Plato Test Results

***IMPORTANT NOTICE***

In order to be able to send out the Plato Test Results, it is incredibly important that we get a recent e-mail address from all parents. This e-mail address needs to be one that is checked on a regular basis so that our e-mails will not bounce back.

Please take this time to send me an e-mail (swillett@amschool.org) from your current functioning e-mail address so that I can save the address for sending the Plato Math Test results very shortly.

Thank you,

Ms. Willett

Literacy Homework: Thursday Feb. 25

Go to http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/wr/article/0,27972,1956443,00.html



b) Read the article from the Time for Kids Magazine about Haiti



c) Answer the following questions on your Reading Journal
1)What does the word devasted on the first paragraph mean?
2)What was the aftermath (consequences) of the earthquake?
3)How did aid groups help Haiti?
4)Who is helping Haiti? How are they helping?
5)How are kids helping Haiti?

Literacy Homework: Wednesday, Feb. 24

a) Go to http://www.pocanticohills.org/italy/about.htm

b) To read the picture book about Italy click on next each time you want to go to the next page. Enjoy the book and pictures!

c) Answer the following questions on your reading journal:

1) Where is Italy located?
2) Why do people throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain (located in Rome).
3) What famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci is found in Milan?
4) What is the city of Florence known for?
5) What is the city of Venice known for?
6) How many world Cup Championships has Italy won?
7) BONUS: What is Ms. Leary's favorite country?

Literacy Homework: Tuesday, Feb. 23

a) Go to http://www.imahero.com/herohistory/christopher_herohistory.htm

b) Reread the article about Christopher Columbus.

c) Copy and answer the following questions on your Reading Journal:

1) In the time of Christopher Columbus what did people celebrate instead of their birthdays?
2) What is a caravel?
3) What did people believe the Atlantic ocean contained?
4) Why was America called the "New World"?
5) How do Spain and South America celebrate his accomplishments?
6) On what voyage did Columbus discover Honduras?

Literacy Workshop

Parents, you are all invited with your children to attent our Literacy Workshop: I Like to Write. It is an excellent opportunity for you to learn about methods to encourage and support writing at home. Please read the invitation below. We hope to see you all!

Literacy Workshop - This Thursday!

In order to RSVP, you can print the jpeg and fill out attached form, or you can simply RSVP with your name, child's name, and section.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!!!

Literacy Homework: Monday, Feb. 22

1) Go to http://www.imahero.com/herohistory/christopher_herohistory.htm

2) Read the article about Christopher Columbus

3) List the 5 most interesting facts you learned about Christopher Columbus on your Reading Journal

Week of Feb. 22nd - 26th

Literacy

Read Aloud
-Encounter, by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by David Shannon. This is a story of the first encounter between Spaniards and Indians told from the perspective of a Taino boy. We will focus on Author's Purpose, Point of View, and Drawing Conclusions.

Shared Reading
-Author's Note, from Encounter. Focus on identifying the main idea and supporting details.

Interactive Editing
-Author's Note, from Encounter.

Interactive Writing
-We will finish working on the funneling activity we began last week.
-We will write a story about the first encounter from a Taino's boy point of view. We will focus on integrating voice as we write.

Independent Writing
-Students will write their own story about the first encounter. They will pretend they are a Taino boy at the time Christopher Columbus landed on our lands.
-We will also begin working on the Father's Day gift! It is a surprise! It includes lots of writing the kids will be working on for several weeks!!!

Students will also participate on Independent Reading, Book Clubs, Centers, Writing Cycles, and Guided Reading Groups.

MATH
Today students had a geometry quiz on similar and congruent shapes, translations, rotations, and reflections.

Tuesday (tomorrow) will be the fraction word problem quiz. Some students were struggling with these, as word problems and fractions are two difficult concepts in which we have now combined. In preparation, we've done an interactive editing piece to remind students in the steps in solving words problems, as well as worked on fractions as bell work for the past 2 weeks. Students were given an assignment (in which most struggled) and so I have given each student a practice booklet for extra practice at home, as well as holding special "fraction club" meetings at recess to provide extra practice to those who ask for it. Students have been given back their previous assignment, and should be correcting their mistakes for homework and practice for tomorrow's quiz.

This week we then continue with Geometry - looking at lines, line segments, quadrilaterals, and line symmetry. Friday we will be reviewing these concepts, then there will be a quiz on Monday.

Timed Test: Dividing numbers by 2. Please practice these at home! I've included a website under "math links" to help as well. Here it is:
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/mathsdiv.html


SOCIAL STUDIES
Today we started focussing on the deserts of the Southwest - specifically on the water in the desert. Tuesday and Wednesday we will be doing interactive editing on 'Water in the Desert' and 'Desert Resources'. Thursday will be review, then Friday we will be having a quiz on these 2 lessons. This will conclude our Social Studies unit of "The Southwest".

Literacy Homework: Thursday Feb. 18

a) Go to http://www.kidsastronomy.com/our_sun.htm and to http://www.kidsastronomy.com/mercury.htm

b) Read about the Sun and Mercury.

c) Copy and answer the following questions on your Reading Journal

1) How long ago was the sun born?

2) What is the difference between sun spots and solar flares?

3) What is the Aros Cycle?

4) List 4 facts that show how Earth and Mercury are different.

5) What is the most interesting fact you read about Mercury?

Literacy Homework: Wednesday, Feb. 17

*** All of the Literacy Homework assignments must be presented neatly on the Reading Journal every day. If you ran out of pages on your journal, please buy a new one, or use any notebook in good condition you may find at home. Thanks!!!

a)Go to http://www.zooschool.ecsd.net/elephant%20information.htm

b) Read all the information about elephants. Enjoy the pictures!

c) Copy and answer the following questions on your Reading Journal
1) Why do male elephants fight?
2) Why can elephants walk so quietly?
3) What do elephants use their trunk for?
4) How many times during the day do they sleep? How do they sleep?
5) Why do elephants roll in the mud?
6) What was the most interesting fact you read about elephants?

Don't Laugh At Me

Today in our classroom meeting we watched a clip of the song "Don't Laugh At Me" by Mark Wills. This song has also been made into a storybook (see the photo above). Our library does not yet have this book, but we watched some clips online with photos from the story, as well as this video made by someone using photographs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzMX8ZzYQko&feature=related

I believe this song/story has a beautiful message of being accepting of each other. At one point it says "You don't have to be my friend, but is it too much to ask: don't laugh at me. Don't call me names. Don't get your pleasure from my pain. In God's eyes we're all the same." It's unrealistic to ask our students to ALL be friends with EVERYONE, however it's not too much to ask that we all show respect to our peers.

Please share this message with your family and feel free to discuss the importance of its message.

Literacy Homework: Tuesday, Feb. 16

1) Go to http://www.candlelightstories.com/storybooks/hans-christian-andersen-stories/
2)Reread the story The Nightingale to describe what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Write at least three sentences to describe each part on your Reading Journal.

Literacy Homework: Monday, Feb. 15th

1) Go to http://candlelightstories.com/storybooks/hans-christian-andersen-stories/
2) Under Select a Story from the list, select The Nightingale (it is one of the last stories on the list), then click on show story.
3) Read the stroy The Nightingale, do not forget visualize as you read along!
3) Make a list of unknown words. Write them down on your Reading Journal.

Week of Feb. 15th -19th

Literacy

Read Aloud

• Zathura, by Chris Van Allsburg, we will focus on identifying past tense verbs as we read along , identifying the Author's Purpose, and Point of View.

Shared Reading

• We will read our School's Mission Statement and Philosophy to understand it and discuss it as a class.
• Excerpts from Zathura, focus on identifying the main idea

Interactive Writing:

• We will finish the chart about abbreveations
• We will write our ideas/steps to funnel a topic (an activity done to narrow a broad topic to a more specific topic to make it easier to write about)
• We will write an interpretation about our school's Mission Statement and Philosophy

Independent Writing

• We will write 10-12 topics we call "Things that are close to our heart..." , which are topics students feel strongly identified to, are special to them, or they know a lot about. They will write this list to refer to when doing free writng (student selected topic) in class. We will later funnel some of these topics to get acquainted with this technique.
• Students will write their own interpretation of the School's Mission Statement and Philosophy.
• Students will select a topic from "Things that are close to my heart..." and write about it.

Students will aso participate in Centers, Independent Reading, Book Clubs, and Writing Cycles

MATH
This week we continue with our Geometry Unit. We are moving from solid figures, polygons, and triangles, to identifying triangles by their angles (right angle, acute, or obtuse). Students should be able to identify and name different angles, as well as these angles within a triangle. They will be quized on this on Wednesday.
We will also be reviewing congruent figures and motions (flip, slide, turn) but calling them by new names (reflection, rotation, translation). Going beyond this, students will be exploring similar figures. Next week will be a quiz on these topics.

IMPORTANT: Last week we tried to do a problem solving activity using fractions. Many students forgot how to add or subtract fractions that had different denominators. This week (as bellwork) we will be reviewing adding and subtracting fractions (mixed and improper fractions included), as well as focusing on problem solving. Next week there will be a problem solving quiz on fractions. Please have students review these at home. They can use any of the past websites (still listed under Math sites on the right side of our blog page) to help.

Timed Test: This week we will begin the division timed tests. We will begin with 1 as a divisor. The nice thing about 1 as a divisor, is that any number divided by 1 stays the same! This should be an easy week, but please prepare students for 2 as a divisor, which will be next week.

SOCIAL STUDIES
This week we continue our study of the United States, and specifically the Southwest region. We will be learning about different landforms and resources of the region.

Valentine's Day Celebration

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow. If they wish, students may bring candy and/or cards for every student in the class. Please bring a bag, basket, or any other container to collect candy and cards. Tomorrow is a free Valentine's Color's Day and a regular school day (no early dismissal). Thank you very much.

Literacy Homework: Wednesday, Feb. 10

Go to http://www.candlelightstories.com/Stories/Thumbelina.htm

a) Reread/review the story
b) Identify the following Literary Elements and write them on your Reading Journal:

1) Setting
2) Protagonist
3) Antagonist
4) Author's Purpose
5) Point of View
6) Conflict
7) Solution

Literacy Homework: Tuesday, Feb. 9

1) Go to http://www.candlelightstories.com/2009/09/08/storybook-thumbelina/

2) Read the story Thumbelina. Enjoy!

Literacy Homework: Monday, Feb. 8th

You need to read The Rajah's Rice, from your Readng Textbook, pg. 18.
Then, you need to identify the following literary elements in your Reading Journal:
1) Setting
2) Protagonist
3) Antagonist
4) Author's Purpose (Authors write to entertain, persuade or inform!)
5) Point of View ( It refers to the narrator of the story. It may be one of the characters using first person point of view-I, or it may be a Third Person Point of View when it is narrated from a different and outside prespective.
6) Conflict
7) Solution

Week of Feb. 8th -11th

Literacy:

A reminder that Friday, Feb. 12 is a Holiday!

Read Aloud

• Zathura, by Chris van Alsburg, focus on identifying the main idea and author's purpose
• Slinky, Scaly, Slithery Snakes, by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, focus using picture clues and authors's purpose

Shared Reading

• Excerpts from Zathura, focus on identifying the main idea
• Ant Notes- Interactie Editing

Interactive Writing

• We will write abbreviations for days, months, and titles
• We will also write a summary for the book we read last week, Pinduli

Independent Writing

• Students will write sentences using the abbreviations we write during Interactive Writing
• Students will write a summary using the adjectives and nouns we wrote during Interactive Writing last week.

Students will also participate in Writing Cycles, Centers, and Independent Reading

MATH:
Last week we started our new unit in Geometry. We discussed Solid figures and their characteristics. Today we looked a polygons (triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, octagon). Tomorrow we will be discussing the different types of triangles (equilateral, isosceles, and scalene). Wednesday we will review these lessons and then Thursday will be a quiz on solid figures, polygons, and triangles.

Thursday Timed Test: this week's timed test will include all multiplication tables from 0-12. Students will have 2 minutes to answer 30 questions from a variety of tables.

SOCIAL STUDIES:
This week we are starting a new unit in Social Studies. We will be talking again about the land of the United States, although this time we will be discussing the Southwest. We will begin Tuesday by looking at physical maps of the United States. We will then focus on the Southwestern regions, including Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. We will focus mostly on the desert qualities of these areas, and will be discussing resources and landforms in the deserts. This week we will be looking solely at the landforms and the physical maps.

Week of Feb. 2nd - 5th

LITERACY

Read Aloud:

• Pinduli, by Janell Cannon, focus on identifying adjectives and the nouns they describe
• Zathura, by Crhis Van Allsburg, focus on reAding with expression and visualizing
• Slinky, Scaly, Slithery Snakes, by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, focus on using pictures to enhance comprehension

Shared Reading:

• Excerpts from Zathura, focus on identifying the main ideas
• Snake Notes - Interactive Editing Sample

Interactive Writing:

• Adjective/Noun Chart
• Identifying and writing the main idea as we read Zathura

Independent Writing:

Students will be defining unknown words used as adjectives and will be writing sentences with the adjectives and nouns we write on chart paper.

Students will aslo participate in Independent Reading, Centers, and Writing Cycles.

MATH:
Tomorrow students will be tested on multiplying by multiples of 10, as well as multiplying by 2-digit numbers. This is something they learned all last week and reviewed today.

We will also looking at estimating greater products (rounding bigger numbers to make it easier to multiply).

This week we will also begin our geometry unit. We will be starting with solids (cone, cube, prism, etc); polygons (quadrilateral, pentagon, octagon, etc.); and triangles (isosceles, scalene, equilateral). Students will be tested on these concepts sometime next week.

Timed Test: the timed test will be on the 12 factors this week.

SCIENCE:

This week in Science, we will be trying a learning technique called "Jigsaw". Students have been divided into "home groups" of five to six students, each of which is also given a number. Individual members of each group then break off to work with other group members with the same number. These are their "expert groups". In these "expert groups", students will take time to research different climate zones for our weather unit. Each expert group has a different climate zone. Afterward, they return to their home groups in the role of instructor to teach the other members about the climate zone that they are now an "expert" in.

The jigsaw strategy is an efficient teaching method that also encourages listening, engagement, interaction, teaching, and cooperation by giving each member of the group an essential part to play in the academic activity. Both individual and group accountability are built into the process. In ESL classrooms, jigsaws are a four-skills approach, integrating reading, speaking, listening and writing.

Thursday we will review all of the climate zones as a class (in case any important details were missed by any groups, and to assure we are all on the same page) and then Friday students will be quizzed on this material.