I hope that you all enjoyed a restful Thanksgiving holiday with your families. It is hard to believe it, but December is already here this week and we have only 19 days until Christmas break. Many of us enjoy this time of year—shopping for gifts, decorating, baking cookies, etc. For some of our students, this is not a festive time of year due to the financial hardships their families face. It can even get to be a stressful time for these children that hear their parents talk about no money for Christmas or even the possibility of losing electricity. I don’t mean to depress you, but just ask that you keep this in mind and pay attention to these particular students in your class that may be going through hard times.
*A math lesson introducing division with remainders had all students participating by moving around the room to make groups of different sizes and finding out how many were left over (out of a group). Each student recorded this information in a chart, while still getting the chance to get up and move around with each problem. (Physical movement is a brain based learning strategy).
*Upper/lower grades getting together for activities with their "buddy classes." What a great opportunity for our older students to be a role model and for our younger students to get to know an older student.
Events This Week:
Tuesday: Tech Tuesday in Ms. Abegglen's room. Agenda: Google Reader and SMARTBoard
Do you enjoy learning from educator blogs, but forget where you found them or forget to check back for new posts? Find out how Google Reader can be used to easily keep track of the blogs you like and to just check for new posts to read when you have time. Click HERE for simple video to show you what google reader is.
The remainder of Tech Tuesday time will be for Q&A/Help on SMARTBoard/SMARTNotebook.
Wednesday: 3rd Grade Field TripFriday: Leadership Team Meeting at 12:00 in D.O. Conference Room
"Nuts & Bolts" Notes
**With SMARTBoards in every classroom now, Skype is a great tool to use to connect your class with anywhere around the world. Last year 4th grade connected with Singapore and New Zealand to learn more than just what they could read. A neat idea I've found online is Mystery Skype with another class that you can read more about here. Mystery Skype looks like a fun way to learn more about the states from your grade level's region for American Treasures. I know that a few of our grade levels learn about Christmas around the World or how different cultures celebrate...if anyone is interested, I know of 2 Jewish schools that have skyped with other classes to teach about Hannukah. If you're interested in Mystery Skype, I can help find a class for you to skype with. Just let me know know if you're interested and I can help you get started.
**No Office Day--I'll be spending time with 3-5th grades on Thursday, December 8th. I'm setting aside days in my calendar throughout the year to spend immersed in classes/grade levels throughout the day. I am really excited about this! I will be in the classrooms from students’ arrival through the end of the day; planning to spend time in the rooms during academic times and to visit specials with your classes. I am happy to sit and observe, but reeeeally what I would love to do is join in the fun. Please put me to work! Need someone to facilitate a small group? Want to team up to teach a topic? Would you like to have someone work 1:1 with a student? Want me to help prepare something on the SMARTBoard? These are all ways I’d be happy to help. Please send me an email to let me know--my calendar is WIDE open!! If there is work/planning I need to complete before that day, kindly let me know a day or two in advance.
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