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HAL
 High Ability Learners
Hello - Welcome to my Challenge Page.
I am going to be the Challenge (HAL) teacher for this year. Challenge will start the week of September 8th. I 'm very excited and thinking of all kinds of activities for us. Check here often for pictures and information on what the Challenge students are doing.
Photos
Take a look at pictures of our activities. Enjoy :O)
Schedule
There will be some days that I will need to re-arrange the schedule with the classroom teacher because of technology meetings that I will need to attend. Below is the schedule that we will try to use.
Time
| Day
| Class
| Site
| 9:30 - 10:00
| Wednesday
| Third Grade
| Humboldt
| 2:30 - 3:00
| Wednesday
| First Grade
| Humboldt
| 8:15 - 8:57
| Tuesday
| Fourth Grade
| Table Rock
| 9:50 - 10:20
| Tuesday
| Fifth Grade
| Table Rock
| 1:15 - 1:40
| Tuesday
| Sixth Grade
| Table Rock
| 2:30 - 3:00
| Thursday
| Second Grade
| Humboldt
|
News
I know that is has been awhile since I have updated you on Challenge Activities. Below is the news for each class. Visit the Photo section to see pictures.
| Third Grade students have been learning about machines
using the SCITEK curriculum that was purchased during the Science grant a few
years back. This kit is similar to the LEGO kits that many students have used
at home. The curriculum includes a teacher’s notebook with student handouts and
3 large totes of simple machine parts. The components are color and number
coded so that students can follow card directions to create different machines.
First students learned about what the kit contained and how the parts were
labeled. Then students began to build machines. Students had to “figure
out” how the parts fit together to complete their machine while working in
teams. Students were forced to make inferences and apply scientific knowledge. |
The
Fourth and Fifth Grade classes love Zoo Books. These are magazine books that
feature one animal. Mrs. Withers has subscribed to this magazine for the past 3
years. She then loans them to the Fourth Grade class. This year she also shared
them with the Fifth Grade class. Students chose their favorite book to create a
Zoo Card about that animal. Students read thethen filled out a rough draft card outline of
information about that animal. They were required to have the following
information on their card; topic, animal kingdom, species, habitat, diet, and 3
other interesting facts along with a picture. The picture came from | 1 of 2
sites; wikipedia or worldbookonline. Students could also use these sites for
more information. The next step was to put it together on the computer.
Students used 1 powerpoint template to create their card. This template had a
place for text and graphic side by side. Students typed in the information,
then went to the internet to get the picture that was inserted into the
document. These Zoo Cards were then printed out to complete a collection. | 
|
The
Fourth Grade students investigated science and used reasoning skills with Thinkin’
Science software from Edmark. This software covers scientific reasoning, animal
tracking, earth science, motion and gravity. Students learn about the earth,
its rotation to make day and night, and the affect of the sun. Students worked
on their thinking skills to collect data while making observations to solve
problems. Students observed animals to learn about their habitats. Students
experimented with ramps, catapults, and pendulums while they learned about the
physics of motion. Although
this is software, it is still hands-on learning with the students in the
driver’s seat. Students enjoyed advancing at their levels and pace. Visit this
website for more science software < http://www.kidsclick.com/descrip/thinkin_science.
|
Fifth
Grade students have been learning about rockets. First students got a brief
introduction of Sir Isaac Newton’s 3 “Laws of Motion”. Law 1 is that an object
moving in a straight line will continue to move in a straight line unless acted
on by an outside force. Law2 is a force will cause a change in motion of an
object. The change in motion depends on the amount of force and the mass of the
object. F=ma is the formula for force equals mass times acceleration. Law 3 is
that for each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. These are some
pretty deep scientific laws. This lesson is just an introduction or review.For
our lesson, we wanted to find out; If the mass of a rocket would affect the
height of the rocket? Students then proceeded to create their rockets from
different types of paper and a film canister and tape. Next students weighed
and recorded the mass of the rocket. All though there were 4 variables, we
controlled the 2 of them that made up the fuel. We used 15mL of water and ½
tablet of Alka-zeltzer. To measure the height, we put 2 meter sticks together
and placed them next to the school building. Then we put a masking tape line
across the building.
| 
The
launch weather was a fine sunny day. The rockets were ready. The fuel was
added. The countdown began 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. The lid popped and
the rocket went about 6 cm into the air. The other 3 rockets had trouble with
the lids and the fuel seeped out. Then we experimented with our water and
selzer tablets to see if the canister would launch. We did get one to go 2
meters high.
Our
conclusion was that we would have to be like NASA and go back to the drawing
board. We decided that we might need to try some other canisters, because maybe
there was a problem with the lids. We also decided that maybe we should just
try the canister before putting the paper rocket on it. Then we could weigh it
and see if there was a difference in height. Finally we decided that we might
need to adjust the fuel makeup. Once we determined this, we could better test
the rockets to determine if the mass affected the height. One thing we all
agreed on was that it was a fun activity.
| 
| This last quarter went fast. Sixth Grade students worked on History day most of the second semester. The boys went to State History Day on April 18th. Sixth Grade Challenge times had been lengthened to work on these competitive projects, so that meant there would be less Challenge time during the fourth quarter.
The Sixth Grade students began a Poetry Theater unit.
Students visited the Poetry4Kids website and read several poems by Kenn Nesbitt. Mrs.
Withers got the idea from visiting his session at the Nebraska State Reading
Convention in February. Students then chose their favorite poem to share with
others. Students practiced reading their poem using expression. Students were then going to present their poems to other classes or create a podcast, but time ran out. |
|
|
Third Grade Collections:
| Third Grade Challenge students have been classifying objects. Students learned different ways to observe and classify objects. These discussions and activities lead to studying and discussing collections. Students began with Mrs. Withers’s seashell collection. First students observed the different shells and then grouped them accordingly. Students then used a VENN diagram to compare and contrast 2 groups of shells. Students also used a VENN diagram to compare and contrast 3 groups of their favorite items. Students learned the importance of sorting and classify items in our world.
Students were then asked to share a collection that they had. They could either bring a collection to school or bring pictures of their collections to share. Students then wrote about their collection and created a poster to display in the hall. Do you have a collection that you would share? If so, please contact Mrs. Withers at 862-2151.
|
The White House:
Fourth and Fifth Grade Webquest:
Since this year is such a historical year for our government, Fourth and Fifth Grade Challenge Students have been learning about The White House. Students used the internet to complete a webquest about The White House. They visited the links on the website http://www.whitehouse.gov to answer questions about the history and what happens in The White House. They learned some interesting facts. President Obama followed the same train route as Abraham Lincoln to get to the inauguration. There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 147 windows. It even has a swimming pool, theatre, bowling alley, and tennis court. This house has also had several animals in it. Some were; a goat, dogs, cats, raccoons, snakes, and even a pony. Do you know how the White House got its name? Do you know what happened to the White House in 1812? How many times has the White House been rebuilt? Who was the first president to live in the White House? If you would like to check your answers, you can contact a 4th or 5th Grade Challenge person or visit the website.
|  |
Students Create Cards for Soldiers:
It seems like the school year is flying by. The weather is
getting cooler and the days are shorter. It must be time for the holidays. I
have been talking to the classes about the holiday season. How it is a time to
spend time with family and friends while celebrating joy and love. We talked
about how we spend the holidays with our families. I pointed out that the
people who are protecting our right to celebrate may not make it home for the
holidays. Some are busy in Iraq
and in other countries protecting these rights. Some are in hospitals and can’t
get home to family and friends. Challenge students used the internet and went
to http://www.letssaythanks.com and
sent a Thanksgiving card. They chose a picture and a message to send to
somebody. They don’t know who will receive it. For safety reasons, students
didn’t put in their whole name and address in the document. The
students created special Christmas cards to send to these brave men and women.
The second grade class made cards for Mrs. Avery’s daughter, Anna and her
husband Mark. Third grade challenge students along with the fourth and fifth
grade classes made cards to send to the veteran’s hospital in Washington D.C. You and your family can still brighten a soldier’s holidays by sending a card
to the address below. Here are some of the wonderful cards the students made.
First Quarter Activities:
| The First Grade class is divided into 2 groups for Challenge Class. Each group participates in the dame activity. It takes then 2 weeks before the activity changes. All the Second Grader students participate in 1 large group. Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade students are part of the pull-out program.
The First and Second Grade classes have been working on following directions. Student practiced following oral directions while playing “Simon Says” and “Follow the Leader”. There were several times that Mrs. Withers had trouble following the directions given by Simon. Students discovered that things can get confusing when somebody in the group doesn’t follow directions. Students also created a poster by listening and following oral directions given by Mrs. Withers. Everybody’s poster looked a little different, but all contained the same basic shapes and number of items. The group learned that everybody does the same thing with a different looking outcome. Student earned the privilege of using the computers to expand the use of directions. I’ll tell you more about this next time.
|
Third Grade students have been studying and working with magnets. Students have learned about how to magnetize metal objects, which objects are attracted to magnets, and how magnets lose their power. Students learned how to magnetize metal objects by rubbing them against a magnet. They investigated to find out what the difference would be if the metal was rubbed one direction or both directions. They discovered that the metal object (scissors) was a stronger magnet when rubbed in one direction. Students then used magnetized scissors to pick up stapes. Fishing with magnets was one of our favorite investigations. We tried to race our toy cars using the magnets. We wanted to know if a magnet would make a toy car move. We found out that the magnet wouldn't move the car. We decided that the toy cars were made from aluminum instead of a magnetic metal. We had fun anyway.
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| The Fourth Grade class has been working on patterns (designs), (2) The end of each toothpick must touch the end of at least one other toothpick, (3) Lines must be straight, (4) Any corners must have right angles. Students were challenged to create at least sixteen different patterns. The first thing that was needed was for the students to create a blueprint using dot paper of their patterns. Next the students used 4 toothpicks for each design and glued those patterns onto colored paper. Using these pattern decks students solved PUT-IN-ORDER pattern problems. Students can continue to use the cards for other variations to play other a card games. Here is a Challenge for parents; play the game with your child and have a great family fun night.
|
The Fifth Grade class has been working on the great Apple Investigations. Students created a notebook to record observations. Then students participated in 5 apple activities. Here are the rules that students had to follow: (1) Use sense of seeing to observe the appearance of the inside including the seeds and outside of the apple (2) Continues with the sense of seeing to weigh apple parts, whole, half, quarter, peelings, and all the parts (3) Dried an apple for a week (4) Students used their sense of taste through out the actives for Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Macintosh apple varieties. The final activity involved students poling 8 people to find out which color of apples people enjoyed the most. The graph indicated that people preferred red apples the best. Students then published their findings into an Apple Booklet.
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| The Sixth Grade class has been preparing for the “Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl” by using old quiz files as practice. The Quiz Bowl activity was created by a couple who lived in Iowa. Both enjoyed ‘Trivia Pursuit” games. The man, Harvey, was a high school teacher who took his students to high school quiz bowl competitions. Since there wasn’t a contest for 5th and 6th grade students, they created one. Now elementary students across the United States can compete or play for fun. Each state has its own contest.
The tests some on CD-s that are installed on the computers. The quiz contains 100 multiple-choice questions. Subject areas covered include math, geography, government, sports, spelling, science, literature, English, history, general information and other trivia. Students participate in teams around 1 computer. The students have two chances to answer the question correctly. Points are awarded based on how fast and how accurate the answers given.
Nebraska holds the Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl on November 6th. This means that after we receive the computer program, we have until Nov 6th to turn in the results for the Nebraska contest. We had our “Quiz Day” on Nov 4th. Our 6th Graders competed in three different teams. Mrs. Withers will call in the results on Nov. 6th and the Nebraska group will rank all the contestants by high score and grade level. The results will be posted on the Thinking Cap website (http://www.thinkingcapquizbowl.com/results.shtml). Our team could be awarded a trophy and individual ribbons.
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Do you have a special talent that you would be willing to share with the Challenge Classes? From time to time, Mrs. Withers will be contacting community people who are willing to share their special talents. If you are willing to be one of these volunteers, please contact Mrs. Withers either by phone (862-2151) or email (gwithers@esu6.org).August News
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