Thursday, Dec 9, 2010

"So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install,
A lovely bookshelf on the wall."
— Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Announcements:

No School Dec 17-Jan 2

MAP Testing starts right after break.

What we did today:

We worked on our math vocabulary and Mountain Math. We supported our classmates during the Spelling Bee. Congratulations to Lisa for winning the school spelling bee.

We worked in the MRC lab to finished up this weeks work on the computers. Some of you even got to try out the games and other learning activities.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes and record it on your roadrunner tale.

Tuesday, December 7th

Announcements:

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." — Frederick Douglass


What we did today:

We worked on division facts.
We worked on our writing prompt.
We went to the computer lab and worked on many things.

Homework:

Division facts
Read for at least 45 minutes
Roadrunner tales

Links to Class notes.

December 7 class notest

December 6, 2010

Announcements:

Report Cards are coming soon.

No school Dec 17-Jan 2.

What we did today:

We worked on our division skills. We are learning that we need strong division skills in order to work with fractions and decimals.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes and record it on your roadrunner tale.

Lesson 22 pg 142--lesson practice A-K written practice 5, 6, 7, 26

Lesson 26 pg 162--lesson practice A-L written practice 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 28

Lesson 34 pg 213--lesson practice A-M written practice 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 29

Lesson 40 pg 248--lesson practice A-E written practice 3, 4, 17, 18,

Links to Class notes.

December 6 class notes

Dec 3, 2010

Announcements:

Picture retakes are Monday.

Remember to bring canned and boxed food items.

We have a field trip January 27, 2011. More information as we get closer to going.

What we did today:

We finished up December MacRo.

We started researching about our class college in the computer lab.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes and recrd it on your roadrunner tale.

December 1, 2010

Announcements:

Picture Retakes are Monday.

Remember to bring in those food items for the food drive.

What we did today:

We continued to work on December Macro-We will be done with it this week.

We also worked on our read aloud-You did better today on the questions. Keep paying attention to what you read.

You worked on your web and the rule of three to start your essay about the qualities of a hero.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes and record it on your roadrunner tale.

MACRO Lessons 9-12

Links to Class notes.

December 1 class notes

Goodbye November

Announcements:

Picture Retakes are Monday. Please let Ms. Taylor-Stevens know if you are planning to have your picture retaken.

Remember to bring in those food items for the food drive.

You can go on Book Adventure at home or anywhere you have internet access. Have fun looking and playing around. Take some of the quizzes, start earning those points toward prizes.

What we did today:

We worked on more of our MACRO. You guys are getting pretty good at Order of Operations, Fractions, decimals, percents, and all that fun math stuff.

We also had our first time in the MCR computer lab. You guys did pretty good with the requirements. We need to remember to stay quiet and on task. Using the computer lab is a privilege and can be taken away.

You all took your science test. You really need to work on finding answers in the newspapers. The scores are still lower then they should be since you can use the newspapers.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes and record it on your roadrunner tale.

Roadrunner tales are due tomorrow.

MACRO Lessons 4-8

Links to Class notes.

November 30 Classnotes

November 29, 2010

Announcements:

Today we lead the Pledge, Character Counts Pledge and our university chant during Great Gathering.

The food drive has started. The class that brings the most boxed or canned food wins a pizza party.

Happy Birthday to Ms. Taylor-Stevens

What we did today:

We started December's MACRO.

We learned about new websites that we will be working with this year. We also learned that we will be visiting the MRC computers 1-2 times a week to work on research, take tests, write a blog, and have fun.


Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes and record it on your roadrunner tales.

MACRO Lessons 1-4

November 24

Announcements:

Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! See you back ready to learn on Monday November 29th.

Remember that we lead the pledge, do the character counts pledge, and something from our college at Great Gathering on Monday.

We will start to use the computers in the MRC next week to do research, publish our writing, do our science and social studies tests, blog, and many more things.

What we did today:

We finished up reading "The Witches" by Roald Dahl

We worked on our Social Studies test over Week 4 Newspaper

We finished up work and cleaned the classroom.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes each night (even over Thanksgiving break).

November 23

Announcements:

Book orders due tomorrow!

Roadrunner tales due tomorrow!

What we did today:

We studied about factors, and simplifying fractions.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes every night.

Links to Class notes.

November 23 Math Notes

November 22

Announcements:

Goodbye Yoda :-( We didn't get to keep Yoda for another month. We had a combine score of 94%, just under the winning class. So study hard so that we can get him back in December.

What we did today:

This week is a make up week or catch up week. We will be working on everything we need to get done from previous weeks.

We are also still working on fractions.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes every night.

November 16

Announcements:

Math Wizards is Thursday. Study hard so we can keep Yoda with us all year.

What we did today:

We watched a webcast from Pilmouth Village in Massachusetts. We learned all about the First Thanksgiving. Wasn't it weird that they ate eel and that they didn't have pumpkin pie or turkey.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes
Math Lesson 30 & 37

Happy Last Friday of October

Announcements:

4th and 5th grade 1st Quarter Awards Assembly is next Wednesday, Novermber 3, 2010-Starts at 2 pm

Book orders are also due on Wednesday, November 3, 2010

What we did today:

We had a great time today during the parade.

We also enjoyed participating in the Pumpkin Circuit centers. Thanks 4th grade teachers for inviting us. We had a blast doing fun math activities in each of the different classrooms.

We graded our quarterly math assessment. You all did better this time. You are slowly learning all that math you didn't know when the year started and your last took this test.

We are still working on our writing prompt about whether you agree or disagree that the school year should be longer.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes each night, Record what you read in your homework notebook and on your roadrunner tale form.

2nd Qtr Day 2

Announcements:

Pictures are Friday. Look for notices to go home with the Wednesday Envelopes.

Math Wizards is Thursday. Let's see that Yoda stays with us another month. Study those facts.

What we did today:

We continued to work on October's Macro. We went over Lessons 11/12 and you are to complete them for homework.

We will be adding in other math work as you get better at handling the Macro.

We are studying about specific explorers this week in Social Studies. Also we are taking week 2 and 3 tests, so remember to study your newspsper and social studies notes so that you are prepared for the test.

We will be starting a new read aloud book hopefully this week. It will be a special book just for October.

We will be starting a new writing prompt so that you can show how your writing has improved since the begining of the year.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes. Record what you read in your homework notebook and on your roadrunner tales.

MACRO math lessons 11 and 12

EVERY STUDENT IN THIS CLASS HAS TURNED IN 100% OF THEIR HOMEWORK FOR 3 DAYS IN A ROW!!!

Start of Quarter 2

Announcements:

Welcome Back Everyone. So glad to see all of you at school today.

Pictures are on Friday. Please remember to dress nicely. This is not a dress down day.

What we did today:

We started back into our learning. We worked on Mountain Math, Math Puzzles, and of course MACRO.

We also started a new Social Studies Newspaper, and a new read aloud book.

Homework:

Read for at least 45 minutes. Record your reading in your homework notebook and on a road runner tale form.

MACRO Lessons 9 and 10.

EVERY STUDENT IN THIS CLASS HAS TURNED IN 100% OF THEIR HOMEWORK FOR 2 DAYS IN A ROW!!!

Welcome back to our 2nd Quarter

Announcements:

Welcome back. Hope your fall break was fun and relaxing. This is the start of the 2nd quarter.

What are your goals for this quarter? How are you going to work to reach those goals?

Homework:

Did you read everyday over break? Don't forget your homework notebook and roadrunner tales.

Student Led Conferences

Why do we hold student led conferences instead of parent-teacher conferences?


Por qué llevamos a cabo conferencias dirigidas por los estudiantes en lugar de las conferencias de padres y maestros?








No, its not because we are trying to shirk our duty. The big answer is that it holds students more accountable for their learning. And, there is education research to back it up. Here are the highlights of the benefits:








No, no es porque estamos tratando de eludir nuestro deber. La gran respuesta es que tiene los estudiantes más responsables de su aprendizaje. Y, no hay investigación en educación para respaldarlo. Éstos son los aspectos más destacados de los beneficios:









Highlights of Research on Student-Led Conferences


Aspectos destacados de la investigación de Conferencias dirigidas por los estudiantes








Student-led conferences are emerging as a way to actively engage students in their learning process, wrote Donald G. Hackmann, assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Iowa State University in an ERIC Digest, “Student-Led Conferences at the Middle Level.” Following are some of the benefits of student-led conferences listed in Hackmann’s article:





Conferencias dirigidas por los estudiantes se están convirtiendo en una forma de involucrar activamente a los estudiantes en su proceso de aprendizaje, escribió Donald G. Hackmann, profesor asistente de liderazgo educativo y estudios de política en la Iowa State University con un Eric Digest ", dirigidas por los estudiantes Conferencias en el Nivel Medio . "A continuación se presentan algunos de los beneficios de las conferencias dirigidas por los estudiantes mencionados en el artículo Hackmann de:








* Students assume greater control of their academic progress.

* Los estudiantes asumen un mayor control de su progreso académico.








* Students accept personal responsibility for their academic performance.

* Los estudiantes aceptan la responsabilidad personal por su desempeño académico.








* Parents, teachers, and students engage in open and honest dialogue.

* Los padres, maestros y estudiantes participan en un diálogo abierto y honesto.








* Parents attend conferences at increased rates.

* Los padres asisten a conferencias en las tasas de aumento.








* Students learn the process of self-evaluation.

* Los estudiantes aprenden el proceso de auto-evaluación.








* Students develop organizational and oral communication skills.

* Los estudiantes desarrollan habilidades de la comunicación organizacional y oral.








While we can’t guarantee that all students in all conference situations will achieve all these benefits, we can say that the chances are better than in a parent-teacher conference.








Si bien no podemos garantizar que todos los estudiantes en todas las situaciones conferencia alcanzar todas estas ventajas, podemos decir que las posibilidades son mejores que en una conferencia de padres y maestros.








Student led conferences give students an authentic opportunity to share their growth as a learner. As students take a more active role in their educational goals, they will become more independent, self-directed learners.








Student led conferences give students an authentic opportunity to share their growth as a learner." te="Estudiantes llevó conferencias dar a los estudiantes una oportunidad auténtica de compartir su crecimiento como un aprendiz.



Estudiantes llevó conferencias dar a los estudiantes una oportunidad auténtica de compartir su crecimiento como un aprendiz.




As students take a more active role in their educational goals, they will become more independent, self-directed learners.



Como los estudiantes toman un papel más activo en sus metas educativas, que se vuelven más independientes, aprendices auto-dirigidos.

Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

Week of September 20-24, 2010

Announcements:

Parent Teacher Conferences are in less than 2 weeks, so that means it is almost the end of the 1st quarter and you will be receiving your report cards. REmember that the report cards are different this year. No longer will you see A's, B's, C's. Instead it will be a 4 point rubric 1's, 2's, 3's, or 4's.

Also we have not had a day this week where everyone turned in their homework. That zero (0) on the window is looking like it wants to stay up there. REmember the record is 62 days of homework turned in by 100% of a class.

Are you going to be the class to break this record?What we did this week:

We continued to learn problem solving strategies. We also learned how to do Lattice multiplication and use Napier's Bones to solve long multiplication problems. Remember to practice your multiplication facts.

We also are learning all about nautral disasters; such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and more. We are reading an information text that is full of very interesting facts and information.

In writing we are learning about brainstorming and proper revision and editing techniques.


Homework:

Read for at least 30 minutes each night. Fill out your roadrunner tales, and complete any math not finished in class.
EVERY STUDENT IN THIS CLASS HAS TURNED IN 100% OF THEIR HOMEWORK FOR 0 DAYS IN A ROW!!!

Thursday (September 23, 2010)

Announcements:

Remember that your new book orders are due October 6, 2010

We are still having trouble with some of you remembering to bring in your homework. Remember that part of our NEU and Character Counts tasks is RESPONSIBILITY. Please work extra hard to bring in your homework everyday-We don't have much homework, so as Nike says "Just Do It."

Parent Teacher Conferences are in a little less than 2 weeks. . . This means report cards are coming. Keep working hard at mastering the state standards.

What we did today:

We have a great day learning all about Lattice Multiplication. We will be continuing to learn strategies to help us with our math.

Homework:

Read for at least 30 minutes

Complete the multiplication coloring page using the Lattice Multiplication method.

EVERY STUDENT IN THIS CLASS HAS TURNED IN 100% OF THEIR HOMEWORK FOR 0 DAYS IN A ROW!!!

Monday (September 20, 2010)

Announcements:

Great Job at Math Wizards last week. 14 of you passed the Addition Facts with 100% and the class average was 98%. Keep studying those facts, so that Yoda stays with us this year.

What we did today:

We are still learning about Natural Disasters while reading the Tsunami book.

We are also working hard to finish up our Social Studies Newspaper.

Homework:

Read for at least 30 Minutes

Problem Solving Strategy-Work Backwards worksheet.

EVERY STUDENT IN THIS CLASS HAS TURNED IN 100% OF THEIR HOMEWORK FOR 0 DAYS IN A ROW!!!