Pablo Picasso Projects

The boys have been working on a Pablo Picasso project in art history this month. Modeling the work of the famous artist, the boys created their own apartments out of shoe boxes, and covered the walls with works of art. Terrific job, gentlemen!

Ornament Composition

The boys began their work on our "ornament" composition today.

I look forward to reading their finished stories!

Math Class

Our math class spent time grouping our newest facts by their products. We found out that many facts have common products!

Walters Art Gallery

Here are a few images from our day at the Walters Art Gallery.  What a great way for our history book to come alive!

Toy Drive

Many thanks to all of the generous Calvert families for making our holiday toy drive a terrific success!

Math Class

We created arrays in math today to visualize what different multiplication number sentences represent.

North American Countries

We have been focusing on the continent of North America in geography. The boys have selected countries from North America which they researched during web quests. We are now collaborating on a Museum Box to organize all of our information.

Reading Class Pourquoi Tales

After reading Pourquoi Tales in class, our reading class collaborated with partners to write and select illustrations for their own tales below. Terrific job, writers!

Why Pandas do not Live in Africa by kgentry on Storybird
Why Crocodiles Eat Wildebeest by kgentry on Storybird
Why RacoonsStealTrash by kgentry on Storybird
How Whales Learned to Squirt Water. by kgentry on Storybird
Why Penguins areBlack and White. by kgentry on Storybird

Story Bird

We spent time on the Story Bird website today in reading class. Check back soon for pictures!

Math Class

This week is math, we have worked with a variety of reinforcement activities. We played subtraction checkers, modified mankala, and demonstrated subtracting larger numbers with base-ten manipulatives. The students did a nice job, and they really enjoyed experiencing subtraction in some new ways.

Art History Class

The boys used their creative sides today in art history. The boys worked to sketch their apartments in the style of Pablo Picasso, and will soon add additional details and color.

Student Blogger

Our student blogger decided to tell us a bit more about our classroom pets:

Our classroom turtle is awesome and cute. He likes to get stuck in his water bowl. He also likes to eat tomatoes. He also has a house and a friend named Siego. Siego likes to bump in to his window when he wants to see Chompers.

Terrific job!

Happy Halloween!

We got into the Halloween spirit on Friday with costumes, treats, and mummifying ourselves!

Check out the video below to get a glimpse into our day.

Reading Class Activities

This week we finished sharing our StoryJumper projects in reading class. The final three projects are below. The students did a wonderful job presenting them with their partners, as well as participating in "group edit" sessions, where we carefully reviewed and edited all of the stories as a group. This proved to be a wonderful exercise, and allowed us to become comfortable with the proof-reading process.

The Warriors:
http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/3171862/kgentry
The Mystery of the Stolen Pineapples:
http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/3171852/kgentry
The Mystery of the Stolen Money:
http://www.storyjumper.com/book/edit/3171772/kgentry

Additionally, we began a new story, "Heat Wave" which is a humorous fantasy story, with a few elements of realism. The students created fantasy/realism charts which we filled in as we read. Today in class we used the information from the charts to create a cohesive paragraph, listing the various elements of the story. Each student also chose their favorite fantasy/realism combination to illustrate. Enjoy the short video of this process below.

Math Word Problems

To demonstrate our confidence with word problems, we spent time creating our own! Check out the short video to hear some of our challenging problems.

 The topics ranged from car trips to escaped zoo animals!

Real Food Farm Planting

We spent time enjoying the beautiful weather outside yesterday, while helping our community by planting seeds for the Real Food Farm project. Enjoy the short video below of our efforts!

Reading Class Activities

We have finished our Storyjumper mysteries in class. The students collaborated with a partern to write and illustrate their own virtual mysteries, several of which were presented in class today. The remainder will be presented in class tomorrow, corrected during group editing, and posted to the blog. Enjoy!

The Case of the Haunted Lighthouse:
http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/3171892/kgentry
The case of the Missing Elephant:
http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/3171782/kgentry
The Case of the Banshee:
http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/3171762/kgentry

Manipulative Work in Math

We spent time working with our Math Connects manipulative site. The students were able to work with virtual money and base-ten blocks. Great work everyone!

The Great Pyramid

How GREAT is the Great Pyramid? We have spent time in history and composition focusing on the Great Pyramid, but this left us asking, "How tall is 481 feet?"

We learned 481 feet is VERY tall.

Check out the video below for shots of the Great Pyramid height representation!

Hoppers vs. Crickets

The boys competed in their first Hoppers vs. Crickets game this week. The hard work that they have put into their soccer skills was impressive. Terrific job, boys!

Story Jumper

Today in reading we used Story Jumper to start our virtual mysteries. I will update them on the blog when we are finished!

9-1 Musicians

We were treated to a concert in class this week. Check out the video to hear some of the musical talent in our room. These boys really must be working hard on their instruments!

Character Partnership

We met with our Sixth Age buddies today for character class. We shared our "All About Me" presentations, then learned three new facts about each of our buddies. Following this, the Ninth Age boys taught their Sixth Age friends how to create "All About Me" photopeach presentations!

Online Estimation Review

As much fun as a barrel of monkeys? How much fun would an elevator of monkeys be? Click here to have a great time with some math-loving monkeys AND practice your estimation skills!

Tomorrow in math we will spend some time reviewing rounding with "Mathionaire". Feel free to explore that website at home.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics

We are exploring the use of Egyptian Hieroglyphics in history class. Check out the video below as the boys created messages using this ancient writing.

"Boss of the Plains" Virtual Storyboards

Below are the storyboards created in our reading class after completing the short story, "Boss of the Plains". We spent time exploring other facts about cowboys, so the students could use those facts as well. Students collaborated with a partner to select and dowload photographs, upload them to Photopeach, title the presentation, select music, time the slides, edit captions, and present in front of the class.

 Great work on your first creations! 

Anna and Emma Cowboy on PhotoPeach

Ben and Jonathan Cowboys on PhotoPeach

Carter and Eliza Cowboys on PhotoPeach

Cowboys by Gavin, Jake, and Charlie on PhotoPeach

Tommy and Ilan's Boss of the Plains on PhotoPeach

Heath and Tucker's Boss of the Plains on PhotoPeach

Class Pet Visits

Daily Math Challenges

During the first ten minutes of class we complete "Math Challenges".

These problems are review exercises, as well as "teacher challenges", which ask the students to act as a teacher to create "mini-lessons" on various math topics.

One teacher challenge asked the students to create a math lesson on rounding using an image of a mountain. Students find different ways to teach the challenges, which allows all of us to learn the topics through different methods.

Here are a few quick photographs of the students, hard at work.

Virtual Storyboards in Reading

In reading class we have been working with PhotoPeach to create virtual storyboards for our most recent short story, "Boss of the Plains". This story is about John Stetson, the creator of the cowboy hat.

We will be presenting them on Monday in class, and I will upload them for you to watch as well.

Check out this video of the students collaborating on this project.

Properties of Addition

To review properties of addition, we will be using the "Study Stack" group that I created.

 We are focusing on the first three properties of addition: Associative, Identity, and Commutative.

Feel free to review at home!

 Properties of Addition Study Stack

Learning About Our Classmates

Thank you for sharing more about your life!

Character Elephant

Our elephant has spent some time with some new 9-1 classmates, and we were able to learn even more about our friends!
Check out his adventures below!

Calvert School Bank

Today in math we began working with money. The students arrived this morning to discover that our classroom had turned into the Calvert School Bank.

 Watch the video below to get a sneak peek into class.

Cave Tools

To experience the tool making process that ancient cave boys experienced, we spent today's history class creating our own cave tools using only a rock, a stick and twine. Check out our progress in the video below:

Reading Class Titanic Timeline

After spending several days studying the Titanic in reading class, we organized timelines following the final days and hours of the "unsinkable ship". Below is a video of our hard work!

Feel free to check out the Discovery Titanic videos below. These will give you an peek into the Titanic, as it rests deep underwater. (Many thanks to Mr. Howe for uploading these videos!)

Scholastic Book Orders

The 9-1 boys will be bringing home book orders on Monday afternoon. Here are the steps if you wish to place scholastic book orders online. We will review this again at Parents' Night, and I will still process paper forms, but our first book order will be placed on Wednesday, September 28th, so I hope this gives you an easier way to grow your sons' libraries!

• Visit: Parent Scholastic Registration and click on "register now".
• This will prompt you to register as a "parent" and then to enter basic information, including a username and password.
• Finally, after selecting submit, you'll need our class code, HQCZ7, to link your orders with our class.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

First Full Week

Here is short video detailing some of our first full week activities: laptop project, history review, math challenges and summer story sharing.

 Enjoy!

All About Me Compositions

The boys are beginning their "All About Me" compositions in class this week. We will be writing a composition as well as creating a digital story using images found in Microsoft Clip Art and Photos and another Photograph Site which will be uploaded to, edited, and combined with text on the Photo Peach website. We look forward to sharing our results with our families!

Perspective Taking

Our elephant has returned back from his first weekend. He had a wonderful trip, meeting pets, family members, and even learning how to play the guitar! We enjoyed "taking his perspective" as we learned more about our classmate's life and family.

Thank you for sharing with us! 

Character Partnership

We met with 6B on Thursday for our first character partnership. The students worked together to identify important traits of good character.

 Check out the video below to see our partnership in action.

 

Many thanks to Ms. Clark for creating this wonderful video!

Go Ravens!

We had a terrific time celebrating Purple Friday today! Check out the short video below to see the boys decked out in their gear!

Learning Styles

We spent time today with Ms. Hannah, discussing our brains. We learned about the parts of the brain, how the brain takes in information, and about different learning styles.

Out of This World Sentences

We worked on creating complex sentences today in composition.

The boys took simple sentences about meteorites, cut them apart, and put together new "out of this world" sentences! Check out our short video below that shows this process.

Structuring Sentences from Ms. Gentry on Vimeo.

Our First History Class

We spent some time in history today, discussing our very earliest history!

The boys then illustrated timelines of the start of our planet.

(Feel free to click on collage to enlarge.)

Beginning the Year

We had a wonderful first two days of school! Take a sneak peek at a few of our activities.

Beginnings from Ms. Gentry on Vimeo.

First Day of School

There is nothing like the excitement leading up to the first day of school! It was wonderful to have the students back on campus today, and I know that this year has incredible things in store for us all!

We spent some time arranging our black accordion folders, which will keep us organized all year long!

9-1 Questionnaire

I have enjoyed reading everyone's questionnaires! Feel free to continue to send me your answers, or bring them into school on Thursday.

I thought I would share that my favorite food is...

What is yours?

Student Questionnaires

I have certainly learned some wonderful facts about our 9-1 class so far, and I cannot wait for school to begin! I began setting up our classroom today, which made me even more excited about a year full of "seconds" at lunch, creating incredible projects, and I promise, not too much homework!

Super Powers and Summer Pictures

I am enjoying learning more about you and your summer vacations.

Continue to send me pictures if you would like them to be included in the presentation on the first day of school.

I thought I would share my favorite "super power":

If I could have any super power, I would like to be able to become invisible...

Although I would settle for an invisibility cloak !

Pyramid Puzzle Hints

I hope you have continued to enjoy your pyramid puzzles! Here are your next hints:

~The first level of the pyramid contains the letters of the compass rose (N, S, E, W). We will work with compass roses in geography this year.

~The first letter of the message (found on the level below your name) contains the letter "W".

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I am beginning to receive pictures that document the boys' summer adventures.

I have enjoyed getting a glimpse into your activities and putting together a presentation to share on the first day of school.

If you have not already done so, feel free to send me up to three pictures of anything you have done since school ended.

Can you spot the hidden friends that I met this summer?

9-1 Questionnaire

I hope that you are enjoying your 9-1 questionnaires.

Here is my response to the second question.

If I could turn into any animal, I would turn into a...

penguin!

(Even though I am a warm weather fan!)

Pyramid Puzzle Hint

I hope that you have enjoyed your pyramid puzzles so far!

Here are your first pyramid puzzle hints.

Have fun!

~You name begins at the south end of the pyramid. (What at the top of the pyramid could tell you you which direction is North, South, East or West?)

~The simplest way to solve the puzzle is by following the letters counterclockwise around the pyramid, starting at the south end.

~Remember, the puzzle starts at the top of the pyramid and works its way down to the base.

~If a letter does not exist on your key, it is simply decoration!

First Questionnaire Answer

You will begin to receive your Ninth Age letters in the mail soon, as well as our optional questionnaire.

I thought I would post a few answers to those questions over the coming weeks so that you could learn a bit more about me as well!
I have a dog, Lance (his picture is below), who will be five years old in October.

He loves to go running in the woods and enjoys sipping coffee!

Happy August

The summer has flown by, and the classroom lists are arriving in the mail.

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful summer and is very excited for the start of the new year!

I look forward to seeing you soon!

A picture I took on my trip to Costa Rica this summer.

I cannot wait to hear about your summer adventures!

Geography Activities

We spent some time today on an exciting geography website:

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/interactive_world_map.htm

Quizlet

Please check out the quizlet that the boys created!

http://quizlet.com/5763238/57-59-flash-cards/

Trebuchet Launch

We had our first trebuchet launch today. Check out the video of the very first attempt!

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lDy9VbHbocjovJOeaJV2oNw1Yi-TLDELdhdJhfdjYO8?feat=directlink

Track and Field Day

Trebuchet Building

Holes were drilled and bricks were attached! The trebuchets are coming along wonderfully!

Last Chesapeake Bay Presentations

We had our final presentations today. The boys did an incredible jobs speaking about their animals and sharing the prezis which they created!

Eagle:

https://prezi.com/secure/3fdc5762cd8996b1577008cab70800efa7d4dbc8/

Pelican:

https://prezi.com/secure/b8232b9a3b7e2bee08a83652b0570cc79fbfb902/

Tadpole:

https://prezi.com/secure/b8232b9a3b7e2bee08a83652b0570cc79fbfb902/

Mosquito:

https://prezi.com/secure/d6a1269ed19b4cf57b26d5f8eb01e7bd9d61288a/

Jellyfish:

https://prezi.com/secure/5a39b3478b57ab8185da2b8d0588e22c873ae18a/

Rattlesnake:

https://prezi.com/secure/edf9fdc8953bb8befb099400ba269ea07182ca63/

Goose:

https://prezi.com/secure/c67ab2f36b6d203b51cc6032a5814e10f26e2291/

Green frog:

https://prezi.com/secure/fe09622a8852e417b8abbb2be086d0e4acdc4354/

Gulls:

https://prezi.com/secure/3d77b39b23c101735a10648110c743dfcc3aeed0/

Trebuchet Project begins!

Sanding, drilling and Gluing...

Chesapeake Bay Prezi's

More boys have presented their Chesapeake Bay Prezi's. Please click on one of the boys' links below to learn a bit more about animals that live in and around the Chesapeake Bay!

Owl:

https://prezi.com/secure/d1d2d1949d39df279289d51cffdbcdd3aaed13d7/

Salamander:

https://prezi.com/secure/a148050a484c54f57f5f94952417d09844cfe82c/

Copperhead:

https://prezi.com/secure/7060d1d1eb2a2c3278bd08f5e23224c8397206bc/

Turtle:

https://prezi.com/secure/2b98da69b7b5e3501750502785902dcef2094026/

Seahorse:

https://prezi.com/secure/551fea2ea1dc8b59cb9580d8a2fae4fce7461004/

The Dreaded Trebuchet...

To learn a bit more about the trebuchet and the other methods used during medieval war times, we spent some time on the following websites. Feel free to check them out at home (they are a great review for the history test).

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/race.html

(Be sure to explore the options under offense and defense)

Nova joined with master builders to create a trebuchet...

We will challenge their creative abilities next week, when we put on our trebuchet building hats!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/trebuchet/builds.html

History Quizlet

Our history test covering chapters 50-52 is on Tuesday. Below is the link to our quizlet to help the boys review!

Happy studying!

http://quizlet.com/5455936/history-50-52-flash-cards/

Chesapeake Bay Prezi Presentations

Today we began our "prezi" presentations!
The boys have done a terrific job with this new presentation technology! Please click on the links to view them at home (right click to open in a new window and advance through the prezi using the arrow at the bottom of the screen or the arrow keys).

Dragonfly prezi:

https://prezi.com/secure/4ced9ef69d294bf854485abe2a552e6965ab26a2/

Dragonfly presentations:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bqwfTdG5_dFWBh7Q0FBdscbZeDy02uyB8AJyRrpI7rc?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DfdIwtmbwnB13VEkGhyewhiRKuJWn02yfOIZ8DqR7Gg?feat=directlink
Salamander Prezi:

https://prezi.com/secure/4967c10ec9e761d0575e7cc45af144ffd8b86aa6/

Salamander Presentations:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8rM7g1mX1bgmuvPyjjIw3ysJbhIMUL2NleksIjr3Dxg?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9nNBFxEpovRj7MfErvIV64JdgY2BtsHSfAe7F1yk66k?feat=directlink

Woodpecker Prezi:

https://prezi.com/secure/be56828bc35ffbb4127aada33538bbf13169b09a/

Woodpecker presentation:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Gentry.Kait/WoodpeckerPresentation?authkey=Gv1sRgCMWbrfyLkpSeMw&feat=directlink

Green Belt Earned!

Congrats to our classmate who earned his green belt in Tae Kwon Do last weekend! Way to go!!

Student Sharing

One of our 9-1 classmates shared about his Tae Kwon Do classes today.

How impressive!

In House Tournament:

Breaking wood during his in-house tournament:

Egg Drop

The boys did an "egg-tastic" job creating their boxes for our egg drop today!

Thank you for all of your help at home, parents!

Check out the video below of our second drop:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6aKvbK0ktsOSkcqlHLdnvLnjKDShGBUiZbUylbOmcd0?feat=directlink

Fraction Tiles

Today in class we worked with fraction tiles to practice creating equivalent fractions and finding common denominators.

Community Service Planting

The boys spent a very warm and sunny afternoon outside yesterday completing a community service planting project. Please check out the slideshow from the activity!https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gOx-unHGNOgVujTvZUu3b2fUvcAnlbqXdEbx5ocMO6Y?feat=directlink

The World is my Oyster...

As an extention activity for our Chesapeake Bay field trip, the Ninth Age boys opened real oysters to discover their hidden treasure: pearls!

Check out the slideshow below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mNEsbSQ6239XU0PkDa4I3Cs76WB5uuY5s2F8S5Tcnw8?feat=directlink

Exciting Weekend Adventures!

One of our students spoke with us about his exciting weekend adventures and the book that his mother and grandfather wrote.

Thanks for sharing, B.I.!

Technology Presentations

Below are the final technology presentations based on the boys' morning routines. They did a terrific job!

Living Classrooms Field Trip (Monday)

Below are some pictures from our exciting field trip this week.

We traveled on two boats on Monday and will be taking one boat out on Wednesday.

The students had an incredible time and learned so much from the Living Classrooms's instructors.

Virtual Fractions

Our math group worked with virtual fractions today!

Some of our fraction creations are below:

Below is a video of one of our students creating her "fraction pie". https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/--KItCIsc_zGGOmMDUqgwS3Mu_oDofh-IJPiYmY_os0?feat=directlink

Readers Theater

We met with our reading buddies today to perform a "Readers Theater".

Below is a video of the students reading the stories together before performing them. (Please remember to "right click" and select "open in new window" to easily return to the blog).

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qWG9JiCVFfKvKe8-IWmsvIwErAmnJ6GwY8ZdYc_DTs8?feat=directlink

Then we performed the stories together! Below are two quick videos of their performances!

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wgnn3zUZV4jVGVVYgyAuzSA0gVg-ouB1PtH_i2uV4HM?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iRD9YoAtqDRL4MyMxz1IkkOHRzmax1xk0sVz7D5yy9Q?feat=directlink