Bloom~Boltz BLOG: 2018

The Middles have done some marvelous learning over the past few weeks...

Language Arts Class...

Students meet with the teacher for Read Aloud, Guided Reading, Guided Writing, and mini-lessons.

We have integrated our studies of the ocean. One group has been reading about oil spills and how it causes harm to the water, shoreline, and marine and bird life. Other groups are finishing up reading about tide pools. They are learning about how high/low tides occur and how tide pools create a habitat for sea life near the shore. We will culminate with a tide pool project and an oil/water science activity.

While some students meet with the teacher, others rotate through

independent centers including: Read-to-Self, Read-to-Someone,

Word Work(spelling), Listening to Reading(on iPad/EPIC),

Written Skill Work ("Binder work"), and Writing.

Writing choice at Writing Center

Typing a story from a revised rough draft.

Elbow to elbow,
Knee to Knee,
I'll read to you,
You read to me!
"Read-to-Someone" Reading Center

Read-to-Self
Reading Center

Read-to-Self
Reading Center

Read-to-Self
Reading Center

Typing next draft

Revising and editing a written piece of work.

Quiet spot to focus on writing

Guided Writing~ Students have taken a (summer vacation topic) writing piece
through the "writing process".
Pre-write (Brainstorm) -Rough Draft-Revise-Edit-Final copy(typed)-"Publish" for others to read.

Writing for many purposes: In this picture, the students are writing a quick entry in their Gratitude Journals.

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Science Class...

The Middles spent several weeks learning about Oceans.

They pondered the similarities and differences between ocean life off the coasts of North Carolina and California.

They observed plankton, ocean plants, fish, and ocean mammals.

They read a variety of books, expanding their knowledge of ocean life.

Students used their best scientific skills to make observations about a variety of ocean life by watching real-time webcams on Explore.org.

While some students loved watching dolphins playfully swimming around a boat of marine biologists, other students preferred shark-watching.

Each student chose a topic for more in-depth study. They started by asking an essential question related to their topics. Questions ranged from "Why is the pressure in the Mariana Trench so high?" to "How do dolphins swim so fast?".

After choosing their essential questions, students sought answers through research. Using a variety of sources, students took notes and eventually developed a research paper.

Some students made posters to visually represent their research findings. Other students created slide shows. Students assisted one another, lending talents such as drawing and creating on the i pad.

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Growing Our Brains...

Students continue to develop a GROWTH MINDSET. Morning meeting is often a time devoted to the study of growing resilience.

Here students log onto Khan Academy for a growth mindset lesson, followed by completion of a writing exercise designed to get them thinking about ways to use a growth mindset in their own lives.

Ms. Jacqui from the Oakwood Library stopped by for a welcome visit.

She shared 2 books with the students, reiterating the message that struggling is part of growing,

and the best rewards often come after hard work.

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Some more highlights from the past several weeks...

Students lunched in the sukkah on a beautiful, sunny day.

Several students partnered with the kindergarten class, sharing a lesson about the 5 senses.

We celebrated birthdays...

Talent Show opportunity...

Students were invited to participate and many did!

Singing songs, dancing, jumping rope, and sharing tricks, skills, and talents!

Teachers join in the fun dancing to Happy!

h

Rosh Chodesh Lunch... a celebration of the new month, Cheshvan. During Cheshvan we hear the story of Noah's Ark. To help remind us, Rochel and Rabbi Simon provided rainbow cupcakes!

Thank you for visiting our class BLOG sight for the Middles!
After you visit this blog post with your child, please tell them to
tell the teacher the MYSTERY WORD: "BRAIN"

Welcome to the Bloom-Boltz BLOG!!!

We begin our day at Hillel...

Our class Attendance Graph

Students begin the day by answering a new question every day!
The attendance is reported and math questions such as "How many more students chose red as their favorite color than chose blue?" are posed by the student in charge of attendance.

Students are also assigned weekly jobs on the JOB CHART.

Students complete their MORNING CHECKLIST.

As the students arrive, they begin work on their (individual) daily
"BRAINBLASTER" activities.

Starting our day as a community in prayer.

Our Studies...

Grades 2-4 (The Middles) have been immersed in learning about
the concept of Growth Mindset.

Growth Mindset is the understanding that abilities and skills can be
developed through dedication and hard work.

We kicked-off our unit with a song called, "The Power of Yet" by CJ Luckey. His song conveys all the important concepts of a Growth Mindset. For example, we may think we can't do something, but with a Growth Mindset we learn that we just can't do it...YET! Never give up!

Students watch the song video and sing along with the chorus.
They decide they want to perform it for the primary and intermediate classes.

"This is the Power of Yet, don't you settle for less. If you just give your best,
then you will have success!"

Showtime!

Students meet to practice their parts of the song as we prepare to perform it for the rest of the school.

To enhance our understanding of Growth Mindset, we learned about the parts of the brain and their functions. Students discovered that the nervous system relays messages from the brain to the body, and that neurons connect by forming new pathways.

Most importantly, they learned that practicing a new skill helps develop those pathways.

Students made their own brains, complete with connecting neural pathways.

Students are using their knowledge of brain development to help them replace habits that
interfere with learning, with habits that help them to learn. They use rubrics to assist in
becoming more self-aware about their own behaviors.

A willingness to try hard and persist, even when things get tough, is the pathway to learning!