Smarter Balanced Test

Next year, the students will switch from OAKS (Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) to The Smarter Balanced Test for their standardized testing.  It will focus more on critical thinking skills and the students will be able to better show what they know instead of choosing random multiple choice answers.

Other differences include: this test is taken only once a year as supposed to two or three, there will be a writing component, and much of the responses will be typed in short sentences or paragraphs.
If you want to know what your students' will go through and try the sample test for yourself, here is the website:

Sample Smarter Balanced Test

Meet Ms. Ried!

Hello Parents and Guardians!

I'm Rachelle Reid (your student's call me Ms.Reid), I am a college student in my first year of the CUEST program through Eastern Oregon University, and am student teaching part time in Mr.Nguyen's classroom. I have been in many classrooms, including my own Wednesday night class for 3 to 6 year old children at Anthem. I have been in a recourse room for middle school and upper elementary students. More recently, I've spent time in a Kindergarten class, third grade, second grade, and another 5th grade classroom (of which most of the students spoke Spanish as their first language). My passions are teaching, learning, and creativity. 

I'm very excited about the unit I will be teaching your students this term! we will be growing plants and learning as much as we can about the growth process. We will even be doing some painting! I will be letting you know how we did at the end of our plant unit. I have really enjoyed this classroom so far, between the great students and thier amazing teacher, I know I will be learning a lot!

Thank you for your time!

Ms.Reid

Using iMovie in Class

Table number 3 made a movie trailer using iMovie!  They read a story about a Bamboo Princess challenging five princes to challenges that require their strength, will, and intelligence.  They then used the iPad to design, produce, film, and edit their very own movie trailer.  The process was quite simple and very self-explanatory.  This video was done without my help and it was the first time they have used iMovie.  AND it only took them 45 minutes!  Great job!

Student Blogs

I've created Bloggers!  This is one of my favorite parts about being a teacher!

Check out what some students are blogging by clicking on the links on the Student Blog section on the right-hand side.

Winter Zenger Farm Trip

The students visited Zenger Farms for their second trip of the year.  The winter trip is MUCH different from the first one.  In the fall, they harvested crops and helped out with some work around the farm.  In the winter, they do more scientific work.  They learned and practiced scientific inquiry (questioning, observation, evidence, and conclusion).  The main scientific question of the day was: Is the water at the wetlands health?  They answered this question by measuring pH levels, diluted oxygen levels and acidic levels in the water.  They were also able to capture and observe macro-organizisms found in the water.  It was pouring, but that didn't stop this class from learning!

Morgan's Memorial

Today, our students participated in activities to memorialize Morgan.  Morgan Maynard Cook, sister of one of our classmates, was a student in Ms. Ever’s Kindergarten class.  Last year she was hit by a car and died.   We have a place in our garden to honor and remember Morgan.  Some of the activities included: 

• Planting heirloom sweet peas (in the ground, to grow up the bamboo trellises, and/or in small containers to take home).
•  Weathergrams: writing messages/pictures on paper to tie in the tree and let be changed by the weather.
• Stone markers: once cleaned, stones hold crayon marks for a very long time; you can draw or write onto the stones surrounding.
• Morgan's Garden to add a personal and decorative feature, helping to distinguish it from the rest of the garden.

A special thanks to Mara and Connie for putting this on. I am SO impressed by how supportive the classmates have been to our friend.  Our thoughts go out to Connie and Jaylynn's family during this sad and difficult time.

Multiplying Fractions

We are currently working on MULTIPLYING FRACTIONS in class.  Sure, the simple standard algorithm is easy.  All you have to do is multiply across.  However, we are focusing more on WHY and HOW to multiply fractions and not WHAT to do.  Focusing more on conceptual understanding will ensure long-term knowledge.  Below is a link to a website that will help YOU help your student with multiplication of fractions or students can review them for help.  Here are also two videos of some of our students solving a fraction multiplication problem.

Multiplication of Fractions from Forward 

Thank You Donor's Choose!

Donor's Choose is an organization that teachers can go through to request materials for their class.  How it works is teachers go on the website and "go shopping" on various vendors like Best Buy for Business, CDW, and others.  They then write an essay about why the need the products, what impact on the classroom the products will have, and background about their school.  Donor's Choose then posts the project on the site and the public can visit that site and donate any set amount towards that project.  Once a project if fully funded, the teacher will be sent the materials they requested.

We are more than lucky enough to have our project fully funded by Chevron and an anonymous donor that calls himself "Harry Potter."  The project I requested included two Chromebooks, two bluetooth keyboards for iPad Minis, and an Apple TV.  The total project amount was close to $1,000. I received the funding in about a week!

Donor's Choose is a great way for teachers to improve their classroom by obtaining materials that they otherwise would not be able to get through fundraisers.  I am SO grateful to have not only been funded this year, but last year as well.  In all I have received SEVEN Chromebooks, TWO bluetooth keyboards, and an Apple TV from Donor's Choose!

Below are some of the thank you letters the students have written to express their appreciation to our donors and pictures to them using the Chromebooks.

Holiday Festivities at Gilbert Park

Gilbert Park celebrates the holidays by having a Winter Holiday Sing-a-long assembly.  We sing many holiday songs from around the world.  There were songs from Hawaii, Russia, Africa, and several original holiday songs from the United States.  One of the highlights was the "Blitzen" song.  Fifth graders had to audition for the part and our very own Tavia earned it!  She was spectacular!  Even my daughter, Ava made an appearance and was dancing the whole time!  We also had a class Karaoke party with hot chocolate and treats.  This also marked the last day with Mr. K.  He now moves on to a kindergarten class in Tigard.  We wish him the best of luck and we will miss him.

    

 

Zenger Farms Comes to Gilbert Park

A teacher from Zenger Farms came to Gilbert Park today to teach the students about ECOSYSTEMS.  The students realized that ECOSYSTEMS are all around them and learned what characteristics, life found in ECOSYSTEMS, and the make up of ECOSYSTEMS.  They got to act like scientists and observe components in a worm bin ECOSYSTEM.  They did an outstanding job listening, giving the teacher respect, and participating in today's lesson.

The white board poster of today's ECOSYSTEM lesson.

Learning and Rapping About Energy

The students of Room 24 are learning about different forms, kinds, and measurements of energy.  Today, they did a rap, lead by Mr. K.

The also filled in a spreadsheet from their laptops about energy and presented it.

Energy Spreadsheet

Last, but not least, they sang a song.

What are YOU most thankful for?

Read the replies to see what each student is most thankful for.

Menu Method Division

The students of Room 24 are working on Division in math.  They are learning different ways to divide large numbers.  One of the methods we are working on is called "The Menu Method."  Here is a quick video that explains how to do it.

Meet Mr. K

Greetings!
My name is Kyle Kertay but I go by Mr. K to all the kids in room 24.  I am a student teacher from Concordia University and I am being mentored by Mr. Nguyen this fall and winter.  So far I have taught various lessons under Mr. Nguyen's supervision and I thoroughly enjoy the awesome group of kids that are the 2013 class of room 24.

A little background about me:  I grew up in Bend Oregon, I went to college at Willamette University and majored in environmental science.  I love snowboarding, kiteboarding, computers, science, and animals.  Also, I like eating spicy food, I love Minecraft, I have a cat named Lu Bu, I like raw spinach, and my favorite color is blue, no red! AAAHHHh!!!   I first started teaching by working as a kiteboarding instructor teaching mostly adults and some older children.  Two years ago I moved to Oahu to teach kiting in warm water, and there I began working as an after school teacher with 2nd graders.  I liked it so much that I decided to become a real teacher... and here I am!

In about a week I will begin to teach my first full science unit on energy.  This is going to be a super awesome topic and I can't wait to start delving into this incredibly deep subject.  The unit will span 10 lessons, hopefully sparking everyone's curiosity and answering many fundamental questions about energy and our world.  Lets all learn together!!!

Here's what some of the students are saying about Mr. K:

"He is nice all the time and he is good at helping."  -Auston

"He's a really good helper and always has a good attitude."  -Issa

"He's funny and has a lot of personality." -Bella

"He's funny, nice, and a good teacher." -Jaylynn

"I think Mr. K is nice and funny to me." -Detronnae

"I think that he is nice and capable of helping people." -Porter

Grant Wood Art Project

This week in Room 24, we studied about an artist named Grant Wood.  If you don't know, he is known for creating one of the most famous pieces of art named American Gothic.  The students learned about his life, how he got into painting, and why he painted the things he painted.  In the end, the students drew their version of American Gothic.  The four key elements to their drawings were detail, layering, shading, and taking their time.  This was pretty fun and it was nice to see the students express themselves through their drawings.  Check out some artwork from our wanna be Grant Woods!

Grant Wood's American Gothic

Fall Teacher-Parent-Student Conference

Conferences start Wednesday!  This is a time for me to communicate, problem solve, and celebrate this past term with the parents and students of Room 24.  I want to make this time worthwhile and positive for all involved.

Here are a couple of expectations for ALL participants (parents, students, and myself) during conference time:

1.  Please be on time.  Conferences are scheduled in TWENTY minute blocks with no time in between.  You being late means your conference will have to be shorter.

2.  Let's problem solve and not blame.  It is easy to blame the student, parent, teacher, or school when things don't go as well as we like.  Please be respectful to everyone involved by not blaming.  Blaming gets us nowhere!  Instead, we need to address what to do to improve a students' performance or behavior by COLLABORATING.

3.  Both students AND parents need to attend.  This conference is for the students, so he/she needs to be there.

4.  Stay on topic.  There is only TWENTY minutes scheduled for each conference and there is a lot to cover.

5.  Keep positive.  There is plenty of school left this year, so there is a lot of time to improve!

Here is my AGENDA for conferences:

1.  Greetings and introductions

2.  Go over REPORT CARD

3.  Goal Setting, Problem Solving, and Celebrations
I will go over the current curriculum, web tools, and other ways to assist students at home.

4.  Conclusion

I look forward to meeting with each of you to share your child's progress.  See you soon!

Native American Projects

For our first major research project this year, the students of Room 24 studied Native American tribes and how they compared with each other based on the area they lived in.  The students chose two tribes to study.  The requirements for this project was to research the tribes, write a comparison essay, and give a speech on their research paper.  This was a HUGE project that consisted of doing tons of research on-line, using Google docs to type their reports, and some students even created art and a slide show to go with their presentations!  The students had a month to work on this.  It was very nice to see and teach the students to utilize technology to complete this project.  I created Google accounts for each student at the beginning of the year.  They were required to type their essay and share it to me via Google Docs.  They also peer edited from our Chromebooks.  I love seeing the end products and especially, the process the students took to complete this project.

Feel free to browse and read the students' essays here:

Abigail's Essay          Abigail's Slideshow          Brian's Essay          Sasha's Essay       

Porter's Essay          Zach's Essay          Bella's Essay          Isabelle's Essay         Issa's Essay       

Evelina's Essay          Faythe's Essay       Faythe's Slideshow          Artem's Essay         Tavia's Essay



Here are a couple of presentations I recorded in class:

Tavia's Visual Aid Art Project for her Speech.  Great work!!!

Blazers Visit Gilbert Park

We had some special guests come to Gilbert Park today.  They are tall and like to slam dunk....Yep, the Portland Trail Blazers!!!  Our guests included Robin Lopez, Thomas Robinson, CJ McCollum, Earl Watson, Will Barton, and Victor Claver.  They were accompanied by some Blazer assistant coaches, Blazer radio broadcaster Antonio Harvey, and of course Blaze the Trail Cat.  They encouraged the students to read everyday, study, and listen to their teachers.  The assistant coach's message was when you look and listen, you will learn.  Antonio Harvey lead the students in a pledge to live, learn, and play.  There was even some silly string spraying by the players on the students.  Gilbert Park received an autographed basketball, the staff received t-shirts and tickets for opening night, and the school received an assembly they will never forget!  Thank you BLAZERS!!!

Reading Group Time

Reading groups are an integral part of our reading program here at Gilbert Park.  Students are divided into groups by their reading levels and receive small group reading instruction.  All the groups work on the same reading skill while using different books at their level!  While the reading groups are going on, the students who are not meeting are quietly working on their reading skills by silently reading.  These students are also given a reading task to work on.  A big thank you to Ms. Chin for being in this class and teaching the RED group and Mr. Kertay for teaching the YELLOW group.  I instruct the BLUE and GREEN group and the ORANGE group runs themselves.  Ms. Chin's group just finished reading The Littles and are moving into Forces and Motion.  Mr.  Kertay's group just finished Frog and Toad and are now reviewing the Viking text we read in class.  My groups are reading The Thief Lord and the ORANGE group is reading Savvy.

Zenger Farms Field Trip

The students of Room 24 had a wonderful time at their first Zenger Farms field trip of the year.  They started the day learning about ORGANISMS and what four characteristics they need to be considered an organism.  They next toured the farm and got to taste many of the crops like kale, peppers, fennel, beets, and many more!  They got to see and pet the chickens, turkeys, and saw the bee hives.  In the afternoon, they performed service work.  They picked weeds, sifted through compost, planted plants, and fluffed dirt.  The worked SO hard!

 

 

Here are some thoughts on the field trip by some students: