Playground

More Games to Go!

Games to Go

Charlotte's Web Website

Check this out!!!

http://www.charlotteswebmovie.com/site/index.php

Wordle

This morning the students worked in groups to list words to describe our school year. We then used these lists to create a Wordle to "sum up" our year! Love it!!!

http://www.wordle.net/

Last Week!

The final week of school brings such a mix of emotions for all of us. On one hand we're all very much looking forward to summer break and a few months of family time, but on the other hand we're sad to say goodbye to the group of students that have formed our little classroom community for the past nine months. We've laughed, cried, worked, and learned together, and I've seen such AMAZING growth from so many kids. As I look back on the year I am always struck by the change I now see when compared to the group of students who walked through my door last fall. We've covered so many things, and yet I find myself wishing for just a little more time to take them even further. This week we are wrapping up loose ends, cleaning up our classroom, reflecting and reminiscing, and getting to do all those great end of the year activities...trip to the park today, talent show tomorrow (two of our own students performing!!!), and games to go, et al on Thursday!

Here's one final picture from the Plains Art Museum!

Plains Art Museum

On the 18th we went to the Plains Art Museum. We got to do an art project. It was fun! We got to put house paint and sand on it too. Then we got to go in a gallery. We saw mini people and we got to sit in a rocking chair. Every time we rocked a tv would make a sound.

Owl Pellets

We are dissecting owl pellets. Owl pellets are oval  shape. They kinda look like chocolate. Owls spit up owl pellets. Owl pellets have bones and fur. We got really cool animal
bones in the owl pelits. It is really cool ! ! ! !

BY :Jaxson, Hayden , Max.

Theme Windsocks

Today we made theme windstocks. First,we had to pick a theme that had to match the story Charlotte'sWeb. Then we had to decorate our paper. After, we stapled are streamers to our windstock.We had a lot of fun.
                                     -Shaeden

Vermin

At the Plains Art Museum there were clay people called  "vermin". They were everywhere. You have to inspect every nook and cranny to find them. It was very fun to hunt for them. They were very cute, and it was a very creative idea.
                                                                                                 - M and Bella

Plains Art Preview

We had an amazing trip to the Plains Art Museum on Friday! Not only did we see some amazing exhibits, but the students created BEAUTIFUL art based on the work of Jackson Pollock. I won't tell you any more, as I've already promised several students that they can write about our trip, but I will give you a quick sneak preview of what we did!

INFO ABOUT TAKING APART OWL PELLETS

This week we took apart owl pellets. We learned that owl pellets are the fur, bones, claws, and teeth in a ball that an owl spits up. An owl pellet is about 3.75 to 7.5 cm long. Do you know that it takes an owl about 20 hours before it can spit up the pellet? Usually you will find rodents such as voles, mice, and small rats. Barn owls do not chew, they swallow whole. This was also a very exiting experience for the whole class.
                                                                                                                     Written by Mallory

Counting Bones

We are having a lot of fun counting bones in science.We have counted bones by feeling them.We have made a skeleton named Mr.Bones.Did you know babies have more bones than adults!
Scapula-shoulder blade
Maxilla-upper jaw
Mandible-lower jaw
Clavicle-collar bone
Sternum-breast bone
Humerus, Radius, Ulna-arm bones
Femur, tibia, fibula-leg bones
Patella-knee cap
Phalanges-finger and toe bones
Coccyx-tailbone
Carpals-wristbone
Tarsal-ankle bone

That is some of your bones in your body. Did you know that you have 206 bones?

-Shaeden & Brooke-

West Fargo Library Trip

The Library was fantastic!!!!! We saw the homework room and we found out about the summer reading program. We also saw the first and second floor!!! We also went into the staff room and we saw what happens to books when we return them. It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet you guys can't wait to see it. Finally we got to see WEST FARGO SCHOOLS HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really hope you guys get to see it. Well I got to leave now bye.

-Garrett

Charlotte's Web Spider Webs

The spider web was an amazing project! It really tied in with the book because Charolotte had webs with very praising words. Everyone in the class really enjoyed this project because this project is fun, quick, and easy. We also love this project. Mrs. Clarey is lucky to do this again next year!

                                                
                                                              - Bella and M

The final stretch!

It was so good to see many of you today at our program! The students performed so well, and as I so often do felt such an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Our class has been through many challenges this year, but as we approach the last few weeks I have been continually impressed by their growth as learners and individuals. These last few weeks are definitely bittersweet as we look forward to summer, but also realize that our time as a classroom community is coming to a close. Today is not the first or the last time I'll be guilty of hiding a tear of pride this year!

Last week brought TONS of excitement as we began Charlotte's Web and our Human Body unit in science. The students have been eagerly diving into both, and they've brought a breath of fresh air. Since we are winding down most of our curriculum, reviewing and solidifying concepts and strategies we've studied this year, and working through all of our end-of-year benchmarking assessments, I find myself with few new learning goals. So I've decided to treat you to photographs!!!

These are from a little over a week ago when we performed "surgery" to create contractions.

One of the things we are enjoying most in Charlotte's Web is the remarkable way E.B. White allows his readers to visualize what's taking place so easily by using wonderful description. As we were introduced to Mr. Zuckerman's barn, I asked the students to draw what they pictured in their minds as they listened to the story. Here's what we saw!

Charlotte's Web & The Human Body

We have finally begun "the long awaited week!" The students have been anxiously waiting, and this week has been like a breath of fresh air!!

Charlotte's Web will take the next three weeks of school and consume most of our morning class time. We'll work on a variety of higher level thinking strategies and complete a few projects. I rewrote the entire unit while Mr. Brownlee was full-time teaching, and I can't remember the last time I was this excited to teach a unit! Today we worked on the strategy of visualizing, or making a mental image while you read. While I read aloud the students drew their mental images, and they turned out great! I'll try to remember to take a few pictures to post tomorrow. I'm getting used to writing for our blog, and now I need to get better at taking photos regularly!!!

On Monday we began our study of the human body by observing how our bodies move while jumping rope. I challenged the students to observe CAREFULLY to determine what parts of their body was moving. We couldn't identify the leg or the arm because there were parts of each of those that didn't move. Our first challenge this week will be to figure out how many bones there are in the human skeleton...if you already know, please don't spill the beans!!!!!