Blog Archives

Speleology: Stalactites

10/16/2014

The first formations (speleothems) people identify in cave lore are stalactites and stalagmites. This year, we decided to write descriptive sentences on the flattened paper before bending the paper into cones and crinkling them to provide rock-like texture. Students tried to use figurative language in their sentences.

To form the final stalactites, students made the paper into cones, taped them closed, wadded them, then unwadded them. The next step is to attach these to the ceiling.

Of course, to make stalagmites just took one more step. We're making progress, but there is so much to do...and very little time to get it done.

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ARF: Places You Aren't Allowed to Visit

10/15/2014

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We use many resources to motivate reading fluency in our classroom, including our collections of Music Appreciation and Not-So-Silent Movie videos.

The video here is one to assist more advanced readers in increasing their own fluency (hence the name: Advanced Reading Fluency). Some of the vocabulary in videos such as this is more difficult. Try reading the text aloud as it appears.

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Speleology: Entrance

10/14/2014

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Hoggatt Cave is taking shape in our classroom. Students discovered the horizontal entrances, last week, one of which is only big enough to crawl through, and the other of which can be entered while walking upright.

For those who might be interested in reproducing something like our cave in your own classroom, this (spoiler alert) is really only brown, craft paper, which has been crinkled to provide a rough texture. I then tuck one end of the paper into the ceiling tiles to hold it in place and into the carpet tiles to secure it at the bottom. The great thing about building a cave is that things don't have to be neat and smooth.

Of course, there is another entrance into Hoggatt Cave - the one I originally stumbled upon, 20 years ago. It is a narrow, vertical entrance through the ceiling of our classroom (actually, just a rope suspended through the empty space where a ceiling tile has been removed). We've talked about how these openings have been formed. It is exciting that our own state is known as the Cave State.

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Speleology: Cave Conservation

10/13/2014

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In order to present information in a little different way, I gave students papers with cave conservation information that was printed in reverse. To read the information, students had to use old CDs as mirrors. They practiced their handwriting skills to recopy the information about What Good Are Caves? and What Threatens Caves?

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Music Appreciation: What a Wonderful World

10/12/2014

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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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Mystery Numbers

10/11/2014

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Teaching is a pleasure when everyone is appropriately engaged in an educational activity. Wednesday was one of those days. The activity was something I label as Mystery Numbers. Six teams of students worked to "crack the clues" to determine the answer to solve ten mysteries during our Math time.

This activity works to reinforce concepts of place value, problem solving, and math vocabulary - some of the most important and foundational pieces of a Mathematics education.

Each puzzle has ten clues, such as:

It is a four-digit whole number.
The product of its hundreds digit and its tens digit is 6.
The product of its thousands digit and its ones digit is 14.
Two of its digits are the same.
The product of its tens digit and its ones digit is 21.
It is an odd number.
It is less than 3000.
The product of its thousands digit and its hundreds digit is 4.
Its tens digit is 3.
Its hundreds digit is 2.

Working from the top, this mystery can be solved in the first five clues. The remaining clues are then used to confirm that the solution is true.

Teams work to solve each puzzle, confirming with me whether or not each answer is correct as they solve. I keep track of how many times they present an incorrect attempt, and I give very small and consistent hints as they continue to run into trouble. When the solution is correct, the team moves to the next puzzle. If the solution is incorrect, the team returns to find its mistake(s). In Wednesday's work, four of our six teams completed all ten puzzles in the first hour of the day...but as in life, these will only get more difficult as we progress through the next sets of puzzles. On Thursday, only one group was able to work through a packet of 10 puzzles in the time allotted, while on Friday, no one made it all the way through. There are more to come, but we will save those for another time, later in the year.

I was just happy that the entire class was able to stay engaged with very little redirection needed from the teacher. Along those lines, Principal Hennessey has privately commented to me that she has been impressed with the class whenever she has stopped by to see how we are doing. She specifically complimented the engagement of our class in appropriate activities.

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Speleology: Crystals

10/10/2014

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Monday, using simple table salt and epsom salt (and a little water), we began the process of growing crystals for the walls of Hoggatt Cave. Through the week, we watched patiently as the water evaporated, and cube- and needle-shaped crystals developed on the black construction paper.

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Math Shortcuts: Squaring a Number Ending in Five

10/9/2014

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Practice could make this a pretty impressive feat:

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Gear Up for M4+H LE46UE

10/8/2014

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Mr. Culbertson and I are getting prepared to select this year's Math League. Math League is an advanced math "club" consisting of fourth and fifth grade students who compete in two regional competitions during the winter and spring months. Students are selected in a predetermined manner and are expected to attend weekly coaching sessions. These sessions last for 1 1/2 hours after school, and are filled with some amazing math shortcuts. We take these students into "deeper water" by teaching them middle school and high school math. We usually have a great deal with the twelve students who ultimately make the team.

For more information about Math League, along with some sample tests, please visit our Math League page.

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Book Review: Ordinary Magic

10/7/2014

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From Amazon:

In Abby’s world, magic isn’t anything special: it’s a part of everyday life. So when Abby learns that she has zero magical abilities, she’s branded an "Ord"—ordinary, bad luck, and quite possibly a danger to society. The outlook for kids like Abby isn’t bright. Many are cast out by their families, while others are sold to treasure hunters (ordinary kids are impervious to spells and enchantments). Luckily for Abby, her family enrolls her in a school that teaches ordinary kids how to get around in a magical world. But with treasure-hunting kidnappers and carnivorous goblins lurking around every corner, Abby’s biggest problem may not be learning how to be ordinary—it’s whether or not she’s going to survive the school year!

Full disclosure dictates that I reveal my dislike for the "magic" genre. I'm not a fan of Harry Potter or the Percy Jackson books, but both of those series seem much better than Ordinary Magic. Early on, this one felt like a reverse of Harry Potter, which might have been an interesting premise, but it never lived up to what I thought it would be.

Author Caitlen Rubino-Bradway also had an opportunity to experiment with discrimination in these pages, but the social aspect of that topic was never developed as I expected, either.

Instead, the story follows the same process as most others in this genre: it simply takes the main character through a series of problems, and never really comes to the climax that it should. The ending, which admittedly may be the most difficult part of a novel to write, lies flat and comes quickly and quite matter-of-factly, obviously establishing a foundation for a (please, not another) sequel.

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Not-So-Silent Movie: The Battle of the Century

10/6/2014

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I call this a "Not-So-Silent Movie". It is, as it sits, a silent movie, but when we read the dialog cards aloud and together as a class, the movie is anything but silent. Sometimes the cards flash on and off of the screen quickly, and students must be prepared for their appearance. In this manner, students work on their oral reading speed, accuracy, and inflection, all while being slightly entertained and experiencing a bit of the classics.

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Patterns in the Parking Lot

10/5/2014

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Hoggatteers took to the parking lot to gather some information about the cars* parked therein. Their task was to locate, record, and sketch any patterns they found within the design of the automobiles. There they were - in the grills, treads, headlights, wheel covers, and license plates - just as we presumed.

*No vehicles were harmed in the fulfillment of this activity.

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Let's Tessellate

10/4/2014

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Our study about multiples (including the least common kind) led to an investigation into patterns, and that led to a side topic about tessellations. We even took a quick look at the artwork of M. C. Escher. This week, we took a stab at making our own tessellations in the classroom.

To make your own tessellations at home (or wherever you might have the supplies), begin with a small square. We used a three-inch by three-inch square (which happens to have an area of nine square inches). The square, of course, has four sides which we called the left, the right, the top, and the bottom.

With scissors, cut a non-straight line from the bottom to the top without cutting any pieces off. You will be left with two pieces that fit together like a puzzle.

Now, keeping the pieces oriented as they are when the puzzle fits together (In other words, do not flip or rotate them.), slide the right piece over the left, so that the straight sides are touching. Tape the straight sides together. Beginning in the upper left corner of a full sheet of construction paper, line up the straight top of the taped shape with the top of the paper. Trace the shape. Sliding it to the right so that the left side of the shape fits within the right side of the tracing, keep tracing the shape. When you have made it across the page, slide it down to make a second row. Do the same until the larger paper is covered with the tessellated shape. Trace over the pencil outline with a black marker.

Finally, alternating colors, use your crayons to neatly decorate the tessellated masterpiece. Display it with pride; you have just tessellated!

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Watch Like a Reader: Milk

10/3/2014

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When we break apart the skills involved in reading comprehension, we are constantly amazed at how many skills there really are. We use the same skills when we watch TV shows, listen to music, and view advertisements.

They are everywhere: in magazines, in newspapers, on the radio, at the movie theater, and on television. It is important that we protect ourselves from marketing "tricks", which are intended to "hook" the viewers/readers/
listeners. Perhaps the product is cheaply made. Maybe it isn't as it appears. Is it worth the price? Is it something you need? Let's dive right in to a commercial and hone our reading skills along the way.

Here is the commercial that started the Got Milk campaign.

QUESTION
Why did Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr feel they had to duel?
Why is this man making a sandwich in a museum?

PREDICT
I think this man will feel pretty bad that he lost the $10,000 contest on the radio.
I predict that this man will remember his loss every time he eats a peanut butter sandwich in the future.

INFER
Milk helps wash down bread with sticky peanut butter on it.
This man is an employee of the Alexander Hamilton museum.
The museum must be closed.

CONNECT
I have tried to win a radio contest.
Sometimes peanut butter can get stuck to the roof of your mouth.

FEEL
I feel pity for the man who lost the contest just because the announcer couldn't understand him.
I thought the commercial was funny and memorable.

EVALUATE
This was the first Got Milk? commercial. The campaign was successful and people still refer to it.
This was a little story all wrapped up in a short package. It has an effective beginning, middle, and end.

For more information about these six reading skills, see Reading Like a Reader.

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Local Authors in Person

10/2/2014

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The Joplin Public Library is offering a special event, this Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00. Over 20 local authors, including yours truly, will have our books on display and will be available, in person, to answer questions for readers and give inspiration to young writers. This is a come-and-go event, designed for both kids and adults.

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