Sep
20
2011
Mrs. Argus
Friends investigate the Alpha Sort!
Today, the kids were introduced to a new literacy station- The Alpha Sort. We started by talking about what we noticed about The Alpha Sort. Some friends noticed it had lots of little compartments. Cameron noticed it spun around. Zacharyah noticed it had letters. Hutton noticed those letters were in alphabetical order. We then talked about a basket of little objects that could be sorted. I explained each object needs a name- they are all nouns- things. We then looked through the basket and gave each item a name – a little guitar, an alarm clock, a chair, a barbie sweater, a baby doll. We then practiced sorting each item into what letter sound we heard at the beginning of the item. For example, baby doll went with the “B” in the Alpha Sort because baby starts with “B”. As friends investigated the Alpha Sort today, we noticed many things could have multiple names. Is it a clock or an alarm clock? A comb or a brush? Regan saw a mirror. She was excited to find it and said, “Mrs. Argus- a mirror!” Regan looked and saw her reflection. I said, “So where would you sort that, Regan? I see its a mirror, but I also see your reflection so you could sort it as Regan, couldn’t you?” Regan thought about it for a while and decided to sort it with the “M” category for mirror. I look forward to seeing what names our friends come up with for the other nouns in the basket.
"Mrs. Argus- a mirror!"- Regan
Sep
16
2011
Mrs. Argus
Our ice cream celebration was a huge success! What a wonderful learning oppurtunity to see how ice cream is made and discuss all things ice cream this afternoon. This morning, the kids created an ice cream parlor in our classroom and have been talking about selling, creating, and marketing ice cream all day. I wonder where this experience will lead us next…
"The vanilla is out! Do you want chocolate?" - Messi
- Ice Cream Bingo
Sep
15
2011
Mrs. Argus
Talking with Mrs. Grotojan about how friends made successful helicoptors.
- Fly, helicoptor, fly!
Every Thursday, our class gets a chance to work with Mrs. Grotojan in the Big Studio. The Big Studio has a large number of materials and resources different than the studio in our classroom and the kids always love going for a visit. Today, Mrs. Grotojan and the kids made helicoptors and tested them. They practiced measuring where to make their special cut with a ruler and weighted them with one, two, or three paperclips. Some friends’ helicoptors flew, some seemed to glide through the air, and some didn’t seen to fly at all! During our discussion, we talked about why we supposed the helicoptors did the things they did and what changes we could make.
Sep
14
2011
Mrs. Argus
Sascha labels a part of her airplane- "cockpit"
What a busy and exciting day we had today! This morning, we were greeted by our four Butler Block A practicum students who were eager to help and work with us. We enjoyed getting to know them throughout the day and working with them. Today, we put our airplane plans into action and started building our sculptures. We talked about what materials we wanted to use and how we would try to carefully and thoughtfully follow our plans. We also discussed how our planes are a work in progress and we will revisit them throughout the week to add additional parts and details.
- “Look, its where the luggage goes!” – Journey
Sep
13
2011
Mrs. Argus
Aidan takes his time and adds lots of details to his airplane.
- Kaitlyn labels her airplane and uses our chart as a guide.
This morning our class started a discussion on what we would like to accomplish in doing our airplane project. Most friends expressed a desire to build and create planes which we have already seen evident in the past month. I shared that I would like our class to create some sculptures of airplanes to show our knowledge of the different airplane parts and functions. The kids were excited but cautious. “How big will it be?” said David. “Once I build an airplane as big as that table!” exclaimed Lucas. I suggested we make a plan like a real engineer who might create an airplane. We looked at graph paper that an engineer or architect may use and talked about how to draw our plans for our plane sculpture. Zacharyah came up with a great suggestion to help our drawings take flight. “We should look at the books to get airplane ideas!” The plans are so detailed and elaborate, many of the kids also labeled each part of their plane using our new airplane terms.
We have also been enjoying a new materials in class, the gears. The kids have begun creating towers and different types of vehicles.
I also feel compelled to share my favorite part of the day. During math workshop, Aidan was having some trouble getting started with our math problem. We are starting grouping (early multiplication) and some of the kids were quite frustrated. He exclaimed, “I don’t know what to do! Ahh!” Without the skip of a beat, David, who was sitting next to him leaned over and said, “I can help you!” He then began explaining to Aidan how he had set up the problem and guided Aidan as he began illustrating the problem. I was so impressed with both friends for working together. This is truly an amazing class.
