During WIN time today (What I Need) we started a new unit about opinion writing! The kids learned about an old library that shut down because of lead paint...they read about the process of what the community did to try and get it to reopen. Our kids will be writing about something they think would be good to have in our community...we told them about how the movie theater, skatepark, and walking path were brought to the community by the voice of the people in our community! Today they wrote letters to you and want YOUR feedback on what YOU think would be something great for kids in the community! Have them jot some ideas down so we can discuss it tomorrow! They worked hard on these and did a GREAT job :)
Before I dig into our thankfulness I just want to share that the kids have gotten their 12 owls!! What does this mean you may ask?? That means they received 12 compliments while walking down the halls from other staff...in trade for those owls they get a "party" so they voted that tomorrow they will get to wear their PJ's and watch a movie in the afternoon...It works well that their party fell on this day because I for sure have 4 kids gone tomorrow! Just make sure your child still bring good clothes for outside recess and PE shoes! :)
We are getting close to our Thanksgiving break (tomorrow)...and with that we have been talking a lot about what we are thankful for! On Monday we cooked "turkey legs" AKA rice krispy treats! This was so fun...but the best part was giving them away to staff members! The kids delivered and gave each high school staff member a thank you (thanksgiving card) The kids loved making these and sending thanks to our staff!
I love how realistic these look! The best part was when I sent two kids into each room in high school they had to ask, "Do you want a turkey leg?" I mean how could this not make your day a little better? 🦃
The cereal mixture was SOOO sticky that I couldn't even get it off my hands and onto the pretzel...we did some MAJOR brainstorming as a class as to how we could solve this problem! I had them all dunk their hands in veggie oil and then form the rice krispy into balls moving their hands "wicked fast" as I would say! :) Problem solved....
This makes me smile.... :)
I mentioned in a previous post that we have been studying different Native American Tribes. We watched a video of a woman making a patterned rug by weaving and using a brush tool to push down the material to keep it tight. After watching that I taught them how to weave on their own. . . I was surprised with how well they did! The only thing I helped with was cutting the scraps to weave before hand...I kept reminding them to tap it to keep their weaves tight just like the woman did with her brush tool.
I laminated them for the students so they could use them over and over again! They were proud and excited to get them back!
While we are talking about thanks I would just like to thank a few parents for buying me these awesome books at the book fair last week!! I love a new book! 💗💗💗
I love how they said, "Miss Ellis it would sound really good if we said, HEY at the end!"Here is a little poem we did during poetry!
Have a great Thanksgiving break and enjoy your time with your friends and family! I know I cherish mine!
So for the past two weeks we have been doing Project Lead The Way (PLTW). The kids have been learning about matter, insulator, conductors, and so many more things! I love to see their brains working during this interactive time! Our big experiment was about how to keep an ice pop frozen for about an hour, using supplies from around the room or what may be in a house! They had a day to plan, then build, and today experiment!
Below are some pictures of the insulator/coolers the students built.
Next they got to put their ice pop in their insulator and we set the timer for an hour. Once our timer went off they got to spin my spinner for who got to present first! They shared their ideas and what they used to insulate...as you can see from above they all had different approaches! One of our classmates had to leave from school early, so we promised we would video tape when his group got to present.....here ya go buddy!!
They were SOOO excited for this experiment and to share with their classmates....also it was a big deal because they didn't get to check on the ice pops during this hour, so they can NO clue how melted they were. : )
A couple of the results from how much of their ice pops melted! Obviously we wanted the LEAST amount of water.
Next up was our "scavenger hunt". We started a Native American Unit this week...before we dig into this unit I want them to be exposed to the new vocabulary they will be seeing. So, they worked in their groups to find my posters with definitions an pictures on them and wrote them in their flip-flap book, which was glued into their notebook. I love getting them up and moving out of their seat!
Such a busy day in our classroom! I first just wanted to share a picture of the homework calendar on the back of our reading log I sent home today... this will be replacing our two math homework sheets that the kids use to get daily. Now the kids will have to complete four choices a week, their reading log, and their spelling choice notebook! I sent home a letter with more details!
During our reading groups today the kids had such great discussions with each other while finding text evidence. I love just sitting back and listening to them discuss and use new vocabulary we have bene learning in our groups!
We are still working on adjectives, and today I wanted the kids to make their own anchor chart! I told them it was a "poster" so it needed nice handwriting and coloring...We will keep these in our mustard folder for reference for the next couple of weeks!
Lastly, I took down our moon phases interactive bulletin board we made together and switched it up for our Native American Unit we will be starting tomorrow! These are our new vocabulary words for the unit. I love how when the kids came back from swimming today they were sooooo curious! I love watching those big brains burst with curiosity!!
Alright so I sent home Turkey In Disguise project two weeks ago....I already have about 7 turned in which is great! Don't forget that this is an interactive project! Help your child get creative with their turkey!! I have a couple pictures of different ideas I have seen online :)
Don't Forget tomorrow we will be having our first night of Fall Conferences! I have attached below a picture of the times and the time you are scheduled! I look forward to seeing all of you!!
