Snow Problem

The Burlington Science Center doesn't want you to be stuck inside with nothing to do, so try this on for size.

https://docs.google.com/a/bpsk12.org/document/d/1gFT57qlYEycEhCjlwYhxW7tJNIFwqo5dq2R46nHo6IE/edit


See you when the snow is clear!

Latitude and Longitude Hunt: Oh My!

Ahoy there mateys!  Room 103 set out on their first live expedition. After practicing our tracking skills, reviewing latitude and longitude, performing several activities to determine coordinates and direction, room 103 set out to find Cap'n Cooksie's lost booty.  We used GyroCompass to determine our location and set out on our adventure.  Here's how it went.  The children were broken up into three groups - each set out on a different adventure. With maps and coordinates in hand, the children had to figure out our location and compare it to the location of the treasure. 

Next the children had to decide what direction we have to travel to head towards the treasure.  We stopped at major intersections along the way to calibrate and plan.  First stop the intersection at the library or the office!  The adventure continued to various stopping points around the building where we continued to practice our honing skills. East, West, North or South relied completely on their skills to compare their current location to that of the treasure. 

Were we able to pinpoint the treasure with coordinates?  But of course!  The treasure was found and the children (and I) were quite excited.

In the end, the treasure box was filled with weekend fun starting with the mustaches the children all wore home Friday afternoon.  So the pirate booty was full of good times, learning and imagination. What more could we all ask for?  Hope you had a great weekend!

News Flash

Dear Homeroom Parents,

As we return to school, we will be finishing up our review of latitude and longitude. Our next topic will be electricity. In my endeavor to be more hands on in my approach to teaching, I am looking to use household items to create an end of unit electricity test that revolves around application. I am looking for tin foil, batteries, small light bulbs, wire, and toilet paper rolls. If you could reply below any items you can send so everyone doesn't send the same items that would be great. Thank you and Happy New Year!

Check Out Our 103 Writers

Writing Surrounds Us!

As the year marches on, we have been taking a more structured approach to writing. This approach is becoming clearer and will become one of next endeavors. Here are the results of our writing efforts. Our beginnings revolved around personal narratives.

As the year moved on we started developing our ability to take notes, retell and summarize texts we've read in class.  This led to some great book summaries which were typed, drawn and finally narrated. Check out this completed Hatchet summary.

https://docs.google.com/a/bpsk12.org/file/d/0B05rXJD6zG7dcjJLT3owbUdXZjA/edit

As we continue to develop our writing curriculum, we took a loved book and moved into some persuasive writing. This led us all to choose three items to take on a trip where we would need to survive in the wilderness. Then we had to convince the reader to take the items on their trip.

Our most recent persuasive piece was our letters to Santa. The goal was to ask Santa for three presents for Christmas. There had to be reasons for each item and some Christmas song lyrics had to be included. 

Enjoy our pieces and come back soon for how to do it!