When Nightime Falls....

..... the creatures of the night come out and we go to sleep.  We've been learning about nocturnal animals in our classroom.  During reading, we've read Cynthia Rylant's Night in the Country as part of our author study and nature walk theme.  Our recent Scholastic News introduced us to three nocturnal animals that scientists recently discovered.  Plus, we've learned a lot about owls both through fiction and non-fiction texts.  So, it was time to meet with some experts in the field.

We had the privilege to visit the North Carolina Zoo last week to meet some of creatures that come out when we are asleep.  Through Skype, we learned from Mr. Steve Gerkin and Ms. Hannah, both educators at the zoo.  Mr. Mark MacAllister helped us set up this special experience and ran everything behind the scenes tech-wise.

We saw the skeleton of a bat on Mr. Gerkin's iPad and learned how the wings are the fingers.  Ms. Hannah showed us a live owl and we learned about how she was injured and now cared for by the zookeepers.  Mr. Gerkin put on soft-ball glasses to give us an illustration of how large owls eyes actually are compared to the size of their heads.  The students loved that part and giggled galore.  We heard an owl call that was rather humorous in its uniqueness as well.  Students also met a hedgehog.  She was so adorable and amazing!  They saw her eat some treats and opened up a special place in their hearts for this nocturnal creature.

Thank you for giving us some "night vision" during this wonderful Skype experience!  

Fall Problem Solving

We've been working hard to become proficient problem solvers.  Using various word problems that Mrs. Griffith created with our names and a fall theme, we used the Show Me app to share our thinking with you.  Each student tried to include an equation and either a tape diagram/bar model, number bond, or comparison model with label to support their thinking.  Check out our projects.

Open House 2013

GEObash 2013

Missing Addends

During math intervention, students worked with the iPads to create their own word problems.  They had to create a missing addend story problem, solve it with a strategy of their choice, and complete a ShowMe with the steps.  Check out their completed projects below.

The following day, students created word problems to exchange with a partner. Here are two samples.

Fast Math... Manipulatives Mixed with iPads

 Today we used a variety of manipulatives to solve triple-digit minus double-digit subtraction with various needs for regrouping.  Students used place value disks, traditional hundreds, tens, and ones, as well as dollars, dimes, and pennies.  First, they created the number they were going to subtract from with the manipulatives.  Next, they worked with their partner to simultaneously take photos and regroup/ungroup as necessary.  Last, they subtracted the second amount to find the difference.  Many students seem to like the re-write vertically to subtract or the traditional paper and pencil method.  But, hopefully the use of the manipulatives with aid in the increase of their understanding of why they are doing what they are doing at each step.  The visual picture and representation of the values creates better comprehension. The free app we used doesn't have a speed adjustment. We've requested the paid one for next time to slow down the video for our viewers. Thank you to Grandma Linda, Mr. Carls, and Miss Torrey for working with different groups of students.

Celebrating the 100th Day Community Style

On the 100th day we walked to the bank and post office.  Students created special valentines for their parents to mail.  They also counted and sorted 100 pennies to exchange for a new dollar at the bank.  I was impressed with the manners students used at the bank.  At the post office, the behind the scenes tour was quite memorable.

Reading Intervention

For our final project of the session, students read various Magic Tree House Book by Mary Pope Osborne.  As they read, they wrote a summary for each chapter.  They also recorded notes on the topic of their book.  For example, Afternoon on the Amazon is a fantasy book about a brother and sister who visit the Amazon.  On the adventure, they learn many facts about the Amazon.  After they completed their books, student groups worked together to teach the other book groups about their topic and about their book. The results were student-written plays, collage posters, and charts that presented the material creatively to their peers. 

Animal Homes Writing Project

First, we learned about different kinds of animal homes by reading non-fiction selections.  One of our main texts was our Weekly Reader.  After reading the text both together and independently, we watched some video clips on the topic too.  Next, students completed a graphic organizer like the sample below.  Each student needed to choose four of the animals and list three details about their home using bullets to keep themselves organized.  

After that, students used their graphic organizer to help them complete a rough draft.  We used elements of Step-up to Writing again in this stage.  The rough draft was done on a guided sheet, as seen in the partial photo of the sample below.  We reviewed topic sentences, details, and examples. When students completed their rough draft, they edited them with the teacher.  Students needs varied from reminders regarding capitals and periods, a topic sentence that solely focuses on the topic without giving supporting details, grammar, spelling, and overall format.  Some students needed to refer back to their text again to ensure accurate information. 

Last, students typed their work on the iPads.  Usually, we work in the computer lab on our KidBlogs when we can.  We don't go through all of the writing stages though.  But, we had the iPads for a couple of weeks.  It was amazing how having access to our blogs right in our room, instead of the lab proved to be so helpful with the organization aspect of this project.  Throughout the use of our KidBlogs this year, we've also covered digital writing topics such as correct spacing, how to copy and paste, how to make a capital and punctuations, how to check spelling, how to read over our work before we publish, as well as how to comment on another person's post.  Please click on the link to view this student's completed blog post title Animal Homes.  

http://kidblog.org/MrsGriffithsClass2012-2013/4ed478a8-ea9f-4af5-9bee-05e0ab9df00e/animal-homes-5/

Nice job students!  You've made a lot of progress!