Saving Fred Activity

To help teach the Scientific Method in Science this past week we did an activity called Saving Fred.  Students were given a plastic cup with life savor underneath, 4 paper clips, and a gummy worm sitting on top of the cup.  They were not allowed to use their hands at all.  Students had to come up with a way to save their gummy worm, Fred using the paper clips and not their hands.  I was super impressed and excited to see all of their creative ways they came up with and the fact that ALL of the groups figured out a way to save Fred! YAY!

 Of course once Fred was saved we had to enjoy some gummy worms that we could eat. :p

Fun with EM Games

Students started playing some EM games this past week.  One of their favs was "Less Than You."   It was a great review game to help review.

"Oh the places you will go" bookmarks

Each year I make my students bookmarks that they will use for the entire year (hopefully).   I want them to always reach for the stars and know they can accomplish anything and go far in life. :)

Choosing "Just Right" Books & Using our "Schema"

Each year we have a mini-lesson on how to choose "Just Right" books.  We learn about ways to make sure we are reading on our independent reading level that is just right for us.  

We learn how to distinguish books that are too easy (too small)….

We learn about books that are too hard (too big)….

Finally we learn about ways to choose books that are on our independent reading levels that are not too easy and not too hard but are JUST RIGHT.  :) We want students to be engaged in reading about something they are interested in learning more about or simply just being entertained. 

Next we took our mini-lesson further and learned about our "Schema" or background knowledge.  In order to help students really understand what their background knowledge is I use a lint roller.  I write down things Mrs. P's interests, memories, favorites, etc.  I then take the lint roller and pick up those pieces of paper off the carpet.   Students see how each one of those pieces of papers stick to the lint roller just like our life experiences stick to our brain.  Once those memories are made and ideas and concepts learned they are forever with us.  We then use that background knowledge or schema in our everyday lives.

 Hopefully this lesson will help us with not only reading books but in all subjects areas.

Learning Commons Orientation

This past week we had our Learning Commons orientation with Mrs. Merritt.  Each year students must complete this orientation in order to start checking out library books.  This is a wonderful way to help show them exactly what to do when they come to the learning commons to search for a book of their choice.  Students were thrilled when they saw the iPads sitting out as a tool during this process.  They first had to use a QR code scanner to get to the website to look up their books.  Good thing Mrs. P had already introduced them to using this on our Back to School night.  ;)

Sharing our "Me" Bags!

What an awesome way to get to know one another by sharing our wonderful "me" bags. I enjoyed every minute of hearing all about each and every one of you and all your interests.  Thank you to all you parents for your help with gathering pictures and items for the me bags and notebooks this week. :) 

Creating our Author's Notebook and Interactive Notebooks

We had a great time creating our author's at work notebook that we will use throughout the year.  Students brought in pictures and stickers to use to decorate them.  I can't wait to see my students blossom with their writing skills and share all the wonderful pieces. :)

We also made our SC History, Science, and Math interactive notebooks.  Students will use these daily and they will come home every week to help not only them study but you as parents know what to use to help them prepare for all upcoming tests.