Blog Archives

Freeze Mob at Irving Elementary

4/15/2014

When we arrived at Irving Elementary School, Principal Nlla Vance led us to the fourth/fifth grade "learning park", a centralized gathering area in the hallway. Our Cecil Floyd students dispersed in the area and froze into place. We held our poses for three or four minutes, gaining the attention of the students in the fourth grade classes (and a few others), who wondered what was happening.

The excursion to Irving was a reward for good behavior.

While some students in other classes didn't quite understand the concept of freezing in place, most did quite well, as can be seen in this short video.

COMING SOON: STILL MORE ABOUT OUR VISIT TO IRVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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Road to Irving Elementary

4/14/2014

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Friday's walk to the new Irving Elementary School on the corner of 32nd and Maiden Lane took our fourth grade classes through Cunningham Park. Students picnicked and briefly took advantage of the playground in the park before striking out for the final excursion to Irving.

Cunningham Park was destroyed in the 2011 Joplin tornado, and the amenities of the park, rebuilt in the recovery effort, include elements of memorial.

The walking excursion was a reward for good behavior.

COMING SOON: MORE ABOUT OUR VISIT TO IRVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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Reading to Peers

4/13/2014

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Writing is difficult enough, but sharing one's writing can be difficult. Students can really be self-conscious when someone reads or hears their writing, so this kind of activity takes most of them out of the comfort zone. Taking such a positive risk is just as valuable as the actual writing or reading practice.

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Music Appreciation: Best Day of My Life

4/12/2014

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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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Ecocolumns: Aquaria

4/11/2014

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Last week, we completed construction on our aquaria (plural for aquarium).
We introduced the snails and mosquito fish, making observations and sketches along the way.

This week, we were able to connect the two,
completing the ecocolumn construction.

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Music Appreciation: On Top of the World

4/10/2014

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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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Save These Dates

4/9/2014

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In the ever-decreasing days we have left in the fourth grade, our calendar is becoming quite full. The next couple of weeks is definitely busy.

Friday, April 11: FREEZE MOB
We will walk to Cunningham Park for lunch and fun before visiting Irving Elementary to conduct our first-ever Freeze Mob. Afterward, we will visit with the teachers and students at the new school and welcome them to the community.

Wednesday, April 16: JEFFERSON CITY
Buses will depart at 6:30 in the morning for a 12-hour field trip to the state capital. Senator Ron Richards is providing pizza for lunch, along with our tours of the capitol and the surrounding area. Bring your camera, and be on your most impressive behavior.

Thursday, April 17: OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING
Since I taught in Oklahoma City, four miles from the Murrah Federal Building, when the bomb was detonated, I have a unique perspective of the terrorist attack (and wrote a book about it). I will present my "eye witness report to the class.

Tuesday, April 22: STANDARDIZED TESTING
Every year, we face this nemesis. This first day of testing extends to Wednesday, and continues the following week. While many consider this the pinnacle of our instruction, I usually concentrate efforts on my student's respectful and employable behavior.

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Reading Fluency: Read to the Wall (Bonus Video)

4/8/2014

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Here's what it looks and sounds like when the class is fully engaged in reading aloud to the wall.

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Mission Accomplished

4/7/2014

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The newest bulletin board in our hallway is our Cecil Floyd Mission bulletin board. Coming on the heals of our win of the first Cecil Floyd Bulletin Board Award, this one has a schoolwide appeal. We were not seeking an award for the last one - we didn't even know about the award - but the new one, with the inclusion of student work, looks pretty good, too.

Our previous hallway bulletin board received one of the first Bulletin Board of the Month awards. The board had student writings from awards. The board had student writings from our first Mood Music assignment. Students drew to the music of Bring Him Home, as performed by the Piano Guys. Following the drawing, students wrote short stories (most of which had a dark and sad feeling). It was simple to display the work, along with revised drawings on the bulletin board. Now, we're on the next board.

For a reminder of how students created that board see this post from January: Mood Music Breeds Passion for Writing.

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Outside the Window

4/6/2014

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All year, we have endured construction outside our windows, on the other side of our outside walls, and on our roof, but it looks - finally - as if the construction is coming to an end. I have refrained from putting photos of the construction from anywhere other than outside the door just outside our classroom. Much more has occurred with this construction, and we will soon get more of a full photo essay of the combination gym and community safe room.

In this rear entryway, we can now observe that most of the work is done. Since the last time I posted a photograph, the walls were painted, the windows and doors were installed, the lighting and ceilings were installed, and other electrical work was done. With flooring and some minor issues, this thing will appear complete from this view.

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Reading Fluency: Read to the Wall

4/5/2014

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In order to practice reading fluency, students chose from nonfiction books and quickly found a space along the wall and read, aloud, to the wall. The idea is that reading at a conversational rate assists in understanding.

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Golden Awards

4/4/2014

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Every month, classes are awarded with "golden awards" for positive behavior in various locations in our school - the hallway (golden shoe), the cafeteria (golden plate), music class (golden note), art class (golden brush), PE (golden pennant), and the library (golden book). Awards are also given for the cleanest restroom (golden plunger) and the cleanest classroom (golden broom). Our class has earned most of these through the course of the year, and some of them more than once.

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Ecocolumns: Flora and Fauna?

4/3/2014

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Duckweed

The living materials arrived for our ecocolumns, last week. They are waiting patiently as their new addresses are being prepared in the classroom. The crickets and pillbugs will be introduced to the terraria, while the snails, mosquito fish, elodia, algae, and duckweed belong in our aquaria.

Crickets

Elodia

These are NOT tasting spoons.

Pillbugs

Snails

Mosquito Fish

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Mission Accepted

4/2/2014

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We've spent a couple of weeks discussing the school's mission:

Our Cecil Floyd family will SOAR as lifelong, innovative thinkers who are compassionate, productive citizens.

After dissecting each word, discovering synonyms and related words, and defining terms, the "family" in Room 404 made a poster for each word. We plan to hang display the posters in the hallway, this week, for other people to see.

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Ecocolumns: Planting Season

4/1/2014

Seeding the Terrarium

Adding the Seeds

We planted seeds and watered them in our terrariums to simulate the upcoming spring rains. After making and recording some quick observations or our rye, alfalfa, and mustard seeds, we delivered water to the soil until it dripped through the bottom, at which time we recapped the terrarium. We recorded the amount of water delivered, and will repeat the process in upcoming days. Hopefully soon, we will have a miniature forest of greenery and can introduce some critters. Students were very engaged in the learning process.

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