Brainpopjr

The students are enjoying watching various videos on www.brainpopjr.com.  These are fun and educational videos.  Your child may use this website at home.  The username is ewaara.  The password is waara11.  My own children have learned many cool things by watching these videos.

Science

Today the students wore their science googles for the first time.  They will be using these googles throughout the first quarter.  This quarter we are working with chemicals.  During our lesson today the students practiced taking notes based on the observations they made on an unknown substance.  They observed this substance before water was added to it and also after water was added to it.  They were able to take their unknown substance/water mixture out of their ziplock bags at the end of the experiment.  They learned quickly how messy this mixture can be.  It created a fun learning experience for all of us.

Xtramath

Every morning the students begin the day by completing xtramath on their chromebooks.  This is a program that helps them with their math facts.  This is something that they would be able to do at home on the weekends too.  It takes about 10 minutes for them to complete.

Recess Fun

These four boys created a song at recess that they wanted to share.  They're pretty proud of their song!

Math Teacher

During math time, the students are given opportunities to become the teacher.  During these times they go in front of the class or small group and explain how they answered a particular problem.   Sometimes they are acting like a teacher while working with one partner.  We've discussed how asking each other questions can lead to a better understanding for us all.  Also, if a student is able to clearly explain how they solved a math problem  that shows that he/she has a deeper understanding of that particular math concept.  Brayden was our first whole group math teacher today.  He did a fantastic job.

Math Warm-up

Most days the students start math by completing a warm-up.  During this time they are given the choice of working with a partner or on their own.  While completing this warm-up they try to finish as many problems in 15 minutes as possible.  Afterwards, we meet as a class and go over problems that gave some of us trouble.  These warm-ups are reviews of what we have previously learned.

Library

Today was our first time going to the library this school year.  We will have library every Tuesday afternoon for the rest of the school year.  As a class, we discussed choosing just right books.  Each student will be using his or her library books as homework books throughout the school year.  If you feel your child isn't bring home books that are at the correct level for him or her, please let me know.