Having a Hoot with Kahoot!

To review the library rules with the third and fourth grades I decided to try out a free online resource called Kahoot!  The students loved it and the game certainly jazzed up the lesson!







Teachers can sign up for a free account at https://getkahoot.com and create multiple-choice quizzes to be displayed on the SmartBoard (or with any projector).  The process is really easy and I had my rule review game set up in no time. 

I signed out our school's classroom set of iPads so every student had a device to use, but Kahoot does offer a "team" option.  All the kids need to do is visit https://kahoot.it/ to enter my game's pin number and type in their first names.  (The students don't need individual accounts so there's nothing to set up ahead of time.  It's so simple!) 

Ready?  Set!  START!  The first question appears on the board.  A few moments later four possible color-coded answers show up and the countdown begins.  On their iPads, the students see four colored blocks that match the ones on the board, and they tap the one they believe is the correct answer.  After everyone has responded (or the timer reaches zero), the students either get a green screen indicating they were correct or a red screen with the right answer displayed.  On the board, a graph appears to indicate how many students selected each possible answer.  This allowed me to explain why the wrong answers were incorrect and clarify any misunderstandings.

The students had a blast and I definitely had their attention!  :D

Summer Reading at HopRec!

This summer marked the seventh consecutive year of the Hopkinton Recreation Summer Read Aloud Program!  The program invites Chariho staff members to volunteer an hour of their time to read aloud to the camp's participants.  (The reading program is also took place in Charlestown!)  The students get so excited when they know one of the teachers who has shown up to read to them!

Like last year, I started off the first session by introducing the children to the available books with a short "book talk".  Then each child was allowed to select which reading group to join.  In the past we split them up by grade, but we've decided that it's even better to offer them a choice.  Not only did that increase their excitement, but it also introduced them to titles that they might decide to pick up and read on their own! 
  

This year's chapter book selections from the list of RICBA nominees!

Normally I select three books, but this year the decision was simply too difficult and I ended up bringing four.  All came from a list of books nominated for the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award (RICBA).  During the school year, students are encouraged to read at least three of the books from the list in order to vote for the winner.  In addition, several of the schools (including Ashaway) hold competitions called the Rooster Games based these nominees.  By selecting books from this list, the children participating in HopRec will already have one of these books completed by the end of the summer or, at least, will have gotten an extended preview!

Mrs. Potter, a 5th grade teacher from CMS

 
In addition to our "chapter book" groups, I also bring along a bin of picture books with related activities for the younger kids.  Here's our own Mrs. Bliven reading to a group of campers.  (That's one of her daughters on her lap!) 

Some of the older kids enjoy having the opportunity to be the "reader leader"!

We had some terrific volunteer campers who enthusiastically jumped in to help whenever we needed more readers.  They did an outstanding job and I was so impressed with their initiative!

No matter which group a child joined, every one of them spent an hour each week interacting with some excellent books.  It truly is a wonderful program, and I'm very proud to be a part of it.  My sincerest thanks go out to the fabulous staff at the camp who were so accommodating in order to make it all possible and to the teachers who volunteered to participate! 

Rooster Games 2016!

Team Red matching book titles with their characters

On Monday our fourth graders participated in the 8th Annual Ashaway School Rooster Games!  All of the students who read at least five of the books on the list of nominees for the Rhode Island Children's Book Award were invited to participate.  The five teams (each a mix of boys and girls from both fourth grade classrooms) competed in a variety of games that were based on books from the list.

I had three students who earned special recognition by reading all 15 of the RICBA nominees that I bought for Ashaway School.  I started off the games by awarding Champion Reader medals to these students!

Two of the games are set up on PowerPoint and the students use marker boards to display their answers. Students match pictures from each book to their titles in the Illustration Round, and they answer multiple choice and short answer questions in the Question Round.  Two other games involve matching the titles to characters and matching objects to the books they represent.  

Team Yellow earning a point during the Question Round

Team Green earning a point during the Illustration Round

"Boards up!"

Team Blue shows a pair of matching object cards

Team White working together during the Object Round

This year I introduced reading relays, and the kids loved them!  I based the first on a game that was featured on the show "Minute to Win It" in which students held an uncooked strand of spaghetti in their mouths and used them to pick up pieces of ziti without using their hands.  I called the game Sharks and Seals after the RICBA book Neighborhood Sharks.  The team earned one point for every seal captured by each shark!

I called the second reading relay the Homophone Hustle.  In the story Rain Reign, main character Rose has an obsession for homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings).  In this game, the students raced to match their homophone cards with the corresponding words on the other side of the gym.  It was fast-paced fun!

Making a match!

Rushing back to the starting line so a teammate can go!

With six teams competing at once, there was a LOT of action!

This year's winner was Team Orange, but there's no prize for winning the Rooster Games.  At the end of the day all of the students who qualified to participate in the games gets to enjoy a pizza party sponsored by our P.T.O., so they truly are all winners!

Team Orange: Winners of the 2016 Rooster Games!

     

It was a really fun event, and it couldn't have happened without the support of our fourth grade teachers, our parent volunteers, and our Ashaway School P.T.O.  My sincerest thanks go out to them all! 

A Week Full of FUN!

Ashaway School families enjoyed another week full of fun during this year's "No Time for TV Week"!  I received participation forms back from over half of our student population as of Friday, and I'm sure a few more will trickle in once the kids start seeing the prizes getting handed out next week!

Our ten lucky Scholastic Books Gift Certificate winners!

I really enjoyed reading through the forms to see what activities were added to the standard suggestions.  Write-ins included riding dirt bikes, playing math games, skate boarding, playing with Legos, going to the beach, fishing, swimming, jumping on a trampoline, gardening, yoga, kayaking, canoing, playing Twister, horseback riding, doing magic (cool!), going on a hay ride, knitting, Ashaway's Family Fun Day activities (mini-golf was especially popular!), practicing the guitar, playing kickball, playing in the sprinkler, playing chess, playing badminton, flying a kite, practicing karate, cooking dinner, using Playdough, playing with and taking care of bunnies (awww!), visiting the public library (WOOHOO!), playing baseball, playing basketball, four wheeling, and, one of my all-time favorites when I was a kid: playing in the mud!

Another special event that many participated in was our first-ever geocaching program!  We had over 25 kids and 15 adults come to the workshop on Wednesday to learn all about it.  Fourth grader Gabrielle Macaruso did an independent study on the topic throughout the year and prepared the presentation as her culminating activity.  She shared a lot of great information, and I jumped in to comment on some aspects of geocaching that she hasn't experienced yet.  It was a lot of fun to share what we know with so many "muggles" (non-geocachers)!

Gabrielle instructing an interested bunch of "muggles".

Then came the hands-on part: a geocaching "field trip" to the Westerly Town Forest!  We had so many people join us for the workshop that I offered three different excursions so the trails wouldn't be too crowded!  The turnout was fantastic, and it was a joy to see the families outside and enjoying the beautiful day. 

Into the woods!

Found it!  Signing the log and swapping trinkets, or "swag".

I wonder who put a purple button in that cache?  (Yeah, it was me!)

(If you missed the geocaching workshop, you can still learn about this engaging activity by visiting www.geocaching.com.  You are welcome to contact me if you have any questions!)

As always, a very special thanks to the Ashaway School PTO.  

It is with their support that I can offer the motivating prizes 

and Scholastic Books gift certificates!  I so very much

appreciate all their hard work on behalf of our students!!

Many Happy Returns!

This morning we had a visit from the Chariho seniors who went to Ashaway School so many years ago!  Our students lined the halls, clapping and cheering, as the soon-to-be graduates walked down the halls in their caps and gowns.  It was SO much fun to see my former students all grown up! 

I carried Bear in my arms because I guessed that some of them would enjoy seeing their old friend again.  I heard many happy exclamations of "BEAR!" when they saw him.  When their walk was done I couldn't resist following them outside for a quick visit before they had to leave.  Before I knew it a group of the seniors were calling out for me to "wake him up" just like I always do before reading a story in the library.  I playfully said that the students are supposed to be sitting "criss-cross applesauce" before I wake Bear up (like I do during class), and the next thing I knew the whole group of seniors were on the ground, ready and waiting!  HA!  I plopped right down, too, and went through the whole routine:  Bear stretched his arms up while making a huge yawn, rubbed his eyes, and looked around at the whole crowd.  "Look who came to see us, Bear!  You haven't seen these faces in a long time, huh?"  Oh, how I wish I had pictures of those kids' faces.  It was such a special moment!

One of the seniors shared the following video.  You don't get to see the audience, but you can hear their reactions.   I love it!  Thank you, Rachel!!

My sincerest thanks to Mrs. Weber, Chariho High School principal, for making this moment possible!  :)

Congratulations,

Class of 2016!

We are so proud of you!

"We've got No Time for TV!"

Get out from behind that screen! There's a whole world to explore!

Tomorrow is the first day of "No Time for TV Week" at Ashaway School!  For this one week each year, we encourage students and their families to really think about how much time they are spending in front of a screen, and we challenge them to try other activities instead! 

All of the details about how the program works can be found by clicking on the links below.  Each student received a copy at school but you are welcome to print another copy if you need it:

Contract page 1

Contract page 2

Click here to see a sample contract all filled out!

I went over the guidelines with every class last week.  After explaining how the form works and what they need to do to earn a prize, I spent some time answering questions.  Most of the questions, as always, started with the words "What if...?" or "What about...?"  To read my answers to these frequently asked questions, please click here.

I'm also super excited about the geocaching program that I'll be co-presenting with fourth-grader Gabrielle Macaruso.  The pictures you see are from a trip we made to the Kettle Pond Visitor Center.  We had an awesome time exploring the center, the trails, and the observation deck, but it was the "smilies" we'd earn by finding the caches hidden there that was the catalyst for our visit.  Geocaching has taken me to some truly incredible places, and it's a terrific way for the whole family to get some exercise!

Students who are participating in "No TV Week" can earn a check for attending the workshop, and all who attend are welcome to join me for a "geocaching field trip" on Saturday!  (Time to be determined at the workshop!)  Geocaching = walking, so students can earn checks during that activity as well!  To register for this free workshop and Saturday adventure, just email Mrs. Mann at karen.mann@chariho.k12.ri.us.

Click here for more information about the geocaching workshop!

 

Frogs: Facts & Fiction!

Ask any of my second graders and they'll tell you that I love frogs!  We just concluded a unit comparing fiction with non-fiction, and the culminating activity was centered on my favorite amphibian.  The students started off researching facts in the many, many books I have on the subject.  They learned a lot as they practiced how to take notes and cite sources!  Here are a few of their fascinating frog facts:

Jaxon learned that one kind of frog eats mice!
(source: Frogs by Nic Bishop)

Tyler learned that the goliath frog can jump father than any other frog!
(source: The Frog Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta)

Casimir learned that some frogs use their eyeballs to swallow.  The food is pushed down their throat by blinking!
(source: Frogs! by Kathryn Satterfield)

Joey learned that a frog can eat more than 5,000 insects in one summer.
(source: Nic Bishop's Frogs by NicBishop)



Taylor learned that leaches are predators of frog eggs!
(source: A Frog's Life by Ellen Lawrence)

Ramsey learned that the African clawed frog has no tongue!
(source: Frogs by Barbara Taylor)

Next, the students were challenged to exercise their creativity by imagining a frog that couldn't possibly exist.  By designing their "fiction frogs" I hope to give them a concrete, personal image they can refer back to when trying to remember that fiction means "not real".  (The terms fiction and nonfiction are frequently mixed up!)  As you can see, their illustrations provided some hilarious results!

 "FICTION FROGS"

You'll never see a frog...

Click on image to enlarge!

 

 

Click on image to enlarge!