Class Photos

Week 32:

What a fun way to end the year with 4th graders. This will definitely be a yearly tradition now! Our Fourth Grade Food Truck Festival was a hit! 

Sippin' Sunshine and Brix and Stone visited students to discuss entrepreneurship. Students asked questions and learned a lot about business and marketing! We also visited the school cafeteria to ask questions about what it's like to manage a cafeteria from Ms. Taylor.  Thank you to all the parents who helped today happen!

You can see Sippin' Sunshine on Monday's at Julia's Pools, Tuesday's across from Hartselle Walmart, and on weekends at the Morgan County Farmer's Market! Brix and Stone can be followed on Facebook to see their whereabouts, but they are found at lots of local events and cater weddings. 

Week 31:

I have LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this week. We were able to spend a lot of time on our food truck projects and passion projects. The excitement level was so much fun! I am always amazed at the level of creativity these kiddos will bring.  

On Monday, TVA visitied with their robot, Spot, to teach students about how robotics is used in real life. More information about Spot can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Kv9BxoeuI

Southern Research also visited to teach our students about DNA to finish up our life science unit. Third and fourth graders took part in a DNA lesson on Wednesday.  Instructions to replicate the DNA extraction from a strawberry can be found here: https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/teaching-tools/strawberry-dna-extraction

I am eager to see the finished products next week, but I am so sad to see this year close!

Week 30:

This week we began dissecting! Third grade dissected cow eyes and sharks. Fourth grade dissected frogs and sheep hearts. Let me just say....this was a new experience for me! I was a little....nervous....at first, but by the end of the week, I decided that this was one of my favorite weeks of the year (I keep saying this!)

Week 29:

This week was spent at the Vex IQ Worlds Competition in Dallas, Texas with two robotics teams. Worlds is the largest robotics competition in the world! These teams have been competitive all year and have grown so much as leaders, problem solvers, and friends. It is an honor to be their coach! We collaborated with teams from Australia, New Zealand, China, Thailand, and Spain, and we met teams from many more countries. What an AMAZING experience!

Week 26-28:

With ACAP testing and field trips,  April is a whirlwind of events! Third and fourth grade continued working on passion projects and began a life science unit to lead into dissections in May. Fourth grade also attended two field trips: the UAB Egg Drop Competition and to Nashville to visit the Parthenon and Hermitage. Burleson's students racked up at the UAB Egg Drop, winning 1st place, 2nd place, Most Creative, and 'Biggest Splat'. 

Week 25:

We wrapped up the Rube Goldberg contest and ventured to Camp McDowell for three days with third graders. It was a fantastic week of learning!

Week 24:

This has been an AMAZING week! 

Fourth grade wrapped up their egg drop contraptions, continued with the Stock Market Game (we have a team currently in the top ten out of roughly 600 teams!), began the Investwrite contest, and continued with the Color the Concepts contest. These kids are constantly shaking their heads at all the contests, but they have GREAT ideas and are SO VERY talented that I want them to have every opportunity to showcase it! My Wednesday group didn't get as many pictures this week; I was contained with the hot glue gun, but their contraptions look great! Excited for the April 14th field trip to UAB!

Third grade is doing well learning the ropes of the Stock Market Game. We are continuing our unit on simple machines and Rube Goldberg. They LOVE this so much. This week we use Vex Go parts to create simple machines and moved into building our giant Rube Goldberg machine in the commons.  This is a BIG endeavor because the goal is to finish it by Camp McDowell....which is basically by next Friday. Next week will focus solely on building. Any parent help (or grandparent or aunt!) would be appreciated. Manning the hot glue gun and adult scissors are a task in itself to try and bring these little scholars' ideas to life. They have spectacular energy and are so very excited for this. We will hopefully *crossed fingers and toes* video and submit a fully completed Rube Goldberg machine next Friday to submit to the Rube Goldberg contest. The theme is "Build a Lunchable".

Week 23:

Hands-on, exploratory learning makes for the BEST days. It is organized chaos in the classroom, but the conversations are SO good. Students learn how to collaborate, problem solve, and learn by creating.

This week students began their Doodle for Google, continued with the Stock Market Game, and worked on egg drop contraptions (4th grade) or simple machines/Rube Goldberg projects (3rd grade). I am always so impressed with what these scholars come up with!

Week 22:

We have had the most fun time this week! I enjoy beginning class with "brain warmups" where they have "sponges" to soak up learning! We start with riddles, puzzles, and esti-mysteries, and it's so much fun to hear them talk through their ideas with each other.

Third grade and fourth grade are continuing to work through The Stock Market Game. I am amazed at how quickly these students can pick up on new content and take off with it!

Third grade is preparing to build a large Rube Goldberg machine, and their ideas are flowing! We will continue studying simple machines through this unit.

Fourth grade has begun building their egg drop contraptions. Even though the field trip is April 14th, we have to have our egg contraptions finished and to UAB by March 10th. It's fun to watch their ideas come to life and how each student thinks differently. Some students  focus on the engineering design and protection of the egg; some students focus on the aesthetics and creativity aspect. It's fun to see them come together in groups and make something incredible!

Week 21:

With the weather day this week, I missed half of my third graders! I can't wait to see them again next week!

This week we continued in our Stock Market Game shenanigans, played around with Valentine's Day puzzles, and began planning for the UAB Egg Drop/Field Trip (4th) and Rube Goldberg Contest (3rd).  I'm super excited about our STEM contests that we are taking part in!

3rd Graders and 4th Graders should be collecting recyclable materials for their STEM creations! 

Week 20:

Thank you to Redstone Federal Credit Union for presenting lessons on financial literacy. I think the adults enjoyed the class as much as the students! The wants vs. needs "debates" were so interesting. My favorite was when a student adamantly argued the "need" of deodorant because "how else will you get a wife?"! Ha! I told RFCU that these students keep my laughing EVERY SINGLE DAY with their witty humor and fun ideas. 

Students also made their first purchases in the Stock Market Game. This was a fun adventure where students had to make quick decisions and collaborate as a team (A teller from RFCU mentioned how it felt like really walking into the New York Stock Exchange with all the "debating" going on ;) ). The Stock Market Game continues until April, so students will watch their companies, paying attention to how the media influences a companies' success. 

Week 19:

It's time for the Stock Market Game! The Stock Market Game (stockmarketgame.org) begins next week, so we are preparing to WIN. Our students will choose companies to invest in, develop a portfolio online, and watch their stocks for trends to make decisions to buy and/or sell. It's a fun game with an imaginary $100,000 to purchase stocks, learning about economics and companies.

Today we learned how to read graphs and what make some graphs misleading, discussed parent and subsiduary companies, and began looking at Yahoo Finance for information on a company. We packed in A LOT in a short amount of time!

Week 18:

I loved that we were able to cover so many of the students' interest in class this week! We began with an esti-mystery (practicing estimating) and took this idea further with estimating how many parking lots are in Disneyland's parking deck. This was really fun, taking us through the thinking tools that we use in class, learning how to find unanswered questions, and learning how a familiar brand owns such a large franchise. This will set the students up for next week when we begin building teams for the Stock Market Game, a state-wide contest where students can win prizes. 

To tap into thinking like an artist and covering various talents, we looked at public sculptures around the USA and discussed how the creator used SCAMPER. We then moved into our research section of class where students are researching what they are passionate about, discussing the make something and present something element that is coming up. LOVED the ideas these kiddos generated! Their thinking processes have evolved over the last semester, and I can hear them encouraging each other. 

Week 17:

This week was a short week, but we packed in a lot of research! Students continued researching for their passion project this week, and some students have moved into the make phase of their project, preparing for their class presentation.  The conversations they have with each other are wonderful, and it is evident that they LOVE learning new things. They have great ideas!

Week 16:

Happy New Year! I can't believe we've been through an entire semester at this point. I have SO much left that I want to do with these scholars, so I'm so glad that I have them for both 3rd and 4th grades!

This week we worked on problem solving with a logic puzzle and continued researching for our passion projects. Some students are beginning to finish researching and are moving into the "make" phase. For the passion project, students research 'something' to become an expert in, make 'something', and then present 'something'.  That 'something' is whatever they are passionate about learning! As experts, the students have so many good ideas about what they can make! I'm excited to see all of these finished products and hear their ideas and thoughts on what they have studied.  This type of research allows them to think laterally, learning that there is deep meaning in multiple directions behind any topic that they want to learn more about. My goal is to develop lifelong learners!

In this semester, we will finish passion projects, participate in the Stock Market Game, and use the Vex Go kits to study simple machines and engineering design. Dissections will take place in the spring around the testing schedule to give students something fun to look forward to after tests! We will also explore other smaller topics along the way in our journey to dig deeper and explore academic content above grade level.

Week 15:

The week before Christmas Break flew by! We saw Santa, plus continued researching for our passion projects. I LOVE to see the students pursuing their own interests and to hear the excitement in their voice as they explain what they've learned each day. 

Week 14:

This was a packed week! Students used the SCAMPER strategy to create something new with a candy cane and worked on passion projects. It's been really fun to see each student's interests spark their creativity! I love when I hear "I didn't know I'd like to research." or "I did not know that!" or "I love learning what I want to learn". It makes my day so worthwhile!

Fourth grade students attended The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe play at Birmingham's Children's Theater along with visiting the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. It's always fun to see students outside of school enjoy learning! I had tears in my eyes throughout the play; what a beautiful message of grace, mercy, and redemption.  The costumes were incredibly creative, effects were extraordinary, and the other gifted teachers said this was the best play they have ever seen at the Children's Theater! I adore these sweet scholars, and I'm so glad that I was able to spend the day with them. 

If you are traveling this Christmas break and are looking for something to listen to in the car, C. S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is available on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Lion-the-Witch-and-the-Wardrobe-Audiobook/B002V1NHJ2 and on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/harpercollinspublishers/sets/the-chronicles-of-narnia-by

Week 13:

My photo game was not on point this week! 

This week students worked through fallen puzzles, a spatial activity, and learned more about the Egyptian and Greek gods and goddesses.  Some classes had time to SCAMPER a crown and explore class books on Greece/Egypt.

Instead of listening to me tell them about them, students created "what if..." type Slides. 

For 3rd grade, what if the Egyptian gods and goddesses attended your school - what would they wear? What sport/activity would they play? 

For 4th grade, what if the Greek gods and goddesses had social media accounts? 

These were HILARIOUS, creative, and a fun way to learn.  The students like finding a comfy spot around the room for creativity to flourish!

Week 12:

I feel like every week gets better and better!

This week students worked through Thanksgiving themed logic puzzles and Hink Pinks. We also used a technique called counterfactual thinking through a comic strip: What if the Mayflower had landed elsewhere in the world? How would that make Thanksgiving dinner look different? This spawned some fun, creative conversations that began with "What if....?" and took the students in lots of directions.

We finished our floats, speeches (which I'm so sad didn't play over the intercom!), programmed robots to say speeches, and practiced our parade route. 

Challenging the students to "think outside the box" and ask What if the Macy's Day Parade had been in Egypt/Greece? Who would be the sponsors? Who would be the celebrities? was adventurous. 

Challenging the students to "think within the parameters of the box" (create a moving float on a cereal box that's weight can be pulled by a Dash robot) was reaaallllly adventurous. They are such a fun group of students with AMAZING ideas. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I am so thankful to have such bright, young scholars who love to take creative risks and stretch their thinking!

Week 11: 

Phew! What a whirlwind of a short week! We packed in all the classes in three days!

Congratulations to Cadence O'Neill for being the Advertiser's Choice Award for The Decatur Daily ad contest! She was celebrated on Monday night at a banquet held at the Alabama Center for the Arts in Decatur.

Congrats to Sarah Denton who was chosen by her peers as the student to design our class seal to hang by our class motto. She did an AMAZING job, and I have had so many compliments from students and teachers on her artwork! The motto was developed and voted on earlier in the year; it was written by Mae Landers and Sarah Denton. Building a growth mindset is super important, and these kiddos are such great encouragers to each other.

This week we continued working on parade floats and introduced the Dash robots as the driving mechanism. Students began to write speeches for the floats. This is a FUN project that ties in all academic areas. I'm so excited to see the finished products!

Parents are invited to join us for the parade on Friday, November 18th at 1:30 pm. Parents will sign in at the office. The parade will end at the gym, so parents will stand in the gym hallway to be able to visit with your child after the parade if you like!

Week 10: 

Sometimes class looks like organized chaos - and that is how project weeks look in the classroom! These kiddos never cease to surprise me with their great ideas and resourcefulness. I didn't get as many photos this week since I was hot gun duty, and they kept my station working! :)

In third grade, students learned about the Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses, creating a slideshow as if these gods and goddesses were students in their school.

In fourth grade, students learned about the Ancient Greek gods and goddesses, creating mock social media accounts for them. 

Both grades began their parade floats. They look fantastic! I am so excited to see the finished products after next week's class. 

Next week, students will write the speech to go with their float, finish the float, and map out the block programming to drive the robot from the K/1 Commons to the gymnasium. The parade is scheduled for Friday, November 18th at 1:30!

Week 9: 

This week we really did take part of all aspects of Research-Improve-Design which is the basis for learning in our class! 

Third grade students continued researching for their chosen topic within their passion project and  learned more about Ancient Egypt and their form of writing. 

Fourth grade students also researched their chosen topic as well as rotated through stations about Greece, learning about Ancient Greece's architecture, plays/poems, math/science, and the Greek gods and goddesses.

All students designed Halloween costumes and began to design (making improvements through their planning steps) for the parade. 

Students will bring in supplies for the parade floats next week and design/improve the float as needed. In the following weeks, we will learn how to code robots (Sphero/Dash robots) to drive the floats for our upcoming Thanksgiving parade on November 18th.  I am so excited to see these finished products and to show off the students' hard work to the whole school!

Week 8: 

This week flew by! In third grade, students worked logic puzzles, learned more about Ancient Egypt and build ta shaduf, thought of new uses for an aluminum can, observed their pumpkin transformations for evidence of SCAMPER, and continued working on their passion projects.

In fourth grade, students designed an advertisement for The Decatur Daily, learned about Greece through stations, observed their pumpkin transformations for evidence of SCAMPER, and continued working on their passion projects. 

My favorite conversation with fourth graders was about the mechanical pencil sharpener! Student: "I think it's broken. How does this even work?!?"  Ha!

We will begin planning for our Macy's Day parade next week!

Week 7: 

Pumpkin transformations! WOW! What an incredibly creative group. Each group planned, revised, and problem solved through the process, using SCAMPER to transform pumpkins into a Ferris Wheel, game characters, and more!

Week 6: 

This week we began APPLYING our creativity tools (SCAMPER) and depth and complexity "thinking tools".  Students were paired and began planning for their pumpkin transformation using the SCAMPER strategies. They decided with their partner what their pumpkin will be and what supplies will be needed by next week.

They also played Gimkit, a game, to review SCAMPER.  Students also began deep diving into their passion project studies, using their thinking tools to think like an expert. 

In third grade, we continued studying about the geography of Egypt and how to read a timeline, analyzing a poem, "Poem to the Nile", by an ancient Egyptian priest.

In fourth grade, students presented their findings on Ancient Greece. This process helped them learn how to research  more efficiently which will help them as they work on passion projects. 

Week 5: 

I am continually amazed at the insightful conversations and discussions that these students have! 

We used our SCAMPER creativity tools to invent a new use for a paper clip and write a commercial for it. The ideas were so varied and hilarious from class to class! In our study of the depth and complexity thinking tools, students connected to patterns and language of the discipline, learning how to make connections in their studies and why vocabulary is important.  

Students visited the library to find books on their passion project topic. This is going to be a fun adventure as students research, become an "expert" in their area of study, create an end product, and present it to the class by the end of the semester. Out of all my students in all grades, I have very few duplicate topics. How exciting that so many students have found different areas of interest! I can't wait to learn from them!

In third grade, we investigated the needs of a civilization, looking at the needs of a new civilization such as Ancient Egypt. In fourth grade, students continued their research on Greece and began finishing their presentation Slides.  

We also had time this week to play with Cosmo, the class pet, and have "explore" time, a hand-on learning time where students have a choice and a voice in what they are learning.