A New Year and New Direction

 Welcome to the 2021-22 School Year. This year I will be serving as the District Teacher Librarian as well as ELO teacher. This means I will be spending time in all of our Bobcat attendance centers.

Some things I am looking forward to:

• Getting to know more students at the PK-3 level and seeing students (again) at the MS/HS
• Learning more about Chromebooks
• Continuing to help students and staff use resources like MackinVIA, Snap&Read, and other tools to help everyone do their best
• Sharing "book chats" about books I have read

What have you read lately? I recently read:

• Small Spaces by Kathrine Arden
• The Amelia Six by Kristin L. Gray
• Nancy Clancy, Star of Stage and Screen by Jane O'Connor
• I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster by Lauren Tarshis
• Dear Librarian by Lydia M. Sigwarth
• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
• Fly Girls: The Daring American Women Pilots Who Helped Win WWII by P. O'Connell Pearson
• Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen

Resources for Week of March 30, 2020

These are some resources if you are looking for ideas to stay engaged during this extended break.

Set is one of my favorite brain games. Is a group of 3 cards a set or not? You figure it out by deciding if every attribute is going to be the same or different; example, all purple shapes, all ovals, all shaded in, and different number of ovals. You can play the daily challenge here (look for the directions on the right side of the puzzle if you are new).

Noetic Learning Problem of the Week is available here. Each week there is a new problem posted.

Think Make Innovate is the Grant Wood AEA Digital Learning Team's monthly maker challenge. You can see all kinds of past challenges as well as the new episode will be released on Wednesday, April 1st (no fooling!).

5th Grade STEAM Museum

Cardboard creations. Clay sculptures. Lego structures. Posters. 3D models. Clothing redesign. Video creation.

Authentic Audience

Students love the creation part of their time in the STEAM Lab. But what happens to those creations once the class is over? The question I focused on for this STEAM project was "How do we share student's creative work in the real world?" 

I challenged the 5th grade students to create a STEAM Museum to display their creations for families to view before the music concert. This way students could take some time to create something they are proud of and share it with people they care about.

 

 

I wish you could see the thought and planning that went into these projects! 

• How students worked to mix paints to get a desired color for their painting...
• and students brainstormed how to make look like corn stocks in the field of that farm scene...
• and a student figured out a way to use wire inside clay to stabilize their sculpture...
• and how to attach all the pieces of the cat sculpture.

And I was honored to watch students show off their creations to parents - to see their pride!

eBooks for Summer Reading

• Have a great summer and don't forget to read!

We have several places to access books online. All of these websites are FREE to use, other than your own internet fees. Contact Mrs. Speer with questions.

• If you want book recommendations and to see what Mrs. Speer is reading, follow @mrsbspeer on Instagram
• If you want to share your summer reading adventures on social media, use the hashtag #norwayreads
• If you are looking for a summer reading challenge, you can fill up your bookshelf in the Norway Intermediate Summer Reading Challenge!

Priority Standards for April 30-May 7

4th grade:

Color Poetry

-Students will practice keyboarding skills as well as creatively express themselves with poems. These activities support the 4th grade ELA standards.

5th grade:

Biography project

-Students will be writing and typing a biography. Students should include at least one print source and one online source and properly cite them in the finished paper.

21.3 -5.TL.3 Utilize digital tools and resources to investigate real–world issues, answer questions, or solve problems.

21.3-5.TL.4 Use technological resources to develop and refine questions for investigation

21.3-5.TL.5 Understand and practice appropriate, legal, and safe uses of technology for lifelong learning.

6th grade:

STEAM Day

21.6-8.TL.1 Demonstrate creative thinking in the design and development of innovative technology products and problem solving.

Noetic Learning Math Contest

TAG students recently had the chance to participate in a math contest. The contest consisted of a test with 20 problems. Most problems require 2 steps to solve. You can find more information about the contest and a "Problem of the Week" section at www.noetic-learning.com.

Team Winners for Fourth Grade (a 3-way tie!)
Emily Kulbartz
Gabriel Pugh
Nova Selck
Team Winner for Fifth Grade
Jason Eastman
Team Winner for Sixth Grade
Katarina Wedeking

Priority Standards for April 22-29

4th grade:

Color Poetry

-Students will practice keyboarding skills as well as creatively express themselves with poems. These activities support the 4th grade ELA standards.

5th grade:

Biography project

-Students will be writing and typing a biography. Students should include at least one print source and one online source and properly cite them in the finished paper.

21.3 -5.TL.3 Utilize digital tools and resources to investigate real–world issues, answer questions, or solve problems.

21.3-5.TL.4 Use technological resources to develop and refine questions for investigation

21.3-5.TL.5 Understand and practice appropriate, legal, and safe uses of technology for lifelong learning.

-I can use technology to assist my learning.

6th grade:

Vault: Understanding Money

Students will learn about banking, budgeting, saving, and other financial topics. {See https://everfi.com}

SS.6.25 Demonstrate how to allocate income for spending, saving and giving. (21st century skills)