Oh, Oh, Oh, Ice cold milk and an Oreo cookie. They forever go together. What a classic combination. Do you remember this famous jingle? Not many people will ever forget this common television commercial jingle when it hit the advertising world.
The 4th and 5th grade multiage classroom at Maple Valley Elementary has made that famous cookie, the Oreo, the focus of their unit of study during the first few weeks of school.
The 4th and 5th graders began their “sweet” study at the Maple Valley Elementary Open House on August 18th when they surveyed parents, guardians, brothers, sisters, and whoever else decided to drop by their classroom and enjoy Oreo cookies and milk. The Oreo survey consisted of four questions regarding how one enjoyed eating their Oreo cookies Š did they eat the Oreo whole; take it apart and eat the middle first; take it apart and eat the cookie first; or dip it in milk.
The Oreo cookie study expanded when the students arrived at school the first day. The data collected from the individual surveys was collected and recorded in a chart to be used later in a graph. Students were then pre-tested on their graphing skills and put into flexible groups. The graphing lessons were tiered to meet student needs. The groups’ assignment was to use the data collected and create a graph to organize and display their survey results. One group conducted their own survey on cookies, tallied the results, and created a graph to display these results. The graphs consisted of a pictograph, horizontal bar graph, and a circle graph.
Math was not the only subject where cookies were the focal point. Science also included cookies as students were grouped according to their learning profiles. Students were divided into three groups. The first group decided to see in which liquid an Oreo would dissolve the quickest. Another group decided to see which type of cookies Š Oreo, Nutter Butter, Pecan Sandies, Vienna Fingers, Vanilla Wafers, or Chips Ahoy Š dissolved the fastest in milk. The last group designed their own experiment in which they set out to determine if the Double Stuffed Oreo was really “double stuffed”.
By this time one would think that the students would be full of cookies, but they continued to be involved in exploring the Oreo cookie with great enthusiasm. During Social Studies students researched the Oreo cookie or another one of their favorite cookies. After a mini lesson on the use of the internet, students launched into their research. Once the research was complete, the 4th and 5th graders learned about graphic organizers and how they help organize information. Students then worked on introductory sentences, paragraph writing, and conclusions. The students concluded their cookie research by using their graphic organizers to write a report on the history of their cookie.
Social Studies also found the students learning about how technology and inventions have changed the world in which they live. They began their study by participating in a read aloud about Henry Ford and the assembly line. In an effort to demonstrate to students the importance of specialized jobs, the 4th and 5th graders created their own peanut butter and jelly assembly lines. After practicing making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, students, of course, applied their knowledge to “cookies”. Students made “hamburgers” from vanilla wafers, frosting, peppermint patties, and red and yellow gel frosting. The results were very “edible”. Students were able to conclude for themselves the importance of working together and specializing their tasks.
During reading class, the 4th and 5th grade students listened to books about cookies such as Milk and Cookies by Frank Asch, MMMM, Cookies by Robert Munsch, and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. After listening to the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, students created their own If You Give A _____?? A Cookie story. Students also wrote a class story with each student contributing one new item (sentence) to the story.
After all of these “cookie” activities the “cookie” crazy students were not finished. During English class, students wrote their own cookie jingle commercials modeled after the Oreo jingle. Student wrote and performed their jingles and commercials to their classmates.
After all of their hard work, you would think that these students would never want to see another cookie, but that was not the case. The 4th and 5th grade students decided to enter the national competition on “How Many Oreos Can You Stack” (a great lesson on mean, median, mode, and range). Last year 44 states, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, and the Virgin Islands participated in the contest. Seven hundred and seventeen schools with 14,752 students stacked cookies, tallied their results, and averaged their scores. When the contest opens later this month the 4th and 5th graders will register and post their results on the national website. Students will be able to track and compare their results to other schools; track the number and location of schools involved, and eventually track the winners.
One of the many benefits of studying cookies is, of course, cleaning up!! The Oreo cookie unit presented interesting, challenging, and educational activities to everyone involved. Students learned such things as the 345 billion Oreo cookies sold to date would fill up the world’s largest freight train consisting of 660 freight cars, more than 45 times; the St. Louis Arch (630 feet) is 15,120 Oreo cookies high; in order to keep up with the voluminous demand, the Oreo cookie recipe calls for 18 million pounds of cocoa and 47 million pounds of cr¸me filling; an Oreo cookie is 29% cream and 71% cookie; the Oreo cookie has been America’s most popular cookie since it was introduced in 1912; the floral design on the Oreo cookie consists of 12 flowers per side; there are 11 varieties of Oreos as of August, 2003.
Oh, Oh, Oh. Ice cold milk and an Oreo cookie. They forever go together. What a classic combination. When a dark, delicious cookie meets an icy cold sensation. Like the one and only creamy, crunchy chocolate O-R-E-O. Keeps your milk from getting’ lonely. Oh, Oh, Oh. The one and only. Keeps your milk from getting’ lonely. Oh, Oh, Oh. The one and only O-R-E-O.
How do you eat your O.R.E.O. cookie? The Maple Valley Elementary students will definitely be able to answer this question!
Mrs. Lloyd’s students are off to a great year. They are working hard on time and money concepts. Students learning that through their hard work they are able to earn money. When they earn enough money, they can go shopping at the “store” in our room. Students are working hard because they love to shop.
We have also been very busy reading. The students are reading Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House, and Nate the Great books and looking at some wonderful picture books. All students are working really hard to pass the acceralated reader tests to earn points. These points are part of Maple Valley’s library program. They are excited to continue to participate in the Accerlated Reader Program.
This year the Maple Valley and Anthon Oto schools are trying out the Barnes and Noble Book Fair as another way to add to the library collections.
On October 17th, Barnes and Noble in Sioux City will be hosting a book fair for the MVAO school district. There will be bookmarks designed by elementary students on display, as well as wish lists for the libraries. A percentage of book and cafˇ purchases made that day will be returned to the school when the buyer turns in a voucher with our special book fair I.D. number and/or mentions that they want to support the fair.
Also, special this day will be a Signature Cafˇ drink called the Rambler, and Educator Day discounts.
Please consider stopping in at the bookfair and possibly do some early holiday shopping. If you have your voucher, purchases at any Barnes and Noble store will support our schools.
Please contact the school for more information - MV Elementary 881-1319, AO School 373-5244, MVAO High School 881-1317.
On Monday, September 14th, the Danbury Catholic kindergarten students had visitors to help them celebrate the letter "M". The class had met Mr. M who has a munching mouth. They learned that he enjoys to eat muffins and milk. The class members invited their Moms to come to school for Moms and Muffins Monday. The group enjoyed the muffins that were made and donated to the celebration by Linda Dirksen. The students were excited to share what they had been learning with their Moms and ended the visit by singing and dancing to Mr. M's song.
Photo submitted by Mrs. Drees. Thanks, Michelle!
Danbury Catholic Kndergarten Teacher Mrs. Michelle Drees has been spending her extra time harvesting grapes at her in-laws' vineyard. At the Richard Drees farm, where there are 1.5 acres of grapes, harvest is in full session.
Mrs. Drees shared her experience of picking grapes with the student body at Danbury Catholic. She brought in pictures of the vineyard, discussed the care of grapes, and told them what kind of weather grapes prefer. The students could see how grapes are planted, how they hang on a vine, and the process of harvest.
As an added bonus, the students were able to taste 6 different varieties of grapes that are grown at the Drees farm - Foch, Eldeweiss, Concord, Elvira, Plum, and Catabwa. They experienced green, purple, and red grapes. The students were amazed at the many different varieties and taste of each one. Some were sour and some were sweet. The students loved the experience and asked Mrs. Drees to come back again next time.
To heighten the experience even further, the students saved a few seeds to try to be grape farmers of their own.
Sue Bruning, president of the Castana Jr. 76ers GFWC presented the Kind News certificate to Maple Valley School First Grade Teacher Sue Woodward and to Danbury Catholic School First and Second Grade Teacher Lisa Bruning. Kind News is a publication from the Humane Society used to teach students about pet care and how to treat animals. The Castana Jr. 76ers have been sponsoring teachers for a number of years.
Photo submitted by Lisa Bruning. Thanks, Lisa!