Awesome Apostrophes!

We have been learning all about the jobs of the apostrophe.  Students have learned that we use an apostrophe to show that a noun owns something and that we use it with pronouns to make contractions.  They got a firsthand experience being a doctor in class.  After getting prepared for surgery, students took two words and created contractions.  They used their mighty surgical tools; scissors, band aids, and their brains to do this.

 

Fall Festival

This weekend is our Fall Festival from 4:00-7:00 on the 13th.  We will be having an informal open house that day as well from 3:30-4:00.  Please feel free to come by the classroom and look at your child's work.  Our class worked hard to create our class project this year.  I hope that you come by and put in a bid.

What is going on in ELA?

We have been hard at work with our second English Language Arts Unit: A Season of Chapters.  Our guiding question is how do the parts contribute to the whole?  In writing we started small and learned what makes a complete sentence.  From there we learned what are the three parts of a paragraph; topic sentence, the body, and the closing sentence.  Right now we are focusing on each of those parts and becoming experts in paragraph writing.  In reading we learned to look at a story and answer the 5Ws and How.  We learned that these questions help us to figure out 4 very important story elements; the setting, characters, problem, and the solution.  We also learned that fiction stories are written in a very organized way; the beginning, action in the middle, and the ending.  We also looked at nonfiction writing and text features that author's use to organize their writing.  Next week we are going to start looking more closely at poetry and some literary devices like rhythm, rhyme, simile, and metaphor.

Friday is our celebration for reaching our school goal of $12,000.00 dollars for our Walkathon.  The kids will be watching the movie Dolphin Tale.  Make sure to send in the PG movie permission slip.  They will also be celebrating by having a water day in activity.  They will get the opportunity to dunk some teachers and have a Popsicle reward.  I am so proud of our class for setting a $500 dollar goal and surpassing it.  We raised $750 as a class!!!!! Thank you so much for helping your child get their pledges in and supporting our school.

Early Release Day

Tomorrow is our first Early Release Day. Make sure your child knows how they are getting home or where they are going after school.

Mrs. K

In Full Swing

We have finally gotten things going in full swing this year.  After a very rushed and crazy two day move in, our classroom is finally starting to look like itself again.  Students have been working very hard to learn the routines and procedures of 2nd grade.  With the help of music and some furry quiet critters, they are really starting to get the hang of things.  We have been discussing what community means and setting up our classroom community. As part of this, students have been bringing in pictures of themselves to keep in OUR classroom the rest of the year.  We have also discussed what it means to be a Wildcat, how we can be Bucket Fillers this year, what qualities a good citizen in our classroom would have, and the rights and responsibilities of students in our rooms.  

In reading we have worked on Daily Five activities, reviewed metacognition, and practiced the workshop routines.  We are trying to become deeper thinkers this year by really being aware of our thinking while reading.  In writing we have been working on setting up our writer's workshop.  Students have used many activities to get ideas for writing and have been practicing extending these ideas by writing long.  Math has been really fun because we start with a crowd pleaser, measurement.  We have been investigating different tools that we use for measuring like the ruler, measuring tape, yard stick, and meter stick. Students have also been learning how to organize data using tally charts and line plots. Last, but not least, we have been learning the Phonics Dance. Ask your child to show you how to do it.

Mrs. K

PTA One-call Emails

The school and PTA are now using one-call emails to communicate info home to
families instead of the one-call phone calls. If you are not receiving one-call emails from the PTA, please let Centerfield know.

Six Traits of Writing

We have started looking at books like writer's and talking about The Six Traits of Writing. We have been focusing on Word Choice. We've discovered that words can be powerful and can form strong mental images in our reader's mind. It is really important that we use words correctly and sometimes we say things that when visualized seem silly. These are some posters that the kids created using either puns, homophones, or homonyms.

We had a wonderful time practicing and performing our Christmas Musical "A Fantasea Christmas". The students put in a lot of hard work practicing their songs, dances, and making their costumes. Thanks to all the parents who helped us. Below is a link to the musical on School Tube. The video was provided to us by The Welborn's, thank you very much. Please feel free to leave a comment for the students.

Mrs. K

http://bit.ly/ytBCBI

What's Going on in Reading?

Students have be working on using their five sense to visualize. We talked about how a good reader can not only paint a picture in their mind while they read, but they create a movie with sounds, smells, tastes, and they can feel. These are only a few students who did an excellent job visualizing music and smells.

North Oldham Middle School Visit

Students had a great time working with North Oldham 8th graders on their partner fairy tale stories. The older students helped them with adding more details to their stories, revising, and editing. It was a great opportunity to learn from some more experienced writers.

Book Character Dress Up Day

We all had a blast on Book Character Dress up Day. Mrs. Rigdon, Mrs. Karen, and myself enjoyed dressing as characters from Sesame Street.

What's Going On in Writing?

Students have been hard at work completing two writing pieces. First, they created their own teaching book to display their strong schema in certain areas. This book also lets them use their new learning about nonfiction writing. We have gone very slow with this piece because we have been learning all about the writing process and how to use response groups, and buddy editing. For a first attempt at a writing piece using the writing process, they are doing well.

Second, students are working with a writing partner to create their own version of a fairy tale. We have been reading many versions of fairy tales and practicing making text to text connections all month. Students have also learned about characteristics of the fairy tale genre. So their stories will include things like talking animals or objects, the number 3 or 7, a villain, a good guy, and even a simile.

How Tall are My Teachers?

Students have been working very hard since the begininng of the year on measurement. We have learned about different measuring tools like rulers, meter sticks, yard sticks, and measuring tape. We also learned what different measurements each tool has and learned how to estimate the size of something. We measured some interesting things like classroom items, parts of our own bodies, and how far we can jump. We used this last one to learn how to make a tally chart and line plot. Both of these were really a challenge. Finally, we looked at some of our measurements and wrote comparisons sentences.

At the end of our unit the students were given a pretty big challenge as a transfer task. They had to measure 10 teachers and explain the tool they used, how they did it, create their own tally chart and line plot, and finally write some comparisons about the teachers, all on their own.

Second Grade, Here We Go!!!

The school year is under way and I have the pleasure of teaching 2nd grade this year. I am having a great time with my students, they are really bright and very sweet. Right now we are doing a fantastic author study on one of my favorite children's author, Kevin Henkes. We have read Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and Chrysanthemum. Today the students had to draw a portrait of themselves and write why they liked their names. Here are a few wonderful examples from Mrs. K's Class Name Book.

Child Labor in America

Children were often preferred to work in factories, because factory owners viewed them as more manageable, cheaper, and less likley to strike. American children worked in large number`s in mines, glass factiries, textiles, agriculture, canneries, home industries, and as newsboys messengers, bootblacks, and peddlers. In 1836 Massachusetts limts children`s work days to 10 hours. other states soon pass similar laws, but most of these laws are consistently enforced. Some boys and girls were so small they had to climb up on the spinning frame to mend broken theards and to put back the empty bobbins!
By:Jenna:-)

Testing Day 1

Today we tested in reading and I have to say that I noticed many 5th graders really giving their maximum effort on their open responses and taking their time to answer their multiple choice questions. Remember to get a good night sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and take it one day at a time. See you tomorrow!!
Mrs. K

Personal Narrative Podcast

Check out some of the wonderful narratives written by our outstanding 5th grade writers at Centerfield. Students were focusing on using great word choice, writing in slow motion, showing not telling, and using voice. I think they did a fantastic job. You can go on, listen to your classmates narrative, comment, and even download to your mp3 player as a podcast if you like. Enjoy!

Mrs. K

http://cewildcatpodcast.podcastpeople.com

Blog Check

Hey Guys,
I want to to see how many of you are actually getting on my blog regulary and reading our posts. Please leave me a post praising a classmate, friend, or teacher about something you have noticed about them lately. I will be rewarding those who are getting on the blog.
P.S. Don't share this info with anyone.
Mrs. K

Life Skills Winners and Student of the Month

Congratualtions to our Life Skills Winners for April and May

April/ Confidence:

Shane Davis

Kasey Markle

Madeline Skeeters

May/Cooperation:

Gillian Groomes

Payton Metcalfe

Mateo Rosario

April Student if the Month

Tainasia Beard

May Student of the Month

Sierra Hauck

District Governor's Cup

Congratulations to the Centerfield Academic Team members who placed in the top five of their academic areas at District Governor's Cup last month. They will be moving on to Regional Governor's Cup at Clear Creek Elementary on March 19th.

Sierra Hauck 1st place Langauge Arts

Julia Roy 2nd place Math

Tyler Mason 2nd place Science

Emma Lane 5th place Math

Madison Grau 5th place Composition

Lily Forseth 5th place Arts and Humanities

Reading Counts Quiz Challenge

Have you ever taken your reading log, went to the lab, logged on to Reading Counts, only to find you cannot find a quiz on any of the books you have been reading this year? It's frustrating! Well, we are now going to do something about it. For the next two weeks, we are going to have a Reading Counts quiz challenge. The challenge is that you need to make a 10 question, multiple choice quiz over any books from your reading log. Here's what you will need to include: the name of the book, the author's name, 10 multiple choice questions with 4 possible answers, and star the correct answer. It is very important that you really ask good questions about the book. Try to think like a teacher and ask questions about the main character, their family, the problem, the climax, the solution. You can also ask questions about the setting and other characters in the book. Make sure that you spell all names correctly.

The class with the most use able quizzes made in the next two weeks will receive a class reward that we will decide on together. Make sure to put your name on your quiz and check Reading Counts to make sure there is not a quiz already in there. Please turn all quizzes into me personally.
Mrs. K

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!

Here are a couple of links to some great sites that celebrate one of my favorite authors, Dr. Seuss. Feel free to check them out and leave a comment.

http://http//www.seussville.com/

http://www.seussville.com/games/lb_sam_i_am.html

Verb Review and Flip Chip Activites

So, after learning about verbs in class, doing the superhero activity, completing the verb review, and the Flip a Chip activity what have you learned about verbs and verb tenses? How will this learning help you in the future in reading and writing? Please be specific.

Puzzle Time

Students took a different kind of vocab test this week. They were given the challenge to put together a puzzle then write a story to go along with the puzzle using their vocabulary words correctly. This was especially challenging since they were working with Homographs this week.

Here is a great example of a student's work:

Forever Friends

I love my puppy Coco. He is my best friend. My mom got him for me as a birthday present. It was in 2008. I was an invalid and my mom refused to let me go to school. Worst of all, it was my birthday.

I hated being sick. The objects around my room swirled around like a tornado. Everything got more blurry with every minute. My mom walked in to check my temperature.My mom has done that so many times today that I have a feeling the thermometer will be invalid. She objected when I asked her to quit.

"Honey, I got you something," she said. Then she presented me with a little minute puppy. He was so cute! He made my spirits soar and made me well enough to take out the refuse! I was even present at school the next day. I named the puppy CoCo and I still love him to death. He is and always will be my best friend.

by: Julia Roy

Verb Review and Flip a Chip Activity

Students have been hard at work identifying parts of a sentence and verbs. This is a great website that allows them to practice what they have learned at school.

Verb Review: When you finish the verb review, highlight, copy, and paste the self check sections into a word document. Print and turn it in for a grade.

http://cdis.missouri.edu/exec/data/courses2/8225/lesson05/study.asp

Flip a Chip:Students can also practice using grammar skills and verb tenses using this website. You should do all six activities and then print the final paper that says that you completed 6 out 0f 6 activities.

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/flip-chip-30031.html

Congratulations Student of the Month and Life Skill Winners

Our Student of the Month was Emma Lane. She has really shown that she is serious about 5th grade. I would also like to conratulate our September Life Skill Winners for Responsibility: Emma Lane, Lauren McCabe, and Ben Kibiloski. They have really proven to be very responsible when it comes to doing the right thing, getting work completed, and working in groups.

The Westing Game

In the Westing Game we learn that Samuel Westing has written a will and has 16 heirs. All of these heirs are very interested to learn what Sam Westing has left them. If you were to write your own will, what three items would you include to leave to someone else? What makes these three things so important to you? Who would you give each of these items to and why?

Read Across America

I am so happy to see so many students really diving into our reading program this year. Many students have already completed bookmarks and are on their way to getting their Read Across America map completed this year. I would love to hear about some of the books that you guys are reading. Feel free to comment at anytime to this post and let me know about a book you are reading or one that you suggest your classmates read.
Mrs. K

Read Across America

Just some info on our reading program this year. We are doing something called Read Across America. Basically your child has a map of the US and each state is a different book genre, type of reading, or books by certain authors. Students need to be reading at least 20 minutes every night and writing down what they are reading on their reading log. They need to always fill in the dates column and all other columns when the are reading a new book. Reading logs are due every Friday and I check that they have read the required minutes and a parent has initialed. Students should be reading a book for one state at a time. Only reading completed at home for homework counts toward weekly reading assignment. Students can also write down their biography book and the Chains book from Social Studies on their log and count it toward a state covering those genres, just initial that you know that they have read them. If you have any questions, please email me at school.
Thanks,
Mrs. K

First Days of School

I am extremely excited about my new class this year. So far everything has been going great. We have been working hard to get used our new classroom, getting to know everyone, and developing a positive classroom environment.
Mrs. K

10 Days of Poetry

Last day of poetry:

1. Look over your observations from Nothing Ever Happens at Centerfield. Pick a word, phrase, situation, or thought that really sticks to you. Use this word, phrase, situation, or thought to write a new free verse poem. Try to be descriptive as possible and use a few tools from you poetry toolbox to make your poem great.

10 Days of Poetry

Just Because....

Just Because... poems ask you to describe yourself in the first line of the poem. The next three lines in each stanza tell what you are NOT. The final line restates the first line and adds a tag directing the reader to do something.

Student Example:

Just because I'm an only child
I am not a freak
I'm not shy

Just because I'm an only child
I'm not lonely
I'm not selfish
I'm not spoiled

Just because I'm an only child
I know I'm not perfect
I can't always be the best friend
I'm not a nerd

Just because I'm an only child--let me be me

10 Days of Poetry

Using Refrain:
-Repetitive line found throughout the poem
-Is usually found in the same place in each stanza
-Similar to the chorus in a song

Try using one of these refrains in at least a three stanza poem with 4 lines in each stanza:

On my way to school today
I think I’ll stay in bed
And that was that
If you ask me
Why does it have to be me?
I laughed and giggled all day

Student Example:

Why Me?

It's me when I
have to pick up dog poo.
It's me when I have to take
out the trash.
Me, me, always me
Why does it have to be me?

It's me when I have company.
It's me when I have birthdays.
Me, me, always me
Why does it have to be me?

It's me when I am late.
It's me when I have
a bad grade.
Me, me, always me
Why does it have to be me?

by: Darrrah Anderson

10 Days of Poetry

Someday Poems:
Begin each line with the word Someday.... and complete it with a wish you have. Make the first two or three lines say something about your everyday wishes and slowly move away from yourself to the world in general. You may end the poem with the word Someday....

Student examples:

Someday
Someday I will play the guitar
Someday I will have a job
Someday I will get married
Someday I will have kids
Someday I will be rich
Someday I will be noticed

10 Days of Poetry

Sense Poem:
Think of a place that is special. Form an image in your mind of that place of it you can go there. then complete the following statements.

I see ___________________ I see the sage-covered desert
I smell __________________ I smell the freshness of morning
I hear __________________ I hear the scream of the hawk
I feel ___________________ I feel the caress of a breeze
I taste __________________ I taste the dew on the wind
I think __________________ I think the new day is born

After you have written out the sentences, remove the pronouns, verbs, and articles as you need to:

Example:
Sage-covered grass
freshness of morning
scream of the hawk
caress of a breeze
dew of the wind
new day born

10 Days of Poetry

"Where, What, and When" Haiku:
Decide on a topic, make a list of phrases that tell where the action is occurring, make a list of phrases that tell what is happening, make a list of phrases that tell when the action is taking place. Then, use you list to create a 3 line Haiku with a syllable count of 5, 7, 5. Remember the thought should come first, then worry about making it fit. Use powerful, descriptive adjectives and verbs.
This is a Haiku poem that we learned how to write in class. Many students shared their Haiku's today. Please post any that you want to share with the class.

10 Days of Poetry

Diamonte:
The French word diamont means diamond. A Diamonte poem is a seven-line poem that gradually changes from one idea to a direct opposite idea. When it is completed, its total appearance is diamond shaped.

There are two patterns you can follow in writing a diamonte.

Pattern #1:
Line 1= noun
Line 2= adjective, adjective
Line 3= verb, verb, verb
Line 4= noun, noun, noun, noun
Line 5= verb, verb, verb
Line 6= adjective, adjective
Line 7= noun

Pattern #2:
Line 1= opposite of line 7
Line 2= describe line 1
Line 3= Action about line 1
Line 4= 2 nouns about line 1, two nouns about line 7
Line 5= action about line 7
Line 6= describe line 7
Line 7= opposite of line 1

Student example:

Love

Bright, Passionate

Charming, Drifting, Growing

Cherish, Infatuation, Antipathy, Uncaring

Animosity, Falling, Dead

Dark, Disgust

Hate

10 Days of Poetry

I Don't Understand....
Begin the poem with "I don't understand..." List three things you do not understand about the world or people. Name the thing you do not understand most of all. End the poem with an example of something you DO UNDERSTAND.

Student example:

I Don't Understand....

I don't understand

why people dislike me

why people can't get along

why dogs are colorblind and cats aren't

But most of all

why people are prejudiced

why people move away

why people argue over stupid stuff

why there is wars

What I understand most is

why trees grow

why birds chirp

why the sun shines

why the car goes

10 Days of Poetry

Three Word Forms:
Each Line is made up of three words. The last two words become the first two words in the next line. In the poem, there will be a progress of images and a story will be told.

Student Examples:

Mornings

sleep, alarm, awake

alarm, awakes, shower

awake, shower, clothes

shower, clothes, shoes

clothes, shoes, dog

shoes, dog, run

dog, run breakfast,

run, breakfast, sunrise

breakfast, sunrise, car

sunrise, car, work.

Football

ball, snap, run

snap, run, tackle

run, tackle, sack

tackle, sack, pass

sack, pass catch

pass, catch, 1st down

catch, 1st down, touchdown

10 Days of Poetry

List poems- there are so many things that can be written about in lists, that sometimes we cannot think of a thing to write. To help, ideas for lists are below.

The Sources of :
softness, redness, squeaks, cold, sights

Things that:
ring, you find in the grocery, hear in your house, smell in school, are round/square

Things:
to do waiting for the bus, to do trying to fall asleep, you should have done, you should not have done, that make you feel tall, that make you feel small, that you tell your mother


Lists can be either rhyming or not. it is up to the writer to decide which style he/she uses. You are going to write two poems, in at least one of the poems you write, make the list humorous or far-fetched. Then in the final line, give the poem a serious turn.


Student Example:
Things Kids Say When They Want to Get Out to Play
I did all my homework.
I picked up my toys.
I emptied the trash.
My bed is made. No, there are no lumps.
I ate all my vegetables.
But everyone else is.
Bobby's mom doesn't make him.
But, Mom.
No, my dirty clothes aren't under the bed.
Yes, Mom, I'm sure.
Yeah, I'll be careful.. No, I won't poke an eye out.
Oh, please!

10 Days of Poetry

Synonym poetry- choose any word. Write that word in capital letters on the first line. In a thesaurus ( http://www.m-w.com), look up the word and find three to five synonyms for it. Write the synonyms on the second line. On the third line, write a descriptive phrase about the word. The last two lines of the poem should rhyme.

Students example:

LOVE
Attachment, adoration, warmth,
adore
Love is so pure, right down to the
core.

NOISE
Clamor, uproar, hullabaloo.
These things can really annoy you.

10 Days of Poetry

Concrete poetry is the use of words and their physical formation to convey meaning. This may done with color, the shape of the letters, and/or the arrangement of words.

Directions: Graphically create a scene using only words that relate in some way to your object. From a distance this will look like a picture, but up close it will consist only of words and phrases. No extra lines or shapes should be used. A light pencil might be drawn first as a guide. Use color, shapes, and sizes that will enhance the meaning of the words.

Blog Check

We are reading many novels in our classroom and participating in book clubs. Please leave me a post letting me know what you think of your book so far and how you are enjoying being part of a book club? Those who participate will earn a reward.
Mrs. K

Read Across America

Since I have not had much class participation in the latest reading challenge, I've decided that only students who particpate will get a chance to have pizza and a movie with three friends. Unless your entire class participates. I have extended the challenge until the end of this week due to snow days, so get those book marks turned in. Right now the leader is Emma DeBurger with 13 book marks.

Read Across America

We are having another Read Across America "Book Mark" Challenge for the next two weeks. The class with the most book marks turned in by Friday, Feb. 19th will get a pizza party and movie in Mrs. K's room. So, get those book marks filled out and turned in to get credit.
Mrs. K

Read Across America Challenge

Read Across America Challenge: This week's challenge is to read books for the state of Georgia, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. The class with the most people to read these states and filled out a bookmark this week, will earn tickets for the class drawings.

Mrs. K

The Good Harvest

The Warrior Dance

The Grass Dance

The Rain Dance

The Good Hunt

Students really worked hard on their Native American Unit. They had to choreograph their own Native American dances that included locomotor and non locomotor movements, as well as, many elements of space, time, and force. Students also had to create a Native American Mask that using three different mediums and that showed cultural influences. They did an excellent job.

What's Going on in the Classroom

Students are now back in the swing of things after our long holiday. I really happy to see that students are becoming much more responsible and committed to being a outstanding student. Right now we are focusing on many new concepts in class.
Social Studies: students are learning about events leading up to the revolutionary war and recently experienced what it was like to be taxed without representation.
Math: students are learning all about fractions and how to reduce them to their simplest form.
Science: students are learning about motion and forces and have been doing some great experiments with their lab partners to support these concepts.
Language Arts: students have been developing their writing skills and working with Mrs. Heim to write a terrific exploded moment for their personal narratives. They have also been working on their open response and on demand writing skills. We will soon be working in book clubs on some great novels and we are focusing on asking questions while we read.

Check out this great Dr. Seuss website that Mrs. Blake found.

http://www.seussville.com/loraxproject

Life Skill and Student of the Month

Congratulations January Life Skill winners and Student of the Month

Life Skill- Initiative

• Hart Hillerich
• Alex Taylor
• Peyton Aston

Student of the Month

• Haley Webb

Reading Buddies

Blog Check

If you are reading this post then make sure to leave a comment and see me in the morning.

We are finishing the Westing Game and I would like to know your thoughts about it. Tell me what you think about the story, what did you like about it? Were you surprised by this twists and turns that have unfolded? What do you think about Ellen Raskin as an author? Would you recommend this book to a friend?

Mrs. K

Life Skill Winners and Student of the Month

Congratulations to our Empathy Life Skill Winners and December Student of the Month!

Life Skill Winners

• Maggie Search
• Grayson Langford
• Leah Seward

December Student of the Month

• Jacob Henley