MrHowd.com

Today was our Mexican Fiesta! (Pics here.) We started by making farolitos (little lanterns) out of paper and reading a book called The Night of Las Posadas. 

We then started our own Los Posadas. We went to the office and library, and they wouldn’t let us in for shelter, but parents in our class finally gave us shelter and we started our fiesta! We sang El Burrito de Belen (The Little Burro of Bethlehem) and Cascabel. We then went outside for sparklers!

We came back in to take a whack at the piñata. It lasted long enough for almost 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); and,
• Buñelos (fried flour tortillas with cinnamon and sugar).

Later, we played the Dreidel game and “Toma Todo,” a Mexican top game much like the Jewish dreidel. 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 parents 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: We learned that an r following a vowel creates a new sound. For example, in the words hut and hurt, the sound changes because of the r.

Cursive: Cursive workbook pp. 60-62 are due next Friday.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: Students continued drafting for our current writing project, a Choose Your Own Adventure fiction gamebook. Students are writing 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 sites.mrhowd.com. See below for more details.

This project is due Friday, January 17. Students should be continuing to draft their adventure story at this point.

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 some examples of different kinds of endings in a Choose Your Own Adventure Story.
• Find a complete list of resources here.

Math: None today due to extra time with writing.

Science: We reviewed and practiced using thermometers to measure temperature. Homework is to finish the thermometer benchmarks page.

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

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 0
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 9): 0
• Hours with no magnets (Last time: 3): 9

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Our Mexican Fiesta is tomorrow Friday, January 10 (new date) from 11-2. Family members are invited to attend and help with serving. See our volunteer list and add your name to the guest list.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, report cards, behavior, assignments, and attendance online.

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

Spelling: We reviewed soft syllable endings, such as in the words mountain, fountain, certain, again. These words are spelling surprises because the endings aren’t pronounced like they are written.

Cursive: Cursive workbook pp. 60-62 are due on Friday after break.

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles. Some students worked on summarizing and using context clues as reading strategies.

Writing: Students continued drafting for 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 sites.mrhowd.com. See below for more details.

This project is due Friday, January 17. Students should be drafting the beginning of their adventure story at this point.

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.
• Find a complete list of resources here.

Math: Students worked on finished addition, subtraction, place value, and rounding skills in Khan Academy.

Science: We reviewed our last experiment about light and energy.

Social Studies: We started to learn about the global economy and imports.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 2
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 9): 11
• Hours with no magnets (Last time: 3): 2

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Our Mexican Fiesta is Friday, December 20 from 11-2. Family members are invited to attend and help with serving. See our volunteer list and add your name to the guest list.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, report cards, behavior, assignments, and attendance online.

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

Spelling: We learned common spelling patterns for the /s/ sound: ss, s, sc, ce, ci, cy.

Cursive: Cursive workbook pp. 58-59 are due on Thursday.

Reading: Today was a MobyMax Reading and AR practice day.

Writing: Students started drafting for 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 sites.mrhowd.com. See below for more details.

This project is due Friday, January 17. Students should be drafting the beginning of their adventure story at this point.

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.
• Find a complete list of resources here.

Math: We reviewed subtraction today. The matching journal page is P4-4. Students also practiced math skills using MobyMax Math.

Science: Students completed an experiment about light and energy. Homework is to finish the What is Light? experiment.

Social Studies: None today due to visiting the holiday shop.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 1
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 9): 8
• Hours with no magnets (Last time: 3): 3

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Our Mexican Fiesta is Friday, December 20 from 11-2. Family members are invited to attend and help with serving. See our volunteer list and add your name to the guest list.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, report cards, behavior, assignments, and attendance online.

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

Spelling: Students continued to make Words to Learn lists from words they missed on the last spelling test. Homework is to finish making the list and return it to school tomorrow if not finished in class.

Cursive: Cursive workbook pp. 58-59 are due on Thursday.

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: Students worked on prewriting for 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 sites.mrhowd.com. See below for more details.

This project is due Friday, January 17. Students should be thinking of adventure story and character ideas at this point.

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.
• Find a complete list of resources here.

Math: Students completed a STAR Math test today. Here’s a chart of our recent progress is below. We are continuing to make progress toward our class math level goal. You can see your student’s most recent math level by checking Student or ParentVue.

Science: Students finished completing a district electricity and magnetism test today.

Social Studies: We worked on an activity about making paper snowmen by cutting out and assembling various parts. Some groups worked in an assembly line, and others completed the entire product themselves. The assembly lines completed more snowmen and felt the job was easier to do. Students also completed a MiniQuiz about specialization and division of labor.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 1
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 9): 7
• Hours with no magnets (Last time: 3): 3

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade online to see if your student moved their magnet.

Notes:

• Our Mexican Fiesta is Friday, December 20 from 11-2. Family members are invited to attend and help with serving. See our volunteer list and add your name to the guest list.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, report cards, behavior, assignments, and attendance online.

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