MrHowd.com

Spelling: We completed a spelling and skill test today.

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

Reading: Today was an informational reading skills practice day.

Writing: We talked about writing complete scenes by including some action, some talking, and some visual details. Students also worked on their draft today. By Sunday night, your student should be half done with their draft (about half a page) if your student wants to stay on schedule. A personal narrative will be due Friday, October 14.

Math: Students worked on decimal place value skills at MobyMax or Khan Academy today. Homework is to practice math for at least 15 minutes using MobyMax Math or Khan Academy.

Science: We set up our next experiment about how clinical trials test medicines scientifically.

Social Studies: We read about how American Indians in different regions had different cultures and used different naturals resources to survive; they used whatever was available to them.

Notes:

• Homecoming Spirit Week is October 3-7. Check our class calendar for the schedule.
• Have you set up a Daily Homework Time for your student? Consider 15 minutes of math, 15 minutes of writing, and 20 minutes of something else to make a brain smarter!
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View links to all the websites we use in class.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at JupiterGrades.

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

Spelling: We learned that punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. For example, “Oh?” would be asking a question and “Oh!” would be making an exclamation, and the only difference is the punctuation. We also reviewed the correct punctuation for dialogue.

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

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles; some groups worked on making connections as a reading strategy.

Writing: We learned a strategy for thinking about personal narrative ideas called, “digging up buried stories.” Students drew a map of a familiar place and wrote “X’s” to mark the spot of an interesting memory. Then they selected one idea to prewriting about. Students started prewriting for characters, places, and the plot. Homework is to finish prewriting for the next piece of writing, another personal narrative, due Friday, October 14.

Math: None today due to our extra writing time. Homework is to practice math for at least 15 minutes using MobyMax Math or Khan Academy.

Science: We reviewed our last science experiment about the story of Pellagra. Students also submitted their notebooks for a grade.

Social Studies: None today due to the Fall Fundraiser kick-off assembly. Fundraiser orders are due October 12.

Notes:

• Have you set up a Daily Homework Time for your student? Consider 15 minutes of math, 15 minutes of writing, and 20 minutes of something else to make a brain smarter!
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View links to all the websites we use in class.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at JupiterGrades.

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

Spelling: We continued to practice adding suffixes onto basewords and we noticed that adding a suffix sometimes changes the spelling of the baseword.

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

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles; groups discussed their questions, connections, passages and illustrations they wrote during the last reading day.

Writing: None today due to extra time with math. We’ll have a double writing time tomorrow to catch up.

Math: We practiced comparing and ordering decimals using place value. We also used Khan Academy to practice decimal place value math skills. Homework is to practice math for at least 15 minutes using MobyMax Math or Khan Academy.

Science: None today due to extra time with reading.

Social Studies: We started to learn about how American Indians had to adapt to their surroundings to survive. For example, Plains Indians used bison as a main food source because bison were prevalent in that part of the country.

Notes:

• Have you set up a Daily Homework Time for your student? Consider 15 minutes of math, 15 minutes of writing, and 20 minutes of something else to make a brain smarter!
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View links to all the websites we use in class.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at JupiterGrades.

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

Spelling: None today.

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

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles; groups discussed their questions, connections, passages and illustrations they wrote during the last reading day.

Writing: None today due to our picture day appointment. We’ll be starting a new personal narrative this week. 

Math: We practiced identifying the value of a digit in a decimal using place value. For example, in the number 5.324, the 4 is worth 4 thousandths and the 3 is worth 3 tenths. Students also used MobyMax Math to practice this or other math skills. Homework is to practice math for at least 15 minutes using MobyMax Math or something else.

Science: We listened to a live NASA telecast about a surprising discovery on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. We’ll be learning about the solar system in the spring, so this was a sneak peak.about the solar system in the  None today due to our BioBlitz field trip.

We also finished learning about the discovery of the cause of Pellagra, a little-known disease. Students completed notes in their science book about the documentary we watched. They also started working on the analysis questions found on pp.9-10. Homework is to finish analysis 1-6 (all parts) on pp.9-10.

Social Studies: Students reviewed what they’ve learned about early American civilizations, what their cultures were like, and how they survived in their environments. Students also completed a MiniQuiz. Homework is to finish all parts of Lesson 1: Ancient American Civilizations, which is an online lesson located here.

Notes:

• Have you set up a Daily Homework Time for your student? Consider 15 minutes of math, 15 minutes of writing, and 20 minutes of something else to make a brain smarter!
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View links to all the websites we use in class.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at JupiterGrades.

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

We had a great time at For-Mar Nature Preserve for the BioBlitz. We studied reptiles and snakes, and most students got to hold a rat or garter snake. We went in the new treehouse (we were just the third class ever to go in it!) and learned about tree frogs. We completed a water study of the Kearsley Creek by looking for aquatic creatures and classifying them. We learned that the creek had excellent water quality. We ended our time learning about an urban coyote study happening in Oakland County. Here are some photos:

BioBlitz 2016

36 new photos · Album by Christian Howd