MrHowd.com

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due on Friday.

Reading: None today due to the half day schedule.

Writing: None today due to the half day schedule.

Our current project is our final fiction piece of the year. Each student has a daily writing goal of 150-300 words. The novel project is due Wednesday, March 30. Your student should be finished with prewriting at this point now or tonight. Look below for more details.

Novel Writing Project 2016

The final piece of the 3rd Marking Period will be our final fiction project of the year. Students will write and publish a novel. Each student will write their own novel, with a word goal minimum of 1,500-3,000 words, based on their reading level (each student’s minimum writing goal is equal to their reading level multiplied by 500). The novels will be written in Google Docs (docs.mrhowd.com) to make use of the word count feature. Final novels will be uploaded to Lulu.com and published as paperback books, which can be purchased for reasonable prices. So yes, students will actually write and publish their own novels. This project is based on the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers program. Here are more details:

• Here are some novels written by former students:
  • One Demi-God’s Story
  • The Secret
  • Space Invaders
  • Lonely with Some Spark
• This is our final fiction project; the novel can be any type of fiction story (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, realistic, historical, etc.)
• We will be working on this in school most days, using docs.mrhowd.com to type the novel. Students can also work on this from any internet-connected computer outside of school.
• Students might want to start thinking now about how they will use a computer after school if they need to, and if they will go to the library, use a home computer, or use a friend or family member’s computer.
• If friends and family would like to order a paperback version of the book, we will upload the final texts to Lulu.com. Most books will cost between $5 and $10.
• Half of this grade will be if students complete their own, personal word count goal.

Homework is work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: This week will be our final in class week to work on two-digit multiplication. Today we continued  working on multiplication and other math skills using MobyMax Math or Khan Academy. Here are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

• Multiplication with carrying
• Multiplying 2 digits by 2 digits with area models
• Multiplying 2-digit numbers

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

Science: We learned about the moon’s weaker force of gravity and how that would affect astronauts on the moon. Homework is to finish Investigation Review p. 42 if not done in class.

Social Studies: None today due to the half day schedule.

Notes:

• Spring Conferences are this week. View or edit or conference time here.
• The 4th Grade Musical has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 22. Students need to meet in our class at 6:00 pm, wearing something nice in black or white.
• Looking for a way to motivate your student to read at home? Try Don’t Break the Chain. It’s a simple way to building reading habits.
• 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.

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due on Friday.

Reading: Today we worked on MobyMax Information Reading Skills practice.

Writing: Students worked on prewriting and completed prewriting conferences for our final fiction piece of the year. Each student has a daily writing goal of 150-300 words. The novel project is due Wednesday, March 30. Your student should be finished with prewriting at this point now or tonight. Look below for more details.

Novel Writing Project 2016

The final piece of the 3rd Marking Period will be our final fiction project of the year. Students will write and publish a novel. Each student will write their own novel, with a word goal minimum of 1,500-3,000 words, based on their reading level (each student’s minimum writing goal is equal to their reading level multiplied by 500). The novels will be written in Google Docs (docs.mrhowd.com) to make use of the word count feature. Final novels will be uploaded to Lulu.com and published as paperback books, which can be purchased for reasonable prices. So yes, students will actually write and publish their own novels. This project is based on the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers program. Here are more details:

• Here are some novels written by former students:
  • One Demi-God’s Story
  • The Secret
  • Space Invaders
  • Lonely with Some Spark
• This is our final fiction project; the novel can be any type of fiction story (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, realistic, historical, etc.)
• We will be working on this in school most days, using docs.mrhowd.com to type the novel. Students can also work on this from any internet-connected computer outside of school.
• Students might want to start thinking now about how they will use a computer after school if they need to, and if they will go to the library, use a home computer, or use a friend or family member’s computer.
• If friends and family would like to order a paperback version of the book, we will upload the final texts to Lulu.com. Most books will cost between $5 and $10.
• Half of this grade will be if students complete their own, personal word count goal.

Homework is work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: This week will be our final in class week to work on two-digit multiplication. Today we were working on math skills using MobyMax Math. Here are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

• Multiplication with carrying
• Multiplying 2 digits by 2 digits with area models
• Multiplying 2-digit numbers

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

Science: We started to learn about what it would be like to be on the moon, what the gravity would be like, and what type of spacesuit would be needed to survive.

Social Studies: We learned about the government of a fictitious country and analyzed what the government was like. Homework is to finish the Analyzing the Government of Egbonia notes started in class.

Notes:

• Spring Conferences are this week. View or edit or conference time here.
• The 4th Grade Musical has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 22. Students need to meet in our class at 6:00 pm, wearing something nice in black or white.
• Looking for a way to motivate your student to read at home? Try Don’t Break the Chain. It’s a simple way to building reading habits.
• 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.

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due on Friday.

Reading: Today we worked on MobyMax Information Reading Skills practice.

Writing: Students worked on prewriting for our final fiction piece of the year. Each student has a daily writing goal of 150-300 words. The novel project is due Wednesday, March 30. Your student should be prewriting at this point. Look below for more details.

Novel Writing Project 2016

The final piece of the 3rd Marking Period will be our final fiction project of the year. Students will write and publish a novel. Each student will write their own novel, with a word goal minimum of 1,500-3,000 words, based on their reading level (each student’s minimum writing goal is equal to their reading level multiplied by 500). The novels will be written in Google Docs (docs.mrhowd.com) to make use of the word count feature. Final novels will be uploaded to Lulu.com and published as paperback books, which can be purchased for reasonable prices. So yes, students will actually write and publish their own novels. This project is based on the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers program. Here are more details:

• Here are some novels written by former students:
  • One Demi-God’s Story
  • The Secret
  • Space Invaders
  • Lonely with Some Spark
• This is our final fiction project; the novel can be any type of fiction story (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, realistic, historical, etc.)
• We will be working on this in school most days, using docs.mrhowd.com to type the novel. Students can also work on this from any internet-connected computer outside of school.
• Students might want to start thinking now about how they will use a computer after school if they need to, and if they will go to the library, use a home computer, or use a friend or family member’s computer.
• If friends and family would like to order a paperback version of the book, we will upload the final texts to Lulu.com. Most books will cost between $5 and $10.
• Half of this grade will be if students complete their own, personal word count goal.

Homework is work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: This week will be our final in class week to work on two-digit multiplication. Today were working on math skills using MobyMax Math. Here are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

• Multiplication with carrying
• Multiplying 2 digits by 2 digits with area models
• Multiplying 2-digit numbers

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

Science: We wrote notes in our space minibooks about what makes the earth and the moon similar and different.

Social Studies: We learned that the US is a republic (power from the people) and that our constitution limits the power of government.

Notes:

• Spring Conferences are this week. View or edit or conference time here.
• The 4th Grade Musical has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 22. Students need to meet in our class at 6:00 pm, wearing something nice in black or white.
• Looking for a way to motivate your student to read at home? Try Don’t Break the Chain. It’s a simple way to building reading habits.
• 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.

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due on Friday.

Reading: None today due to Career Fair. Students received their latest STAR Reading Level this week; here is our class average:

As you can see, our class made a large improvement in our class reading level! We’ve been trying to make changes to boost this score:

• Don’t Break the Chain at home reading contest to encourage everyone to read 20 minutes daily.
• We increased our MobyMax Reading Skills practice from two to five days a week.
• Students tried to take more time; our class data shows that students that take more than 15 minutes on the STAR test to better.

So far, it looks like our hard work is paying off. We are now back on track to reach our class reading level goal of 5.4.

Writing: None today due to Career Fair. For students working on their persuasive letter (more details here, here’s a checklist, here’s an example letter we wrote together), it is due Monday, March 7.

Our current project is our final fiction piece of the year. Each student has a daily writing goal of 150-300 words. The novel project is due Wednesday, March 30. Your student should be prewriting at this point. Look below for more details.

Novel Writing Project 2016

The final piece of the 3rd Marking Period will be our final fiction project of the year. Students will write and publish a novel. Each student will write their own novel, with a word goal minimum of 1,500-3,000 words, based on their reading level (each student’s minimum writing goal is equal to their reading level multiplied by 500). The novels will be written in Google Docs (docs.mrhowd.com) to make use of the word count feature. Final novels will be uploaded to Lulu.com and published as paperback books, which can be purchased for reasonable prices. So yes, students will actually write and publish their own novels. This project is based on the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers program. Here are more details:

• Here are some novels written by former students:
  • One Demi-God’s Story
  • The Secret
  • Space Invaders
  • Lonely with Some Spark
• This is our final fiction project; the novel can be any type of fiction story (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, realistic, historical, etc.)
• We will be working on this in school most days, using docs.mrhowd.com to type the novel. Students can also work on this from any internet-connected computer outside of school.
• Students might want to start thinking now about how they will use a computer after school if they need to, and if they will go to the library, use a home computer, or use a friend or family member’s computer.
• If friends and family would like to order a paperback version of the book, we will upload the final texts to Lulu.com. Most books will cost between $5 and $10.
• Half of this grade will be if students complete their own, personal word count goal.

Homework is work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: None today due to the Career Fair. Here are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

• Multiplication with carrying
• Multiplying 2 digits by 2 digits with area models
• Multiplying 2-digit numbers

Students also received their last STAR Math level score. Here’s our class results:

As you can see, we improved past our yearly goal. We set a stretch goal of 5.4, and we our on our way to achieving that soon!

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

Science: We read about how the moon has many more craters than earth, but has no atmosphere, liquid water, or life like earth does. Homework is to finish Investigation Review p. 41 started in class.

Social Studies: None today due to Career Fair.

Career Fair 2016

Notes:

• Spring Conferences are March 8-10. View or edit or conference time here.
• The 4th Grade Musical has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 22. Students need to meet in our class at 6:00 pm, wearing something nice in black or white.
• Looking for a way to motivate your student to read at home? Try Don’t Break the Chain. It’s a simple way to building reading habits.
• 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.

Spelling: We learned that many words soft-syllable endings sound different than they are spelled. For example, the soft-syllable ending of –ain sounds like –in in these words:

• mountain
• captain
• again
• bargain
• fountain

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due on Friday.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: Due to the snow days taking four work days for our current persuasive letter project, we decided it would be better to move on to the next project instead of trying to rush to finish the letter. A few students chose to finish the letter for an extra grade (more details here, here’s a checklist, here’s an example letter we wrote together) and it would be due Monday, March 7.

The rest of the class started working on our final fiction project of the year. Each student has a daily writing goal of 150-300 words. The novel project is due Wednesday, March 30. Your student should be prewriting at this point. Look below for more details.

Novel Writing Project 2016

The final piece of the 3rd Marking Period will be our final fiction project of the year. Students will write and publish a novel. Each student will write their own novel, with a word goal minimum of 1,500-3,000 words, based on their reading level (each student’s minimum writing goal is equal to their reading level multiplied by 500). The novels will be written in Google Docs (docs.mrhowd.com) to make use of the word count feature. Final novels will be uploaded to Lulu.com and published as paperback books, which can be purchased for reasonable prices. So yes, students will actually write and publish their own novels. This project is based on the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers program. Here are more details:

• Here are some novels written by former students:
  • One Demi-God’s Story
  • The Secret
  • Space Invaders
  • Lonely with Some Spark
• This is our final fiction project; the novel can be any type of fiction story (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, realistic, historical, etc.)
• We will be working on this in school most days, using docs.mrhowd.com to type the novel. Students can also work on this from any internet-connected computer outside of school.
• Students might want to start thinking now about how they will use a computer after school if they need to, and if they will go to the library, use a home computer, or use a friend or family member’s computer.
• If friends and family would like to order a paperback version of the book, we will upload the final texts to Lulu.com. Most books will cost between $5 and $10.
• Half of this grade will be if students complete their own, personal word count goal.

Homework is work on writing for at least 15 minutes.

Math: Students completed a STAR Math test today. Here are some skills we’ve been working on lately:

• Multiplication with carrying
• Multiplying 2 digits by 2 digits with area models
• Multiplying 2-digit numbers

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

Science: We started to read about how the earth and moon are similar and different. We learned that the earth is four times bigger than the moon and the moon is 30 earths away from the earth.

Social Studies: Each team imagined they were part of a group of castaways on an island and what type of government they would like to form. This will help us think about what type of government we have in America.

Notes:

• Spring Conferences are March 8-10. View or edit or conference time here.
• Looking for a way to motivate your student to read at home? Try Don’t Break the Chain. It’s a simple way to building reading habits.
• 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.