MrHowd.com

Spelling: We reviewed the idea that some words have silent letters. It’s difficult to sound out these words. They are a spelling suprise; you have to use your eyes!

Cursive: Cursive workbook pp. 14-17 are due Friday.

Reading: Students received our shared reading book, Esperanza Rising. We’ll read this book together each week.

Writing: None on Mondays. We’ll start another personal narrative this week. Decorated writing porfolios were due today. 

Math: We reviewed the idea that factors are numbers that are multiplied to get a product. For the problem 2 x 4 = 8, the factors are the numbers 2 and 4. We also learned that the distributive property says that a problem can be broken into pieces to solve. For example, for 5 x 6, the problem can be broken into 5 x 4, and 5 x 2. Those pieces can be added to get the answer (20 + 10 = 30). Homework is to practice these ideas on Journal P1-4.

Science: Students completed an experiment today to test which metals are magnetic. Of the 10 different metals we tested, four were magnetic (cobolt, nickel, iron and steel). Homework is to finish the “Sticy Metal” experiment notes if not done in class.

The Energy Fair is on Friday, September 27 (more details here).

Social Studies: We finished reading Ox Cart Man and writing notes about economic ideas in the book. Homework is to finish the notes if not done in class.

Behavior Update:

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

Notes:

• Decorated writing portfolios are due this week.
• The Energy Fair is this Friday, September 27.
• Visit our new Links page! Keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Students have been asked to bring in, or purchase from me, three poly envelopes (three for $2.50) and at least one dry erase marker ($0.50).
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.

Spelling: None on Fridays.

Cursive: Cursive workbook pp. 14-17 are due next Friday.

Reading: Students worked on MobyMax Reading today. You can check on your student’s reading progress by visiting StudentVue.

Writing: We talked about another way to focus a story: focusing on a theme. Writing about a theme helps a writer to focus on one main idea that the enter story is connected to. For example, a writer may choose to write about their sister’s silly questions, and focus on just questions she asks, rather than what she looks like, what her favorite things are, or her sister’s birthday.

Students also continued to work on their personal narrative, due Monday, September 23. The personal narrative should be written about a memory or true event in each student’s life. Your student is using MrHowd.com Google Docs to write the story. They can work from home; have them show you what they’ve got so far. Decorated writing porfolios are also due Monday.

Math: Students praticed math skills using MobyMax and Khan Academy.

Science: None today due to Fall Field Day.

The Energy Fair is on Friday, September 27 (more details here).

Social Studies: We read a book called Ox Cart Man and looked for places where he was buying, selling, producing, consuming and doing other economic activities.

Behavior Update:

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

Notes:

• Decorated writing portfolios are due next week.
• The Energy Fair is Friday, September 27.
• Visit our new Links page! Keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Students have been asked to bring in, or purchase from me, three poly envelopes (three for $2.50) and at least one dry erase marker ($0.50).
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.

Spelling: Today we practiced spelling words using common spelling patterns for the long /o/ sound: oa, o, o-consonant-e, ow.

You can find our yearly 500 word list here. Words will be selected from this list for each test. Students will not know which words will be tested. Find out more on our spelling page.

Cursive: Students receive cursive workbooks today. Cursive pp. 14-17 are due next Friday.

Reading: Students received Literature Circles notebooks to use for collecting thoughts, questions, connections, and responses while reading. Today, we practiced thinking of interesting, open-ended questions. Here are some questions that you can have your student practice using during their daily reading time:

• Have you ever…
• Why do you think…
• How would you feel…
• What if…

Sometimes while your student reads, you could ask them to jot down a few questions that they think of while reading, then discuss the questions with them after reading. Ask your student to show you which part of the book made them think of the question.

Writing: We continued to talk about narrowing a story topic to focus on just the best time in a story.

Students also continued to work on their personal narrative, due Monday, September 23 (new date). The personal narrative should be written about a memory or true event in each student’s life. Your student is using MrHowd.com Google Docs to write the story. They can work from home; have them show you what they’ve got so far.

Math: We learned about multiplication properties that make it easier to mulitply. Here are the ones we learned about:

• Commutative property: 5×2 = 2×5. The order of numbers can be switched, but the answer is still the same.
• Identity property: 5×1=5. The product of any number and one is itself.
• Zero property: 5×0=0. The product of any number and zero is zero.

Homework is to practice using these properties on Journal P1-3.

Science: We wrote notes in our minibooks about our last science experiment, and students completed a MiniQuiz.

The Energy Fair is on Friday, September 27 (more details here).

Social Studies: We reviewed important social studies ideas about the questions that economists ask themselves.

Behavior Update:

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

Notes:

• Decorated writing portfolios are due next week.
• The Energy Fair is Friday, September 27.
• Visit our new Links page! Keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Students have been asked to bring in, or purchase from me, three poly envelopes (three for $2.50) and at least one dry erase marker ($0.50).
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.

Please find below information about school pictures, including a way to pay online. Our appointment is at 11:15 on Monday.

McGrath Elementary School

Picture Day: 09/23/2013

Every year they change. Every year we help you remember.

Get a complimentary photo book (valued at $30)* of your child with this year’s school portrait. It’s easy to pay for your photos online. If you haven’t already gotten a Picture Day flyer, you can get one from school.

Information on how to get your complimentary photo book will be included in your child’s picture package.

 20-page 8″ x 11″ Custom Cover Photo Book from Snapfish. Customer pays for additional pages over 20 pages. Limit one photo book credit per Snapfish account may be used during the promotion period. Not valid on Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., Dr. Seuss, and Sesame Street themed products. Offer expires 1/31/14. Offer applies to mail-order purchases only and cannot be used for in-store pick up. All shipping and tax charges apply. Offer may only be used once and not in conjunction with any other offer, credits or coupons. Offer valid for U.S. Lifetouch customers only. Lifetouch portraits may be used in the book if a portrait CD has been purchased.

Contact Us  © Lifetouch 2013

Spelling: Today we reviewed common spelling patterns for the long /o/ sound: oa, o, o-consonant-e, ow.

You can find our yearly 500 word list here. Words will be selected from this list for each test. Students will not know which words will be tested. Find out more on our spelling page.

Cursive: We’ll start cursive soon.

Reading: Student groups completed skits to teach students how to handle books carefully in preparation of opening our class and school libraries for checkout.

Writing: We talked about focusing on the best time in a story. For example, a school day is about 7 hours long, but a student may choose to focus a story just on what happens during lunch or recess. Focusing on a time allows the students to spend their time adding details for the best part, rather than trying to writing about a long event.

Students also continued to work on their personal narrative, due Monday, September 23 (new date). The personal narrative should be written about a memory or true event in each student’s life. Your student is using MrHowd.com Google Docs to write the story. They can work from home; have them show you what they’ve got so far.

Math: We practiced using skip counting, multiples and other patterns to review multiplication facts. We also practiced this Khan Academy skill in class. Homework is to complete Journal P1-2, and you might want to have your student visit this link for a few minutes of extra practice, if needed.

Science: We reviewed our last experiment about what items stick to a magnet and what happens when magnets get close to each other. We learned that only certain metals stick to magnets. We also noticed that magnets can stick together or push away when close by.

The Energy Fair is on Friday, September 27 (more details here).

Social Studies: None today due to our math skills practice time. We used MobyMax Math today. Your student can also practice MobyMax at home.

Behavior Update:

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

Notes:

• Decorated writing portfolios are due next week.
• The Energy Fair is Friday, September 27.
• Visit our new Links page! Keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Students have been asked to bring in, or purchase from me, three poly envelopes (three for $2.50) and at least one dry erase marker ($0.50).
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance online.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.