Scantron Testing and Science Fair This Week

Here's a photo of our class at the opening of our
Black History and Civil Rights Museum on April 20th.

Our class will be taking reading and math Scantron tests on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons this week.  Please remind your child of the importance of these tests.  We hope to see everyone improve!  In addition, please come to our 4th-5th grade Science Fair this Friday morning.  We look forward to seeing you there!  Here's what else we will be doing the week of 4-30-12:

In Word Work, students will continue Word Wisdom Unit 5: Measurement. We will work on Part 3 this week which focuses on Reference Skills.

In literature study we will continue reading the poetry novel Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech. We will read and write about similes, metaphors, consonance, dissonance, alliteration, and more. We will discuss poems by William Carlos Williams and other well known poets.

In writing workshop, students will be working on writing their own poems using the poetic devices we are learning about in literature study. They will also be writing poems based in the same style as some of the famous poems we’ve been reading.

This week in math, students will continue to divide numbers by a 1-digit divisor. They will see whole number quotients, quotients with remainders, and quotients with a zero in them. We will review how to determine factors and how to find the prime factorization of a number. Students will use pictures and equations to help them represent remainders in a problem.

Students will present their science fair projects in class this week in science. The 4th-5th Grade Science Fair will be on Friday at 9:15 am.

The Week of 4-23-12

Appologies for the late posting, but this website has been giving me some trouble.  Here's what we are learning this week.  If the trouble clears up, I'll be posting some pictures from our amazing Black History and Civil Rights Museum which was a huge success last Friday!

In Word Work, students will continue Word Wisdom Unit 5: Measurement. We will work on Part 2 this week which focuses on Latin Roots.

In literature study we will be reading the poetry novel Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech. We will discuss and use poetic devices as we read. We will determine the theme of the poems and discuss the narrator’s point of view. In this book, “it is a new school year, and Jack learns that his previous year's teacher, Miss Stretchberry, has also moved up a grade along with him. "You understand my brain," he says. Once again, Miss Stretchberry introduces Jack and his classmates to poems that intrigue and entice Jack, allowing him to talk about things that are on his mind: mean cats, sound, silence, worry and joy. You don't really think Miss Stretchberry is going to let Jack hate a cat, do you? Hmm.”

In writing workshop, we will start this week’s lessons by practicing different visualization techniques to go along with our deep breathing. The deep breathing helps calm and focus the mind so it is ready for learning. We will be writing Mandarin characters this week for our classroom quilt project.

In math this week, we will continue Topic 4. Students will learn how to check problems for reasonableness by using various methods, including estimation and checking their final answer. Students will also review and practice long division. Students should continue practicing their multiplication and division facts to assure mastery before the end of the school year.

This week in science, students will conduct an experiment by rolling cars down a ramp and measuring how far they roll. We will discuss what makes this a good experiment and why this would be valid for a science fair project (it has multiple trials, it is seeking an answer to a question through experimentation, and it has measurable results.) We will practice how to write a conclusion.

Museum Opening this Friday!

As you know, students have been working hard on their inquiry projects, investigating their own topics of interest.  On Friday, they will have the grand opening of their Black History and Civil Rights Museum at 9:00 am.  We hope you can make it to see all of the hard work they've put into it.  In addition, I look forward to seeing you at Report Card Pick-up on Wednesday, April 18th.  Here's what else we are doing this week, the week of April 16, 2012:


In Word Work, students will begin Word Wisdom Unit 5: Measurement. We will work on Part 1 this week which focuses on how to use Context Clues. In literature study, we finalize our inquiry projects and prepare for the opening of our museum. We will have opening day at the museum on Friday! In writing workshop, students will work on various Mind-up activities where they will do a couple of activities to practice mindful seeing.

To begin the week in Math, students will review topic information on graphs and data and take the Topic 18 assessment on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we will begin Topic 4 and launch into a multiple-topic study of division. Students should continue practicing their multiplication and division facts to assure mastery before the end of the school year.


This week in science, students will conduct an experiment about measuring learning. We will discuss what makes this a good experiment and why this would be valid for a science fair project (it has multiple trials, it is seeking an answer to a question through experimentation, and it has measurable results.) We will also discuss how to set up a science fair board.

Welcome Back!

What's wrong with this picture? 
Tell me the mistake and get one extra
credit point on your grammar test.

I hope you had a relaxing spring break!  We have one more week in third quarter and then we will be into the final leg of the school year.  Please make sure you have turned in your report card pick-up request time.  Report card pick-up is next week.  I look forward to seeing you all there!

Here's what we are doing this week, the week of 4-9-12:
In Word Work, students will finish GUM Book Unit 4: Grammar.  They will take a test on Thursday. 


In literature study, we will continue our inquiry projects. Students will receive the rubric that will guide them in creating their final projects. We will continue to practice using research to answer our focus questions without plagiarizing.

In writing workshop, students will work on various Mind-up activities where they will learn more about how their brain works and why practicing creates stronger neural pathways in their brains. We will do a couple of activities to practice mindful seeing.

In math, students will finish Topic 18 and prepare to take a test. The test will cover various types of graphs and data tables. It will also cover different types of averages (mean, median, mode) and range. The test will be given next week.

This week in science, students will receive their guidelines for their science fair projects. We will look at several different experiments in order to determine the independent and dependent variables. Students will determine their topic, focus question, and hypothesis.