Archive for December, 2015

Class activities for Tuesday, December 15

Tuesday, December 15th, 2015

Spelling: Today was a spelling and skill test.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 34-36 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: We talked about how a waterfall is like the lead of a story. In a waterfall, the river is peaceful upstream, then the waterfall rapidly plunges the water. In a story, the problem is like the waterfall; it’s where the story starts to get interesting. A lead should start “upstream” of the problem, but not so far that the story feels slow in developing.

Today was an editing day; students were editing their writing for spelling, capitals, periods, paragraphs, and quotation marks for dialogue. A fiction story will be due Friday, December 18. Your student should be editing by now. Homework is to work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: Students completed a STAR Math test today.

Below are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: We started learning about matter and energy today. We reviewed what we’ve learned about energy so far, and started to learn some common temperature benchmarks: water freezing, room temperature, body temperature, water boiling. Homework is to finish the thermometer note page if not done in class.

Social Studies: We started to learn about the global economy and how that affects America. We also started looking for products imported to the US, and were the products were from. Homework is to finish the Import Search if not done in class.

Notes:

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

Class activities for Monday, December 14

Monday, December 14th, 2015

Spelling: We practiced spelling words with common /k/ spelling patterns: c, k, qu, ck, ch. This will be the skill tested on tomorrow’s spelling test.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 34-36 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles; some groups worked on using clues to make inferences.

Writing: We talked about writing more interested leads than, “One time there was…” or “Hi, my name is…”. Interesting leads can start a number of ways:

  1. Start with characters talking.
  2. Start with some action details to show what the characters are doing.
  3. Start with some visual details to show the setting or a character.

Students also worked on revising conferences with a partner.

Today was the last class revising day. A fiction story will be due Friday, December 18. Your student should be done with their draft and revising by making improvements and changes. Homework is to work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: Students used Khan Academy to practice place value, rounding, addition, subtraction, or multiplication skills today.

Below are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: Students completed a test today about about electricity and safety.

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

Notes:

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

Class activities for Friday, December 11

Friday, December 11th, 2015

Spelling: We learned about common spelling patterns for the /k/ sound: c, k, qu, ck, ch.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 31-33 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: Today was a reading skills and AR practice day.

Writing: Students received their grade from the last piece of writing, and they wrote goals for what they would like to work on for the current piece.

Today was a revising day; students focused on revising something that was lacking in their last writing piece. A fiction story will be due Friday, December 18. Your student should be done with their draft and revising by making improvements and changes. Homework is to work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: None today due to Eagle Time.

Below are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: None today due to extra time with social studies. We’ll have extra science on Monday and a test about electricity and safety.

Social Studies: We learned about the history of automobiles in Michigan, and learned about how factories using specialization, division of labor, and assembly lines to be more productive.

Notes:

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

Class activities for Thursday, December 10

Thursday, December 10th, 2015

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 31-33 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: We talked more about making characters seem real by adding talking, visual details, action, and the reaction of other characters.

Today was a revising day. A fiction story will be due Friday, December 18. Your student should be done with their draft and revising by making improvements and changes. Homework is to work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: We practiced subtracting across zeroes. Students also used Khan Academy to practice math skills.

Below are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: We learned about electricity safety today. Here are some websites we used:

We will have a test about electricity and safety tomorrow.

Social Studies: Today was our reading skills and AR practice time.

Notes:

  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
  • View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue or StudentVue.

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

Class activities for Wednesday, December 9

Wednesday, December 9th, 2015

Spelling: We talked about spelling larger words by splitting them into syllables.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 31-33 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: None today due to the late start schedule.

Writing: None today due to the late start schedule.

Today was a revising day. A fiction story will be due Friday, December 18. Your student should be done with their draft and revising by making improvements and changes. Homework is to work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: Students used Khan Academy to practice math skills.

Below are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: None today due to the late start schedule.

Social Studies: We learned that specialization and division of labor increases productivity. We tested this by making paper snowmen. Two groups dividing the work into steps and worked as a team. The rest of the class each made paper snowmen individually. The groups working as an assembly line had 50% of their snowmen made correctly. The groups working on their own had only 20% made correctly. The assembly line made it so that each worker could focus on their job and not have as many mistakes.

Notes:

  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
  • View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue or StudentVue.

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