Blog Archives

OPTS: Paint Mixing

4/30/2016

In an attempt to address the eight Math Practices in the graphic at left, I will expose the class to One Problem to Solve (OPTS), one of which is displayed below. Students will discover and create their own problems, while being guided by the teacher.

Watch this video (below), and describe the situation

Write down the first mathematical question that comes to mind.

As a class, we will decide on a central question to explore.

Make three smart guesses to answer the central question:
a guess too low, a guess too high, and a guess in the middle.

Place your guesses on the number line.

WHILE WE'RE ON THE TOPIC

Learn more about
paint mixing:

Can You Make Paint
Out of Berries?

What information has been provided?

Do we have all the information we need?

What tools might you need to solve the problem?

What strategies might you use?

Solve to answer the central question.

How close was the actual solution to your estimate?

What would have helped you achieve a more accurate estimate?

Did you make any mistakes along the way?
Fix them.

How might you avoid such a mistake in the future?

Explain your work to someone else? Did s/he do the work differently?
Can you explain the process using the other person's methods?

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Book: Zane and the Hurricane

4/29/2016

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I was prepared to dislike this book about Hurricane Katrina, thinking it might not be a realistic depiction of the storm and its aftermath. Author Rodman Philbrick creatively places the title character into the heart of the storm, helpless and alone with his dog Bandy.

While I was afraid this would be a glossy version of the story, there are things here that only someone knowledgeable of detailed facts would have included, and these little details, not typically reported in news reports or documentaries, are what makes this an interesting read.

From the author's website:

Zane Dupree is a charismatic 12-year-old boy of mixed race visiting a relative in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hits. Unexpectedly separated from all family, Zane and his dog experience the terror of Katrina's wind, rain, and horrific flooding. Facing death, they are rescued from an attic air vent by a kind, elderly musician and a scrappy young girl--both African American. The chaos that ensues as storm water drowns the city, shelter and food vanish, and police contribute to a dangerous, frightening atmosphere, creates a page-turning tale that completely engrosses the reader. Based on the facts of the worst hurricane disaster in U.S. history, Philbrick includes the lawlessness and lack of government support during the disaster as well as the generosity and courage of those who risked their lives and safety to help others. Here is an unforgettable novel of heroism in the face of truly challenging circumstances.

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Mathstakes: 308 x 43

4/28/2016

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Mathstakes - or Math Mistakes - are an attempt to encourage students to find and correct mistakes. Most are introduced with a visual prompt, but there is no other word prompt outside of the visual. In addressing the visual, learners must first find, or construct, what they believe the problem. They must then figure out what was done in the visual to solve the given problem. The problem and solution are always provided in the visual.

After this, learners are charged with the task of determining whether the solution is appropriate. If so, they must defend it; if not, they must explain - or teach - a better process.

Use the worksheet (right)
to report your reasoning
for the picture provided:

Write the problem as you understand it.
What solution is given in the picture?
Decide whether the solution is (yes) or is not (no) appropriate.
In the box you chose, explain why you think it is correct or incorrect. If "no", fix it.

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Out of the Wind

4/27/2016

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We will begin a new read-aloud book today. For me, this one is a special one. I wrote Out of the Wind because I simply had to get my post-Joplin-tornado experience out. The summer that followed the May 2011 tornado was one I, and countless others, will never forget (A preview is available on my Hoggatt the Author site.).

It is a warm spring day. Graduation just ended. Then suddenly,
“This is a tornado warning, in effect for Jasper and Newton Counties…”

It’s May 22, 2011. The deadliest, most damaging tornado in 50 years
is about to tear into Joplin, Missouri.

Written from multiple points of view, D. Ed. Hoggatt’s novel
will tug at the reader’s emotions and spirit.

Join Carly, Madison, Hailey, Mark, and William on their incredible journey…

In this nearly 300-page book, I explore the tornado that swept through Joplin on May 22, 2011. I wrote the book in first person, but with five people telling their own version of what is happening:

The first narrator is a high school junior named Carly. She just watched her boyfriend pick up his diploma at graduation, and she is about to drive home, when she hears the storm sirens.
Another character is her friend Madison. Madison is sort of the anti-Carly and has a completely different outlook on life. She considers the sirens to be just another overreaction by the weather people.
A ten-year-old girl named Hailey is at home when the power goes out. Her family hunkers down in the hallway of their house as she worries about her dad getting home safely from Wal-Mart.
A boy from Carl Junction, William, rides in a pickup truck with his grandfather behind the wheel, when he spots a lump lying in a nearby ditch. Considering the storm that just passed, he wonders if the lump might be a storm victim.
The fifth character, Mark, is a young paramedic who takes interest in two boys who have suddenly been thrust into a very imperfect world.

I also utilized present-tense voices in order to draw the reader into the situation.

In the background is the account of one church's response to the tragedy. The church's building provides a central hub for many of he characters as they interact with members of the community and volunteers from outside of Joplin.

I have loved writing every one of my books for kids in the intermediate grades, but this is an insider story that has not been widely told. It is a fictionalize version of the many accounts I myself witnessed and was a part of. More than that, however, Out of the Wind is the story of Joplin's real spirit following the storm. Surely, goodness and mercy can come out of the wind of a horrific storm.

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Return to the Art and Joy

4/26/2016

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This year, I have been honored to represent Cecil Floyd teachers in Superintendent Ridder's teacher forum. After school, yesterday, we met for the final time for the 2015/6 school year.

One of the interesting items for which we offered out feedback was a letter that he is preparing to send to Joplin teachers in the next few days. I have been impressed with the direction Ridder has taken in his first year as Joplin's interim superintendent. He recognized very quickly the need for teachers to be given more professional respect, and he will acknowledge in his letter a researched need to return the art and joy to our classrooms. Without the art of teaching, our students are reduced to numbers and lines on a bar graph, and teachers become robotic, little more than characters in someone else's script.

Ridder's letter to teachers will say this:

One striking find from the research is what we are calling the "inspiration gap." The art and joy of teaching and learning is missing in many of our classrooms and buildings and in our district and community for that matter. And, our research is clear - It's negatively impacting our kids.

His acknowledgment of this deficiency is certainly refreshing. It has been a long time in coming to a district which has attempted to address its problems by adopting a strictly scientific process. Granted, that trend is nationwide, but it has been met in Joplin by much political and professional resistance. Those times, which played themselves out daily last summer, are behind us. The momentum is forward, and the joy is returning to the staff. That should be good news to anyone in the community with an interest in our public school system.

They say that change in education is inevitable. For a while there, it seemed to be inevitable on a weekly basis, with new expectations and programs pummeling teachers from every direction. Now, we are moving in a more logical direction - one which empowers the local district, which in our case is empowering classrooms, which empowers the students themselves. It will be interesting to see where we go from here.

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Music Appreciation: Step in Time

4/25/2016

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Students are often called upon to read "chorally".
That is, they read together simultaneously
as a group.

Repeating this practice assists young readers with reading fluency - the speed, accuracy, and inflection of oral reading.

Why not, since it's called "choral" reading anyway, actually read the chorus of a song?

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Infographic: How Deep Is the Ocean Really?

4/24/2016

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Sometimes we think we know all there is to know about our planet;
it's amazing how much we do not know.

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MAP Testing

4/23/2016

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A comic has circulated through social media. In it a teacher is confronted by her students with the following question:

Is this the test to test us for the test to see if we are ready for the test?

Sometimes it does seem, both inside and outside of education, that testing has taken the helm in our schools. Blogs with graphics like these dot the internet:

This week, we experienced the ultimate fourth grade testing experience - MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) testing. This may not be the forum to discuss current testing trends. It is the forum to communicate my desire to teach my students to want to learn for the sake of learning and bettering themselves, and not simply to pass a high-stakes test. That doesn't mean we haven't put forth our best effort to do our best to put our best foot forward, which is our goal for all of the things we do. I can't help but think of Abraham Lincoln's quote:

Whatever you are, be a good one.

That's basically what my dad always taught us boys - to always do our best, to always be the best we could be - and it's something I want my own children to learn. While we really do not wish to fail, we also do not wish to achieve anything less than our best!

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A Persian Proverb

4/22/2016

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He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; shun him.

He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child; teach him.

He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; wake him.

He who knows, and knows he knows, is wise; follow him.

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OPTS: Eggs

4/21/2016

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In an attempt to address the eight Math Practices in the graphic at left, I will expose the class to One Problem to Solve(OPTS), one of which is displayed below. Students will discover and create their own problems, while being guided by the teacher.

Watch this video and describe the situation:

Write down the first mathematical question that comes to mind.

As a class, we will decide on a central question to work on.

Make three smart guesses to answer the central question:
a guess too low, a guess too high, and a guess in the middle.

Place your guesses on the number line.

WHILE WE'RE ON THE TOPIC

Learn more
about eggs:

Can You Really Cook an Egg on the Sidewalk?

What information is necessary in order to answer our central question?

What information is provided above?

What tools might you need to solve the problem?

What strategies might you use?

Solve to answer the central question.

How close was the actual solution to your estimate?

What would have helped you achieve a more accurate estimate?

Did you make any mistakes along the way?
Fix them.

How might you avoid such a mistake in the future?

Explain your work to someone else. Did s/he do the work differently?
Can you explain the process using the other person's methods?

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Oklahoma City National Memorial

4/20/2016

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April 19, 1995. Twenty-one years ago.

The current Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum is full of things to look at, read, and interact with. It is clearly one of the most advanced and intriguing museums in the world. Not only that, but this is a museum with appeal to multiple demographics:

the survivor who needs to connect with the moment in time when her life changed forever
the rescuer who needs to remember that with frustration comes hope
the interested visitor who wants to learn more about the event
the investigator who wants to immerse himself in an analysis of the crime scene
the legal analyst who wants to study the court records of a high-profile case
the young student who wants to experience an event through many eyes

Here is a museum that interacts with visitors and takes the time to teach many lessons, including the lessons of how to react to bullying and violence, and much more. I highly recommend paying full price to visit the museum in Oklahoma City. Don't just visit the outdoor memorial; go inside! You will leave a different person.

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Oklahoma City Bombing: 21st Anniversary

4/19/2016

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April 19, 1995. Twenty-one years from today.

Twenty-one years ago, a young man named McVeigh parked his rented moving truck on the street behind the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Inside the truck, a bomb would soon detonate and change the lives of countless people.

One hundred sixty-eight people dead.

I taught second graders just four miles away. We heard the explosion. We felt the concussion. We experienced the emotions.

Confusion. Fear. Confusion.

I relayed my story - my personal experiences with the 1995 terrorist attack - yesterday. My experience with being the one responsible for leading the school into a red alert, locking the outside doors. My wife's experience of holding the one-year-old who was infamously photographed in the firefighter's arms. My grandmother's experience of panic, thinking "they" were "blowing up Oklahoma City".

It is a history that needs to be remembered, studied, and learned from - one evil act counteracted by hundreds of thousands of generous responses in return. This, like Joplin's response to the tornado, five years ago, was a defining moment - a moment when we found out who we were. In Oklahoma City, they call that response "The Oklahoma Standard".

We'll continue to look at my pictures of the Oklahoma City National Memorial, today. I'll take our fourth graders inside one of the best museums I've ever experienced.

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Book: Rain Reign

4/18/2016

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Here is another of the Mark Twain Award finalists for 2016/7 - Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin. Martin successfully depicts a young girl with Asperger's Syndrome and her abusive father. This book, from the author of The Baby-Sitters Club series, does not hold back and brings out some frustration in the mind of the reader.

From Goodreads:

Rose Howard has Asperger’s syndrome, and an obsession with homonyms (even her name is a homonym). She gave her dog Rain a name with two homonyms (Reign, Rein), which, according to Rose’s rules of homonyms, is very special. Rain was a lost dog Rose’s father brought home. Rose and Rain are practically inseparable. And they are often home alone, as Rose’s father spends most evenings at a bar, and doesn’t have much patience for his special-needs daughter.

Just as a storm hits town, Rain goes missing. Rose’s father shouldn’t have let Rain out. Now Rose has to find her dog, even if it means leaving her routines and safe places to search. Rose will find Rain, but so will Rain’s original owners.

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Mathstakes: Tickets

4/17/2016

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Use the worksheet (right)
to report your reasoning
for the picture provided:

Write the problem as you understand it.
What solution is given in the picture?
Decide whether the solution is (yes) or is not (no) appropriate.
In the box you chose, explain why you think it is correct or incorrect. If "no", fix it.

0 Comments

Spelunking...For Real this Time

4/16/2016

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Nearly 100 years ago, three men by the names of Browning, Gilmore, and Ford discovered a cave in Noel, Missouri; in 1927, just two years later, the cave was opened for the tourism business; and in 2016, fourth graders from Joplin took their turns at exploring the passages of that same cave, now known as Bluff Dwellers Cavern.

First, we had to get there:

It didn't take long for students to get accustomed to the cave setting. It's probably doesn't have much in common with Hoggatt Cave, but there were some similarities.

Beyond the entrance, students were witnesses to a host of cave formations (speleothems), including drapery, cave bacon, soda straws, stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. There were more exotic formations forming underwater in the cave, as well. The Cave Duck, which has sat in its position for over 70 years, was not the only critter we saw; we also saw a couple of species of bats, and a some of them actually took a fight plan that included the airspace just inches above our heads.

The cave guides gave our classes high marks of praise for their polite demeanor and their manners. Our host, Mary Jane, even called Principal Hennessey to relay the message that we were so well behaved.

Of course, any time they fall asleep on the return trip is good for me! I could as easily snap pictures of the boys in the back, but here's what we have for the bus ride back to school:

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Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Because of Mr. Terupt
by Rob Buyea

Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White

Chippin Cleats
by D. Ed. Hoggatt

Crumbling Spirit
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Echo by Pam Nuñoz Ryan

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Loser by Jerry Spinelli

Love That Dog
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Mumsket
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Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse

Out of the Wind
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Petey by Ben Mikaelsen

Ramona the Pest
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Stone Fox
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There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar

Touching Spirit Bear
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Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Yankee Girl
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