Typing Club

What is this program?

This online program will assist you with learning and improving your typing speed!

How does it work?

Practice each lesson over and over to at least get all three stars. It really doesn't take much to learn, a few minutes a day for one to two weeks and you will be a pro!

Using this program, your typing speed will reach 10 to 12 words per minute rather quickly. From there practice on your normal typing activities to increase your speed to 40 - 90 words per minute.

Your son or daughter can login from a home computer and work on his/her typing.   

Visit the Hough St. School webpage at http://www.barrington220.org/Domain/1145. Click on the Student Resources tab and scroll down to Typing Club.  You’ll need to use your child's login information that was sent home at Back-to-School Night to access Typing Club.

4th Grade Buddies

Buddy programs consist of upper-grade students reading and/or completing activities or projects with younger children. Older students are paired with younger children from their buddy class and the most effective programs have at least two grade levels between students. The experience provides children with stimulating opportunities for learning and skill development.

Younger children especially enjoy the one-to-one attention they receive from their older buddy. Participation in buddy programs enhances children`s cooperative learning behaviors such as taking turns, listening, sharing knowledge, praising another`s effort, helping one another, and completing a task. Due to the extra attention and assistance, the younger children`s work often improves. As the older students assume the role of the teacher, they are motivated to do their best. They also experience pride in their ability to be helpful. The younger children bond with the older buddy and friendships flourish as the year progresses.

Buddy classes start each fall and meet weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly throughout the year. The children usually spend between thirty to forty minutes together. Buddy programs promote a favorable school atmosphere. In some cases, the students sit with their buddy during lunch or have time together on the playground. Some younger students make posters and cheer for their older buddies who are on sports teams. Treats are sometimes shared for holiday celebrations and students may exchange notes or cards for special occasions.

Activities that buddies can do together vary widely and are only limited by the imagination of the teachers, the age of the students, and the boundaries provided by the administration. They can read books, write stories, plan skits, do science experiments, play math games, cook, sing songs, go on scavenger hunts, complete art projects, or go on field trips.

MEET OUR BUDDIES FROM MRS. BELLAGAMBA'S 4th GRADE CLASS!

Johnny Appleseed

John Chapman (September 26, 1774 – March 11, 1845), often called Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer who introduced apple trees to large parts of  Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois,  He became an American legend while still alive, due to his kind, generous ways, his leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples.  Today, we honor Johnny Appleseed.  He is a true American hero.

Math Game Day

Benefits of Playing Math Games

Meaningful Situations - The application of mathematical skills are created by games.

Motivation - Children freely choose to participate and enjoy playing.

Positive Attitude - Games provide opportunities for building self-concept and developing positive attitudes towards mathematics, through reducing the fear of failure and error.

Increased Learning - In comparison to more formal activities, greater learning can occur through games due to the increased interaction between children, opportunities to test intuitive ideas and problem solving strategies.

Different Levels - Games can allow children to operate at different levels of thinking and to learn from each other. In a group of children playing a game, one child might be encountering a concept for the first time, another may be developing his/her understanding of the concept, and a third child may be consolidating previously learned concepts.

Assessment - Children's thinking often becomes apparent through the actions and decisions they make during a game, so the teacher has the opportunity to carry out diagnosis and assessment of learning in a non-threatening situation.

Home and School - Games provide 'hands-on' interactive tasks for both school and home.

Independence - Children can work independently of the teacher. The rules of the game and the children's motivation usually keep them on task.

Thank you to all the parent volunteers who came to our first Math Game Day of the year! Here are some photos of the students in action:

Miss Amato

This semester, we have the distinguished opportunity to have Miss Haley Amato from National Louis University in our classroom! Miss Amato will spend 40 hours in our classroom. The purpose of this experience is to provide her with an initial experience in an elementary school. This practicum I experience will allow her to observe and work with elementary school students. She will watch our instruction, supervision, participate in our preparation of lessons, and read aloud and work with small groups of students under our supervision!

Miss Amato is a former student of Mr. Aalfs from Station Campus. Haley's mother was Mr. Aalf's colleague as well! Miss Amato is very competent and is a strong teacher educator candidate. We are very excited to have her in our room on Wendesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings! She also spends her summers working at a local Montessori school!

Haley lives locally and works at the Canteen, so stop over to say hello!

Classroom Habitudes

To elaborate on some information that was sent home at Back to School night, we want to introduce our 7 classroom habitudes! Last year, our school district purchased a book written by Angela Maiers, Classroom Habitudes, for all teachers! This outstanding book looks at what 21st Century success requires:

• The ability to see the challenge and the solution, from every angle
• The ability know what questions to ask and when to ask them
• The ability to communicate one’s vision passionately and persuasively
• The ability to connect with others and create an enduring relationship
• The ability to understand your strengths and the discipline to improve your weaknesses
• The ability to stand out, stand up, and stand beside and knowing when each is required
• The ability to dream, set audacious goals, and believe they can be accomplished
• The ability to lead, serve, and honor others

Individuals and organizations with these attributes believe they can solve any problem and no challenge is too great. They approach problems with an attitude of optimism, persistence, confidence, and resolution to improve the situation, regardless of context and circumstance.

These abilities are a combination of habits, daily disciplined decisions that successful individuals choose to make, but they also illustrate a new attitude, mindset, and way of thinking about the world and one’s place in it. Together, these disciplined habits and critical mindsets, or Classroom Habitudes provide a comprehensive model for excellence in education.

The 7 Habitudes and the Months we will study them:

• Imagination (October)
• Curiosity (January)
• Self Awareness (September)
• Courage (February)
• Adaptability (April)
• Perseverance (November/December)
• Passion (March)

Hough has adopted the 7 habitudes as part of our social-emotional learning program. A different grade level will put up a bulletin board of the habitude we will study each month. Mr. Aalfs talks about the habitudes over the morning announcements and we study them in class. Check out the bulletin board near the office in between the library and Mr. George's classroom.

One of the habitudes is imagination! Here are some pictures of our creative, imaginative engineers at work with our Math Manipulatives! First Grade is in charge of the display for October, so please stop by during conferences to check it out!

For more information visit: http://www.angelamaiers.com/