Week Before Break...

Sometimes the week before winter break can be hard, but this week was so much fun! The kids were still working hard and doing their best--we couldn't have asked for a better week!

Our preschool kids only came in for checkout this week, as they were on the hunt for the gingerbread man! They've been reading gingerbread themed books all week. Last week we read the book Santa Cat, though, which is one of my favorites! Very simple, yet hilarious!

Our AK students read It's Christmas, David by David Shannon. Again, simple but so funny!

Our kindergarten & first grade students continued on in our Mock Caldecott readings. This week we read Special Delivery by Phillip Stead and Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler. After break students will look at the rest of the books on our list & then vote for their favorite. The winners are announced on January 11.

Second graders continued on in their story mapping of a fairy tale or fable. I couldn't be prouder of these kids! Sometimes I plan things that I think are probably too complex & involved and they bomb, but the kids have really stepped it up on this project & are doing an amazing job! This week they started drawing out their map on a large piece of paper. After break we'll get to program the robots to drive through the story! I can't wait to see these final products!

Third graders also continued in our Mock Caldecott challenge. This week we read Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett. Students posted in our Google Classroom which is shared with our friends at Titan Hill Intermediate in Council Bluffs. On Tuesday of this week we will be able to Skype with them and read a book together! I can't wait! 

Our 4th graders had a big week, as they presented their states projects. They did this in a museum format, where they dressed up as something related to their state, then had visitors come around and "push their button" to hear them talk about their state. Lots of kids even had theirs memorized! I was very impressed! They also had their states posters that they made in art class, and their Google Slideshows on display! It was a great time, though several of them noted that they were very tired after their presentations! 

The 4th graders are starting a new project after winter break where they will be making a video book trailer about a book of their choice. This week during class we watched some book trailers for books we have in our library and every student picked out a book to read over the the next 3 weeks. Watching the book trailers was a perfect activity this week since many of the students were tired after giving their states presentation! 

Here's to a happy winter vacation filled with family, friends, celebrations, and reading!

Week of November 30

It's nice to get back to sharing all of our fun learning after taking a break because of book fair and Thanksgiving vacation. We were back to working hard & having fun this last week!


Preschool & AK listened to a story called Bunnies on Ice by Johanna Wright. It is a cute story about a bunny who loves to ice skate. The favorite part by all the classes was when she twirls and wraps herself up in her scarf!

Our kindergarten, first, and third grade students read two more books in our Mock Caldecott book study: Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins & Paul O. Zelinsky & Waiting by Kevin Henkes. It was fun to compare these books that are both about toys. Kindergarten & first graders used the Seesaw app on the iPads to tell what might happen if their toys came to life while they were gone, or if they went in the snow.  

Here are a few examples of what they came up with:

The 3rd graders posted about what they thought their toys would do if they were home alone.

Our 4th graders spent one final class period working on their states projects--they are excited to show them off in 2 weeks!

And our 2nd graders started a new, super fun project. We are doing a fairy tale meets robots sort of project. Students are working with a partner and creating a story map based on a fairy tale that they read this week. After reading, they are working on filling out a story elements chart to help organize their thoughts. Then, they'll draw out on big butcher paper the events of the story, creating a sort of map. And finally, they'll program one of our new robots to drive through the events of the story in order. It really is much cooler than it sounds. Next week, I'll have some good pictures of student work. This week, just a few pictures of them reading & working together on their story elements chart!