Archive for November, 2010

Class activities for Thursday, November 11

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Spelling: We continued to review there/their/they’re/theirs/there’s homophones by thinking about famous proverbs.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles. Some groups worked on chunking unknown words and using context clues to solve their meaning.

Writing: We talked about varying sentences:

  • Don’t use the same beginning words over and over;
  • Change some words;
  • Rearrange the order of the words;
  • Make some sentences longer and some shorter.

Our next piece of writing, a fiction piece, is due Monday, November 29. Students should be prewriting at this time.

Math: None today due to extra time with Social Studies.

Science: We completed a genetics experiment to model how traits are passed from parents to offspring. Homework is to complete the Generations of Traits experiment.

Social Studies: We reviewed sample artifacts that could be found in sunken ships from European explorers. We also discussed the different reasons artifacts may be found:

  • Motivations for exploring (money, religion, lands, cash crops);
  • Tools for exploring (astrolabe, compass);
  • New products from exploring (new foods and crops)

Behavior Update:

  • Yellow magnets: 0
  • Orange magnets: 0
  • Red magnets: 0
  • STAR Awards: 0
  • Magnets moved this week (goal: 10): 1

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 6th grade.

Class activities for Wednesday, November 10

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

Spelling: We reviewed there/their/they’re/theirs/there’s homophones by thinking about famous proverbs.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles. Some groups worked on chunking unknown words and determining importance.

Writing: We talked about types of leads today:

  1. Talking leads begin with characters talking;
  2. Snapshot leads begin a story with a description of a setting or character;
  3. Thinking leads begin with a character thinking.

Our next piece of writing, a fiction piece, is due Monday, November 29. Students should be prewriting at this time.

Math: We reviewed solving problems with unknown angles today. We also described different types of angles (acute, obtuse, reflex, right). Homework is to complete Journal pp. 70, 72.

Science: None on Wednesday due to Library.

Library: Today, students reviewed internet safety with Mrs. Ostby. One way to protect computer users in your home from viruses, malware, phising websites and other inappropriate content is to use the free FamilyShield by OpenDNS. It’s free and easy to set up. Consider using it at your home to protect your users and your computer.

Social Studies: We continued to “explore” a sunken ship and tried to identify artifacts that historical explorers would have used on their journey.

Behavior Update:

  • Yellow magnets: 1
  • Orange magnets: 0
  • Red magnets: 0
  • STAR Awards: 0
  • Magnets moved this week (goal: 10): 1

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 6th grade.

Class activities for Tuesday, November 9

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Spelling: We reviewed there/their/they’re/theirs/there’s homophones.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: None today due to technology.

Our next piece of writing, a fiction piece, is due Monday, November 29. Students should be prewriting at this time.

Technology: Today, students previewed games and programs created using the Scratch Programming Language. In the future, students will begin to learn and write their own programming codes using Scratch.

Math: We started a unit on geometry today. Students used angle measurements of circles (360 degrees) to help identify measurements of other angles. Homework is to complete Journal pp. 67-69.

Science: We learned about the reproductive system today. Homework is to complete the Reproduction and Fertilization review page.

Social Studies: We “explored” a sunken ship and tried to identify artifacts that historical explorers would have used on their journey.

Behavior Update:

  • Yellow magnets: 0
  • Orange magnets: 0
  • Red magnets: 0
  • STAR Awards: 0
  • Magnets moved this week (goal: 10): 0

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 6th grade.

Class activities for Monday, November 8

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Spelling: We reviewed there/their/they’re/theirs/there’s homophones. Homework is to finish Personal Poster 4 about this subject.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles. Some groups worked on determining importance as a reading strategy.

Writing: We discussed reasons for beginning a new paragraph:

  • A new time in the story;
  • A new setting;
  • A new idea;
  • A new, different character action;
  • A new idea.

Our next piece of writing, a fiction piece, is due Monday, November 29. Students should be prewriting at this time.

Math: Students completed a Math Skills pretest today.

Science: We finished learning about the nervous system and wrote notes in our minibooks.

Social Studies: We started learning about European Explorers. Today, we thought about what would be needed to take a trip, and how explorers also needed to prepare for their trips to the New World.

Behavior Update:

  • Yellow magnets: 0
  • Orange magnets: 0
  • Red magnets: 0
  • STAR Awards: 0
  • Magnets moved this week (goal: 10): 0

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 6th grade.

Class activities for Friday, November 5

Friday, November 5th, 2010

Spelling: None today due to finishing the math test started yesterday.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Cirlces. Students also completed an informational reading test and Reading Mad Minute.

Writing: We practiced breaking a text into paragraphs.

A slightly fictionalized personal narrative is due Monday, November 8. Students should be editing or publishing at this time.

Math: None today due to STAR Friday.

    Science: We learned about the nervous system today.

    Social Studies: None on Fridays.

    Behavior Update:

    • Yellow magnets: 0
    • Orange magnets: 0
    • Red magnets: 0
    • STAR Awards: 0
    • Magnets moved this week (goal: 10): 4

    Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

    Notes:

    Our Mission:
    Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 6th grade.