Hurricanes Help

On Thursday, we will do some research to create a mini report on Hurricanes. Kids, use the links below and Journeys to help you with these class project.



 http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-hurricane.htm

http://www.ducksters.com/science/earth_science/hurricanes.php



https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/how-to-explain-hurricanes-to-kids-how-hurricanes-form-damage-from-storms/47422516

Wrong Wednesday

Hey Team201 Families!

I made an error on the Area and Perimeter homework that the kids worked on Monday.  I caught it today, as I was correcting the kids' corrections.   I apologize for any confusion that this caused Monday night.  We went over all of the problems together, so we should be on the same page now.

This evening at home....

• work on HW and Practice for lesson 5.2
• read
• 139,140,141: Please do these pages in the Readers Notebook

We will have a reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary test on Friday. We will not have a spelling test.

Parents, please look for two items in the folder today:

• the Chapter 4 Math test. Corrections will be accepted after break. For partial credit, students must rewrite the problem and show all work and steps.
• the Winter Break Reading Challenge, which is due 1/08.  Feel free to decorate the mug and add in the extra marshmallows. If we get 100% participating, we can have a Hot Cocoa Read-In!

Tinsel Tuesday

Tomorrow is Candy Cane Day! Wear your red and white or any kind of stripes.

This evening at home....

• Read! 
• Finish the Gingerbread Math activity.  Make sure that the three word problems are easy to read. Include the equations needed to solve!

Thank you parents, for sending in all of the supplies today.  We had enough for everyone to enjoy the activity. The kids had a blast!

Congratulations to our Spelling Bee representative, Aizah! David will be our alternate.  Truth be told, Sarit took the honors today, but won't be able to participate on January 9th.   I am proud of all of the 201 kids for their participation and sportsmanship today.

Parents, I have the Gold Cards! You will get them back tomorrow. You will also receive the Chapter 4 Math Test results tomorrow.

Making Plans Monday

Kids are getting just a little bit excited about tomorrow's gingerbread house activity. Parents, you are welcome to join us from 8:00-9:25.

This evening at home.....

• complete the Area sheet.
• in the SS magazine, Climate, read Plants and Animals in Different Climates and complete the Fact Finder activity. 

Don't forget your supplies tomorrow!

• we have enough graham crackers for the class.
• each child needs one tub or frosting.
• each child needs some candies for themselves. We can share, but try to bring something in!
• we still need plastic knives and  large foam or sturdy plates, and one more roll of heavy duty foil.

Thoughtful Thursday

I know, it is a repeat title. Let's work on getting a list of strong Thursday alliterations.


This evening at home....

• Work on IXL Math for 20 minutes or more. Focus on Area and Perimeter skills for 4th grade. Your goal is to score 85% or higher.
• Finish up the back side of last night's Hurricanes homework. We will save the Katrina pages for another day.

Tomorrow is field trip day.  Kids will each lunch at school and do not need to pack a school lunch.

Volunteers should be here between 8:45 and 9:00 please.

Weather Wednesday

Today we....

• went to the Science Lab to conduct the Peppered Moth activity.
• discussed hurricanes and learned more about how they are formed
• read about world climates in our new Social Science magazine
• worked with factors, building arrays and calculating area. We even bumped it up a bit and discussed prime and composite numbers.
• worked in Journeys to dive deeper into this week's story.
• began an in class Animal Adaptations project.

This evening at home....

• HW and practice for lesson 5.1
• Hurricanes comprehension: inside pages. Kids wrote H.W. on these pages.

Tomorrow, we MAP test!

Field Trip Friday. No bag lunch needed!

Tornado Tuesday

Hurricane Tuesday just isn't catchy!


This evening at home....

• complete the "Show What You Know" for chapter 5 in Go Math
• answer the "Analyze Text" questions in Journeys pp.322,324,328

Our class Spelling Bee will be next Tuesday!

We take the Winter MAPS test on Thursday!

Math Review Monday

This evening at home...

• study the Math Review. Test tomorrow!
• work on pages 135-136 in the R.N.
• read and log it!
• we will be working on the Hurricanes skills for two weeks.  This means that we will not take a reading test on Friday.

Field Trip Reminder and Science Lab Need

Hey Team201 Families,

It is not too late to turn in field trip forms. Our trip is December 15. If you can't find the form, simply write a note. The cost of the trip is $2.00.

My child,_____________, has permission to attend the field trip to the Chicago Film Festival on December 15.


Your Emergency Contact number
Your name
Your Signature

If you have a Sunday newspaper, or any day, we need it for the Science Lab! If you bring it in tomorrow, we can get the materials ready.

Frosty Friday

This weekend at home.....

• complete the EVENS only of the Chapter 4 Review
• finish the SS project. All of the information you need is in the front cover.
• read!

Notes and News....

• Kids are working hard to finish the SS right now. We have spent hours on  this project, and kids who are not finished should only have a couple of finishing touches. If you see that there is a great deal undone, this is a time management issue.  We have allowed extra time for the project in class to accommodate absences. 
• We have math homework this week so that kids can be ready for Tuesday's test. Monday will be a review day.
• A note about Gingerbread Houses is going home today. Please let me know if you can donate any of the class "extras."  Parents are welcome to join us.

Time to Shine Thursday

This evening at home.....

• show your parents the "holiday theme" flyer.
• complete the "Analyze Text" questions found on pp 294, 297, and 299 in Journeys.
• complete the HW and Practice for lesson 4.12. You may make models OR write equations.
• read!
• we will not have a spelling test tomorrow. We will have a test to asses "shades of meaning." 

Reminders

• Don't forget that the Animal Project is due December 18th! Please scroll back to last night's post for more info!
• Winter MAPS testing is here. 201 takes the Reading on 12/14 , Math on 1/11 and Science on 1/18
• 201 will hold a class Spelling Bee  the week of 12/18. All kids will participate. The school Spelling Bee will be held 1/9.
• 201 will make Gingerbread Houses on 12/19. A letter about supplies will go home soon. 

Shades of Meaning

Which shade is enraged? Which shade is upset?

They are all blue, but are they all the same?

Kids, you will use this blog post to guide you through today's project!

Shades of Meaning, what does that mean? Well, we know that words that are related are often called synonyms, but do they mean exactly the same thing? I think NOT! You know how it feels to be annoyed, and you also know what it means to be upset or FURIOUS. These feelings are not the same, but they are related. Look up at the red? Which shade feel furious?

Today, you and your group will discuss words that are related. Use the models in this post to keep you on track.

Part One: Discuss it. Order it. Justify it.

 Your group will receive:

• Word cards for sorting (One set for the group)
• Order/Justify It sheets: one for each person in the group.
• a few extra sheets, j.i.c.  Mistakes happen!

1.First, set up the Most and Least cards. 

2. Place the word cards in a row, between the Most and Least cards, so that they are flat and all can read them.

3. Start discussing and moving the cards.  

4. Justify, using definitions to help.

Remember, discuss first, write last!

After the discussion, fill out the Order it/Justify it sheet. It might look something like this:

Remember, cross-outs are o.k.! You may change your mind!

When your group is done, place all of the materials, including your finished sheet, inside the bag!

Listen for the music! We will share out and then move on to part two: PicCollage It!

Part II: PicCollage it!

1.Open PicCollage App

2.Take a picture of the new Order it/ Justify it

3. Set it as the background.

4. Ask a team expert for help.

5. Know your words. Look up words you don't know. Use your team to help.

6.Take a selfie to justify each word. What does glare look like? What about observe?

7. Add text to get your word on the page.  You can use word art to add meaning to your word creation.

8. The least intense word goes at the bottom. The most intense word goes at the top.

9. Add your selfies.  Place your "glare" selfie next to the "glare" word art.

As you can see, I had some trouble with the doodle tool. What could I have done differently? Are the words too small? Could my photos be more expressive?

Want to get the most possible points? Use this to guide you.

• I can  justify my word order. I know what the words mean and can defend my choices ( I will be asking you to discuss your choices)  : 60 pts.
• I include an expressive selfie for each word: 30
• I use PicCollage App features to create and communicate word meaning( see how the word "scream" looks different than "whisper"): 10 pts

Finished early and want more points?

-Use the app to create a new Pic Collage.

Create a  PicCollage story that includes as many words as you can.

Your story must include complete sentences that justify your word choice.

Add pictures, selfies and GIFs to add meaning and context.

Remember, if you cant' justify it, it shouldn't be there!

Wednesday Words

Hey Team 201 Families,

I told the kiddos that there might not be a blog post today. I was having some technical issues and knew that I would be at the computer until later this evening.   We made sure to copy the homework carefully into our notebooks.  Does your child need help locating their agenda? Some do! Writing down the homework helps kids take responsibility for the planning and execution of their work.

Today's Science Lab was all about bird beaks. In our simulation, we discovered that beak shape matters! Ask you child about the results.  Want to learn more? Click on the links and read away. There is lots of information about birds on this site. Why not do your nightly reading here one evening?  You may also enjoy Wild Times Magazine. Click on the tab to and find the issue that interests you.
Project Beak

The homework this evening was 4.11 and two, double sided R.N. grammar pages. We will talk about pronouns in class tomorrow.

Parents, we will be ready to assess Go Math Chapter 4 next Tuesday!  Friday and Monday will be review days. I encourage students to bring the math book home this weekend!

Stay tuned for the eagerly anticipated letter about the Gingerbread House project. 201 will be making Gingerbread Houses the last week in 2017. More information to come!

Animal Projects are Due 12/18.  All kids must create the diorama.  For the report, kids may hand in a written report or a Power Point slide presentation. If the PowerPoint is selected, the same amount of writing and information will be presented, but in digital form. All Powerpoints will be emailed to me. I can't used any jump drives on the school computer. Sorry.  If you choose to to a paper report, handwritten and typed reports are acceptable.  Remember, I want to read your words. No copying from books or the internet!

Please let me know if you need another copy of the Project guidelines.

See you all tomorrow for Shades of Meaning......

Talking Tuesday

Greeting Team 201 Families!

Today we......

• began a new Social Studies class project to wrap up the U.S. Landscapes unit.
• read some HP and discussed it.
• did some ST Math
• corrected last night's math homework
• created a Readers Notebook page to help us cement our vocabulary strategy: Shades of Meaning
• used the PicCollage app to show what we know about animal adaptations.
• went to art, lunch and recess.

This evening at home....

• complete the hw and practice for lesson 4.10. We are dividing the old fashioned way!
• read and record.
• read the companion poems for Jose, Born to Dance, in Journeys.
• create your own Dance poem. This activity can be found on page 306 in Journeys. Please, no "roses are red" poems. Add color. I can't wait to share these tomorrow.

Making Our Debut Monday

Ask you child about the meaning of debut. It was another busy day in 201!

This evening at home...

• complete pages 109 and 110 in the R.N.
• complete the hw and practice for lesson 4.8
• read!

Reading Test

Hey Kids!

Today, we will use a different format to take our Journeys test.
Please read these directions with care.
1.After reading the directions, you will click on the link for socrative.com
2.You MUST type in your name to take the test.
3.Type your last name and then your first name. For example, I would type in Ginn, Mary Bush
3.You will take the written portion of the test on paper.

Remember, you can and should use your book as a text reference!

When you click on the link, type in this code:  GINN9283

Here is the link:
https://socrative.com/