Note to my homeroom: Don't forget to get your social studies test signed. You need to return it to Mrs. Suddarth tomorrow!
Language Arts
We started some new skills today and reviewed some others. Our spelling skill this week is ch/tch. This was a challenge for some of us. We are working on common and proper nouns in grammar this week. Our vocabulary skill is context clues. Our comprehension skill is author's purpose.
Fluency and Flow went home as homework today. Here are this week's expectations:
1. Read the story out loud to an adult and have the adult sign the fluency and flow.
2. Answer the questions about the story "Mighty Jackie"
3. Have parent sign the word workout section after you have completed it. This can be done orally.
4. Do the highlighted parts of the skill page
5 (Extra Credit) Write the story that you planned on the skill page.
I added another website to the helpful links section of the blog. AR Book Finder lets you check to see if a book has an AR test. You can use this link anywhere. I also added lexile.com. This will help you know if the book is in your child's range. Your child has their lexile range in their binder.
Remember that it is Northpoint's expectation that all 4th and 5th graders read 20-30 minutes a night. I will be adding up minutes that are recorded in the agendas at the end of the quarter. Please make sure that you are writing them down. According to my calculations (20 minutes X 40 days), students should have read about 800 minutes this quarter.
Math
Today we talked about taking a sample to help us make better estimates. We discovered that it would take about 3,000,000 days for us to tap our desks 1 trillion times. We decided not to test the theory. We also reviewed multiplication with decimals. The rule for the decimals is given a lot of kids trouble. Here it is. You add up the number of places to the right of the decimal in each of the factors. (1.2 X 23, has 1 place but 1.2 X 0.23 has 3 places) and that number should equal the number of places to the right of the decimal in the product. (27.6 for the first problem and 0.276 for the second problem. Don't forget there is a test over the material in unit 2 on Wednesday. Homework is study link 2.10 and any part of journal pages55-57 that wasn't completed in class.
Science
Welcome Mrs. Suddarth's friends to class. It was fun to start to get to know you. Today we started investigating what magnets could do. We discovered that magnets stick to Iron. Tomorrow we will learn about other magnetic properties. No homework.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
What a Beautiful Day!
I hope that everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather. One of the 5th graders came up to me today and asked if I would assign homework this weekend. I was amazed what child wants homework on the weekend? I asked him what kind of homework he wanted and he said to go outside and hang out. That seemed like a good idea to me. So here is everyone's homework: Go outside and enjoy the lovely weather. Winter's coming! This includes you, parents!
No Child Left Inside - Next Friday we will be observing No Child Left Inside Day. This is a national initiative to reconnect kids to their environment. We have many educational and fun things planned for next Friday. Be sure to dress your kids for a day outside. We won't be outside all day, but we will be outside for a chunk of it. Kids will be in their Language Arts Classes all day on Friday.
We need some supplies for our day outside. One thing we need is 6 inch sticks for a book we are making. We also need some paper bags (also for the books.) Each child also needs to bring in some type of clean recycled bottle or jar to use as a musical instrument by Thursday!
Language Arts
Today was assessment day. The kids did a great job. One 4th grader was overheard saying "I don't know if I like Assessment Fridays or not?"
I am looking for a couple of parents who would be willing to come in and help us with a bulletin board on Tuesday @9:30. Please email me if you could help us display your student's work.
Math
We had game day today. We practiced estimation, math facts, and mental math strategies. Don't forget there is a test coming up next week. (Wednesday)
Science
Today was the last day of the science rotation. We finished up yesterday's mystery circuits and did an open book quiz. Some kids didn't get to finish the quiz. That is all right. They can finish it up before school on Monday or during study hall.
Hope everyone has a joyful weekend!
No Child Left Inside - Next Friday we will be observing No Child Left Inside Day. This is a national initiative to reconnect kids to their environment. We have many educational and fun things planned for next Friday. Be sure to dress your kids for a day outside. We won't be outside all day, but we will be outside for a chunk of it. Kids will be in their Language Arts Classes all day on Friday.
We need some supplies for our day outside. One thing we need is 6 inch sticks for a book we are making. We also need some paper bags (also for the books.) Each child also needs to bring in some type of clean recycled bottle or jar to use as a musical instrument by Thursday!
Language Arts
Today was assessment day. The kids did a great job. One 4th grader was overheard saying "I don't know if I like Assessment Fridays or not?"
I am looking for a couple of parents who would be willing to come in and help us with a bulletin board on Tuesday @9:30. Please email me if you could help us display your student's work.
Math
We had game day today. We practiced estimation, math facts, and mental math strategies. Don't forget there is a test coming up next week. (Wednesday)
Science
Today was the last day of the science rotation. We finished up yesterday's mystery circuits and did an open book quiz. Some kids didn't get to finish the quiz. That is all right. They can finish it up before school on Monday or during study hall.
Hope everyone has a joyful weekend!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Thursday
Language Arts
Today we reviewed for assessments tomorrow. Don't forget that fluency and flow is due tomorrow.
Way to go to the two families that have already turned in their cereal box book reports! Way to be on the ball. Tomorrow we are going to learn how to use AR during learning lab!
Math
Today we practiced multi-digit multiplication. We are trying to do it the traditional way because we know that middle school math teachers are impressed with the lattice method. It is a struggle but we are making progress. Homework is SL 2.9.
Graded papers came home today. Math test does not need to be signed. There is a math test coming up on next Wednesday.
Science
Today we tried to apply what we learned about circuits. We will continue to work on this tomorrow. We will also take an open note test tomorrow. Busy day!
Today we reviewed for assessments tomorrow. Don't forget that fluency and flow is due tomorrow.
Way to go to the two families that have already turned in their cereal box book reports! Way to be on the ball. Tomorrow we are going to learn how to use AR during learning lab!
Math
Today we practiced multi-digit multiplication. We are trying to do it the traditional way because we know that middle school math teachers are impressed with the lattice method. It is a struggle but we are making progress. Homework is SL 2.9.
Graded papers came home today. Math test does not need to be signed. There is a math test coming up on next Wednesday.
Science
Today we tried to apply what we learned about circuits. We will continue to work on this tomorrow. We will also take an open note test tomorrow. Busy day!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday
We had another great day at Northpoint today.
Language Arts -
We worked on Greek and Latin root words. We read with our reading buddies. Today was the first day that our reading buddies came to see where we work. It was awesome to have them visit.
Mrs. Slater (our Youth Service Bureau Counselor came in to talk about bullying today. The simple fact of the matter is that 1 out of every 4 students will be bullied in their lifetime. We are trying to change that statistic. Today's focus was recognizing bullying behavior. Tonight may be a good time to discuss bullies with your child. Have they ever been bullied? Have they ever been a bully? What is bullying behavior.
We did a writing marathon today. We picked a topic and rolled the dice to see how long we would have to write and set pencil to paper and wrote. Today we wrote about shopping. We had to write for 16 minutes. The goal is to write the entire times. Our hands hurt when we were done. We do this activity to promote writing fluently. The students love this activity and ask about it when we don't do it.
Math
Today we worked on the computer to improve math facts and then reviewed all the different ways to do multi-digit multiplication. We have also been working on doing magnitude estimates. Students should make a magnitude estimate and then solve the problems in their study link. Homework is SL 2.8.
Science
Today we learned that metal is a conductor and that most other materials are insulators of electricity. There is no homework today. However, there is an open note test on Friday.
Language Arts -
We worked on Greek and Latin root words. We read with our reading buddies. Today was the first day that our reading buddies came to see where we work. It was awesome to have them visit.
Mrs. Slater (our Youth Service Bureau Counselor came in to talk about bullying today. The simple fact of the matter is that 1 out of every 4 students will be bullied in their lifetime. We are trying to change that statistic. Today's focus was recognizing bullying behavior. Tonight may be a good time to discuss bullies with your child. Have they ever been bullied? Have they ever been a bully? What is bullying behavior.
We did a writing marathon today. We picked a topic and rolled the dice to see how long we would have to write and set pencil to paper and wrote. Today we wrote about shopping. We had to write for 16 minutes. The goal is to write the entire times. Our hands hurt when we were done. We do this activity to promote writing fluently. The students love this activity and ask about it when we don't do it.
Math
Today we worked on the computer to improve math facts and then reviewed all the different ways to do multi-digit multiplication. We have also been working on doing magnitude estimates. Students should make a magnitude estimate and then solve the problems in their study link. Homework is SL 2.8.
Science
Today we learned that metal is a conductor and that most other materials are insulators of electricity. There is no homework today. However, there is an open note test on Friday.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Ooops, I ran out of time yesterday.
So sorry that I didn't blog yesterday. I had a meeting afterschool and then had to dash to another meeting somewhere else. Thanks for understanding.
Language Arts.
We are back to a normal schedule. This week we are working on run-on sentences, long O words, and story elements. We are reading a realistic fiction story called "The Raft" Fluency and Flow has been assigned and is due on Friday. Here are the expectations:
1. Read aloud to a parent and get a parent's signature in the highlighted area.
2. Answer the questions at the end of the story. Kids should have written down the page number of the question.
3. A parent signature of the word workout will do.
4. Fill in the missing story elements on the skill page.
5. (Optional for extra credit) Turn one set of story elements into a story.
Math
We are back to the normal schedule. Today we worked on estimation and played a game that reinforced estimation skills. We will see the game again on Friday.
Study Link 2.7 was assigned for homework. Pages 48+49 were assigned in class and were homework if the student didn't complete the work.
Science
Yesterday we started studying electricity. We learned that electricity needs to have a complete circuit in order to turn on a light bulb or make a motor run. Today we figured out how a switch effects the circuit and what a schematic drawing is used for.
There will be an open-note test on Friday over magnets and what we have learned about electricity so far.
Language Arts.
We are back to a normal schedule. This week we are working on run-on sentences, long O words, and story elements. We are reading a realistic fiction story called "The Raft" Fluency and Flow has been assigned and is due on Friday. Here are the expectations:
1. Read aloud to a parent and get a parent's signature in the highlighted area.
2. Answer the questions at the end of the story. Kids should have written down the page number of the question.
3. A parent signature of the word workout will do.
4. Fill in the missing story elements on the skill page.
5. (Optional for extra credit) Turn one set of story elements into a story.
Math
We are back to the normal schedule. Today we worked on estimation and played a game that reinforced estimation skills. We will see the game again on Friday.
Study Link 2.7 was assigned for homework. Pages 48+49 were assigned in class and were homework if the student didn't complete the work.
Science
Yesterday we started studying electricity. We learned that electricity needs to have a complete circuit in order to turn on a light bulb or make a motor run. Today we figured out how a switch effects the circuit and what a schematic drawing is used for.
There will be an open-note test on Friday over magnets and what we have learned about electricity so far.
Friday, September 19, 2008
It's Friday, It's Friday, It's Friday, Friday, Friday!
ISTEP has been successfully completed! Thanks to the children for all of their hard work and dedication. They have been troopers. We talked about the test after we were done and most of the kids said that they liked ISTEP. Could it be because they like not having any homework???
Thank you to all the families that donated a dollar to the Buddy Walk. We were able to raise over $300.00.
If your child is going to be involved in WSTAR this year, look for a calendar and letter to come home today.
Plans are being made for No Child Left Inside Day. We need parents to send in a brown paper grocery bag for one of our activities on that day. Look for more information to come home soon on this fun and yet educational day!
Have a perfectly pleasant weekend!
PS: Thank you Day family for sending in goldfish and whales yesterday. They were yummy. :)
Thank you to all the families that donated a dollar to the Buddy Walk. We were able to raise over $300.00.
If your child is going to be involved in WSTAR this year, look for a calendar and letter to come home today.
Plans are being made for No Child Left Inside Day. We need parents to send in a brown paper grocery bag for one of our activities on that day. Look for more information to come home soon on this fun and yet educational day!
Have a perfectly pleasant weekend!
PS: Thank you Day family for sending in goldfish and whales yesterday. They were yummy. :)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
We're in the Home Stretch Now....
We are 7/8 of the way completed with ISTEP. We have one last math test to do tomorrow and then we are done! I appreciate the way the students are taking their time and doing their best work.
Tomorrow to celebrate the end of Fall ISTEP, we are having a camp under. Students may bring supplies to "camp under" a table and read for a while. They brought a note home about this today.
Also Tomorrow, Stars in Service is collecting money for the Buddy Walk. Students who bring in a dollar get to staple the dollar to a wall and will receive a label that will be the ticket to chew gum sometime tomorrow.
Homework for all classes today: Play (hopefully outside)
Tomorrow to celebrate the end of Fall ISTEP, we are having a camp under. Students may bring supplies to "camp under" a table and read for a while. They brought a note home about this today.
Also Tomorrow, Stars in Service is collecting money for the Buddy Walk. Students who bring in a dollar get to staple the dollar to a wall and will receive a label that will be the ticket to chew gum sometime tomorrow.
Homework for all classes today: Play (hopefully outside)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
They Continue to Show What They Know
The students continue to do a great job on ISTEP. They are taking their time and doing their personal best. Today we finished up the language arts portion of the test and tomorrow we will begin working on Math. The good news is that we are 1/2 way there. (for 4th grade, 5th grade has science so they have a bit more to go.)
This morning we had reading buddies. It always amazes me how well the 4th graders and the 1st graders get along. Today we saw siblings who were being affectionate and supportive as well as 4th graders making sure they read with expression so that the 1st grade friend wanted to read along.
We also wrote cards to an armed services member who is currently serving in Afghanistan. He is a nephew of a teacher here at Northpoint and will soon be having a birthday while overseas. We wanted to make sure that he didn't feel forgotton.
Today was also Constitution Day! The kids treated us all to the singing of the constitution's preamble in the lobby of the school this morning. They sounded wonderful. There is something about the singing of children that is so uplifting. Later in the morning we watched a video about the writing of the constitution. When the preamble was being read, all of the 4th graders started to recite it with the movie. I got chills. It was very impressive.
Don't forget that we are having a camp under on Friday. All of the student's in Grannan's language arts class can bring in sleeping bags, pillows, stuffed animals, and a flashlight, along with their favorite books. We will spend part of the afternoon camped out on the floor of my classroom reading. This is a great time to finish up those two books for reading projects.
Also on Friday, Stars in Service will be raising money for this year's Buddy Walk. Buddy Walk is an organization that supports people with Down Syndrome. (www.buddywalk.org) We have two students here who will be walking in the Buddy Walk. Northpoint students can help by bringing in a dollar (or dollars) to staple to the wall in the lobby. We hope to fill the wall. Students who bring a dollar will be able to chew the gum of their choice during an hour of my choice during the school day. No dollar, no gum!
This morning we had reading buddies. It always amazes me how well the 4th graders and the 1st graders get along. Today we saw siblings who were being affectionate and supportive as well as 4th graders making sure they read with expression so that the 1st grade friend wanted to read along.
We also wrote cards to an armed services member who is currently serving in Afghanistan. He is a nephew of a teacher here at Northpoint and will soon be having a birthday while overseas. We wanted to make sure that he didn't feel forgotton.
Today was also Constitution Day! The kids treated us all to the singing of the constitution's preamble in the lobby of the school this morning. They sounded wonderful. There is something about the singing of children that is so uplifting. Later in the morning we watched a video about the writing of the constitution. When the preamble was being read, all of the 4th graders started to recite it with the movie. I got chills. It was very impressive.
Don't forget that we are having a camp under on Friday. All of the student's in Grannan's language arts class can bring in sleeping bags, pillows, stuffed animals, and a flashlight, along with their favorite books. We will spend part of the afternoon camped out on the floor of my classroom reading. This is a great time to finish up those two books for reading projects.
Also on Friday, Stars in Service will be raising money for this year's Buddy Walk. Buddy Walk is an organization that supports people with Down Syndrome. (www.buddywalk.org) We have two students here who will be walking in the Buddy Walk. Northpoint students can help by bringing in a dollar (or dollars) to staple to the wall in the lobby. We hope to fill the wall. Students who bring a dollar will be able to chew the gum of their choice during an hour of my choice during the school day. No dollar, no gum!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
They're Showing What They Know
I'm blogging a little early today. I have to leave right after school for an appointment and I know that I won't remember to blog later today.
ISTEP is going very well! The kids are taking their time and doing their best work. Please encourage them to keep doing their best on every test. You can help them by making sure they get enough sleep tonight and eat a healthy breakfast tomorrow.
Tomorrow we will be playing strategy games in the morning. Students may bring in a strategy game to play with their friends. Games such as scrabble or guess who would be appropriate. I'm sure there are many other games as well.
Stars in Service (our student council) is sponsoring an event for the Buddy Walk that is coming up this weekend. Students are encouraged to bring in a dollar on Friday. They will get to staple their dollar(s) to a bulletin board. Our goal is to fill the board(s). If students bring in a dollar they will be able to chew gum on Friday afternoon. Students must bring in a dollar to be able to chew gum.
Have a great evening.
ISTEP is going very well! The kids are taking their time and doing their best work. Please encourage them to keep doing their best on every test. You can help them by making sure they get enough sleep tonight and eat a healthy breakfast tomorrow.
Tomorrow we will be playing strategy games in the morning. Students may bring in a strategy game to play with their friends. Games such as scrabble or guess who would be appropriate. I'm sure there are many other games as well.
Stars in Service (our student council) is sponsoring an event for the Buddy Walk that is coming up this weekend. Students are encouraged to bring in a dollar on Friday. They will get to staple their dollar(s) to a bulletin board. Our goal is to fill the board(s). If students bring in a dollar they will be able to chew gum on Friday afternoon. Students must bring in a dollar to be able to chew gum.
Have a great evening.
Monday, September 15, 2008
It's Time to Show What You Know!
Welcome back to school. I hope everyone stayed dry over the wet weekend.
Tomorrow starts ISTEP. Students will be testing for the rest of the week and 5th graders will finish their test on Monday. Please make sure that your child goes to bed early tonight and eats a healthy breakfast tomorrow. We want them to be able to concentrate on the tests and to do their best work. They are well prepared for these tests. Please give them a word of encouragement as they head to school this week.
Language Arts
Starting tomorrow my language arts class will stay in my room all day. We will still have specials and lunch/recess at the same times. Some of the kids were worried that lunch would be canceled during ISTEP. Each day we will have some tests as well as some other activities for the students to do. There will be no homework this week.
Today we began a project and we will need parent volunteers next week to finish it. The students wrote about a bubble gum contest today. We are going to turn this writing into a bulletin board and are looking for some parentst to help us hang up the writing and art. Look for more information on this later this week.
Math
We had game day today. No homework this week. Good luck on ISTEP!
Science
We had a quiz over magnetism today. Next week we start working with electricity. Good luck on ISTEP.
Tomorrow starts ISTEP. Students will be testing for the rest of the week and 5th graders will finish their test on Monday. Please make sure that your child goes to bed early tonight and eats a healthy breakfast tomorrow. We want them to be able to concentrate on the tests and to do their best work. They are well prepared for these tests. Please give them a word of encouragement as they head to school this week.
Language Arts
Starting tomorrow my language arts class will stay in my room all day. We will still have specials and lunch/recess at the same times. Some of the kids were worried that lunch would be canceled during ISTEP. Each day we will have some tests as well as some other activities for the students to do. There will be no homework this week.
Today we began a project and we will need parent volunteers next week to finish it. The students wrote about a bubble gum contest today. We are going to turn this writing into a bulletin board and are looking for some parentst to help us hang up the writing and art. Look for more information on this later this week.
Math
We had game day today. No homework this week. Good luck on ISTEP!
Science
We had a quiz over magnetism today. Next week we start working with electricity. Good luck on ISTEP.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Thoroughly Delightful Thursday
What a great day!
News to Note
WSTAR is due tomorrow. There is a paper that parents must sign that outlines expectations. As well as a letter written by the student that explains why the teacher should pick them to represent the school on the morning news.
ISTEP starts on Monday. Hopefully you received the pink paper outlining the times of testing. I am still looking for a couple of parents to help donate snacks. We want the kids to focus on testing and not on being hungry.
Language Arts
We had a great day today. We reviewed grammar and vocabulary. We also re-read our story. Tomorrow we have tests over the story, complex sentences, spelling, and character development.
The best part of the language arts class today was our sentence game. We worked hard to write the most creative and imaginative sentences. We then read the sentences and the person with the most creative sentence won points for their team. The teams ended up tied and the sentences were amazing.
Fluency and Flow is due tomorrow. Don't forget to record your reading minutes. There is an example of the cereal box project in the office. Just ask Cheryl or Barb to see it.
Math
We reviewed place value, math facts, and patterns. We took a quiz over place value, adding and subtracting with decimals, and problem solving. Today we learned about mean (average) and reviewed other landmarks of data. (median, mode, maximum, minimum, and range) We also started gathering reaction time data for our lesson tomorrow.
Homework: With the help of a family member or friend, complete page 39 in Journal 1
Science
Today we discovered that magnetic force gets weaker as the magnets mover farther apart. We also had a student demonstrate electric circuits for us. There is no homework tonight. Tomorrow we will use iron objects, iron filings, and compasses to detect hidden magnets.
Homework: There will be an open note quiz on Monday regarding magnets.
News to Note
WSTAR is due tomorrow. There is a paper that parents must sign that outlines expectations. As well as a letter written by the student that explains why the teacher should pick them to represent the school on the morning news.
ISTEP starts on Monday. Hopefully you received the pink paper outlining the times of testing. I am still looking for a couple of parents to help donate snacks. We want the kids to focus on testing and not on being hungry.
Language Arts
We had a great day today. We reviewed grammar and vocabulary. We also re-read our story. Tomorrow we have tests over the story, complex sentences, spelling, and character development.
The best part of the language arts class today was our sentence game. We worked hard to write the most creative and imaginative sentences. We then read the sentences and the person with the most creative sentence won points for their team. The teams ended up tied and the sentences were amazing.
Fluency and Flow is due tomorrow. Don't forget to record your reading minutes. There is an example of the cereal box project in the office. Just ask Cheryl or Barb to see it.
Math
We reviewed place value, math facts, and patterns. We took a quiz over place value, adding and subtracting with decimals, and problem solving. Today we learned about mean (average) and reviewed other landmarks of data. (median, mode, maximum, minimum, and range) We also started gathering reaction time data for our lesson tomorrow.
Homework: With the help of a family member or friend, complete page 39 in Journal 1
Science
Today we discovered that magnetic force gets weaker as the magnets mover farther apart. We also had a student demonstrate electric circuits for us. There is no homework tonight. Tomorrow we will use iron objects, iron filings, and compasses to detect hidden magnets.
Homework: There will be an open note quiz on Monday regarding magnets.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Wow Wednesday
News to Note
WSTAR paperwork is due on Friday.
Fund-raising is due now! Please make sure that it is turned in as soon as possible.
ISTEP starts on Tuesday. A hot pink paper is coming home today with our testing schedule. Students will test on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in their language arts class. They will be spending all day with their language arts teacher. They will still have specials. I am looking for 4 parents who would be willing to donate snacks for my language arts class next week. Please email me if you are willing to send in a healthy snack for my language arts class.
It has come to our attention that often times the time stamp on our blog makes it look like we are blogging in the middle of the day. This is not the case. We blog after school. The time stamp is wrong and we can't figure out how to change it.
Language Arts
We reviewed grammar today. We revised a paragraph using complex sentences and conjunctions. We also added another root word to our vocabulary vine. We looked for evidence of character traits in our basal story. We also had a mock ISTEP prompt. The kids did very well at writing. We have been encouraging the students to write at least 2 pages and most of the students did today. I also noticed that they were writing for the entire 55 minutes. Very impressive. I almost forgot. One of the highlights of the day was visiting with our 1st grade reading buddies. It is an amazing sight to see the 4th graders and the 1st graders reading together.
I am starting to get a lot of questions about the cereal box report that is due in October. The cereal box report is basically a book report that is reported on a cereal box. We are going to leave an example of a completed project in the office for you to take a peak at if you still have questions.
I have also fielded some questions about fluency and flow expectations. These are recorded on Monday's edition of the blog.
Have you been recording the number of minutes your child has read on each day of the agenda? Remember that it is a Northpoint expectation that your child read 20-30 minutes a day. That's on top of homework.
Math
Today we reviewed place value, facts, and patterns. We also reviewed fact fluency strategies. We learned many new vocabulary words for math today: number sentence, number models, relational symbols, operational symbols, variables, and open sentences. We also practiced our problem solving skills.
Homework tonight is SL 2.4
Science
Today we learned about temporary magnets and induced magnetsim. There will be an assignment about these concepts tomorrow. Tomorrow we will learn what happens to the magnetic force of an object as the distance between two magnets grow.
WSTAR paperwork is due on Friday.
Fund-raising is due now! Please make sure that it is turned in as soon as possible.
ISTEP starts on Tuesday. A hot pink paper is coming home today with our testing schedule. Students will test on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in their language arts class. They will be spending all day with their language arts teacher. They will still have specials. I am looking for 4 parents who would be willing to donate snacks for my language arts class next week. Please email me if you are willing to send in a healthy snack for my language arts class.
It has come to our attention that often times the time stamp on our blog makes it look like we are blogging in the middle of the day. This is not the case. We blog after school. The time stamp is wrong and we can't figure out how to change it.
Language Arts
We reviewed grammar today. We revised a paragraph using complex sentences and conjunctions. We also added another root word to our vocabulary vine. We looked for evidence of character traits in our basal story. We also had a mock ISTEP prompt. The kids did very well at writing. We have been encouraging the students to write at least 2 pages and most of the students did today. I also noticed that they were writing for the entire 55 minutes. Very impressive. I almost forgot. One of the highlights of the day was visiting with our 1st grade reading buddies. It is an amazing sight to see the 4th graders and the 1st graders reading together.
I am starting to get a lot of questions about the cereal box report that is due in October. The cereal box report is basically a book report that is reported on a cereal box. We are going to leave an example of a completed project in the office for you to take a peak at if you still have questions.
I have also fielded some questions about fluency and flow expectations. These are recorded on Monday's edition of the blog.
Have you been recording the number of minutes your child has read on each day of the agenda? Remember that it is a Northpoint expectation that your child read 20-30 minutes a day. That's on top of homework.
Math
Today we reviewed place value, facts, and patterns. We also reviewed fact fluency strategies. We learned many new vocabulary words for math today: number sentence, number models, relational symbols, operational symbols, variables, and open sentences. We also practiced our problem solving skills.
Homework tonight is SL 2.4
Science
Today we learned about temporary magnets and induced magnetsim. There will be an assignment about these concepts tomorrow. Tomorrow we will learn what happens to the magnetic force of an object as the distance between two magnets grow.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Totally Tuesday
Hello One and All,
*Don't forget WSTAR forms are due on Friday.
*Fundraiser is due now. Please make sure you return it as soon as possible.
*ISTEP is coming up next week. Make sure our students eat and rest well.
Language Arts
Today we reviewed capitalization and punctuation. We also worked on analogies. We added another word to our vocabulary vine rings. We sorted Spelling words and wrote complex sentences. We also read this week's basal story and discussed the characters. We found out that you can tell a lot about a character based on what the character says, thinks, and does. We had music and PE today.
I am still looking for parents that are willing to supply a healthy snack for our class during ISTEP. If you are willing to help me out in this way, please email me and I will write you down on my list. Thanks.
Homework: Continue Fluency and Flow. Check yesterday's post out for a list of expectations for the week.
Math:
We reviewed facts, place value and patterns. We also reviewed subtraction of whole numbers and decimals. Students had a packet to finish today. If they finished, they didn't have homework.
Science
Today we put together our science folders, copied some notes and watched a movie on magnetism. Did you know that Earth, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto are all gigantic magnets? Why? They all have large amounts of iron and nickle at their core. Magnets are always attracted to those things. Tomorrow we are going to see if we can turn something iron into a magnet. No homework today!
*Don't forget WSTAR forms are due on Friday.
*Fundraiser is due now. Please make sure you return it as soon as possible.
*ISTEP is coming up next week. Make sure our students eat and rest well.
Language Arts
Today we reviewed capitalization and punctuation. We also worked on analogies. We added another word to our vocabulary vine rings. We sorted Spelling words and wrote complex sentences. We also read this week's basal story and discussed the characters. We found out that you can tell a lot about a character based on what the character says, thinks, and does. We had music and PE today.
I am still looking for parents that are willing to supply a healthy snack for our class during ISTEP. If you are willing to help me out in this way, please email me and I will write you down on my list. Thanks.
Homework: Continue Fluency and Flow. Check yesterday's post out for a list of expectations for the week.
Math:
We reviewed facts, place value and patterns. We also reviewed subtraction of whole numbers and decimals. Students had a packet to finish today. If they finished, they didn't have homework.
Science
Today we put together our science folders, copied some notes and watched a movie on magnetism. Did you know that Earth, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto are all gigantic magnets? Why? They all have large amounts of iron and nickle at their core. Magnets are always attracted to those things. Tomorrow we are going to see if we can turn something iron into a magnet. No homework today!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Marvelous Monday
I hope everyone had a great weekend. We are off to another fine week at Northpoint.
Don't forget that your fundraiser items are due today. Please make your collections and return them to Northpoint as soon as possible.
Those students who want to be considered for WSTAR need to turn in their applications and letters by Friday, September 12.
Mrs. Stephen has reminded the students two days in a row about behavior in the cafeteria. Please discuss with your child STAR behavior in the cafeteria. Remember STAR is Safe, trustworthy, accountable, and respectful behavior. It is always expected of students at Northpoint.
Language Arts
Today we discussed conjunctions and complex sentences. We also learned about independent and dependent clauses. We took our spelling pretest. We discussed our new vocabulary and our reading strategy. This week we will be looking at character traits, actions, and speech and making inferences about that character. You can help out at home by discussing characters on TV or in books that you are reading and describing what kind of people they are and how do you know. We also worked on using imagery in our writing.
Homework: Here are the expectations for Fluency and Flow for the week.
Part 1: Read the story aloud to an adult and get their signature.
Part 2: Answer the questions on page 101 about the story.
Part 3: Do the work out loud with an adult. Adult signature is all that I need.
Part 4. Choose one character on the back of the parent letter and write 5 sentences about them. The sentences should focus on them as characters. Include descriptions, character traits and actions.
Part 5: (optional) Do the write about project on page 100
ISTEP Update
ISTEP starts next Tuesday. From Tuesday to Friday, students will be in theri language arts class. We are looking for 4 volunteer parents to send in healthy snacks for the class. Each volunteer would need to supply a healthy snack for 23 kids. Thanks for considering it!
Math
We worked on place value, facts, and patterns. We also practiced adding by 9, 19, and 99. The key is to add 10 (or a multiple of 10) and then subtract 1. We began our new unit, estimation and computation, today. Today we reviewed addition of whole numbers and decimals.
Homework: Students need to finish a 4 page packet.
My homeroom had their first Social Studies lesson today. Check out Mrs. Suddarth's blog for details.
Science
Mrs. Woods class and I investigated magnets today. We discovered that magnets stick to metal and that they either attract or repel one another. Attract means that they pull towards each other and repel means that they push apart from each other. There was no science homework today.
Don't forget that your fundraiser items are due today. Please make your collections and return them to Northpoint as soon as possible.
Those students who want to be considered for WSTAR need to turn in their applications and letters by Friday, September 12.
Mrs. Stephen has reminded the students two days in a row about behavior in the cafeteria. Please discuss with your child STAR behavior in the cafeteria. Remember STAR is Safe, trustworthy, accountable, and respectful behavior. It is always expected of students at Northpoint.
Language Arts
Today we discussed conjunctions and complex sentences. We also learned about independent and dependent clauses. We took our spelling pretest. We discussed our new vocabulary and our reading strategy. This week we will be looking at character traits, actions, and speech and making inferences about that character. You can help out at home by discussing characters on TV or in books that you are reading and describing what kind of people they are and how do you know. We also worked on using imagery in our writing.
Homework: Here are the expectations for Fluency and Flow for the week.
Part 1: Read the story aloud to an adult and get their signature.
Part 2: Answer the questions on page 101 about the story.
Part 3: Do the work out loud with an adult. Adult signature is all that I need.
Part 4. Choose one character on the back of the parent letter and write 5 sentences about them. The sentences should focus on them as characters. Include descriptions, character traits and actions.
Part 5: (optional) Do the write about project on page 100
ISTEP Update
ISTEP starts next Tuesday. From Tuesday to Friday, students will be in theri language arts class. We are looking for 4 volunteer parents to send in healthy snacks for the class. Each volunteer would need to supply a healthy snack for 23 kids. Thanks for considering it!
Math
We worked on place value, facts, and patterns. We also practiced adding by 9, 19, and 99. The key is to add 10 (or a multiple of 10) and then subtract 1. We began our new unit, estimation and computation, today. Today we reviewed addition of whole numbers and decimals.
Homework: Students need to finish a 4 page packet.
My homeroom had their first Social Studies lesson today. Check out Mrs. Suddarth's blog for details.
Science
Mrs. Woods class and I investigated magnets today. We discovered that magnets stick to metal and that they either attract or repel one another. Attract means that they pull towards each other and repel means that they push apart from each other. There was no science homework today.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Happy Friday Everyone,
Language Arts
Today was assessment day in our world. We tested our weekly reading, grammar, and spelling skills. Then we went to computer lab.
There are about 35 days left to work on your cereal box project and that includes weekends. It is time to get busy on that project. We still haven't been told that we can use STAR reading to figure out reading levels. So instead of using levels, pick a chapter book for this first project and I will get the levels to you as soon as I am able.
Math
We tested over factors today. Next week we will start unit two. Our focus will be estimation and computation with whole numbers and decimals.
Science
Today we took a test over investigations 1 and 2.
Social Studies
My homeroom starts social studies on Monday. Don't forget to check out Mrs. Suddarth's blog for any homework!
WSTAR
Information on WSTAR went home today. Please discuss the requirements with your family. Students who wish to participate need to fill in the needed information and write a letter to their teacher explaining why they should be picked. Student who participated last year are welcome to apply again. Slips and letters are due on Friday, September 12.
ISTEP
The first ISTEP of the year is coming soon. We will begin testing on September 16th. Students will stay with their language arts teacher all day Tuesday-Friday. Please make sure that your child is well rested during that week and that they have a healthy breakfast every morning. We want them to think their best. Feel free to send in an encouraging note for us to give them during the test.
Have a great weekend.
Language Arts
Today was assessment day in our world. We tested our weekly reading, grammar, and spelling skills. Then we went to computer lab.
There are about 35 days left to work on your cereal box project and that includes weekends. It is time to get busy on that project. We still haven't been told that we can use STAR reading to figure out reading levels. So instead of using levels, pick a chapter book for this first project and I will get the levels to you as soon as I am able.
Math
We tested over factors today. Next week we will start unit two. Our focus will be estimation and computation with whole numbers and decimals.
Science
Today we took a test over investigations 1 and 2.
Social Studies
My homeroom starts social studies on Monday. Don't forget to check out Mrs. Suddarth's blog for any homework!
WSTAR
Information on WSTAR went home today. Please discuss the requirements with your family. Students who wish to participate need to fill in the needed information and write a letter to their teacher explaining why they should be picked. Student who participated last year are welcome to apply again. Slips and letters are due on Friday, September 12.
ISTEP
The first ISTEP of the year is coming soon. We will begin testing on September 16th. Students will stay with their language arts teacher all day Tuesday-Friday. Please make sure that your child is well rested during that week and that they have a healthy breakfast every morning. We want them to think their best. Feel free to send in an encouraging note for us to give them during the test.
Have a great weekend.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wow! It's almost Friday. We have had another busy week.
Things to remember - The PTO Fundraiser is due on Monday, September 8. You have one last weekend to sell, sell, sell.
Language Arts
Today we reviewed grammar, worked on Greek and Latin roots, reviewed main ideas and details and worked on using different sentence patterns in our writing. We also had gym and music today.
Tomorrow is assessment day in our world. We have assessments over spelling, main idea and details and compound sentences. Fluency and Flow is also due tomorrow.
Math
We reviewed factor concepts for our test tomorrow. Make sure you remember the difference between composite and prime numbers. Students brought home a study guide to practice for the test tomorrow. It doesn't have to be returned! This is just more practice.
Science
We reviewed for our first science test! We will be testing over investigations 1 and 2 tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a big test day in our world. Go to be bed early and eat a good breakfast!
Things to remember - The PTO Fundraiser is due on Monday, September 8. You have one last weekend to sell, sell, sell.
Language Arts
Today we reviewed grammar, worked on Greek and Latin roots, reviewed main ideas and details and worked on using different sentence patterns in our writing. We also had gym and music today.
Tomorrow is assessment day in our world. We have assessments over spelling, main idea and details and compound sentences. Fluency and Flow is also due tomorrow.
Math
We reviewed factor concepts for our test tomorrow. Make sure you remember the difference between composite and prime numbers. Students brought home a study guide to practice for the test tomorrow. It doesn't have to be returned! This is just more practice.
Science
We reviewed for our first science test! We will be testing over investigations 1 and 2 tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a big test day in our world. Go to be bed early and eat a good breakfast!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Wednesday
Today we.....
Language Arts:
Today we reviewed different parts of speech and subjects and predicates. We also learned about compound sentences and conjunctions. Tomorrow one of our friends is going to bring in that old Schoolhouse Rock classic "Conjunction Junction." In spelling we sorted our words by spelling and used the words to complete sentences. In reading, we worked on main ideas and details. We followed an outline to help us put things in order. In writing we worked on interesting word choice and precise details. Our writing is much more interesting when we use precise details. Homework: continue working on fluency and flow.
Math:
We reviewed patterns and the expanded form of writing numbers. For example: 654,231=
600,000+50,000+4,000+200+30+1. We reviewed adding by 10's and multiples of 10. We also practiced prime factorization. We reviewed for our test on Friday.
Homework: SL 1.9
Science: We finished up mystery circuits. We completed a quiz over investigation 2. Tomorrow we will review for a test on Friday.
Wow, better get some sleep Thursday night! Friday is a big assessment day in our world!
Language Arts:
Today we reviewed different parts of speech and subjects and predicates. We also learned about compound sentences and conjunctions. Tomorrow one of our friends is going to bring in that old Schoolhouse Rock classic "Conjunction Junction." In spelling we sorted our words by spelling and used the words to complete sentences. In reading, we worked on main ideas and details. We followed an outline to help us put things in order. In writing we worked on interesting word choice and precise details. Our writing is much more interesting when we use precise details. Homework: continue working on fluency and flow.
Math:
We reviewed patterns and the expanded form of writing numbers. For example: 654,231=
600,000+50,000+4,000+200+30+1. We reviewed adding by 10's and multiples of 10. We also practiced prime factorization. We reviewed for our test on Friday.
Homework: SL 1.9
Science: We finished up mystery circuits. We completed a quiz over investigation 2. Tomorrow we will review for a test on Friday.
Wow, better get some sleep Thursday night! Friday is a big assessment day in our world!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Tuesday, September 2
I hope everyone had a long, relaxing weekend.
Language Arts
We began our day by reviewing subjects and predicates. The subject is the who of a sentence and the predicate explains what the subject did or who the subject is. The subjects of the following sentences are green and the predicates are red.
Miss Grannan's marvelous class received a star in music.
My language arts class is the best.
Please continue to work with your students reviewing this concept.
We also reviewed main ideas and details. This skill is tough. We will continue to review and work on it all week long. Main ideas and details will be tested on Friday.
Homework - Fluency and Flow is shortened this week. All students have to do is read the story to an adult and answer the four questions on page 77 of their reading books. Everyone will take the on-level spelling test this week as well. Those are the words that are on the spelling pretest. Check the backpacks! Fluency and Flow and a blank spelling pretest should have come home today.
Tomorrow we meet with our 1st grade reading buddies for the first time!
Math
We are finishing up our unit on factors. Today we began looking at factor strings and prime factorization. We also reviewed the following concepts: factors, square numbers, square roots, composite numbers, prime numbers, and the commutative property of multiplication.
Homework - pages 23 and 24 in our math journal.
Science:
We finished up investigation 2 on electricity today by trying to figure out some mystery circuits. Tomorrow we have an open note quiz on investigation 2. We will have a science test over investigations 1 and 2 on Friday.
Homework - Study for quiz.
Content note - Students in my homeroom will start Social Studies with Mrs. Suddarth on Monday, September 8.
Language Arts
We began our day by reviewing subjects and predicates. The subject is the who of a sentence and the predicate explains what the subject did or who the subject is. The subjects of the following sentences are green and the predicates are red.
Miss Grannan's marvelous class received a star in music.
My language arts class is the best.
Please continue to work with your students reviewing this concept.
We also reviewed main ideas and details. This skill is tough. We will continue to review and work on it all week long. Main ideas and details will be tested on Friday.
Homework - Fluency and Flow is shortened this week. All students have to do is read the story to an adult and answer the four questions on page 77 of their reading books. Everyone will take the on-level spelling test this week as well. Those are the words that are on the spelling pretest. Check the backpacks! Fluency and Flow and a blank spelling pretest should have come home today.
Tomorrow we meet with our 1st grade reading buddies for the first time!
Math
We are finishing up our unit on factors. Today we began looking at factor strings and prime factorization. We also reviewed the following concepts: factors, square numbers, square roots, composite numbers, prime numbers, and the commutative property of multiplication.
Homework - pages 23 and 24 in our math journal.
Science:
We finished up investigation 2 on electricity today by trying to figure out some mystery circuits. Tomorrow we have an open note quiz on investigation 2. We will have a science test over investigations 1 and 2 on Friday.
Homework - Study for quiz.
Content note - Students in my homeroom will start Social Studies with Mrs. Suddarth on Monday, September 8.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)