Archive for October, 2017

Class activities for Monday, October 16

Monday, October 16th, 2017

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 16-18 are available and are due Friday.

Reading: We started reading about how people can start businesses to help people. Today was also a reading day in Literature Circles.

Writing: We talked about a couple of ideas today to start prewriting:

  1. When choosing a topic, pick something new or special. Don’t choose topics about common things that many people have done.
  2. When prewriting, make short lists of events. Full sentences are not needed. Don’t add talking or visual details. Don’t start drafting or writing sentences yet. Just stick to main story ideas in a list.
  3. Work at home! Daily homework time for writing is 15 minutes Monday through Thursday. Only five students in our class are doing that consistently. That means those five students are working an extra two hours on their writing piece compared to the 23 students that are mostly working only at school. Two hours of extra work can make a big difference in the level of quality of a piece of writing.

Students also worked on prewriting today. A personal narrative is due Monday, November 6. Your student should be prewriting by now. Homework is to work on writing for 15 minutes.

Math: We practiced finding and extending patterns using addition and subtraction today. Students practiced pattern skills at MobyMax Math. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: None today due to having extra social studies.

Social Studies: We reviewed the Design a Government activity completed last week. We also reviewed the ideas of having a constitution, that a republic gives power to the people, and that rule of law means everyone should follow the law.

Character Strength: We are learning about Teamwork this week.

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.
  • 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 Jupiter Ed.

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

Class activities for Friday, October 13

Friday, October 13th, 2017

Spelling: We practiced the difference between few and less:

  • Fewer is used for things that can be counted: fewer students, fewer pencils, fewer clouds.
  • Less is used for things that can’t be counted: less rain, less wind, less space.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 13-15 are available and were due today.

Reading: We finished reading a narrative nonfiction graphic novel about force and motion. Students also used MobyMax Foundational Reading to practice reading skills.

Writing: We started using a Google Site to publish our writing for others to see. Today also a publishing today. A personal narrative is due Monday, October 16. Your student should be publishing by now.

Math: We practiced pattern skills at MobyMax Math.

Science: We watched some video clips of astronauts running on the moon, throwing objects, and dropping a hammer and feather at the same time. We also watched a video tour of the moon to see the craters and the hardened lava plains.

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

Character Strength: We are learning about Perspective this week.

Notes:

  • The Reading page has recently been updated.
  • 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.
  • 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 Jupiter Ed.

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

Class activities for Thursday, October 12

Thursday, October 12th, 2017

Spelling: We practiced spelling idioms that contained words with common spelling patterns for the short /o/ sound: o, al, au, aw.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 13-15 are available and are due Friday.

Reading: We started reading a narrative nonfiction graphic novel and force and motion. Today was also a discussion day in Literature Circles. Students discussed what they read in their Literature Circles book by sharing the notes they wrote in their notebooks.

Writing: We talked using the right words in writing. That means using precise nouns to exactly describe the people, places, and things in the writing. It also means to use strong verbs so that the reader can picture the action.

Students also worked on publishing today. A personal narrative is due Monday, October 16. Your student should be publishing by now. Homework is to work on writing for 15 minutes.

Math: We practiced finding and extending patterns of shapes today. Students also practiced pattern skills at MobyMax Math. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: We reviewed our last Investigation Review about what it would be like to be on the moon.

Social Studies: Today was a leader lesson about creating leadership roles (class jobs) to make sure our class is a fun and safe place to learn in.

Character Strength: We are learning about Perspective this week.

Notes:

  • The Reading page has recently been updated.
  • 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.
  • 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 Jupiter Ed.

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

Class activities for Wednesday, October 11

Wednesday, October 11th, 2017

Spelling: We reviewed common spelling patterns for the short /o/ sound: o, al, au, aw.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 13-15 are available and are due Friday.

Reading: We reviewed some reading strategies:

  • Reread a text to find new information
  • Look for cause (the reason why something happens) and effect (what happened) in writing
  • Narrative nonfiction stories might have headings to explain the topics and speech balloons with important information

Today was also a reading day in Literature Circles.

Writing: We talked about breaking text into paragraphs when any of these “new” things happen:

  • New characters
  • New times
  • New places
  • New ideas or actions
  • New speaker starts talking.

Students also completed editing conferences by making editing comments on a partner’s writing. A personal narrative is due Monday, October 16, and the minimum length is one page. Your student should be editing by now. Homework is to work on writing for 15 minutes.

Math: None today due to the late start schedule. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: None today due to the late start schedule.

Social Studies: None today due to the late start schedule.

Character Strength: We are learning about Perspective for a second week.

Notes:

  • The Reading page has recently been updated.
  • 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.
  • 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 Jupiter Ed.

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

Class activities for Tuesday, October 10

Tuesday, October 10th, 2017

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 13-15 are available and are due Friday.

Reading: We finished reading a narrative nonfiction story about speed and motion.

Writing: Students worked on editing today for spelling, capitals, and end marks for sentences. A personal narrative is due Monday, October 16, and the minimum length is one page. Your student should be editing by now. Homework is to work on writing for 15 minutes.

Math: Today was a work day for students to finish any unfinished math skills from our current unit. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: Students read about astronauts on the moon and worked on a review page. Homework is to finish Investigation Review p. 42 if not finished in class.

Social Studies: Students pretended they lived on an island with 200 other people. They thought about what type of government they would want and how it would be organized. Homework is to finish the Designing a Government page if not finished in class.

Character Strength: We are learning about Perspective for a second week.

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.
  • 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 Jupiter Ed.

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