Student-led Book Clubs

Students chose which book club they would like to be a part of.  Right now, Horrible Harry is the most popular club.  Because of Winn Dixie also received rave reviews from our class.

Before they meet, students must read at least half of the book.  They create a journal entry with: parts of the book that were interesting to them, questions they have, and how they would change the book if they were the author.  These journal entries are the basis for our book club discussions.  By using of hand signals, students keep the current topic going until it is exhausted.  At this point, they can signal they have a new topic to discuss.  After the teacher models these discussions with the class, the students take charge!  

Book clubs for kids are just like the adult versions.  They gather together to laugh, discuss their favorite books, and have a great time.  

Scratch: Computer Coding for Kids

In this project, students were challenged to redesign the arrow control keys and spacebar on a computer keyboard.  They had to come up with a specific group to market their product to.

We actually created prototypes out of playdough, and connected it to the computer using a Makey Makey interface.  The result: a real working computer keyboard made from Playdough!

Students were very thoughtful in this project.  Many groups targeted people with physical disabilities or special needs.  They designed large, well-placed keys with accessibility in mind.

The Scratch aspect is actually teaching students the building blocks of computer coding.  Developed by MIT, it allows kids to give direction to their own project.  Students created a project on Scratch that was then controlled by their Playdough keyboard prototypes.

Click here to go to the Scratch Website

Video chat from Africa!

Today we had the opportunity to video chat live with Angola, Africa. My father is pictured on the left, along with Derek the medic (from Portugal).

They gave us a tour of the medical lab, discussed malaria, and told us all about the animals of Africa.

The students were surprised to learn that hippos are considered one of the most deadly animals in Africa, due to the aggressive nature in which they protect their young.

Elephants are apparently big pests that have no regard for property, and they love to stomp in gardens!
Students were also amazed that when you go camping in Africa, you have to pitch your tent on top of the vehicle so the elephants won't step on you!

We learned about snakes, monkeys, monitor, crocodiles and more!

Mystery Number Google Hangouts

Our class has had the opportunity to connect with other classes from around the United States with video chat.  While we meetup online, we have a fun math challenge for the other class: guess our mystery number!

Today our largest number went up to the billions in place value!
We have played the game with two variations.  The first time we played Mrs. __ class from Forest City, Iowa.  We challenged her fourth grade class by answering yes or no questions to discover the mystery number.
We had great problem solvers ask questions like:

• Is your number greater than 50?
• Is your number a multiple of 10?
• Is your number even?

Today we challenged Mrs. Naugle's fourth grade class in Louisiana.  In this game, the students wrote down clues that the other class had to solve in order to find out the mystery number.

Clues included questions like:

• It is a seven digit number.
• The number in the tens place is 2.  The number in the thousands place is 3 times this number.
• The number in the ones place is an even number less than three.

Field Trip Photos

Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Sadler are ready for the field trip!

Bus Fun

Hanky Dolls

Class Photo

Writing with Quills

Basket weaving demonstration

Candle making

The girls!

Blacksmith

Our Corn Husk Dolls

Hoop Game

Storytelling with quilts

Woodblock printing

Clothes "warshin'"

Inside a one room schoolhouse