell you about their center work and a fact or two they learned about their topic. 

Monet

 Color

 Capsela Robotics

Next the students reviewed our procedures for using the TOPS Math Problems Solving Program and began their individualized work.   We ended our day working on an open-ended critical thinking exercise that focused on flexible thinking.  It takes time and practice but everyone can improve their divergent to thinking abilities.

One area in which almost all of my students need to work is "doing their very best!"  It takes time to adjust to the expectations in our class.  Many of the students tend to rush through their work.  This results in careless mistakes, less elaboration, messier work and a general reduction in the quality of their projects/assignments.  Please remind your child I am looking for their personal best effort, especially on final draft projects, Exploratory tasks and problem solving exercises.  With patience and attention to detail they will be surprised by the quality of work with which they can achieve.

SAGE: Day 2 and we are getting closer to knowing what we are doing...

Rotation D students had a great second day/week of SAGE.  They worked really hard today!  I was really impressed with their efforts and accomplishments!

At the start of our day, we discussed our SAGE class rules and expectations. I shared with the students that SAGE is somewhat like brain aerobics class (minus the sweat- LOL.) The work they do here should challenge them and hopefully, frustrate them from time to time. It is not supposed to be painful, but it is intended to stretch their abilities, take them out of their comfort zone and test the way they handle frustration. The safety net is close, although sometimes camouflaged. I need to know what they can handle and so do they.

Each week, the work they do in our room should be hard enough that they are missing at least one or two problems/questions. If they are getting everything correct, I will bump up the level of difficulty until they are missing some. I want to get them to their individual, instructional levels. All of our work (particularly in math and critical thinking) is done over until it is correct. I give small hints if they ask. If I feel like they are becoming too frustrated, I will set down with them and work through the problem. I've told them our classroom is a safe place to try something new and a safe place to fail. I try very hard to watch that a student is not getting too stressed, but I sometimes miss the signs. If your child expresses that SAGE is too hard, please contact me so we can talk about it with him or her.

This week, the students began the rough draft paragraph about their aspirations for the future. We discussed indenting, the position and purpose of a topic sentence, supporting details and a conclusion sentence. All of the students finished this draft. They also finished their picture of what they would like to be when they grow up as well as their construction paper head.  (Yes, that sounds weird, but they are oh so cute!)  Next week, they will begin typing the written explanation of their goals. We hope to have this completed by our October 6th Open House.

Next, we discussed Bloom's Levels of Thinking and what each level might look like. I introduced our Exploratory centers and the students had an opportunity to look through the choices and list their top three picks. Each student met with me to be sure their first choice center is a good fit for them. Ask your child which center he/she will be beginning on our next SAGE day?

Our time flies by, but I feel like they accomplished a lot.

First Grade First Day!

Our First SAGE Day of the Year!

I was excited to begin our year with this K/1st grade SAGE class! It is a tiny group with only five students. (This is very typical for the start of school as these little guys have hardly been in school long enough to be noticed, tested and identified. Fear not, by November their numbers will have grown enough to give me a new stress wrinkle!)

We reviewed arrival procedures and spent some time sharing about our summer and our interests with a Skittles activity. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed their summer break. Some of us stayed closer to home going to water parks with friends, Royals baseball games with grandparents and the Nelson Art Gallery to see the Monet exhibit. Fishing seemed to be a vacation theme running through the group. We discussed kayaking and swimming in Minnesota, catching walleye with leeches (--"not the blood sucking kind," or so I am told,) discovering dead jellyfish, dismembered crab legs and dead gastropods along the cold beaches in Oregon (--the previous details shared with joy, enthusiasm and sense of curiosity), and boating and fishing in California. Some families ventured further from home, exploring Knob Noster, St. Louis, the Omaha Zoo, the mountains of Colorado and castles in England and Scotland. I decided I could live without the leeches and dead and dismembered animals, however, all of their summer tales sounded much more interesting than my own.

Next, the students put on their "thinking cap" and played detective to see what they could discover about me. We passed around my purse and everyone retrieved an item from the contents and tried to analyze it to see what they could learn from it. Zachary discovered my new, teeny, tiny video camera and noted I like to take pictures. They were excited to learn I bought it for them to use this year on our technology projects. Camila dissected my wallet and learned, my middle name is Anne- from my driver's license, I probably wasn't buying my lunch because I had a paltry $3.00 in the contents, and I shop at Game Stop (because I had my son's Power Up card.) LOL Caleb found out I have a Dog named Elsie who is due for some shots by reading the veterinarian's reminder postcard. Abigayle chose my checkbook and found out my husband's name and the street on which I live. Cora, an apparent digital native, pulled my iPhone from the purse and knew just how to analyze its contents. While the others were sharing, she browsed my iTunes collection, evaluated the appeal of my gaming apps, made it through most of my picture library and landed on a video of my daughter's harp recital! She drew all sorts of conclusions about me! I'd say they make pretty good first grade detectives!

Next, we went the computer lab, reviewed the parts of the computer, the related vocabulary words and how to find our way around the network. The students learned to locate their personal folders on the shared drive. They each added and named a new folder inside for future photos. Then they opened and named a blank Microsoft Word document. They typed their full name and grade and then learned to format the font for size, style (bold, underline & Italics) and color. Our thirty minute lab times fly by quickly! I am looking forward to expanding our technology skills this year, continuing our discussions on being safe and responsible on the Internet and starting down the path to becoming twenty-first century learners.

After a sunny recess and lunch, they started their individualized work. The students completed an analytical thinking worksheet as a part of our critical thinking program. They also began the Math Rules problem solving program.

Next, we began an affective project where the students will share some of their aspirations and dreams for their future. They drew a picture of what they would like to be when they grow up. Next week, they will continue working on this project and begin their written explanation of their goals. We hope to have this completed by our October 6th Open House.

We ended our day discussing what it means to have a blog and to be a blogger. The students watched the brief video on our home page to learn more. Finally, we looked over the the parts of our blog and how to navigate around the site. We also discussed ways in which they will be able to contribute to our class blog. Our day was over before we knew it!

We hope you will follow our adventures here. Feel free to share your thoughts by posting comments. You are also welcome to email me with questions and/or concerns. Please sign your child's Take Home Folder and encourage them to return it on our next SAGE day.

Have a wonderful week!