Limerick Leprechauns

St. Patrick’s Day 2013 will soon be upon us and Room 102 is beginning the season with limericks, a style of poetry popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th century. Limericks aren't Irish, but there is a Limerick county in Ireland where limericks gain fame. These nonsensensical poems are a fun way for students to celebrate the season.  

A clever song about how to write limericks, sung in limericks,  guides students through the steps of writing a great limerick.  Students went to computer lab to word process their original poems in Google Docs.            

   

Simple "how to" directions guide students through the fun of assembling their limerick leprechauns.

Teri over at  A Cupcake for the Teacher designed this clever leprechaun pattern. Woo Hoo for the seasonal fun and a big thanks sent to her.

National Grammar Day

How does one honor the spirit of National Grammar Day? The official website puts it this way:

 “Language is something to celebrate, and March 4 is the perfect day to do it. It’s not only a date, it’s an imperative: March forth on March fourth to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!”

How did Room 102 celebrate National Grammar Day? Grammar Guy made his appearance on our classroom door with several grammar funnies.

We then brought out board games with actual dice. 

What? We have to roll the dice manually?  

 Yes, yes you do.

Curriculum board games provide a motivational way for students to review important concepts.  The games engage children in an activity that challenges the mind, teaches social skills, and promotes active learning while having fun!  It was a light-hearted day of exploring and learning. 

     Happy Grammar Day!

Snow Day

The forecasted snow storm brought so much excitement and chatter. After all, students had visions of sleeping late, snow forts, and sledding. 

The automated phone call didn't come Thursday morning, so students created their own special snow day at school.  The morning was filled with snowmen, snowflakes, and hot chocolate dosed generously with marshmallows. 

Click the slideshow to join the fun.

Shape Poems

Written by Chase 

February is a great time to practice poetry writing skills and experiment with a new form. It's a perfect opportunity to take a fresh look at poetry and descriptive language. 

A trip to computer lab introduced students to a new site -festisite. This site is easy to use and yields some impressive artwork. After students wrote their poems, they typed the text into the text box. Next they clicked "Layout text" and their text appeared as a shape poem inside a heart. The image is delivered as a PDF which makes it easy for students to print and save their creations.  It's clever and fun!

Room 102 is decorated for the season with student poetry.

Click the icon to continue the fun at home. 

February's Estimation Jar

Students love to make predictions and they get so excited in the hopeful anticipation of being the winner.  What was fun this month was watching the parents get involved with an estimate. One set of parents got out their phone to crunch numbers on the calculator app. 

The estimation jar was a fun addition to Parent Conferences.  Sydney's mom stopped by today for lunch and was given her winnings- 53 chocolates in the jar! Congratulations!

Thank you, parents,  for attending your child's conference during conference week. I enjoyed the opportunity to sit down with each of you to discuss your child's progress, the many ways we can best support your child, and goals for the upcoming months. 

As we move forward into the quarter,  if you have questions or input that you believe would be beneficial to your child's success, please do not hesitate to contact me. I appreciate and value your involvement and support.  

Let's Color Their World

Chubby Crayons

Room 102 is connecting our Valentine’s Day celebration to a service-learning project. Since we have lots of crayons, we agreed to pop some in the oven, melt them down, and share brand new heart crayons with little hands.

These recycled crayons will be delivered to The Wesley Center. The extra big crayons are easy for little hands to hold and they don't break when used. 

There was still time in our day for cards and holiday sweets.

Heart-shaped chips!  Seriously? 

Happy Valentine's Day!

From Room 102 

Parent Post

This generation of students is more likely to be armed with cell phones, laptops, and iPods than with spiral notebooks and No. 2 pencils. Kids are high tech. They like electronics - -it's speaking their language.  

Classroom technologies and devices have continued to evolve into some pretty cool and beneficial learning tools. Click the typewriter for a brief look at the evolution of classroom technology.

Education is changing. Room 102 is curious about a typical school day in the life of parents. Do you have a piece of technology that you remember using in the classroom? Please share in the comments. 

Cartoon displayed with special permission from http://www.glasbergen.com