We had a great Math lesson but I'll be honest here, I didn't do a whole lotta teachin'! The boys and girls worked together in partners to solve a number of problems using their base-ten blocks. One problem to solve was this guy: Make the number 315 using only 36 blocks. If students didn't know the meaning of the phrase "exactly 36" they do now!
They also had to solve another, more challenging problem and the strategies were really impressive.
The problem went like this:
Mrs. Linse wants to buy 1000 seeds.
They come in packages of 50.
How many packages of seeds will Mrs. Linse need to buy?
Explain your thinking (we call it "EYT" for short)
I was really pleased with how this went today. Each pair of kids first warmed up their mental math skills on the Ipads and then off we went to solving these problems. It was a very productive and focused afternoon.
October 08, 2013
October 07, 2013
Mr. Linny Boyette
A dream came true for me on July 18, 2012. My husband took us to New York City to celebrate my birthday and it was a wonderful trip.
I had a lengthy list of things I wanted to do and I was so thrilled to have done them all by the time we came home. I've been a Today Show fan for years and I wanted to be "one of those people" who went to the show and watched it live. I wanted to see Al Roker and Matt Lauer and be a part of the fun. I did all that and more.
For years, my husband Paul and I would watch the show and look for Today Show super-fan, Mr. Linny Boyette. He would be there in the audience, each and every day without fail in exactly the same spot. The cameraman always seemed to make a point of catching Linny and Linny would point at the camera confidently, as if to say, "Patti, you can leave for work now".
For the last six or so years, once I saw Linny, I'd put my shoes on and head to school. It was weird...just one of those things you start doing and then you don't stop. So if Linny came on at 7:05 or 7:30, I'd grab my gear, kiss the dogs and Paul, and then make my way to work.
I got to meet Linny last summer, as part of my list of "must do these things" in NYC. It was such a treat to meet him and tell him how I don't leave for school until I see him on TV. He was so gracious and kind, posing for photo after photo with me and the other fans. And what really touched me was that he genuinely seemed interested in what I was saying. Word is, he has more fans than all of the Today Show hosts put together!
Linny passed away over the weekend and I wanted to take a moment to celebrate him and share my story with you. Meeting him was a dream of mine, part of a special birthday that I'll never forget.
All of the stuffies in our classroom are named after special people in my life. Of course, after actually meeting Linny, I named the newest stuffy, a very friendly looking shark, "Linny". He's one of our most popular pets.
It is the season of gratitude and I couldn't be more grateful for the many blessings in my life; one of them being that memorable trip with my husband Paul. I hope that by reading this, my students know that we all make a difference in even our smallest gestures. I hope my students know that they have the capacity to be like Linny each and every day. I know they say "don't sweat the small stuff" but isn't it funny how sometimes it's the small things that make the most profound difference? Three minutes of his time made a great day even better for me. And the photo? I'll treasure it always. I bet there are countless stories about Linny being shared today. I wonder if he knew how much happiness he brought to so many people.
What a difference a kind heart and a generous spirit can make.
Thank you Linny.
I had a lengthy list of things I wanted to do and I was so thrilled to have done them all by the time we came home. I've been a Today Show fan for years and I wanted to be "one of those people" who went to the show and watched it live. I wanted to see Al Roker and Matt Lauer and be a part of the fun. I did all that and more.
For years, my husband Paul and I would watch the show and look for Today Show super-fan, Mr. Linny Boyette. He would be there in the audience, each and every day without fail in exactly the same spot. The cameraman always seemed to make a point of catching Linny and Linny would point at the camera confidently, as if to say, "Patti, you can leave for work now".
For the last six or so years, once I saw Linny, I'd put my shoes on and head to school. It was weird...just one of those things you start doing and then you don't stop. So if Linny came on at 7:05 or 7:30, I'd grab my gear, kiss the dogs and Paul, and then make my way to work.
I got to meet Linny last summer, as part of my list of "must do these things" in NYC. It was such a treat to meet him and tell him how I don't leave for school until I see him on TV. He was so gracious and kind, posing for photo after photo with me and the other fans. And what really touched me was that he genuinely seemed interested in what I was saying. Word is, he has more fans than all of the Today Show hosts put together!
Linny passed away over the weekend and I wanted to take a moment to celebrate him and share my story with you. Meeting him was a dream of mine, part of a special birthday that I'll never forget.
All of the stuffies in our classroom are named after special people in my life. Of course, after actually meeting Linny, I named the newest stuffy, a very friendly looking shark, "Linny". He's one of our most popular pets.
It is the season of gratitude and I couldn't be more grateful for the many blessings in my life; one of them being that memorable trip with my husband Paul. I hope that by reading this, my students know that we all make a difference in even our smallest gestures. I hope my students know that they have the capacity to be like Linny each and every day. I know they say "don't sweat the small stuff" but isn't it funny how sometimes it's the small things that make the most profound difference? Three minutes of his time made a great day even better for me. And the photo? I'll treasure it always. I bet there are countless stories about Linny being shared today. I wonder if he knew how much happiness he brought to so many people.
What a difference a kind heart and a generous spirit can make.
Thank you Linny.
A Social Studies update
Talk about terrific! This morning we had our Social Studies lesson. Today was the first time the boys and girls would complete their Learning Journal on their own. They receive a 20 or so minute lesson and then from there, they must record three interesting facts they learned, along with one question they still have.
The goal is for children to write compound sentences. Instead of writing:
One interesting thing I learned is that the women planted the three sisters.
We'd like them to write something along the lines of:
One interesting thing I learned is that the women planted the three sisters, which were corn, beans and squash.
I am thrilled that we are well on our way to achieving this goal! The quality of the work that the boys and girls are producing is outstanding.
One area that we are continuing to work on is making better use of our No-Excuse word list (on their desktop) and our Word Wall words. As we have more writing experiences, no doubt the boys and girls will get into the habit of checking those two places for frequently misspelled words.
I did not expect for all students to get rolling so quickly and confidently on this task so I'm extra pleased that everyone is able to make great use of their class time and write some very interesting sentences so early in the year!
The goal is for children to write compound sentences. Instead of writing:
One interesting thing I learned is that the women planted the three sisters.
We'd like them to write something along the lines of:
One interesting thing I learned is that the women planted the three sisters, which were corn, beans and squash.
I am thrilled that we are well on our way to achieving this goal! The quality of the work that the boys and girls are producing is outstanding.
One area that we are continuing to work on is making better use of our No-Excuse word list (on their desktop) and our Word Wall words. As we have more writing experiences, no doubt the boys and girls will get into the habit of checking those two places for frequently misspelled words.
I did not expect for all students to get rolling so quickly and confidently on this task so I'm extra pleased that everyone is able to make great use of their class time and write some very interesting sentences so early in the year!
October 04, 2013
Another phrase that pays!
We've been talking a lot lately about stating our purpose in our writing and how important it is that we identify this for our reader. To set the boys and girls on the write path for future experiences with expository writing or any form of non-fiction writing, we use the phrase: Today I'm going to tell you all about... (or some variation of this).
As students get older, they'll learn about stating their thesis in the opening paragraph of their writing, but this statement lays the foundation.
As students get older, they'll learn about stating their thesis in the opening paragraph of their writing, but this statement lays the foundation.
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