Hello all,
Here is what's going on in the world of Gifted/Talented/Differentiation (GTD) Direct and Classroom Resource Services at Irving School.
Kindergarten:
Mr. Packer goes into the Kindergarten classrooms once a week for one half hour. The past several times he has been working with the kids on positional words such as; over, under, near, above, below, etc.). The first session the kids had to connect cubes at put the white cube in the correct position. The last time Mr. Packer was in, the kids did an activity with placing a diamond pattern block and plastic cup in positions related to each other (i.e. "the diamond is next to the cup").
1st Grade:
In first grade Thinking Skills, the kids have finished up with DOT's adventure at school and now are being introduced to Dudley the Detective. Dudley teaches the kids to look for all of the clues, don't jump to conclusions (answers or endings), and that there is only one correct answer. The kids will begin working on using their deductive reasoning skills and solve some logic problems.
2nd Grade:
2nd Grade students have been working on solving problems by drawing pictures. We did an activity that was teacher directed, the students then completed a similar activity with Mr. Packer, and they have now begun to solve some problems on their own using this strategy. After completing the activity on their own, they will then continue to work on their own or with partners (as necessary) to solve some more difficult problems.
3rd Grade Math:
Students who receive Direct GTD Resource services in Math have been working on solving logic problems and have been brushing up their math skills by playing "I've Got: Who Has" for speed. We will begin working on our multiplication facts and strategies.
3rd Grade Reading:
Students have read "How the Camel Got Its Hump" by Rudyard Kipling and are turning the story into a skit. They will then be put into small groups to condense their individual scripts in to one, and then work on performing it for the group and their classes.
4th Grade Math:
Students continue to work on their "Average 4th Grader" drawings and will continue to work on studying averages and data.
4th Grade Reading:
Students continue to work on turning their summaries of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves into storyboards using Google Drawings, which will then be turned into presentations.
5th Grade Math:
Students are working on CCSS in the area of Ratios and Proportions. Having been assessed on CCSS in Number Sense, they will receive extra instruction and practice in division.
5th Grade Reading:
Students have read and discussed our first Edgar Allan Poe story "The Tell Tale Heart" and have begun to read "The Fall of the House of Usher" on their own.
Hope you are enjoying the cooler weather. All my best,
Mr. Packer
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
September 30, 2013
Hello everyone,
Just a reminder that conferences are next week. If your child receives Direct GTD Resource services (Grades 3-5) in Reading/Language Arts and/or Math, I will be coming to the conference that you have scheduled with our child's classroom teacher. If I have overlapping conferences, and for some reason I do not meet with you, I will be in touch to discuss your child's progress.
Updates
5th Grade Math
Students working on 6th Grade CCSS in Math have been working on their Summative Assessment for the skills learned in Unit 1 (operations with fractions and decimals). Our next unit will cover Ratios and Proportions
5th Grade Language Arts
Students have read up on the background of Edgar Allan Poe. They have begun reading and discussing the classic tale "The Tell Tale Heart". We have been discussing the use of various literary elements (repetition, simile, etc.). The next story we will be reading is "The Fall of the House of Usher"
4th Grade Math
Students in Packer Math for 4th grade have been working on measurement and averages and finding the measurements of "The Average 4th Grader". This is an introduction to data collection, averages, and measurement and the students will apply these skills on their own in a data collection project in the near future.
4th Grade Reading
4th Grade Packer Reading students have read the classic tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves". We are using our analytical skills and summarizing the important parts of the story into storyboards with which we are then going to create iMovies. The students are using their D97 Google accounts to work on their drawings which will then save as jpegs and import into iMovie on Mr. Packer's MacBook and iPad.
3rd Grade Math
3rd Grade Math students have been practicing their estimating and rounding skills. They had the challenge of creating the longest piece of paper from a single piece of 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper, which we then estimated their lengths, and then measured their actual length.
2nd Grade Thinking Skills
We continued to work on our own to solve problems using manipulatives and "acting out" a problem in order to solve (i.e Bob had 6 apples, Mary had 12 apples. How many did Mary give to Bob so they had the same number). The important concept was EQUAL. We are now learning to solve problems by using pictures to help us.
1st Grade Thinking Skills
First Graders continue to go along with DOT on DOT's adventure at school and use higher level thinking skills to solve problems encountered in the scenarios DOT find's itself throughout the course of the first day of school.
Kindergarten Thinking Skills
Mr. Packer introduced himself to Kindergarten classes last week and worked with the kids on identifying the 5 ways that the brain gets information (the 5 senses). This week, we are working on POSITIONAL words and putting blocks in certain spatial relationship orders (ABOVE, BELOW, NEXT TO, etc.).
That's all for now. Hope to see you during conferences next week.
All my best,
Mr. Packer
Just a reminder that conferences are next week. If your child receives Direct GTD Resource services (Grades 3-5) in Reading/Language Arts and/or Math, I will be coming to the conference that you have scheduled with our child's classroom teacher. If I have overlapping conferences, and for some reason I do not meet with you, I will be in touch to discuss your child's progress.
Updates
5th Grade Math
Students working on 6th Grade CCSS in Math have been working on their Summative Assessment for the skills learned in Unit 1 (operations with fractions and decimals). Our next unit will cover Ratios and Proportions
5th Grade Language Arts
Students have read up on the background of Edgar Allan Poe. They have begun reading and discussing the classic tale "The Tell Tale Heart". We have been discussing the use of various literary elements (repetition, simile, etc.). The next story we will be reading is "The Fall of the House of Usher"
4th Grade Math
Students in Packer Math for 4th grade have been working on measurement and averages and finding the measurements of "The Average 4th Grader". This is an introduction to data collection, averages, and measurement and the students will apply these skills on their own in a data collection project in the near future.
4th Grade Reading
4th Grade Packer Reading students have read the classic tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves". We are using our analytical skills and summarizing the important parts of the story into storyboards with which we are then going to create iMovies. The students are using their D97 Google accounts to work on their drawings which will then save as jpegs and import into iMovie on Mr. Packer's MacBook and iPad.
3rd Grade Math
3rd Grade Math students have been practicing their estimating and rounding skills. They had the challenge of creating the longest piece of paper from a single piece of 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper, which we then estimated their lengths, and then measured their actual length.
2nd Grade Thinking Skills
We continued to work on our own to solve problems using manipulatives and "acting out" a problem in order to solve (i.e Bob had 6 apples, Mary had 12 apples. How many did Mary give to Bob so they had the same number). The important concept was EQUAL. We are now learning to solve problems by using pictures to help us.
1st Grade Thinking Skills
First Graders continue to go along with DOT on DOT's adventure at school and use higher level thinking skills to solve problems encountered in the scenarios DOT find's itself throughout the course of the first day of school.
Kindergarten Thinking Skills
Mr. Packer introduced himself to Kindergarten classes last week and worked with the kids on identifying the 5 ways that the brain gets information (the 5 senses). This week, we are working on POSITIONAL words and putting blocks in certain spatial relationship orders (ABOVE, BELOW, NEXT TO, etc.).
That's all for now. Hope to see you during conferences next week.
All my best,
Mr. Packer
Monday, September 16, 2013
Week of September 16
Week of September 16
Hello everyone,
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, got to enjoy the weather on Saturday and the nice fall-like Sunday we had (and the Bears win!)
5th Grade Math
5th Grade Math students continue to work on CCSS Math Standards 6NS1 (operations with fractions). We have been reviewing adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions (regular and mixed). We have begun to work on modeling (drawing pictures to represent) multiplication of fractions. This will lead us to work on division of fractions later this week.
2nd Grade Thinking Skills
2nd Grade Thinking Skills students have been working on applying what we learned about problem solving using manipulatives (acting it out) or drawing a picture. Last week's activity was done as a class and this week students were asked to work on their own. This week they will work in small groups and share their strategies and solutions with the class.
1st Grade Thinking Skills
Students in first grade will be meeting my friend "DOT" this week. Dot goes on adventures and has some higher level thinking skills questions about the events and activities that are come across on the adventure.
That's all for now. My schedule is pretty much done, so you may be hearing more about Thinking Skills and/or Packer Math and Reading as the weeks progress.
All my best,
Mr. Packer
Hello everyone,
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, got to enjoy the weather on Saturday and the nice fall-like Sunday we had (and the Bears win!)
5th Grade Math
5th Grade Math students continue to work on CCSS Math Standards 6NS1 (operations with fractions). We have been reviewing adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions (regular and mixed). We have begun to work on modeling (drawing pictures to represent) multiplication of fractions. This will lead us to work on division of fractions later this week.
2nd Grade Thinking Skills
2nd Grade Thinking Skills students have been working on applying what we learned about problem solving using manipulatives (acting it out) or drawing a picture. Last week's activity was done as a class and this week students were asked to work on their own. This week they will work in small groups and share their strategies and solutions with the class.
1st Grade Thinking Skills
Students in first grade will be meeting my friend "DOT" this week. Dot goes on adventures and has some higher level thinking skills questions about the events and activities that are come across on the adventure.
That's all for now. My schedule is pretty much done, so you may be hearing more about Thinking Skills and/or Packer Math and Reading as the weeks progress.
All my best,
Mr. Packer
Monday, September 9, 2013
Week of September 9
5th Grade Math
5th Grade Math
I hope you had a chance to enjoy the wonderful weekend. Looks like it will be a warm one these first couple of days this week please make sure the kids are dressed appropriately for school and the weather, and water bottles are highly encouraged. I do have two fans going in the room, so the air is circulating.
Last week we continued our work with operations with decimals (CCSS 6.NS.3-Common Core State Standard-Grade 6-Number Sense-Goal 3) and the kids took a formative assessment on Friday. Today we are going to apply our computation skills with decimals and build the first order for the School Spirit Store which allows the kids to apply these skills to a real world situation.
This week we will begin reviewing operations with fractions and start our introduction of division of fractions. The kids will not only need to learn the standard algorithm for dividing fractions, but they will also have to draw models to demonstrate their understanding.
GTD Resource
I am still working on scheduling going into classrooms. 2nd Grade classes have begun working on solving problems by acting them out and drawing pictures. We did a whole class activity about sharing candy equally and this week the kids will apply these strategies and solve problems on their own
ALL
Just a couple of reminders: Open House is this Thursday from 6:30-8:30. I am only able to be present from 6-7 and would love to see you. If you are not able to make it at that time, I am always available to meet at a time convenient for us both. Also, Friday is an Institute Day, no school for the kiddos.
Thanks and have a great week.
All my best,
Mr. Packer
Thursday, August 29, 2013
WELCOME BACK!
Irving Families
Welcome back to a wonderful new school year. So many exciting things going on with the NEW playground, field, and staff parking AND the introduction to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics, as well as our continuation of CCSS in Reading/Language Arts.
For those of you new to PACKER's Post, this is where you can find updates as to Gifted/Talented/Differentiation Resource services provided in D97, as well as GTD Resource information specific to Irving and what is happening at each grade level.
I look forward to providing services for your children this year.
All my best,
Mr. Packer
Welcome back to a wonderful new school year. So many exciting things going on with the NEW playground, field, and staff parking AND the introduction to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics, as well as our continuation of CCSS in Reading/Language Arts.
For those of you new to PACKER's Post, this is where you can find updates as to Gifted/Talented/Differentiation Resource services provided in D97, as well as GTD Resource information specific to Irving and what is happening at each grade level.
I look forward to providing services for your children this year.
All my best,
Mr. Packer
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the end of the 1st trimester. Below you will find a summary of the activities and skills that we worked on in Thinking Skills in Grades K-2 and in Direct GTD Resource Services provided in grades 3, 4, and 5.
Kindergarten:
Kindergarteners have been working very hard on PROBABILITY. We first discussed the words ALWAYS, SOMETIMES, and NEVER and made personal connections to those words with events that happen at those occurrences. We then discussed PROBABILITY and the CHANCE of something happening by guessing what was in the secret bag of bears. We then made a chart/graph of what was in the bag and completed an experiment to see if our PREDICTIONs came true based on the information or data we had.
1st Grade:
1st Graders had the experience of meeting DOT at the beginning of the trimester and going on an adventure with DOT at school. We then transitioned over and met one of many characters we will meet from Crystal Pond Woods to teach us HIGHER LEVEL THINKING SKILLS. That friend was Dudley the Detective who teaches us to: GET ALL of the INFORMATION; DON'T JUMP to CONCLUSIONS, and unless we are being creative there is only ONE RIGHT ANSWER. We created badges to help remind us of these important skills and we then completed several logic activities. We are ending the trimester by working with ATTRIBUTE blocks and talking about ATTRIBUTES and relationships.
2nd Grade:
2nd Grade students have been working on Algebraic Thinking Skills and learning how to solve for unknowns using pictures and clues. Students learned that numbers can be represented with pictures and shapes, they learned that once a picture is assigned a value it stays the same throughout a problem, and they were encouraged to write number sentences to help support and prove their final answers.
3rd Grade:
Math:
Students who are pulled for GTD Direct Services in math were supported in their transition into 4th grade EVERYDAY MATH through mulitplication review and strategies, solving logic problems, and learning how visualization can help them solve a problem.
Literature:
Students read Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" (How the Camel Got Its Hump, How the Alphabet Was Made, and How the Leopard Got Its Spots) and had activities to expand their knowledge of each of the stories. They had to create skits for How the Camel....using main idea and character as a focus, they had to create a 6 panel comic strip for How the Alphabet..., and for a final activity they are writing their own Just So Story using Google Docs.
4th Grade:
Math:
Fourth Grade math students learned about data collection and using a sample group to make prediction and applying those skills to predicting the winner of the Presidential election and the numbers. They did a great job. They also have been learning about different number systems and different strategies for compuation not found in EVERYDAY MATH.
Literature:
Students are continuing to read and discuss "The Westing Game". They learned some strategies for reading mysteries and continue to talk about important terms like MOTIVE, EVIDENCE, and ALIBIS. Hopefully we'll soon discover the secret of the WESTING GAME.
5th Grade:
Math:
Students have finished the first 3 units of 6th GRADE EVERYDAY MATH and continue to work into Unit 4. They completed data collection projects and created PowerPoint Presentations of their work and their findings.
Literature:
We have finished up our Unit on Edgar Allen Poe and are looking for a play to perform.
That's all for now. Happy Holidays to all.
Mr. Packer
Welcome to the end of the 1st trimester. Below you will find a summary of the activities and skills that we worked on in Thinking Skills in Grades K-2 and in Direct GTD Resource Services provided in grades 3, 4, and 5.
Kindergarten:
Kindergarteners have been working very hard on PROBABILITY. We first discussed the words ALWAYS, SOMETIMES, and NEVER and made personal connections to those words with events that happen at those occurrences. We then discussed PROBABILITY and the CHANCE of something happening by guessing what was in the secret bag of bears. We then made a chart/graph of what was in the bag and completed an experiment to see if our PREDICTIONs came true based on the information or data we had.
1st Grade:
1st Graders had the experience of meeting DOT at the beginning of the trimester and going on an adventure with DOT at school. We then transitioned over and met one of many characters we will meet from Crystal Pond Woods to teach us HIGHER LEVEL THINKING SKILLS. That friend was Dudley the Detective who teaches us to: GET ALL of the INFORMATION; DON'T JUMP to CONCLUSIONS, and unless we are being creative there is only ONE RIGHT ANSWER. We created badges to help remind us of these important skills and we then completed several logic activities. We are ending the trimester by working with ATTRIBUTE blocks and talking about ATTRIBUTES and relationships.
2nd Grade:
2nd Grade students have been working on Algebraic Thinking Skills and learning how to solve for unknowns using pictures and clues. Students learned that numbers can be represented with pictures and shapes, they learned that once a picture is assigned a value it stays the same throughout a problem, and they were encouraged to write number sentences to help support and prove their final answers.
3rd Grade:
Math:
Students who are pulled for GTD Direct Services in math were supported in their transition into 4th grade EVERYDAY MATH through mulitplication review and strategies, solving logic problems, and learning how visualization can help them solve a problem.
Literature:
Students read Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" (How the Camel Got Its Hump, How the Alphabet Was Made, and How the Leopard Got Its Spots) and had activities to expand their knowledge of each of the stories. They had to create skits for How the Camel....using main idea and character as a focus, they had to create a 6 panel comic strip for How the Alphabet..., and for a final activity they are writing their own Just So Story using Google Docs.
4th Grade:
Math:
Fourth Grade math students learned about data collection and using a sample group to make prediction and applying those skills to predicting the winner of the Presidential election and the numbers. They did a great job. They also have been learning about different number systems and different strategies for compuation not found in EVERYDAY MATH.
Literature:
Students are continuing to read and discuss "The Westing Game". They learned some strategies for reading mysteries and continue to talk about important terms like MOTIVE, EVIDENCE, and ALIBIS. Hopefully we'll soon discover the secret of the WESTING GAME.
5th Grade:
Math:
Students have finished the first 3 units of 6th GRADE EVERYDAY MATH and continue to work into Unit 4. They completed data collection projects and created PowerPoint Presentations of their work and their findings.
Literature:
We have finished up our Unit on Edgar Allen Poe and are looking for a play to perform.
That's all for now. Happy Holidays to all.
Mr. Packer
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
October 9, 2012
Hello everyone,
I hope you enjoyed your Columbus Day weekend. I was able to work in my yard and get my Halloween decorations up and enjoy some of the last days of nice weather. Here's what's happening in the world of GTD Resource services at Irving School
Kindergarten
We had a great time figuring out what was coming up in "Tomorrow's Alphabet" a book which requires kids to use critical thinking skills and build background knowledge for what things are in the present and what they will become in the future. For example "A is for seed, tomorrow's ?" Apple
Next we will begin to work on probability and start discussing the important probability words of "Never", "Always", and "Sometimes".
1st Grade
1st Grade classes have finished up their adventure with "DOT" who is now on "Vacation" as the students are introduced to the residents of Crytal Pond Woods and learn strands of higher level thinking through these characters. First up, Dudley the Detective. Dudley teaches the kids to 1) Get all of the information 2) Not jumpt to conclusions and 3) There is only 1 right answer (unless we are doing something creative).
2nd Grade
2nd Grade students continue to work on algebraic thinking and solving for unknowns. They are currently working on building background knowledge for groups and multiples and drawing pictures to solve algebraic problems.
3rd Grade
Math
3rd grade math students have been working on multiplication strategies and problem-solving involving groups of numbers and breaking numbers apart and performing math operations and then adding them back up.
Language Arts
3rd grade math students have started to read "Just So Stories". We have read "How the Camel Got Its Hump" and we have written summaries and are going to perform skits of the story.
4th Grade
Math
4th Grade math students have been studying prime numbers and patterns as well as making predictions of how student voting will turn out at Irving School in the upcoming Presidential Election in November.
Language Arts
We continue to work on vocabulary, comprehension, and character study of the characters in "The Westing Game"
5th Grade
Math
Students are working on reading and writing extremely large and extremely small numbers with the powers of 10 and multiplying and dividing decimals.
Language Arts
We have finished our first Edgar Allen Poe story "The Fall of the House of Usher" and are working on activities to strengthen our depth of understanding of the story. Next up, "The Tell Tale Heart".
That's all for now. I look forward to seeing many of you at conferences next week. If you have any questions or concerns regarding Gifted/Talented/Differentiation Resource services at Irving School, feel free to contact me at ppacker@op97.org
All my best,
Mr. Packer
I hope you enjoyed your Columbus Day weekend. I was able to work in my yard and get my Halloween decorations up and enjoy some of the last days of nice weather. Here's what's happening in the world of GTD Resource services at Irving School
Kindergarten
We had a great time figuring out what was coming up in "Tomorrow's Alphabet" a book which requires kids to use critical thinking skills and build background knowledge for what things are in the present and what they will become in the future. For example "A is for seed, tomorrow's ?" Apple
Next we will begin to work on probability and start discussing the important probability words of "Never", "Always", and "Sometimes".
1st Grade
1st Grade classes have finished up their adventure with "DOT" who is now on "Vacation" as the students are introduced to the residents of Crytal Pond Woods and learn strands of higher level thinking through these characters. First up, Dudley the Detective. Dudley teaches the kids to 1) Get all of the information 2) Not jumpt to conclusions and 3) There is only 1 right answer (unless we are doing something creative).
2nd Grade
2nd Grade students continue to work on algebraic thinking and solving for unknowns. They are currently working on building background knowledge for groups and multiples and drawing pictures to solve algebraic problems.
3rd Grade
Math
3rd grade math students have been working on multiplication strategies and problem-solving involving groups of numbers and breaking numbers apart and performing math operations and then adding them back up.
Language Arts
3rd grade math students have started to read "Just So Stories". We have read "How the Camel Got Its Hump" and we have written summaries and are going to perform skits of the story.
4th Grade
Math
4th Grade math students have been studying prime numbers and patterns as well as making predictions of how student voting will turn out at Irving School in the upcoming Presidential Election in November.
Language Arts
We continue to work on vocabulary, comprehension, and character study of the characters in "The Westing Game"
5th Grade
Math
Students are working on reading and writing extremely large and extremely small numbers with the powers of 10 and multiplying and dividing decimals.
Language Arts
We have finished our first Edgar Allen Poe story "The Fall of the House of Usher" and are working on activities to strengthen our depth of understanding of the story. Next up, "The Tell Tale Heart".
That's all for now. I look forward to seeing many of you at conferences next week. If you have any questions or concerns regarding Gifted/Talented/Differentiation Resource services at Irving School, feel free to contact me at ppacker@op97.org
All my best,
Mr. Packer
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