All posts by lspady

1st Semester Seminars and Competitions

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Sixth graders from across the district participated in the 23rd Annual McMillan Math Contest on November 7.  Teams of four competed in a team test as well as a quiz bowl.  Westside teams took home top medals in both competitions.  Way to go Westside Mathletes!

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On Tuesday, November 5, sixteen 4th-6th grade students participated in a Science Olympiad at ESU 3.  Each team competed in 5 events showcasing difference science concepts.  Check out how much fun we had!

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On Tuesday, October 15, twenty-eight 6th graders from all ten elementary buildings attended the Drawing From the Inside seminar at ESU 3.  Students unleashed their creativity and let their imaginations soar by literally drawing from several different angles.  Check out the pictures!

Watch a Drawing Video

Watch Another Drawing Video

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Strategy Seminar

Running on Empty

Spady Blog

Have you heard that expression before?  I have said it a million times, mainly referring to my lack of energy, but over winter break, I  experienced “running on empty” first hand.

About two months ago, I noticed that the heater in my van wasn’t producing much heat.  As you can imagine, it was a little chilly driving during the days with low temperatures!  I drive a 2003 minivan and we found ourselves having to repair quite a few things this past year including the starter and transmission.  We’ve been talking about trading the van in and buying a new or used one to replace it, but our van is paid for and it’s nice not having a car payment.  The heater completely stopped working  a couple weeks ago and we figured the repairs would cost us at least three hundred dollars.  With the holidays approaching, I did not want to spend the money so I bundled up and kept driving.

Two days ago, my husband suggested taking my van to a shop he discovered.  I was hesitant because we still didn’t have the money for repairs, but I took it in anyway.  After 15 minutes of checking it over, the technician came in and told me that my heater was working like a charm!  He added a gallon-and-a-half of antifreeze and told me it would cost $12.83!  Can you believe it?  I was literally running on empty!  Needless to say, I’m happy that my heater is working and that I might be able to drive my van just a little bit longer.

Have you ever had a similar experience?  Have you ever tried fixing or repairing something old?  Tell me about it by leaving a comment!

Wordly Wise

Spady Blog

WWWordly Wise is a vocabulary reinforcemnt program. Each lesson presents a list of words with their part of speech and definition(s).  Students complete 5 components for each lesson which gives them an opportunity to learn the words in a variety of contexts. My favorite component of each lesson is where all the words are used in a story and then the students have to answer questions about the story. This week’s story in Lesson 2 of Book 2 was about bats. Very interesting!

There’s a free Wordly Wise app for the iPad. You can download it here or by clicking the link below.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wordly-wise-3000-vocabulary/id632074934?mt=8

If you have a chance to download the app, let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

Rhyme Out

Spady Blog, Uncategorized

RhymeOutI found out about Rhyme Out from a colleague a few months ago and have enjoyed playing it with students of all ages.  Each card has 3 clues and the answers all rhyme.  For example:  Here are the clues…

  • Something you wear on your foot
  • What you do to get someone to open a door
  • Something that beats scissors but not paper

Remember, the answers all rhyme.  Think you’ve got it?  Scroll down to find out the answers.

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  • Sock
  • Knock
  • Rock

Some of the cards are trickier than others, but on almost every card, there’s an opportunity to discuss spelling, other rhyming words, or talk about homophones, etc.  For example, one of today’s cards had the answers of thigh, dye, and pie.  While all those words rhyme, they are not spelled with the same ending.

 

My 1st graders are still learning to spell so when we play Rhyme Out, we can easily extend it to a 30-minute lesson.  They love to write the answers on the white board.

One of the cards had Greece, piece, and geese as the answers.  We talked about the “ee” and “ea” combination of letters and the “ce” and “se” endings.  We also talked about Greece vs. grease and how “tease” may look like it rhymes with the others, but it doesn’t.

There are several ways to extend this game.  Here are a few ideas…

  1. Have students come up with their own Rhyme Out cad that has 3 clues with answers that rhyme.
  2. Younger Kids:  Talk about word families (here is one of many sites) and have them use each word in a sentence.  For a challenge, see if they can make a sentence that has 2-3 rhyming words.
  3. Older Kids:  Students can write limericks which require the use of rhyming words.

In the comments section, please leave 3 clues that have answers that all rhyme.  The students and I will try to figure out the answers!

November/December Notes

Lusero Blog, Uncategorized

The last couple months are a blur!  We have been so busy with Spelling Bees and Geography Bees in addition to our regular schedule.  It has been a little crazy!  I hope you all enjoyed the Thanksgiving break and are looking forward to the Winter break, which will be here before we know it.

In EY, we have moved on from the strategy theme and are on to communication.  We have been discussing several literary devices, enriching what they are also learning  in the classroom.  This involves the creative side of their brains, which is fun to see.  We have some that really are able to think outside the box, for others it is a bit of a stretch.  But it is always good to step outside of your comfort zone now and then.

All students are working on memorizing a poem for the last week before winter break.  We are planning a poetry cafe morning when all the EY students in each school would come together, share their poem and enjoy some refreshments as an end of the quarter celebration.  This activity is to prepare them for future Poetry Out Loud competitions in high school.  This allows them to explore this and decide if it is something  they would like to pursue.   I encourage you to check out the website for Poetry Out Loud and see all the benefits of this.   It is a wonderful opportunity to develop speaking skills and confidence.  I am anxious to see how it turns out.  If you haven’t heard them practicing their poem,  you may want to ask them how it is going.

We also completed our first Math Olympiad competition.  This is a test we take in class each month from November to March.  I was impressed with the scores and enjoyed listening to their strategies for solving the problems.  We will take the second one next week.

Wordly Wise is also an expectation that I am pleased to say is going well.  I have had very few late assignments and the quality of the work has been excellent for the most part.

Twenty-five years ago, my husband and I hosted an exchange student from Argentina.  He now has a daughter of his own and she will be visiting us for a couple of months.   She will arrive Dec. 20th and will be here until the end of February.  We are excited about her visit and I plan to have her visit my students and discuss the cultural differences.  It should be interesting!

That is all I have to share for now.  Once again, please contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Pigs Will Be Pigs

Spady Blog, Uncategorized

I love children’s books that teach math concepts!  One that I used today is called, Pigs will be Pigs by Amy Axelrod, pictures by Sharon McGinley-Nally.  I work with a couple 1st graders once a week and I found that using books like this provide a way for us to talk about vocabulary in addition to a math topic.  The topic in this book is money so I created a quick chart.  Here is a .pdf of the chart.

PwbPWe first wrote the name for each bill and coin.  Then, as I read the book, students kept track of the money the pigs found by making tally marks on the chart.  When I finished reading, the students counted their tally marks and we found the total.

There are several ways to extend this book.  Here are a few ideas…

  1. Talk about the presidents, monuments, and other items on each bill and coin.  Here’s a nice reference about coins in circulation.
  2. There is a nice interactive read-aloud on You Tube that poses questions throughout the book.
  3. The pigs go to a restaurant in the book and the menu is printed on two of the pages.  Have kids order a meal and calculate the total.  Or, give them a certain amount of money and have them order meals for their family.

What are some children’s books that you know of that teach math concepts?  Please share!

Geography Bee Practice Links

Geography Bee

geoBee

Geography Bee qualifiers should use these links to prepare for the school Geography Bee!  Good Luck!

 

This is the official Geography Bee site.  A daily quiz is posted and you can take it by clicking on “Take the Quiz” on the top menu bar.

2. World Country Facts: http://www.theodora.com/wfb/abc_world_fact_book.html

This site contains facts about the countries of the world.

11. Where is That?  Funbrain Game: http://www.funbrain.com/where/index.html

12. Geography Quizzes: http://geography.about.com/library/quiz/blpreviss.htm

Communication Activity

2nd Quarter Communication, Concepts

CommunicationActivityTry this simple activity with a friend…

1. Draw a picture on a piece of paper, but keep it a secret from your friend.

2. Without showing the drawing to your friend, try to give detailed instructions so that your friend can re-create the drawing without actually seeing the picture.

3. When you’re finished giving instructions, see how the original drawing compares to the one your friend made based on your instructions.

4. Switch roles.

This activity can be done with Legos or other materials.  In the picture below, the student is writing out instructions for his partner who will be given the individual pieces for the object.  The partner will try and build the object based on the written description.  What kind of words would you use to describe the object in the picture?

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