Pumpkin Math Live!

Come join The Navigators as they explore pumpkins using math and science!

Pumpkin Math

Pumpkin Math was a huge success!  Thank you to all the parents for your contributions and your time!  I hope you learned something new about pumpkins too!

Spooky Spaghetti

Look who I found wandering around Mark Twain!

Houston History

As we near the end of our first unit of inquiry, The Navigators began to apply thier knowledge to thier own community of Houston.  We learned a little about Santa Ana, The Alamo and how important Sam Houston was to our history.  We discovered that he was named the first president of The Republic of Texas.  The Allan brothers wrote ads trying to get people to move to the bayou city.  At first, Houston was going to be the capital, but people complained about the mosquitos so they moved the captial to Waterloo.  Waterloo later became known as the city of Austin. 

Community Worker

We were very excited to have a visit from Joshua's dad.  We learned all about what a fire fighter has to do.  We also discovered how important a fire fighter is in our community.  The Navigators had many questions for our guest.  Being a fire fighter is hard work!

The Pumpkin Challenge!

Here it is...  Using only 6 pieces of orange paper that measure 6 inches long and 1 inch wide -

 can you make a pumpkin?  It was fun to see all the different possiblities. 

 The Navigators were really thinking outside the box. 

Math Buddies

We are loving our math time, especially when we work with a buddy.

  This is a time when we work together to discuss and solve problems. 

How Our Water Gets Clean

We have discovered that not only do people in the world not have water; many do not have clean water.  That led us to inquire: How does our water get clean?  We read the Magic School Bus and discovered how water flows from one part of the water filtration system to the next.  In the process, chemicals are used to clean the water.  Next, we will be going to one of Houston's filtration plants to see the process in action!

Water Filtration

The Navigators have been studying how water is distributed around the world.  Did you know that there are some places that do not have water!  We discovered that we have a water filtration system. The water goes thru a series of steps to give us clean water to drink. 

Math Binders

Here we are working in our math binders.  The students use these to guide them to choose a math workstation.  We also record definitions for math vocabulary and make goals for ourselves.  

The New City Council!

First Field Trip

The First Field Trip of the year was to visit our city council and then explore the old buildings in Sam Houston Park.  We had quite an exciting trip.  First, we were questioned by one city councilman who rewarded the right answers with a dollar coin!! Next, we headed to the city council meeting room to see the Mayor in action.  However, the meeting was short that day and they were done by 10:30!!  That's okay we ran into another council member who took us through all the secret passageways under the streets to visit various offices.  Everyone was so nice and helpful.  Then we headed to Sam Houston Park.  Our class was split into groups and we visited several old historical buildings.  I think the favorite was the old log cabin.  We actually used tools that the pioneers used hundreds of years ago! Finally, we ended up eating lunch inside the gazebo.  It was perfect weather and a great first field trip.  A special thanks to all the parents who helped.  We cannot do it without you!!

Our First Field Trip

 

First Field Trip on PhotoPeach

Writer's Workshop

We love to write!  Anywhere!  In Writer's Workshop we write drafts and ideas in our Writer's Notebooks.  Then we use the Writing Cycle to revise, edit and publish.  We are currently working on a piece entitled, This is Me.

LDC with Mrs. Gee

We finally made it to Mrs. Gee's class and we are loving it.  Yes, we do have some work to do, but we can handle it.  Mrs. Gee is making the book come alive for us and we love the main character, Harry. The Navigators will be visiting Mrs. Gee's class once every six weeks for a two week period of time.  Our next visit will be sometime in November.

Graphing

Today we explored graphing.  We began with gathering data about our birthdays.  We ended up with a very unusual graph because we have seven birthdays in January!  In all my years of teaching that has never happened!  Next we worked with a partner to develop a question.  Then we gathered data by asking our friends.  Finally, we complied the data into a graph which could be used to ask questions.  Great Job, Navigators!

Twain Track

Can you say that quickly three times?  The Navigators are bursting with excitement that the track is finally complete and that playground is officially opened for business!! The dedication ceremony was very exciting!  We cannot wait to race around that track!

No Playground!

 You think that may have stopped us from having fun, but NO we found new ways to play.  Classes were assigned different areas around the school for recess.  Our space was between first and kinder classrooms.  We invented all kinds of games to keep us busy.  Did you know that Alex kicked a ball so high that it got stuck on the roof?  or that we invented a new game called Two-Square?  We made it work while we waited patiently for the track to be completed.

Daily Five

The Navigators worked together in cooperative groups to decide what roles the student and the teacher play during our Daily Five time.  Daily Five is a time when students are working independently on reading or writing goals.