Blog Away on a Paperless Journal

This blog has been moved due to inappropriate spam comments from outside sources.

However, as an educator, you will still be able to view many of the prompts I used with my classes over the last few years to encourage discussion. Feel free to use some of them yourself. There are many educational website links on this blog as well. If you are interested in starting a blog with your own class, I recommend using these educational sites:

• Edublogs - I have a professional blog using Edublogs and recommend this site to teachers.
• Class Blogmeister
• Oracle - Think.com

  For a great site to use with your class similar to a blog scaled down with no comments - I love Tumblr.  So simple to get started, attractive, and easy to use. 

If you are learning how to integrate technology in your class or school, I highly recommend the book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson. 

If you would like to start a wiki for educational use, check out  Wikispaces.  They are free and have no advertising.  Also check out PB Wikis.

Interested in podcasts - Check out this great site by David Warlick to listen and subscribe to podcasts: Education Podcast Network.

If you have any comments or questions feel free to contact me at Cristina.Runkles@fcps.org.

Practice counting change with this fun game...  I challenge you to try the Hard Level.

Piggy Bank

What tips would you give to someone counting change?  If I pulled a bunch of change out of my purse or pocket, how should I count it?

Here are some fun ways to express yourself with poetry and practice becoming a great poet -

Magnetic Poetry Online - How cool is this!?  You can drag the words around to create many different poems.  There are a few different themes and you can change the background.  The two links below have different words.

• Kid's Poetry
  
• Best Friends

Wizards and Pigs Poetry Pickle  - Review alliteration, rhyme, and rhythm

Fizzy Funny Fuzzy Fun Poetry For Kids!  Read some fun poems from other children.  (Click on the side or middle links...  On some links, it lists many poems - Just click on the titles...)

Instant Poetry Forms - Click on the red and blue links on the left to find a poetry form, fill in the blanks, and this site creates your poem

Share a poem you have written...

A prefix is a  word part added to the beginning of a root or base word to create a new meaning.

Learn more about prefixes...

A Prefix Quiz

An Interactive Lesson and Quiz about Prefixes

Build a Castle Using Prefixes - Click on Crystal Castle

What new prefixes did you learn about today? Your example may be in the form of definitions or in sentences. 

Keep up to date about the Olympics, by checking out these sites:

The Olympic Winter Games - Torino 2006 Mascots

Learn About the United States Olympic Team

More U.S. Olympic Team News

The United States Olympic Athletes

The Official Website of the Olympic Movement

This is your area to discuss what you have learned about the Olympics, tell us about your favorite Olympic athletes, or discuss Olympic news...

Use the links below to learn about famous individuals that made a difference:

George Washington Carver

Frederick Douglass

Mae Jemison

Harriet Tubman

Thurgood Marshall

Rosa Parks

Sojourner Truth

Black History From A - Z

Back in Time - Events in African American History

Out of all of the famous individuals you read about, who do you think made the greatest impact on others?  Why?

Podcasting takes the words iPOD and broadcasting and allows individuals or groups to publish files on the internet.  You can subscribe to a feed and get FREE automatic updates either on the computer, through e-mail, or on an iPOD or portable device.

We will be using podcasts in our class to keep families informed about what is going on in our classroom, to give students the creativity and responsibility of creating a show about what they would like to discuss and share with others, and to work on speaking fluently. 

We will be recording our first class podcast this week.  In this podcast will be discussing books we love.  In the next few weeks we will be creating podcasts about class news and other topics of interest in our classroom.  Stay tuned!

If you would like to subscribe to our podcast - Portable Listen and Learn, you can subscribe through iTUNES or on our podcast website. 

Students, what exciting ideas do you have for our podcasts?

We have just begun our unit on fractions.  Explore the sites below, and explain...  What is a fraction?  How has your definition of a fraction changed in a week?

*Who Wants Pizza? - There are six lessons.  You will need to scroll down and then go to the next activity. 

*Explore Fractions With Shapes  - What do you discover?

*A Quiz: Introduction to Fractions - You can pick your own level.

*What do Fractions Look Like? - Click on Play the Game

*Match the Fractions to the Models 

*Fraction Frenzy

*Fractions

Check out these tall tales:

*Pecos Bill

*Paul Bunyan

*Johnny Appleseed

We have been reading tall tales for the last few weeks.  What are the elements of a tall tale?

Use what you know about tall tales to answer the questions on this quiz:

*Tall Tale Quiz

Multiflyer - Press the purple link at the bottom that says, "Skip to Multiflyer."  Can you save the world with your knowledge of multiplication facts?

Math Magician - Pick the division or multiplication practice

Sum Sense Division - Read the directions and try out this game!

Division Divers - Retrieve the treasure from the ocean floor... Remember to select your oxygen supply and the number you will divide by

Division Hidden Picture - This is a bit tricky...challenge yourself!

Play Division Baseball - Click on division or multiplication

Multiplication and Division Game - This is a lot of fun.  You get to move up to more difficult levels each round. 

What is the difference between multiplication and division?

Check out the winners from last year's ExploraVision Awards:

Grades K - 3 First Place Winners

Grades K - 3 Second Place Winners

Grades 4 - 6 First Place Winners

Grades 4 - 6 Second Place Winners

Grades 10 -12 First Place Winners

"ExploraVision is a competition for all students in grades K-12... designed to encourage students to combine their imagination with their knowledge of science and technology to explore visions of the future."

After your research today, what ideas do you have for inventions for the future?  Explain what your invention will do and how it will help others.

* If a singular noun ends in s, add ‘s.  Example:  Mrs. Runkles’s Class

Practice your skills with these games:

Possessive Nouns

Type the Possessive Noun

Match the Singular and Possessive Nouns

Concentration

Tutorial about Possessive Nouns

Write a sentence below that shows possession.  Explain the rule you used to make the noun possessive. 
Example:  Sentence = Mrs. Runkles's class made thank you cards for special people in the school.  Explain the rule = Mrs. Runkles has an 's after it because Mrs. Runkles is a singular noun that has an s at the end, so you add 's.

Try these measurement activities:

Telling Time

Measure It

Animal Weigh In

Learn About Measurement

Everyday we use measurement.  What are some ways you use measurement everyday?

1. Check out the links below:

*Find the Perimeter
*Perimeter and Area Explor er - Adjust the area

2. Answer the following question:  What is the difference between area and perimeter?

3. Take this online quiz: Area, Perimeter, and Volume quiz

In Quarter One we learned so many new math skills and reviewed skills we learned last year.  Let's review for our end of the quarter test:

Odd and Even Numbers - Click on the game with numbers to 100

Count the Change

Round to the Nearest Thousand

Telling Time

Measure It

What skill was the most challenging for you to learn this quarter?  What other skills would you like to review before the test?

Today we will begin an amazing journey in the world of blogs.  Blogging is amazing because you can share your thoughts and knowledge without using a pencil or paper.  You will be able to reply to comments other students have written. Your teacher and parents will even be able to comment about your responses. So check back regularly to see who has responded and use this blog to learn from others. I look forward to a wonderful year of learning with you!  What would you like to blog about this year?

Dear 4th Graders,

It has been great to see you in the halls and around school.  I really miss you!  Look for a little surprise from me on your desks by Friday of next week.  I wish you the best of luck this year.  I know you will learn so much and enjoy your new teachers.  I am in the same room as last year, so stop by and see me sometime.  I would love to see pictures of your summer vacation and hear what you have been up to.  I will keep this blog open for you for a few more weeks if you would like to post.  You can always e-mail me too.  Your parents have my address.  Have a wonderful year!

Your 3rd Grade Teacher,
Mrs. Runkles 

P.S.  Snowball and Cocoa say, "Squeak! Squeak!"  They really miss you.  They are at home with me, but may return to school as soon as the students in my class have earned them. This summer they had a great time at my house and also got to visit and stay with two students from our class.  (Princess and Love Puppy - If you have any pictures from their visits, have your parents e-mail me, ok?)

Cocoa thinks she owns the cage and is hogging all of the food!

 
Snowball is still so shy and enjoys her food in a quiet spot!

***Updated 8-31-05: New pictures from when Snowball and Cocoa stayed with Princess over the summer. :-)

Close-up of Cocoa.

Princess took such good care of them. 
Notice the pictures and instructions she hung above the cage.

Princess brushing Snowball

A condolence is an expression of sympathy with a person in pain, sorrow or misfortune.

This entry is an expression of sympathy for the people in London and the tragedy that occurred today.  If you are a student in this class and you would like to express your sympathies in this blog entry, you may do so below...

(Reuters)

Here are some questions to get you thinking about what you have read...

A.  On page 5, Fudge says, "I mise my money every night before I go to sleep."  What do you think Fudge means by mise?

B.  On page 15, Fudge starts to throw a terrible fit in the shoe store.  If you were Fudge's mother how would you have handled this situation?

C.  If you could describe Fudge in three words what would they be?  Then... describe yourself in three words.  Tell us why you picked these words.  (Example: Cocoa Resee Runkles in three words - Loud:  She always squeaks ever morning and evening when she is hungry, Messy: Ever since Cocoa became roommates with Snowball, the cage and the area around it has been such a mess, (Her mother must not of taught her how to clean up after herself :-) ), Cute: How could you not use this word to describe her?) 

D.  From what you have read in chapters 1 - 4, tell us about Fudge and his family. Describe what the parents do for jobs, where they live, each family member, etc.

E.  In the book, Jimmy moves to Soho.  Locate Soho on a map.  Do some research on Soho.  Tell us a fun fact about this area.  Fudge's family lives about 60 or 70 blocks away from Soho.  Where do you think they live in NYC?

To answer any of these questions, simply respond below and place the letter of the question next to your answer or answers. 

Remember to check out the Double Fudge website to learn more about the other and the characters. 

Learn all the latest news on what is happening with Cocoa Reese Runkles and Snowball Ruby Runkles over the summer.  Information will be posted at various times this summer.  If any photos are sent to me, I will add those to this post as well. 

SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

Updated: 6/26/05 - I am looking for a babysitter for Snowball and Cocoa from July 22 - August 4, if your parents say it is ok have them e-mail me...

For those of you that would like to join our Summer Book Club online, we will be reading Double Fudge for the month of July. 

Updated 6/26/05 - Double Fudge Book Club Details...

We will read:

*Chapters 1 - 4 from July 1 - 8
*Chapters 5 - 8 from July 9 - 15
*Chapters 9 - 12 from July 16 - 22
*Chapters 13 - 16 from July 23 - 29

Each week I will create a blog entry on the chapters we are reading.  Each entry will consist of fun activities and discussion questions you can chat about on this blog.  I am looking forward to reading this book with you!!

If you are looking for a good book to read before we start our Book Club in July you could read, The Tiger Rising.  When you click on the link of the book it will take you to Kidsread.com which has questions and discussions about this book.  If you have already read this book, tell us what you loved about it, which character was your favorite, and how many stars on a scale of 1 - 5 you would give, The Tiger Rising.   

It is hard to believe the year went by so fast.  We have many great memories.  Let's continue to journal over the summer.  We can use this post to tell about what we have been up to while school is out.

Tell us about your trips, the strange or funny things that have happened to you, and the fun times you are having. We can't wait to hear from you!

Have a wonderful summer!

Students -

I would love to get your input about our class blog this year. Please answer the following questions:

What was your favorite part about blogging this year?

What would you like to blog about this summer?

Would you like to have a Book Club on our blog this summer?  If so what books would you like to read and discuss?

I can't wait to hear your ideas.  :-)

Use your problem solving skills to solve math problems in the games below:

Digger and the Gang -  Use your strategies to find the treasure.

Math Cats Problem Solving One

Math Cats Problem Solving Two

Solve the Brain Teaser below. How did you solve this math problem?  Which strategy would you recommend to another third grader to help them solve this problem?

Solve this Brain Teaser

Added 5/24/05 - Try Challenge 24 Online

Use the links below to compare fractions, add and subtract fractions, and to practice converting fractions.

Fractions - AAA Math

Fraction Frenzy

Explain a way that you compare fractions with different denominators.  Does your method or strategy take a lot of time?

Last night Snowball was introduced to a new friend.  Both of the girl guinea pigs are getting along well.  The new guinea pig, is much calmer than Snowball.  She looks like a little chipmunk.  It was so cute to see how they acted when they first met.  They were making some strange noises and standing so still next to each other.  Now they are running around all over the place.  They both love to make a bit of a mess.  The only thing we need to do is give our new pet a name. 

Take a look at the pictures below and tell us what you think our new guinea pig should be named...

This week instead of writing out a response in your journal, tell us all about a good book you have been reading lately.  You can write to Miss Brooke, Mrs. Runkles, or a classmate. 

Here are some ideas to get you started...

• Tell what the book is about


• Tell about parts of the book that were funny, confusing, or strange


• Write about the charatcers in the book


• Tell us something that surprised you


• Tell us about your favorite part


• Tell us how the book made you feel


• Tell us if you had any text to self or text to text connections


• Tell us whether you would recommend this book or not (1 - 5 stars)  Hint:  You can use the shift and number 8 key to make stars Example:  4 stars = ****

Learn more about food chains and food webs below...

Interdependence and Adaptation - Follow the directions and then press sorter 1 or 2... You may take the quiz too!

Habitats - Follow the directions and then press sorter 1 or 2... You may take the quiz too!

Chain Reaction Activity - Press start and create a food chain

Fun With Food Webs

Web of Life Story - Click through the story to learn about the web of life.  *Added 4-30 

Blog about a food chain or web you created below...

Practice those division skills with the following games...

Math Magician - Pick the division practice

Sum Sense Division - Read the directions and try out this game!

Division Divers - Retrieve the treasure from the ocean floor... Remember to select your oxygen supply and the number you will divide by

Division Hidden Picture - This is a bit tricky...challenge yourself!

Play Division Baseball - Click on division

Multiplication and Division Game - This is a lot of fun.  You get to move up to more difficult levels each round. 

Which game would you recommend to other third graders who need to practice their division skills?

Here are some fun ways to express yourself with poetry and practice becoming a great poet -

Magnetic Poetry Online - How cool is this!?  You can drag the words around to create many different poems.  There are a few different themes and you can change the background.  The two links below have different words.

• Kid's Poetry


• Best Friends

Fizzy Funny Fuzzy Fun Poetry For Kids!  Read some fun poems from other children.  (Click on the side or middle links...  On some links, it lists many poems - Just click on the titles...)

Share a poem with us that you have written or that you liked from the sites...

Instant Poetry Forms - Click on the red and blue links on the left to find a poetry form, fill in the blanks, and this site creates your poem

Poetry Writing With Jack Prelutsky - Go through steps 1 - 4 on the left of this site to publish your own poem

Listen and Write Poetry You can listen, write, and take quizzes about poetry on this site

Practice finding the least common multiple.  This site has some challenging problems - so do your best! 

Least Common Multiple Game

Quiz Yourself on Multiples and Factors

Do you think you need some practice with other math skills?  Check out the site below and pick the area you would like to practice inside of the yellow box.

AAA Math - 4th Grade Skills

What specific skills did you practice today?  Did you find any games challenging or easy? 

Tell us all about a good poetry book you have read lately.  What did you like best about the book?  Was there a specific poem you liked the best?  Have you read any other books by that same author? 

If you have time write your own poem.  Let us see how creative you are. 

Let us know what you are up to over Spring Break.  I sure will miss you! 

Have you read any cool books?  Have you been to any neat places?  Did you get to play with any of your friends?  We want to know all about it...

Here are a few great links to help you review the skills you have learned about The Water Planet unit: 

Oceans and Seas  This site is leveled for Elementary (Beginner), Middle School (Intermediate), and High School (Advanced).  Click on the vocabulary words and then be sure to click on the beginner link for each page.  This site reviews many of the concepts we have learned in class including the Water Cycle, Estuaries, Fresh vs. Salt water, Density, and Ocean Life.

Who's Eating Who  This site has an interactive food chain game (Press the Play button)  along with a PDF site (Press the "Create Food Chains" link) filled with animals you can cut out and use to create your own ocean food chain. 

Don't forget to look at the links in the blog entry, The Water Cycle, from 2-7-05. 

If you have any questions about anything that is on the test - post them below and we can help each other out.  If you are a student and you know the answer to a question another student has posted, than you may answer it. 

Try out these sites to practice your skills with prefixes, suffixes, contractions, antonyms, and synonyms. 

Prefix Quiz

Suffix Quiz  

More Suffix Practice - Press on the red dot to try the activities

Contraction Practice

Synonym Practice

Antonym Practice

What did you learn from playing these games?

What have you been up to over this long weekend?  Can you believe we have had off four days?! 

Snowball has really missed you.  Yesterday I bought her a special brush, clippers, and I plan on giving her a bath today.  It will be her first bath and trimming.  I'll take pictures and post them up here later. 

Snowball's New Brush and Clippers

Snowball's First Bath - March 2, 2005
She was blowing bubbles in her little tub!

Her Nails Needed a Trim

Drying Off
Wow!  Snowball Ruby Runkles has a lot of hair! 
 It took forever to dry her - so I used a hair dryer on low.

I hope to see you in school on Wednesday.  Let us know what you have been up to. 

Have fun with these online math games!  Which sites did you like the best and why?

Math Magician

Cyberchallenge

Math Baseball

A + Math

Saxon Publisher's Basic Math Sheets

Pick a Number - (Mulitplication)

AAA Math

Multiplication Match

More Muliplication Practice

More Math Sites

Learn about the Water Cycle and then explain the process -

• The Water Cycle


• Interactive Textbook


• Learn More About the Water Cycle

Check out these great ocean sites and then tell us what you have learned:

1.  Learn some great facts about animals that live in the water!

2.  Click on the links on the left to learn about various creatures from the sea.

3.  Creature Features on National Geographic - Read the Fun Facts and Watch the Video (Windows Media)  * Click on the links on the right to go to other Creature Features

4.  Kratts' Creatures - This is a fun site to learn about animal adaptations around the world.

5.  Animal Adaptations Game - How fast can you match up these animal adaptations?

1.  Explore the sites below to learn more about geometry -

Geometry Rainbow - Drag the letters into the pot to spell out the word that matches the clue.

Geometry Quiz - How much do you know about geometry?

Interactive Geometry Game - This is a cool game!  Identify the 3D shapes.

3D Solids - Test your knowledge of 3D solids!

Polygons - How much do you know about polygons?

Shapes From Different Points of View - Things look different from different points of view.  Click on the instructions first and then try the game. 

2.  What did you learn about geometry from these games?  What is a polygon? 

Tell us about the fairy tale you wrote... We can't wait to read them!

We have waited so long and she is finally here... a little guinea pig. What would you like to name her and why?

In class we have been learning about fractions?  After looking through the sites below, respond to the following question...  What are fractions?

Learn All About Fractions

Fraction Frenzy

Who Wants Pizza - A Fun Way to Learn About Fractions

Imagine a world where... everyone looked the same, everyone had the same abilities and talents, nothing made you stand out from everyone else.  What a boring and strange world that would be!  We all are special and unique.  What makes us different  - makes us special! 

Snowflakes are special and unique too.  Click on the links below to learn about snowflakes and to make your own special snowflake.  Have fun! Let us know if you try any of these.

*  Make a Snowflake

*  Science of Snowflakes 

*  Facts about Snowflakes and Snow Crystals

*  Make a Paper Snowflake - Read to Perform a Task

Did you know that many of the fairy tales we read today were written in Germany?  Click on the links below to read some fairy tales:

Brementown Musicians
The Real Princess
The Leaping Match
Faithful John

Compare fairy tales and tall tales.  How are they alike and how are they different?

This Thanksgiving I was thinking about all the things in my life I am thankful for.  What are you thankful for?   What have you been up to over Thanksgiving break?  We look forward to reading all about it. 

1. Check out the links below:

*Perimeter with Adam Ant
*Find the Perimeter
*Perimeter and Area Explor er - Adjust the area

2. Answer the following question:  What is the difference between area and perimeter?

3. Take this online quiz: Area, Perimeter, and Volume quiz

Think about your school, your home, and your community... What objects or things are symmetrical?  What does the word symmetry mean?

Check out these sites below:

• Symmetry in the Human Face


• Animals and Symmetry


• Symmetry and 2-D Shapes


• Symmetry and Flags

How do we use division in real-life?  Give examples and explain how knowing division is helpful.  

    & nbsp;   &n bsp;   &nb sp;   &nbs p;     ;  623 x 5 = ________

Use your understanding of multiplication to explain how you solved this problem.  Use words and numbers in your explaination. 

A student from our class is currently in England, visiting family and friends.  What questions do you have about England?  What would you like to learn about the people and landmarks?  She will be checking our blog from England and answering your questions.

We have been learning about our community and ways to help make the world a better place.  Students can make a difference in their community.  What ways can we help others in our community?  What should our community project be called?

We soon will be printing our first class newspaper.  Students have worked hard to create interesting articles to read.  In two weeks we will begin working on our November newspaper.  What would you like to read about in our next paper?  If you would be interested in writing an article, please let me know. 

Soon the country will be voting for the person they wish to be President of the United States.  We have discussed character traits that all presidents should have.  The President should be:

• Smart


• Responsible


• Trustworthy/Honest


• Kind/Caring


• Excellent in many ways


• Respected


• Willing to help/teach others


• Make good choices/decisions

We have nominated four students in our class to be Class President.  The new president may come up with ideas and make changes.  Some areas of need are:

• Ideas to encourage students to show good character


• Ideas/Program to help our community


• Ideas/Ways to challenge students in our classroom


• Ideas to help our classroom work together to be kind and caring


• Ideas to help make our class a fun and learning environment

What questions would you like to ask the four candidates?  I will use these questions in an upcoming debate. Best of luck to all of the candidates!

In a few weeks we will begin an amazing journey in the world of blogs.  Blogging is amazing because you can share your thoughts and knowledge without using a pencil or paper.  You will be able to reply to comments other students have written. Your teacher and parents will even be able to comment about your responses. So check back regularly to see who has responded and use this blog to learn from others. I look forward to a wonderful year of learning with you!  What would you like to blog about this year?

Welcome Back!

It is the first day of summer vacation! I sure miss everyone already. We can use this post to tell about what we have been up to over the summer.

Tell us about your trips, crazy things that have happened to you, and the fun times you are having. I can't wait to hear from you!

Have a wonderful and safe summer!

There are many types of books:

Fiction means imaginary or fake

Nonfiction means not fake or real

Do you prefer to read expository (factual) texts or narrative stories better? Why? Support your answer with an example from a book that you have been reading during Readers' Workshop.

Today you will begin an amazing journey in the world of blogs. You will be able to share your ideas and knowledge with others about various subjects. You will be able to reply to comments other students have written. Your teacher and parents will even be able to comment about your responses. So check back regularly to see who has responded and use this blog to learn from others.

Let's get started... What great books have you read lately? Tell us some interesting details to get us excited about the book or books you have described.