Back from Break

Hello everyone,
First of all, I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers while I was out on paternity leave. John Travis is a beautiful boy and while we aren't getting a lot of sleep, we are loving being parents again. Leland has also been a great big sister. I can't believe we are into the final quarter of school. This year has been a whirlwind. Here are some things we will be working on in the coming weeks:

Math:
* Division (remainders, large dividends, two-digit divisors)
* Multi-step/multi-operation word problems

Science:
*Latitude/Longitude
* Climate Zones
* Rainforest

Leland Singing to Baby John

John Travis Champion

Polygon Helper Video

4E Basketball Math Rankings

Rankings after 11 games.

1. Kansas (10-1)
2. Syracuse (10-1)
3. North Carolina (9-2)
4. Duke (9-2)
5. Villanova (8-3)
6. Kentucky (7-4)
7. Mississippi (7-4)
8. Georgetown (5-6)
9. Temple (5-6)
10. Tennessee (4-7)
11. Michigan State (4-7)
12. Purdue (4-7)
13. Vanderbilt (4-7)
14. Gonzaga (3-8)
15. Northwestern (3-8)
16. Texas (3-8)
17. Connecticut (3-8)
18. West Virginia (2-9)

4C Basketball Math Rankings

Rankings after 10 games:
1. Kentucky (9-1)
2. Syracuse (8-2)
3. Duke (8-2)
4. Villanova (8-2)
5. North Carolina (7-3)
6. Mississippi State (7-3)
7. Kansas State (6-4)
8. Kansas (6-4)
9. Tennessee (6-4)
10. Michigan State (6-4)
11. Vanderbilt (4-6)
12. Gonzaga (4-6)
13. Texas (4-6)
14. Davidson (3-7)
15. West Virginia (2-8)
16. Ohio State (2-8)
17. Purdue (1-9)
18. Connecticut (0-10)

Dupont Scientists Put on a Show

4C Basketball Math Rankings - January 15th

These rankings were based on two criteria - winning percentage and points per game. These stats are based on the results of the simulations the students conducted in class. The teams were placed into four categories based on winning percentage (100%, 67%, 33%, and 0%). The teams in each category were then ordered greatest to least based on each team's points per game average (The students calculated this by finding the sum of their points and dividing by the number of games played). Here are the rankings we compiled:

1. North Carolina (3-0)
1. Duke (3-0)
2. Mississippi State (3-0)
3. Kansas (3-0)
4. Tennessee (3-0)
5. Syracuse (2-1)
6. Gonzaga (2-1)
7. Kentucky (2-1)
8. Michigan State (2-1)
9. Texas (1-2)
10. Vanderbilt (1-2)
11. Kansas State (1-2)
12. Villanova (1-2)
13. Davidson (0-3)
14. West Virginia (0-3)
15. Ohio State (0-3)
16. Purdue (0-3)
17. Connecticut (0-3)

4E Basketball Math Rankings - January 15th

These rankings were based on two criteria - winning percentage and points per game. These stats are based on the results of the simulations the students conducted in class. The teams were placed into four categories based on winning percentage (100%, 67%, 33%, and 0%). The teams in each category were then ordered greatest to least based on each team's points per game average (The students calculated this by finding the sum of their points and dividing by the number of games played). Here are the rankings we compiled:

1. Kansas (3-0)
2. North Carolina (2-1)
3. Syracuse (2-1)
4. Tennessee (2-1)
5. Michigan State (2-1)
6. Duke (2-1)
6. Kentucky (2-1)
7. Gonzaga (2-1)
8. Connecticut (2-1)
9. Villanova (1-2)
10. Texas (1-2)
11. Vanderbilt (1-2)
12. Mississippi (1-2)
13. Northwestern (1-2)
14. West Virginia (1-2)
15. Purdue (1-2)
16 .Temple (1-2)
17. Georgetown (1-2)

4E's College Basketball Today for January 15, 2010

4C's College Basketball Today for January 15, 2010

4C's College Basketball Today for January 14, 2010

4C's College Basketball Today for January 11, 2010

Houston Hartle reports the scores form Monday's basketball math games.

4E's College Basketball Today for January 11, 2010

Johnston Crow reports on the scores from Monday's games.

The Snow Square Dance

Some fourth grade girls put on an impromptu dance at recess.

Playing in the Snow Part I

We braved the "blizzard" at recess today.

Welcome Back

I hope that everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. Even with all of the construction mess, my family and I had a great time. I must say how impressed I am with all of the kids. They came in and we got right down to business. There was no "back to school letdown" at all. I am a bit under the weather and I truly appreciate how well the kids transitioned back into the school schedule. We have an exciting quarter planned. Here are some of the things we have planned:
* Basketball Math (see previous post)
* Inquiry projects (see tonight's homework)
* Ecosystem Research Projects
* Spirit Assembly - January 8th
* Two 5th Grade Plays - January 22nd and 29th
* Four 2nd Grade Puppet Shows - January 28th, February 18th and 25th, March 4th
* Conferences - February 3rd and 4th
* 4C's Class Play - February 11th
* Late Winter Break - February 12th - 15th
* Two More 4th Grade Plays - March 5th and 11th
* Baby Boy Champion Due Date - March 3rd

So as you can see, it is going to be a busy, busy quarter, but I know the kids are going to have fun and learn a great deal in the coming weeks. Take care and thanks again for all that you do.

Basketball Math

This quarter the class will be learning about decimals, percentages, averages, and other math skills by working on Basketball Math. We will be using real statistics from real college basketball teams to learn, reinforce, review, and master the previously mentioned skills. Here is the link where the students can find the stats for teams in the current Top 25 poll. If your child would like to use the stats of a team not on the list, I will add it tomorrow.

List of Basketball Teams

Leland's House Tour