Total Eclipse (Well, Sort Of)

Breakin' the Rules

This week we inquired into reasons why it is necessary to make changes to rules.  The students really enjoyed discussing these rules, and comparing them to the current rules for teachers.  We all agreed that it's a good thing that they changed the rules about going to the ice cream parlor!

This discussion allowed us to develop an understanding that rules/laws need to change as society evolves.  We will apply this knowledge to our inquiry into how we amend the Constitution.  Additionally, we had some great ideas about why the rules changed for teachers.  Students shared the fact that it is very interesting how the first set of rules from 1872 less biased toward women than the rules from 1915.  They had lots of reasons and speculations as to why the rules changed in that way.  It will be interesting to revisit these conversations when we being our inquiries into World War I, the Roaring 20s, and the Great Depression.

Sweet Thursday

Since the first day of school, all students have been participating in Morning Meeting. This has helped us to develop our classroom community and learn about each individual member of that community. Each morning students are greeted with a morning message.  Here are a few examples of greetings from this week. We have been focusing on specific Learner Profile Attributes each day. Your students are amazing! Have a great weekend!

Groovy Tuesday

Today we inquired into procedures for classifying living things and processes for developing and maintaining order.  Students began to learn the process that scientists use to classify living things through a small group project involving aliens.  Students also worked to establish their understanding of the Bill of Rights. We also continued our work inquiring into the different elements of a compound sentence.  Students created a list of grammar terms that are found within the sentence.

Students also helped me work on developing a plan to ensure that reading too long doesn't interfere with my bedtime.  Here are some pictures of our work today.

The Happy Mondays

Happy second week of school! We have a lot of inquiries happening this week.  Students will be inquiring into how organisms are classified by scientists. We will also be inquiring into the difference between fundamental rights, as described by the Bill of Rights, and our responsibility as citizens.   Students will also spend time this week learning the procedures for math workshop. We will also be introduced to inquiry style grammar. Here are some pictures from our morning meetings, IDR, Classroom Agreements, and Learner Profile Attribute poster creation. Be sure to ask your student if they can describe the difference between a right and a responsibility. Have a great week!

Hooray for Tuesday!

We had a great first day at school today!  Here are some pictures from our adventures!  We began our inquiry into how we organize ourselves.  Students tackled some difficult questions regarding their learning, and we all started the challenging process of creating a positive learning environment!  What a busy day!

Welcome Back!

I am beginning to get ready for a great new adventure during the 2017 - 2018 school year!

I am trying something new this year with our classroom wishlist.  I have created a list on Amazon and would love any of the items on the list.  These are items that are not included on our 5th grade supply list, but are great additions to our classroom.  If you would still like to purchase things during your back to school shopping at a local retailer, check out this list and feel free to get any of the items on the list.  Here is the link to the wishlist:  http://a.co/9tTqoX4

In addition to the wishlist, we will need socks to use as erasers for our small white dry-erase boards, so if you have any old socks that have lost their partners, I would love to have them!

Hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer vacation!  Looking forward to meeting everyone during our Meet and Greet on July 28 from 4 - 5.