News from Mrs. Drudy's Class
We exist so children can excel.
Weekly Concept: Cooperation Works!
Essential Question: How do people get along?
This week our class will be focusing on how people get along. Which is better, cooperation or competition? This is a particularly timely question to pose during the Iditarod race.
Spelling/Phonics: diphthongs oy, oi
1. soil
2. broil
3. moist
4. point
5. toil
6. oil
7. toy
8. joy
9. coin
10. noise
11. crown
12. mound
13. I’ll
14. laugh
15. maybe
Challenge Words:
16. annoy
17. employ
18. noisy
19. avoid
20. voyage
Don't forget...Spelling City, Unit 5 Week 2, offers fun and meaningful practice of the weekly spelling lists.
Iditarod!
The race is on! Students are super-excited to be following their musher along the trail. They have data binders that they fill out each day that is rich with mathematical thinking. Once I showed them how to access this data they've been obsessed. They are literally wanting to check in several times an hour. I've had to limit the data updates to first thing each morning. If you wish to view your child's musher/team progress, you can go to www.iditarod.com. From there you will need to log in to my paid subscription. This is the only way to get access to the live GPS tracking system. There is a limit of 5 devices being logged in at one time, so if you are unable, simply try again later. My login info is as follows:
login: tamaradrudy@gmail.com
password: Wishbone1
From there you will need to select GPS, and your child can take it from there. As with any Internet interactions your child has, I strongly recommend you sit right alongside him or her at all times. I have stressed this with the students as well. There is some scary stuff out there in cyber world right now, and we must add this to our list of worries for raising children.
I don't have many classroom pictures to share with you today, due to my absence, but the one I'm sharing below speaks a thousand words. Just look at the level of engagement of these two students in the picture. It could've been any one of them. They are simply so interested in the learning! I've also included a short video of Sunday's Today Show that features Abi's musher, Blair Braverman. She has found notoriety on Twitter as a rookie musher. While you may want to follow her, I do NOT condone this for the students. :-)
Researchers
Our recent share topic about the presidents was one way for students to hone their researching skills, but they'll also been doing some in-depth researching about the animals that they might encounter along the 2019 Iditarod trail. Tomorrow, be sure to ask your child which animal (s)he selected for this assignment. Both of these activities help us to address the following Indiana Academic Language Arts standard"
"Conduct short research on a topic.
· Identify a specific topic or question of interest.
· Locate information in reference texts, electronic resources, or through interviews.
· Recognize that some sources may be more reliable than others.
· Record relevant information in their own words.
· Present the information, choosing from a variety of formats."
Moose PooPooPaper
While in Alaska, I visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and stumbled into the gift shop for a look around. I was amazed at the selection of wonderful books, interesting art and clothing. What caught my eye though was a special little pad of paper on a shelf. It was obviously all natural fiber paper, and I took a closer look at it. I saw the manufacturer’s name, “PooPooPaper” on the back. This pad of recycled paper was made out of moose poo! What?!?!?!? Naturally, I bought it immediately (along with a lovely pair of moose poo earrings, which I proudly wore today). To be a truly effective elementary school teacher you need two things: creativity and a sense of humor. Upon return from my trip, I searched the company online for more information. It turned out that the company, PooPooPaper, is quite remarkable indeed...and then, a second grade science lesson was born.
No, we will not be making our own moose PooPooPaper, but we follow a similar procedure to make our own colored recycled paper. We learned from the site that the company made their paper in a similar way to us…except for the poo! Now remember, nothing we do is merely fun and foo foo. There is academic purpose to all that we do, and this lesson meets the following Indiana Academic Standard in Science:
- "Predict the result of combining solids and liquids in pairs. Mix, observe, gather, record, and discuss evidence of whether the result may have different properties than the original materials."
PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD BRING IN OLD NEWSPAPERS TOMORROW!!!!
Family Literacy Night
If your family is planning to attend Family Literacy Night on Wedneday, March 20 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. We are hopeful you will be able to join us for this Beach-themed night of literacy. This will assist with our planning for this exciting night which is held in conjunction with the fourth graders' famous Hoosiers wax museum night.
This Week's Share Topic
Descriptive Hints: Put an item in a box or bag. Give five descriptive sentences that will appeal to your listeners’ senses. Let’s see if anyone can guess what it is based upon your carefully thought-out descriptions (hints).
Related Arts Schedule
Monday: Art
Tuesday: P.E./Music*
Wednesday: P.E. and Computer Lab
Thursday: P.E.
Friday: Music and Library
*Gym shoes required on these days
Coming Up:
March 10 Daylight Savings Time begins
March 14 PTO Meeting 6:30
March 20 Family Literacy Night 6:00-7:00 p.m.
March 22 Beach Day!!!
March 25-29 Spring break week!
Bailee and Hudson check the status of their musher and his/her team.
Check out social media Musher sensation Blair Braverman on Sunday's Today Show
About Us
Email: tammy.drudy@uc.k12.in.us
Website: http://www.uc.k12.in.us/liberty-elementary/liberty-elementary/
Location: 501 Eaton St, Liberty, IN, United States
Phone: 765-458-5521