Kindergarten Adventure: NAME THAT CRANE Part 2

You may remember that our kindergarten classes read the classic, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton. Then they found out that the big machines across the street don't have names like Mike's Mary Anne. BUT they also learned that they were going to be able to name the 400-ton crane that would soon arrive on the construction site.

They waited and waited and waited. Now the crane is here!

The day before February vacation, the kids took a field trip to see the crane in action.

Off they go!

A peek into the site along the way.

Joseph P. gets to sit in a front end loader!

There it is...


Our crane is helping put up the steel!

Three pieces at once--that's called a Christmas tree.

Pete, a construction worker, gave everyone a gift to take home.

Pete told the kids they got something called a Crosby clip. On the way back to the school, some of them wondered what it was. Looks like it's time to Ask the Expert again.

Other kids wondered what the crane's name should be. Did they have any ideas? Hang on--you'll find out in NAME THAT CRANE Part 3.

An Author's Visit

Math and construction aren't the only things that are important at the Michael J. Perkins School. So are BOOKS and writing! The students of Ms. Dewire's second grade class are about to start writing their first books (on their favorite fish). So our author-in-residence, Susan E. Goodman, dropped by yesterday to tell them how she does it.

Ms. Goodman said that the steps the kids will go through to write their nonfiction books are exactly the same ones she does. So they are learning how to be professional authors if they want to be. Authors and second graders all need to come up with a idea, research to find the facts they need for their story, figure out how to best order the information, write a rough draft, and then work hard and long to make it better in many drafts until it's done (with the help of a teacher or editor).

In some ways, Ms. Goodman said, the second graders have a harder job because they must draw their own pictures and many authors have artists to illustrate their books. But professional authors still have some work to do. So Ms. Goodman showed the kids all the other stages that take her words and turn them into the book they could hold in their hand.

Let the research begin!

3rd Grade MCAS Math--Perkins' Style!

It's MCAS Monday for the third graders, their second week of practicing Perkins' math!

Just as a reminder:
Sometimes kids feel as if they learn math in school and then they will never use it again. That’s just not true. People on the construction site of Old Colony need all their math skills. They use math all day, every day.

That’s why students everywhere have to study math. We’re going to do it, Perkins Style. We’ll show you a math question from a previous year’s MCAS test for third graders. Then we’ll give you another question using real data from the construction site.

Our students can study for their MCAS by solving both problems. Third graders, print these out and give them a try! We’ll show a few worksheets on the blog later on this week.

This is part of an actual question from an MCAS test a few years ago:

Question 3.2 Jamie is measuring her pet mouse.

Should Jamie measure her mouse’s weight in feet, ounces, or tons?
Use the space below to explain how you know your answer is correct.





Here's our Perkins' version.

The average hard hat worn by construction workers weighs 14 ounces.

Sara has 10 hard hats and she figured out how much they weigh all together.

Should Sara write out the total weight of all the hats in feet, pounds, or tons?
Use the space below to explain how you know your answer is correct.





3.3 Here's the actual MCAS question:



Here's our Perkins' version.


On January 4, 2011, our blog had a post saying that a lot of construction work was done during school vacation. It showed pictures taken from the school's front door on the last day before vacation, December 23rd and the first day back, January 3rd.

Not counting the last day of school or the first day back, how long was the vacation?

Which number sentence expresses the right problem and gives the right answer?

A) 9 + 3 = 12 days

B) 9 + 2 = 11 days

C) 8 + 2 = 10 days

D) 8 + 3 = 11 days

4th Grade MCAS Math--and the Answers are...

This is our third week of studying MCAS math, Perkins Style. That means asking students to solve mathematical situations from the construction site across the street that are similar to MCAS questions. Who says you don't need math after you're done with school?

It was a busy week of testing and catching up from the snow days, so our fourth graders just had time to tackle one question. We can't show everyone's work, just a few representative students. Don't worry, kids, you'll have another chance to get your answers up there soon.

Next week, the third grade will take a turn. Have a good weekend, everybody!

4th Grade MCAS Math--Perkins Style!

Thanks to Ms. Muenkel and her 5th graders for all their excellent work on their first MCAS Math week. This week we're turning to Ms. Harden's 4th grade class.

Just as a reminder:
Sometimes kids feel as if they learn math in school and then they will never use it again. That’s just not true. People on the construction site of Old Colony need all their math skills. They use math all day, every day.

That’s why students everywhere have to study math. We’re going to do it, Perkins Style. We’ll show you a math question from a previous year’s MCAS test for fourth graders. Then we’ll give you another question using real data from the construction site.

Our students can study for their MCAS by solving both problems. Fourth graders, print these out and give them a try! We’ll show a few worksheets on the blog later on this week.

Question 4.1 This is a question from an MCAS test.


Here is our Perkins' version:

This is a map of what Phase One of Old Colony's renovation will look like after it is finished.

Which two streets are perpendicular to each other?

A) Old Colony Ave and E. 8th Street
B) Dorchester Street and E. 8th Street
C) Dorchester Street and Columbia Road
D) Knowlton Street and E. 8th Street


Question 4.2: This is a question from an MCAS test.







Here is our Perkin's version!



This is the floor plan of an apartment being built in Phase One of the Old Colony construction project. It shows how the rooms will be laid out and their dimensions. It even suggests what it will look like with furniture inside!

Bedroom #2, outlined in red, is a square. It is 11 feet long and 11 feet wide. What is the perimeter of the room?

A) 121 feet
B) 44 square feet
C) 44 feet
D) 121 square feet

5th Grade MCAS Math--and the Answers are...

This is our second week of studying MCAS math, Perkins Style. That means taking actual MCAS questions from previous tests and asking students to solve them as well as similar mathematical situations from the construction site across the street. Who says you don't need math after you're done with school?

Our fifth graders did wonderfully on both questions. We can't show everyone's work, just a few representative students. Don't worry, kids, you'll have another chance to get your answers up there soon.

Next week, the fourth grade will take a turn.

Sorry, the snow day yesterday is going to compress our coverage of Ms. Leverett-King's math project, teaching kids to how to create 3-D geometric shapes both on paper and WITH paper. You saw Stage 1 last post, just below.

Here's Stage 2: First graders learning to draw not just standard shapes, but houses, in 3-D.





Finally, here's Stage 3, in which the kids made actual shapes from cubes to pentagonal prisms. Pretty great, aren't they?

First Graders do Math Too!

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders aren't the only kids studying math, of course. Ms. Leverett-King's first grade class has been working on some amazing stuff. Some people would call this kind of geometry "fifth grade math." Ms. Leverett-King's class calls it fun!

Here's how they started learning how to draw three-dimensional objects in two dimensions. In other words, they are making something that looks 3-D on a flat piece of paper. We wish we could show all their great work on the blog, but we don't have room. If you're curious, check out the display right outside their classroom.

Tune in tomorrow and Thursday to see what they did next!