This week in computer lab the students are making word clouds.  In class, the students brainstormed words about themselves.  Our goal was two fold – introduce themselves and think about their word choices.  We will use Wordle to create our word clouds.

According to Wordle.net, “Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like.”

I would like to challenge the parents of my students and any visitors to leave a comment answering the following question,  “What does our classroom/school mean to you?”  I will use all the words posted over the next few days to create a word cloud.  I’ll post the word cloud once it’s been created for everyone to see.

Mr. Lund

Parents,

Is this picture soap or ice cream?  That is the question you must find out!  Jocelyn and Ethan are challenging you to do the same experiment we did today.  Talk to your child about the procedure we followed in our science class today.  Ask them about the scientific method.

Please post your answer and results of what happened.

Thanks – Jocelyn and Ethan

We’ve been reading Shoebag for a few days in Mr. Lund’s class. 

This book is very funny.  For example, Shoebag was in the closet when he changed from a cockroach to a little boy.  It was funny because he was standing in this closet with nothing on his body! 

It was interesting that Mrs. Biddle cared for the seven legged spider more than the cockroaches.  It would creap me out if I saw a seven legged spider or a cockroach in my house!

What has been your favorite part of the story?

Do you have any questions about the story?

Connor & Jocelyn

During the first week of school, the students created a video which had each student simply stating a goal they wanted to achieve this school year and the method they would use to reach that goal.  Hopefully, you saw our video at Meet the Staff night or viewed it on our website.  If you haven’t seen it yet, please take a few minutes and watch it with your child.  Please reinforce the importance of goals and discuss the goal that your child has voiced in the video. 

I look forward to watching this video with the class near the end of the year to see if they have reached their goals.

In class we have been discussing description and point of view.  In this post, I’d like parents and their children to each write a seperate comment.  Over dinner, in the car, or while sitting around the computer; chose a room in your house and describe it.  I think it will be a great chance to see how different the parents’ posts are different than their child’s post.  Think about the action, your word choice, and the setting when writing your post.

Today was our first day together as a class!  Twenty-five quiet kids entered Mr. Lund’s room for the first time.  After several long moments, Mr. Lund finally asked the class the following question, “What is missing from our classroom?” 

A long pause followed, by one hand slowing rising into the air.  “Mr. Lund, we don’t lockers.”  Another student followed, “We don’t have name tags on our desks!” “Your name is not written on the board!”

Finally, I pointed out that we did not have any CLASS rules.  As a class, we developed four classroom expectations for the year.  We agreed on the following items: 1. Come to class prepared with your books, homework, and supplies  2.  Raise your hand for permission to talk   3.  Follow the directions the first time they are given  4. Show RESPECT to fellow students, teachers and yourself

The remainder of our time was spent getting to know each other and the school. 

 - Mr. Lund and students

The Invention of Hugo Cabret was my favorite summer book.  Being a graphic novel, it was a quick and enjoyable read.  The fast moving plot had me eagerly wanting to find out what would happen next in the story! 

After reading it this summer, I recommended it to several of my previous students.  They also read it this summer and enjoyed it.  You should read this book if you want to read something that is different than any other book you’ve every read! 

I loved it and I know you will too! 

I am very lucky right now because my teacher is at school preparing for the new year while I am still enjoying the last few days of the summer!  I am excited for all the great things that we will be doing in my new class!

One of the goals of the classroom blog is to give students a chance to interact with new web tools.  On the right hand sidebar is a section called Links.  Click on the “Googling our Summer Vacations” link to see a map I started with three mini trips I took to Chicago, Palatine, and Indianapolis!

Post a comment with a short description of your summer travels and I will add your destinations to our Google map! 

What is this?

The goal of our classroom blog is to increase communication between school and home. This will be a great place for parents to learn more about what is happening in our classroom as well as a place to share their own thoughts on related topics. The student of the week will be updating the blog weekly. I will be asking parents to share some insight on favorite books, study habits and school events.