AppTastic!

I recently found these new apps we are using in class.  The first app (Team Shake) allows me to form groups (from 2-20+) in an instant.  I can easily form groups on field trips or partner kids up in seconds.  There are times when I need to carefully select groups, and I still love using my deck of cards (card deck with one kid’s name on it that I can shuffle, deal, and leave for subs), but this offers an easy and fast way to group my dear chiddlers.  The other app is Decide Now – which looks like to wheel on Wheel of Fortune.  It’s a FAB way to pick on kids and can be used by their classmates as well.  It even makes the cool clicking sound when the wheel is turning.  Good stuff. 

The Marshmallow Challenge

Ingredients:

20 pieces of spaghetti

1 yard of masking tape

1 yard of string

1 marshmallow

4 team members

Object:

Create the TALLEST freestanding structure out of these materials with the marshmallow on TOP.  This is a TEAM project.  Every person of the team needs to be a part of the solution.  You need to listen to everyone’s thoughts and give everyone a chance to participate. 

Before getting supplies, teams met and discussed a game plan.  They chatted, sketched, erased, debated, and wrote about their plans.  They did a great job listening to one another, recording their thoughts and getting their ideas down on paper. 

Next up…supplies.  Each team received their supplies and were set loose.  They had to create the sculpture on a table or the floor and had 30 minutes of building time.  Working as a team was an essential part of this activity.  The groups that had a hard time working with one another didn’t fare as well.  Groups who listened to every member and allowed everyone to contribute ideas did well. 

Wow.  It was such an amazing process to watch.  They learned so much!  The highest structure was 25 inches tall.  Followed by 17 inches, 16.5 inches, and 6 inches.  Two teams had towers that wouldn’t stay up.  When we shared our structures with our first-grade reading buddies, I asked them a very simple question…”Are marshmallows heavy?”  Not one first grader thought a marshmallow was heavy.  When I asked my fourth graders the same question, every single fourth grader said “YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!”  As it turns out, a marshmallow is super heavy when it’s the top of a structure built with spaghetti.  Although the 25-inch structure was the tallest, it didn’t last very long.  Soon, it was leaning nearly all the way to the desk surface.  In the end, this made for a better discussion.  If tallest was the goal, it was met, albeit, for a short time with the 25-inch structure.  If, on the other hand, you needed to LIVE in one, you would choose the 16.5 inch or 17 inch structures. 

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

It doesn’t matter how many times I read this book, I cry when reading two parts.  This year was no exception. 

Edward Tulane begins the story as a selfish and quite vain rabbit and he cares for no one but himself.  As the book progresses, Edward’s personality changes and his journey makes for a great story.   This story offers a wide variety of things to discuss and focus on while reading and I truly enjoy the discussions we have as we read.  They BEG me to continue reading and moan and groan when I must stop reading.

In our Dear Mrs. McGee letters last week, they were asked to write about how Abilene feels when she loses her precious Edward. 

The story leaves Abilene on the deck of the Queen Mary, shouting to Edward, “Come back,” as he tumbles into the ocean.  Write what you think happens to Abilene that day.

We are able to delve into how characters can change over the course of a story, ways the author uses vocabulary to enhance what she’s writing, and how the THEME of the story evolves throughout each chapter. 

When we read a book out loud, we spend a lot of time discussing the book as we read.  I put our thoughts on chart paper and as we read, we keep adding to our thoughts.   They enjoy discussing the book as much as they like listening to it.  I am always impressed with what they contribute and how much they are truly thinking about the complexity of the story. 

Multi-Digit Addition and Subtraction

We have spent the last few days working on our strategies to solve both addition and subtraction multi-digit problems.  There are a variety of ways to solve math problems and we are going to learn what works best for each one of us.  They need to practice the algorithm that works best for them.  This can be confusing and I want kids to find the best strategy and practice it until it comes naturally to them.  Math is just like soccer, the violin, or the piano…in order to get better at something, we must PRACTICE.  J

Don’t forget, you can access eSuite from home too.  It’s a great place to practice by playing games, or to look up something in the Student Reference Book.  Kids put their usernames and passwords in their planners.  If you don’t have this information, let me know and I will send it to you.