Mrs. Buckmaster's Class

Our newest podcast is the Time Machine Talk Show starring Sierra, Odera, Naomi, and Sara. Give it a listen!

Feel free to tell us what you think right here on the blog!

Tags: podcasts

Here are the activities for this week!

Symmetry
Scholastic (Logical Reasoning)

We have had lots of visitors on our student blogs so far. The kids are very motivated by visitors and comments, so please continue to visit often and join the conversations. The student blogs can be found on the right side of this page.

We have some friends from New York who have been visiting often, and they have started their own blogs too! Please visit their blogs and comment too. They are just getting started, and their blogs look great!

Today, Ansen brought in something to share at Morning Meeting.  It was a very unusual object; it was both familiar and foreign at the same time.  When he took it out of the box, everyone was excited and confused.  The kids all started asking each other, “What IS that thing?”, and they were crawling over each other as they tried to get a closer look. 

There was one thing that was certain.  It was certainly ancient.  Like from 1980.  They all wondered how something so OLD could have survived for so long, and STILL work (although I guess the same could be said for their teacher). 

Anyway, this was what Ansen brought to class.  Do YOU know what it is?

What IS that thing?

Check out this game from Math Playground that lets you practice estimating angles in a fun way! Be sure to write a short paragraph about your successess (and challenges) so you have something to turn in to your yellow folder.

Tags: math geometry

Try these awesome mysteries by the Scholastic Company! They are a little different than the ones we did in class, but I think they are even more fun. Be sure to show your work on paper so you can turn something in with your yellow folder.

Tags: math

Mrs. Mannino’s second graders need our help. We need to make a scavenger hunt that is exciting to her class and will teach them something. Any ideas?

Watch this video of our class walking/running with our K/1 buddies! Mr. MJ created this commercial to help get our pledges in from the Walk-a-Thon.

Thanks Mr. MJ! You can visit his blog by clicking here!

The treasure is THAT way!!

In social studies, we are studying the European explorers who sailed to the New World from the 1400s to the 1600s.  To get geared up for this unit, we went on an expedition of our own. 

Success!

In the 15th century, explorers used a variety of navigational tools to find their way around the Earth.  Some of these tools included the astrolabe, the chronometer, and the compass.  Today, we still use compasses, but we also have different tools to navigate in the 21st century.  One of these tools is the GPS device.  Thanks to a very generous friend of Mrs. B, we were able to borrow 10 handheld GPS devices to use!

Using our 21st century navigational tools, the kids were sent on an expedition.  Each device was programmed with the coordinates of a secret message hidden somewhere on our campus.  The kids simply had to follow the signal, find the hidden bag, and bring it back to the classroom.  They then had to decode the message inside.  This would tell them the name of the explorer that they would be researching throughout the unit.

Decoding the name of the explorer

The kids had a great time on their expedition!  Once they got their explorer, they wanted to start researching right away!  When the students are done gathering their information, they will develop a presentation to teach the rest of the class (and you, dear readers) all about their explorer.  Stay tuned for some awesome explorer projects!

Here are some pictures from our scavenger hunt!  I’ll announce the winners soon! 

Sara and Naomi taking pictures of the playground

Can you see the triangle? What kind is it?

Acute equilateral triangles and a square

A rhombus on Mrs. B’s sweater

Triangle-shaped magnetic clip