Today we had some fun with Versa Tiles. We practiced used these puzzles to practice our problem solving skills. The game was confusing at first, but we've got it now. Versa Tile Puzzles will be a fun break from our regular math, reading and vocabulary practice. Many kids participated in today's NAEP testing today. This means that our regular routine was off. Homework this evening will be a bit different, and gold cards were not stamped today. Tomorrow, I will check in two night's worth of homework.
This evening at home....
finish your Greek and Latin root spokes. Bring me 4 tomorrow.
complete the Taking the Subway math problem.
in Science Fusion, complete the reading and activities found on pages 483-487
study those vocabulary words. The test is tomorrow!
Yes, today was lab day. We discussed conductors and insulators, and made the jump from heat to electricity. Today's challenge was figuring out how to create a closed circuit. I really didn't give too much direction, but they figured it out by trial and error. Next week, we will test materials for conductivity. Ask them about the "sweet potato anecdote."
Today was also filled with research, math and reading activities. This morning, we continued our MLK research. We will present our visual timelines on Friday. We worked on our root words, similes and metaphors. In math, we used factors and multiples to find relationships between numbers.
This evening at home....
Read the Companion Text to A.J. in Journeys. Complete ONE of the Compare Texts activities.
In Go Math, complete pages 303 and 304. We will have a quick quiz tomorrow on the first three lessons.
Don't forget to read and record!
Please note that this math chapter is a short one. We will be ready to test and move on by the end of next week!
Get ready to spend some time with Ivan tomorrow. Make sure that you have your book and your folder.
Randomly selected students will take the NAEP test tomorrow. These students received a letter a few weeks ago. Don't worry, we won't move forward in math without you!
Today's math topic was divisibility. How can I tell if 3 is a factor of 43? Check those divisibility rules. As long as you are working with numbers, memorizing the rules will come in handy. Just trust me on this one. We used the rules to create colored number arrays.
This evening at home....
finish pages 157 and 158 and 160 in your Readers Notebook.
in Go Math, complete pages 289 and 290
read and record. In Ivan, you should be finished with page 199 by the end of this week.
we will have quiz tomorrow. Students should be able to provide definitions and examples of conduction, convection and radiation.
Don't forget, if you have computer access, this is homework!
It is time for me to finish up and go home. Today was a busy one. We took and corrected our reading/spelling tests, corrected and discussed the math homework, worked in esparks, continued our MLK timeline project, and squeezed in some choice time at the end of the day. Whew!
Next week, I am planning on giving a Science Quest on Tuesday. Kids brought home Science Fusion this weekend. On the quest, I will ask kids to discuss different types of energy transfer. They should be able to give examples of conduction, convection, and radiation, and should be able to explain each process. Kids, there are lots of online resources about this topic. Help your classmates and post on edmodo.
Other than preparing for the quest, there is not homework this weekend. I have the Gold Cards and will return them on Monday.
Parents, please note that Friday is an attendance day for kids. I was going to be here anyways, and I would much rather spend the day with your children than in meetings.
To create today's title, I am exercising poetic licence. I will have an extra ticket for any student who can tell me what that means! I hope that you've guessed that we visited the Science Lab today. We ran some tests to learn about static electricity. Safwan seems to already know quite a bit about this topic. Tonight's homework will help us understand what was happening in the lab. Why did the salt stick to the plastic wrap? Why didn't the paper clip stick? When we "charged" the wrap, what was happening?
Math was another big topic today. We dedicated the first hour to answering questions and working out problems from the Review Test. Then, we took the test. Most kids have noticed that the problems on the actual test are very similar to the review. The context and numbers change, but that is about it. Make sure that you are really studying the review test!
This evening at home....
Do Readers Notebook pp. 150-151
Read and complete the questions on the science handout.
Use what you learned on the science handout to complete today's lab sheet.
Work in the PARCC Math Book. Complete pages 1 and 2.
Thank you, Mahreen, for providing us with today's title. Today we read Earth Dragon Awakes. It is brimming with similes, metaphors and personification. Sam kept a running tally of similes. He counted more than 20! I challenge 201 to do a recount. How many examples of figurative language can you find on each page?
During math we focused on Chapter 4. We are doing sample problems and discussing answers. We will continue this after lunch. Kids will bring the completed Review/Test home with them this evening. The test questions will be very similar in format.
Today we began a mini unit on the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King. We will continue to discuss Dr. King's life and vision tomorrow. The phrase of the day is "civil disobedience. " More to come tomorrow.
This evening at home....
make sure that your have read 1-99 in Ivan. Tomorrow, we will meet in book groups.
study for the Math test. Can you explain the problems on the Review/Test?
Finish the last week's Lab Report, if you didn't finish in class. Here are the components: Title/Question, Materials, Hypothesis, Procedure, Results/Data/Averages, Conclusions. Most kids finished up in class.
In Readers Notebook, you should be done with pages 145-145, 146, 147 and 148. Most children finished 145, 6, and 8 in class. This leaves just ONE page for most.
In Earth Dragon, use the text to answer the " Analyze Text" questions. Remember, these are the questions found every few pages.
Have you finished your Pen Pal letter? I hope to mail them tomorrow. Let's get them decorated and done!
Our next chapter in Go Math will focus on finding and modeling factors and multiples. I am excited to move on to some new material.
Congratulations, 201! We have sent JiJi to Lascaux, France. Our class has worked through 30% of the syllabus. Let's try to get that number closer to 50%. I know that we can do it!
Do you want some extra credit? Find out why Jiji wants to visit Lascaux. What will he do while he is there? Write a report about his visit. You can create a journal, a travel brochure, or a set of postcards. Bon Voyage!
This week's grammar focus is......Possessive Nouns! Watch and learn!
Today we found some time to discuss The One and Only Ivan. Parents, I encourage you to pick this one up and read it. It is a beautiful story! Today we listened to and discussed a message from the author. We shared some of our thoughts about Ivan's "voice," and we met in small groups to discuss character traits and interesting words. Each child received an "Ivan" bookmark. Hold on to these, and don't forget to bring Ivan to school every day. We are still working with pp. 1-49. By next week, we will discuss 49-99. Catch up on the reading over the weekend if you need to, kids.
Today we also worked on formalizing yesterday's Lab results. We discussed our results and the variables. Kids began working on formal Lab Reports. They will finish in the morning. It is not homework. We practiced our problem solving skills in math. These problems ARE difficult, but not impossible. I am encouraging kids to use any strategy they can to make sense of the problems. Think through them. Match the words to the numbers. You will get it!
This evening at home.....
complete Go Math pp. 269-270
in your Ivan folder, complete page #4: Setting. Remember, that you must go back to the book to answer the questions completely.
make any additions to Heat on the Move, if needed. Remember, the illustrations are diagrams. You must include a detailed caption or arrows and text that explain your example.
Today we were finally back in the Science Lab. Our job was to create a test that would help us understand the relationship between position and potential energy. Is is possible to increase potential energy by changing position? Students were given a defined set of materials, a defined question, and a structured data table. Their job was to design an experiment that would help them answer the question. Each group's procedure was different. Tomorrow we will compare our results.
Today we also worked on our division skills. Don't be fooled by a zero! We met in small groups to discuss Hurricanes and this week's vocabulary. Kids worked on individual goals with Esparks Reading and St Math. In Social Studies, we discussed natural resources, comparing the NE and the SW regions.
This evening at home....
Read the companion piece to Hurricanes: Surviving Katrina.
Complete Math pp.263/4.
Read and record.
Finish the Heat on the Move cartoon
Don't forget that the SE Scrapbook is due by Friday. Most kids finished in class.
The good news is that you need not be at school to learn. I posted some assignments on Edmodo about an hour ago and will repost them here now. Students, I challenge you to come up with more alliterative titles for today and tomorrow. Post them as a comment on this blog, or on Edmodo. Will we have school tomorrow? I will be watching the news and checking the CPS website, just as I know many of you are.
Here is a repost from Edmodo. I may also post some files on Edmodo for extra credit.
There is NOT a test on MARS on Friday or Monday.
You should continue to read Mars and do the activities in the Readers Notebook. They should ALL be done by Monday.
Work on ST Math at home, if you can.
Please complete the Self Quiz/two division problems at the bottom of this post. Use a separate sheet of paper. Show and explain your work.
Make sure that you are reading and recording on your Reading Log.
We will begin a new story in Journeys on Monday. We may or may not be taking the MAPS test on Tuesday, as many classes still haven't taken the Reading, and they might take our time slot. As soon as I know, I will let you know.
On the blog, there is a new icon on the left side. It is a picture of little dog houses. If you click here, it will take you to Prep Dog, a new website that can help you practice for the MAPS test and improve your skills. Try it out!
.If you have access, log on to Think Central to explore the video lessons on Energy.
Self Quiz: How is your long division? Do these problems to keep skills sharp. A. Abi's Stuffed Bear Shop has 456 bears in stock. Exactly half of them are made from wool. How many wool bears does Abi have in stock? B. Matthew and Felipe's Cap Factory made 315 caps last week. The factory operated from Monday through Friday, and they were closed for the weekend. On average, how
Team201 students seem happy to reconnect with friends. We kicked off today by sharing some of our New Year traditions. We scanned QR codes to research how the holiday is celebrated in other countries. We also discussed resolutions and goals for 2015.
In a few minutes, students will receive their pen pal letters. They are so excited! 201 is so fortunate to be included in the Do Your Part collaborative schools partnership. This foundation seeks to help kids make connection with others to discuss real-world issues. This year, our topic is Water. We will meet with our new friends from Sacred Heart School to discuss the issues, do some art projects, and even go on a field trip or two. All of these activities are funded by the Do Your Part Foundation. Lucky us! I hope that we will learn a lot and have some fun along the way!
This evening at home.....
Please look for a photograph to send to your pen pal. A few kids have two pen pals, and will need two photos.
Complete Go Math pp.239-240: Divide Using Repeated Subtraction
Read Discovering Mars through page 11
Complete the Readers Notebook activities found on pp. 121 and 122. These activities are based on Discovering Mars pp. 1-11
Don't forget to bring the book to school!
We are taking the reading MAPS test tomorrow. Remember, growth is measured in the Spring. Tomorrow's test is a "check-in." I will have new goals and results for each child A.S.A.P.!
