Room 1: May 2013

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

From my point of view, this has been a terrific year. But I'm just one person.

Erin? Roxy? You agree, right?

Of course they do. Teachers always say it's been a terrific year (especially on the first day of summer).

But what do the KIDS say????

Here's what Aidan, Oliver, Bo, Annabella, Paul, Tani and Jakob think about the 2012-2013 school year:

Four things my teacher said a lot this year:

"Let's have a redo."
"That's expected."
That's unexpected."
"Hi."
"Good job."
"PDI Agent."
"Happy Birthday."
"Good morning."
"I want to see you eating lunch."
"Hit the road."
"Awesome-ness."
"Wear glasses."
"Take an engine break."
"I like pugs."
"Reflection time.

My favorite place at school:

"The upstairs engine room"
"Playground"
"Library"
"Sarah C.'s room."
"Amanda and Erin's room."
"Shelley and Sarah A.'s room."
"Julie Siler's room."

If I could swap places with my teacher for the day and become the teacher, I would:

"Teach about u-boats and battleships and destroyers."
"Do art and science early."
"Teach math."
"Listen to rock and roll for an hour and a half, play the video game Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis for two hours. 1 minute of an engine break. Free time for an hour. An hour of Minecraft. A movie: Ironman 3."
"Do science and read Bad Kitty."
"Have everyone go on pullouts with Sarah C."
"Do a field trip to Sandy Springs Fun House."

My favorite part of the school day is:

"Bacon Chase"
"Having Choice"
"Choice"
"Having pullouts"
"Pullouts with Sarah A."

Things I really liked to eat at lunch:

"Cheese sandwiches"
"Goldfish and Cheese-Its"
"Fired rice and macaroni"
"Pizza and potatoes"
"Something my Mom makes"

Things I did not like to eat for lunch:

"Nothing"
"Apples and clementines"
"Clementines"
"Broccoli and chicken"
"Sunflower"

My Favorite song from music class:

"West Virginia" (Country Roads, Take me Home")
"Good Morning Song"
"She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain"
"This Land is Your Land"

If my teacher gave me 20 minutes to do whatever I wanted at the start of class, I would:

"Play Legos"
"Read"
"Play with the beads"
"Run 10 laps"
"Play Minecraft on the ipad"
"Play Plants v Zombies"

During summer I will miss these things the most from school:

"Pullouts"
"Pullouts and choice"
"Friends"
"Choice and engine breaks"
"Reading and science"
"Erin and Sarah C."
"You and other teachers and friends"

What was your favorite Norse myth or Fairy tale?:

"The Three Little Pigs"
"The Three Little Pigs"
"The Three Billy Goats Gruff"
"The Three Little Pigs because it is a creative story and cool and not boring."
"The Death of Balder"

What was your favorite read aloud?

"Bad Kitty"
"Bad Kitty, because it is funny"
"Bad Kitty for President because its interesting to find out who the president will be"

What was your favorite science activity?

"Planting"
"The plane video was my favorite because it lasted two science days."
"Plants"
"Making quicksand"
"Bill Nye when he's crazy"
"The Bill Nye desert video"
"Making airplanes"

What was your favorite thing to play at recess or PE?

"Dodgeball because you throw balls."
"I like swinging at recess because it is fun."
"Dodgeball, because it is fun."
"Ultimate TV because its a video game."
"Bacon Chase"

If you could give one word to sum up the year, what would it be?

"Awesome-ness"
"Awesome"
"Fun"
"Cool"
"Great"

To our families moving to different schools next year, you will be missed. To those families returning, we'll see you in August.

To all of you...

Have a great summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Sign o' the Times (Tables)

How did you learn to multiply? Here's how I did:

and this:

Honestly, I'm not hating on flash cards and drills. They certainly serve their purpose. Children do need to have some automatic recall of facts, especially when you get to higher level math; having to do all of that calculating in your head slows you down. Here's my problem, though. Too much memorization, not enough understanding.

Memorization=easy. I've got a bazillion fun and silly memorization strategies, songs, computer games, i-pad apps I can hook you up with if that's your bag. But, you know, easy ain't how we do things around here. We like to make 'em THINK. Long before we set the timer and rock out the 1 minute math facts, we need to know what the heck multiplication even means. Why do we need it? When do we need it? How can we use it in real life?

Last week, the kids received this message:

Dear Hirsch Students,

We are writing you this letter because we need your help!

We, the candy bar makers at The Crazy Chocolate Corporation are having trouble designing the latest and greatest candy boxes. We have heard that you are an extremely creative group of kids (and the best candy testers), so we would like you to help us design our newest candy boxes. We would like your help on packaging, design, name and flavor of the new chocolate boxes.

We have several size boxes we would like to make. Every box must be a square or a rectangle!

1. A box that will hold 4 candies.

2. A box that will hold 6 candies.

3. A box that will hold 8 candies.

4. A box that will hold 9 candies.

5. A box that will hold 10 candies.

6. A box that will hold 12 candies.

7. A box that will hold 16 candies.

Include all your possible candy arrays, and then tell us which array you choose for the new candy boxes. Don't forget to tell us why you think its best. Lastly, think of a name for each box that will wow the customers and think of some new and creative ingredients to attract kids to this new bar.

Thank you so much for your help!

Sincerely,

The Crazy Chocolate Corporation

Here we are in the Hirsch Package Product Development Lab:

Here's one way to make 4: 2x2

Here's another way: 4x1

Hmm, I know there is another way to fit 6 candies...

Sharing our discoveries

Candy Box chart for multiples of 4, 6, 8, 9, 10


Then Paul discovers this:

Well, we agree, it is six pieces of candy. But what was that other rule? It must be a rectangle or a square. Hmm...what exactly is a rectangle or a square? Luckily, Paul (behind the camera) and Aidan had already discovered this at the beginning of the lesson. Here is Professor Reilly to explain:

http://youtu.be/wsXUDhTpvl4

So, while we love the design, would the Crazy Chocolate Corporation accept this? Well, it never hurts to ask.

We extended this activity into higher numbers for one student, who already has a background in basic multiplication. Figuring the facts in his head, no problem. Showing us how his calculator brain works, that's where the thinking piece comes in.

18=3x6 and...

18=2x9 and...

18=1x18

Fun activity, no? But the real life application came during science:

Emotions were running high this week. Several of our upstairs children moving on to different schools, and they are starting to feel some pretty big feelings about about leaving our safe, loving nest for other exciting opportunities. We combined all of these sometimes scared, sometimes sad, sometimes excited feelings with a powerfully moving and tragic Norse myth, and got some amazing and passionate discussion in our afternoon literature group. And this is exactly why I so love teaching these stories.

Here's the story we read about Loki and his responsibility for the death of the beloved god, Balder:

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0118142/norsepan/balderde.php

The kids were horrified that mischievous Loki had done something so horrible. "I HATE him!" one child shouted, "He use to be my favorite character, but now I HATE him!" They agreed that he should be punished, and were excited to find out that the next story is, indeed, titled "Loki's Punishment". Before reading, though, we decided to take justice into our own hands. How would you punish Loki? I asked. Here are some of the answers I received:

Marrying the ugliest frost giant
8,000 butt whoopings
Turn him into a pepperoni pizza and eat him
feed him to the Midgard Serpent
Turn him into a rat
Battle him with my hands

We shall find out next week, as we wrap up an amazing few months of Norse mythology. This has truly been one of the most energetic, thoughtful, and creative literature groups I've had the pleasure of teaching for quite some time.

I'm hoping my Vikings continue to explore these stories over the summer. And look what just came out!!
http://www.amazon.com/Lokis-Wolves-Blackwell-Pages-ebook/dp/B008TUR7TA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1T4KNP6AZUMK5&coliid=I3UR0P8P0U5HZE

Next week we will be wrapping up this amazing year. We've all come so far and formed such bonds. We want to celebrate each child. The students began making friendship bracelets for each other yesterday and we will exchange them next week. I've asked each child to think about one special thought, wish or compliment they have for each one of their friends. We will share these as we pass out the bracelets. For our children leaving us *sniff* we will have a little something extra to wish them well. Next Friday, we will join Heidi and Gudny's class for a movie, pajama, and popcorn party.
And then, wonderful parents, they are all yours until August!

Monday, May 6, 2013

What Did We Do Today?

Wonder why your kids come home so tired every afternoon? We work them to the bone, that's why. Contrary to popular belief, Hirsch is not all fun and games. Ok, there is a lot of fun...and plenty of games. But we're working hard and our days are packed with learning activities. Take a look at a typical Monday:

9:00

After watching "Kung Fu Panda" for Tani's birthday the previous Friday, one student requested a Kung Fu Panda word search for morning work. Ask and ye shall receive:

This word search, the kids were told, also contains a hidden message...but you have to find all of the words to decode it. We're happy to give you clues, but first lets talk about directions:

If I tell you to look to the south of your puzzle, is that top or bottom? If a word goes from east to west what will it look like? Start from that k and go northeast.

Highly motivating subject+fun directional clues=fun, interactive, regulating morning work. I usually begin the morning with an activity like this at the table. The students know what to expect and it brings us all together in one place to start the day. Those who finish the activity may choose from a menu of independent "What Should I Do?" activities. Here's what Bo chose:

Here's what Jakob chose:

9:45:

After a snack break,

we continued with some academics...

10:00:

Several students are pulled out for OT and speech, allowing us to work in a smaller group. We are learning a multiplication game called "Circles and Stars". Roll the die once and draw circles to represent the number. Roll the die again and draw stars in each circle to represent the second number. Write a multiplication sentence to show the total number of stars.
For example:
Roll 1=6 circles
Roll 2=3 stars in each circle
6x3=18 stars

We played a few rounds together and then made our own "Circles and Stars" books.

As the students worked, several of them had some great light bulb moments, which I recorded on a chart:

What did they discover?

If you multiply a number by 0, it will always be 0.
If you multiply a number by 1, it will always stay the same number.(aka: Multiplicative Identity Property)
If you switch the order of the 2 numbers being multiplied, the product will always be the same. 6x3=18, 3x6=18. We named this the "Switcharoo Trick", but also learned it is called the Commutative Property of multiplication.

10:45:

Some reread our most recent troll, giant and Thor-filled story from Norse Myths:

others engaged in an interactive reading lesson on the Promethean Board, imagining that they are skunks, learning why they stink, and who their enemies are.

and one reader researched bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa in a close up look at Microbes.

Yes, trolls, skunks and viruses. Show me an 8 of 9 year old kid who isn't into one of those topics. Inconceivable.

Several of the students then used their reading words in a reading/spelling/movement activity. Here's how:

First, read the word:

(Yes, seriously. That was Jakob's word from his story. It has something to do with Salmonella, but you'll have to ask Jakob to fill you in on the rest. His knowledge on this topic far exceeds mine...)

My Norse group used spelling words from the latest story, "Thor and the Jotun Outgardloki".

Next, find the magnetic letter tiles in word. They are hidden all over the room...

After the letters are found, the challenge is to make as many new words as possible from your letters. Sort them into categories (2, 3, 4 letter words; spelling patterns, etc). It's amazing how far their reading and spelling has come since starting this activity. The best part: I'm not teaching them to spell these words, they are discovering them on their own! Here are the word detectives at work:

11:15:

By now, tummies are starting to grumble and its time to break for lunch and recess.

12:00:

Immediately following recess, we have Group Reflections time. We use this 20 minutes to process and discuss any disagreements or concerns, reflect on our feelings and celebrate positive achievements. Sometimes we play a quick group game to highlight a discussion. We have been talking a lot about similarities and differences. If a friend doesn't like something that I like, does that mean they don't like me? For example, I want to play with a stuffed animal at choice time, but my friend wants to play with the Legos. Does that mean we aren't friends? I prefer dogs, but Erin prefers cats. Can we like different things but still get along?
Today's game was a version of "Whoonu?"

Each student picked a card to read aloud. We made a chart on the board to illustrate each students' preference for the item on the card and talked about our similarities and differences.

1:00

We broke off into groups for Fairy Tales and Norse Myths. While the fairy tale folks played "Bacon Chase" and read a new version of "The Three Little Pigs", my Vikings compared a 2 versions of the story "Thor and the Jotun Outgardloki" by making a Venn Diagram on the Promethean Board:

Version 1: