MrHowd.com

Spelling: We started our class spelling bee today.

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

Reading: Today was a reading day in Literature Circles.

Writing: Students worked on the introduction page of their adventure story. We looked at some examples and noticed a pattern: the introduction told who the main character was, where they were, and what their mission was.

This Choose Your Own Adventure fiction gamebook project is due Wednesday, January 23.  Homework on weekdays is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Students should continue to work on their first and second pages in their Google Site.

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: Students took Quiz 1 about multiplication in Khan Academy. Homework on weekdays is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: We learned that 71% of the earth is covered with water, but only a small fraction is freshwater.

Social Studies: We read about the Mayflower Compact and compared the Pilgrims to the Jamestown settlers.

Character Strength: We are learning about perseverance this week. 

Notes:

• 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 practiced writing contractions and possessive pronouns, learning when to use an apostrophe: it’s/its, there’s/theirs.

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

Reading: We took a MobyMax reading assessment today.

Writing: Students had prewriting conferences today, sharing their Bubbl.us prewriting created yesterday. We also started the first page of our story using a Google Site.

This Choose Your Own Adventure fiction gamebook project is due Wednesday, January 23.  Homework on weekdays is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Students should finish their Bubbl.us prewriting tonight if it’s not finished yet, and it would be a good idea to continue to work on the first page of their writing in their Google Site.

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 multiplying decimals today, such as
1.7 x 0.12 . Homework on weekdays is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: None today due to the late start.

Social Studies: None today due to the late start.

Character Strength: We are learning about perseverance this week. 

Notes:

• 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 fantasy story about how students had to be resourceful to get out of a video game they were trapped in. Students also practiced reading skills using MobyMax Reading.

Writing: We continued to prewrite for our Choose Your Own Adventure fiction gamebook. Today, students used a tool called Bubbl.us. It allowed them to create bubbles of ideas and link them together to make a mind map. Students use the bubbles to plan the scenes of their story and the choices the reader can make.

This project is due Wednesday, January 23.  Homework on weekdays is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Students should finish their Bubbl.us mind map showing the events and choices of their story.

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 multiplying decimals today, such as 0.6 x 0.3. Homework on weekdays is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: We talked about our next science topic today and took a pre-reading quiz about water shortages.

Social Studies: We started our next lesson about how and why Pilgrims travelled to the New World to settle here.

Character Strength: We are learning about perseverance this week. 

Notes:

• Tomorrow is a late start day. School starts at 11 am.
• 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 worked on finishing Words to Learn lists from December.

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

Reading: We read a fantasy story about being resourceful.

Writing: Students worked on prewriting the actions of their 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 prewriting ideas right now.

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

Science: We talked about our next science topic today.

Social Studies: None today.

Character Strength: We are learning about perseverance this week. 

Notes:

• 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.

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!