Although this week seemed a bit slower than the other weeks so far, there were quite a few memorable things that stand out in regards to how this week went!
Science
We continued to have lots of fun with our science unit "devices that move" as we reflected on last week's science centers, and then moved on to building jumping jack dolls! When one kid asked me "what does this have to do with science?" I was able to explain to them how the doll arms are like little levers rotating on their fulcrum, and we link the arms and legs together by using linkages. We also exert the force of a PULL to make the devices move, and then we have to use our knowledge about devices (especially in regards to friction) to examine how to improve our devices. There were 3 different kinds of jumping jacks for the kids to choose from, and they all turned out great!
Health
We moved on to talking about "home safety" this week and I found a great game online that allows students to pick out the "most dangerous threat" in each room that could lead to a fire or an accident. We played it as a class on the Smartboard and the kids were extremely engaged in the game and more importantly, in discussion regarding why each item was dangerous! http://www.homesafetygame.com/homesafetygame.html
Physical Education
We were studying our "hockey" unit in gym class at the perfect time... One of my students' sisters agreed to come in and run my kids through some hockey drills such as dry-land training, puck handling, playing a game, etc. It was a big deal for our class because this player has played for Team Alberta and she was a great role model for teaching about perseverance, never giving up, and working hard. The kids had a great class getting to listen to a pro instead of listening to me! :)
Social
Due to needing a sub for one of my classes, I had decided that my absence would be a good time for the kids to engage in a little research online. I made them a guided worksheet to follow and fill in as they explored the Blackfoot traditions and the importance of the teepee. I had them going through the AWESOME glenbow website, and although they struggled with some of the readings initially, we were able to clarify any confusions when we looked over the worksheets later on. I think the coolest part about doing that research was that when we opened up our textbook the next day we were able to "decode" an interpretation of a teepee paining in our textbook by using our newfound knowledge!http://www.glenbow.org/exhibitions/online/blackfoot/main_eng.htm
Math
The kids have really been struggling with one of our math concepts this last week, so I really had to use some differentiated strategies to make sure that all kids stayed on task and challenged! I started by filming a very visual video exemplifying the strategy (as I had a sub for the first math class). Apparently the kids were SO excited that I was on YouTube!
As the students worked on worksheets I tried my best to pull any struggling students aside to allow them to physically manipulate with the base 10 blocks if they needed it. When kids were STILL having a hard time trying to understand when to add or subtract I decided to make a math poster that could be hung in the room for easy reference when they were struggling (to free myself up to help more kids!)
Although the week felt hectic at the time, looking back it was very impressive at how much work the kids accomplished and how HARD they were working for me! As a way of rewarding the hard-working kids who were done early I decided to make a generic math "board game". The board game works great because I can just switch out the "questions" for the game each week so that it applies to whatever unit we were just working on! I have multiple sets of "practice questions" (either strategies we have been working on or basic math facts) and 2-4 kids can play at each game. They take turns holding up a question, and if the answering player gets the correct answer, THEN they get to roll a dice and proceed onto the game board. To compensate for the "unfairness" of the probability of uneven abilities in partners, I made sure that the board game had squares such as "go back 20 spaces" and "jump ahead 10 spaces" so that every kid has the chance at some good or bad luck to even out the playing field! I also made some simple "white boards" out of a page protector and white paper so that kids could have some reusable way to write out their work if they needed to. Kids who got the chance to play the board game already said that they had LOTS of fun practicing their math facts, which is what I like to hear!