Karigon Connection

Schoolyard Brawl - Newsweek 3/15/10

2010-03-16T10:45:00.000-04:00

Please post any thoughts, comments, questions, responses, etc. to the article link below (Please note that this is a long article and you can comment on any part you choose to read).

Copy and paste the link into your browser window. See directions on how to post on the right hand navigation bar of this page.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/234592

Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers - Newsweek 3/15/10

2010-03-16T10:41:00.003-04:00

Please post any thoughts, comments, questions, responses, etc. to the article link below. Copy and paste the link into your browser window. See directions on how to post on the right hand navigation bar of this page.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/234590

Building a Better Teacher - NYTimes Article 3/7/10

2010-03-16T10:36:00.003-04:00

It's backkkkkkkk................

2009-09-29T10:49:00.001-04:00

Here's one for your students, family or just for yourself...

If two's company and three's a crowd
And bees live in a hive
Tell, now, for crying out loud,
What are four and five?

Remember to find directions on how to post a comment in the right hand navigation section of this page.

If you have any riddles or braintwisters you'd like to share please send them to Chris at bernchri@shenet.org.

2009-05-07T14:30:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to our winners of the Famous Karigon Riddle Contest:

Meghan, Donna and Tammy

Riddle: What English word means burning wood when you take away the first letter of the word?

Answer: The word "member" minus the letter "m" equals ember (burning wood).

We are lucky in Karigon to have two very talented professionals teaching Art and Physical Education to our children.

Alice Marzitelli, our dedicated art teacher, is truly multi-talented. The creativity that she inspires in our students can best be seen as we admire the art work in our halls. Alice, like all of us, must meet state and district standards in her curriculum. She chooses student activities that will enable them to be successful within these standards.

Alice teaches skills that build on those learned the previous year, beginning with drawing basic shapes. There is excitement in students of each grade level, but most especially in fifth, when the artistic passion and talent that Alice cultivated for four years blossoms. Grade 1 students draw large pieces, using perspective. Grade 2 students develop still life paintings, building on their basic understanding of shapes while third graders are learning to shade with paint in order to give form and depth to their penguin pictures. Fourth graders paint in the style of Van Gogh after Alice demonstrates his style of color blending and mixing. Fifth graders, as you can see, bring with them a wealth of knowledge which is integrated into music and art pieces when they visualize sounds and demonstrate sound in designing music collages.

What a creative teacher! Rumor has it that in her spare time Alice designs wonderfully unique jewelry. Many of her pieces are worn by women working in Karigon.

Carley Amedore, our active, creative and dedicated physical education teacher, wants her students to include physical activity as a permanent part of their lives. With this goal in mind she incorporates non-traditional forms of activity into the curriculum such as kick boxing, cross-country skiing and martial arts. Through martial arts she teaches self-discipline, includes character education in her lessons and even teaches students how to count in Korean!

Carley is also very active outside of her typical classroom. She runs a morning intramural program for football, speedball and floor hockey. Through these programs students can receive an additional 30 hours of physical activity in a safe and competitive environment. Intramurals offer her students an ideal environment to practice the sportsmanship lessons they receive during her regular instruction. Carley also runs the Physical Education and Health newsletter for the entire Shen district.

If you'd like to try and integrate with Carley she's more than willing to collaborate with any grade level. Just be ready to put on a brown belt and participate in a lesson on high kicking;-)!

You go ladies...You make us proud!

Burning Wood?

2009-05-04T14:14:00.001-04:00

We're baaaacccckkkkkk...

Here's another riddle to solve. First three correct answers that are received by Thursday, 5/7, will win a lottery ticket. Good luck!

What English word means burning wood when you take away the first letter of the word?

2009-01-15T13:29:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Meghan, Denise and Sue for coming up with the correct answer to the riddle...

Some days are rainy,

Some days are fair,

Friday comes before Thursday-

Where?

IN THE DICTIONARY!

Stay tuned for the next thought provoking installment...

If you have any thoughts or ideas about content for the Karigon Connection email Chris, bernchri@shenet.org, or Mary at murpmary@shenet.org.

Get Ready, Get Set....Start Thinking!

2008-12-11T13:24:00.003-05:00

Here it is...it's the last one for 2008...who will be the BIG winner...
it might be YOU!

Some days are rainy,

Some days are fair,

Friday comes before Thursday-

Where?

Be one of the first to get your answer in by Thursday, December 18, 2008 and you may find yourself with a prize winning lottery ticket in your hand! Remember to find directions on how to post a comment in the right hand navigation section of this page.

Second Grade Is Where It's Happening!

2008-12-01T11:04:00.015-05:00

Dyan and Mike are using the Eiki for lots of fun-tech learning activities. Using technology they are “sharing the pen” with students to edit and revise anchor papers during the writing process and create basic word lists. They also recommend the following web sites:

http://auth.grolier.com/login/bookflix/login.phpasdsadsadsad (Username: shencsd Password: bookflix)

www.pbs.org

Brian has created “Exit Tickets” to help students put closure to their learning while letting him know what information students retained. The ticket asks for:

3 – facts they learned

2 – vocabulary words from the lesson

1 – thing they connected with or found interesting

In Gayle’s class there is excitement about her upcoming theme “Holidays Around the World”. Gayle integrates all of the content areas in engaging activities. In this way she incorporates diversity and culture into her instruction.

All of the second grade teachers use Reader’s Theater when teaching social studies. The students increase their fluency and comprehension skills with oral readings about maps, government, communities, natural resources, and families.

Looking to try a different approach to behavior modification? Meghan Kuftiak, Brian and Dyan brainstormed to create this daily motivator that results in students making good choices. Individual rewards are coordinated with class rewards and follow Karigon's "Bucket Filling" Character Education Program. Stop into their rooms to take a look and learn more about the program!

What's Not Wearing Clothes in the Winter?

2008-12-01T11:01:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Jill, Brenda and Lynn for being the first three people to guess that it's a tree that wears clothes in the summer BUT not in the winter!

See Who Hit the Right Key!

2008-11-17T11:57:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to Katelyn, Judy and Paul!
They were the first three people to guess that
the man got out of the room by using the "right key".

Speaking of riddles...did you know that when students have an understanding of words and sentences containing more than one meaning (riddles) they think flexibly and improve their comprehension? Read all about it in the October 2008 issue of "The Reading Teacher" (available from the AIS Team) to view strategies for creating metalinguistic awareness in your classroom.

After Thanksgiving break be on the look out for news about cool happenings in the 2nd grade!

In the meantime, here is another riddle to solve:

What wears clothes in the summertime when it's too hot to scold,

But none at all in the wintertime when winds are blowing cold?

How to Post Your Answers? Click "comments" at the bottom of this section, type your response in the box, under "Choose an Identity" select Name/URL and type your first and last name, and then hit publish.

The first three correct answers that are received by Monday, November 24 will win lottery tickets. Good luck!

2008-11-04T11:39:00.000-05:00

Donna was the winner of the riddle. She won again when she scratched off the spaces on her lottery ticket. Congrats! The next riddle is:

A man was locked in a room

With just a piano in it.

How did he open the door

And get out in less than a minute?

Send us your answer by using the "Directions for Posting Comments" in the right sidebar of this page. The first three correct answers received by Friday, November 14, will receive a lottery ticket.

Thanks to all of you who responded to the Halloween Candy survey. Everyone check your mailbox for a sweet treat reward from "KarigonConnection.blogspot.com".

Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for another grade level to be in the Karigon Connection Spotlight.

We Have a Winner!

2008-10-24T12:22:00.000-04:00

Winner of the riddle is:................Donna Walters. She guessed the answer to the riddle: Your right elbow. Yeah Donna - you go girl! In honor of Donna's response she will be awarded two (winning?) lottery tickets (percent of the winnings go to creators of the blog - only kidding). Congratulations also to Kathy G. and Pat B. who attempted a guess. They will each receive one lottery ticket as a consulation prize. Thanks to Rita, Marcy, Sue and Jan for their contributions and responses.

Stay tuned for the next blog posting and riddle - you too could be a winner!

Watch Out! The 4th Grade is Chargin' Ahead!

2008-10-20T09:34:00.000-04:00

****At the end of this article you will find a Blog Question and a Riddle. Have fun answering both the question and the riddle so that your name can be entered for a prize drawing. The details for how to do this are at the bottom of the article. ****

How do you know what your kids are really doing when they are reading? Can they pronounce the words? How are they figuring them out? Fourth grade teachers have found some answers to these questions. Read on to learn about what they are doing and talk with them to learn even more.

Sue found success by using the following oral reading strategies to help her understand more about her students’ fluency and decoding skills...

Whisper Reading - First Sue modeled this technique by demonstrating how students should read outloud at a low volume and at their own pace. When each student practiced the technique you could hear a soft buzzing in the classroom. Sue was then able to stand by each student, listen to them read, and coach them about decoding and fluency strategies.

Sticky "Comprehension" Notes - Used in partner reading or small group read alouds, Sue gave each student a task to complete based on assigned reading pages. The tasks can be the same for each student OR each student might have a different assignment. Sticky notes are pre-written with a code which indicates the assignment. Students complete tasks on the sticky note during or after reading. Some examples of "tasks" are as follows...

Code and Meaning

? - Something the student did not understand/wants more information about

! - Student will write "cool facts" about what they read

:) - Student will write text to text, self, world, or media connections

***Please note that the teacher writes "?", "!", or ":)" on the actual sticky note***

Jan has a copy of the book Good-Bye Round Robin by Michael F. Opitz and Timothy V. Rasinski and recommends the book for more ideas about reading aloud.

Marcy and Rita, along with the other fourth grade teachers, are using journals to engage the students in reading and writing and to include quality literature in their reading program. Students choose a novel based on their reading level and an assigned theme. They write a friendly letter to their teacher every week using prompts. Prompts include: appropriate information to include about the novel, sentence starters, and paragraphing ideas. Journals are due on an assigned day and returned with a written response from their teacher. All of the starter ideas are posted in the same journal that the children use to write their letters.

Marcy has found a great motivator for comprehension of nonfiction reading (TFK articles, etc.) She writes questions on green, yellow and red cards. Each student chooses a color coded card before, during and after they read the article. The questions are generic so they can be used over again with many different articles. For example:

Green - questions to answer before the article is read
Yellow - questions to answer when a student finishes the beginning of the article
Red – questions to answer at the end of the article

Please feel free to ask the 4th grade teachers if you have any questions, comments or thoughts.

Extra: Answer the Blog AND Riddle Questions below to enter to win a lottery ticket (3 names will be chosen):

Blog Question: Will you use any of the above strategies in your classroom? Which one?

Riddle Question: What can you hold, no matter how old, in your left hand, that you can't hold, no matter how bold, in your right hand?

How to Post You Answers? Click "comments" at the bottom of the article, type your response in the box, under "Choose an Identity" select Name/URL and type your first and last name, and then hit publish.