Farewell, Fifth Graders 2009

Hello Fourth Graders! Goodbye Room 110, Hello Room 106!

It was sort of sad when I turned off the lights and locked the door of room 110. I liked that room. But I packed up all the memories, recycled the junk and moved into a new place to make new memories with a new bunch of kids! I am really excited for all the opportunites I will have this upcoming year.

To all the fifth graders who left Washington this week: Good luck and have fun at Lincoln! I will miss you!

To all the fourth graders coming into room 106, have a great summer and I can't wait to meet you in the fall!

Enjoy the summertime tunes on the MixPod and I'll see you back here on August 26th!

He Had A Dream...

We started studies of MLK Jr. today in Social Studies. We consulted Tim and Moby over at Brainpop and also brainstormed some facts we already knew about his life and great work. Then we listened to some music form the Civil Rights Era. We know about his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. Here is the speech in case you haven't heard it for a while...it sure is moving.


(The video is from Youtube.com)

What change do you wish to see in the world? What is your plan to make that change happen?

Assignment Notes: If you did not finish your iPod lab in class, 107, please view these 2 vids and finish your graphic organizer. This assignment is due on Monday for room 107. Room 110 should have turned it in on Tuesday.

California Dreamin'

Our Para, Ms. Monagas, had to leave us recently to relocate to California. We miss her a lot, but wish her the best.

Feel free to leave a comment telling a good memory you have about Ms. M.

We Are Off and Running!

We are attempting to learn to blog. Wow. What chaos! But it's all good...

Kids Travel

We visited Cantigny and experienced the WWI First Division Museum, toured the Robt. R. McCormick Mansion, and played in the tank park on the beautiful grounds. Here a few shots of the trip.

Learning about the history of the First Division (The Big Red 1) and learning about recent conflicts in our nation's history made me think about soldiers' contributions to our country. What contributions have you made to make your community safe and a better place for all of us?

Words Words Words

As we said goodbye to our Revolution/Change Cycle in Social Studies, we took the time to generate characteristics that described the 1920's and the 1930's. These two decades are very different, indeed. Our class of thinkers came up with the following beautiful creations thanks to wordle.net.

We compared what is happening in the present to what happened during the 20's and 30's. We decided that some things are very different, yet some things are strangely similar. What words can you think of to describe what is happening to the economy now? Ask your parents to help you make this list.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School...

I can't wait to hear what you have to say about today's random event. As I was driving to work, I noticed that people were slowing down rahter rapidly in front of me. As I approached this place in the road, I saw that there was a goose who had wandered into the street. I could tell the goose was confused and in danger of being hit. As I swerved to avoid it, I wondered what I should have done. Everyone around me in cars was hurrying to work and seemed that they couldn't be bothered to stop and help some bird. If I had stopped to help the bird across the street, car horns would have been blaring in my ears. It would have angered the other drivers to have to stop and wait for the goose to cross the road.

I wonder what you have to say about this question: When you see something or someone in need, do you stop to help even if it is the unpopular thing to do?