"Green House"

For science today, I told the kids we were going to a "Green House". There is a green house next door to the school, which is where the kids thought we were going! 

Across the street from that Green House is an actual gardening green house. 

The students had never been inside there and were excited to see the plants. I gave them all yard sticks and we were busy measuring things that we found. 

They picked & ate tomatoes, lettuce, and green beans and each dug up a carrot. They had fun. One of the twins said "Guys, we need to thank the teacher for bringing us here. If she wasn't our teacher, we wouldn't come here. You're the best, teacher" :) 

Journal entry for end of the day: "I ate a carrot today"

Measurement Math

We are reviewing concepts that they learned in Second Grade this week and I did a fun unit on measurements.

I found some shape manipulatives and poured them onto the ground and had the kids pick one shape and sort them. 

I made up a worksheet asking them to measure their feet, legs, thumb, hand, and head (that was some fun problemsolving!) We then compared measurements. A great observation "Your leg was 26 triangles, but mine was only 18 hexagons but my leg is bigger than yours because a hexagon is like 2 triangles) 

We then talked about why we have rulers and the difference between centimeters (Use it in Europe. 100 cm to a meter) and inches (Use in US. 12 inches to a Foot)

First Day of 3rd Grade

I'm not sure if its 3rd Grade, having 9 students in class, or the great community but this "First Day" just breezed by. Wow!

I have "Center Time" scheduled into my day after our reading block and our math block. I figure that I can use this time to do interventions while the others are occupied. However since it was the first day, the students were just encourage to explore what they wanted to and they took full advantage of the makerspace!

Some of the girls decided they wanted to make a kite and set out designing it using straws, crepe paper, and string... Another wanted to make set and used cups with paper crinkled inside or outside to make different sounds... 

We also did the Global Math Twitter Team Challenge (http://gmttc.blogspot.com/) The kids LOVED problem-solving. We had to use the numbers (2, 4, 2, 4) and make an equation that equaled 24. They figured it out. This was the first time using multiplications, so I modeled using dots and they got it! 

Setting up the classroom

Here are some updated pictures of my classroom. There was a white board on the wall facing the smartboard and I wanted it to be on the same side as my smartboard. I started to move it, only to realize it was just white contact paper and it got all curled. Luckily I was able to piece together what I would have done on that white board with some smaller white boards and posters. Turned out better this way, I love that they are like little windows.

I have a board for a weekly quote for inspiration. This week is "Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal" -Mother Teresa. There is this wonderful "Dare to Dream" curriculum (http://www.yourexpedition.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Curricula_Dare-to-Dream.pdf) that I am using for the first week. It was created by Liv Arneson, who I met during a conference in China. She part of the first woman team to trek across Anarctica. 

I also have a board for a "Word of the week" This week it is "Victory" (noun) success after difficulty. 

I have the calendar, schedule, and a place for me to do modeled writing/math. 

I have a picture of the scales of justice. I will be using "Restorative Justice" in my classroom. (http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2015/04/03/restorative-justice-a-different-approach-to-discipline) I also have one rule: "Tr'gwihit'ee" which means respect. It is all encompassing. The school has these wonderful Athabascan values posters, which underneath the respect sign. 

I also have a list of "I can statements" so the students can see what objectives we are working on. 

I also have the basketball. It is my "talking stick" for discussions. I can also bounce it twice to get the student's attention. It will be my signal during our direct instruction for the Reading Mastery Curriculum. 

I arranged the desks into 3 groups of 3 for small group instruction. I love how I have open space at the back and in the front for large group instruction. 

I also have this wonderful "Makerspace" Our first STEM challenge will be to construct a "log cabin" 

"Headlines"

One of the things that I've excited to incorporate into my classroom Morning Meeting is going to be "Headlines."

Even though we are living in a remote area, I think it's important for students to be aware of what is going on across the country and world. I think often times, children don't watch the news or read newspapers. I know I didn't for years because I didn't find it interesting. Being aware of the world around you and how events (that are happening thousands of miles away) still pertain to you is an extremely important life skill.

Right now, I was just reading about the North Dakota Access Pipeline:

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej-north-dakota-pipeline-20160827-story.html

This reminded me of something that I had read about "Since the late 1980s, the Gwich’in people, who live in 15 villages that stretch from Alaska into Canada, have been deeply involved in a fight to stop the push for oil development on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" 

http://projects.aljazeera.com/2015/03/arctic-village/
http://juneauempire.com/stories/072208/sta_307860642.shtml#.V8Nvi5MrJsM

I also understand that I dont want to bring my own personal politics into the classroom, but I believe that students should be given the information to make their own opinions about something. Being able to have an opinion, share it with others, and respect different points of view is something that I'm excited to teach.

Gwich'in Ethnobotany

http://www.gwichin.ca/plants (This website is a WEALTH of information.)

We got to go on a "Field trip" today to learn about the local flora. 

We learned about picking the dark brown sap off of trees, utilizing the spruce branches, what leaves help with bumblebee stings, rose-hips, and even a pretty flower-like plant to use for ink for writing. 

We learned about "Tri'igwihitee" which means respect. 

Important message from our Gwich’in Elders teachings.

• Harvest all medicine plants away from roads and communities.
• Take only what you need. It is important to collect only the plant parts you need. Pick selectively from different areas and take care not to over harvest from one area.
• Leave an offering for gathering special medicine plants like tamarack, juniper and white moss (reindeer lichen). You may also leave offerings for other plants as a sign of respect. Place an offering like tobacco, wooden matches, or say prayers before and while collecting plant parts. Please note to always place an offering before collecting ochre.
• Share harvested resources such as medicine plants, meat, fish, berries with those not able to obtain these resources for themselves.
• Harvest resources with care, love and respect.

I love looking at the local architecture. You can see how connected the people are to the land. Their houses are made from the trees. The houses are heated from the wood of the trees. These are precious resource that requires respect to ensure that it will be there for future generations. 

Place-based learning

Besides looking forward to these Sub-Zero science experiments (http://www.bustle.com/articles/15358-11-cold-weather-science-experiments-to-keep-you-entertained-while-youre-trapped-inside),  Fun photography units with exposures, videos, with Northern lights... and attempting to break world records (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/search?term=snow). I am looking forward to place-based learning activities before the snow comes.

For example: Nature walks to the river, community garden, looking for cranberries or rose-hips, fall colors/leaf gathering, bird/bunny walks, vehicle walks, prices at grocery store, airport, post office, court house, clinic? Construction? Solar panels? Recycling center?   Interesting Fact: The construction that is going on has to do with the Biomass project (http://www.energy.gov/indianenergy/articles/fort-yukon-gains-heat-and-insight-biomass-project) that was put in. This will be the first winter that the school will be heated this way! 

I was thinking too since we have so many boxes,  I will have a great MakerSpace (will show them Caine's Arcade: http://cainesarcade.com/) where kids are encouraged to make things with them... Castles, pyramids... maybe even have a packing challenge! 

NOT A BOX (https://www.amazon.com/Not-Box-Antoinette-Portis/dp/0061123226/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472061349&sr=8-1&keywords=not+a+box)