Hello,
We started a mini-mystery unit. I read a little from the The Adventures of the Black Hand Gang by Hans Jurgan Press. That was one of my favorite books as a kid and gets kids in the spirit of looking for clues. It is a very visual mystery, with a picture on every other page that asks readers to find a clue or solve a puzzle. I have a few ideas on what we might do during this unit, but I haven't quite nailed down our culminating event. I'm thinking about possibly trying to pull off some type of night at the museum type mystery that combines our read aloud, Wonder, with our knowledge of mysteries. More to come.
We have jumped into fractions in math. We will be studying fractions with set, length and area models before we do too much solely using digits. They need to have a solid foundation of what a fraction is, and its many interpretations, before getting too involved with the adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing of them.
The weekly challenge this week is one of my favorites. I wrote it up a few years ago and involves meal planning and make believe shopping from a Shaw's circular. It takes some work, so I hope kids don't wait until Thursday to get started.
Students are putting together routines in P.E. class that involve strength, flexibility, balance and coordination. They will have another week to practice and then put on a mini performance to music.
Most of the class has the Preamble of the Constitution down pat. Many are still working on the meaning of some of the more difficult words. Keep up the good work.
We will have homework club this Thursday, but it will be the last one this month. My basketball schedule just won't allow for it. I'll know about February soon.
thanks,
Mr. Shea
Monday, January 12, 2015
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Patience
Hello,
I needed a bit more patience today.
I brought in a new hockey game for the class (new to them.) I wasn't overly appreciative of the way it was handled during indoor recess. The new giant Jenga game had a couple missing pieces. ("but we looked.") Our Rubix Cube's stickers have been peeled off and reapplied to make it impossible to do now. These are a few of the things that set me off. I announced that today's lunchtime showing of The Princess Bride was cancelled. I don't like to punish the masses for the actions of a few, but I've been feeling more and more that it is the behavior of the masses that is unacceptable.
We talked about it after lunch. I need positive peer pressure to do some work. I wanted people to feel like they let the class down at lunch time. People are making poor choices and then not taking any responsibility for them. Their main concern is how much trouble are they going to be in. I didn't get one apology until that I pointed out that I hadn't gotten one apology. It isn't acceptable.
I talked to them about how much I am usually motivated to get things done for them to make a great school experience. Their behavior since I have come back is not motivating. I want to go straight home after school. Why should I go the extra mile when I feel like my stuff and I are being so disrespected? That's what I told them. I feel like it is important to be up front, and they made me feel lousy today.
We need to rebuild our stamina for reading and writing. We need to rebuild our stamina for any type of output. We've taken some major steps backward, and it needs to change quickly. Classmates are once again talking over one another and directions once again aren't being read or followed, "I can't," "This is too hard," and "This is stupid," have crept back to the tip of our tongues. Helplessness is back.
I'm not going to stand for it.
But I could use a little more patience.
Maybe tomorrow we'll take some steps forward.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
I needed a bit more patience today.
I brought in a new hockey game for the class (new to them.) I wasn't overly appreciative of the way it was handled during indoor recess. The new giant Jenga game had a couple missing pieces. ("but we looked.") Our Rubix Cube's stickers have been peeled off and reapplied to make it impossible to do now. These are a few of the things that set me off. I announced that today's lunchtime showing of The Princess Bride was cancelled. I don't like to punish the masses for the actions of a few, but I've been feeling more and more that it is the behavior of the masses that is unacceptable.
We talked about it after lunch. I need positive peer pressure to do some work. I wanted people to feel like they let the class down at lunch time. People are making poor choices and then not taking any responsibility for them. Their main concern is how much trouble are they going to be in. I didn't get one apology until that I pointed out that I hadn't gotten one apology. It isn't acceptable.
I talked to them about how much I am usually motivated to get things done for them to make a great school experience. Their behavior since I have come back is not motivating. I want to go straight home after school. Why should I go the extra mile when I feel like my stuff and I are being so disrespected? That's what I told them. I feel like it is important to be up front, and they made me feel lousy today.
We need to rebuild our stamina for reading and writing. We need to rebuild our stamina for any type of output. We've taken some major steps backward, and it needs to change quickly. Classmates are once again talking over one another and directions once again aren't being read or followed, "I can't," "This is too hard," and "This is stupid," have crept back to the tip of our tongues. Helplessness is back.
I'm not going to stand for it.
But I could use a little more patience.
Maybe tomorrow we'll take some steps forward.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Wednesday
Hello,
Pat returned today to help out in the class. She is continuing to work with kids on time and money. She also helps keep me sane when I'm getting worked up.
I had a bit of a rough day. A few things didn't go well, including being told that my car wasn't fixed today due to a technician calling in sick. My wife dropped me off at work this morning and will hopefully pick me up later, but it was all for nothing.
I also wasn't happy with a core group of kids not getting their homework done. We need to get back in the routine. Papers need to make it home, get completed, and make it back. A few repeat offenders took some notes home to be signed by parents. We need to nip it now.
While our government has been "working" our citizens have been getting ready to teach the class in something. We had a great presentation on diabetes just before the break. I'm looking forward to learning about cells, snowflakes and yo yo tricks tomorrow.
We watched a twenty minute episode of Liberty's Kids, a series about our country during the fight for independence. I have the whole series on DVD if anyone is interested in learning about the revolution. I only showed the last episode, which is about why our forefathers decided to write a new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.
We had some great little skits illustrating some of our rights from our first ten amendments. Many kids focused on our right not to house soldiers. No searches without a warrant, was also a popular topic.
We are having homework club the next two Thursdays. I'm still waiting on my hoop schedule before I can announce any other future times. I'll keep it as consistent as possible.
Have a good night,
Mr. Shea
Pat returned today to help out in the class. She is continuing to work with kids on time and money. She also helps keep me sane when I'm getting worked up.
I had a bit of a rough day. A few things didn't go well, including being told that my car wasn't fixed today due to a technician calling in sick. My wife dropped me off at work this morning and will hopefully pick me up later, but it was all for nothing.
I also wasn't happy with a core group of kids not getting their homework done. We need to get back in the routine. Papers need to make it home, get completed, and make it back. A few repeat offenders took some notes home to be signed by parents. We need to nip it now.
While our government has been "working" our citizens have been getting ready to teach the class in something. We had a great presentation on diabetes just before the break. I'm looking forward to learning about cells, snowflakes and yo yo tricks tomorrow.
We watched a twenty minute episode of Liberty's Kids, a series about our country during the fight for independence. I have the whole series on DVD if anyone is interested in learning about the revolution. I only showed the last episode, which is about why our forefathers decided to write a new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.
We had some great little skits illustrating some of our rights from our first ten amendments. Many kids focused on our right not to house soldiers. No searches without a warrant, was also a popular topic.
We are having homework club the next two Thursdays. I'm still waiting on my hoop schedule before I can announce any other future times. I'll keep it as consistent as possible.
Have a good night,
Mr. Shea
Monday, January 5, 2015
Happy New Year
Hello,
It was good to be back. Most kids got a chance to share a little about their vacations. The class was respectful of one another and it didn't turn into an "I got a... " contest.
After hearing from one student about the ten plus hours a day spent on video games, we had a little discussion of overcoming that addiction. Many kids don't think it is a problem. We talked about what could have been accomplished during all that time... from learning an instrument to learning a language. I admitted to playing a few too many games myself and showed them as I erased Plants vs. Zombies and my two other games from my Ipad. I can become more if I can cut more of that out.
We had a lot of discussion after our intro to the Bill of Rights. There is a homework sheet coming home. It wasn't my original intention, but we didn't get through it in class. Lots of opinions on our right to bear arms, search and seizure, and judge/jury stuff. We'll do a mock trial in the near future so they can understand the jury stuff a little better.
I hope you all had a nice vacation. I saw a lot of basketball. Thank you for the gifts that I received on that last day of school. My thank you notes are on my to do list. I hope to finish on the bus to Emmanuel College tomorrow afternoon. Students will spend the last half hour in Ms. Thayer's class.
We did a little review in math. I'll take a look at those results tonight. Most admitted that they were rusty on the division and on some of the terms. I'm sure there weren't many kids doing long division around the tree over break. It'll come back quickly. I said that I didn't care if they forgot the procedure, their understanding of division should allow them to get right answers. I'll let you know on that front.
Have a great night.
Mr. Shea
It was good to be back. Most kids got a chance to share a little about their vacations. The class was respectful of one another and it didn't turn into an "I got a... " contest.
After hearing from one student about the ten plus hours a day spent on video games, we had a little discussion of overcoming that addiction. Many kids don't think it is a problem. We talked about what could have been accomplished during all that time... from learning an instrument to learning a language. I admitted to playing a few too many games myself and showed them as I erased Plants vs. Zombies and my two other games from my Ipad. I can become more if I can cut more of that out.
We had a lot of discussion after our intro to the Bill of Rights. There is a homework sheet coming home. It wasn't my original intention, but we didn't get through it in class. Lots of opinions on our right to bear arms, search and seizure, and judge/jury stuff. We'll do a mock trial in the near future so they can understand the jury stuff a little better.
I hope you all had a nice vacation. I saw a lot of basketball. Thank you for the gifts that I received on that last day of school. My thank you notes are on my to do list. I hope to finish on the bus to Emmanuel College tomorrow afternoon. Students will spend the last half hour in Ms. Thayer's class.
We did a little review in math. I'll take a look at those results tonight. Most admitted that they were rusty on the division and on some of the terms. I'm sure there weren't many kids doing long division around the tree over break. It'll come back quickly. I said that I didn't care if they forgot the procedure, their understanding of division should allow them to get right answers. I'll let you know on that front.
Have a great night.
Mr. Shea
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