MrHowd.com

Visit our class photos page to see pictures and videos of class events, including:

• Straits of Mackinac Trip
• Hawaiian Beach Bash
• Feb Factor
• Space Fashion Show
• Capitol and Museum field trip
• I-Search Conference

Here are all the sets from this year.

Look below for live updates from our trip to the Straits of Mackinac on Friday, May 14, 2010. I’ll be posting updates throughout the day, so check back often and refresh your browser to see the latest updates!

Where are we now?

Spelling: None today.

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

Reading: Students completed a Reading Mad Minute and reading test today.

Writing: None today due to completing a math test in the computer lab.

A collection of poems is due into portfolios on Friday, May 21.

Math: We reviewed the partial quotients method of division.

Science: We learned that food energy has four uses in plants, animals and humans:

• Movement;
• Growth and reproduction;
• Maintenance and repair; and
• Waste.

Social Studies: We reviewed an email I received from Lunchables asking for us to promote a video and field trip giveaway on our class website. The class realized that Lunchables is doing this as an incentive to drive business to their company, so the class voted to not show the video on our blog.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 3
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 10): 10

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

• I-Search Gallery (view our I-Search presentations)
• Our Mackinac Trip is Friday, May 14. Get more information here.
• Find more information about Summer School, including dates and payment options.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at SnapGrades.

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 5th grade.

Spelling: We reviewed common spelling patterns for the /oi/ sound (oi, oy).

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

Reading: Today was a discussion day in Literature Circles.

Writing: We learned about using fragments in poems today. Here is a fragment poem we wrote as a class:

Mackinac at 6 am

Kids snoring
Charter buses
Watching movies
Playing games
Buses honking
Heads aching
Half awake
Eating snacks
Crunch crunch crunch
Groups together
Jump jump jump
Off the bus
Kids say
Yeah yeah yeah!

Students continued to draft and revise poems today.

A collection of poems is due into portfolios on Friday, May 21.

Math: Students practices the partial quotients method of division. Homework is to finish Journal pp. 150-151.

Science: None due to library.

Social Studies: None due to a habitats assembly by For-Mar Nature Preserve.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 1
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 10): 7

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

• I-Search Gallery (view our I-Search presentations)
• Our Mackinac Trip is Friday, May 14. Get more information here.
• Find more information about Summer School, including dates and payment options.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at SnapGrades.

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 5th grade.

Spelling: None today.

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

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles.

Writing: We reviewed whitespace in a poem around a sentence or after or before words. This helps the reader to focus on the key ideas in a poem. We also learned how to have a double-focus in a poem. For example, a poem about “grandpa’s shoes” being big, rough and worn out could be talking about shoes, but also about how grandpa himself is big, rough and worn out.

Students continued to draft and revise poems today.

A collection of poems is due into portfolios on Friday, May 21.

Math: We reviewed the partial quotients method of division.

Science: We learned that only sugar is food for plants. Food is anything that provides energy, but not everything that is eaten is food. Vitamins, minerals, water and air are necessary for life, but are not food, because they provide no energy.

We also learned that plants make their own food (sugar) from water and carbon dioxide, using light.

Social Studies: We learned about how the global economy affects jobs, prices and quality of products in the US and in Michigan. Homework is to finish the Global Competition chart started in class.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 2
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week (goal: 10): 6

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

• I-Search Gallery (view our I-Search presentations)
• Our Mackinac Trip is Friday, May 14. Get more information here.
• Find more information about Summer School, including dates and payment options.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at SnapGrades.

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 5th grade.