Math Problem Solving, Andy Acid and a New Friend

Today we welcomed our newest classmate.  She is going to be a great addition to our group!

This morning, I introduced the boys and girls to our math programs.  We began by working together in the Problem Solver series.  This program breaks down and targets one of ten strategies for solving math problems in each of its lessons.  This week's focus was on the strategy, “Use Logical Reasoning.”  The students worked well together to identify each clue and to solve the problem.  

Next, I introduced them to the TOPS (Techniques in Problem Solving) Math program.  TOPS is a challenging, individualized program that allows students to progress at their own pace.  As the students learn each of the 10 Problem Solver strategies, they will build their personal "toolbox" of skills and be better equipped to solve their TOPS Math cards.  Your child will have an opportunity to show you their TOPS Math work at our Oct. 2nd, SAGE Open House.

Today the students met our 2nd Quirkle Scientist, Andy Acid.

As a part of our experiment, the students used litmus paper to test lemon juice and a baking soda water solution to see if they were an acid or base.  

We moved through the scientific process, recording our hypothesis, observations and conclusions.  We also had an opportunity to discuss what a chemical reaction is.  

Anastasia shared that sometimes her stomach hurts after she eats.  She called it a "tummy bubble."  This was a perfect real world problem that could be explained by the carbon dioxide created during the chemical reaction between the baking soda and lemon juice.

Next, we reviewed our procedures for using our Exploratory centers and how to keep our Exploratory learning contract up to date.  The students rotated between their center tasks and typing last week's rough draft of their, "Take a Closer Look at Me Poem."  They did a great job on both!  The poems will be on display at our fall Open House.

Rotation D, Our 2nd Week of Exploratory on PhotoPeach

Next we spent time discussing our classroom rules:

1. There is no such thing as a dumb question or answer. 
2. This is a safe place to try new things.
3. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know.”
4. If you don’t understand, ask.
5. If you still don’t understand, ask again.
6. Be respectful of other peoples’ feelings and ideas.
7. It’s okay to disagree– try explaining your ideas.
8. It’s okay to be yourself, originality is in!
9. None of us are perfect.
10. This is a safe place to make mistakes- jump in a give it a try!

I am confident the boys and girls will find success with these rules.

At the end of our day, we looked at some of the comments that have been posted by our Quadblogging friends.  This week, our blog is the focus for our group.  The classes from Gisborne, New Zealand, Formby, England and Norwich, England are stopping by our blog to see what we are learning and to leave a comment or two (or five or six!)  

The D day students addressed the comment from our new friends, Miss Grant & the boys and girls at St. Luke's School.  Each day, our different classes will read and respond to the comments left on our blog by our Quadbogging friends.  Take a moment to read some of their comments on It's Our Turn.  If you and your child have a little time, go and visit each of their blogs.  They would love your complimentary comments too.

Have a great week!

Week two and we are off and rolling!

At the start of our SAGE day, the boys and girls finished writing the rough draft of their "Take a Closer Look at Me" poem.  Next week the students will type them.  They should be finished and on display by our Oct. 2nd Fall Open House.


Next, the students learned about International Dot Day and we read the book, The Dot. International Dot Day is a time to celebrate creativity in our children.  More than a half a millions teachers and students are participating in the global project.  Each child is asked to create their own dot image.  The students came up with a diverse gallery of dots. 

 For anyone who has been afraid to express themselves - from a child in art class to an adult whose fear has shut down a dream, Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot (Candlewick Press) is there to remind us all to "Make your mark, and see where it takes you."

After recess and lunch, we discussed Bloom's Levels of Thinking and what each level might look like.  I introduced our Exploratory centers and the procedures we follow to select and complete a center.  The students had an opportunity to look through the choices and list their top three picks.  The boys and girls met with me individually to be sure their first choice center is a good fit for them. Ask your child which center he/she chose and what drew them to that center. 

The first step in beginning any center is to fill out their Exploratory Contract.  This helps me keep track of their individualized work and it empowers the children to become more independent in their learning.

After filling out their contracts, they had about 20 minutes to begin the reading at their chosen center.  Next week, they will have time to continue their reading and/or watch their center’s video.  (The Knowledge Level task usually takes 2-3 SAGE days to complete.)

Today, we also wanted to take advantage of our new podcasting booth.  Below you will find our very first podcasts.  We used the site, Audioboo.fm to make our recordings.  Each student made their podcast about something they learned from the center’s Knowledge Level reading task.

listen to ‘Rotation D-1’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-2’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-3’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-4’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-5’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-6’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-7’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Rotation D-8’ on Audioboo

Fantastic First Graders- Fabulous First Day!

The Rotation D day first graders are off to a wonderful start!  It was nice to see my returning students and to have a chance to get to know our new classmates.   To get to know each other a little better, the students took turns interviewing a classmate they didn't know (or didn't know as well.)  Each partner recorded a few facts about him/her and then introduced them to the rest of us.  

 

Next, we took a hike down to our science lab....

There were lots of things to discover along the way....

---Sunflowers and their seeds, grass tasseling, three leaf clover (maybe not lucky, but definitely special,) dragonflies, birds chirping and the highly prized, dead butterfly's wing, sadly not a matched set.

Once in our "lab" we had a discussion, about what kinds of objects can be connected to the field of science.

Amazingly enough, we learned that even sparkly, pink nail polish, Ziplock bags and gummy worms could be connected to a field of science.  I discovered we have some bright scientists in the making in our class.

After a recess, that is never long enough, the boys and girls were introduced to the Quirkles Science program.  Our first Quirkle we are learning about is Inquisitive Inman.  We read an interesting story with numerous vocabulary words like: intelligent, immediately, instruments, and investigate.  Then we conducted our first investigation of the year.  Watch the video below to join us on our explorations.  Be sure and have your child share their science experiment log with you too.






After lunch, we went to the computer lab to refresh/ introduce some of our computer skills.  The boys and girls learned to log in to our computers with their new user name and password.  They also practiced accessing our class blog.  There are many wonderful student and parent resources on the tabs along the top of our Primary Thinkers "home" page.  We hope you will check back each week for new updates and to allow your child to practice commenting on our blog posts and to access the variety of resources here.

Next, we started a "getting to know you" writing project.  You will hear more about it in the next two weeks.  The finished products will be on display at our October 2nd, Fall Open House.  

I think it was a pretty successful day!  I am looking forward to our year together!
Have a wonderful week!

Our Quadblogging Friends

This year we will be participating in a global learning collaboration called Quadblogging.  The Quadblogging project matches four classrooms from around the world to share their blogs and share their learning.

For more information, go to our Primary Thinkers home page.

Welcome Back to School!

Dear Boys and Girls,

I shared a podcast about my summer on the Primary Thinkers home page.
How was your summer?  Did you go anywhere special?  What was the best thing about this summer?

I hope a few of you will post a comment about your summer.

I am looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Love,
Mrs. Koch

P.S.  Remember, only sign your comments with your first name and never share any specific personal information about yourself, your family or any of your classmates.  You should have your parents look over your comment before publishing it.  Also, keep in mind your quality commenting skills or watch the video to refresh your memory:

Mrs. Yollis' video,  How to Compose a Quality Comment,  http://vimeo.com/15695021

Welcome Back from Spring Break

Today was the first day of fourth quarter.  Be sure and check your child's Take Home Folder for his or her progress report.  They should be very proud of their accomplishments!

We started our day working in our Exploratory centers.  Several students finished their center and were able to choose a new one today.  Ask your child about their current center and task.

After reflecting on last week's Canadian folktale, Tuk the Hunter, the students completed our Waste Not, Want Not book.  They worked in pairs to think creatively and brainstorm ways to reuse and recycle household trash items.  

As they generated ideas, they typed them into our Power Point presentation.  I think  their ideas were terrific, but I was most impressed by how well they collaborated with their partner. 

In the afternoon, the students were introduced to our newest Quirkle, Pressure Pete.

In our experiment the students learned that air moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure.  They brought a straw home to demonstrate our experiment.  Ask your child to share their science log with you.

Next, the students worked on their math problem solving skills in the TOPS Math and Math Rules programs.

The students ended the day with their Spanish lesson with Senora Gates.

Have a great weekend!

D Day Was Hot, Smokin' Hot!

"Oh My!" you say.  "A fire in the school????"

Yep, well sort of....

Our day started with some sparks....  Sparks of creativity that is....

The students were given a paper with a few squiggly lines and shapes.  Their task was to create a cohesive picture incorporating all of the lines and shapes.  They could rotate their paper as much as they wished in order to find the desired orientation.  Squiggles are more than just a cute art project.  These tasks exercise and strengthen the students' creative problem solving skills: fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration.

I encourage the students to think of many possible pictures and then see if they can choose a theme for their picture that is original within our class.  They have to be very flexible in their thinking to incorporate all of the given lines and shapes.  Once their picture begins to take shape, they must pay attention to detail and be as elaborative as possible.  (These same skills can be used when they are writing a creative story or solving a real world problem.)  The more they strengthen these skills, the more creative they will be.  Today we had an outer space scene, a view of the inside of a baby's nursery, an alien attack scene and several others.  ask your child to share their own squiggle with you.  Have them tell you what they did well, what was easy and what was challenging about this project.

Once I had their brains smoldering and sparking from our creative workout, I added in a little oxygen to achieve a flame, Ollie Oxygen, that is....

Ollie Oxygen is our latest Quirkle and today we learned that fire needs oxygen to burn.  

After reading our picture book and listing our new vocabulary words,  we conducted our experiment.  The students wrote a hypothesis for our problem:  Which candle will go out first when we limit the oxygen supply of each? In our experiment, I lit three small candles.  I carefully covered each with a glass container of varying size.  The students recorded their observations and wrote our class conclusion.  Ask your child to share their science log with you.

After lunch and recess, we headed off to our next destination.  This adventure kept us on the continent of North America.  The students and I traveled far to the north, to the home of the Inuit people: Canada.  In our folktale, Tuk the Hunter,  we discovered some of the dangers faced by the Inuit people as they hunt to provide for their family.  

We also learned the Inuit do not waste any part of the animals they hunt.  For our project, the students are making a class book, Waste Not, Want Not.   This week they brainstormed ways we can reuse and recycle trash items.  Next week, we will work to finish our book.

The students ended their day with a little Spanish number/color BINGO with Senora Gates.  What a fun way to practice your Spanish vocabulary!

It was a busy day and their enthusiasm spread like fire, but in the end, the only smokey smells in our room came from our little candles.

Have a great week!