Broadmoore open from 10 to noon Thursday

I wanted to let my sixth graders and their families know that Broadmoore will be open on Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon.  This way you may pick up backpacks, say good-bye to teachers and classmates, and I get to see each of you!  I hope to see you there!

For more on Moore schools closing this week, click here.

All safe at Broadmoore following tornado

The good news from Broadmoore is that all of our children are safe.

I have been teaching for 29 years in Oklahoma, and today was the first time that my school was ever in imminent danger.  We took the safety precautions we have practiced, and our procedures worked like they are supposed to.

Our prayers go out, of course, to the two schools that were hit.  We hope that you and your family are safe.

For those friends of this blog around the nation and the world, here is a link to the tornado story.  Despite the awful devastation, Broadmoore was spared.

Sixth graders learn what it's like to work with younger children

Today was Super Kids Day. Our sixth graders manned the stations all day for the students at Broadmoore. Here were some interesting statements made by our 6^th graders that made me laugh.

 

“The little kids didn’t listen.”

 

“I had to repeat the directions several times. I am only saying them once for the older kids.”

 

“The kids wore me out.”

 

“My kids didn’t follow directions!”

Science students write alphabet book

For spelling we played Sparkle.

In language we worked on our 6^th grade books. We also added pictures to them today. I printed off 155 pictures yesterday!

In science we are making an ABC book about our year in science. There will be a book from each class. Each student chose a letter to write about and is responsible for a page in the book.

Students have "catch-up" day because of large classes.

Today there was no sub for Mrs. Cook again today, so we divided her class up.

We did a practice page in spelling.

In science we had a “Catch-up” day, as we couldn’t do what I wanted to do in science with such large classes. This was a perfect opportunity for any children to catch up on missing assignments, AR points, and any other work not done.

Below are some pictures of our poetry we did yesterday.  Students had fun arranging the spines of books so that the titles made a short poem.

 

 

Students experiment with poetry, science

We did another type of poem today.  It is called book spine poetry.  We aligned the spines of books and read from top to bottom.  I then took pictures  and will get them printed off.  I also had the children write them down so that we may match the pictures to the person.

In science we did more with chemical and physical changes.  We experimented with baking soda, Kool-Aid type mix, vinegar, milk, lemon juice, and water.  It was great entertainment, as well as educational!

Today in sixth grade: spelling, books, and dancing popcorn

We took our last spelling pretest for the year this morning.

Dancing popcorn?

We are continuing to work on our books this week.

In science we made popcorn dance. It was a great lab and we discussed what caused the dance.

With the end of the year winding down some of the children are getting a little rowdy. Please remind them that they need to remain on their best behavior. I would hate for them to miss out on some of the end-of-year activities because of behavior.

Today in sixth grade: spelling quiz, work on books, computer lab

We took our test in spelling today.

 

We continue to work on our books in writer’s workshop. I am getting some pictures taken throughout the year printed so that they may be added.

 

In science we went to computer lab.

Students enjoy science newspapers

In spelling today we did pages 113 and 115. These are practice pages using our spelling words.

 

In writer’s workshop we continued with our books.

 

In science we started a new newspaper with articles and activities. This one continues with motion. The newspapers are a great hit and I see children that normally don’t enjoy reading just absorbing these newspapers.

Sixth graders start work on memory books, work on science activities

In spelling we played Sparkle.

 

In writer’s workshop we started our 6^th grade memory books.

 

In science we finished our index card activity and an inertia lab.

Oklahoma author visits Broadmoore

We had a great treat today with an author visit from Oklahoma’s own Tammi Sauer. She has written several picture books and a big thank you goes out to our librarian, Mrs. Testerman! This was our language time. It was great, as the children looked at me when she repeated things they have heard from me all year about writing.

 

In science we read our newspaper and did an activity with some of the key vocabulary words from this week’s newspaper.

 

Don’t forget to send pictures for the slide show. Also, book orders are due this Thursday!

Students freewrite in writer's workshop

In spelling we took our pretest and corrected them.
 

In writer’s workshop we did a freewrite that will be continued tomorrow. Freewriting is a teaching technique that allows students to write continuously without regard to spelling, grammar, or even topic.  It helps young writers to get in touch with their thoughts and ideas, rather than stopping to worry about mechanics.  It's sort of like brainstorming in print.  Frequently we use freewriting as an introduction to other pieces.

 

In science we finished testing our flyers.

Teachers eat .... drumroll ... crickets!

Today started out quite interesting. The first thing was that a child brought an edible cricket (Yes, it is an oxymoron.) and asked the 6^th grade teachers to eat one. Why we agreed is still a wonder to us all. But we did, and so far have survived, but we have been trying to get that nasty taste out of our mouths all day! The kids said we should do it again and take pictures but we all agreed that it was a one-time occurrence!

In spelling we took our test.

In writer’s workshop we did a quick write about the cricket incident.

In science we tested our flyers that we made.

Have a great weekend!

Authors type and illustrate poems

We typed and illustrated our poems today in writer’s workshop.

 

In science we finished boats and awarded the first place winners. I am currently working on second and third place prizes. The boats were absolutely wonderful! If your child didn’t bring his/hers yet, he/she still needs to bring one, as they are worth 3 grades when you include today’s notebooking activity.

 

I also sent home the last book order. Our online ordering code is J34XP if you want to order online. This is the last book order of the year and is due next Thursday, the same day that all library books are due!

More poetry for sixth graders

Today we wrote more poetry . Your child had a choice of either writing a cherished item poem or an alliteration one. I showed them examples that my third graders wrote a few years ago on the “Write-on” blog.  That blog, which I used to publish the writing of my third graders when I taught in Enid, can be found here.

 

In science we almost got everyone’s boats tested. Note to self: Next year I will call on some parent volunteers so that we can set up multiple testing stations! The kids have been so good and have thoroughly enjoyed this activity!