Math Test Data

We just completed our Unit 3 math test on Multiplication. Below is our class data for this test. Overall, we had 85% of the class pass with a score of a C or better. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with family and express your gratitude for their continuous love and support. I am thankful for all the hard work that the students have done during the first quarter. I know the second quarter will have similar results! Please have a safe holiday. I will see you all on Monday! :)

This week we learned about the history of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Tony Sarg, the "father" of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, was a very talented puppeteer who designed the first balloon characters seen in the parade.

Tune in this year to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on 

NBC Channel 4 @ 9 AM - 12 PM!

Virginia's 5 Regions Rap

I love to use total body learning in my class! :) It gets the students moving and awakens their brain, especially at the end of the day. It's also a fun and engaging way to help us remember and act out our math, history, and vocabulary terms. Below we sang this rap and acted out the land of the five different Virginia regions. The last line is a special shout out to the main character, Lowji, from the novel Lowji Discovers America that we read this fall! :)

Native American Language Groups

I love to sing and use mnemonic devices to help myself remember things, so I have extended this to my classroom. I have used mnemonic devices in the past with my students, but have skimped on the music. This year, we are using lots of music for Virginia Studies and the students are loving it! :) Here is a song/chant that I created to help us remember the location and tribes of each Native American language group in Virginia.

Chant
I-S-I-A
I KNOW WHAT THE NATIVE PEOPLE SAY
I-S-I-A
I KNOW WHAT THE NATIVE PEOPLE SAY

IROQUOIAN, SIOUAN, IROQUOIAN, ALGONQUIAN

I-S-I-A
I KNOW WHAT THE NATIVE PEOPLE SAY

Mnemonic Device

ALL PEOPLE     (Algonquian - Powhatan)

SMILE MORE    (Siouan - Monacan)

IN CAMERAS    (Iroquoian - Cherokee)

Jamestown Song and Lyrics

Jamestown
(Click the song title to listen to the song)

In sixteen hundred seven, three ships had sailed the sea -
The Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery.
They landed in Virginia to start a colony.
They came to seek their fortune and opportunity.

Jamestown, Jamestown, nestled by the bay.
Jamestown, Jamestown, your story lives today. Your story lives today.

They hoped that gold and silver would lie upon the ground.
But land was dense with forests and wild game all around.
They settled on a river and named it for their king.
They build a fort to save them from what this world might bring.

Jamestown, Jamestown, nestled by the bay.
Jamestown, Jamestown, your story lives today. Your story lives today.

The early days of Jamestown were filled with pain and strife.
Starvation, war, and sickness became a way of life.
If not for those with vision to overcome its plight,
It often seemed that Jamestown would not survive the fight.

Jamestown, Jamestown, nestled by the bay.
Jamestown, Jamestown, your story lives today. Your story lives today.

Despite its harsh beginnings, the colony still grew.
As time went on, more settlers began their life anew.
As hist'ry knows, the story goes, that Jamestown was the one
Whose legacy ensured that our country as begun.

Jamestown, Jamestown, nestled by the bay.
Jamestown, Jamestown, your story lives today. Your story lives today.