Native American History in Iowa

Today, our focus on Iowa History was on Native American tribes that were present in Iowa over the past few centuries.  The kids had an opportunity to learn about a specific tribe and record some of the most important details.  After learning about particular tribes, each group shared their information with the class.  Tomorrow, we will explore some of the migratory paths Native American tribes were forced to take.

Our Iowa History Unit Began Today!

Starting today, we began our exploration of the history of Iowa. We began by focusing on the land and its formation thanks to the glaciers that moved across the land thousands of years ago. During the coming week, we will explore the major rivers, Native American tribes, and the evolution of farming throughout Iowa. Check back for pictures of these activities during the next few school days.

Official Math SLE #4 Results!

Big deal alert!!! Big deal alert!!! At the beginning of this school year, I mentioned that our main math goal as a school was to have every student score at least 70% on the final SLE test. I also mentioned that MY goal was to have at least every student score at least 80%. After finishing grading those who finished today, I am proud to say that not only has everyone scored above 80%, but the class average is 94%! Those results are unreal! The bar graphs below explain it all...what an impressive feat!!!!

Busy, Busy Prepositions

During this week's grammar lessons, we have been learning about prepositions, their purposes, and correctly using them.  Throughout the week, we will be having "Preposition-Offs", listening for correct prepostions, and finding prepositional phrases.  Without prepositions, the sentences we read, write, and speak would be very...very...very...very boring.

The video posted below (click on the picture) is an oldie (but a goodie).  Schoolhouse Rock's songs always helps engage the kids!

Picture from http://www.trakt.tv/

Turn Up the "Volume"!

With the end of the school year in sight (although when kids ask how many days are left, I respond "Not enough"), we are starting to focus on our last student learning expectation (SLE): volume! To kick off this SLE study, I created a video on the usefulness of volume when laying mulch. You can find that on our class web page. Today we also set up our "Guess How Many..." to see if we could use a formula for volume to put forth a great guess. By the end of the year, your child should be able to look at a 3-D shape (with cubes drawn) and tell how many cubes are shown. I have some more fun activities left to help us with the SLE. Tomorrow's homework will show some problems expected to be mastered on the SLE test. Thanks for your support at home as well!

How many cubes do you think are in each jar?

February Updates

A couple notes about within the classroom:

1.    23/26 kids are at the end-of-the-year school goal of 70% or better on our Math SLE quiz.  This goal must be reached by the end of the year (the three that didn’t meet it were less that 5% away!), and I am expecting us to meet a goal of 80% or higher!

2.    Our last 50-facts quiz produced wonderful results.  The class averaged 91% correct, which is up from 85% last time.  So far there has been no plateau, and I hope that continues until we reach 100%!  Continue playing those great math games!

3.    I’ve been conducting fluency checks this week and last.  Our class average is around 139 correct words per minute.  The goal is to have all students above 123 by the end of the year (equivalent to a ‘3’ on the report card).

4.    Khan Academy is a huge success!  I have 16 students who have added me as a coach, and we have earned close to 2 million points (that means students have answered an average of 426 math problems on their free time!).  If you need more information, are curious on how to set it up, or just need more help, let me know as soon as possible!

Thanks again for all the support at home – this has been a truly enjoyable class to teach.

New England Breakfast

As part of our culminating project for the Northeastern region of the United States, the kids indulged in a New England breakfast. This breakfast featured some of the goods shipped from the New England region. These products include blueberries, maple syrup, cranberries, and apple juice/cider. While we enjoyed consuming some of these foods, the kids also completed an activity as a group. This activity required the kids to match the edible goods (as well as other goods such as granite, marble, and ball bearings) to the state that most commonly makes/grows/produces these products.. Additionally, a special thanks goes out to all the families that were able to provide either their time or particular foods for this. It wouldn't have happened without you! *Pictures coming soon!*