Science experiments & musical instruments

Reminders:

• Some students are planning a Valentine's Day Community Lunch with Caroline's mom Kathleen.  If your child is involved, you will be hearing from Kathleen soon, asking you to provide food on Tuesday, Feb. 14. The rest of the students will plan meals in March or May.
• We have a new schedule, which you can download here, due to the musical instrument program.
• No school or childcare available this Friday, Jan. 13, for Report Writing Day.
• Please sign and return the permission slip your student brought home for the field trip to the Oakland Museum of California on Thursday, January 19 from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Homework:
30 minutes of reading on the reading log students brought home Monday (see Monday's blog to download).

Pioneers in California chapter and questions. Responses are to be written in complete sentences, with special attention to capitals, spelling (words from text especially) and punctuation. This activity was started in class.

Fifth grade math homework, due tomorrow
Download homework on yesterday's blog.

Fourth grade math homework, due tomorrow
Purple group:
Spend 20 minutes practicing 2 or 3 challenging multiplication fact families, using their student-made multiplication cards, Math Magician Multi, or one of the following games: Pumpkin Multiples, Snowball Fight, or Patty's Paints (these 3 games can be used to practice 12's)

Blue Group: No math homework, but practice multiplication facts (see above).

Science

As part of our study of the oceans, students did some experiments yesterday and today in groups of 4, testing whether temperature or saltiness would affect the density of water.

Student scientists collaborate to compare different temperature waters

Green-colored salty water sinks

Red colored warmer water floats above blue colored cold water

Cooperation is key when doing group science experiments

Musical Instruments

Many students brought home musical instruments they made this week as part of the music project.  The students are so engaged while working purposefully with the tools to create.

4th Grade Math

Blue Group: Today and yesterday the blue group worked in class on an assessment covering addition, subtraction and multiplication, including multi-step word problems. Today we also played a multiplication game with dice that can be played at home to practice multiplication facts and addition or subtraction computation. Some students began the next part of our study with division, practicing to break items into sets, and skip count to solve division problems. Homework was not assigned but all students are encouraged to practice multiplication facts.

In the purple group, we started with a mixed problem warm up. We learned that 1 cup = 1/2 pint, so there are 2 pints in a quart. Our question of the day was "How can we solve double-digit division problems mentally?" Students practiced looking at problems like 318 ÷ 7 as 7 times what would equal 318, without going over? After sharing strategies, we played an array game where students had to find missing factors for facts up through the 12s.

Fifth grade math
5th graders played a computer game to practice converting decimals to fractions and vice versa. They placed fractions on a percent number line on a worksheet. Math closed with a movement activity. Students bounced around three balloons – one with fractions, one with decimals, one with percents – and when the music stopped, they had to name the equivalents from each balloon.