2015 4.5 National Championships

I had the opportunity to play this year in the 4.5 National Championships out in Palm Springs, California.  This was my third trip to the National Championships.  After having lost the previous two times to the eventual champion, I was hoping to finally get over the edge and win this year.  The goal of the team was to get into the final four.  There were 16 regions represented at the National Championships.  I was on the team that represented the midwest.  All 16 teams were placed in groups of four.  Our team then had to play each team in our grouping.  We defeated all of the other three teams in our bracket and advanced to the final four.  This was our goal from the start, so we were pretty happy.  We played Texas in the semi-finals and beat them 3-2.  (I should let you know that you play 2 singles positions and three doubles positions.)  That win put us in the National Championship match against Northern California, the home team.  The temperature in Palm Springs that weekend was extremely hot.  Most of the matches were played with the temperature in triple digits.  The championship match was no exception.  After an early struggle against out opponents, my partner Leon Brenneman and I eventually won our match 6-4 6-4.  The rest of the team held there own and we ended up beating Northern California 4-1.  It was a dream come true for my teammates and myself.  It was an amazing weekend, and it is something I will never forget.  Check out the photos below.

Museum of Science and Industry

Our 6th grade students at Eisenhower Elementary recently returned from a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.  We saw many exhibits and learned so much during our visit.  Many of the students had never been there before, and were amazed at the size of the museum as well as the number of exhibits it contained.  The students were put in groups of 8-10 and were chaperoned around the museum by Mrs. Elliott, Mr. Gensinger, Mrs. Fleming, Mr. Parker, and myself.  It was a fabulous day to be at the museum because it was not very crowded.  The students took their iPads to the museum and took many photos and videos to remember this extraordinary day.  Upon our return home, the students were required to create a memory book of their day using the app Book Creator.  

Blogging

     The students this year each have their own blog on Kidblog.  Although we don't blog everyday, we have blogged frequently throughout the year. Students are sometimes given topics to write about, but the majority of the time they have freedom to choose their own topics.  Some of the students have begun writing their own books a chapter at a time on their blog.  Blogging has been a great way to keep the student's writing.  
     Usually after they publish a post, they can then go and comment on other student's blog posts.  I have also connected our class with other classrooms from other states.  They can comment on student's posts from Hawaii and South Carolina.  Check out our pictures below for some of the kids in action Blogging!

Clink on the link to take a look at out classroom blog.  Happy reading!


https://kidblog.org/class/mrstreitsclass2015/posts

Reading Buddies

We met with our reading buddies today.  The kids read Thanksgiving books and then the first graders drew a picture of what they visualized. 

Biography Bottles Were a Hit

The students recently finished a study of a famous historical person.  After writing the biography of their chosen subject, they created Biography Bottles.  Check out their creations below.