Game Up

I love love love playing any kind of game! Kids do even MORE. Our class is trying out a new site this week called Sumdog. Each students has a user name and password written in the front of their agenda. Students have to continually solve math problems based on the Common Core Standards. Here is the link! Watch for contests and challenges!

Sumdog Site

Weekly Webcast

A Great Site

Go to the City of Grammar because there is no spelling list for this week!

Grammaropolis

Our First Webcast

Prime and Composite Numbers

Well there was complete confusion by the end of the math lesson today. It was funny actually because I had the students use the response clickers so I could assess who was getting the concept and who was not. The software creates a bar graph on our interactive white board, showing correct and incorrect answers. It was fifty-fifty, so needless to say I'm reteaching it tomorrow! 

Here's a couple games to help reinforce the concept.

Prime Fruit Shoot

Monkey Drive

King Kong Prime/Composite

Also, here's a little review for those who need it!

Study Jam

Learn. Those. Tables.

Seriously! It is CRUCIAL, PIVOTAL, and ESSENTIAL. There's some vocabulary words for you. What I'm saying is it's IMPORTANT!!! Practice at home, in the car, at the dentist, and in the shower. Wherever! 

Multiplication Matching Mania

Bubble Multiplication

Fruit Shoot Multiplication

Balloon Pop

Pop Up Math

Catch the Star Multiples

Multiplication Station

Reminder

Just a reminder, we are going to the YMCA tomorrow and Friday. Bring your swim suit and towel!

Our Halloween Fun

Halloween Parade

Just a reminder that students are welcome to bring a costume in a bag for the Halloween parade on Thursday! It is a 2:15, and prior to that we will have a party with games and treats that afternoon. You are welcome to send in treats, BUT the healthier the better. I do realize that students realistically won't bring a tray of veggies, but things that are not full of artificial colors and ingredients would be appreciated. We do not have any allergies in our class. Pictures of our Halloween festivities will be posted Friday. Check back, and be safe when trick-or-treating!

Red Sox Day

Don't forget to wear red, blue, and all your Red Sox gear tomorrow!

Common Core Update

These are the student "I Can" statements for the month of October. These are all Common Core Math based and reflect what students should be able to do by the end of October.

So of course I have a few tricks or rather games up my sleeve! These will help students see the concepts in another fun way.

Properties of Multiplication Game

Partitioning Numbers

Calculator Chaos

Properties of Muliplication

Patterns

Grand Slam Math

NECAP Testing

Fourth graders are taking the NECAP test today through Thursday. Students should get to bed early and make sure they are rested and ready each day. Also, there will be no homework <insert applause here>. Eat a good breakfast and be ready!

In the Works

Hello Parents! I just wanted to let you know that most of the fund-raising we do this year for our class will go towards a grant that I have applied for called The Walking Classroom. I am very excited about it, the school board already approved the preliminary paperwork. The grant will fund a class set of MP3 players which will come preloaded with language arts lessons that are tied to the Common Core Standards. 

"Listening to this content builds standards-related knowledge and listening stamina.  Walking improves students’ moods and appreciation of exercise, of their environment and, most of all, of their own ability to learn in a whole new way. Moreover, what they listen to isn't just a textbook being read aloud. It's enthusiastic discussions and presentations by teachers and kids their age about things they need to know. Written and produced specifically for audio, these educational and entertaining podcasts allow the teacher to take the class on a 20-minute walk each day. "

Click the link below to learn more about the program. I am hoping to do a Jump-a-thon and fourth grade dine out night to raise enough money  to move up the waiting list.

http://www.thewalkingclassroom.org

Attention Gamers!

This week and next week we will be covering simple machines in science. Here are a few links to science games that can help students learn beyond the basics.

EDHEADS

Simple Machines Match Up

Simple Machines Label It!

BrainPop

More Matching

Search and Identify a Simple Machine

Lego Day!

The class is SO excited to build and program the first Lego model tomorrow! We will be building dancing birds and covering lots of new vocabulary! Force, diameter, simple machines, gear, axel, pulley, motion, work,  and belt are a few of the words they will learn. Everybody has a lab partner (or two) and is very excited to start building!

Happy Birthday to...

the MOST spectacular math teacher on the planet! We had fun on Miss Nelson's birthday. She taught a math lesson and then gave us a sweet present. Chocolate! 

In case you don't know, Miss Nelson is a volunteer who comes to teach math on Mondays and Tuesdays. She is a former teacher and principal, and also a sister. Miss Nelson is so great at making kids "get" math. She also sings, dances, and entertains us as well. We love her enthusiasm and I especially love how kind she is to children. It's should be a given that people who work with kids like them. But Miss Nelson has a very special way of making a child feel confident, smart, and valuable. Happy Birthday to my good friend!

Common Core Info

The term Common Core State Standards has been very popular in Manchester lately, especially with teachers. The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. 

Here is what the students need to know in September for math. These are the standards written as "I Can" statements that are student and parent friendly so we can all work together. 

Math:

I can identify the place value of numbers.

Ican write numerals in standard and expanded form.

I can use place value to round multi-digit numbers.

I can change measurement units within a system.

I can use measurement information in various situations.

I can compare two multi-digit numbers using symbols to show comparisons.

I can solve word problem or equations using whole numbers.

Language Arts: 

Coming Soon!

Practice Makes Perfect

Next Friday students have a test on the seven continents and five oceans. Yes, FIVE oceans! The Southern Ocean which borders Antarctica has been added since most of us learned this basic lesson when we were in school. Here  are a couple of links to games students can play to help them practice.

Are you a beginner, intermediate or expert? There's also a tutorial to watch.

Oceans & Continents

Matching Oceans & Continents 

Practice those Skills

We have been working on place value in math. Students need to know up to the millions place.

We have not done anything to the right of the decimal point yet. So to really know the values, here are a few games to practice. Click on the links below to play! 

Place Value Fruit Shoot

Matching Math Place Value

Order Numbers Up to A Million

Ways to Say A Number

Compare Numbers Up to A Million

Look for some rounding games later this week. We are rounding numbers up to a million!

Off To An Amazing Start

We've only had three days of school so far, but I can already tell that this will be a great class! We started out with some basic team building and cooperative activities so that we could get to know one another. 

Our first activity was called "Save Fred." The students learned the scientific method by doing an activity in which they had to get a gummy life saver, on to a gummy worm, which was on top of a cup (which was also Fred's boat). So that sounds simple, but the students could only use a four paper clips. No hands! They had to develop a hypothesis and a procedure. It was a lot of fun to see them working together as they problem solved and got to know one another. 

Below is a slideshow from our Save Fred experiment and the puzzles we put together on the first day!

DONORS CHOOSE GRANT

Click here to see the listing on Donors Choose

This Is It!

Happy Summer Vacation! Thanks to all nineteen kiddos, and all their families for one of the best school years ever!

My Favorite Lesson This Year

We created bubble wands (see previous post-Engineering In Elementary), and tested them yesterday. We had so much fun designing them... the kids were so creative! It was even more fun to test them. Some had to remodel their orignal design and others worked beautifully! Anybody have a 3D printer? We could patten some of these designs!

Hayley and Summer had the best smaller bubble wand designs. Their wands blew spherical three foot bubbles.  Madison's and Paige's bubble wands were unique designs that made longer bubbles that were about five feet. 

After testing, the kids gathered data and found the maximum, minimum, mean, median, mode, and range (common core vocabulary for grade 4 & 5). We took it a step farther and talked about circumference, diameter, and radius.  We even found the estimated area of a bubble. This was a great end of the year project. I will miss this class because they have really shown that they can have a whole lot of fun while learning! Here is the pictures of our HUGE bubbles! 

Click on the picture below to go to the album.

Engineering In Elementary

Engineering in Elementary

Here is a challenge that you all can begin this weekend since it's going to rain, rain, rain! Design your own bubble wand! You can start it at home by gathering supplies like pipe cleaners, wire coat hangers, string, things from your recycling bin, etc. 

We are going to do some bubble math, bubble science, and bubble contests! What will your wand win?

Here are some examples. But make it whatever YOU imagine! Engineering is most fun when you try to do something you think is impossible. I'll tell you more Monday!

 

Have fun and DFTBA!

Play, Play, Play!

If you must play on Math Playground, play the games below because they are aligned to the Common Core, which means that you have to know the skills involved in each game by the end of fourth grade!

Math Playground & The Common Core

Game On

Science Gamers Click Here!

Galileo---BLABBERIZED

UPDATE: Here is the link to the rest of the classes Blabberized Galileo projects.
http://blabberize.com/mystuff



This week our featured scientist was Galileo. We started out thinking that he invented the telescope... then as the students researched they found out that was not exactly the case. We learned he was the first person to use the telescope to study space, and that he was kind of a rude person! 

After we researched, students had to photo shop a picture of Galileo, and write a script in the first person.  We used blabberize.com to present what we learned about this famous astronomer. 

Coordinate Graphing

Try this Coordinate Graphing Game out to help you practice plotting numbers that are both negative and positive. This will help you to do the extra credit assignment that I'm giving to you later today. It's worth doing, especially if you are interested in programming. See the previous post about MIT's computer programming software.

http://4thgradesparkles.blogspot.com/2013/01/mits-computer-program-for-kids.html

Cops And Kids

Here are the pictures from Cops and Kids! We had a great time asking questions and seeing all the police equipment!

Kinetic City

If you like EdHeads, you may also like this science website for kids, kineticcity.com. This site has some fun games that can teach you new vocabulary and may even help you cram for the science necap test! I really liked this game ZAP! Think FAST, because as we were saying today in class, math and science are connected in a BIG way. You can practice at home, we'll play it tomorrow to practice finding the mean (average), and to compare and read decimals! 

We've been working on a poetry book in class. *After you blog about your independent reading book, write a haiku or a cinquain on the creative writing blog.  Chose a science topic you've been learning about (Galileo), or our Chris Van Allsburg author study. If you do, I will squeeze in a little iPad time for you tomorrow! Happy homeworking!

SCA- Americorp Memories

We had such a great experience with John, Kelsey, and Evan this winter and spring. Their science lessons were fantastic and taught the students through hands on experiments, activities, and games. They offered the students so much, by sharing their eco-conscious lifestyles and knowledge. Lots of our city kids really enjoy learning about NH's wildlife and terrain. I feel so fortunate for my students to have had the opportunity to do the service learning project and visit Bear Brook State Park. Here's a slide show of the best lessons and fun times we had.

Planet Presentations

These presentations came out AWESOME!!! I am so impressed with all the facts, new vocabulary, and teamwork! These presentations were done with Animoto. Enjoy!

Planet Links

Here is a link to help you and your partner when you are creating your presentation!

Hayley's Planet Website
Planet Facts

Activate Your Mind

Here is a really amazing science website that features 15 interactive lessons/activities using science technology, engineering, and math concepts. It's called Edheads. Funny name, huh? 

CSI STYLE!

You can learn about different  occupations and play meaningful learning games. You can learn how to investigate a crash
scene, or design a cell phone. I just assisted in a virtual brain surgery. This is a super cool site. Let me know what you think on the Creative Writing Blog! 



P.S. Hope you are working on your game for our Recycled Arcade!

Happy VACAY!

The best part of vacation besides spending time with my babies, and not getting up early is just relaxing and becoming rejuvenated! 

I'm super excited for our Earth Day Arcade. We might have to dedicate Monday to some final planning and last minute engineering. I hope you guys are going to start making your games soon if you haven't already!
I'm making some with my son, hopefully they are not ruined by the time vacation ends! 

Here's the link to Nik and Vinny's Earth Day Blog Hope it helps get your brainstorming! If you plan most of your idea and happen to need something from our battery science kits, post it on the creative writing blog. We can work it out Monday. Enjoy your time off!

And the Winners Are...

Everybody! Everybody did a fantastic job on their water fair projects. I think we all deserve a pool party. Good thing we are going back to the YMCA next week! 

And here are the finalists from our class!





Our honorable mentions!

So proud of everybody's hard work and effort on this project!

Service Learning Project

Today was our service learning project day. The kids came to school prepared, some even with their gloves already on! We headed over to Prout park to start our clean up job. Between the two classes, the SCA, and teachers there were about fifty of us! Many hands make light work right? Absolutely. After just over an hour we were able to take a break and play in the park that we had made more beautiful. The SCA did a great job coordinating our service learning project! We were a great team and made a difference today by taking care of our earth.

Water Fair Time!

Remember the Water Fair is this Friday, the 19th. Parents are welcome to join us at 9:30. You will be judged on knowledge, creativity, and presentation. I am not giving any homework this week because I really want everyone to focus on their projects.

Good Luck!

What a Week!

We have had such a fun week, between the baseball game and our science lab today! The kids built a motor with a battery, connectors, and some other basic supplies. They tested their boats and adjusted the weight and design so that they could participate in a race. This was a multistep science, math, and engineering project. Students were having so much fun, I don't think they even realized how much they were learning! Brian and Demetri took first place, followed by Nik and Madison, and a tie for third was Hayley, Summer, Kayla and Julianna. 

Education Day at Fisher Cats Stadium

Fun times at the Fisher Cats Game!

Math VOCAB Raps

We had a blast using the apps AutoRap and Songify to review math vocabulary. Each group of three was assigned four or five words to include in the lyrics to their song. I was the the president of the record company and suggested many revisions in order for students to get their record deal... It was fun to hear how the apps remixed all the voices and lyrics. 

Here was Summer, Katie, & Logan's song about perimeter, area, and the formulas to find them.

Here's Nik, Paige, & Sam's fraction rap. They had numerator, denominator, equivalent, improper, and mixed fractions.


The other raps unfortunately, are stuck in cyber space. I used Songify and am having trouble getting an html link to them. Hopefully, soon! 

Coming Soon...

We are starting to get excited about our Earth Day Arcade, coming up April 30th! Please check out the website earthdayarcade.blogspot.com to see our inspiration and get the criteria for the project!

Also, next week we are going to the Fisher Cat's opening game on Wednesday. It was originally said that students may not bring money. However, I think that it's not unreasonable for students to make ONE trip to the concession stand if they wish to! But we have to limit it to one trip in order for everyone to have a chance to enjoy the game. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Research!

Here are some of the best websites to get your research started. Remember you need a one page report, poster or presentation board, and your project.  Good Luck! I cannot wait to see all your hard work and creativity!

EPA Website: http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/waterkids/kids.cfm

USGS Wesite: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/

PBS Website (lots of experiments) http://pbskids.org/zoom/

Science Resources for kids http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/

Water Science http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/water.html

Science fair project ideas http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/projects/water.html

US Government educational site for kids http://kids.usa.gov/

http://www.kidzone.ws/water/

Science News for kids http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/

Happy Snow Day!

Hopefully this is the LAST one though! A couple of our reading groups have been reading about inventors and inventions. It is a fun and informational book and has inspired us to get making! 

Julianna and Samantha are making a sweatshirt that lights up based on how the wearer is feeling.

Olivia and Paige have been working on edible accessories. 

I can't wait to see what some of the boys come up with! We are going to be working with circuits, batteries, light bulbs, and more! In the mean time while you are home on this snowy day, check out the video below to help you understand how a circuit works!

Disney Bill Nye the Science Guy - Circuits

Fun and Busy Agenda for Next Week!

Come to the book fair!  

March 18 - 21 

Ice Cream Social  Tuesday,  March 19th 5:30 - 7:00 

Grandparent's Breakfast Friday, March 22nd at 9:00 AM

Monday 3/18     - Blue Day

Tuesday 3/19    - Crazy Socks Day

Wednesday 3/20  - Wear Stripes Day

Thursday 3/21   - Drop Everything and Read                                
                  9:00 - 9:30 

Friday 3/22     - Dress as a Character & 
                  bring a Book to Share

Also next week Manchester Waterworks is coming and we will get more information on the Water Fair scheduled for April! We will have two SCA (Americorp)science lessons on Wednesday and Thursday as well! 

O'Zevos Concert

Don't forget to wear green tomorrow for the concert! We're celebrating early this year. I think Mrs. Otero has some fun things planned for you!

UPDATE!

The O'Zevos band entertained us for almost an hour. After that we watched the Irish Jig dance contest. Julianna rocked it! 
What  fun morning! 

FIRST Robotics Team Phoenix

Students getting a close up look at the robot and asking about how it was engineered.

Our class headed to the gym this morning to meet up with First Robotics team Phoenix. Sienna Mayer and a few of her team members talked about their experience building their robot. They competed at the Verizon during February vacation against other FIRST teams.

Samantha, Summer, and Latrell, looking at the controls and computer
that runs the robot.

I am pleased that my students had an opportunity to talk to such excellent role models. Two of them were in fact Hallsville graduates! 

Write a Currently

Here's something fun to do on your Creative Writing Blog or in your Writer's Notebook.  Write about what you are liking and feeling right now. It's fun to write and then look back and read later. Follow the format below. It should say Listening, Loving, Thinking, Wanting, Needing, Love, Like, Hate (you can copy and paste this if you want). Here is my Currently, can't wait to see yours! 

The Most Interesting Part of My Vacation...

The Utimate Ascent First Robotics Competition at the Verizon. I wish I thought ahead of time about taking our class with me! So my goal will be to bring part of the competition to you! Let me start at the beginning though. I was catching up with an old friend who some of you may know, as Mrs. Mayer. She is a the parent of a three Hallsville graduates. She also is a former colleague and worked teaching special education students here at Hallsville. Mrs. Mayer's daughter Sienna and son Jansen, worked with their team to build and program the robot which they used to compete with. Below is an animation of how the competition works.

Sienna and her team won most creative design at the competition. They are coming...WITH their robot to visit us soon. The First Robotic League was found by Manchester's own Dean Kamen. I can't wait to hear more from Sienna and her team! Below are some pictures from her experience.

The Other Blog

Hello everybody, hope you are having a super-duper vacation! I noticed a lot of you have been posting on KidBlog... that's awesome! I'm glad you love to write and use computers as much as I do. I want to redirect some of our blog posts to a blog called, Our Other Blog. Everyone should be posting on Our Reading Blog, on Thursdays. If you want to write about your birthday party, a concert, a pet, or anything else, please post this on Our Other Blog. You may edit your profile yourself, the password is "sparkles" right now. Please remember to be kind to others! Learning to write for an audience is important, make sure you remember that anybody with the link to our class site may be reading what you write. Write creative stories, post pictures, tell about something new you learned, have fun!

WeDo Science, Tech, Engineering, Mathematics

Do They Look 100?

These were our best hundred's day outfits! Granny Sam is to the left, Grampa Latrell middle, and Meme' Hayley is on the right! Let me tell you these three have school spirit. If you don't believe me, you should check out Hayley's nails (blue and white and spell H-A-L-L-S-V-I-L-L-E)! Hundreds day was fun!

Also, congratulations to Brian who completed 100 Random Acts of Kindness! I am proud of all of the thoughtful acts and kindness that my students have done. This is a FABULOUS group! 

Lights, Camera, Action!

Here's our first iMovie on Natural Disasters! More movies coming your way! Stay tuned!

Valentine's Day Party

Here is a link to our classs list,  so that students can make Valentine's if they wish to for the party on Thursday! Any refreshments are welcome, but we will mainly focus on the fun games and activities!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Write a Valentine's Day Poem for someone special!

Valentine MadLIB (funny)

Now Write Another! (funny or seriously sweet)

LEGO Education

I am so excited to be starting the LEGO WeDo Education projects next week! I know the students are too! WeDo is a division of the LEGO company that is basically an introduction to robotics. Students will be able to build LEGO models featuring working motors and motion sensors. Then they will program their models using the WeDo software. These activities teach science, technology, engineering, mathematics, as well as language and literacy themes and skills. Students will work in pairs and collaborate with other groups in class to collect data for their trials. We will  build one model a week for the next twelve weeks. I am so thankful that our class has this opportunity! Check out the LEGO promotion video below to get an idea of how the program works!

100th Day- A Week Long Celebration!

Friday is the 100th day of school this year, assuming there are no cancelations this week. The 100th day is a big deal in elementary school in case you didn't know. We are celebrating it all week!

First tomorrow, we will start out with a giant brainstorm. I want our class to preform 100 random acts of kindness... EACH. Including me! I've never tried this project before, however, the results can only be positive! All week we will be working on a piece of writing, entitled 100 Things to Be Happy About. 

We will be making all kinds of lists, 100 Places We Would Like to Visit, 100 Ways to Make 100, 100 New Vocabulary Words, maybe a 100 lists! 

Finally, on Friday we will be having a 100th day Dress Up Day. Student can dress up AS IF they are 100 years old. Granny sweaters? Grampa shoes? Can't wait! And of course there's a writing prompt for that! Should be a fun week! 

Also this week, we will continue selling the gourmet lollipops at school. We are filling orders and will be delivering on Valentine's Day! 

The SCA (Student Conservation Association), is coming back to teach a lesson on Thursday. We are lucky to have them for the next ten weeks! 

Also, we are going to the water safety program at the YMCA. More info. on that tomorrow! 

The Stange Bear Robbery

Well Madison, Brian and Nikolas are finally done their StopMotion movie! They wanted to share it with everyone so below you will see The Strange Bear Robbery. They finished the fifteen geography challenges, and then collaborated with the iPad to create their movie. Great work! More fun projects coming up after the 30th challenge!

What's Where?

Coming up over the next few weeks, we will be studying the locations of the states, capitals, and some of the nicknames. Have fun learning and play the games below!

http://www.coolmath-games.com/0-geography-state-the-state/index.html

http://www.primarygames.com/states/2d.htm

http://www.scholastic.com/play/prestates.htm

http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/unitedstates.html

http://www.yourchildlearns.com/mappuzzle/us-puzzle.html

P.S. You'll need to study for more than a nanosecond!