ELP Newsletter
September/October 2000
ELP students are off to a wonderful start!
All ELPer’s 4th-6th grades began the year
with orientation. Highlights
included reviewing the Autonomous Learner Model as well as the goals and
objectives of ELP, completing a self-portrait, and an “I Am” poem.
The self-portraits and poems are on display in the ELP room.
Stop I n to see the terrific poetry and portrait your child
completed recently.
Warm ups: ELP students begin class
with an exercise to prepare their minds for thinking!
Think-a-grams are verbal picture puzzles that allow students to
develop skills in spatial relations, creative thinking, and problem
solving. Dr. Doo Riddles are
special riddles that help students perceive relationships between words,
ideas, and concepts.
Temperature Readings: Each student
shares temperature readings once a week at the beginning of class.
These “non-medical” temperatures are used to describe how a
person is feeling at a certain time.
This activity helps all to build rapport and understanding of
people in the group. At times it also sparks a conversations about
issue/concerns that many or all in the group are facing at a particular
time.
6th grade: Following orientation sixth graders began preparations
for competing in the annual Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl. This contest is
completed via a computer disk that contains 100 “outstanding,
thought-provoking” multiple-choice questions.
Students are developing strategies, completing selected
BrainTeasers, and practicing taking the Quiz Bowl with the disk from
previous years contests. Wish
the sixth graders luck! The
results will be posted in an upcoming ELP newsletter.
5th grade: Fifth grade ELP
students are currently busy with ELP Olympics!
They are completing various research questions, logic puzzles, math
challenges, wacky wordies, and creating a 2000 Olympic journal and
“original puzzles”. Fifth
graders chose whether to go for the gold, silver, or bronze medal based on
the amount and quality of challenges they complete! Good luck fifth graders!
4th grade: Following
orientation, fourth grade ELP students have been completing various
thinking lessons with all fourth graders in Mrs. Tigge’s classroom.
Students have worked on analogies, Boxes and Clinkers (an
introduction to algebra), and a writing activity.
Taking the Road
Less Traveled
On October 12th, twelve 6th
grade girls will travel to Ames, Iowa to participate in a career awareness
event. The careers presented
are related to science, math, and engineering. A big thank you goes to
Jean Baker, Mary Kay Wilson, Laurie Israel, and Nancy Moorhead for
volunteering to drive for this educational field trip.
Conferences:
Parent teacher conferences will be coming up in November.
Please be sure to sign up for a time for us to meet regarding your
child’s ELP progress. Also, as an FYI, ELP report cards will go home this year
in the beginning of January and on the last day of school.
If you have questions/concerns before conference time, please feel
free to call me at Jordan Creek.
Thanks for your support!
Lisa Clark