It's Been So Long!!!

     Hello, hello! It has been far too long since my last post. I have found that the beginning of the school year gets more and more hectic as each school year comes around. We have thoroughly been enjoying ourselves learning new things and building confidence in areas that some may believe they are weaker in. This is an amazing group of students I am working with this year!  I am reminded of that every time we do a group project and I hear such rich discussion about their thinking. Of course, sometimes our discussion tends to stray :)...but they know how to reel it back in to the task at hand. Let's remember, they are 5th graders after all. I think sometimes people lose sight of the fact that these are kids that we are preparing for the future. We should be teaching them what it means to be successful. Positivism all around! If this group work is any indication, we are on the right path to a successful student! Until next time...

Talking through translating expressions!

Discussing Testable vs. Non-Testable Questions 

Taking ownership of AVID Expectations...student created posters! 

Point of view scenes...students wrote about what took place from different perspectives and points of view.

I just LOVE it when they work together!!!

Welcome New Superheroes!!!

I am so excited to start this year! I was happy to see so many people turn out to the Porch Party last night. I just wanted to welcome you again...in case you were looking around :). This is my website/blog. I like to use it to keep students, parents, and other teachers in the loop about what happens in my classroom. Please check back here often for updates and any other information you may need.  You may check the classroom section for important information. Many things are under construction right now as we prepare for the new year, but go ahead and click around. 5th grade is going to be awesome as we have a GREAT group of kids coming in this year. I hope you are ready for a fun journey. Now boarding...5th grade. See you Monday!

Lights...Camera...Action!!!

I don't know what it is about students and their love of acting...wait...yes I do! They LOVE to play dress up. Even older students, who hate to admit it, love to dress up and pretend to be other characters to make people laugh. This is one of the reasons that I love to incorporate drama and plays into the classroom. There are so many benefits to using a script. One of the main benefits, of course, is an increase in reading fluency. Having a student read the same text multiple times increases their use of vocabulary and phrasing. They also have to learn how to use the right tone to say what the character is saying, while conveying the meaning of the line. The format I follow for incorporating drama in the classroom is as follows:

1. Assign students' roles and hand out scripts (I usually have 2 scrips for all of my students. The stories always have multiple characters, acts, and scenes to be divided).
2. Give students at least 3-4 weeks to practice their lines (I even allow some class practice time on Fridays).
3. Students present plays in classroom, or on stage using microphones. (Most students remember lines. Those that don'e are allowed to read scripts, but with expression and action. Many groups of students like to add in electronic sound effects and costumes to spice up their performance). 
4. Sit back, watch...maybe record...the magic that takes place!

"A Wolf, Three Pigs, and a Mudpie"

Cinderella lost her glass slipper in this play!

Two Pigs and A. Wolf...😊

The students are always so awesome from the set designers to the extras needed in scenes. You should take a chance on incorporating live plays in your classroom! The actors/actresses and audience will truly enjoy!

FIN

Cup Flippin'

We've started a new unit in math. We will be recording and analyzing data this week. I thought it would be a good idea to get some of this bottle flippin' out of the way...and for a good cause. I give you...cup flippin'. After flipping our cups for several trials, we created a tally chart, bar graph, and a dot plot based on the data. More data analysis to come!

Welcome

Welcome, welcome, welcome to my new digital home! Isn't it nice?? For all things Ms. Strickland's class, you can come here and check out the prospective page. There is even a special place for my wonderful kiddos. I love having this open door into my classroom with these amazing kids that are being shared with me. As a first post, I have decided to take a look back at a couple of the awesome things that we did over the 1st semester. As I reflect, I think these kids did such a great job and I am looking forward to more fun this semester! Here's to my Superheroes!

    Paging All Doctors

                 

            

   













Wind Erosion/Sand Blasters

Making Sand Dunes

                                                                   

  

Nehemiah using weathering to build sand dunes.