Today, we are going to visit the city of St.Petersburg, Russia. Click on the link below to open the movie. While you are watching please note the following things:
Architecture - What type of buildings to you notice? How are they the same/different from the United States?
Landscape - What do you notice about the landscape?
When you are finished find Russia on the map!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocPj8qjhIXM
Friday, September 28, 2012
The Week in MUR
As a teacher the greatest gift is to watch a student learn and grow. This week students in both classes were required to create their own questions for our discussion groups. After our readings I passed around a clipboard with lined paper and asked that each student anonymously write a question about the reading. The only rule was you could not write a question that was already on the paper. Being that this was our first time doing this activity, my expectations were quite low, knowing that this would be a skill we would build throughout the school year.I sat down on Wednesday night to read through the questions and my jaw dropped as I read great question after great question.What GREAT thinkers we have!
3rd and 4th Grade MUR:
In reading we read a fable from Africa about a Lion, Camel, Jackal, Crow and Leopard. We discussed in detail how the Lion and Camel were tricked by the other animals and talked about the character traits of these animals.
In spelling we finished up lesson 3 in Wordly Wise as well as learned how to solve an analogy. Students even had the opportunity to write their own analogies on Thursday!
5th and 6th Grade MUR:
In reading we continued our study on Dragonwings and had a mini lesson on theme.As we head into chapter 6 of our books students will begin to track the various themes of the book. We will also be looking at how conflict adds to the intensity of a novel and tracking themes of conflict.
In spelling/vocabulary, students worked on Classical Roots and learned the Latin phrase "Omni corpus mutablie est." Every object is subject to change. We related this to our own lives as well as the characters in our novel.
3rd and 4th Grade MUR:
In reading we read a fable from Africa about a Lion, Camel, Jackal, Crow and Leopard. We discussed in detail how the Lion and Camel were tricked by the other animals and talked about the character traits of these animals.
In spelling we finished up lesson 3 in Wordly Wise as well as learned how to solve an analogy. Students even had the opportunity to write their own analogies on Thursday!
5th and 6th Grade MUR:
In reading we continued our study on Dragonwings and had a mini lesson on theme.As we head into chapter 6 of our books students will begin to track the various themes of the book. We will also be looking at how conflict adds to the intensity of a novel and tracking themes of conflict.
In spelling/vocabulary, students worked on Classical Roots and learned the Latin phrase "Omni corpus mutablie est." Every object is subject to change. We related this to our own lives as well as the characters in our novel.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Running at Full Speed
I am constantly amazed at the progress of the students. This week our 3rd and 4th grade MUR class made leaps and bounds in their thinking while the 5th and 6th graders showed their expert finesse. I hope your child is sharing all the fun things we do in MUR and always if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
3rd and 4th grade MUR:
This week we began our study of folktales. We broke them down into four categories that we will study; fairy tales legends, fables and myths. Hans Christian Andersen was our focus this week as we read the Nightingale. Students made amazing discoveries about this bird and it's importance to the story. We also discussed "do not judge a book by it's cover" and "beauty is on the inside". At the end of the week the we participated in a student lead seminar. The focus was forgiveness vs. an eye for an eye. This was a very lively discussion with students on both sides giving great literary evidence for their opinions.
In grammar we continued to focus on nouns and their importance in a sentence. Students are using the analytical grammar system to label and later diagram sentences.
Our Wordlywise focus was chapter 2. Students are becoming more familiar with this curriculum. With each day they become better at working with new words and discovering their meanings.
5th and 6th grade MUR:
We continued our study of Dragonwings this week. In the classroom we have developed character charts and categorizing a character by their traits, actions and physical descriptions. We are also working on developing student lead questions for classroom discussions to create independence. I am amazed at the level of questioning the students are able to come up with!
In grammar we continue to work on prepositional phrases. Student's were struggling with the prepositions, so we slowed down and took some extra time to work on this concept.
In spelling and vocabulary we continue our study of Greek and Latin roots as well as Latin phrases. We are all enjoying this curriculum!
3rd and 4th grade MUR:
This week we began our study of folktales. We broke them down into four categories that we will study; fairy tales legends, fables and myths. Hans Christian Andersen was our focus this week as we read the Nightingale. Students made amazing discoveries about this bird and it's importance to the story. We also discussed "do not judge a book by it's cover" and "beauty is on the inside". At the end of the week the we participated in a student lead seminar. The focus was forgiveness vs. an eye for an eye. This was a very lively discussion with students on both sides giving great literary evidence for their opinions.
In grammar we continued to focus on nouns and their importance in a sentence. Students are using the analytical grammar system to label and later diagram sentences.
Our Wordlywise focus was chapter 2. Students are becoming more familiar with this curriculum. With each day they become better at working with new words and discovering their meanings.
5th and 6th grade MUR:
We continued our study of Dragonwings this week. In the classroom we have developed character charts and categorizing a character by their traits, actions and physical descriptions. We are also working on developing student lead questions for classroom discussions to create independence. I am amazed at the level of questioning the students are able to come up with!
In grammar we continue to work on prepositional phrases. Student's were struggling with the prepositions, so we slowed down and took some extra time to work on this concept.
In spelling and vocabulary we continue our study of Greek and Latin roots as well as Latin phrases. We are all enjoying this curriculum!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
We're off and running!
What a great week we have had! I am always amazed at how quickly the students are able to jump back into the swing of things.
MUR 5 and 6:
This week we began reading the novel Dragonwings. A wonderful story about a young boy who leaves China to meet his father for the first time in American during the gold rush in San Francisco. The novel focuses on Moon Shadow and his growing love and respect for his father as well as a strange new country despite its difficulties and hardships. On Wednesday, we used the tablets to research Li Keng Wong's real life experience coming to American and going through Angel Island. We also viewed numerous pictures of San Francisco in 1903. The student's were amazed to learn other's reactions and misconceptions about our country during this time period.
In grammar we quickly reviewed nouns, adjectives, articles and pronouns and by Thursday we were diagramming prepositional phrases.
Our new spelling/vocabulary program is amazing. We were able to do numerous fun lessons using the Latin roots for numbers as well as learn a few Latin phrases.
Next week, we will move into independent reading and discussion groups!
MUR 3 and 4:
This week students were introduced to the Direct Inquiry method. We began by reading the story Two Brothers as a class. Next, the class compiled a list of questions about the story and worked on rating our questions. (Can we answer our questions using the text or do we have to make up an answer?) We learned that many questions cannot be supported by text, so we threw them out. The next day we began gathering evidence for our impending seminar. We reread the text silently and marked places where we liked things the brothers did or didn't do. Then finally on Thursday we had our first seminar. Students sat in a circle and discussed the text. We had a very interesting discussion about which brother made the better choice. Next week, we will begin our Folktales unit.
In grammar, students were introduced to the analytical grammar process. We began by looking at nouns, their function in a sentence and how to label them.
In spelling/vocabulary, students began working in Wordlywise. This is a very challenging curriculum for the students, but they have come through with shining colors. Each day we worked through a new exercise trying to acquaint ourselves with this new format.
MUR 5 and 6:
This week we began reading the novel Dragonwings. A wonderful story about a young boy who leaves China to meet his father for the first time in American during the gold rush in San Francisco. The novel focuses on Moon Shadow and his growing love and respect for his father as well as a strange new country despite its difficulties and hardships. On Wednesday, we used the tablets to research Li Keng Wong's real life experience coming to American and going through Angel Island. We also viewed numerous pictures of San Francisco in 1903. The student's were amazed to learn other's reactions and misconceptions about our country during this time period.
In grammar we quickly reviewed nouns, adjectives, articles and pronouns and by Thursday we were diagramming prepositional phrases.
Our new spelling/vocabulary program is amazing. We were able to do numerous fun lessons using the Latin roots for numbers as well as learn a few Latin phrases.
Next week, we will move into independent reading and discussion groups!
MUR 3 and 4:
This week students were introduced to the Direct Inquiry method. We began by reading the story Two Brothers as a class. Next, the class compiled a list of questions about the story and worked on rating our questions. (Can we answer our questions using the text or do we have to make up an answer?) We learned that many questions cannot be supported by text, so we threw them out. The next day we began gathering evidence for our impending seminar. We reread the text silently and marked places where we liked things the brothers did or didn't do. Then finally on Thursday we had our first seminar. Students sat in a circle and discussed the text. We had a very interesting discussion about which brother made the better choice. Next week, we will begin our Folktales unit.
In grammar, students were introduced to the analytical grammar process. We began by looking at nouns, their function in a sentence and how to label them.
In spelling/vocabulary, students began working in Wordlywise. This is a very challenging curriculum for the students, but they have come through with shining colors. Each day we worked through a new exercise trying to acquaint ourselves with this new format.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Dragonwings Activity
Today, students will be working on a wonderful unit on Asian Pacific American heritage created by Scholastic.com.
Students please click on the link below and then click on the link to Angel Island.Read this selection and complete the activity I have designed for you in your packet!
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/asian-american/
Students please click on the link below and then click on the link to Angel Island.Read this selection and complete the activity I have designed for you in your packet!
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/asian-american/
Monday, September 10, 2012
Creation!
What an exciting week we had! I am always amazed at how much the student's grow over the summer months. We started the week by jumping into the deep end and taking our MUR interim assessment pre-test. This test will give us a better understanding of where each student is at and help me fill in any gaps or holes in their learning.
This year our theme is CREATION. Students will working all year to see what they can "create." We will tie this in to each novel study we do by talking about how the characters create different things. This can be the creation of a situation, things characters build or invent, the creation of community, etc. Creation is all around us!
To get our creation theme started off right, each day we will begin with a DO NOW. Students are given two unrelated objects that exist in the world and are asked to describe their similarities. Then we talk about combining the elements. By doing this we are "creating" new objects for our world. (Or even improving on products that already exist.) I was amazed at the great ideas the kids came up with last week. They were able to use their creativity as well as expand on the ideas of others. It was great to see them working together to create new things.
5th/6th Grade MUR
This week we will begin reading Dragonwings. Students will also receive their first homework packet!
3rd and 4th Grade MUR
Students will begin the direct inquiry process by using Junior Great Books and then we will move into our first unit, Folktales. Students will also receive their first homework packet.
This year our theme is CREATION. Students will working all year to see what they can "create." We will tie this in to each novel study we do by talking about how the characters create different things. This can be the creation of a situation, things characters build or invent, the creation of community, etc. Creation is all around us!
To get our creation theme started off right, each day we will begin with a DO NOW. Students are given two unrelated objects that exist in the world and are asked to describe their similarities. Then we talk about combining the elements. By doing this we are "creating" new objects for our world. (Or even improving on products that already exist.) I was amazed at the great ideas the kids came up with last week. They were able to use their creativity as well as expand on the ideas of others. It was great to see them working together to create new things.
5th/6th Grade MUR
This week we will begin reading Dragonwings. Students will also receive their first homework packet!
3rd and 4th Grade MUR
Students will begin the direct inquiry process by using Junior Great Books and then we will move into our first unit, Folktales. Students will also receive their first homework packet.
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