Archive for September, 2012

Class activities for Friday, September 28

Friday, September 28th, 2012

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences of seven or more words each are due on Fridays. Today’s assignment will be due on Monday.

Reading: None today due to the half day schedule.

Writing: We practiced a prewriting strategy called freewriting. A student thinks of a topic and writes for a set period of time without stopping, such as three minutes. The ideas from freewriting can be used in a draft.

The next piece of writing, a personal narrative, will be due on Friday, October 12. Students should be drafting at this point.

Math: None today due to the half day schedule.

Science: None today due to an assembly.

Social Studies: We reviewed for Monday’s test about American Indian migration and adaptation. Here is a study guide.

Behavior Update:

  • Yellow magnets: 0
  • Orange magnets: 0
  • Red magnets: 0
  • STAR Awards: 0
  • Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 14

Coming soon: Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at ParentVue to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Coming soon: view grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue.

Our Mission:

All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.

Class activities for Thursday, September 27

Thursday, September 27th, 2012

Spelling: We reviewed common /or/ spelling patterns and the there/their/they’re homophones.

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 and making connections as reading strategies.

Writing: Today was a drafting day in writing.

The next piece of writing, a personal narrative, will be due on Friday, October 12. Students should be drafting at this point.

Math: We practiced rounding today. Homework is to finish Journal P2-2.

Science: We started a study of biology and body systems. Today, we started to learn about the skeletal system. Students used index cards to model bones. We noticed that the tube shapes were stronger than square or tent-shaped model bones. Homework is to finish the Saved By a Skeleton page if not done in class.

Social Studies: We reviewed adaptations the Inuit people made for their harsh Arctic environment. Students also worked on learning three key words for this study: migration, environment, and adaptation. Homework is to finish Notebook pp. 12 and 14 if not done in class.

Behavior Update:

  • Yellow magnets: 5
  • Orange magnets: 0
  • Red magnets: 0
  • STAR Awards: 0
  • Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 14

Coming soon: Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at ParentVue to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

  • Half day tomorrow due to Homecoming!
  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Coming soon: view grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.

Who Would Bully this Beautiful Girl?

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

Have you heard about the 16-year-old Michigan girl who was voted to her high school’s homecoming court as part of a so-called “prank”?

She is a gentle and friendly girl who doesn’t have enemies. Yet, that didn’t stop some kids from being mean.

Fortunately, that’s not the end of story.

Keep reading to find out what wonderful thing happened this week.

This story was also the September 26 edition of CNN Student News.

While this story has a bright side to it, bullying is destructive and happens too often. And as you know, most bullying doesn’t end as well as this story does. 

This story might be a good discussion starter around your dinner table about bullying.  

Class activities for Wednesday, September 26

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

Spelling: We reviewed the /or/ sound and remembered that r following a vowel stands for a new sound.

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

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: Today was a prewriting day in writing. Students started prewriting conferences with a partner.

The next piece of writing, a personal narrative, will be due on Friday, October 12. Students should be prewriting at this point.

Math: We practiced adding and subtracting decimals using mental math. Homework is to finish Journal P2-1.

Science: None today.

Social Studies: We discussed what everyone in class thought they might like to be when they grow up. We noticed that almost all the jobs mentioned needed a college education.

Behavior Update:

  • Yellow magnets: 2
  • Orange magnets: 2
  • Red magnets: 0
  • STAR Awards: 2
  • Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 9

Coming soon: Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at ParentVue to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Coming soon: view grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.

Class activities for Monday, September 24

Monday, September 24th, 2012

Spelling: Today was a preview of upcoming spelling words.

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 our technology time. We will begin a new writing project tomorrow. Your student should be finished with the personal narrative they have been working on for the last two weeks.

Math: We reviewed for tomorrow’s math test about decimal place value. There is a practice test on math book pp. 24-25 that would be a good study guide.

Science: None today due to our math skills time.

Social Studies: We learned about the grassland, mountain, dessert and arctic environments American Indians settled in when they migrated to North America. We also started to learn about the harsh lives of the Inuit people that live in the Arctic.

Behavior Update:

  • Yellow magnets: 3
  • Orange magnets: 0
  • Red magnets: 0
  • STAR Awards: 0
  • Magnets moved this week (goal: 8): 3

Coming soon: Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at ParentVue to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Coming soon: view grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.