Math Olympiad Problem of the Month

Challenge Accepted

Students have been working with the Scientific Method to problem solve in small groups.  They began with some basic materials and were challenged to build a tower.  Many different designs were tried, some failed, some succeeded.  All students were pushed to another level of communication and solving problems as they appeared in this real-time activity.

Elementary Battle of the Books

Below are the titles for the annual contest at the Elementary level:

Author	Title
Cynthia Lord	A Handful of Stars
Lois Lowry	All About Sam
Barbara Robinson	The Best School Year Ever
Christopher Paul Curtis	Bud, Not Buddy*
Patricia C Wrede	Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #01)
Cynthia Chapman Willis	Dog Gone
Deborah Wiles	Each Little Bird That Sings
Cece Bell	El Deafo
J.K. Rowling	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Hope Solo	Hope Solo: My Story (Young Readers' Edition)
Katherine Hannigan	Ida B: ... And Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World
Bruce Coville	Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher: A Magic Shop Book
Bill O'Reilly	Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever
Dan Gutman	Million Dollar Shot
Barbara Cooney	Miss Rumphius
Ivy Ruckman	Night of the Twisters
Milly Lee	Nim and the War Effort
John R. Erickson	Original Adventure of Hank the Cowdog
Sharon M. Draper	Out of My Mind
Beverly Cleary	Ralph S. Mouse
Kate Klise	Regarding the Fountain
Sharon Creech	Ruby Holler
Cynthia Lord	Rules
Patricia MacLachlan	Sarah, Plain and Tall 30th Anniversary Edition
Betty G. Birney	Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs
Maria McSwigan	Snow Treasure
Sam Angus	Soldier Dog
Wilson Rawls	Summer of the Monkeys
John Grandits	Technically, It's Not My Fault: Concrete Poems
Kay Moore	The Great Bicycle Experiment: The Army's Historic Black Bicycle Corps, 1896-97
Elizabeth George Speare	The Sign of the Beaver
Natalie Babbitt	Tuck Everlasting
Betsy Cromer Byars	Wanted...Mud Blossom
Grace Lin	Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
R. J. Palacio	Wonder
A. LaFaye	Worth

*Title is available as an eBook through AEA 267 student MackinVIA accounts.

Junior High Battle of the Books List

Below are the titles for the annual contest:

AEA 267 Middle School BOB 2016-17 Book list

Author	Title
Cynthia Lord	A Handful of Stars (Bonus title)
Gennifer Choldenko	Al Capone Does My Shirts
B.M. Mooyaart	Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
Scott O'Dell	Black Star, Bright Dawn
Francisco Jimenez	Breaking Through
Katherine Paterson	Bridge to Terabithia
Jack London	Call of the Wild (Puffin Classics)*
Michelle Paver	Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #01: Wolf Brother
Jeanne DuPrau	City of Ember: The First Book of Ember*
Jane Yolen	Devil's Arithmetic*
Laurence Yep	Dragonwings: Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1903
Caroline B. Cooney	Face on the Milk Carton
Tony Abbott	Firegirl*
Wendelin Van Draanen	Flipped
Avi	The Good Dog
Kirby Larson	Hattie Big Sky
Mike Lupica	Heat
Nancy Farmer	House of the Scorpion
Robert Louis Stevenson	Kidnapped*
Cynthia Kadohata	Kira-Kira
Louis L'Amour	Last of the Breed
Russell Freedman	Lincoln: A Photobiography*
Cynthia Rylant	Missing May
Patricia Reilly Giff	Nory Ryan’s Song
Ernest Hemingway	Old Man and the Sea
Joan Lowery Nixon	Other Side of the Dark
Rick Riordan	Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief : Book 1
Jane Austen	Pride and Prejudice*
Linda Sue Park	Project Mulberry
Ann M. Martin	Rain Reign (Previously omitted title)
Laura Hillenbrand	Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Liz Kessler	The Tail of Emily Windsnap
Richard Peck	The Teacher's Funeral
Ben Mikaelsen	Touching Spirit Bear
Michael Morpurgo	War Horse
Gary D. Schmidt	Wednesday Wars*
R. J. Palacio	Wonder

Online Book Resource

www.mackinvia.com  is library at your fingertips.  Log-in to view thousands of books anywhere you have Internet access.

#1- Choose your School

#2- Username: 3105patrjrsr

#3- Password: aea267

Use your personal information to log-in:

~~~Username: last name, first initial

~~~Password: P(lunch number)0   example: P54320

September 2nd Items

Here are the links for class, let's see how you do:


Math Assessment



Writing/thoughts Journal

Meet Your Teacher

Hello, I am excited to once again be a part of the Independence Community.  I was born and raised in Independence and enjoyed playing baseball and basketball as a Mustang!  After graduating from Independence High School I attended Kirkwood Community College and the University of Northern Iowa.  I graduated there with a degree in Elementary Education with a Math Minor.  I student taught in Marshalltown in 1999, and they hired me shortly after that to teach 4th grade.  I taught 4th grade and 3rd grade at Rogers Elementary for 14 years, I then transferred to Miller Middle School to teach 7th grade math, as well as an accelerated group learning 8th grade math for the past 3 years.

When I am not at school helping kids I enjoy keeping my two kids busy with activities and fishing as much as I can.  I have loved to fish since I was a young boy, and that love has never left me.  I fish all-year around and enjoy fishing all over the state for various kinds of fish.  When not fishing I enjoy writing articles for newspapers and magazines about the sport of fishing.  I also help others learn about fishing through guide trips and giving seminars throughout the year.

My family is proud to say that we are MUSTANGS!