Seabury Sharks

Excited about the Weather!

2012-01-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

As I type this, two students are on the internet looking for weather maps. Three students are gathered around a weather map, and giving reports (and asking for me videotape them:) ). Another student is outside with the weathervane, trying to find out where the wind is coming from. All in all, the Sharks are excited about being meteorologists. Over the next several weeks, we will be collecting data from several sources to track and predict weather patterns. We will be watching how this information is shared with others. We are connecting geography to weather, noticing that the weather is not the same in all places, and how maps are a large way to communicate the weather patterns. I am anxious to hear the questions that pop up as we gain experience with tools and concepts that we can investigate further. Below are a few pictures of us hard at work using tools such as thermometers, anemometers, weathervanes, and barometers.

learning to read different temperatures

How warm is this water?

We love doing weather reports, just don't tape me now!

Check out this map, look at the weather in Alaska!

The wind is coming from the southwest right now.

Whoa! It's really windy out!

A Conversation about Evaporation

2012-01-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

One of the most challenging parts of teaching gifted students is getting a clear understanding of what these students know and understand. Oftentimes, they have the vocabulary or understanding to some degree about a topic, but when you start to really ask what some words mean, you start to see the gaps. Today, we watched a Magic School Bus video about the water cycle. Afterwards, the class was explaining what they learned from it and used the words evaporation and condensation. However, as I questioned further, I could tell from the conversation that they didn't really get how evaporation occurs. Below is the conversation I recorded and scribed prior to conducting and experiment to determine the weight of hot vs. cold water.

As you read through this conversation, you will see that the students were relying on personal experiences, and things they have seen on TV, but didn't really understand why it happened that way. Talking to each other was getting them closer and closer to the cause of evaporation, and we observed it in action to confirm our ideas at the end.

What was the big idea from this video?

AS: To learn what rain does. First it evaporates, then it turns into clouds, then it goes back down, then it evaporates again and does it all the time

LR: first it starts out as water, then it evaporates, then it turns into a gas and then it goes up into the clouds, then it turns back into water to form the clouds, then it forms back into water and it drops down over and over again

What is our understanding of evaporate?

JL: to go from a liquid to become a gas

What needs to happen for evaporation to occur?

GH: It needs sun

LR: rain

CW: liquid

TV: sun, some clouds, some rain and needs to be water

What is the sun’s role? How does it go up?

CW: It grabs with an invisible force and pulls it up

AS: It goes up because it needs to form clouds

TV: the sun brings it up

JL: an updraft

LR: a force

VK: a magnetic force

AS: The gas floats up because that’s the way it goes

CW: I know. Water doesn’t weigh anything.

LR: Yeah, everything weigh something.

CW: Then how can you put your arms up so easy like this (waves his arms)

Mrs. Van: you think this is no big deal (I wave my arms). What is the difference in mass?

CW: Oh I get it, my arm is very strong and the air isn’t strong.

Mrs. Van: We have good ideas, but why does it go up?

TV: Because it’s cold up there?

LR: Heat! Heat! Heat!

Mrs. Van: What about heat?

LR: Heat is a gas, and so it pulls, like a force and the gas and force interacts together and pulls it up

AS: The heat is really light so it brings it up to the sun, not really though…

AM: I think its actually gravity still

Mrs. Van: I think we need to find out what is heavy, hot or cold.

AS: In weird but true, it says that if you hit a baseball goes faster in hot air than in cold air.

Mrs. Van: Why?

AS: I don’t know!

TV: Because it’s heavier.

Mrs. Van: Here’s a chance to think like a scientist. We have watched the video, talked about it, and now I have a question: Which is heavier, hot or cold?

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

What a busy first week back from Winter Break! We have started into our new concept of "Interactions between the Earth and Sky" through our study of weather and geography. Also, we have started to learn/reinforce math skills with temperature and time, as we will need these skills to do accurate weather reporting. During this study, I am building on the students' current experiences with the topics as we create webs and do observational drawing and writing. Yesterday, I introduced the concept and immediately the students shouted out "rain, hail, snow, etc." I know they understand the different types of weather here in the Northwest, and through study groups, I hope to examine other types of weather patterns and how they occur, what instruments are used to observe and predict weather, and how weather reports are communicated to others.

The beginnings of our weather web (sorry, I should have used a darker pen)

LR and GH are interacting with this street map

Today's math lesson: Estimating how many of these things they can do in 1 minute.

CW, VK and CH studying a topographical map

Our Holiday Poems

2011-12-13T08:05:00.000-08:00

We have been using the Writing Process heavily as we published our first poem. Please read their final drafts below!

I Hear Santa

Awake all night waiting for

Dear old Santa Claus.

He quickly fills my stocking and tree.

Whoosh!

He’s gone.

I swoosh down the stairs.

PRESENTS!!

By: CW

Christmas Morning

I am coming downstairs in my warm pajamas

To open my brightly wrapped presents

I smell fresh baked cookies

It tickles my nose

I look in my stocking

I see something red and white,

It’s a candy cane!

I open my presents and it is a nerf gun

The pistols glow in the dark!

By: AS

Christmas

Blue ornaments hanging on the tree

Jingle bells jingling

Glittering lights hanging on the tree

And on my house

Santa is here!

By: AM

It’s Christmas in My House

I’m sleeping in my bed when I hear a sound

What can it be?

Is it a reindeer? Yes! It is a reindeer.

A whole pack of them.

Then I hear a whoosh, it’s Santa!

He gives me a lot of presents.

They are cool.

I love Santa.

By: CH

When I Saw Santa Eating Something

Red and white minty smell tickles my nose

as I hear a cracking down below.

I run down the stairs to see who it is.

He has a red hat, a white long beard

and is carrying a bag of something.

Wrappers are spread out under the tree.

Hey!

It is Santa Claus eating a candy cane!

By: GH

Santa

I am Waiting for Santa

Can he be here?

I have to go see.

Santa eats my cookies and sipping milk. His Jingle bells Sounds like Christmas.

He fills my Stocking and WHOOSH!

When I Wake up I Am Opening my Presents.

By: JT

Before the Night of Christmas

Sparkly colors on the tree

Very soft bell songs ring in the air

Tasty cookies fresh from the oven

Hooray!

By JL

The Night of Hanukkah

When I wake up in the morning

I see some presents colorfully wrapped.

And on that night

I smell yummy foods that make me excited.

So yummy I can’t resist!

I eat five or more.

I love Hanukkah!

By: LR

I See Santa

Sweet red and white candy hanging in my stocking

Candy crunching in my brother’s mouth

Red ribbons tied to my presents under the tree

And Santa munching cookies

Hooray! Santa’s here!

By: TV

Best Day Ever!

Bright candles glow in the dark

A Boom! A Bam!

Colors fill the sky

The candles warm my chilly hands

Fresh Indian food makes me happy

Like awesome fireworks!

By VK

Relating Math to Science

2011-12-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Like scientists, mathematicians have questions that they want to find the answer to. They propose a question, come up with a list of possible responses, then survey their audience by collecting data with tally marks. We then make up a graph to communicate our results, using mode, median and mean to analyze what we found out. This week, the students collected data about a packet of M&M's. They sorted and classified, tallied and recorded, then showed their results in either a pie graph or bar graph. We identified the mode in their graph (the number that occurs the most) and will be working on finding the median (middle number in the results), mean (average) and range (difference between least and most).

Budding Philanthropists!!

2011-11-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

WE DID IT!!

The Sharks set a goal of collecting 500 food items. In the end, we collected 713+ food items, weighing in at 703 pounds. According to the IRS with food donations, 1 pound of food = $1.50. Can your Shark figure out how much was donated in monetary value?? Thank you for supporting your Shark with the food drive, and special thank you's for Ellie, who supplied us with bins, and Jim, who helped deliver the food on Friday.

Comparing the Past and the Present

2011-11-17T13:41:00.000-08:00

Going to Pioneer Farms on Wednesday gave the Sharks an opportunity to experience life from over 100 years ago while interacting with tools, toys, food and animals of the era. We were cold and wet, and worked in many dark buildings, since there was no electricity and running water back then. Back in the classroom, I had the class work in small groups as they reflected on their experiences of our field trip, and compared them to their daily experiences of today. I was very impressed with their responses. Below is one group's chart and how they worked together. I used a T-Chart to write down the different characteristics of each era. The students then found similarities and differences from those characteristics.

Using Math in Real-Life Situations

2011-11-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

When possible, I want the students to learn mathematical concepts in a real world setting. This allows them to make connections between the classroom, and what they will be doing in life. When the work is relevant, it engages them to want to learn more! The student-led food drive has been such a huge success with the Sharks. Everyday, they are anxious to collect, sort and graph daily totals. The kids are keeping a variety of graphs. One student today calculated her totals on my computer to keep track. Below is a video of the students adding several large numbers together to find the total number of donations to date.

Here are some ways the Sharks are collecting and keeping data. We noticed that there have been other graphs around the school that show a variety of different data. The students have been keeping track of there food drive goal.

I continue to use math games as a way to motivate students to practice math skills. I introduced a popular game, "Mrs. Van's Snack Shack." This allows the students to act out eating in a restaurant, and begin learning how to make change.

Lastly, I encourage the Sharks everyday to look for patterns in math as they write mathematical equations. Below, here is one example how CH has found a pattern in subtraction to reach the same difference. These are fun to watch as they have been increasing significantly in difficulty as the year has progressed.

Student Led Learning at its Best!

2011-11-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of research to support that students learn best when the work is relevant and interesting to them. This holds especially true to gifted students! This whole trimester, the students have guided their own learning and it has led to some really cool experiences, like visiting a food bank and meeting a city mayor. They have spearheaded their own community service project, with some students collecting donations from neighbors and friends! Today, the Sharks were so excited to recieve new food donations (mind you the food drive has not officially started) that we spent close to an hour sorting, counting, graphing and goal setting! My role is to facilitate their ideas and provide them with materials, and guide them through new skills, such as deciding how to show their data on the graph. I can work more closely with individual students during this time and cater to their strengths and weaknesses.

Watch the video below and look for how the students are interacting with each other. You'll see that everyone is doing a graph, talking about total quantity, sorting and classifying, one student offering help to another student, and one student explaining what has been collected. Enjoy!

TV is calculating the seperate categories to find the total number of donated food.

Students graphing the sorted results of total food donated so far.

Whoa! Check out all this food!

Meeting the Mayor!

2011-11-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Through student-driven interests, I scheduled a meeting with the Mayor of Tacoma. The Sharks had some great questions to ask, and the Mayor was excited to hear all of them. Here are a few of their questions:

What is your favorite thing to do?

How do you make a law?

What is your favorite thing about your job?

How did you get to be Mayor?

Who do you work for?

After sharing their questions, we got to visit her office and see Tacoma from her rooftop garden. Afterwards we had lunch at the middle school.

Here are some of things your Sharks learned about being a Mayor:

GH: It was interesting. She told us everything we asked.

AS: You have to ask a lot of people to make a law.

JL: Even Mayors have to obey rules.

LR: She has lots of lawyers to help her decide what we should do for the community.

VK: She had to ask for votes to become Mayor.

CH: Her favorite type of math was division. She uses it in her job to pass out money.

CW: We learned that her favorite thing about her job was to meet other students.

JT: She has 9 city council members. There job is to make new laws.

AM: She works for the people of Tacoma and has to live in Tacoma too. There’s 200, 000 people in Tacoma.

TV: She forgets names of people because she meets a lot of people in her job.

Food Bank vs. Grocery Store

2011-11-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

After many participated in the Hunger Walk last month, I was able to coordinate a trip to visit a local food bank to see how their donations were being used. I think that their impressions of a food bank prior to going have changed significantly. Back in the classroom today, the students worked in teams as they compared a food bank to a local grocery store using a Venn diagram. On Friday, the Sharks will share what they have learned at the all-school Gathering, and watch your email for an upcoming food drive led by your Sharks.

The "clean" version of our Venn Diagrams. Each group created their own.

One group sharing their comparisons to the rest of the class.

Learning many interesting facts about this Food Bank

CW is helping shelf some "fun" food items. Each family only gets ONE item from these shelves a week.

We noticed that many of the shelves look bare. This food bank serves about 3000 people a month, and is able to spend $4900 to purchase food necessary to serve others.

Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Sending all of you a belated Happy Halloween from the Sharks. Thank you to all the parents who were able to come and/or contribute in some way. A special Thank You for Ellie who coordinated and led many of the activities in the room. I love and appreciate everyone's support and participation!!

The Bean Bag competition is ON!

Who's the Mummy?

We are Tiny Alien Scientists...

2011-10-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

...exploring foreign liquids and solids from Planet Earth. We are investigating whether we can physically change each object while still keeping their properties. Using a States of Matter curriculum tailored for gifted students, the Sharks had to use their senses to describe each object and record their data. Afterwards, they "changed" each solid and liquid to make is smaller to determine if the properties of their object changed. Using the scientific process, the students started with a question, gave their hypothesis, collected data and shared their results.

The next day, while cleaning our "alien" ship, Mrs. Van noticed that one of the mysterious substances (cornstarch) had water spilled on it and turned into "goop." The Sharks really worked hard at deciding whether or not the mysterious goop was a solid or liquid. Bottom line: The cornstarch does not mix well with the water, therefore, it begins to mix with the water giving it a "liquid" look, but as soon as it is touched, the cornstarch molecule clump up and turn the goop into a solid. Watch to see how some students described it below:

We Know All About Eggs!

2011-10-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

We continue to explore different types of communities, and how they impact our lives. On Thursday, we went to Wilcox Farms in Roy, WA. The students visited buildings that were over 100 years old and compared how life back then differed from today. Also, we walked through several buildings were eggs were cleaned, packed and ready to be shipped to our local grocery stores. The strongest memory is the smell; chickens are not the sweetest smelling animals!! I have some follow up lessons that we will do over the next week to see what other businesses provide us with goods and services, and the types of communities these businesses exist in (ie: rural, urban, suburban).

Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures inside the factories, but the students enjoyed exploring the old equipment and vehicles on the farm.

Making a delivery in the milk truck from the 1940's

The schoolhouse from 1905. Many noticed spaces for ink and quills, and that the desks were all different sizes...

Does your Shark have any idea what this is??

Quote of the day: "I bet your jaw will drop when we get this thing moving!"

Getting to Know our Pumpkins

2011-10-10T11:40:00.000-07:00

GH and AM posing for the camera!

We had such a fun time at Spooner Farms last Friday. Each child left with their very own pumpkin (some were very large!). The weather worked in our favor too!

CH is on the search for the biggest pumpkin!

Time for a group shot

JT found the perfect round pumpkin

Mom, I think this one is TOO big!

There are so many pumpkins to chose from!

JL found his perfect pumpkin

Monday, I had the students get to know everything about their pumpkin, by measuring different aspects such as weight, height and circumference. We even cut open a class pumpkin and are currently counting the seeds from it.

Using 1 inch cubes to measure the height of our pumpkins

Everyone working together!

We can wear gloves for this right?

JT used a string to find the circumference, then counted out the length of the string with cubes.

Also, at the Pumpkin Patch, one of the chaperones bought a HUGE sunflower for us to discect. I pulled out the microscopes and the Sharks were using their sketch journals to record their observations of the seeds within the sunflower. The sunflower is about 16 inches in diameter! I already have several cups strategically placed about the classroom to see if we can get the sunflower seed to grow. Some are in varying temperatures of water, in paper towels and dirt from the garden.

CW is finding seeds to pluck

AM is using her sketch pad to record her observations

Wow! I didn't know that sunflower seeds were hairy! Cool things to be discovered under a microscope.

Community Time Observations

2011-10-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Every week, I give the Sharks "work time" to do their community. Each time is a little different. We started with a the Titlow pool, and sold memberships. A fish store was creating their fish selection and seeking employers. (Well, you had to pay them to work, since they didn't have any start up money) Recently, many students started making wallets to carry their money around with them. Great Wolf Lodge guest passes were for sale for a 2 for 1 deal. A food bank donation station has been opened and one girl solicited donations from the businesses that were open one day. One student bought books from a store while the cashier was counting back change.

Now accepting donations....

We definately need a water park in our community.

The Titlow Pool rules by CW

Last week, one child was frustrated that he didn't have any money. After walking around, he decided that he was going to be an artist and sell his work to earn money. This is a perfect example where students are starting to understand that you have to "earn" things in life, rather than expecting it to come from Mom and Dad!!

VK and CH have been busy creating currency from $10 to $1,000,000

To walk into the room with all this going on, you might think that they are just "playing." Listen to their conversations and you will notice how each child observes how adults interact with others in the community and brings it into their interactions with each other as they practice being consumers and producers to our economy.

In the next few months, I will continue to expose the students to different types of communities and how they work together. We have a field trip scheduled to a pumpkin patch, and dairy farm during this month. I'm excited to see how their new experiences outside the classroom play a role into how they are interacting with each other during community time. I will also do my best to capture these great moments...by the time I get my camera on and ready, the moment has passed!!

TV has a passport to travel!

Interacting with Nature

2011-09-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Half of Seabury went to Hylebos Wetlands Park. It was fun because the boardwalk was slippery, and the banana slugs were leaving slime trails. By: CW

I went to Hylebos Wetland Park. We saw a banana slug and one was spotted! We saw all kinds of creatures. By: LR

We went to Hylebos Wetland Park. Seeing banana slugs was fun and also being on the bus. I had a fun field trip. By: VK

Hylebos Wetlands rocks! Banana slugs are cool, because they help get stings off your skin. I love banana slugs. By: JL

Today I went to Hylebos Wetland Park. I saw 10 banana slugs. I saw mushrooms too. It was my first time that I’ve seen a banana slug. By: AM

I went to the Wetland Park. It was fun! Whoa! The boardwalk is very slippery. I got friends with me. I like the things I look at. My favorite thing I saw is all the things I see! It was the plants. There were lots of plants! By: JT

We went to Hylebos Wetlands Park. Banana slugs are fun. Mushrooms were growing on trees. The boardwalk was the best. By: CH

I went to Hylebos Wetland Park. I saw 10 banana slugs. I saw lots and lots of mushrooms in trees. The best thing was all of my friends came. By: AS

I went to the Hylebos Wetland Park. We saw banana slugs and mushrooms on trees and fungus. My favorite part was seeing a mushroom. By: GH

The trail was slippery. The trail took a long time. I saw some mushrooms. It was very fun. I’ve seen banana slugs before today. By: TV

The Daily News

2011-09-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

Two Sharks today did a news and weather report for the community of Back City. Please watch!

What Math Looks Like for the Sharks

2011-09-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

Prior to Seabury, I taught in public schools where I was required to teach a specific lesson on a specific day regardless of my student's abilities with the concept. Some days it felt like throwing a ball at a target, hoping that most of the kids were comfortable with the lesson to move on. Even worse, those who were above the level I was teaching wasn't allowed to work ahead, because, if they moved to another grade level in math, then what were they to do the next year? There was very little flexiblity with advancing students who were ready. At Seabury, there is no glass ceiling to what your child can do. I preevaluate each child's abilities and stretch them as far as they can, not as far as the math book will allow. In the next few years, they will continue to recieve what they need, regardless of the level of performance.

I have two different math groups that I lead twice a week. These groups are flexible and will change as new skills are introduced. So, if your child is strong with place value, but struggles with basic facts, they will get the instruction they need at their level. Currently, I am pulling resources as high as the third grade text and beyond!

The girls are making 4 digit numbers in a game of Snap! Here they are to make the largest number possible with the numbers they draw.

Using counters to show equations that equal 10.

TV and VK are using place value dice to compare numbers in a game of "Who Has More?".

Who Has More? Gameboard. This game can be place with single digit to six digit numbers, and math facts.

JT and I are using addition facts to "bump" each other off the game board in the game of Bump.

In math groups, I believe in using manipulatives and hands-on games to teach and reinforce mathematical concepts. It makes learning the concept fun and more concrete than just doing worksheets. Base 10 blocks, counters, and several types of dice are just a few items in my suitcase of math fun. I send home math worksheets on Tuesday and Thursday that review what was done in math groups. If you are seeing their homework becoming difficult, please let me know right away! Homework should be practicing previously taught skills and concepts and not intended to have your child struggle.

In addition, other skills are being practiced and learned in a real-world application setting. One example from today comes from our Literature Circles. Students were building houses with a variety of materials. Money and telling time will come into play very soon as the students are developing a community. Already, we have a fish store in the works, as well as a swimming pool (memberships start at $50 :) ).

AM is marking lines in her cardboard house.

JT using a measuring the height of his "house" with a tape measure.

The House that Jack Built

2011-09-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had our first cross-grade level Literature Circle on Tuesday with the Superstars and Ladybugs. This year, our three classes are studying the concept of "interactions." We are meeting to share literature that we can do activities together, as well as branch out and interpret the stories at different levels in each class. The Ladybugs are learning about themselves and their family, the Superstars are learning about their families and community helpers, as the Sharks will learn about different communities and how to be good citizens in our community.

We are starting with this book:

We met together as we each designed our own idea of a "cool" house. Later in the classroom, the Sharks wrote an advertisement so that their house can be "listed" in our community. Here are what their listings looked like: (sorry, the pictures of the houses did not turn out, you'll have to come to Curriculum Night to see)

My house is pretty. My house is only $400! It is tall and there is a pool in the backyard.

Call AS for details.
Cool living room! Free TV! Humungous Garden! Only $300,000,002
Call JL for details.
My house has an oven, an elevator and a secret entrance! Buy for $900,000,000.99
Call CH for details.
Six story house with 2 big TVs, big living room, neat bedrooms, separate meeting rooms and 2 bird feeders.
Buy for $100,000,000
Call VK for details.

This house is 10,000 square feet and furnished. This house has a hot tub. All new inclusive designing. Rent for $569 a month!
Call LR for details.
KID FUNHOUSE! TV, toy box, fan, telescope, toy cars, scooter, square legos, and pool. 1bath, 1bedroom, 1 laundry, 1 slide, kitchen, 2 chairs,1 remote control, elevator. Price $50,000. Includes: coffee maker
Call JT for details.

Awesome hammock. Cool beanbag bunkbeds. The couch is really comfy. Price: $120,000
Call AM for details.
My house is cool. Has circles on the windows. There’s a nice garden in the back. Price: $100,000
Call GH for details.

It has a slide and only two windows. Stairs to the backyard full of toys. Price: $150
Call TV for details.

A really scary face on the house to scare your neighbors. Hot tub at the bottom of the house. Inside, a beautiful dining room and a tower where you can ring a bell. Price: $8,020
Call CW for details.

A "snapshot" of our Day

2011-09-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

This week I have been building in ongoing routines such as reading and math groups, as well as introducing our concept for the year. With every topic we discuss, we will be looking through at the "Interactions" that occur. For the Fall trimester, I am introducing the idea of community, and more specifically how each one of us are a part of it. Below is a concept web that we created together as we pooled our ideas of community.

From this, I can begin to see their understanding and interests and build in the idea of community integrating math, writing, reading and science. In literature, we will be reading "The House that Jack Built" along with the Superstars and Ladybugs as we begin to make our own connections at the different developmental levels. A few field trips are currently being scheduled to get the students out in the community and bring in more experiences and questions to be studied.

Every morning, the Sharks are also working on computation and number sense. I have a number of the day in which each child has to create 5 number sentences (equations) that equal that number. They can add, subtract, multiply and/or divide, and use a combination of more than one. Of course, the highlight is to write their favorite on the smart board. Here is a snapshots of today's work:

I have done this activity for years and it caters well to each child's computation skills. As the year progresses, the equations tend to get more elaborate and longer, using multiple operations. I will post a snapshot of this monthly to watch the growth.

I'm sorry I don't have any photos of your kiddos this week! I have really enjoyed getting to know each of them and look forward to the many new adventures that lay ahead.

Meet the Sharks!

2011-09-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a new year at Seabury! We've had our first fun week together establishing new friendships and learning our classroom routines. One new item in our classroom this year is our smartboard, which the students have been using each day. It's hard to share though, as only one person at a time can use it, so we are also learning patience and taking turns :). The Sharks are also loving the back part of the room, which is where our classroom library and the infamous Shark tent resides. Last week and this week I am assessing your child's abilities in reading, writing and math to provide them the appropriate instruction in those areas, and will share my results during our fall conferences in October. Sign ups will be available at curriculum night, as well as information about what we will be studying over the year. Please check back weekly to see what we are doing every week!

Using our smartboard on day 1. We were writing equations that equaled 1.

Several Sharks enjoying our classroom library!

Looking for addition equations that equal 10.

2011-08-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

I am SO excited to see the Sharks in just a couple of weeks! It's going to be an outstanding year full of fun and adventure. Below is a list of supplies we will need to start our year off right! Please bookmark this site as it will be your window to our classroom. Weekly emails will be sent when a new post is ready for viewing.

SHARKS 2011-2012 Supply List

Please label your child’s supplies, coats, backpack and lunch! Thanks!!

Remaining school supplies will be provided by Seabury and are community shared.

1 regular sized backpack (please no wheels if possible)

3 folders with inside pockets (any fun design they want!)

1 wide ruled spiral notebook (80 page size is sufficient)

1 pair of headphones (cheap dollar store ones work well)

A water bottle to leave on their desk

1 box 24 count crayons

Everyday is a Busy Day

2011-05-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

NB is using a meter stick to find the measurement of the chair

We have been using a variety of tools to measure length in inches, feet, yards, centimeters and meters.

An Chiuly activity with our Artist in Residence Joni

Making observations with the leaves and petals

Fun scientific tools to study leaves in more detail

Here are some of the differences and similarities the students independently wrote down while studying leaves.

More Artist in Residence

JE using a meter stick to measure the whiteboard

Mrs. Katy is helping DS with an O'Keefe inspired art project

Here are a bunch of pictures of us over the past couple of weeks. The Sharks have been so busy with hands-on activities, and making the connections between their work and the real world.

Mangos, Papayas and Guava fruit, Oh My!!

2011-04-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

This week we have been talking alot about seeds and how they travel from their parent plant to their new location to germinate. We read "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle, and each Shark is writing and illustrating their own version of this tale using collage and texture painting and publishing on Powerpoint. We cut open some fruits and found, or attempted to find (do naval oranges have a seedless variety?? If so, oops!) When I asked the class to share examples of fruit, I got every fruit under the sun, except the basics like apples, bananas and oranges. Have you ever had jack fruit??

The seeds we planted are beginning to germinate for the garden. Now, if only mother nature would cooperate and give us some warm weather to plant them!! We will be studying cacti, the photosynethesis process, and the purpose of a flower in the coming weeks as we continue to "travel" to various regions and learn about different Native American cultures.

There's gotta be seeds in here somewhere??

LW is dissecting an orange( I didn't know they were seedless!)

The best part of today's lesson was eating the fruit!

CH and EJ showing off their Pueblo dresses.

NB and GH leading their own reading group!

JE and DS enjoying the fruit

Exploring Seeds

2011-04-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

This week, we have talked about the life cycles that humans, insects and plants go through. We saw that all living things begin as a seed, and go through several transformations in life. We read The Dandelion Seed today, and discussed the ways that seeds travel. The students then designed seed coats that would allow their seeds to hitchike, like pinecones and berries, fly through the air like maples and dandelions, and float by water like coconuts and cranberries. The students tested their designs for effectiveness.

THANK YOU to all the parents who supported this year's fund-an-item of supplying our classrooms with smartboards. I had a chance to bring the demo board to the class for the morning that the students LOVED interacting with the board. They will be installed and ready for use either at the end of this year, or definately this fall.

NB, DS, and AD testing their floating seeds

EJ has made a flying seed. I hope it works!!

Will this flying seed be successful?? You'll have to ask MP.

Deosn't get any more hands on than this!

2011-03-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of the beautiful spring weather to start preparing the garden for a delicious fall harvest. The Explorers were with us as they prepared the Native habitat, while the Sharks weeded the front garden beds. We are currently collecting data on ground temperatures to determine the best time to plant our seeds. We will be germinating several plants after spring break, and maintaining the vegetable garden until school lets out in June.
Today in class, the students worked in their own cooperative groups on self-directed projects. Some students were planting seeds with a control and variable, testing the affects of soda vs. water, soil vs. rocks, and if baking soda affects plant growth. Others were building mazes for our class beetles, and timing how long it took for them to travel different differences. They observed the strength of the beetles when they saw how it pushed a dice out of its way to reach its food. A new testable question emerged as one began to wonder if beetles have eyes and can see, or rely on the sense of touch and smell.
All in all, a busy open-ended learning day!

GH and JE breaking up the ground to pull weeds

LW found an old root ball

CS hard at work

MP and DS finding new critters and picking up compost

Great teamwork EJ and CH!

A new friend...can we put him under the microscope?

Finding lines of symmetry with pattern blocks

AD and JE observing the preying mantis egg. When will it hatch?

Observing our World Through Math and Science

2011-03-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Sharks have had a lot of opportunities to construct their learning through manipulatives and other tools. In math, we have talked about 2-d and 3-d, as they occur naturally or are manmade. We have a great time at the Tacoma Art Museum finding shapes within photographs taken right here in Tacoma. We observed that shapes in nature do not have nor need to have perfect sides and corners to be considered shapes. We even saw many organic shapes! In the classroom, the Sharks used toothpicks (edges) and marshmallows (vertices) to create their own figures. In science, I pulled out our BRAND NEW (Thanks fund-an-item 2010 donors!!) microscopes, as the Sharks observed various seeds and recorded their observations in their journals. One student commented on how he noticed that the same type of seed can come in different shapes and sizes. Several noticed parallel line patterns on the seeds. They really enjoyed using the scientific equipment!

This Thursday is the Science Fair from 6-7:30. A bake sale will be from 7-7:30 to collect donations for Japan Tsunami/Earthquake relief. One student's family in our class has family members in Toyko! I am happy to report they are all okay. We are also doing a coin drive and all donations will be given to Red Cross. If you would like to donate a baked good, please bring individually wrapped goodies with your child on Thursday and I will pass them along. The middle school is hosting the event.

CS, MP, LW and NB constructing 3-d figures

AD, GH, and JE busy finding hidden figures in their shapes

GH, AD, and LW using the microscopes to observe seeds

EJ and DS looking closly at an acorn seed

CH studying her observations

Cooperative Learning

2011-03-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

The Sharks loved everything about mapmaking! After we worked in small groups building maps, there was such an interest to continue that our focus went to building a 3-dimensional city.
It didn't take long to decide what to do. They wanted to build Seaburius, after the made-up city in their auction movie. Some kids went right away to adding roads and laying the plan out, while others built.
Each day, new items were being added or removed. One day they wondered about a power station. Another day they decided the city had enough money to build a casino. After awhile, a need for a neighborhood came up. Bringing in people to the city also brought in a cemetary and even a mausoleum! The Sharks had to negotiate their wants and needs for football stadiums, stores, parks, and a transalantic tunnel to the castle. The builders had to take in account the size of their building and roads.
This project went on for a couple of weeks, engaging in the building process for hours!
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Even though the "final" product was never completed, the skills and concepts incorporated in the arts, social studies, math and cooperation will carry over to future lessons.

EJ is adding road and speed limit signs to Mushroom Road

AD's strip mall to include a bank and a Godfather's Pizza

NB and GH discussing plans on paper

CS adding a pasture for the horse stable

Windseekers!

2011-02-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

Today we continued our experiment about what object in the classroom could produce the most amount of wind. We followed the scientific method.

Question: What device creates the fastest wind?
Hypothesis: I think...
Observations: What did you see happen?
Results: Accept or reject hypothesis and why?

Yesterday the students tested their hypothesis by attempting to blow a straw on a string, but there was very little success. Today, we tested our hypothesis again with pinwheels (thank you Wendy Hall!). Very interesting observations were made during this! CH noticed that when she moved her folders side to side, there wasn't much wind, but when they moved up and down, it created more. She believes it's because she was moving the wind away from the pinwheel the first way. DS couldn't get his paper fan to move the pinwheel when facing forward, so he attempted to fan it from the side. He then discovered that his object was not as effective for making wind as it kept falling over. NB's result was that his paper ripped when using his number scroll and that was the problem for creating more wind. AD and JE tried running, but AD felt his legs were creating the wind, and the pinwheel was up towards his chest. JE thought they just needed more space to run and could create a better wind. They rejected their hypothesis and decided a fan was the best object. Here are some pictures taken during their experiement. Their experiment sheet will go home on Friday for you to look over.

A Map of Ourselves

2011-02-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

We are SO lucky to have Katy come in and teach us to appreciate art, as well as learn art techniques. We have done art associated with feelings and music. This week, we did self portraits, incorporating our understanding about placements on maps, and introducing scale. The medium used was oil pastels. Enjoy!

Map studies

2011-01-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Last week, the Sharks were cut loose and asked to create a "map," to include symbols and a legend. It was amazing the different maps that were created, and how much time they used (they worked diligintly for over an hour!). In the end, we had four different types of maps to share with the group.

Math continues to go well if the Sharks have access to manipulatives to model the process of regouping. It get a little tricky when they have to show their work on paper. We will continue to work on this skill as well as continuing using a thermometer for our weather tracker.

We had a great art lesson last friday from a Shark parent. She incorporated music into the creation of art using circles, pastels, and string. The final product will be hung up this week in the class. I invite you come see it!

I have put spelling lists on hold for the moment. The needs vary dramatically within the group, so I am addressing their individual needs in the classroom.

Budding Meteorologists!

2011-01-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

We have hit the ground running this week. We are beginning our new topics of study relating to maps and weather. The Sharks have already had so much fun just looking at maps, and learning how to use the fun meteorologist tools!

This week I introduced subtraction with regrouping. If you have pennies, legos, etc. that could be used to represent groups of 10 and 1's for homework, it would really help. Overall, if the manipulatives are out, the Sharks have a great grasp of the concept of borrowing a group of ten to subtract the ones (regrouping the math world).

Sharks share their Community Projects

2010-12-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all the families that came out to see your Shark's wonderful project of how they are a piece of our community. It was a great turnout and we had lots of fun! Students from other classes also came to see our presentation and they were so positive and overall showed great interest and enthusiasm for our younger students. Here are few pictures from that afternoon.

Seabury Students Spreading Holiday Cheer

2010-12-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, the Seabury students gathered and made homemade holiday cards for residents at the Frank Tobey Jones retirement home. A few sharks, as well as a few from each class joined me today as we sang carols and passed out our cards. The students had a great time, and the residents lit up with all the young and happy faces. Here is a few pictures of our morning.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2010-12-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

I know all of you are probably running around more than usual, and believe, the Sharks are feeling the same way in school. We have been doing a lot of writing around the winter holidays, and are currently publishing one piece using Microsoft PowerPoint. Math groups are working on 2-digit addition problems with regrouping. Reading groups are finishing up their chapter books before the holidays. On Thursday we have our music performance and today the students travelled downtown for a dress rehearsal. (For good seating, the Sharks will be standing to the left of the stage to sing and will be playing instruments in the middle).

Next Friday we have early dissmissal for the Winter Vacation, and we will be having a holiday party that morning. Please contact our class representative if you would like to help out.

Pioneer Farms

2010-11-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, the Sharks and Superstars went to Pioneer Farms, to learn how communities worked together to survive over 100 year ago. Although it was very cold we had a great time. The Sharks are currently working on a paragraph to describe some of the activities they did. We started this paragraph by creating a word web. It was much easier to organize our thoughts and we remembered several details.

Check email for an invitation for a presentation of our culminating project on communities and citizenship with the Superstars. The Sharks have been working hard and putting several pieces together to create the final product!

The trimester ends the week after Thanksgiving break and we will be moving into a new topic of study for social studies and science. Keeping with our theme of discovery, we will be learning about the state of Washington, as well as map skills, and learn about different weather patterns. I hope to have some great projects and field trips for all of you to participate.

What a Busy Week!

2010-11-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe all the things we have been doing this week! On Monday, we made ice cream in a bag and observed how salt forces ice to freeze at a lower temperature. Thursday was a great day to visit Theo's Chocolate in Seattle. We observed how a cocao bean goes from bean to chocolate bar. It was a very tasty trip :) The kids loved sampling all sorts of chocolate, and enjoyed a sunny afternoon on the Burke Gilman trail for lunch. This week we started on a culminating project what we have learned about being a good citizen in our community at Seabury and Tacoma. We will invite you all to see the final product! On Friday, the entire school met in our classroom and the Explorers room as we made cards for the residents of Frank Tobey Jones Retirement Center. Many of these residents do not have ways to go out and purchase holiday cards, so we made some beautiful ones for the residents to send to families and friends. A few Sharks will join me with other Seabury students as we deliver them sometime in the next two weeks.
Below are some pictures of our many events that have taken place. Please note upcoming events for no school days and other field trips coming soon!

We have to wear hairnets for the tour!

Yummy! Peppermint Caramel squares...

How a cocao bean turns to chocolate

CS and an explorer making a holiday card together

Card making!

More card making!

The beginning of our community project.

Sharks learn about the Food Bank

2010-10-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Ms. Calhoun, a Beacon parent was able to coordinate a special tour of the Edgewood Food Bank today. The students learned how food was distributed, and what kinds of food was available to needy families. The Sharks had some great questions about how many people are served, and how much food each family gets. This particular food banks serves 150 in the area!

Here's what's happening in our room:
Reading: Reading groups are still going strong. Last week we read Hansel and Gretel as a whole group read aloud and had some real interesting discussions around the story.
Math: We are wrapping up the first chapter of place value as we continue to work on patterns. I am teaching lots of tricks about finding numbers quickly on a hundreds chart.
Writing: We are ready to publish! We just finished editing for capitals and periods. I hope to get this done at the end of the week!
Social Studies: We have had a lot of great discussion around community service and what that means and looks like to them. I will be shifting the topic to famous americans who helped make a change in their communites (and the country!)
Science: We have been talking about physical changes in matter, and for the next few lessons we will be looking at how certain solids and liquids react together.

Scientists Hard at Work!

2010-10-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

DS and GH studying the shape of salt crystals

EJ recording her observations in her science journal

NB and AD observing salt crystals with the microscope

This week the students have been observing and causing physical changes with matter. In one experiment we dissolved salt into water and painted with it. The result was the water evaporated and salt stayed behind, changing its shape in the process. The Sharks were especially excited to use scientific tools like the magnifying glass and microscope to better observe the physical change.

Sharks Supporting our Community!

2010-10-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Thank you all of you who were able to come out or contribute in some form to the Pierce County Hunger Walk. As a team, we raised $1427 for the Emergency Food Network! The kids that were there had a blast walking the 5K (3.1 mile) route...with even a few runners in the mix. The weather held out for us as well. Since we advertised the Hunger Walk, a group of students have started their own Service Club to help out others. They will be hosting a bake sale on Friday to help Pakistani flood victims. Thank you for supporting Seabury kids as they become contributing members of their community.

Seabury kids with the Tacoma Rainers Moose

The runners at the Hunger Walk

In other news, here's what we are doing this week in the Shark's room:
Reading: Reading groups are in full swing. One group is starting a new chapter book called Half Magic, with another group finishing up Flat Stanley. Other groups are working on fluency and accuracy skills at their level and making huge gains!
Writing: We have been working on the revision stage: as one student put it, "re means to do again, and vision means to look with your eyes," so revision means looking at our writing again and finding ways to improve. We will be editing our piece of work before a final copy is written out.
Math: We are learning about place value, and different ways to represent numbers. This week we are reviewing expanded notation (96= 90+6), and word form (ninety-six).
Science: We are discussing physical changes with matter. We have been experimenting with melting, condensation and dissolving.
Social Studies: We are getting ready for a field trip to a local food bank and we will start talking about famous Americans who have contributed to their community.

All together just before race time!

Off we go, only three miles left!!

Kicking off our New Art Program

2010-09-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

AD, CS, and MP creating a landscape portrait

On Friday, a shark parent, along with Ms. Head presented a lesson to the Sharks from our new art program. The focus of the lesson was to express thoughts and feelings about a print, and to discuss an art element. The art element was about landscape; identifying a foreground and background. The students followed up the lesson by creating their own landscape painting using watercolors. They spent a lot of time creating their piece of art, and the names of their paintings are very unique! These paintings will be in the window on Monday so please stop by and take a look.

EJ and JE creating a masterpiece

Other happenings in the Shark Tank:
Reading: Reading groups are off to a great start. Each child is recieving instruction at their level, and the focus ranges from accuracy to critical analysis of comprehension. I am using a "CAFE" model (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Expanding Vocabulary) to give the students strategies for reading and understanding.
Math: We have been learning about several addition strategies for quick recall, and all were pretested to begin studying place value. I am using both the first and second grade editions of the math program to meet your child's needs.
Science: We are beginning our experimental stage with solids, liquids and gases. We are using the scientific method and recording our work in our science journals.
Social Studies: The sharks are excited to be part of an opportunity to help our community! I hope you can join us next Sunday at the Hunger Walk! We are continuing to talk about what makes a community and how can we make a difference.

Learning Routines and Having Fun!

2010-09-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

B is playing Sums and Snakes

AD and CH play turn-around concentration

This week I have focused on learning routines that will be done for the remainder of the year. We begin with math every morning; we do a 1 minute math timing and then move to our lesson of the day. I incorporate several math games which reinforce skills. Right now we are working on addition strategies. After recess and snack, we will be starting reading groups. The Sharks are learning to read independently as well as with a partner while I meet with small groups. In the afternoon, we are either doing a science lesson on the states of matter, or a social studies lesson about communities and citizenship. We have been very busy the first couple of week having fun and hanging out with friends. Here are some photos of some of the math games we play!

LW is playing First Sum Wins

First Week!!

2010-09-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

What a busy first week of school! I wanted to share photos of what we have been doing.

One Day of Summer Left!!

2010-08-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

Just think, by this time tomorrow, your Shark will be back at Seabury ready to learn and new adventures! I can not believe the summer is over already! Well, I wanted to introduce all of you to our classroom blog. I update it weekly with pictures and a summary of what we are up to. I will send out an email each time it's updated so you know when to check!

I enjoyed meeting and visiting with many of you at the picnic and look forward to getting to know you and your Shark better this year! Let's get started!!

Welcome Back!

2010-08-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it's Back to School time already! I can't wait to see your Shark and start an exciting year together. The first opportunity we will have to meet is Sunday, August 29 from 1-3 at the Brown's Point Lighthouse Park for the annual Seabury Potluck. I hope you can all be there to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.

In the meantime, please don't hesitate to email me with any questions, etc. you may have at janicev@seabury.org. I can't wait to meet each of you!

Grandparent/Special Friend's Day Fun!

2010-05-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you Shark Grandparents, Parents, Aunts and Special Friends. Each Shark had someone special to share their writing and show off what they have been learning. I hope everyone had a great time!

Puyallup Fair School

2010-05-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we visited the Puyallup Fair School. We learned about where milk comes from, and how cows digest their food. We played with bunnies, goats and sheep in the barn and even pet a 1 day old runner duck! It was a great trip and the Sharks learned a lot! Ask them to tell you how they can find out what color egg a duck will lay. (hint: it has something to do with ears!)

Artist in Residence

2010-05-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

This week we have been very busy with special projects for Grandparent's/Special Friend's Day and Mother's Day. In addition, we have had Mauricio work with the students to create glass murals for the outside of our building. The unveiling of this work will be next Friday at 9:00. Here is a sneak at what we have been doing!!

A busy April

2010-04-29T11:44:00.001-07:00

This week we have been learning about the Navajo tribe. With each new tribe, the Sharks are learning how different each tribe is and how their enviroment impacts their way of life. Each of the tribes studied so far have had different homes and hunted for different animals. They have found similarities in that they all worked together and they all made some sort of jewelry. Since the Navajo are in the Southwest region of the US, we also read about cacti this week. Did you know a Sagauro Cactus lives to be about 200 years old!! Come check out their timeline in our windows.

The Sharks are feeling very comfortable with addition and subtraction of 3 and 4 digit numbers, that we will be moving on to the final chapter in our math book involving multiplication. Technically, we have been doing it all along, but it seems more "official" now since its in the math book. One way to help your child master this skill is to work on skip counting by 3,4, 6,7,8 and 9. I put some of these to a tune of a song to help master and I will be teaching the students these over the next few weeks.

Measuring Fun!!

2010-04-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

Today the Sharks had to use an "Act it Out" strategy to solve their math problems today. They had to compare the capacities of several objects. It was great fun and of course, everything was wet in the end!! Ask your shark about Gallon Man, and test their knowledge as to how many cups, pints and quarts make a gallon.

Welcome Back!

2010-04-12T08:22:00.001-07:00

It's great to see all the Sharks this morning. I hope everyone had a restful spring break! Today we welcomed a new student to our class. Here are some photos from our science fair that we had the Friday before break.

2010-03-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Another busy week for the Sharks. Here's what we have been up to!

Reading/Writing: We have started new literature circles. The books being read this round is Flat Stanley and the Canadian Expedition, Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing, and Ramona's World.
Math: We have worked on identifying and classifying 2-d and 3-d figures. Next week we will be ploting points on a line and testing out of this chapter. Next will be measuring capacity (volume).
Social Studies: This week we have studied the Plains regions tribes focusing on the Lakota Sioux. We have read several legends, and created many artifacts of clothing and accessories. They performed an experiment on how to construct a tipi and how the number of poles affects the design. Next week we will travel east to learn more about the Woodlands region tribes.
Science: The control plants are growing (slowly) and some of the variable plants are not making the progress they were expecting. Today the students designed seeds to travel in various forms, such as air, water and hitchhiking. We will test them to see if they work on Monday.

RM is desiging a seed that can float in the air like a parachute for 10 seconds.
BH and ME are trying to get their tipi to stand with 15 poles and not fall over.

A Week of New Learning!

2010-03-17T09:20:00.001-07:00

Comparing and sorting seeds based on similar attributes.

Sharing our short stories with others.

Using a microscope to see small seeds in detail

Using cubes to measure the length and width of several objects in the room.

This week, we started in our new unit for third trimester. In Social Studies,we will be studying and comparing several tribes of many regions of North America. In Science, we are starting a unit of plant life and the students already have lots of questions they want to test with them. This week we are finishing our chapter on linear measurement, and starting with geometric shapes. Literature Circles continue to be an exciting part of the morning, as the Sharks are taking a leadership role and leading their own reading and discussions. I hope you all enjoyed their final copy of their short story. They did their own typing and adding of clip art using Powerpoint. Here are a few snapshots of what we have been up to!

Science Fair was a success!

2010-03-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of you who helped your child create and present a wonderful science fair project. The Sharks loved sharing their projects with the school, and I know many parents were very impressed with their hard work!

World's Biggest Seuss Fans!

2010-03-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

ME and KE enjoying a Seuss book.

Getting settled and reading books.

We won first place!

The Seuss team debates the correct answer.

Today we celebrated Dr. Seuss' 106th birthday by having a Seuss Day! We wore our pajamas, brought our favorite books and stuffed animals, and dedicated the day to reading. We made new creatures for McGrew's Zoo from If I Ran the Zoo, participated in the 1st Annual Dr. Seuss Trivia Game (which we won first place for our Seuss knowledge) and had a few family members come read in the afternoon.

Here are some more highlights from the past week:

Reading/Writing: We are starting to type our final copies of our short stories. The Sharks have been working hard at being peer editors. We are still reading Flat Stanley and the Egyptian Robbery, and Magic Tree House Hour of the Olympics for literature circles.

Math: We started our new unit with linear measurement. We have discussed standard vs. non-standard units of measurment. We will be practicing more with rulers this week. We have also been measuring in our science labs.

Social Studies/Science: We will be painting our amphora pots later this week (I hope) and talk about the Parthenon and other aspects of Greek architecture before we wrap up our adventures. In Science, we conducted an experiment about the impact a meteorite can make on the moon's surface. We are also starting to construct models of buildings and transportation vechiles we will need to survive on the moon.

Science Fair this Thursday all day and in the evening from 6-7:30. I hope to see all of you there!

Meet our Ancient Greek Olympians!

2010-02-19T13:50:00.001-08:00

Team Sparta!

Team Megara!

Team Corinth!

Team Athens!

Team Argos!

Seabury 2010

2010-02-19T13:41:00.000-08:00

KC attempts the longest throw in the straw javelin!

Measuring the shot-put distance.

RM attempting the high jump.How much does my teddy bear handful weigh?

RS wins at the widest side step!

What an exciting day for the Sharks. The class was in their City-State teams, and had a blast at Seabury 2010. We played cotton ball shot-put, straw javelin, high jump, giant step, side step, paper plate discuss, and teddy bear handful. All activities required math to measure their results. Here are a few pictures from their day. Thanks to Diane and Amol who came to help out!

Australian Aboriginal Auction Project

2010-02-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks we have been working on our auction project. We are making a hallway table, topped with ceramic Australian aboriginal art pieces. Here are a few pictures of the Sharks painting their pieces. Thanks to Mrs. Gellert, Rich and Diane for helping them paint, to Diane for finding a table and piecing it together, and for Cathy, who has supplied us with the clay and firing of our pieces. I will post a picture of the finished product soon!

Future Space Explorers

2010-02-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

This has been such a busy and exciting week for the Sharks. On Monday, we visited the Pacific Science Center to see the new Mars exhibit. The kids especially loved the IMAX movie on the Mars rover. It is amazing how much went into the construction and the preparation for landing! On Tuesday, we continued our study on the moon by re-creating the moon's surface using a variety of "impactors" to act as meteors. Wednesday was a writing day as we embellished our stories and focused on just the beginning. We finished Stone Fox on Thursday, which had a surprise ending the Sharks all loved. Finally, Friday had arrived and we spent a part of the morning making animals from fractions of a circle. The Sharks all know what a half, quarter and eighth of a circle looks like!

I hope you are all looking forward to a relaxing weekend as I am. Please remember that we have only 3 days of school next week!

A productive Friday

2010-01-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

I love the days when creative juices are flowing! Today we were working on pre-writing and drafting our first short story. Here are some examples from AI and ZM on how I approached it. (If you click on the picture, you'll get a more zoomed in image)

My focus was for them to include the main story elements of character, setting, problem and solution. Then, we began to draft a beginning, middle and end. We will embelish each part further before we publish onto powerpoint our final copy of their story.

Stone Fox Literature Circle

2010-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Last week we began reading Stone Fox as a whole group. I assigned reading partners, and the partners were expected to read the assigned chapter and be ready to discuss. Stone Fox is about a little boy who lives with his grandfather on a farm in Wyoming. His grandfather has fallen ill and owes money for taxes. Little Willy must take on the responsibility of the farm and find a way to pay the tax man before they lose their farm. The students have really been enjoying it, and look forward to the dog race part of the story! After each chapter we discuss how the plot is progressing, as well as describing character traits based on actions in the story. The students have to refer often to their book to support their ideas.

What is a scientist??

2010-01-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, in preparation for our science fair March 4th, I asked the students "What do scientists do?" Their ideas included the verbs invent, experiment, test, study and research. I was very impressed that they didn't think of scientists as people who always do exploding experiments! We then discussed that scientists get their ideas by observing and asking questions. I asked the students to come up questions they would like to explore about our study of space, as they looked through lots of space books. Here are some of their questions:

ZM: Why does part of Venus look like Mt. Rainier? What is the Milky Way made from?
RS: How do rovers help astronauts? What is the moon?

RM: Why is the sun so big? What is an astroid?

ME: Why does the moon have a dark spot on its surface? How did the moon form?

KC: Why do people not call Ceres and Eris planets?

KE: Why is Mercury the smallest planet? Why does the sun have black spots?

CS: What is the moon? How do you build rovers?

BH: When did the solar system start? How did gas get into the sun?

AI: What created the moon? Does other planets have mountains like the moon?

I can't wait to further investigate all their thoughts and ideas during this study!

Time to...play Bingo!

2010-01-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

Today we played an intense game of time bingo. It was telling time to the quarter hour, but instead of saying 8:15, 6:45, etc. I used quarter to, quarter after, and half past. The Sharks were really counting on their neighbors to help them out. We played for 35 minutes for blackout with no full board, but we still had fun!

Welcome Back!

2010-01-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

Wow! The first week back from winter break has flown by! The Sharks were definately ready to be back and Seabury and we did a lot of learning this week.

Reading: Together we went through a new round of vocabulary words with our Wordly Wise curriculum. This time we came up with our own defintions based on our own experience with the words rather than using our dictionary. We also got to discuss what synonyms and antonyms were. They are now ready to read and answer most of the questions independently!

Math: We started a unit on measuring time and temperature. Most of the Sharks are very comfortable with reading the hands on an analog clock. I am also using alternative names, such as half past, quarter to, etc. when asking them to show me a time.

Social Studies/Science: We have travelled back in time to Ancient Greece. We constructed a map and labeled major city-states, and constructed a timeline dating back to 2000 BC. Great job on their personal timelines!! The Sharks are so anxious to learn more about the Greek Gods, and tying that into our study of the sun, moon and stars for astronomy.

Please note upcoming field trips as we would love to have you come along! Enjoy the weekend!

Tech Savvy Sharks!

2009-12-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

Thank you for having all the Sharks at the winter concert last Tuesday! They all looked so great and had a wonderful time!

This week with the help of the Explorers, the Sharks created a powerpoint presentation to share their research on an African animal. They did such an amazing job! I have burned a copy of their presentation for you and will place it in their Friday folders for you to enjoy. If it doesn't work, please let me know and I will make a paper copy.

I wish all you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoy this magical time with your families and will see you in January!

Money, Money, Money!

2009-12-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

We have been working a lot with money in math the past couple of weeks. We are learning how to count many coins at once, and looking for multiple ways to make the same quantity of change.

The next couple of weeks we will spend wrapping up projects and preparing for our studies of astronomy and Ancient Greece. We are finishing up a research report of an animal of the African Savannah. Your children have done an outstanding job researching their animal's physical characteristics, diet, habitat, and other interesting facts.

Hope to see all of you at the Winter Program this Tuesday at 7:00 at the Seabury Middle School!

More Busy Weeks Ahead

2009-11-30T13:01:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving break! We have just a few short weeks until the new year in the Shark's room. We are working hard to try and finish up our travels of Africa, and prepare to travel back in time to Ancient Greece. Here is a quick rundown of the week ahead:

Social Studies/Science: We are finishing up our research on an African animal. We have information on habitat, diet, characteristics, and other interesting facts. We will be writing this out into a report this week.

Math: We started our unit on money today. The Sharks are very comfortable with names and values, and are now working on calculating totals, and move into making change if they are ready.

Reading: Today we read another Junior Great Story about a mermaid who lost her comb. Every reading group is starting a new book this week. We are reading Frecklejuice, Flat Stanley and Henry and Mudge for this rotation.

Point Defiance Zoo

2009-11-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

Top: Entrance to Asian Sanctuary Bottom: Ugh! Someone has turned into a tapir!

Exploring with the different skulls

Check this out!

We lucked out with the wind and rain as it stopped during our adventure to Point Defiance. We started with a discovery program to learn more about the Asian animals and their habitat. We got to explore different skulls, etc. from various animals. After lunch, we walked around the Asian Sanctuary and met up with a zookeeper who attempted to feed the tiger, however he wasn't interested in food I guess! Overall it was a great experience for the Sharks. Here's the events for this week:

Social Studies/Science: We are going to do comparing and contrasting of homes and lifestyles in the African Savannah and Tacoma, Washington. Each child has chosen an animal for further research which will also begin this week. We plan on having an African Safari in our classroom open soon!

Math: We should be finishing up Chapter 6 on subtraction with regrouping. We are understanding the concept, just need practice on remembering when we need to regroup. I teach a short poem stating, "More on the top, no need to stop! More on the floor, go next door and get 10 more!"

Reading: This week we will do our first reader's theater and I hope we can perform it at Gathering this Friday. I will send out an email to let you know if this happens so you can come watch. It is a very short play, but is being used to work on proper voice level and expression.

Next week is Thanksgiving and we will have a Thanksgiving feast on Wednesday before going home at 12:00. I will send more info as the event nears. Have a fabulous week!

Rocks, Rats and Other Fun Things

2009-11-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, we've been reading and learning about all kinds of things this week!

Reading: We read "The Piped Piper" from our Junior Great Books this week. It's a classic folktale about a man who played a flute to rid the townspeople of rats, with an interesting twist at the end. Lots of interesting questions have already popped up in dicussion, including "What are rats favorite food?" The students had to describe the Pied Piper and give their explanation based on the story. One student said, "I would describe the Pied Piper as being magical because he played the flute to get the rats away." We are still reading Mouse and the Motorcycle in one reading group, while the others are reading a new Magic Tree House book, and Frog and Toad All Year.

Math: We have finished practicing addition with regrouping, and are moving on to subtraction. The students are also still working through understanding what is to be done in a word problem. We have to learn to separate useful information from filler information, and analyze the questions to know what operation we need to do to solve the problem. I have done some logic puzzles and math brain teasers to help with these skills, which they all love!

Science: We are looking at the three different types of rocks and how they were made. Today we are going to study the rock cycle, then perform an experiment that helps model how the cycle looks. Our big vocabulary words are mineral, rock, igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary, erosion, intrusive and extrusive.

Social Studies: We have traveled to Africa this week and will be touring all four corners. We colored a political map on Monday to show that Africa has 53 countries. Most students wanted to believe that they were states, because it looked like our own country and the countries looked too small to be a country. We will start in South Africa and prepare to go on Safari, as we learn about the unique habitat of the Savannah.

End of October Already?!?

2009-10-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe the leaves are falling and crisp air is here to stay for awhile.

Science: We took a break since we have had 2 three day weeks in a row. We are still continuing our study of the three main types of rocks and how they are formed.

Social Studies: We will be leaving China and heading to several countries within Africa. Before we leave, everyone has taken such interest in learning about the Giant Panda. We discussed what we would need to know about an animal, such as its habitat, diet, physical characteristics, and other interesting facts. From there, the Sharks spent an hour with books and writing down information that they found. Stay tuned for the final product!

Math: We are almost finished with 2-digit addition with regrouping (carrying over the tens). We will be starting with 2-digit subtraction later this week.

I hope everyone has a restful 4-day weekend and see you all on Monday!

Thinking Mathematically

2009-10-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

This past few weeks we have been finding "shortcuts" to solving basic math facts. We have studied doubles, doubles +1, and making ten. Today, one student was explaining how he found the missing addend for 8+_=13. He said, "Well, 8+8 is 16, and that's three more than 13, so 8-3 equals 5, so the missing addend is 5. Tuesday night's homework also showed creative thinking to find a missing addend to complete the fact family. Way to think Sharks!

This Week in the Shark Tank

2009-10-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are in October already. The Sharks have been working so hard in every subject. Here's what has been happening in the Shark Tank this week!

Reading: We started our first Jr. Great Story called "Chestnut Pudding." Jr. Great Books were written for highly capable students to promote critical thinking. We've had some great discussions about why the characters are the way they are. They will be bringing the story home to read with you and bring back a discussion question.

Math: We finished chapter 2 on addition strategies. The Sharks are really looking for "shortcuts" to solve facts quicker. I am trying to have them slow down when we get to word problems though. I tell them to focus on the process, rather than product. We have to be able to communicate mathematically, which means showing our thinking and labeling our answers, rather than jumping to the answer without an explanation.

Science: Mr. Hartley has taught the students about how the Earth's crust comes in several layers, and showed them how to identify them. We will be getting ready to study the different types of rocks that make the earth's crust.

Social Studies: We will be traveling to China next week to study pandas, learn oragami and the zodiac calendar. We'll even test our luck and see what happens when we make fortune cookies and dragons.

Ways to make 10

Seeing double!

The Australian Outback and more

2009-10-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

This week we continued our travels through Australia. We drove to the outback, where using the internet, researched about many different animals. Then, we made our animals, using tape measures to make them life size. We have a 9 foot long komodo dragon crawling around our room!!!

Many reading groups are starting new chapter books this week. One group is reading the first Magic Tree House book, and another is reading Mouse and the Motorcycle. In math, we are learning quick strategies for memorizing math facts, and having fun listening to songs about learning our doubles!!

Mathematical Patterning

2009-09-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

This week we discussed the many patterns of mathematics. We built growing and continuing patterns with manipulatives, and studied a hundreds chart to find patterns in skip counting.

Also, we flew to Australia on Tuesday. The sharks enjoyed their "in flight entertainment" with a short video on Australian ecosystems. We will be staying in Australia for a few weeks learning about marsupial animals, taste food, and create aborginal art. We will show off our work during Back to School Night next week!

Geology Rocks!!

2009-09-17T15:20:00.001-07:00

Watching the layers Settle

Pouring Rocks and observing the Earth's crust

Thank you Mr. Hartley

Today we had a special guest come in and teach us about the layers of the Earth's crust. We have been talking about the Earth's layers, and the kids were able to observe how layers were formed. This week we also learned about map keys, and drew a map of our bedroom.

In Reading, we have started our many reading groups that take place, while others are working independently on reading or writing.

Next week we will take a trip to the Australian Outback, as we learn about life on our smallest continent.

Learning Routines and Having Fun

2009-09-09T14:45:00.001-07:00

We have been busy this week learning daily routines, and starting into our big units of study. This trimester we will focus on map skills and world geography, as well as landforms and the study of the earth's surface. We love being able to be choose activities in the morning while Mrs. Van is doing a reading group. See some of the things we have been doing!

Welcome Sharks!!

2009-09-03T18:24:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!!

Welcome to the Sharks! We have been so busy catching up with each other and preparing ourselves for an exciting year of learning! I hope that you check in with us often to see what is happening at school and what to expect in the future. I will be updating our blog on Thursdays, and an email reminder will be sent out as well. On the right side I included links to the other classrooms of Seabury. I will continue to add neat links, etc. as I find them on web that relate to our current topic of study.

A visit from Charbonneau

2009-04-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not updating this sooner. It has been quite a busy month. On Monday, Mr. Bush came to talk to us about life in the Mandan Indian Village, and how trading happened in the 1800's. The kids were fascinated with learning new sign language, and feeling all the different animal furs that were brought. We are close to ending our Lewis and Clark journey, and will be studying the Puget Sound region soon. Here are some pictures from Monday.