We continued our exploration of chemistry by looking closely at how things can be put together and taken apart. Further, we worked with creating a solution and then discovering the saturation point. Students are building a important bank of understanding around dissolving, evaporation, saturation, mixture and solution.
Today we started our work with Norton Juster’s classic, The Phantom TollBooth. We did a lot of things to get us ready for this including careful observations of paintings by Salvador Dali (e.g, The Persistence of Memory) and a close reading of Abbott and Costello’s skit, “Who’s on First.” In addition we deconstructed how puns are largely based on homophones, homographs and idioms.
The hard work paid off and the student’s understanding of how author’s use word play to cause humor and confusion allowed for a successful launch of The Phantom Tollbooth.
Today we were visited by NevadaTeach students who guided us through an Engineering lesson. The experience focused on constructing a “skeleton buildings” that could make it through a simulated earthquake. Students soon discovered that some structures were more stable than others.
Today we started our work with fractions. Although it was Halloween, we made it through the lesson with kids partitioning, finding equivalence and using number lines to compare.
The kids also shared their Pro/Con writing and reviewed work around early explorers.
Thank you to all the parents who helped put together our celebration. Having multiple stations kept everyone engaged and having a great time. (You have set the bar high for our Holiday Celebration!)
Today we got a visit from University of Nevada Reno students and the NevadaTeach program. It was a chance to work with engineering standards and learn to use the Richter scale by modeling earthquakes.
The NevadaTeach program is a great way of getting science and math students into Washoe’s classrooms.
Today we had our first auction. Having paid rent on Thursday, students could spend their extra cash on items donated from a number of local, national and international companies.
Some students, however, sat out the auction. This is likely because they are saving their money to turn their desk rental into a condo.
We finished our first week of school and managed to get a lot done. Aside from securing important routines and procedures, we completed our first Number Talk, our first Close Read, our first Writers Workshop, our first art project, our first Kahoot, and our first reading of a 9th grade reading passage. (Although, until this post, no one knew it at the time.)
Thank you to those who shared what you took with your cameras.
Today students worked with https://quizizz.com/ to assist with our preparation for Nevada’s state test. Quizzizz unlocks gamification and opportunities to increase engagement with traditionally dry material.
With Quizizz, students answer questions and receive points for correct and quickly entered responses. Students can see the top performers but not the scores or names of anyone who might have struggled. (Admittedly, we did sneak in a quiz on Disney after some rigorous work with our 5th grade standards.)
Room 360 