Starting December 1st our class will be participating in the Reading, Writing & Ravioli program sponsored by The Pasta House and Coca-Cola. Students who choose to participate must read a total of 10 books (or 500) pages each month and prepare a summary of each book to be eligible. Students who meet these requirements will be awarded a free child's Ravioli dinner and a Coca-Cola beverage from Pasta House!
Today I sent home a monthly calendar for December. Students who wish to participate must write the name of each book and the number of pages read each day. For each book your child completed they must write a summary and staple it to the calendar. Students who total 10 books or 500 pages and do the summaries will receive a coupon in January! Calendars are due the day before the Winter Break.
Happy Reading!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Nightly Writing Homework
I gave each student a hard copy of this on yellow paper today. I am posting this to be sure that all parents also see this information :-)
Writing Homework
Beginning this week each student will be responsible for 10 minutes of writing each night Monday-Thursday in their writer’s notebook. This writing may be about anything! Each page must be dated. I will check notebooks weekly for completion. If you child has writer’s block here are some ideas:
• Write a poem
• Write a personal narrative
• Write a fiction story
• Write a persuasive letter
• Think about the following questions and write about them. Don’t answer in one sentence write for the whole 10 minutes!
o Do you own an object of great value even though it isn’t worth a lot of money? Describe it.
o Can you remember the happiest day you ever had in school? Describe it.
o If you could meet any famous person who is alive today who would you pick and why?
o Have you ever become friends with someone who didn’t treat you nicely? Why did you do this?
o If you were asked to advise people not to smoke, what reasons would you offer to convince them?
o Do you think you’d like to get married some day? Why or why not?
o What else besides money is important to consider when choosing a career?
o If you could offer three suggestions to someone about how to live a happy life, what three things would you suggest?
o Has anyone ever been jealous of you? What were they jealous about? How did that make you feel?
o Can you think of any worthwhile jobs that don’t pay any money?
o How much money makes a person wealthy?
o Can a person be happy without a lot of money?
o Did you ever get in trouble for laughing? What happened?
Your child should keep this sheet in their expandable folder (writing section) to refer to if they ever need an idea! Also, the writer’s notebook should stay in the expandable folder and travel back and forth you’re your child.
Happy Writing!
Writing Homework
Beginning this week each student will be responsible for 10 minutes of writing each night Monday-Thursday in their writer’s notebook. This writing may be about anything! Each page must be dated. I will check notebooks weekly for completion. If you child has writer’s block here are some ideas:
• Write a poem
• Write a personal narrative
• Write a fiction story
• Write a persuasive letter
• Think about the following questions and write about them. Don’t answer in one sentence write for the whole 10 minutes!
o Do you own an object of great value even though it isn’t worth a lot of money? Describe it.
o Can you remember the happiest day you ever had in school? Describe it.
o If you could meet any famous person who is alive today who would you pick and why?
o Have you ever become friends with someone who didn’t treat you nicely? Why did you do this?
o If you were asked to advise people not to smoke, what reasons would you offer to convince them?
o Do you think you’d like to get married some day? Why or why not?
o What else besides money is important to consider when choosing a career?
o If you could offer three suggestions to someone about how to live a happy life, what three things would you suggest?
o Has anyone ever been jealous of you? What were they jealous about? How did that make you feel?
o Can you think of any worthwhile jobs that don’t pay any money?
o How much money makes a person wealthy?
o Can a person be happy without a lot of money?
o Did you ever get in trouble for laughing? What happened?
Your child should keep this sheet in their expandable folder (writing section) to refer to if they ever need an idea! Also, the writer’s notebook should stay in the expandable folder and travel back and forth you’re your child.
Happy Writing!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Weekly Update November 29th-December 3rd
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!Math
Reading
We had a crazy week last week and we be catching up with our book clubs this week. We will also continue to review fact and opinion.
Word Study
Students will be receiving new Word Study words tomorrow. We are also going to change things up a bit in word study. Students will not be receiving a word study contract, we are going to try some different word study techniques this week. Expect word study homework at least once this week!
Writing
We finished up our persuasive writing pieces and have moved onto choice pieces. Each student it working through the writing process on a piece of their choice (fiction piece, personal narrative, persuasive letter, or anthology of poems). Starting this week students will be required to write for 10 minutes a night in their writer's notebook. I talking with the students about this new routine on Monday and will be sending home information with students.
Important note: Homework completion has been a bit of a challenge for some children. I know that it is a busy and exciting time of the year. Please help you child remember to complete his/her homework and put his/her name on it! Thanks so much for your help with this matter!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Multiplication Games
Lets multiplication and two digit multiplication!
http://www.prongo.com/farm/
Multi-step problems.
http://www.aaamath.com/B/mul310x4.htm
Multiplication two-digit by one digit explanation and practice
http://www.funbrain.com/fractop/
Choose: Whole Numbers, Medium, Multiplication
http://www.prongo.com/math/
Choose: multiplication
http://www.prongo.com/farm/
Multi-step problems.
http://www.aaamath.com/B/mul310x4.htm
Multiplication two-digit by one digit explanation and practice
http://www.funbrain.com/fractop/
Choose: Whole Numbers, Medium, Multiplication
http://www.prongo.com/math/
Choose: multiplication
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Weekly Update 11-15
Important Reminders:
- We have Early Release this Wednesday. Please remember to send a note if your child is not going home the way you indicated on your form at the beginning of the school year.
- Please mark your calendars for the Winter Concerts on Sunday, November 12th. Fourth grade will be performing at 4:00 PM, followed by the Oh The Places You’ll Go Character Choir at 5:00. Many students have dancing, singing, and acting parts, and all have been practicing very hard!
- Please continue to donate to our Adopt-A-Family. We are off to a GREAT start. A special thanks to all those who have donated!
Math
We are moving quickly into concepts of multiplication that will prepare us for two-digit multiplication. Two-digit multiplication will begin after Thanksgiving. Keep practicing those multiplication and division facts at home! This week ware learning how to write equations and expressions using multiplication and division.
Reading
This week we will continue to look at the authors' purposes for writing. We will also spiral back and review questioning and inferring. I am very proud of the hard work and dedication the children have shown in their book club books recently. Be sure to ask our child what book club book he/she is reading in class.
Writing
We are steadily moving through the writing process with our persuasive letters. This type of structured writing has been challenging for some students. We have been discussing topic sentences and supportive details in class.
Science
We will complete our look at matter this week. We will have a test at the end of this week. Look for a study guide by Wednesday and a test on Friday. If you would like to begin reviewing, please review the concepts of mass, volume, density, mixture and solution. This information can be found in the textbook in Chapter 10.
Character
Please be on the look out for a flyer coming home about a special project we are doing with our buddy class, Mrs. Boughman's awesome 1st graders!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Out of the Office 11-12
Boys and Girls Nick has a fever and is throwing up :-( I will be home with him tomorrow. Be good for the substitute teacher and I will see you Monday.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Reading Response Due November 12th
I am looking forward to reading your reading responses this week! I hope you enjoyed the of week last week! I can't wait to hear what you have been reading! Please write a paragraph for your reading response. The paragraph should include:
Example:
This week I am reading the Magic Half by Annie Barrow. The main character, Miri, accidentally traveled back in town and met Molly. Molly is in a horrible family and needs Miri's help. Miri is now back in the present time and is desperately trying to return to the 1930s and save Molly. I would recommend this book because each chapter is a cliffhanger and I never want to stop reading! I also feel like the characters are realistic and I can make connections to my own life.
IMPORTANT:
Topic sentence: Book title and author.
Paragraph body: A summary of your book.
Conclusion sentence: Would you recommend this book to a friend why or why not. Example:
This week I am reading the Magic Half by Annie Barrow. The main character, Miri, accidentally traveled back in town and met Molly. Molly is in a horrible family and needs Miri's help. Miri is now back in the present time and is desperately trying to return to the 1930s and save Molly. I would recommend this book because each chapter is a cliffhanger and I never want to stop reading! I also feel like the characters are realistic and I can make connections to my own life.
IMPORTANT:
I will give 1 extra credit point to any student who comments on another student's posting. You can ask a question or make a comment. I will give 2 extra credit points to a student who goes to the library and checks out and reads (the whole thing) a book that a classmate recommended on the blog! Happy Reading!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Lava Lamp Instructions
•Clean, plastic soda bottle (16 oz size works well)
•Soda bottle cap
•Vegetable oil (the cheaper the better)
•Food coloring
•Alka-Seltzer tablet or Kosher Salt
•Water
1.Fill the bottle 3/4 full with vegetable oil.
2.Fill the rest of the bottle with water (almost to the top but not overflowing).
3.Add about 10 drops of food coloring. Be sure to make the water fairly dark in color. Notice that the food coloring only colors the water and not the oil. Hmmm...
4.Divide the Alka-Seltzer tablet into pieces.
5.Drop one of the tiny pieces of Alka-Seltzer into the oil and water mixture. Watch what happens. When the bubbling stops, add another chunk of Alka-Seltzer. It’s just like a lava lamp!
6.When you have used up all of the Alka-Seltzer and the bubbling has completely stopped, screw on the soda bottle cap. Tip the bottle back and forth and watch the wave appear. The tiny droplets of liquid join together to make one big lava-like blob.
How does it work?
First of all, you confirmed what you already knew... oil and water do not mix. The molecules of water do not like to mix with the molecules of oil. Even if you try to shake up the bottle, the oil breaks up into small little drops, but the oil doesn’t mix with the water. Also, food coloring only mixes with water. It does not color the oil.
When you pour the water into the bottle with the oil, the water sinks to the bottom and the oil floats to the top. This is the same as when oil from a ship spills in the ocean. The oil floats on top of the water. Oil floats on the surface because water is heavier than oil. Scientists say that the water is more dense than the oil.
Here’s the surprising part... The Alka-Seltzer tablet reacts with the water to make tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles attach themselves to the blobs of colored water and cause them to float to the surface. When the bubbles pop, the color blobs sink back to the bottom of the bottle. Now that’s a burst of color! Your own homemade lava lamp... groovy baby!
•Soda bottle cap
•Vegetable oil (the cheaper the better)
•Food coloring
•Alka-Seltzer tablet or Kosher Salt
•Water
1.Fill the bottle 3/4 full with vegetable oil.
2.Fill the rest of the bottle with water (almost to the top but not overflowing).
3.Add about 10 drops of food coloring. Be sure to make the water fairly dark in color. Notice that the food coloring only colors the water and not the oil. Hmmm...
4.Divide the Alka-Seltzer tablet into pieces.
5.Drop one of the tiny pieces of Alka-Seltzer into the oil and water mixture. Watch what happens. When the bubbling stops, add another chunk of Alka-Seltzer. It’s just like a lava lamp!
6.When you have used up all of the Alka-Seltzer and the bubbling has completely stopped, screw on the soda bottle cap. Tip the bottle back and forth and watch the wave appear. The tiny droplets of liquid join together to make one big lava-like blob.
How does it work?
First of all, you confirmed what you already knew... oil and water do not mix. The molecules of water do not like to mix with the molecules of oil. Even if you try to shake up the bottle, the oil breaks up into small little drops, but the oil doesn’t mix with the water. Also, food coloring only mixes with water. It does not color the oil.
When you pour the water into the bottle with the oil, the water sinks to the bottom and the oil floats to the top. This is the same as when oil from a ship spills in the ocean. The oil floats on top of the water. Oil floats on the surface because water is heavier than oil. Scientists say that the water is more dense than the oil.
Here’s the surprising part... The Alka-Seltzer tablet reacts with the water to make tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles attach themselves to the blobs of colored water and cause them to float to the surface. When the bubbles pop, the color blobs sink back to the bottom of the bottle. Now that’s a burst of color! Your own homemade lava lamp... groovy baby!
Adopt-A-Family
Our class has adopted family #6. This is a family of 4, There is a mom, dad, 6 year-old girl, and 13 year-old girl. This family only speaks Bosnian. Today Mrs. Deeter can into our class to discuss this family's needs. Please think of our family as you grocery shop over the next few weeks. Please send in any non-perishable food items (plastic containers). I look forward to helping this family have a wonderful holiday season!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Persusive Writing Assignment
Please talk with child about their persuasive letter topic. Some students are struggling with thinking of advantages for their chosen topic. I have encouraged them to talk to their parents or look at online resources. We are learning to write persuasive letter that we will actually mail! Below is my fictional example letter :-)
Dear Principal Pineapple,
My name is Mrs. Apple Dumpling and I am a teacher at Fruit Bowl School. The school day MUST be extended to save parents money, to help students learn more, and to have a shorter school year.
First, extending the school day would save parents a lot of money. Parents who work must pay for after care or daycare for their children. These are tough economic times and parents need to be spending their money on more important things. Parents could also save this money and put it towards their child’s college fund.
An extended school day would also help students learn more. Due to the fact that our school day is so short certain subjects like science are only 30 minutes long. Extending the school day would allow teachers, like myself, to plan more science experiments and other fun learning activities. Teachers would also be able to give less homework because there would be more time in the day to get the school work done.
Finally, an extended school day would allow the school year to be shorter. If the school board added 1 hour to each day we could start summer break one month early! Who wouldn’t want to have all of May off school? This would give children the opportunity to play outside before it becomes scorching hot outside.
In conclusion, an extended school day benefits everyone. Teachers, students, and parents would be happy with the change. I hope you take my ideas into consideration and present this idea to the school board at your next meeting.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. Apple Dumpling
Dear Principal Pineapple,
My name is Mrs. Apple Dumpling and I am a teacher at Fruit Bowl School. The school day MUST be extended to save parents money, to help students learn more, and to have a shorter school year.
First, extending the school day would save parents a lot of money. Parents who work must pay for after care or daycare for their children. These are tough economic times and parents need to be spending their money on more important things. Parents could also save this money and put it towards their child’s college fund.
An extended school day would also help students learn more. Due to the fact that our school day is so short certain subjects like science are only 30 minutes long. Extending the school day would allow teachers, like myself, to plan more science experiments and other fun learning activities. Teachers would also be able to give less homework because there would be more time in the day to get the school work done.
Finally, an extended school day would allow the school year to be shorter. If the school board added 1 hour to each day we could start summer break one month early! Who wouldn’t want to have all of May off school? This would give children the opportunity to play outside before it becomes scorching hot outside.
In conclusion, an extended school day benefits everyone. Teachers, students, and parents would be happy with the change. I hope you take my ideas into consideration and present this idea to the school board at your next meeting.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. Apple Dumpling
Making Lava Lamps
Tomorrow we will be making lava lamps in science. Please remember to bring in a plastic bottle. It can be a water bottle, juice bottle, soda bottle, anything with a lid!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Weekly Update
Weekly Update:Welcome to November....gobble gobble!
We will also be working on work choice. The words we choose affect our reader's perception. Some tired words need a vacation. Ask you child what words they sent on a jet plane!
On a side note I want to thank you for supporting the Lindbergh School District yesterday. I am so proud to work and live in this community. I look forward to sending my children through this wonderful school district. Its a great day to be a FLYER.
Monday, November 1, 2010
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