Coffey's Corner

Goodbye Coffey's Corner

2010-09-14T19:41:00.002-04:00

Thank you all for your dedication to this blog and to your children over the past couple of years. I am now a special education teacher, teaching in several different classrooms instead of being able to blog about my own class. I was thinking, however, that I might leave this blog hanging around the internet for awhile, so that maybe when a relative visits or when you want to reflect on that 4th grade year you can come visit it again!
Since I loved doing it so much, I have proposed to lead a school-wide blog instead! So I invite you to please go check out http://carolineelementary.blogspot.com! Here I will be posting about every class! Also, I will invite teachers to add their own posts as well!

*This is a picture of the blog. Clicking the picture will only enlarge it; click on the blog link in the paragraph above to actually go to the blogsite.

Last Day : (

2010-06-23T19:30:00.003-04:00

Many times today I heard, "I'm kinda glad it's the last day because I'm excited for summer/happy to sleep in/usually don't like school/etc, but I'm also sad because I don't want to leave our class and I'll miss you!" I'm glad I teach 4th and not 5th because I get one more year to see you guys in the hallways and have a little reunion!

Thank you all for such a great year! Each one of you are very special people with your own unique talents. These are the things I'm going to miss:
Niskua: You are a unique girl with a good head on your shoulders. I love your self-confidence!

Sam: What a great kid! You've been a great role model to the class, a hard worker, and a great student.

Julia: You remind me of myself as a student! Appreciative, inquisitive, curious, kind.

Silas: Your sense of humor is well over your age and you cracked me up many times this year!

Allyssa: Your generosity always struck me. You're a very sweet girl and a very smart girl!

Tobey: Like I've said before, I loved having you in class. I was always excited to hear or read anything you said or wrote! A very creative boy!

Ariel: Sweetest girl in the world. Hands down. I'll never forget how you took notes for another student who was out of the room during a story. How incredibly thoughtful and kind you are toward others!

John: Your energy to learn and be a better student is a gift for any teacher, and your smile is the cherry on top. You'll do great in 5th grade!

Talia: What a bright girl! Your smiles and bounces always energized us and you were a great friend to all!

Eli: A very smart, mature student who never ceased to amaze me with your knowledge on reptiles! (Okay okay and you beat me in arm wrestling. 3 times.)

Bailey: Your quiet intellect always inspired me. You were a great part of our class this year!

Andy: What's up, y'all? We'll miss you tons if you don't come back next year buddy! You were a friend to all and we loved that you came to us in January!

Ilana: A strong girl with a sweetside... and always willing to clean!!!! (Don't tell your parents!)

Josh: We got through the good times, and the bad, and now you're a 5th grader! Have confidence in yourself and your decision making skills! You have a good head on your shoulders and a supportive family behind you! You're a lucky boy!

Tieana: Girl I want you to look in the mirror every day and say "I am confident, I am smart, and I am a good person" because you ARE!!! No need to be so nervous!

Mikey: Mikey... thank you for being an angel on the last day of school. You alone did half of that "To Do" list today! I'm glad I'll be seeing you in the hallways next year!

Natalie: You're a cool girl who can stand up for herself and not worry what others think! Way to go!

Matt: That dance you made up (I think it was you) always cracked me up when you did it! (The arm circle one) You'll do great in 5th grade, especially if you DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!
Annika: You're the first student I met at Caroline when I substituted there when you were in 2nd grade... it's so cool that now you were in my class! You did SO awesome this year in everything! Keep up the great work!

Max: You did so well this year academically and socially! Your compliments during our final "Give or Get" game were incredibly thoughtful and specific. You should be proud of your 4th grade year!!!

Michael: What an organized student, always getting your homework in and keeping things neat. You were such a good friend to all and everyone envies your soccer skills!!!

Tommy: I watched you grow in confidence and make some great friends this year! I'm glad Ill get to see you around school next year!

Rosa: You are an extremely smart girl! Just remember to bring your homework home and then back to school again and you'll be golden!!!

Liam: You have such a beautiful mind: always thinking of situations and facts. Share your knowledge with others! Thank you for being such a nice helper this year! It was VERY beneficial to me!

Fernando: You were an enjoyable part of our class and got along with all of the kids! They love you!

Ms. Jones: What a dedicated woman you were to our class, bringing in snacks and supplies! We all really appreciate you!

Parents and guardians: I have truly enjoyed working with you! What a great bunch of generous and caring people. It was fun interacting with you. Thank you for sharing your child with me!

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER EVERYONE!!!

Summer Game Links

2010-06-21T12:42:00.003-04:00

Here are some great games for you to play over the summer to help you keep your 4th grade skills!

Fractions and Decimals Target Practice

Ordering Decimals and Fractions

Sweet Caroline

2010-06-17T15:13:00.000-04:00

Picnic and Slide Show

2010-06-17T14:47:00.004-04:00

Today we had a nice picnic and slide show to close the school year and to honor those who are retiring (Mrs. Troisi, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Faben, Mrs. Wallitt, and Mrs. Ferraro.) Unfortunately, the outdoor picnic got rained out but we got to eat all of the yummy food together in our classroom!

Flag Day

2010-06-14T19:34:00.003-04:00

This morning the entire school met around the flag to sing songs and recognize Flag Day.

Vitamin L Concert

2010-06-09T14:48:00.001-04:00

Love Knows No Bounds

2010-06-09T06:51:00.002-04:00

Love Knows No Bounds: Renewing New Orleans

Today Pastor Bruce and his wife visited us to show some clips of how New Orleans is still seeing devastation from Hurricane Katrina and to thank Caroline for sending cards, food, toys, and even people to help build them back up again. In the end, Pastor Bruce asked the kids if they like group hugs:

Colonization WebQuest!

2010-06-07T09:00:00.003-04:00

First, watch this movie on the History of the Colonization of America:

Next, search the following links to fill out your role in studying the colonization of America after Europeans realized there was land there!

Colonization Web Links

A History of Jamestown	More history on Jamestown
Jamestown History	Great historical information
Journey back in time	Journey back to the colonial days
Plymouth, MA - Its history and people	Good information on the Pilgrims and their settlement
Thirteen Colonies	Information on the thirteen colonies
USA: Outline of American History	Specific information about the colonial period

Transformations

2010-06-03T22:35:00.007-04:00

A video on all three:

How to describe transformations

And here is a fun paint game using rotational symmetry:

CLICK HERE

GOODBYE TROUT!!!!

2010-05-29T11:06:00.004-04:00

Friday was our final day with our trout! What a journey it's been! We've studied them since they looked like this:

Now they are all 3-4 inches long and are ready to be released into the Cayuga Lake watershed. Luckily, 6-Mile Creek is right in our backyard! We put our trout in buckets,
and hiked out to the creek behind Caroline.

Bill did some exercises with us, like examining the plant growth, insects, temperature, and pH of the stream environment we were to be releasing our trout into.

Finally, it was time to release the 40-50 trout we had! (We used to have around 80-90 but had a horrible low pH problem last Monday which caused us to lose half the fish).

Goodbye fishies! Good luck in nature!

8 Square School House

2010-05-26T18:21:00.007-04:00

We had a blast at the 8 Square Schoolhouse today! Here are some of our experiences:
(click on any photo to get a closer look)

As soon as we got there, the teacher had the students form a semi-circle around the flag to raise it and pledge allegiance to it.

Once inside, the boys were instructed to sit on one side of the room and the girls on the other. "Backs against the back of the chair and both feet flat on the floor. Gentlemen, if you cross your legs, you will sit with the girls."

Later, on this HOT day, the students learned how to pump water from the well. Here, Ilana pumps for Bailey.

The teacher thought the boys deserved to have the bucket of 42 degree water poured on them. They actually loved it!

The teacher also warned that this was their bathroom break. Here, Rosa and Tieana check out the outhouse:

After recess with one swing, stilts, ball and cup games, and the nature around us, we went back into the schoolhouse to work on our "penmanship," with real bottles of ink!

Here's a group photo in front of the school: 1892.

What should we wear to the 8-Square School House?

2010-05-24T09:15:00.000-04:00

Fun Drum Assembly!

2010-05-20T20:59:00.003-04:00

Finding Volume

2010-05-20T20:54:00.002-04:00

Volume= the amount of 3-dimensional space an object occupies
Meniscus= the curved upper surface of a liquid standing in a tube, produced by the surface tension

Mass

2010-05-19T15:11:00.003-04:00

In science today we studied another metric measurement: mass! Using balance scales, we calculaed the mass of six different objects by balancing the scales and then counting the grams on one side.

The Scientific Method

2010-05-13T14:10:00.003-04:00

Today we studied the scientific method with the experiment "Sink or Float"
We learned that the 5 steps of the scientific method are:
1) Pose a question.
2) Make a hypothesis (an educated guess that can be tested).
3) Test the hypothesis.
4) Analyze the results.
5) Make a conclusion.

We wondered whether certain balls would sink or float. Given a tennis ball, golf ball, ping pong ball, marble, wooden ball, rubber ball, styrofoam ball, ball bearing, and a clay ball, we hypothesized about each ball's outcome. Then we tested them in a container of water! After taking data on a chart, we analyzed the results, finding that the tennis ball, ping pong ball, wooden ball, and styrofoam ball floated while the golf ball, marble, rubber ball, ball bearing, and clay ball sank. Lastly, we concluded that objects that were light, hollow, or had air pockets floated while objects that were solid, dense, and heavy sank.

The Ithaca Art Project

2010-05-10T09:46:00.001-04:00

Check it out!
Ithaca Public Art Project

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T21:30:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to the women of our lives. In class months ago we decorated flower pots and planted zinnias in them and watched them grow. Unfortunately, the paint (even though sprayed with a sealer) peeled off and some students' flowers didn't make it. But it's the thought that counts, right? We love you moms!!!

Artwork at the Mall!

2010-05-07T15:20:00.002-04:00

Go to the Ithaca Mall to check out Ithaca's talented artists! Artwork from all of the schools in the Ithaca City School District (elementary through high school) are posted outside of Old Navy and AC Moore. I checked it out last night and found Niskua, Bailey, and Natalie's work!

Beetle Pull!

2010-05-07T14:25:00.000-04:00

Today we found the mass of our beetles. On average, each beetle was a gram or two. We were surprised to find out, however, that they could pull up to 30 times their weight in our experiment today! In a safe, humane way, we looped dental floss around the strongest part of the beetle and one by one attached paper clips (about a gram each) to the loop to see the maximum number the beetle could pull. Check out one group below!

New York State Math Test

2010-05-04T14:13:00.002-04:00

For the next 3 mornings we will be taking the New York State 4th grade math test.

Students need to:

1) Go to bed early.

2) Eat breakfast.

3) Bring several sharpened #2 pencils to school.

4) Get to school before 8:00am.

The Grade 4 Test is divided into three books: Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3.

Book 1: May 5th, 50 minutes

-contains 30 multiple-choice questions; students will record their answers on a bubble sheet

Book 2: May 6th, 50 minutes

-short-answer response and extended response questions; students will show their work and write their answers directly into the test book

Book 3: May 7th, 50 minutes

-the same as Book 2

Webquest

2010-05-03T09:00:00.003-04:00

Simple Machines are devices that make work easier!

Click on this link to read all about and view each of the 6 simple machines.

Then fill out the packet.

Bess Beetles!

2010-04-28T14:29:00.005-04:00

Did you know that 1 out of every 4 animals in this world is a beetle? Today we met our bess beetles! We observed them in many ways: we noticed that they have 2 eyes, a mouth, a small horn on its head, 2 antennae, 2 strong jaws (called mandibles), 3 body parts (a head, thorax, and abdomen), 2 pairs of wings (1 pair are the hard, black outer wings called elytra) and 6 legs. We noticed that they liked to crawl under tunnels, and didn't like their antennae touched. They didn't bite us when we held them, they just tickled our hands as they walked around. A few groups realized that if their bess beetle got scared, it might poop on them!

This nice close-up shot is on Niskua's kitty folder : )

Bess Beetles

2010-04-27T20:55:00.001-04:00

After school today our bess beetles arrived in the mail! I had to quickly make them a home and get them out of the little carton they came in. Mikey was in CASP so he and I went in the woods to gather mud, rotting wood, and sticks!

New York State Geography

2010-04-27T15:23:00.006-04:00

You guys are doing great! We're going into our last day of the 4th grade ELA tomorrow! Don't forget to answer ALL parts of the questions and use DETAILS from the passages!!!

For a little fun, test your knowledge on New York State Geography!

Click here:

New York State Geography Game

ELA

2010-04-23T20:57:00.003-04:00

This upcoming Monday through Wednesday we will be taking the New York State English Language Arts test. Don't worry though; there's nothing to be nervous about! The test helps us to see what kind of things we can work on in reading and writing.
Each day come in and go to the bathroom and sharpen your pencils. At 8:00 after announcements we will settle into our test spots and start reading the directions. Each day the test will be over no later than around 9:15 or 9:20.

Here are the test details:
Book 1: Monday, April 26th, 45 minutes
-contains 28 multiple-choice questions based on brief reading passages and performance assessment items
-measures students' attainment of skills such as understanding story events, drawing conclusions, making predictions, identifying the main idea, using vocabulary strategies, identifying supporting details, identifying point of view, evaluating ideas, understanding features that distinguish genres, and using figurative language to interpret text

Book 2: Tuesday, April 27th, 45 minutes
-a listening section during which they listen to a passage twice: the first time just listening, the second time taking notes
-they then will answer a few response questions: filling in a graphic organizer/chart, a short-response written answer, and a long-response written answer
-they will be scored on:
how clearly they organize and express their ideas
how accurately and completely they answer the questions
how well they support their ideas with examples
how interesting and enjoyable their writing is
how correctly they use grammar, spelling, punctuation, and paragraphs

Book 3: Wednesday, April 28th, 60 minutes
-they will read two passages and answer 3 short answer responses (one is usually a graphic organizer) and an extended response
-they will be able to read all the questions before reading, which will help them to pick out the key ideas
-usually, the details in the short answer response are very helpful in writing the extended response

The Week of the ELA
Students need to:
1) Go to bed early.
2) Eat breakfast.
3) Bring several sharpened #2 pencils to school.
4) Get to school before 8:00am.

Don't forget the tips we practiced in school!
Book 1
Main Idea
Read the entire passage first.
Decide whether the passage is fiction or nonfiction.
List the important parts of the passage.
Look for a sentence that tells the main idea. If no main idea is stated, put it in your own words.
Look for the main idea in the answer choices.
Look for the author’s message.

Details
Identify the main idea.
Look for details that support the main idea.
Put the main idea and supporting details into a paragraph.
Identify key words in multiple-choice questions. Skim the passage to find the key words.
To determine the order of events, identify key words in the answer choices.

Vocabulary
Find where the sentence is located in the passage.
Look for other words in the passage that have about the same meaning.
Look for words in the passage that have the opposite meaning.
Look for less obvious clues to the meaning of the word.
Use “word parts” to figure out the meanings of words.
Look out for words that have more than one meaning.
Plug the answer choices into the sentence in place of the unknown word or phrase.

Character and Setting
Look for details about the characters.
“Listen” as the author introduces you to the characters.
Pay attention to how the characters act.
Notice how the characters are alike or different from each other.
Notice how the characters change during the story.
Look for details that tell you where and when the story takes place.
If the story has more than one setting, notice how the settings are alike or different.

Plot
Look for the story’s main idea.
Find the problems in the story.
Decide who is involved in the problem.
Look for the main events.
Use what you know about the characters to predict what will happen next.
Notice how the problem is solved.

Hidden Messages
Put together clues from the passage to find hidden messages.
Draw conclusions based on what you have read.

Comparing
Look for word clues that tell when things are being compared.
Look for other words that show direct comparisons, such as “bigger,” “smallest,” “more,” and “less.”
If there are no clue words, look for details that show comparisons.
Draw a chart to show similarities and differences.

Cause and Effect
Put the events in order.
The event that causes an action usually happens just before the action.
Connect the events in a “because” sentence.
Look for “cause” words.
Look for causes and effects in nonfiction passages, too.

Author’s Purpose
Look for clues that tell why the author wrote the passage.
Pay attention to the author’s attitude.
Look for the author’s message.
Determine whether a statement is fact or opinion.
Compare the author’s ideas to those of another author.

Book 2
Listening
When the story is first read to you, just listen and enjoy.
Paint a picture in your mind.
When the story is read the second time, take notes.
Don’t take too many notes.
Don’t try to memorize the story.
Think about the main idea.

Book 3
Written Response Tips
Read the question carefully.
Support your response with details from the passage.
Answer all parts of the question.
Plan your response before you begin writing.
Use your best handwriting.
Express your own opinion.

Check your writing for:
-complete sentences
-having a topic sentence in your paragraph
-capitalization
-punctuation
-spelling

Happy Earth Day!!!

2010-04-22T09:10:00.003-04:00

What is our class doing to help our Earth?

-walking nicely on it

-riding bikes or carpooling

-recycling paper, plastic, cardboard

-reusing things

-having one car instead of 2 cars

-conserving water

-picking up garbage

-composting

-using compost in the garden

-vermacomposting (using worms)

-planting trees and flowers

-reusing clothes/buying recycled cotton clothing

-bringing our own Tupperware to restaurants for leftovers

-instead of using paper towels use cloth or sponges

-buying recycled paper products

Crayfish!

2010-04-21T20:43:00.003-04:00

Last week our crayfish arrived. We've been spending time observing them, learning about their habits and anatomy. Here's a video of our first day with them:

Area of Parallelogram

2010-04-21T20:24:00.003-04:00

Today we learned and saw that the area of a parallelogram is actually the same formula as the area of a rectangle (AREA = BASE x HEIGHT) or (AREA = LENGTH x WIDTH), because we can cut a parallelogram to make it look exactly like a rectangle. This video shows it nicely:

Blog Response

2010-04-19T09:18:00.002-04:00

Students:
Please leave me a comment with your answers for these two questions:

1) Name a real life example of perimeter.
2) Name a real life example of area.

Our Seeds Have Sprouted!!!

2010-04-14T17:34:00.002-04:00

...and molded a little bit.

Back on March 18th we put the different seeds into the sprouter. Now look what they did in about 2 weeks!

Some Fun for your Break

2010-04-06T14:15:00.003-04:00

Hydroponics in the Classroom

2010-04-05T23:47:00.001-04:00

Today I went into school for awhile to get some stuff done. As I fed the excited fish, I saw that our hydroponics experiment was working! The grass floating on the top of the tank is growing!

I also checked on our sprouts and our bean sprouts are getting so big that I decided to see if they too could grow hydroponically! I tucked them into a floating tray and put 6 bean sprouts floating in the trout tank and 12 more bean sprouts in a tub of water on the windowsill! When you get back from break we'll start to measure the plants' growth!

Home Sick

2010-03-31T19:45:00.003-04:00

Hey there class. I'm still home sick... hoping to make it for Friday! In the meantime, I hope you're taking good care of all of our plants in the room! Make sure all of our seedlings (science ones, secret ones, my garden ones) are getting plenty of water! Don't worry... sick or not, I will come in often over break to make sure they get water!

Wacky Wednesday!

2010-03-30T05:46:00.003-04:00

Ughhhh... home sick again!!!

I'm very sorry that True Colors had to be cancelled today. We will definitely make it up later! Therefore, besides spelling,

you have no homework tonight!

Please don't forget that this Wednesday is WACKY WEDNESDAY! You can wear a wacky outfit: colorful, mismatched, crazy! Just remember to keep it appropriate and no masks or hats are allowed. At 1:15 on Wednesday we'll be having a wacky dance party with our kindergarten buddies, who are studying letter W this week!!!

Blog Response

2010-03-29T09:19:00.004-04:00

Now that we've finished Sign of the Beaver, let's evaluate it.

1) On a scale of 1-10 (1 lowest and 10 highest), how much did you like the book?

2) Why or why not?

3) Would you like to read more books in that genre (the type of book: adventure)?

Following Directions

2010-03-23T16:05:00.005-04:00

Today I felt like my students needed a little "Following Directions" pop-quiz. Here was the quiz:

Fun Pop Quiz!

Directions:

This is a quiz to see how well you follow directions. Do only number 25.

1) Tear off the blank piece of paper stapled to this quiz.

2) In the upper right-hand corner of the blank paper, write your name.

3) In the bottom right-hand corner, write the name of a person sitting near you.

4) In the center of the page, draw three stars.

5) Below the stars, draw a box.

6) Write the number of siblings you have to the right of the box.

7) At this point, quack like a duck, out loud!

8) Turn the paper you’ve been writing on upside down.

9) Write out today’s date in the upper left-hand corner.

10) Shout out your home address.

11) Under today’s date, write what 6 x 5 is.

12) Under 6 x 5, write what 4 x 7 is.

13) Under 4 x 7, write what 3 X 8 is.

14) Under 3 x 8, write what 12 / 4 is.

15) If you think you got all four of these math questions correct, shout out loud “I am a mathematical genius!”

16) In the bottom left-hand corner, draw a smiley face. J

17) In the center of the page, say “woooooooooooooooo!” as you draw a swirl.

18) In the bottom right-hand corner, write numbers one, two, three, four, and five.

19) Stand up and reach for the sky!

20) In the top right-hand corner, write letter K backwards.

21) Stand on one foot and say the alphabet skipping letter D. If you mess up, start over!

22) Sit back down and fold your paper in half lengthwise (the long way).

23) Fold it in half the other way.

24) Write your middle name on a blank spot on the outside.

25) Ignore directions one through twenty-four and enjoy watching everyone else do this activity wrong.

Well, here is a video of the students taking the quiz:

And here's the reaction of a couple students when they got to number 25 on the quiz... (while others in the background are still working on it!)

Afterwards we discussed how I was given this quiz when I was in 6th grade at it is something I will never forget, and I wanted to share this fun way to remember to always read the directions!!!

Thankful

2010-03-18T15:07:00.004-04:00

What a wonderful day I had today! Thank you everyone for making it so special. We had a fun time... Ms Jones brought in an ice cream cake for me, and I made brownies so we had the best snack ever today! Then we had fun during science putting seeds into our class sprouter and watering it for the first time.

After lunch, the students surprised me (and made me cry) by playing and singing "Happy Birthday" to me!

Then after some reading, we went outside on this BEAUTIFUL day and played soccer together!

And finally, it was requested that I ended the day with some arm-wrestling. (Sorry Sam.)

Therefore, I feel very thankful today to have such a fun, special class, and I'm also thankful for my family who brought me up to the person I am today (thanks for the flowers Mommy and Caitsy!) and my awesome, thoughtful friends.

Life!

2010-03-17T17:47:00.002-04:00

We are growing many things on our classroom windowsill! Today the students made their own mini-sprouters and are going to see if they can sprout corn seeds, bean seeds, pea seeds, and sunflower seeds without soil!

Later some students and our kindergarten buddies helped me start planting my herbs and vegetables I plan to transplant into my garden this summer!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T17:46:00.002-04:00

I know that not everyone celebrates it, but I wanted to show you how Koda celebrates St. Patrick's Day.

Fruit Dissection!

2010-03-16T16:30:00.003-04:00

Today we dissected apples, green peppers, peaches, and tomatoes to launch our "Structures of Life" science unit. We separated the seed from the fruit and counted how many seeds were in each fruit. We described the properties (size, shape, color, texture, smell) of each seed, and discussed why fruits have seeds. Also, even though in everyday language we might describe peppers, squash, and tomatoes as "vegetables," in scientific terms they are fruits because they are the parts of a plant that contain seeds. Vegetable just means "edible vegetation" and the fruits of many plants are edible!

Afterwards, we got to eat the fruits! Any scraps we had left over we fed to our hungry red wigglers in our classroom vermacomposting system.

Blog Response

2010-03-15T07:14:00.003-04:00

Class, leave a comment about the following 2 questions:

1) Which part of Daily 5 do you like best, and why?

2) What do you think YOU will be working on during Daily 5?

Comprehension= understanding what you read

Accuracy= reading the words right

Fluency= reading smoothly, with expression

Expanding Vocabulary= learning and using new words

Finger Lakes Fresh

2010-03-13T14:50:00.006-05:00

Can you really grow plants without soil? We're going to find out for ourselves in our science unit soon!

This past Thursday after school I had the privilege of touring Finger Lakes Fresh, a hydroponics greenhouse located right on Route 13 across from NYSEG. It was really cool to see how they grew their lettuce! In the greenhouse, computer-sensored lights and fans control the light and temperature to create a year-round growing season (as you can see in the picture below, it's snowy outside but beautiful, healthy lettuce is growing inside!)

They place the seeds in rockwool,

and then once the seeds germinate

and the plant grows big enough, they cut up the pieces into squares and place them onto floating platforms. The roots soak up the pool of water underneath

and within one month (twice as fast as growing it in uncontrolled conditions like your garden outside) the beautiful leaves are ready to harvest!

They sell their lettuces to Wegmans (both here and Syracuse!), Tops, Price Chopper, Greenstar, and Ludgate Farms. In addition, Cornell University, Ithaca College, Cayuga Medical Center, Moosewood Restaurant, and The Heights Cafe and Grill buy the lettuce for serving. I've had this lettuce before and it is the best salad I've ever had! I highly recommend it!

Olympic Gold Medalist Visits Caroline Elementary!

2010-03-12T14:18:00.011-05:00

An alumna (which means that she went here) of Caroline Elementary, Olympic gold medalist in rowing Caryn Davies came to our school today to promote the World Fit Program! It will launch in Caroline after our April break. Your goal is to exercise 3 miles a day! Here are some clips from her visit:

Class Picture!

2010-03-11T20:03:00.000-05:00

Nice picture:

SILLY PICTURE!

An Exciting Week

2010-03-11T19:41:00.007-05:00

Wow we've been doing so many cool things this week that I couldn't keep up posting them!

Reading
In Daily 5 we've been learning reading strategies that will help us with our comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and vocabulary.

Math
In unit 7 we are working with fractions. The pattern blocks shown below help us to visualize fractions of a whole, but during her free time Talia makes a beautiful pattern/design with them!

Also, today we spent time cutting out fraction cards.

Science

In science this week we began our Structures of Life unit by discussing plant growth. We planted our own plants, and watched a powerpoint on vegetables. Students impressed me with how much they knew about vegetables!

Reading Buddies
On Wednesday our kindergarten reading buddies came to our room! We always love reading to them and helping them learn to read!

The Fraction Song!

2010-03-08T15:54:00.001-05:00

Writing Magic

2010-03-03T17:36:00.006-05:00

I wrote a grant to bring David Moreland, an educational magician, to our school to do his "Writing Magic" presentation. We were all blown away by his tricks!

Here he is with a magic whiteboard. The picture he drew came to life!

And then, our very own Josh helped him to turn a single white handkerchief placed into an empty bag into a long strand of colors!

But in addition to the tricks, David taught us three important lessons about writing a story.

1) Does your story have a beginning, middle, and end?

2) How can I show instead of tell?

3) Where can I add more variety?

Circuits

2010-03-02T15:56:00.003-05:00

Today we had a breakthrough in our learning about circuits.

When we had one D-Cell and one light bulb in our circuit, the bulb lights fairly brightly:
But if we add another light bulb with our one D-Cell, each bulb lights more dimly:

Our challenge was to see if we could arrange the components in our circuit to make the light bulbs light as brightly as they had with just one bulb in the circuit. After a few hints, students came up with some ideas!

In the end, we discovered the difference between a series circuit:

and a parallel circuit:

SNOW DAY (again)!!!

2010-02-26T14:41:00.005-05:00

Well it's no surprise we have another snow day... this is what I woke up to!

The fence poking out of the snow a tiny bit marks my garden and compost pile:
My car:

Well, I'm going to try to head to school anyway to feed the trout, water the plants, and grab a few things to work on over the weekend, then take Koda snowshoeing on the way home!!! Enjoy the long weekend!!!

SNOW DAY!!!

2010-02-25T11:03:00.004-05:00

Enjoy your day off! I think we all deserve one : ) Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow!!!

Report Cards!

2010-02-23T14:45:00.005-05:00

Report cards will be sent out next week, so last chance to get those old homework packets and spelling pages in! (Or some of you still need to bring the report card envelope back!!!)
-Miss Coffey : )

Feeding a chickadee right from my hand!

2010-02-20T21:13:00.000-05:00

Enjoying some chocolate at the top of the mountain!

2010-02-20T21:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day/Last Day before Break!!!

2010-02-12T14:52:00.002-05:00

Wow, we had a lot going on today! I was so busy I couldn't take pictures!!! This afternoon after Daily 5 we exchanged valentines, ate yummy snacks, and made stress balls out of balloons and flour! Here's the finished product:

Valentines and Reading Buddies

2010-02-10T14:51:00.001-05:00

Today we exchanged valentines with our reading buddies and then read some books. They are just so cute!

Starlab

2010-02-09T15:55:00.003-05:00

Once a year, the school gets to participate in "Starlab," which is this mini-blown-up-planetarium in our gym. We huddle in the dark inside as we see the stars above our heads and hear stories about the constellations. It is a neat experience!

February News

2010-02-07T12:42:00.004-05:00

-Book orders due by February Break!!!

-The longhouses have been in the hall display case for over a month and have received many compliments! Please make arrangements to bring them home by February break.

-CLASS NEEDS: PENCILS!!!, snacks, white board markers, personal packs of coloring supplies

-Don’t forget to sign up for Parent-Teacher conferences! Call Janet (607)539-7155 to set up your 20-minute block (Afternoons of March 4th and 5th)

-We are going to have a Valentine’s Day party Friday, February 12th, from 1:00-1:45pm. If your child brings in valentines, they need to be for everyone in the class. A class list was sent home in the paper February newsletter on Friday. Feel free to send in some goodies for the party!

-And finally, CONGRATULATIONS!!! What an amazing play we put together! Everyone worked so hard and it shows! We learned about the Age of Exploration in a fun way, learned about acting and finding our voice, and grew closer together as a class. Thank you Hangar Theatre for the experience!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

2010-02-03T18:53:00.004-05:00

The play was AWESOME today! Every single one of you should be VERY VERY VERY proud of yourselves!

PLAY TOMORROW!!!

2010-02-02T18:37:00.002-05:00

DON'T FORGET YOUR COSTUMES AND PROPS!!!

Explorers! Explorers! Song

2010-01-27T19:12:00.004-05:00

lyrics:
EXPLORERS! EXPLORERS! By Miss Coffey’s Class, January 2010

CHORUS:
Explorers explorers, brave and strong
They sailed the sea for oh, so long
Curious and determined to find new land
They sailed and sailed (PAUSE) 'til they hit the sand!

Columbus sailed for the Indies
Sailed across the sea
Looking for gold and riches
Spices, silk and tea

Verrazano was from Italy
I'm telling you boys and girls
He followed Columbus' trail
For a piece of the New World

CHORUS

Cartier sailed the St. Lawrence
Then gave Canada it's name
He made three trips and after that
The world was never the same

Champlain settled in Quebec
The Algonkians were his friends
He named Lake Champlain
After himself in the end

CHORUS

BRIDGE:
But the Native Americans were already settled
When explorers arrived
The explorers claimed the land they lived on
This ruined many lives

And sometimes the explorers' missions
Failed and went all wrong
But these were still special men
And for them we sing this song

CHORUS

A Night at the Museum: Explorer Style Script!

2010-01-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

Here are the lines to our play, in case your paper copy isn't right with you!
PLEASE STUDY UNTIL MEMORIZATION!!!!

A Night at the Museum: Explorer Style

(All the characters are onstage in “dioramas”, frozen pictures, except the 2 Museum people. The Vikings are all in one group, the explorers from France are in one group, the explorers who are from Spain are in one group, The Italians are in one group, the Chinese are in one group, the First Nations people are in one group, but spread out. Each group has a big sign of their country and the room is divided into Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The map maker is frozen making a map, and Henry Hudson is with him, frozen looking at a map.)

(One of the MPs is looking around with a flashlight. Gets tapped, keeps weaving around and getting tapped. This is from what team 3 came up with! Then, turns and sees Hudson yell)

Hudson: Land Ho!

(Museum Person faints. Other Museum Person comes in and wakes them up)

Kachina/Museum Person 1: This is a very cool museum exhibit! How did you ever think of it?

Askook/Museum Person 2: Thanks! I got this idea because I used love studying explorers!

KACHINA/MP1:It’s really cool how you put everyone together by where they were from in the world.

ASKOOK/M2: Yeah, I don’t know. So many of the explorers from Europe were FROM one country but EXPLORED for another, like Columbus, who was Italian but sailed for Spain.

KACHINA/M1: Yeah, and Henry Hudson over there. How did an Englishman end up working for the Dutch? Anyways, I also felt weird about having the First People all together. I mean, so many different groups of people already lived in the Americas when the Europeans came. You know, like us, the Seneca and Cayuga.

ASKOOK/M2: Okay, so let’s move them into groups about WHY they sailed. Let’s put “Find a path to China and the Indies” over there, and “To create a settlement” over there. (Goes over and starts separating the French)

KACHINA/M1: Ready for my joke? Why did the explorer cross the ocean?

ASKOOK/M2: I don’t know.

KACHINA/M1: To get to the other side!! HAHAHAHAhahah (A couple of statues move)

ASKOOK/M2: You are so unbelievably not funny. Can we get to work here? (A couple of statues move)

KACHINA/M1: Sure. What do we do with Zheng He? I mean, he WAS looking for new trade routes, but he was coming FROM China. (Gets tapped on the shoulder) Stop it!

ASKOOK/M2: I didn’t do anything! Here, move those Vikings into “Create a settlement”. (Gets tapped) Now YOU stop.

KACHINA/M1: Stop what?

(They catch the statues moving and freak. All the statues come to life)

Henry the Navigator: (pointing) Look Christopher! Now there won’t be a mutiny! We won’t be forced to turn back!

Columbus: Land! I have discovered LAND!

Henry the Navigator: Well, technically I am the navigator……

Columbus: This must be the INDIES!!! I have found it! King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella will be so happy. They will get rich!

Ferd and Isabella: YAY!!!

Columbus: And since I am in India, all of you people must be INDIANS!

Bahamain Native: Indian? What are you talking about? I’m Lucayan.

Columbus: No, you must be Indians, because this is the INDIES, and I have found it!!!

Martin: Actually, if you look at my map, you can see that India is in a completely different part of the world. You, Mr. Columbus, are in the Bahamas.

Bahamian: Plus, you SO did not discover me. I was already HERE.

Columbus: (Fingers in his ears) Lalala I am not listening to you fourteen hundred and ninety two……

Champlain: (Asking Henry the Navigator) Is he always like this?

Martin: Seriously, Columbus? You are in the Americas. But you didn’t even land on a continent. I didn’t name anything after you, and my map is the first one to even show the Americas.

All but Native People, Martin, Zheng He and Tobey: It’s the Indies!

Martin: No, it isn’t! Come look at my map! (Everyone comes over to look.)

John Cabot: Look, Amerigo! (pretending to wipe away a tear of joy) I’m so proud! There’s our discovery!

John Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci: We found the Americas!

John Cabot: First in North America!

Amerigo Vespucci: First in South America!

John and Amerigo: 1497, baby!

Zheng He and his captain: Hello, people! 1421, yup we beat you.

Vikings: Excuse us? No. WE found the Americas.

Thorvald: 500 years before any of you! Vikings went first to Iceland, then Greenland, then Vinland, I mean, North America!

Thorfin: You can even still visit where our town was and see stuff.

Vikings: Vikings RULE.

First Nations people: We found the Americas, because we were already HERE.

Cheveo/Floridian Native: How do you think you guys were able to get anywhere? Once you got off your boats, you only survived and were able to make maps because we helped you.

Martin: Speaking of maps, come see mine! It’s 1507 and North and South America don’t really exist in the minds of people who don’t already live there. There IS no America yet for the rest of us, until I put it on the map and named them after YOU, Amerigo!

Everyone else: Okay. Let’s look. (They all come over. There is a loud sound from JAN! All kids go “Whoa” and twirl safely! It’s the vortex! Let’s write the next lines, about what happened)

Bailey the Navigator: Hey! Where’s Martin’s map?

Ferdinand: It appears to have disappeared!

Freydis: What in the world happened?!?

Zheng He: That was a vortex! Because the first map to show the Americas was stolen, we’ve all now been whooshed to the past and every map has NO North America or South America on it!

Zheng He’s Captain: That means the Americas No Longer Exist!!!!!

All: GASP!

Ferdinand: How does he know it was a vortex?

Zheng He’s Captain: He just knows.

Cartier and Bailey his navigator and Champlain: Without North America on the map, we won’t be able to pick up where you guys left off and explore inland!

Cartier and Bailey the Navigator: How can we name Canada if there’s no North America?

Champlain: How can I name a lake after myself, Lake Champlain? How can I help found some Canadian cities with my friends the Hochelaga and the Haudensaunee if there’s no North America?

Henry Hudson: How can I keep trying to find a way to Asia by water across the top of Canada if there’s no North America?

Dom Agaya(Hochelaga Person): Um, Henry Hudson? There IS no water way to Asia across Canada.

Hudson: Oh. Maybe that’s why they kicked me off my own boat. Well, Can I have a River named after me then?

All but Hudson: Not if there’s no North America!

Hudson: Right.

Cartier and Bailey the Navigator: But if the Americas have been wiped off the map, there’s no Caroline Elementary School, either!!!!

All (looking at audience): Whoooaaaa.

(Next part has some people finding clues, and each clue connects to a different group.)

Verrazano: Let’s look for clues!

(First: A Spanish gold piece is found as a clue, so everyone suspects the Spanish and we learn some stuff, including about Ponce de Leon. Write ideas/lines here:

Sam Champlain: Look! It’s a Spanish coin! The Spanish explorers must have done this!

Thorvald: That makes sense. They might have stolen the map to rename North America “New Spain” or something like that, and say it belonged to them!

Cheveo (Native Floridian) Person: It’s true that many Spanish conquistadors took over the people they met.

Henry the Navigator: It’s also true that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella like gold and riches. A LOT.

King Ferdinand: Of course we do! We ARE the King and Queen, you know.

Queen Isabella: Being richer than everybody else is part of the job description.

Verrazano: And maybe you didn’t want anyone else finding out how to get to the Bahamas!

Cartier: And it wasn’t us French. It’s true we were also trying to find a quicker way to Asia, but we at least built the settlements WITH the people who lived there and didn’t just send all the riches home to a King and Queen.

King and Queen: Well we didn’t steal the map.

Leif: Who else would have a Spanish coin?

Columbus: I MIGHT have some coins, but so did Ponce de Leon, who sailed with me on my voyages!

All: GASP!

Ponce: Why me? You are always against me. I moved to an island, named it Puerto Rico, and became governor (eye rolls from everyone)! And then YOU (points to Columbus, King and Queen) kicked me out and replaced me with HIS son! (points to Columbus)

All: GASP!

Ponce: I was forced to drown my sorrows by discovering and naming Florida. So there.

Cheveo (Native Floridian): He’s annoying, but he is telling the truth. He was ADDING things to maps by naming them, like Florida and Puerto Rico—he wouldn’t have stolen the map and made North America disappear!

Second: Ponce de Leon finds another clue: jewelry with round symbols on them. We learn about Vikings. Write ideas here:

Ponce de Leon: But here’s another clue—some Viking jewels and Viking designs on this buckle! The Vikings must have STOLEN the Spanish coins AND the map, then accidentally dropped some when they were hiding the map!

Leif: What!? You are accusing US, the original discoverers of North America of stealing a map?

DomAgaya: Ahem!

Leif: I mean, What?!? You are accusing US, the first people to find the people already living here of stealing the map?

Thorfin: Ooooo, that burns my brisket!

Henry the Navigator: Maybe you were jealous you landed in the North and not in the Bahamas. The weather is so much better where we landed!

Freydis: Oh, brother.

Thorvald: Why would we steal a map? We were SO much earlier than you guys!

Thorfin: By like 500 years. Ahhh, the good life……

Amerigo: But you didn’t tell any of us, did you? We had to figure it out for ourselves.

Leif: You didn’t ask.

Zheng He: They didn’t ask me, either.

Zheng He’s Captain: I bet they never thought to ask us CHINESE the quickest way to China!

Amerigo: I see your point. Well, SOMEONE must have stolen some things from your settlement or from one of your ships….

Dom Agaya: AND stolen something from one of the Spanish ships….

Kachina and Askook (They look at each other): Oh, no. We have a serious thief on our hands!

Thorfin: Someone who knows about ships and their traveling routes.

John Cabot: Someone who wouldn’t be afraid to go up against a strong country.

Vikings: We are great warriors!

King and Queen: And we imprison people!

Amerigo: I have a sneaking suspicion I know who it is. Someone who would want a map, but wouldn’t want anyone else to have it! Are there any more clues?

(Third: They all look. Verrazano discovers a piece of paper with markings on it—Martin figures out it’s a treasure map!!!!!! Write lines here)

Verrazano: Here’s another clue! I found a piece of paper with some strange markings on it.

Martin: Wait, I know what that is! It’s a treasure map! That can only mean one thing---it’s the Dread Pirate!!!!

All: Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! Not the Dread Pirate!!!

(Ms. Coffey comes out as the Dread Pirate)

Dread Pirate: Arrgghhh!! Yep, I stole the map and everything else, and you’ll never find it!

Thorvald: But why?

Verrazano: Yeah, why did you steal it?

Dread Pirate: Because! Like most great pirates of the Exploration Age, I hide my treasure on the small islands off the coast of the Americas! If there’s NO Map and NO AMERICAS, no one but me will ever find the treasure! BWAHAHAHA!

All but Zheng He and his Captain : Oh no! What will we do?

Zheng He’s Captain: We know!

All but Zheng He: What?

Zheng He: Their museum has been using modern technology to preserve old books and maps.

Ferdinand: How come he always knows these things?

Freydis: Let me see. (Laptop appears—holly hands it to her from offstage) Wow!! You scanned Martin’s map into the computer last week!

All: So there’s an online copy EVERYONE can see!

Dread Pirate: (smacks head) Doh! (sighs) I guess I’ll give the map back.

All: YAY!

Thorfin: Hey! It’s almost morning!

Bahamian: We should get back to our spots, before we become statues again.

Freydis: It was nice meeting you all—let’s have a party tomorrow night!

All: Yay! (They go back to their spots) Good night, good night! (All freeze)

Kachina and Askook: Just another night on the job. Good night! (Wave and exit)

SONG

Explorer Play Opening Pose

2010-01-26T18:13:00.002-05:00

Places everyone... and... ACTION!

Play Date

2010-01-25T18:48:00.004-05:00

Miss Coffey's class and Hangar Theatre Present:

"A Night at the Museum: Explorer Style"

Wednesday, February 3rd, 1:00PM

on Caroline's Stage in the Cafeteria

Hope you can make it! All families of cast invited!

Exploring!

2010-01-21T15:01:00.003-05:00

Today we did an AWESOME activity in the gym... Holly and I set up a large "land mass" and pairs navigated each other through blindfolded to check out this new land they discovered. Then we switched the land mass all around and the other blindfolded explorer was navigated through. When we went back to our room we drew maps of what we thought our land had looked like. Students brought up some awesome observations, like how they thought they were somewhere else when they took their blindfolds off, how it was difficult to remember all of the land they explored, how it was confusing and if they got off course they didn't know where they were any more, and how they thought they had traveled a lot longer than they actually had.

Beauty and the Beast

2010-01-20T19:39:00.004-05:00

Today we were privileged to see two wonderful storytellers who call themselves "Beauty and the Beast." With expression, volume changes, and some animation, the two told several stories ranging from Greek mythology to an Icelandic story about "noodleheads" to "Why and How" stories, which are exactly what our Native American creation stories were (ex: How the Bear Lost its Tail).

Meanwhile, we're still working hard on our Hangar Theatre play. We got our parts today! Tomorrow both Holly and Jan will be in with us at some point of the day as we continue to edit our song and play script! We'll also take a trip to the computer lab to research our characters to see if we can find some clues about what they might say, do, and look like.

DIVISION!!!

2010-01-19T14:45:00.002-05:00

Oooh we're getting into the hard stuff! Our math program suggests teaching long division differently than when adults today learned it in school. We call it the "Partial Quotients" division algorithm. Luckily I found a video of a teacheer explaining it step by step... just, they call it the "Forgiving Method of Division."

2010-01-18T12:11:00.001-05:00

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2010-01-17T23:32:00.002-05:00

Today we take a day off to remember and celebrate the peaceful efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Here is a Wordle of his "I Have A Dream" speech. It sizes words according to how often they are used. Click on the picture to see it up close.

Making Songs

2010-01-15T14:23:00.003-05:00

Today we met our musician from Hangar Theatre, Jan. We discussed what topics musicians sing about, what different musical genres there are, and Jan posed the question, "Is there anything you can't write a song about?" One person suggested a water bottle, and another suggested a light bulb, and in that moment on the spot Jan sang us two songs about a water bottle and a light bulb! He's a talented musician. Since we'll be writing a song to go into our play about Exploration, today we practiced writing a song for fun. The topic chosen was... a stolen frying pan! Check out what he have so far:

Feeding Trout Experiment!

2010-01-14T14:41:00.006-05:00

Today Bill Foster and a helper, Colleen, came in and led us in an experiment with our ever-growing hungry little trout! So far we've been feeding our trout three times a day this dry, crumbly, non-living fish food. But does that happen in nature? Do we go to streams and lakes and dump in enough fish food for all of the things living in it? NO! Our trout don't have parents to help teach them what to do in nature, so we took several trout out of the aquarium, put them in beakers, and dumped in some living Daphnia. The tiny Daphnia swam around and we wanted to see if our trout would have the instinct (a natural or intuitive way of acting or thinking) to eat the Daphnia or not. Ask your child what happened!

Cool picture of Daphnia in the shadows:

Watch what happened:

Winterfest!

2010-01-13T22:06:00.002-05:00

Today we had Winterfest this afternoon. From 12:15-1:15 we went outside and had a lot of fun in the nice weather! There were many outdoor activities, but I was stationed at the snowshoeing station so I only got a few pictures from that!

Magnet Detectors

2010-01-12T14:16:00.002-05:00

Today in science we hid magnets in boxes and then switched boxes with different groups to see if we could be "magnet detectors" using only these two tools: iron fillings and a compass. We learned that a compass needle is a magnet and one end points to Earth's magnetic north pole and the other end points to Earth's magnetic south pole. Likewise, when we placed the compass on the box, the needle pointed to wherever there was a magnet! In addition, we discovered that since the iron fillings are, well, iron, they would be attracted to the magnet. So by dragging the plate with iron fillings over the box, the fillings started to get pulled toward wherever the magnet was hidden inside! Here's a picture of what they looked like right on top of a magnet!

Hangar Theatre Project!

2010-01-11T14:09:00.002-05:00

In the next month we will be working with an artist and a musician from Hangar Theatre to learn how to act and sing about a 4th grade topic. We will be studying exploration through the means of theatrics! Today our artist, Holly, came in and did some acting exercises with us. Here is a video of us "acting" out our names!

NO Email

2010-01-08T14:51:00.002-05:00

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The district changed our email over break and in the transition have not given me a new mailbox. The last email I had received was the Wednesday before break. If you have sent me anything after December 23^rd, unfortunately, I did not get it. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Until further notice, you should contact me by leaving me a message at the school (607) 539-7155.

Thanks,

Miss Coffey

What kinds of interactions are there with TWO magnets?

2010-01-07T13:29:00.004-05:00

Magnetism

2010-01-06T08:17:00.000-05:00

Today we studied magnets by testing which items "stick" and don't "stick". We hypothesized that magnets "stick" to metal, but then we found that it didn't stick to all metal. In the end, we found that magnets only attract iron and steel (because steel is made with iron).

Welcoming

2010-01-04T14:59:00.002-05:00

Today we welcomed a new team member to our class, Andy! Here is us having a question and answer session with him to help us get to know him and to also help him get to know us and our routines!

A New Year!

2010-01-02T14:08:00.004-05:00

Hello class and families!

I hope you've been enjoying your break! I know I have! I've been visiting with family and friends, redoing my kitchen, snowshoeing with Koda, and relaxing!!! Right now I'm in school checking on the fish, watering the plants, and getting ready for 2010! The fish are doing great and we didn't lose ANY over break! They're a lot bigger, too!

Please be prepared to welcome a new student, Andy, to our class! I'm excited to get to know him and help him get acquainted to our class and routines.

See you in a couple days!

Miss Coffey

Holiday Stations

2009-12-23T17:00:00.004-05:00

Today after lunch and recess we had holiday celebrations. Many people sent in goodies and some adults were able to come in and help with a station.

Annika's mom taught us about the Dreidle...

And then students played the game with Ilana's mom...

At one station students cut out paper snowflakes...

And made ornaments at another station with Niskua's mom...

And learned about the Advent Wreath and read Christmas stories at a station with Michael's mom...

And decorated Winter Solstice cookies at a station with Bailey's parents!

Have a great break everyone, whatever you do or don't celebrate!!!

Word Work

2009-12-19T11:03:00.002-05:00

Like the magnetic letters in our Daily Five's Word Work station? Then try this online game with 8 letters instead of 9!
Word Work Game

Longhouses

2009-12-19T11:01:00.002-05:00

Don't forget to bring in your longhouse sometime next week if you're making one at home! They will go in the display case at school for the month of January!!!

Haudenosaunee Nations

2009-12-17T17:20:00.003-05:00

In the days before break we have started a research project about each nation. Students are reading and taking notes in small groups and are later going to present the important information of each nation. Here's a clip of them working diligently!

And since I accidently ended the video clip before remembering that Bailey and Matt were behind the cubbies, here's a picture of them working diligently too!

Coffeyhouse Stories

2009-12-15T20:19:00.004-05:00

What a great turnout for Coffeyhouse Stories! We had a nice variety of drinks and snacks but the best part was your stories! Everyone did so well reading them with expression and clarity! Thank you parents and guardians for making it out and supporting our class!

Trout Coloration

2009-12-14T16:27:00.004-05:00

Today Bill Foster came in and did a presentation on trout coloration. We saw pictures of trout who live in different environments and saw that their coloration reflected their environment. For example, a trout that lives deep in Cayuga Lake tends to be darker, while a trout living in a clear stream in the fall tends to be colorful, reflecting the leaves. Then students colored their own trout and expressed what kind of environment their trout lives in.

Wampum Belts

2009-12-10T16:28:00.003-05:00

Today we started to make Wampum Belts by coloring in squares on a grid. The Haudenosaunee use wampum (shells, beads) as a trade item, or to make beautiful belts to represent stories, history, and civilization. Often parts of the designs represent something. They are purple and white. The purple stands for civics while the white stands for peace.

Longhouse Project!

2009-12-09T14:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I sent home the project packet for our longhouses. This is not mandatory, but a really fun project you might want to participate in if you have the materials and time! I did this when I was in fourth grade and I never forgot it.
For some inspiration or ideas, here are some pictures of the ones that were made last year:

Coffeyhouse Stories

2009-12-08T16:21:00.004-05:00

Flyers were sent home yesterday... it has been decided that "Coffeyhouse Stories" will be Tuesday, December 15th at 6:30pm in Miss Coffey's classroom! Students will be reading the Native American stories they have been working on. Hopefully it won't go later than 7:30 or 8:00.
If you are able, it would be nice if you could bring any of the following:

-***we need someone with AED training to be present***
-hot chocolate
-tea
-coffee
-snacks (like baked goods), etc.

Metric Measurement

2009-12-03T13:31:00.001-05:00

Today we started studying the Metric System in math. We discussed places we see things measured using the Metric System, like buying a 2-liter bottle of soda or seeing a temperature listed in degrees Celsius. We have really been concentrating on the fact that there are 10 millimeters (mm) in a centimeter (cm), 10 centimeters (cm) in a decimeter (dc), 100 centimeters in a meter (m) and 1,000 meters (m) in a kilometer (km). Below, Max finds things around the room to measure in centimeters.

Reading Buddies

2009-12-02T15:45:00.003-05:00

We have paired up with Ms. Keating's kindergarten class for weekly reading buddies! Both groups love it and the 4th graders are helping the kindergartners learn to read by using the pictures, helping them sound out words, pausing to have them guess the next word, etc.

Thanksgiving Wordle

2009-11-30T10:10:00.002-05:00

Today in the computer lab while the students practiced their typing skills, I called them up one by one and asked them to give me some words that remind them of Thanksgiving. This is what I got! (click on the picture to see it close-up)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:10:00.000-05:00

I hope you are enjoying your break! If you have a moment, please take time to reflect on what you are thankful for. Leave me a comment to post!

I am thankful for:
-being a teacher at Caroline Elementary
-a supportive family
-a comfortable house
-loving pets to come home to every day
-a wonderful partner to have fun with
-living in Ithaca and all that it brings (hiking, farmer's markets, festivals, great restaurants, etc)
-my friends
-my students who teach me as much as I teach them

Thankful

2009-11-24T14:46:00.003-05:00

Click on the pictures below to see a close-up of what Liam, Sam, and Bailey are thankful for!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T09:53:00.001-05:00

I hope that everyone gets to spend some quality time with their families over these next few days off! I personally am going to travel to my hometown near Rochester to see my dad, mom, sister, brother, and family dog Charlie. It's nice to spend time with those we love and who love us!

Here are a few excerpts from the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address that parallel things I am thankful for. Let me know if you read it to your family on Thanksgiving!

The People
Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People.
Now our minds are one.

The Earth Mother
We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.

The Plants
Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come.
Now our minds are one.

The Animals
We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.
Now our minds are one.

The Trees
We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many peoples of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life.
Now our minds are one.

The Stars
We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to all the Stars.
Now our minds are one.

The Enlightened Teachers
We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers.
Now our minds are one.

Closing Words
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.
Now our minds are one.

And they're off!

2009-11-23T15:13:00.004-05:00

Well like I predicted, today when we came in there were about 13 trout who had swam out of the basket over the weekend! Later some students helped more to find their way out by leaning the basket a little bit more. Most students were very interested in this exciting step!

Trout in the Classroom

2009-11-20T15:11:00.002-05:00

After the students left Friday, I sat quietly and observed the trout. They are getting active! Bill told us yesterday that any day now we could see our little guys swimming to the top of our basket. I lowered it half an inch so that they can get out of it easily. You should check it first thing Monday... there's a chance a little alevin will be at the bottom of the tank hanging out in the rocks!
Here's a video of them trying to swim up!

A Closer Look

2009-11-19T16:41:00.001-05:00

Today Bill Foster came into Miss Coffey's 4th grade class at Caroline Elementary. We put a few of the alevin under a digital projector to get a really close look at them now! We noticed that their egg sack is receding as they are absorbing it. We discussed that soon we'll need to feed them food and we might even see them swim to the surface (the top of the basket) to hop into the larger area of the entire tank!

Chorus Concert

2009-11-18T21:33:00.001-05:00

Excellent job to those who performed in the 4th grade chorus concert tonight! I love listening to you sing! Singing (and making music in general) is a wonderful hobby!

Word Games!

2009-11-17T17:29:00.004-05:00

I just found this great website that has free word games on it! I just tried out about 6 of the games and they are fun, challenging, and great for 4th graders! Check it out here, and I will also be adding this link to the right side of this page.

Coffey's Corner

Goodbye Coffey's Corner

Last Day : (

Summer Game Links

Sweet Caroline

Picnic and Slide Show

Flag Day

Vitamin L Concert

Love Knows No Bounds

Colonization WebQuest!

Colonization Web Links

A History of Jamestown

More history on Jamestown

Jamestown History

Great historical information

Journey back in time

Journey back to the colonial days

Plymouth, MA - Its history and people

Good information on the Pilgrims and their settlement

Thirteen Colonies

Information on the thirteen colonies

USA: Outline of American History

Specific information about the colonial period

Transformations

GOODBYE TROUT!!!!

8 Square School House

What should we wear to the 8-Square School House?

Fun Drum Assembly!

Finding Volume

Mass

The Scientific Method

The Ithaca Art Project

Happy Mother's Day!

Artwork at the Mall!

Beetle Pull!

New York State Math Test

Webquest

Bess Beetles!

Bess Beetles

New York State Geography

ELA

Happy Earth Day!!!

Crayfish!

Area of Parallelogram

Blog Response

Our Seeds Have Sprouted!!!

Some Fun for your Break

Hydroponics in the Classroom

Home Sick

Wacky Wednesday!

Blog Response

Following Directions

Thankful

Life!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Fruit Dissection!

Blog Response

Finger Lakes Fresh

Olympic Gold Medalist Visits Caroline Elementary!

Class Picture!

An Exciting Week

The Fraction Song!

Writing Magic

Circuits

SNOW DAY (again)!!!

SNOW DAY!!!

Report Cards!

Feeding a chickadee right from my hand!

Enjoying some chocolate at the top of the mountain!

Happy Valentine's Day/Last Day before Break!!!

Valentines and Reading Buddies

Starlab

February News

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

PLAY TOMORROW!!!

Explorers! Explorers! Song

A Night at the Museum: Explorer Style Script!

Explorer Play Opening Pose

Play Date

Exploring!