Mr. Funke's Blog

Lots of “secret” projects this week that we can’t really talk about too much. K-3 are all hard at work on an end of the year project that you will either see online or at Curriculum Night in a couple weeks.

4th graders are putting the finishing touches on state and animal reports.

1st graders are getting back into the re-opened lab after MAP testing. This week we’ve been working on our math and reading skills with EMGames and Treasures

I’d like to tell you more about 2nd grade is working on but that might spoil the surprise. You’ll get to see the final product in a couple of weeks though.

3rd grade began working on their Illinois brochures. Each student will be creating a persuasive 3 page travel brochure about Illinois. To do this, they’ll need to research 5 areas of interest pertaining to Illinois and write a paragraph about each. We’ll then add titles and images to make it look like a real travel brochure.

4th grade continues to work on their animal reports which we’ll be wikifying soon.

Sorry for the delay in posting. We’ve had a busy March and April

1st graders finished working on their How To comics which are posted here (along with their Solid and Liquid comics).

2nd graders worked really hard getting their George Washington timelines finished in Comic Life. You can find them posted online on their class wikis.

3rd grade finished their Simple Machine Quiz projects which are not only posted online on their class wikis but are also playable. Check them out. They’re a lot of fun.

After finishing their Rock Riddle projects, 4th grade started research for their animal projects. Their final product will be an animal encyclopedia on their class wikis which I will post links to when they are finished.

We just finished MAP testing and everyone is looking forward to getting back into the lab to work on some more projects next week.

Busy busy week.

1st graders started putting the finishing touches on their solids and liquids comic page. We should be finished by the end of next week so look for them to be posted online shortly after that.

2nd graders posted their map projects to their class wikis so they can be viewed outside of school. Just click on the 2nd grade tab at the top of this page to find links to each class wiki. We’ll be posting more projects during the year as they are completed.

3rd grade is in the middle of their simple machine quiz games. These will be posted and playable on the class wikis when they are finished.

Most of 4th grade worked on MyAccess this week while the others worked on finishing up their rock riddles.

It’s been a big week  with some classes finishing and other starting big projects.

1st grade started preparation for a big solids and liquids project.  This week they learned how to use our class set of digital cameras and roamed the hallways practicing taking pictures of different things.  Next week, they’ll use the cameras again for the first day of the project.

2nd grade had a blast using our iPod touches to complete a scavenger hunt in the hallways.  We placed 8 clues in different spots in the building using QR Codes.  Then, using a QR code scanner on the iPods, students followed the clues until they had decoded a secret phrase.

Click Here to Watch a Video of Our QR Code Hunt

3rd grade finished working on their geometry wiki projects in class this week.  We are moving on to a new simple machines project next week but students are allowed to continue working on their geometry wikis at home if they wish.  Their wikis are linked on the 3rd grade page of this site.

4th grade put the finishing touches on their rock riddles. Look for them to be posted to their wikis and hanging in their hallway soon.

1st graders prepared for an upcoming project on solids and liquids with a quick Kidspiration sorting activity.

2nd graders put the finishing touches on their Map projects. Look for them to be posted to the wikis very soon.

3rd graders continue to work on their geometry wiki projects. Hopefully, everyone was successful in adding the symmetry entry by themselves at home.

4th graders continue to work on their rock riddles. Some classes are finishing up this week. Look for them in the hallways and on the wikis when everyone is done.

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a relaxing break.  We’re starting a bunch of new projects in computers this week.

Kindergartners continue to practice logging in. They’re getting better and better each week.  This week we taught them how to log out of the computers when they are done as well.  Soon we will start creating projects to save and print.

1st graders played some more math games this week.  Feel free to play them at home. They are linked on the first grade page of this web site.

2nd graders started a new map project this week.  Each student is using a template in Pages and some pre-selected clip art to create a 3×3 map with a key.  When the locations are placed on the map and the key is created they will then generate questions for their classmates to answer (how do you go from _____ to _____?).

3rd grade is starting a geometry project on their class wikis this week. Each student will create a geometry almanac on the wiki featuring a definition of a geometric shape and a picture of where that shape can be found in the real world.  Feel free to let them work on this project at home if they’d like.

4th grade began working on their rock riddles this week. Each student was assigned a secret rock to write a riddle around.  This week we began research but soon each student will create a page in Comic Life for his/her riddle.

First graders continued playing Math games on my web site.  If they’d like to play at home, the games can be found here.

Second graders spent one last week learning about maps and landforms on the web.  The games and videos can be found here.

Third grade had some choices between writing, keyboarding and Study Island this week.  I hope to start a more formal writing/research project when we return from break.

Fourth grade spent one final week with the Tandys in Google Earth.  They will begin African American history and Rock Riddle projects when we return from break.

1st graders learned how to find Mr. Funke’s web site and played some math games online. We’ll be oing this from time to time throughout the year. See if your child can remember how to find my site and play them at home.

2nd graders are doing some map and landform activities online. Using a combination of Brainpop and Discovery Education videos along with a couple of direction and compass games we’ve started using technology to reinforce the concepts they are studying in their classroom. Look for a couple of fun new activities related to these topics when we return to school after Winter break.

Third graders are learning how to log in to and use Study Island. Study Island is an ISAT prep site that lets your students read short lessons and take tests on the concepts they are learning in school. This site can be used at home but please don’t have your child test on subjects he/she hasn’t learned about in class yet. The classroom teachers can use the data Study Island collects to help them prepare lessons and units throughout the year.

4th graders are finishing up their road trip with the Tandys. As they finish, they are working in MyAccess to better their writing. When we return in January, we’ll begin our rock riddle and African American history projects.