Archive for September, 2017

BioBlitz 2017

Friday, September 22nd, 2017

Today was our BioBlitz field trip. We learned about falconry, met a Conservation Officer, learned about reptiles, hunted for mushrooms, and sorted aquatic insects. Thanks to the family members that attended and helped today.

BioBlitz 2017

34 new photos added to shared album

Spelling: None today due to our field trip.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 4-6 are available and due Monday.   

Reading: None today due to our field trip.

Writing: A personal narrative is due Monday, September 25. Your student should be publishing their final piece at this point, making sure their narrative is finished.

Math: None today due to our field trip.

Science: None today due to our field trip.

The Energy Fair project is due Friday, September 29. Here are the Energy Fair directions.

Social Studies: None today due to our field trip.

Notes:

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

Class activities for Thursday, September 21

Thursday, September 21st, 2017

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 4-6 are available and due Monday.   

Reading: We read a story called The Princess and the Pizza and practiced making predictions and thinking about where good ideas come from. We also practiced the strategy of making questions from the text.

Writing: We talked about editing writing for spelling, capitals and sentence sense. Students also editing their personal narrative looking for corrections to make. Homework is to continue editing for 15 minutes.

A personal narrative is due Monday, September 25. Your student should be editing at this point, and your student should have about half a page. Some personal narratives in our class are quite short. This might be a good time to check with your student and see if they have been using their writing time wisely.

Math: We properties of multiplication today:

  • commutative property: the numbers can be moved, 5 x 3 = 3 x 5
  • identity property: anything multiplied by one is itself, 5 x 1 = 5
  • zero property: anything multiplied by zero is zero, 5 x 0 = 0

Students also practiced math skills using MobyMax Math, focusing on reviewing multiplication properties. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: None today due to extra time with reading assessments.

The Energy Fair project is due Friday, September 29. Here are the Energy Fair directions.

Social Studies: We reviewed the Preamble to the Constitution today.

Notes:

  • Have you helped your student plan a Daily Homework Time? This is a daily (Monday through Thursday) time of 40 minutes for students to work on math, writing, math facts, cursive, or other homework. Maybe it’s right after school, or at 5 pm, or right after dinner. The idea is that your student is working each day on something to make them smarter. Here is a sample schedule and more ideas.
  • Our BioBlitz field trip is Friday, September 22. Students need to bring a sack lunch.
  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Sign up for a fall conference
  • 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 5th grade.

Class activities for Wednesday, September 20

Wednesday, September 20th, 2017

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

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 4-6 are available and due Monday.   

Reading: We looked back at The Dragon Problem and practiced making predictions and finding the sequence of events.

Writing: We talked focusing just a short time in writing, focusing on the best part.

Students also started to revise their personal narrative by looking back at their writing to change words or ideas, add or remove parts, or to finish parts. Homework is to continue revising for 15 minutes.

A personal narrative is due Monday, September 25. Your student should be revising at this point.

Math: We practiced making arrays and skip counting to solve multiplication problems. Students also practiced math skills using MobyMax Math. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: We read about features of the moon, including mountains, valleys, plains, and craters.

The Energy Fair project is due Friday, September 29. Here are the Energy Fair directions.

Social Studies: Today was a leader lesson reviewing the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and a self-checklist that each student completed assessing how well they are doing on the habits.

Notes:

  • We talked today about a Daily Homework Time. This is a daily (Monday through Thursday) time of 40 minutes for students to work on math, writing, math facts, cursive, or other homework. Maybe it’s right after school, or at 5 pm, or right after dinner. The idea is that your student is working each day on something to make them smarter. Here is a sample schedule and more ideas.
  • Our BioBlitz field trip is Friday, September 22. Students need to bring a sack lunch.
  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Sign up for a fall conference
  • 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 5th grade.

Class activities for Tuesday, September 19

Tuesday, September 19th, 2017

Spelling: We practiced turning short vowel words into long vowel words by adding a second vowel to each word:

  • got –> goat
  • plan –> plane
  • spin –> spine.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 4-6 are available and due Friday.   

Reading: We read a story called the Dragon Problem and practiced predicting and inferring.

Writing: We talked more about using details as proof in writing.

Students also continued to draft their personal narrative in Google Docs. Homework is to finish drafting for 15 minutes. Your student can access their writing by going to Google Docs on a computer, tablet or phone and signing in with their Grand Blanc email address and password.

A personal narrative is due Monday, September 25. Your student should be finished with their draft tonight so that their narrative includes a beginning, middle, and ending.

Math: We practiced skip counting to solve multiplication problems. Students also practiced math skills using MobyMax Math. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: We reviewed our last experiment about the sizes of the earth and moon. We learned that the moon is about 4 times smaller than the earth.

The Energy Fair project is due Friday, September 29. Here are the Energy Fair directions.

Social Studies: We reviewed the note page about Life without Laws and remembered that our school, city and country would not be safe without laws.

Notes:

  • We talked today about a Daily Homework Time. This is a daily (Monday through Thursday) time of 40 minutes for students to work on math, writing, math facts, cursive, or other homework. Maybe it’s right after school, or at 5 pm, or right after dinner. The idea is that your student is working each day on something to make them smarter. Here is a sample schedule and more ideas.
  • Our BioBlitz field trip is Friday, September 22. Students need to bring a sack lunch.
  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Sign up for a fall conference
  • 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 5th grade.

Class activities for Monday, September 18

Monday, September 18th, 2017

Spelling: We reviewed long and short vowels today and we noticed that most long vowel words have two vowels in them (road, rode), but short vowel words usually have only one vowel (rad, rod).

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 4-6 are available and due Friday.   

Reading: We read the Princess and the Pea to practice making predictions.

Writing: We talked about using details as proof in writing. For example, if a writer says there was a cool car. Prove it! Describe the car. Was it a fun party? Prove it! Tell about the games, decorations, and fun activities. Details help the writing become more believable to the reader.

Students also continued to draft their personal narrative in Google Docs. Homework is to continue drafting for 15 minutes. Your student can access their writing by going to Google Docs on a computer, tablet or phone and signing in with their Grand Blanc email address and password.

A personal narrative is due Monday, September 25. Your student should be almost finished with their draft at this point.

Math: We reviewed the idea that multiplication is repeated addition: 6 x 4 is the same as 6+6+6+6. Students also practiced math skills at Khan Academy today Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: Students completed an experiment that used picture models to compare the sizes of the earth and moon. Homework is to finish the Big Earth, Small Moon experiment if not finished in class.

The Energy Fair project is due Friday, September 29. Here are the Energy Fair directions.

Social Studies: Today was Constitution Day. We watched some SchoolHouse Rock videos about No More Kings and The Shot Heard ‘Round the World. Then we sang the Preamble to the Constitution to learn about the purpose of our government.

Notes:

  • We talked today about a Daily Homework Time. This is a daily (Monday through Thursday) time of 40 minutes for students to work on math, writing, math facts, cursive, or other homework. Maybe it’s right after school, or at 5 pm, or right after dinner. The idea is that your student is working each day on something to make them smarter. Here is a sample schedule and more ideas.
  • Our BioBlitz field trip is Friday, September 22. We are looking for some chaperones.
  • Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
  • Sign up for a fall conference
  • 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 5th grade.