Trying to Conserve Tuesday

Thanks, David, for providing us with today's blog title.


Today we....

• worked on a morning warm-up 
• read the "Article of the Day" on Readworks.
• read and annotated our Social Studies magazine. Today's focus was on the Growth of the Northeast. We talked about the first textile mills in Lowell, MA and the Erie Canal.  Everyone enjoyed my singing, right?
• went to Art with Ms. Varner.  
• corrected last night's homework and then worked on comparing fractions and renaming fractions with common denominators. Ask your child about the LCM!
• spent some time selecting books and reading.
• revisited Ecology For Kids. We discussed main idea and supporting details and created a "fishbone" graphic organizer.
• went to lunch and recess.
• added some vocabulary to our graphic organizer.
• listened to a bit of Harry Potter.
• cleaned up.
• went home.

Tomorrow we will....

• read our SS Magazine, annotate and take notes about the New England states.
• sharpen those "citing text details/evidence" skills.
• spent some time reviewing Chapter 6 Fractions concepts. We will be ready for a test early next week.
• go to the Science Lab to continue our Water lab.
• discuss renewable and non renewable resources.

This evening at home...

• finish the "fish" main idea/detail/vocab graphic organizer.
• pick one: Text to Text or Text to Self in Journeys, page 459.
• Go Math hw and practice lesson 6.7 Comparing Fractions

The Nike Root Olympian book is due on Thursday!

Fractions! Watch and Learn!

Making New Friends Monday

Today we welcome 5 new students to 201! We moved some furniture, rearranged our seats, and are ready to welcome the newest Team201ers!

Today we......

• read Ecology For Kids in small groups. We discussed the story and new vocabulary words. Main Idea and Supporting Details is this week's focus skill. It is an important one!
• took the Mid Chapter Checkpoint and began 6.5
• welcomed our new team members
• went to Gym

This evening at home...

• complete pages 181-184 in the Readers Notebook
• read and record on the Gold Card.
• finish the homework and practice for lesson 6.6. 

The Nike book will be due on Thursday! Most kids are almost finished.

DeFrost Friday

This weekend at home....

• study for the Mid Chapter Checkpoint in Go Math. We will take this quiz on Monday.
• finish this classwork: poetry mug, newspaper/penguin final draft, WANTED poster
• read Ecology For Kids in Journeys. There will be "show what you know" ticket on Monday.
• write a summary of Ecology For Kids. A strong summary is about 7.10 sentences.
• read

Note...all of the second bullet work was classwork/homework. 

A letter about Valentines Day will go home on Monday.
** I have last night's math homework. It will be returned on Monday, when we will have a chance to go over the questions together.


Have a great weekend!

Wacky Wednesday

This evening at home...

• finish Go Math 6.4
• read and record.
• revise and publish the Winter Words poem. Use the template to help you format each line.

Terrific Tuesday

This evening at home....

• Use Journeys to help you complete the A.J. questions
• complete the hw and practice for lesson 6.3: Simplest Form
• finish the rough draft of your Winter poem. Do you include vivid adjectives? I hope so!

Today we.....

• met in small groups to read and learn about the Northeast's Native People
• read the "article of the day" on readworks.com
• did a little ST Math
• worked on polishing last night's Vocab Windows homework
• Simplified Fractions using the Greatest Common Factor
• listened to My Many Colored Days and worked in small groups to brainstorm and draft Winter Color poems.
• read Harry Potter...
• went to art

Tomorrow is Science Lab day!
***MATH CORRECTIONS ARE DUE ON FRIDAY MORNING. To earn extra credit, please rework the problems, showing all work, on a separate sheet of paper!

Field Trip Volunteers Needed

Hello Parents! We have two trips scheduled for February!

2/12- Maple Syrup Tapping- Be warned, this is an outside trip.

2/24- American Writers Museum- This is a trip for 201 students only!


We need two parent helpers for each day. Please let me know via email if you can join us!
mport@cps.edu

Multiplication Monday

Today we are using multiplication to generate equivalent fractions.  Click on the Study Jams tab  to see the slide show we used today. There are plenty of other "Fractions" videos here too. Maybe you are ready to learn more!


This evening at home....

• complete the circled classwork questions for 5.2 and the "homework and practice."
• get your math test signed. Corrections, for credit, are due by Friday. Please write out problems and show work on a separate sheet of paper.
• read! Fill out that Reading Log and get a signature, please.
• complete the vocabulary activity.

We will take the Antarctic Journey test on Friday.

We will take a quiz on habitats, populations and niche on Thursday.

Friday!

Today we.....

• Created  WANTED posters to explore niche. They are pretty great!
• wished Sarit a Happy Birthday
• corrected last night's math homework and worked on finding equivalent fractions
• worked in our reading group centers and wrote, wrote, wrote!

This weekend at home...

• finish the WANTED Poster
• read!
• Do IXL Math P.2-P.6 or more! If you have already done this, please move up to the 5th grade fractions work.
• read!

Thursday Thoughts

This evening at home...

• complete the homework and practice for lesson 6.1
• read the companion piece, Cold Cold Science, in Journeys and complete the Text to Text activity. Remember to use Claim. Evidence. Explain.  
• tomorrow, I will recollect the Analyze Text.  Do you need to redo it? If you did not earn a Check plus, you do! We spent lots of time today, talking about how to rework these responses.

Wild Wednesday

Today's Food Web card game is our title inspiration.  Today we also....

• worked on some MKL vocabulary work
• took the Chapter 5 Math test
• went to Library
• played Food Web cards in the Science Lab and watched some Mystery Science videos
• worked on our first Root Word Olympians set. We also worked on learning this week's roots together.
• read for pleasure
• read Harry Potter
• got our new Math books: Fractions, here we come!\

This evening at home...

• complete the Antarctic Journal Analyze Text questions.
• complete pages 325 and 326 in the Chapter 6 Go Math book.
• read!

Don't skimp on those A.T. questions!

Use these tips to make your response strong!

1. Make your claim or point. This might be restating the question. This first sentence should NOT contain the word because. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Save your examples and evidence for the sentences that will follow.
2. Cite your evidence. You may use short quotes or specific examples/events and actions. For example,____. On page___, ___________. The author describes_______________. The main character___________,
3. Explain your thinking. Make the connection between the claim and the evidence. This shows me that.........I think this means........This proves that.......

I hope that these tips will help you and your child understand the expectations. We will be working on turning good writers into great writers every week!

Are you looking for a good book? I just finished this one and I loved it!!!

Travel Tuesday

This morning we heard a bit about Mr. Szymanski's travels to Antarctica.
We hope to learn more!

News to Know:

• We will take the Chapter 5 Math test tomorrow. Today was a review day. Many kids did not finish the

Chapter Review at home, which means that they were not able to go over answers with me today in class.

• Please check the blog on Fridays! Too many kids did not do the reading that would prepare them

 for today's small groups. We go over the expectations together each afternoon.

• We are scheduled to take the MAPS Science test on Thursday.
• We will not take a reading test this Friday. We will be working on this story and Antarctic research.

Click here to do some independent research;

https://www.activewild.com/antarctica-facts-for-kids/

http://www.oddizzi.com/teachers/explore-the-world/places/antarctica/

This evening at home...

• study for the math test. Do some sample problems based on the review. 
• read and log it.No log, no stamp!
• Please ask a parent to sign today's reading entrance ticket. No initials, please.
• use Journeys to complete pages 157 and 158 in the Readers Notebook.

Frothy Friday

Today's Hot Chocolate Read In was delicious.   This weekend at home..
-In Journeys, read Antarctic Journal. Be prepared to show what you know on Tuesday morning!
-Finish the Chapter 5 Review. We will take the Chapter 5 test on Wednesday.
-Finish the "connections" and the art/color on the Vocabulary Mind Map.
-Read and Log it.
-Don't forget that, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, there is no school on Monday. We will be learning about MLK and his legacy next week.

via GIPHY

Thinking Ahead Thursday

Today we are taking our Winter MAPS math check in, and I am thinking about the spring test. Because the MAPS test is adaptive, many of our kids are seeing questions about concepts that are taught either at the very end of the year, after testing, or next year! To help introduce some of these concepts, I will be assigning some special Esparks quests that we will work on in class.

At home, students should be using IXL to give themselves a learning boost. Please focus on the following concepts: Geometry and Measurement.  Kids who are scoring above the 80th percentile will benefit from using the IXL 5th grade curriculum. I will be meeting with kids to discuss specific areas to target.


You may have noticed that last night's language homework was a writing revision. We are working on bumping up the depth and quality of our writing. Here is the message from school: If there are only three questions to answer, they should be answered completely! This means that I expect more! A one sentence answer is not enough.

In class we are talking about...

1. Make your claim or point. This might be restating the question. This first sentence should NOT contain the word because. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Save your examples and evidence for the sentences that will follow.
2. Cite your evidence. You may use short quotes or specific examples/events and actions. For example,____. On page___, ___________. The author describes_______________. The main character___________,
3. Explain your thinking. Make the connection between the claim and the evidence. This shows me that.........I think this means........This proves that.......

I hope that these tips will help you and your child understand the expectations. We will be working on turning good writers into great writers every week!

Today we.....

• warmed up with grammar, a math problem of the day, and some word work.
• did some ST Math
• went to Gym
• worked on building strong text dependent responses and worked with Earth Dragon Awakes
• began working on our Vocabulary Mind Map
• took the MAPS test
• ate lunch
• read!
• Worked on the next math lesson 5.6: Patterns and Sequencing

This evening at home...

• complete the comprehension activity we started in class. Most kids are almost finished.
• complete the Vocabulary Mind map activity. 1. Think about each word. How will you place them on the paper? Are there connections? Are there disconnections? How can they be related?2.Write a mini definition for each word. Use yesterday's vocab activity or the glossary. 3. Make the connection between the words. Draw a picture, write a sentence, add some word art, or create an example.
• complete the homework for lesson 5.6
• read! Feel free to read on MYON or on one of the information text tabs from the blog.

*If you have a mug, please bring it to school tomorrow. Let's make this cocoa party eco-friendly!

WhoooooWasForDinnerWednesday

Today's title is all about the Owl Pellets! Our time in the lab was pretty special. Ask you child to tell you all about it. You can read more about Owls here.

What are owl pellets?


Today we also.....

• rewrote one of our Analyze Text questions and practiced how to build a better response.
• worked on factors and multiples. This can get tricky. Today's lesson is about Prime and Composite numbers.
• published our resolutions.
• read a chapter in Harry Potter.

This evening at home...

• complete 5.5
• rewrite one more of the AT questions from last night. Make your point(restate). Add text evidence. Explain your thinking.
• Read "Humans Adapt to Climate" in the SS magazine. Annotate the text.
• Mugs are due tomorrow.

Tuesday Thoughts

This evening at home...

• Go Math 5.4
• read and record.
• finish that penguin! Most are done! We will finish the resolution writing in class tomorrow.
• complete the Analyze Text questions for Earth Dragon Awakes. Remember, the A.T. questions are found within the text, at the bottom of the pages.  Please answer in complete sentences. Include text evidence. 1.Make your point.2. Provide evidence.3.Explain your thinking.

Most of the kids have completed the Reading Challenge. We need 100% by Friday in order to hold our party. Cutting and coloring need to happen at home. We don't have time at school!

Monday Musings

Welcome Back!


Parents, please check the Gold Card this evening. Several kids did not bring the Winter Reading Challenge Mug.  In order to hold our party, we need 100% participation.

This evening at home...

• study for tomorrow's Mid Chapter Quiz. Review the questions we did in class today. You may also work on any other problems from lessons 1-3 to help you prepare.
• complete pages 147-148 in the Readers Notebook
• read!
• Progress Reports are going home today. Please note that the gradebook is still open! The grade on the Progress Report may be different that the current grade, as grades fluctuate at new scores are entered.
• Don't forget to hand in those Chapter 4 corrections. Please bring them by Monday.

Scissors Needed: Many students have lost scissors, and my classroom supply has been decimated. I don't think the kids are eating them, but I am not sure where our scissors are! Please replenish your child's scissors. I can label them with a Sharpie!

Sharpen Your Pencils Sunday

Hello Fabled Fourth Graders!

I know that many of you may not be looking forward to waking up early tomorrow morning! Don't worry, we have plenty of fun activities to make the transition smooth! Here are just a few things we will be working on this week...

• Hot Cocoa Read-In (with or without marshmallows). This week, we will have our party. Please bring in your reading mugs! I will select the date tomorrow. I am hoping for Friday.
• New Year's Around the World Webquest.
• Cool Resolutions Penguin Craft and Writing project. What are your goals for the year? We will give it a community focus twist.
• Wintery Words: poetry and craft

Here are some of the links that we will use tomorrow! I can't wait to wish you a Happy New Year in person.

New Years Celebrations Around the World. Check out the links to learn about how different cultures ring in the new year!

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/new-year-celebrations-around-world/


http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38341760


https://www.oyster.com/articles/56515-7-new-years-eve-traditions-that-you-havent-heard-of/

Websites in Web Quest:
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0923039.html http://www.factmonster.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html
http://www.fathertimes.net/ http://kidsthesedays.org/content/10-new-years-traditions-around-world http://www.hellokids.com/c_19316/reading-and-learning/stories-for-children/new-year-s- eve-around-the-world?pos=4#top_page http://www.kidsplayandcreate.com/how-do-you-say-happy-new-year-around-the-world-for- kids/ 


-Don't forget.....Thursday: MAPS Math testing

Happy New Year!

Greeting Team201 Families!

I hope that you are all enjoying a warm winter break. I am looking forward to seeing you all next week. Don't forget about the Winter Break Marshmallow Reading Challenge! It was passed out and placed in the green folder. If we get 100% participation, we will have a Hot Chocolate Read in! I have my cocoa and crock pot ready to go! Read, read, read and decorate those mugs!

If you need another copy of the file, please shoot me an email!