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Fiesta Mexicana 2018

40 new photos · Album by Christian Howd

Today was our Mexican Fiesta! We started by making farolitos (little lanterns) out of paper and reading a book called El Regalo de Navidad (The Gift of Christmas).   

We then started our own Las Posadas. We went to the cafeteria and the office, and they wouldn’t let us in for shelter, but the family members in our class finally gave us shelter and we started our fiesta! We sang Cascabel and El Burrito de Belen (the Little Donkey of Bethlehem).

Then we all took a whack at the piñata. It lasted long enough for everyone to take a swing! Then we headed back to the room to eat. The menu included:

• Mexican-style tacos on corn tostada shells;
• Spicy shredded chicken eaten with torn flour tortillas;
• Nopalitos (prickly pear cactus!);
• Pepinos (cucumbers with lemon juice and salt);
• Mexican hot chocolate (hot chocolate with cinnamon);
• Cinnamon churros; and,
• Buñelos (fried flour tortillas with cinnamon and sugar).

Later, we played Toma Todo, a Mexican top game much like the Jewish dreidel. In this game, students start with ten beans, then take or put in beans as the top says. The person with the winning amount of beans could select a Mexican pop.

A grande-sized thanks to the family members who helped prepare and serve food today at the fiesta, and for all the generous donations–we had more than enough food and everyone had their fill!

Feliz Navidad!

Spelling: None today due to our Grinch Day activities. We created Grinch games using Scratch, an online code editor and game creator. Ask your student to show you their Grinch game!

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due Fridays. This week’s assignment was collected today.  

Reading: We finished reading a book together about Mexican holiday traditions.

Writing: We continued to talk about our next writing project, a Choose Your Own Adventure fiction gamebook. Students will write a fiction adventure story with choices that the reader can make. Each choice can change how the story turns out. Students will publish their adventure as a website at Google Sites. See below for more details. Homework on weekdays is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Students should think of topic ideas for an adventure story. We have been prewriting this week and we will continue after break.

This project is due Wednesday, January 23. Some ideas and resources are below:

Choose Your Own Adventure Resources

• See examples of Choose Your Own Adventure fiction websites here and here.
• Here are some good student examples:
  • William’s Roanoke Adventure
  • Abel’s Aztec Terror
  • Katie’s Lost Statue hunt
  • Nancy’s Under Water Adventure!
• Look at an Underground Railroad Choose Your Own Adventure website.
• Look through the Underground Railroad Interactive History Adventure book (hint: search for “the end” to see some of the endings of the book).
• Look at some examples of different kinds of endings in a Choose Your Own Adventure Story.
• View the titles of all the Choose Your Own Adventure books to get adventure topic ideas.
• Play Zork, a text-based computer game. Here is a list of commands and directions. Here is a map of the dungeon if you get stuck or lost.
• Play Oregon Trail, another text-based computer game.
• Find a complete list of resources here.

Math: Today was a math work day to finish a STAR Math test or work on multiplication math skills. Homework on weekdays is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: None today due to extra social studies

Social Studies: We finished reading about the first English colonies and students worked on a digital assessment. Homework is to finish the Key Ideas, Got It, and Quiz if not finished in class.

Character Strength: We are learning about self-control this week. 

Notes:

• Our Mexican Fiesta is tomorrow! from 9 am to noon. Here is our volunteer list to see what your student volunteer for or if you would like to be added to the guest list to help at the party. 
• Is your student doing a Daily Homework Time? Here’s a sample schedule and more ideas to get started.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• 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: Students finished making Words to Learn lists from words missed on the last spelling test. This is your student’s custom spelling list to study for the next test.

Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due Fridays. This week’s assignment is due tomorrow due to our party on Friday. 

Reading: We read a book together about Mexican holiday traditions.

Writing: We continued to talk about our next writing project, a Choose Your Own Adventure fiction gamebook. Students will write a fiction adventure story with choices that the reader can make. Each choice can change how the story turns out. Students will publish their adventure as a website at Google Sites. See below for more details. Homework on weekdays is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Students should think of topic ideas for an adventure story.

This project is due Wednesday, January 23. Some ideas and resources are below:

Choose Your Own Adventure Resources

• See examples of Choose Your Own Adventure fiction websites here and here.
• Here are some good student examples:
  • William’s Roanoke Adventure
  • Abel’s Aztec Terror
  • Katie’s Lost Statue hunt
  • Nancy’s Under Water Adventure!
• Look at an Underground Railroad Choose Your Own Adventure website.
• Look through the Underground Railroad Interactive History Adventure book (hint: search for “the end” to see some of the endings of the book).
• Look at some examples of different kinds of endings in a Choose Your Own Adventure Story.
• View the titles of all the Choose Your Own Adventure books to get adventure topic ideas.
• Play Zork, a text-based computer game. Here is a list of commands and directions. Here is a map of the dungeon if you get stuck or lost.
• Play Oregon Trail, another text-based computer game.
• Find a complete list of resources here.

Math: Today was a math work day to finish a STAR Math test or work on multiplication math skills. Homework on weekdays is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: None today.

Social Studies: We read about the Mexican tradition of Las Posadas.

Character Strength: We are learning about self-control this week. 

Notes:

• Our Mexican Fiesta is Friday, December 21 from 9 am to noon. Here is our volunteer list to see what your student volunteer for or if you would like to be added to the guest list to help at the party. 
• Is your student doing a Daily Homework Time? Here’s a sample schedule and more ideas to get started.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• 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 started making Words to Learn lists from words missed on the last spelling test. 

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

Reading: Today was a reading skills practice day using MobyMax Reading Skills. Students also worked on a MobyMax Reading Level Assessment.

Writing: We started talking about our next writing project, a Choose Your Own Adventure fiction gamebook. Students will write a fiction adventure story with choices that the reader can make. Each choice can change how the story turns out. Students will publish their adventure as a website at Google Sites. See below for more details. Homework on weekdays is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Students should think of topic ideas for an adventure story.

This project is due Wednesday, January 23. Some ideas and resources are below:

Choose Your Own Adventure Resources

• See examples of Choose Your Own Adventure fiction websites here and here.
• Here are some good student examples:
  • William’s Roanoke Adventure
  • Abel’s Aztec Terror
  • Katie’s Lost Statue hunt
  • Nancy’s Under Water Adventure!
• Look at an Underground Railroad Choose Your Own Adventure website.
• Look through the Underground Railroad Interactive History Adventure book (hint: search for “the end” to see some of the endings of the book).
• Look at some examples of different kinds of endings in a Choose Your Own Adventure Story.
• View the titles of all the Choose Your Own Adventure books to get adventure topic ideas.
• Play Zork, a text-based computer game. Here is a list of commands and directions. Here is a map of the dungeon if you get stuck or lost.
• Play Oregon Trail, another text-based computer game.
• Find a complete list of resources here.

Math: We practiced estimating products of decimals by rounding. Homework on weekdays is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: None today.

Social Studies: Some students worked on MobyMax Social Studies and some used this time to finish science work from yesterday.  

Character Strength: We are learning about self-control this week. 

Notes:

• Our Mexican Fiesta is Friday, December 21 from 9 am to noon. Here is our volunteer list to see what your student volunteer for or if you would like to be added to the guest list to help at the party. 
• Is your student doing a Daily Homework Time? Here’s a sample schedule and more ideas to get started.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• 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 Fridays. 

Reading: We read a realistic fiction story today about some kids that learned about a new culture by eating new foods or visiting a different country. 

Writing: None today due to art. We’ll be prewriting for our next piece of writing this week.

Homework on weekdays is to work on writing for 15 minutes. 

Math: None today due to a review of some class expectations. We also reviewed some information about hygiene, including daily baths or showers to prevent smelling.

Homework on weekdays is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: Students wrote their final science argument of our ecosystem topic.

Social Studies: We wrote some notes about the lost colony of Roanoke. 

Character Strength: We are learning about self-control this week. 

Notes:

• Our Mexican Fiesta is Friday, December 21 from 9 am to noon. Here is our volunteer list to see what your student volunteer for or if you would like to be added to the guest list to help at the party. 
• Is your student doing a Daily Homework Time? Here’s a sample schedule and more ideas to get started.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at JupiterGrades.

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