Dots Around the World Project- A Celebration of the book, The Dot

Week two, and the returning students are getting back in the routine.  Week two, and the new students are looking less anxious and fearful.  I am pleased to see that!

In the morning, the boys and girls completed writing the final draft of their paragraph on something about which they love to learn.  They did a nice job on it. 


Today, my surprise was revealed to the students.  We have a new podcasting booth in our room.

 
 

The students also made an audio podcast of their "iLearn" paragraph, but that project will have to come in a later post when I have more time to upload them...

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.  Check out their creativity below!

 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."

In the afternoon, I gave a more detailed tour of our blog with the help of our Smart Board.  We discussed our Blogging Guidelines and the importance of staying safe in our Internet interactions.  
I focused mainly on:

• Always having parent permission when exploring the Internet at home
• Never sharing personal information about yourself or others when on a blog or website
• Always sign blog posts or comments with only a first name
• Rules, responsibility and expectations come with the privilege of participating in our class blog
• This is an academic blog rather than a purely social blog and our interactions, posts and comments should reflect our learning.  (The learning being shared does not have to be exclusively "school learning."  It can be something learned in an activity with friends or family, a trip or even a new skill learned outside of school.)

We also reviewed how to post a quality comment:

Mrs. Yollis' video,  How to Compose a Quality Comment

Have a wonderful week!

Today Was a Fast, Fun, First Day!

The boys and girls from Rotation B were really ready to begin our first SAGE day.  I was so impressed with how quiet and focused they were when they arrived!  It was nice to see my returning students and to have a chance to get to know our new classmates.  I always wonder what our class will be like with the addition of new students and a new mix of personalities?   They seem like a pretty hard working group (with a "not-so-hidden" silly, fun-loving side.)  We are definitely off to a great start!

The students began their morning by writing a paragraph about something in which they love to study.  Next week, we will try to finish these to share and display our interests and passions.

During our lab time, 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.

After recess, the students had a chance to get better acquainted with a classmate they did not know. To do this, they took turns interviewing their partner and recording a few facts about him/her.

Each student then had the opportunity to introduce their friend to our class and share a few details about that person.  They did a wonderful job on their introductions!

I took notes and discovered some pretty interesting facts about the boys and girls as they were introduced.  I thought about posting some of the facts here.  Rather than having me share them, I think I would like to encourage the students to post a comment here about their partner.

With your mom or dad's help, please add a comment to our blog post and share one or two facts you learned about your new friend.  (Parents, this can be done without creating a Google account.)  Remember, we only use first names, so mention your friend by his or her first name and sign your comment with just your first name.

If you have trouble figuring out how to leave a comment, don't worry, you can do it in our class next week and we can help you.

 

In the afternoon, the students were introduced to TOPS Math and learned how we structure this individualized, problem solving program.  TOPS can be pretty tricky!  It stumped a few students, but I can see we have some strong math students in this class!

 

I hope you enjoyed your first week of SAGE.  Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you next B day.

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!

Our day, ebbed & flowed, but not in that relaxing, peaceful creek sort of way...  it was bit more like Walmart on Black Friday...  Okay, maybe not that bad, but it was definitely busy and hectic!

Four students painted the background for their animal research project diorama. 

Other students worked on building out the features on their animal mask.  Most had time to finish the final layer of papier-mâché.

Several will be ready to begin painting their mask in the next week or two. 

Between doing these tasks, the students filled in a table with information about their own research animal and that of eight other classmates' animals.  The information for the table included the animal's length, weight, life span etc.   Next week, we will use calculators to find common units of measurement.  The students will then learn to create a bar graph online, to compare a measurable aspect of the animals. 

 The students also had time to work at their Exploratory center tasks.  Ask your child about their current task.

 

The students ended their day with Senora Gates' Spanish lesson.  Today, they had an opportunity to use some of their vocabulary words to create complex sentences.  They also practiced their numbers 1-30 in a timed "speed" game. 

Have a great week! 

Take a Look Around Our Classroom

I showed the students an App I put on my iPhone, 360Panorama.  We discussed what 360 (as well as 180 & 90) degrees means in geometry.  We spent a about five minutes this morning and used the app to make this panorama picture of our classroom.  No surprise; we need to get a little better at holding very still.  LOL

Wrapping Up Third Quarter

Unfortunately, I have acquired the plague.  (I am sure it is snowing pollen this week.)  I left after lunch and your children were in the very capable hands of Mrs. Giacomo.

At the start of our day, I showed the students the steps of taking their two dimensional animal pictures and turning them into a three dimensional mask.  Just a few students had time to build out their mask.  They will be ready to finish up their papier-mâché at the start of our next class.  The rest of the class will work on these same steps when we return from Spring Break on March 20th.

 In the morning, the students worked on a Creative Problem Solving Squiggle.  These exercises focus on and strengthen the students flexibility, originality and elaboration skills.  They did a great job.  Ask your child to share their squiggle with you.

Over the past two weeks, I have introduced the students to another digital storytelling site, Kerpoof.  This week, the students were given an account under my teacher account.  They know their user login and their password.  The B Day students need to also remember their Class Account Code: E435.

After lunch and recess, the students worked on their logical thinking skills in the Logic Links program.  Next, they worked in their Exploratory centers.  Ask your child about the task they are completing.

Mrs. Giacomo had an affective discussion on classroom expectations, learning to challenge and push yourself, "fairness" in a differentiated lesson, when and how to correct a teacher. Spring is upon us and the combination of:

• the weather changing
• passing into new developmental stages
• gained self-confidence
• and a relaxed level of comfort with teachers and the classroom setting

doesn't always bring out the best in a 2nd grader.  Although this problem is not exclusive to gifted students, I do feel the asychronous nature of their development often sets them on a path of conflict with peers as well as adults. It is important for them understand appropriate social interaction with peers and adults so they are better able to successfully navigate their path.

"Giftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally." The Columbus Group, 1991, cited by Martha Morelock, "Giftedness: The View from Within", in Understanding Our Gifted, January 1992   (A great article by the way...)

This time of year I hear more teacher complaints of students being verbally critical of other students and even their teacher/s, becoming lazier about doing quality work, and walking a fine line with regards to respect as they challenge a teacher and/or parents' requests. These life skills are difficult for many adults but I think it is important to have discussions so they can begin to understand and hopefully make the wise choices.  And so the conversations continue....



The students ended their day with Senora Gates.  Today they played Bingo with Spanish numbers and colors.