September 20 – September 24

Welcome back! I finally have my blog site up and running again, so check back each week to see what classes will be up to for Media Literacy and PE. Media Literacy is the name we've given to our computer class this year, since students will be working extensively with finding, sorting, and using information found on the internet and other electronic sources. We will also be in the library on occasion to learn how to use search for books, use nonfiction resources, and do other tasks related to books.

So far, students in Media Literacy have been introduced to the computers and the rules, and have started right out with researching in our World Book encyclopedia. They have also worked in our updated Renaissance Place system, where they can access Accelerated Reader quizzes, practice math facts, and take the STAR reading assessment.

In PE, students have been learning the rules and procedures, and we have started the year with a variety of games to practice working together, pairing up or dividing into teams, and other skills we will need throughout the year. Games they have played include Moving Day (working as teams to move a variety of equipment without using hands), Rock / Paper / Scissors Splits (a flexibility exercise using rock / paper / scissors), and a few different tag games. This week, students also played Indiana Jones, where they had to work as a team to move a large cage ball in order to tag the person playing Indiana Jones.

Upcoming activities this week:

Media Literacy

We'll be finishing up MAP testing in the lab on Monday and Tuesday, so students will have PE during that time. After that, any classes that have not yet seen the new Accelerated Reader will learn how to use it. Classes that have already taken quizzes will learn how to navigate our Technology Resources page, where they can find various educational web sites.

PE

We're breaking out the scooters this week in PE for Scooter Basketball. In this game, students work on small teams of 4-5 people to try and get a foam ball into the opposing team's goal (we're using a clean trash can). This game mostly works on the skill of passing, since there is no dribbling involved, and the ball can be passed to any other player, even if they're on the sideline. Third-graders will later be playing Bean Bag hunt, where teams work together to find bean bags of a specific color that have been hidden under cones. Fourth- and fifth-graders will play 4-team battleship, where they try to knock down the opposing teams' bowling pins.