The Rookery

Today we went to the Starling's Body Fair to see their recent science work and learn some things, too.  (Did you know that babies have 300 bones but, by the time you're an adult, you have just over 200?)  Fairs like this are common at Prairie Creek.  Our tour guides…

Today in math I introduced an algorithm for multiplication that I had invented called, "Michelle's Crazy Algorithm." The exact procedure was not important — but I asked the students to decide if my method was valid or not.  I was surprised (and delighted) to find that they were confused by…

Today in my math class (which was a combination of Kestrels, Herons and Robins) we explored a new way of looking at multiplication.  Many of the students in the class had done multi-digit multiplication before but I wondered if they knew why their algorithm of choice (some know several) "worked".…

Today, my first official day back, was all about math.  During my leave, I've been reading a lot of books about math teaching, especially how to support children developing their sense of number.  At our workshop today I shared with the other teachers some of what I have learned and…

When Elizabeth and I were talking last night, she shared all of her careful plans for the Heron's day today.  I went in to the classroom with every intention of following her instructions.  But then… L.B. grabbed the copy of the Robin's Prairie_Creek_News which came off the presses on Friday.  At morning…

His legs flailed, his eyes got big, "Ohhhh!!!"  He dangled, two inches above the ground, holding on to the edge of a rock on the Caron Park waterfall, his big toe in danger of getting damp.  His grin made it plain, he was taking a page out of the Buster…

    Yesterday the Herons began a new read-aloud book: Flush, by Carl Hiassen.  Today we encountered a new character, named Lice ("for obvious reasons"), who smokes despite his promise to quit.  Hiassen's description of Lice inspired a storm of questions from the Herons. While everyone agreed that smoking was "gross"…

    The Herons began their study of geometry last week.  We started by creating and testing our definition of polygons and exploring the properties of squares.  On Thursday we took our knowledge of sides, angles, and parallel lines into an exploration with the pattern blocks. I asked students to complete…

At Prairie Creek, each class spends some time during the first six weeks of school in discussions about how we want to be together as a classroom community. At the younger grades, this often involves creating a set of classroom expectations (rules) and/or a class constitution. The expectations can often…

At the 4/5 level, we use a mental tool that I'm calling (for lack of a better, more concise name) the five point competency scale. We ask students to use it to check in on their own understanding of a concept, strategy or skill. If you're a 1 on the…