Reading All Around Us

As promised, we are keeping up our summer reading!  Check out some of my reading around, and please feel free to share yours, too! 
Happy Reading!

Where am I reading?

How inviting!

Do you see it?  Read more!

Where am I reading?

Day 19 - Thank you for a FANTASTIC summer academy!

First of all, let me apologize for not posting yesterday.  I got so caught up in the excitement of the book fair that I forgot all about the blog!  It's been a blast!

The students were thrilled to shop yesterday!  They were so excited to read the books they chose, that many of them sat right down and opened them up as soon as they "purchased."  It's beautiful to see such enthusiasm for reading!  The book fair will continue today for our fourth and fifth graders, and we can't wait to help them find perfect books for their summer reading. 

As we finish up our last day at the academy, we just want to thank you for all of your support of this program and, of course, your amazing children.  It has been a privilege to have them learn with us this summer and we hope they enjoyed the experience and discovered something truly super in themselves.  Please be on the lookout in your mailbox for further communication from us this summer.  We will periodically be updating the blog throughout the summer, and hope to hear back from our students for their contributions.  Mr. Hutson and I will also be doing a little game with the blog, "Where am I reading?" so you can keep up with us and our summer reading, too.
 

Day 17 - So Much Excitement!

These last few days of summer academy are going to be the most exciting of the program!  Are you sitting down?  ;)

Today, our amazing crew of OASIS tutors hosted a celebration for their students today.  Check it out:

In the gym, we are setting up for the Summer Scholastic Book Fair, which will officially open for business Wednesday and Thursday.  All of our enrolled students will receive two free books courtesy of Glenridge, Meramec, and Captain.  Our book fair will be open to public shoppers Wednesday from 3:30-6:30 and Thursday from 10-12.  You don't want to miss this opportunity to grab some deals to stock up for summer reading:

In classrooms, our teachers are continuing their responsive instruction and working with students to help them find their superpowers.  Look at what our EL students made to practice their written English skills:

Day 16 - You are super!

Today in assemblies, we reminded the students of the challenge we set forth on day one.  Answer this question:  What's your superpower?  One thing that we wanted to teach them is that super is already inside of them, and that their job is to uncover it and let it be revealed in who they are everyday.  Here is a video we watched to help the students understand it from someone who is considered pretty super, by society's standards:

We left them with this thought: be you and be your best self! 

Day 15 - Learning Buddies

Today in our assemblies, we are celebrating the work done by our first grade and fourth grade learning buddies.  These two classes paired up to read and write together throughout the program, discussing everyday superpowers and superheroes.  In teams, they created their own superheroes and shared them with the school today.  Here are the examples of what they shared:

Day 14 - Problem Solvers

I know I wrote about math yesterday, but there is another aspect of our math instruction that is so crucial, I felt it needed its own post.  As teachers, our goal is to teach our students to become confident problem solvers by applying the strategies and skills they are learning in class to new situations and challenges.  One of my favorite strategies is drawing bar models, as seen in this example:

Drawing a bar model is a great way for kids to process a math problem and see it on the paper in a picture to help them understand how to solve it.  
This video clip explains how it works for addition and subtraction problems, but we use this strategy all the way through fifth grade even when we are doing algebra. 
Enjoy!
Bar Modeling for Parents

Day 13 - Do the Math

One major area of focus during summer academy is mathematics instruction and practice.  As a parent myself, I understand how sometimes it can be difficult to figure out what your child is doing in math class based on what he/she reports to you each day.  During the summer, our goal is to look at the needs of each of our learners from their last school year, coupled with what practice we know they will benefit from to prepare for the upcoming school year, and provide them with instruction to meet their needs.  Although we don't assign math homework during the summer, there are little everyday things you can do you help your child with his/her mathematical thinking outside of having them complete the summer math packet.  Here are a few videos targeted on different aspects and levels of math that can give some insight into ways we are teaching math and how you can support your child.

This first video is for our younger mathematicians and building their number sense.  I know it says learning to count, but it goes beyond that into how we teach children to conceptualize numbers beyond counting.
Learning to Count and How You Can Help

The second one I chose is about learning and practicing multiplication facts.  I love how it puts this skill in the context of real-world situations when we are multiplying and dividing, which is helpful when you are just talking math with your child. 
Learning Multiplication Facts and How You Can Help

Lastly, I wanted to feature something that provides you with examples of mental math, because most of us rely on mental math in our daily lives and we rarely sit down and do pencil and paper math with our children outside of homework.  It's best for them to see how math fits in with everyday, and how it isn't just for sitting down and doing 100 multiplication problems.  This clip is longer, but gives lots of great background to how we think mathematically and how we can guide our children's thinking.
What is mental math and why is it important?