Week two - moving right along

Since Ms. Grant was gone for most of week 1, I spent most of week two observing her classroom, her teaching methods, getting familiar with the schedule, learning the sequence of the curriculum, jumping in with hands-on projects and helping students one-on-one when needed.  I have to say, it's already Thursday and the week flew by in this fast-paced classroom.  Ms. Grant does not waste a minute of instructional time, her dedication to her students is inspiring and she employs a variety of teaching methods and activities to engage her students.

I am loving the Browning Radio station, KBWG during the morning commute.  The morning DJ gives the best ever weather report including a detailed account of how much longer each day will become.  It seems we are gaining about a minute of light per day.  During week one, it was dark when we left Cut Bank at 7am dark when we arrived at the school.  Today, however, I noticed that as I was about 10 miles out, the sky allowed a faint, periwinkle outline of the Rockies.  Seeing Divide Mountain nearly everyday is certainly one of life's luxuries.  With every view, I ask myself, "How have I never climbed you?"  New Summer 2013 goal!  Who's in?  I'm thinking Claire Igoe and Jessie Stamler to name a couple of experienced Divide climbers!

Here are photos of the students from Monday's Math Lesson.  The students used straws and twisty-ties to construct three-dimensional shapes.  The students worked in teams of two to construct a triangular pyramid, a rectangular pyramid, a pentagonal pyramid, and a hexagonal pyramid.  The students worked well in teams of two, helping each other, sometimes even working on the same shape at the same time.  Everyone finished all of their shapes and was excited to take them home to show their families.


Ms. Grant assisting her students

 

On Wednesday, the students learned about lines of symmetry and then did an activity where they chose two colors of paint and simply smeared the colors in a folded piece of paper.  You would not believe the beautiful symmetrical paintings that were a result of this activity.  Some looked like brains, some like buffalo skulls, and many looked like butterflies.  Each student made two, one went home and one is proudly on display in the second grade hall.  Here's a photo of the symmetrical art as it was drying:



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sweet Shanghai

Image
Things always seem to come full circle and that was certainly the case in this latest adventure in China. It seemed like ages ago that we were in a taxi with Professor Rhea headed from the Shanghai Pudong Airport over to Hongqiao Airport to catch our flight to Guiyang and it was decided that the driver would cruise through downtown to show us the Bund. First glimpse of The Bund A little taste of Shanghai and a glimpse of what was yet to come, I was hooked and looked forward to our last days in China simply because they involved exploring one of the world's largest cities that I knew was full of art and wonder. Shanghai's famous skyline  Lizzy's friend, Melissa, graciously invited us to stay in her apartment and I looked forward to reuniting to rehash our weekend at the Miao Village as well as commiserate with teaching stories as Melissa was an English Teacher at a private school.   We landed in Shanghai and had no trouble finding a taxi to Melissa&#
Read more

For Ms. Mahoney & 5M at Hawthorne Elementary in Missoula, Montana

Image
Greetings 5M! How are you all doing?  It's been a while!  After my time in your classroom, I spent the holidays in Ohio with my family, student taught in a second grade class in Browning, MT and I'm currently in my 6th week student teaching at Guiyang No. 4 Experimental Primary School in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. Map of China showing Guiyang.  China is huge! Here's a close-up of our neighborhood.  Notice we are very close to a park.  Qianling Park is famous for its monkeys!   Monkey monkeying around at Qianling Park Things are really different here, as you can imagine.  I thought you'd be interested to know what the typical school day is like for a student in a Chinese public school.  I've been teaching 2nd, 3rd and sometimes 6th grade.  The 6th graders are preparing for a standardized test so I am not permitted to teach them every week.  At No. 4, there are over 1,000 students in grades 1-6.  There are four classes of about 50 students in each
Read more

Morocco 2023: Marrakech & Essaouira

Image
I'm torn between titles: "Better a little Morocco than no Morocco at all" or  "Making Peace with Marrakech". If you like doors, cats, and rugs, this is the post for you! Marrakech, 2023 Morocco is a special place to me.  It was the country I visited my first time abroad.  This was my third trip and I loved feeling more and more at ease with the experience of getting around.  Everyone has different travel philosophies and I'm often asked about mine: "Why do you keep going back when there's so many other places in the world to see?" Do you really get to experience a place if you only go for two weeks, hit up tours and sightsee, run yourself ragged, and never go back?   The older I get, the less I want to see and the more I want to be.  There is nothing more satisfying than having days with no itinerary (other than a rooftop breakfast and mint tea) and simply wandering.   the color combinations in Marrakech are dreamy will this all fit into my lug
Read more