Where in the World Is Cedar Falls and Waterloo Unit Continued

This week, many students brought in information on the Midwest States and the counties of Iowa. Jacob brought in research  and maps from the internet on the Midwest States. The students studied the relationship of Iowa to the surrounding states of Minnesota and Missouri. They discussed which states they have visited.  Many had been to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois.  The students studied the capitals of the Midwest States.  Some activities were drawing freehand a map of  the Midwest States.  They learned Michigan is divided into two parts by a Great Lake.  The students are learning to identify the difference between states and cities.  Students categorized the states and cities.  Gramar was also incorporated.  Students reviewed that the names of states and cities need to be capitalized. 

Students also brought in information about the Iowa counties.  Sofie shared that there are 99 counties in Iowa.  Rosie shared that a county is a political division of the land.  We discussed Mrs. Guenther lives in Bremer County.  Therefore I cannot vote for the mayor of Cedar Falls because that city is part of Black Hawk County.  Students studied the surrounding counties of Black Hawk which are Bremer and Grundy and Tama.  The students also identified and discussed the surrounding cities on the map.  On Friday, the students wrote down their home addresses and drew picture of their homes.  They also put the vocabulary words city, continent, county, state and country in order from the smallest division of land to the largest.  Next week for the concluding unit activity, the students will use Google Earth to locate different locations.

Writing Like Patricia Polacco

The students have been studying the genre, narrative text.  The basic purpose of narrative text is to entertain, to gain and hold the reader's interest. It is based on  clearly developed charaters that have a problem or a goal to achieve.

The students listened to and read many books by Patricia Polacco who is an expert at writing narrative text.  The students completed a graphic organizer for the book, Thank You, Mr. Falker.  The students noticed narrative text has a beginning, middle and end.  It has characters, setting, goals to achieve and often a theme. The students also studied the vivid descriptive vocabulary the author used to create images for the reader.  The students also studied the various introduction sentences in her many books.

Using Patricia Polacco's books as the model, students wrote their own narrative texts.  The writing process was used. First, the students identified a topic to write about. Secondly, they discussed the story with a partner. Then they completed a graphic oganizer to help organize their sequence of events for the story. The students then wrote their stories. The next step was to revise and edit their stories with a partner and to conference with the teacher.  The final step was to write the final draft.

The writing process took about a week to complete the final text.  Last Wednesday, the students had an author's celebration to celebrate their extra effort in writing a narrative text. The students had refreshments while they read each other stories. Each student also read aloud his/her story to the class. The students reached the goals of writing an interesting introduction sentence and using descriptive vocabulary to create images for the reader! They are on their way to becoming phenomenal writers.

Studying Patricia Polacco's Narrative Books

The students have been studying the genre, narrative text.  We have been reading books by Patricia Polacco to study her author's craft. This is what the students noticed about her writing craft:
Uses powerful words
Uses adjectives and strong action verbs
Writes about interesting characters
Describes the characters in detail
Uses detailed introduction sentences that include where, when, who, what information, along with descriptive language
Use ideas that come from her life and family experiences and memories
Has a problem to solve or a goal to achieve

Reading Friends

The third graders are reading to the students in Mrs. Bromwich's class.  Today they read poetry to the students.  The third graders were impressive leaders.  They modeled what good readers do with their reading friends.  The third graders introduced the poetry by sharing the title and the author.  Some students asked the students to predict what the poem would be about.  All of the third graders encouraged them to make a personal connection with the poem.  Finally, they asked their reading friends what they liked about the poem. The above procedures were described and suggested by the third graders in their class discussion in preparation on what to do to make the reading interesting to their reading friends. 

Where in the World is Cedar Falls and Waterloo?

For social studies, the students have been studying maps to answer that question. We have started from a world view.  The students reviewed the world map and identified the seven continents.  Next they studied the map of North America, the continent they live on. They  then identified the three countries located in North America. The next focus was on the United States, the country they live in.  The significant vocabulary the students are learning are continent, country,  state, and county. Next week, the students will study the states in the Midwest.  They will then study the state of Iowa and its counties. The next question will be what county do we live in?

Web File

Looking for a humorous book?  Web File is an entertaining book.  The book contains tongue twisters.  For homework, the students are to share their favorite tongue twister from the book.  Here are some of  them.  Enjoy.
Pick a peck of perfect purple almost pickled peppers.
How many perfect purple almost pickled peppers were pilfered, pinched and picked?
Lift a load of luscious leafy lettuce.
Take a tub of tasty tart tomatoes.

Mrs. Guenther

This is my 20th year of teaching at Price Lab School. I also taught second grade at Hansen School in Cedar Falls for fourteen years.  I did my student teaching at Price Lab School in the first grade. I love teaching, and I love learning new research for teaching. It is rewarding to teach the students, to nurture their ownership of learning, and to have their special talents shine in the classroom and in the community.  Price Lab School is a place where I feel part of a strong community and a winning team.  Our students, parents and  faculty are caring and enthusiastic.

This year I am excited to be a part of two initiatives for our school.  I am a Cedar Valley facilitator for Dr. Stephen Covey's Leader in Me.  My classroom has been designated a model classroom for our new reading initiative.  Price Lab's new literacy coach, Ms. McGowan works closely with my class.

I received my Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education, and I received my Masters in Reading Education from the University of Northern Iowa.  I have a K-12 Reading Specialist Endorsement.  For several years, I have worked with the UNI Reading Clinic teaching and supervising college students for the course, Tutoring: The Remedial Reading Experience. I also have a K-6 Elementary Spanish Endorement.  For several years, I also worked with the San Antonio student teachers.  The student teachers took my class, Mexican American Studies for teachers. I have given presentations throughout the nation.

I have many different interests. I an an avid cyclist and swimmer.  In the summer I often ride 20 miles a day. In my younger years, I was a runner and swimming instructor.  I have participated in and completed a triathlon.  My favorite things are chocolate, flowers and books. I am an avid reader of many different types of literature.  I also love listening to music.  I believe music is also important in the classroom, and I incorporate it into my students' learning. Art is another interest of mine.  In the past I have worked with the Waterloo Junior Art Gallery helping with the exhibit, Mexico Through Diego's Eyes.  I am also very interested in national politics.  I have been a senator for the UNI Faculty Senate.

In the summer my husband and I spend July at Fort Meyers, Florida. I spend my days by the ocean. My husband spends days golfing.

Here is a little bit of information about my family. My husband Mark is a sports official for basketball and baseball.  I have two sons, Christian and Matthew.  Christian is the Defensive Coordinator for Southwest Minnesota State University. He is married and has two young sons.  I love being a grandmother.  My youngest son, Matthew is an excellent artist.  He did the illustrations for the third grade Civil Rights Movement Unit.  He also has one young son.  Matthew is the general manager for Beck's on University.

Suggested Authors to Read

Adler, David
Bunting, Eve
Brown, Marc
Christopher, Matt
Cleary, Beverly
Cole, Joanna
Danziger, Paula
Dixon, Franklin
Gibbons, Gail
Giff, Patricia
Goble, Paul
Howe, Deborah
Keene, Carolyn
Pat, Mora
Munoz Ryan, Pam
Osborne, Mary
Polacco, Patricia
Prelutsky, Jack
Ringgold, Faith
Sharmat, Majorie Weinman

Be Proactive

Today the students learned habit 1: Be Proactive. 
I am a responsible person.  I take initiative. I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods. I am happy. I do not blame others for my wrong actions. I do the right thing without being asked, even when no one is looking. Students completed the following statement:  I am proactive at school, when I...

I am proactive at school, when I do math.  I show etxra effort and positive attitude toward learning.
Lauryn
I am proactive, when I write during writing workshop.
Samaria
I am proactive at school, when I am prepared.
Rosie
I am proactive at school, when I am happy.
Ema
I am proactive at school, when I am prepared.
Jacob
I am proactive at school, when I pay attention.
Katie
I am proactive, when I listen.
Charli
I am proactive , when I am focused.
Matthew
I am proactive, when I am prepared.
Kyler
I am proactive at school, when I am listening and not playing with anything.
Natasha
I am proactive at school, when I write during writing workshop.
Sofie

The Leader in Me

Our school is incorporating the Leader in Me  into our curriculum. The Leader in Me process helps develop the essential life skills and characteristics students need to thrive in the 21st century.  The intent is to teach students how to lead their individual lives and to be happy and to succeed in the twenty- first century.  The Leader in Me is based on proven principle-based leadership skills found in Dr. Stephen Covey's book, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The habits are organized into a sequential, progressive model.  The first three habits; Be Proactive, Begin With the End in Mind, and Put First Things First combine to help a person become more independent.  When put into practice these habits help a person to be more responsible, to take more control of their life, to map out their future, to establish priorities and stay focused.  The next three habits, Think Win-Win, Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood and Synergize help students to communicate effectively and how to problem solve with others.  The last habit, Sharpen the Saw, helps a person to stay fit and to feel greater peace of mind.  Throughout the year  the students will be discussing and applying these habits to develop the greatness in each of the students.