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Showing posts from May, 2016

Important Dates

We're wrapping up EOG testing today, so please consider the following as we move forward: Honor Roll is  June 2nd at 5:30 PM   End of Year Awards on  June 8th at 9:45  

Celebrating Collaboration

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One of our fourth grade ESG classes was able to solve problems in a simulation earlier in the year entitled The Great Solar System Rescue . Their team 'spent' less money than the other and, so, won a reward. Their celebration involved Rudyard Kipling's classic Rikki Tikki Tavi  as well as a healthy snack.

Order in the Court

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Third grade ESG students put their heads together to solve legal cases this week. They had to hear testimony, review evidence, and solve cases presented to them as "YOU are the Jury!"

Getting Ready for EOG!

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This week Jones 3-5 graders attended a pep rally for getting ready to take EOG tests. This rally was led by representatives from the group Dream Builders.

Asheville Middle @ IBJ

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On 5/18 all of our fifth graders met with Mrs. Mary Nichols, an AIG specialist from Asheville Middle School. Mrs. Nichols presented the VAST and AWESOME array of services for gifted students at AMS. I have to say I was pretty proud of the level of questions from our students. They are clearly thinking and preparing for their future! Many, many thanks to Mrs. Nichols for her time in this presentation!

Nurtz to You!

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What is it? What can it mean? All those weird symbols... Well, these are some examples of how third grade students have ended the story of Fat Cat. This decoding activity had students working to figure out symbols of the Nurtz alphabet. Each symbol represents a letter in our alphabet. The final activity was to finish the story - using the Nurtz alphabet! There was only one clue, btw, ask them about it!

Fourth Grade Book Reviews

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Our fourth grade ASGR students have been reading (and hopefully completed) reading John Bellairs' classic novel The House with a Clock in Its Walls . Bellairs has written many spooky titles for younger readers. Students read the book in class and responded to the book in a couple of ways. They chose reading reflection questions to answer and finished a brief 'quiz' when they were done. The final activity for these students was to write and present a review of the book. Here are some of these to consider. I'll add to this post as students complete this work. Enjoy!

Are you smarter than a fourth grader?

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So it started with some fourth grade fraction challenge problems... Fourth grade math students had two challenging problems from the Ed Zacarro book Challenge Math . A handful (maybe 5) were able to answer them correctly. Just for fun, I gave the fifth grade math students the SAME problems, calling this work Are You Smarter Than a Fourth Grader?  Two fifth graders actually were , and here's their reaction: What about those fourth graders? Well, we'll see what challenge they have next week! Check back in for their video moment! BTW, here's one of the problems. Hopefully Mr. Zacarro won't sue me for sharing! Sara’s weight is ½ of Luke’s weight, whose weight is ¾ of Dan’s weight, whose weight is ⅞ of Ed’s weight.  If Sara weighs 105 pounds, how much does Ed weigh? That's the kind of problem that makes teachers smile! And students grimace!

More Scales from 5th Grade

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Fourth Grade Writing Samples

Fourth grade ASG Reading group completed reading the story Fresh from our JGB reader. In this story, an older boy struggles with the capture of a fresh water mussel for his younger cousin. Should he have captured Fresh (the mussel) or let it go? That's what our group discussed and wrote about. Here are some samples of their work - which were (often wildly) creative. BTW, this work was sent home this week. Check it out! Apparently freshwater mussels are rare so Laurie and Dan will probably never ever find one again. Laurie said on page 37 that they got other lifeforms and who's to say that he does not  have a fish or a seastar?  They are predators of the freshwater mussel. Poop i Laurie's aquarium is probably very crowded now that there are about 100 different lifeforms in there so Fresh would not have any personal space. Fresh will not have any room to feed therefore he would die. Do you know how Laurie treats his animals? What if he is a cruel and horrible anima

3rd Grade CSG

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Our third grade CSG students made flags that reflected their interests.

AIG UPDATE

Here's a copy of an email I shared on Cinco de Mayo. There are five email addresses I have that bounce, so if you didn't receive it, please let me know! AIG UPDATE Happy May, everyone! Here are some blurbs about the content of our many AIG groups. I thought you might like a broader view of 3-5! Remember: Math = advanced subject group in math (ASGM) Reading = advanced subject group in reading (ASGR) Aptitude / Thinking = comprehensive study group (CSG) Enrichment based on above = enrichment study group (ESG) ESG 3:  Completed decoding (Fat Cat) work to share soon.  Working on class book based on Insects Are My Life and behavior work . Will share completed book! 4:  Self-portraits mostly done. Working with logic challenges. 5:  Presentation of scales based on Beaufort Wind Scale available on blog. Just shared a Japanese kamishibai play and working to making our own! Self portraits largely done. ASGR 3:  Completed The Banza - complete with l

Shout Out to Safety Patrol

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I had to send a Shout Out to all the fantastic kids that come out to help with Safety Patrol. Even when it's 40-something with a howling wind! These are some great kids! Mr. O was risking life and limb in the street, so didn't get a snap of him. But, I will!! Thanks, y'all - your hard work and great attitudes make my day!

Third Grade Reading

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Third grade AIG reading groups completed a Haitian folk tale called The Banza.  There are two characters in the tale, Cabree and Teegra. After reading and our discussion, students wrote letters from one character to the other. They then changed letters with partners and responded in the guise of the other character. Sounds interesting? It was! Here are some examples:

AIG All Day

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I think it's important to remember that AIG students are gifted all day long. Their needs don't start and stop as they enter and leave my classroom.  I was taken with these examples of work from Mr. Brown's class - showing that these students have opportunities to use and grow their gifts all day long!

Self Portraits

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Giftedness means so many things. Fourth and fifth grade ESG students have been thinking and reflecting on self-portraiture and what it might suggest about one. There will be more to share, as they're brightening up our big bulletin board. 

Third Grade Math

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Third grade math students have been working with geometric concepts - including the construction of shapes called pentominoes. Here's a couple of snaps of students working to make as many as possible (shhh, there are only 12!).