Standards Based Instruction that Ensures Student Success

It's a "Cell-ebration" with Mrs. Wilkes

For the first section students created their own models of cells. Students could choose either to create a poster, 3D model, game board, or children’s story. The projects were shared through use of a gallery walk where classmates posted sticky notes to praise other’s work.

For the second part of the cell-ebration students were put into small group to create a GIANT cell! Students constructed each organelle, attached them, and led other grade levels through a tour. Brook’s third and second graders waked through and learned all about the animal cell and the organelle’s functions.

S5L3: Students will diagram and label parts of various cells (plant and animal)
b. identify parts of a plant cell and parts of an animal cell and determine the function of the parts.

Playing Around with the Math Standards in Mrs. Fetner's Fifth Grade Math Class

At the end of the nine weeks, we listed all the math concepts that we had studied during the first nine weeks The students divided into groups of three and four, they picked a concept, and created a math game that would illustrate it. For example: one group used prime and composite numbers to play a game of musical chairs. There were numbers on the chairs, they had to identity the numbers as prime or composite. If you had a 7, you got a bonus question about prime and composite numbers. Another group made up a board game dividing decimals, you could advance by drawing cards and getting the right answers when dividing decimals. We also rotated every 15 minutes and let the class play each other's games.

Socratic Seminar
5^th grade students in Mrs. Ferrell and Mrs. Wilkes class have been participating in Socratic discussions involving their novel A Cord of Three Strands. The students are posed with a question on Mondays regarding a specific topic such as theme or internal/external conflict. Throughout the week students find evidence from the novel or other content areas to support their beliefs and on Friday they participate in an open discussion. Students learn how to express their own ideas, as well as build upon their classmates thoughts in order to receive a deeper understanding of the topic.

ELA5R1:
a. identifies and analyzes characterization and conflict
d. relates literary work historically or culturally
g. applies knowledge of the concept that theme refers to the message about life and the world the author wants us to understand is implied or stated
i. makes judgments and inferences about setting, characters, and events and supports them with elaborating and convincing evidence from text.

Common Core
R.CCR.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development
R.CCR.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of the text.
SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (Socratic seminar) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and text building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Multiplication Monsters in Mrs. Spence's Third Grade Class

After learning the concepts of multiplication, as well as, facts up to 6’s the student applied what they learned to create multiplication monsters.  They used the multiplication problems given to figure out how many arms, legs, heads, tails, etc. that their monster needed.  Then, they created three new facts and items of their own.  Finally, they used that information to create their monster out of construction paper, tissue paper, and yarn.

M3N3: Students will further develop their understanding of multiplication of whole numbers and develop the ability to apply it in problem solving.

Pumpkin Reports in Third Grade

Throughout the month of October, third grade students worked on book reports that focused on main characters.  Students read individual books and completed a report in which they looked deeper into the thoughts and actions of their characters.  After identifying character traits and describing their characters, students decorated pumpkins to look like the characters in their books.  Students later shared their pumpkins with the class, telling us about their book and character while also identifying the character traits they found in their books that helped them to decorate their pumpkins.

ELA3R3 The student uses a variety of strategies to gain meaning from grade-level

text. The student…

1. reads a variety of texts for information and pleasure.
2. recognizes characters within text.
3. makes judgments and inferences about characters and events, and supports them with evidence from the text.

Planet Postcards in Mrs. Davenport's Class

Requirements:

• Research a planet in the solar system.
• Make a postcard about your planet.
• Present your project to the class.
• 
  

Research your planet by using the internet, your science textbook, or a library book.

1. You are designing a postcard for your planet. It should be a short letter to a friend or a family member.
   • Facts must be written in your own words, in complete sentences with correct punctuation/capital letters, and with correct spelling.
   • Use the poster board provided by your teacher.
   • You may type or write your information, but it must be legible.
   • You must have a picture of your planet on the front side of the postcard.  You can draw it yourself if you are a good artist, you may find a picture in a magazine, or on the computer.  The picture should be large enough to show the major details of your planet and fill the front space of the postcard.
   • You should address the postcard in the correct format, using capital letters and punctuation correctly.

Create a stamp for your postcard.  It should relate to your planet.