Mystery powders in science

Reminders:
Please sign up for a parent-teacher conference, either for Thursday, March 15 or Friday, March 16. You should have received an email from Cindy with a link to the online sign up form. Please let Cindy or us know if you have trouble signing up.

We need help with laundry! Please let us know if you could wash some cleaning rags and dish towels this week.

Next Tuesday, March 6, please join us for the annual TBS Math Night. You should have received an email with a link to a letter from Zaq Roberts describing the evening. Fifth graders will meet in the Cerrito classroom with their families, and fourth graders in Strawberry classroom. Feel free to drop in any time from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., but do allow at least 20 minutes for your student to show you how she or he is learning math, and play some games with you. We hope you can make it!

Homework
Reading log - Don't forget to try the Word Hunt on the reading log.

Fourth grade math homework, due tomorrow
Purple group: Please complete the JUMP math packet, using the plastic protractor you received in class and your paper ruler.
Blue Group Homework: Angle measures work pages. Some problems require you to use the plastic protractor handed out in class today (taped to your homework).

Fourth grade math
Purple group: After a mental math warm up, we used power polygons to estimate angle measures with benchmarks, like right angles (90 degrees), half-right angles (45 degrees), and one-third and two-third angles (30 and 60 degrees). Then students learned how to use protractors to measure angles more precisely. Since there are two different number scales on a protractor, students first need to decide whether the angle measure is more or less than 90 degrees, then use the appropriate scale.

Blue Group: Today we used protractors to measure and label the angles on polygon shapes, then began work on the homework packet. The biggest challenge for the students is recognizing which scale to use on the protractor for the degree of the angle. The goal is to first determine if the angle is greater or less than a right angle (90º).


In chem lab, students looked at the physical and chemical properties of 8 white mystery powders!

Tuesday, February 28

Reminders:
Next Tuesday, March 6 from 6:00-7:30 p.m., please join us for the annual TBS Math Night. More details will be coming soon about plans for this fun family event.

Homework:
Gold Rush Outline: Background sheet #6 (Due Thursday)

Fourth grade math homework, due tomorrow
Purple group: Finish pages 159-160 only in the JUMP packet
Blue Group: Monday's assignment is due tomorrow.

Fourth grade math
Purple group: After our weekly 5-minute multiplication activity, we talked about right, obtuse, and acute angles. We also looked at how angles work--that they don't depend on arm length, that reflex angles are bigger than even a straight line, and that the angles in polygons are inside the shape.Students put together different polygon shapes to make right angles, and shared them on the Smart Board.

Blue Group: Today we reviewed our work with multiplication and division to prepare activities for Math Night. We then looked at 90º (right) angles we made yesterday with polygon shapes and determined the degree measure of angles joined to form right angles. For example, three 30º angles together, two 45º angles, 30º and 60º etc. Protractors were introduced to check the angle measures of the polygon shapes.

Monday, February 27

Reminders:
Next Tuesday, March 6 from 6:00-7:30 p.m., please join us for the annual TBS Math Night. More details will be coming soon about plans for this fun family event.

Homework:
Fourth grade math homework, due tomorrow
Purple group: Complete the Top Secret Math Night Preparation and finish your JUMP packet, pages 161-162
Blue Group: Angles packet due on Wednesday.

Fifth grade math homework

This week's packet in two parts: 1 and 2

There is a problem of the week due this Friday.

Words Their Way: Sort your words and write the sort in your blue notebook. Watch your spelling! Reading log: Word Hunt - find words in your reading that match the sort this week.

Fourth grade math
Purple group: This week and next we will be preparing for Math Night, coming Tuesday, March 6, so we began discussing how students will prepare for this special event. In geometry, we reviewed properties we could use to describe different kinds of polygons: the number of sides; one, two, or more pairs of parallel sides; or whether they have right angles. Then we reviewed quadrilaterals, polygons with four sides, and some special kinds of polygons: parallelograms, rectangles, squares, rhombuses, and trapezoids. Students took assessments on quadrilaterals, and continued work on their JUMP packets.

Fifth grade math
Fifth graders took their first look at area and perimeter today. They used geoboards to figure out the areas of irregular polygons, puzzled over the relationship between area and perimeter, and worked to answer the questions: what happens to the area of a square when you double the length of one side? the perimeter?

Buddy Service Learning
Students met with the kindergarten and first grade buddies today to finish posters for an upcoming Bake Sale, on Thursday, March 8, to raise money for the Marine Mammal Center. More news will be coming soon!

Muir Beach field trip & volunteer thanks!

Reminders:

No school Friday, February 17 through Friday, February 24 for Prof. Dev. & Presidents' Day break.

No homework over the break. Have a wonderful holiday!

Thanks to our volunteers!

First off, we would like to thank Caroline's mom Kathleen again for organizing our Valentine's Day community lunch with eight of the students, planning the menu ahead of time, making decorations with the students, obtaining many of the supplies, and cooking with the children and serving the feast.

 

Thanks also to Ethan's mother Tanya and Isaac's parents Kate and Randy for donating food and drinks for the Community Lunch, Aya's mom Anne H. for the cookies, and Anne H., Mario, Madeleine, Anne B., Beth, and Sophie for help cooking, serving, and cleaning.

Finally, many thanks to our driver/chaperones for our Muir Beach service field trip yesterday:  Mario Biagioli, Mandy Ladin, Cathy MacNeal, John Meyer, and Madelyn Weiss. We couldn't have had the amazing experience of planting almost 200 plants in the Redwood Creek watershed without the gift of your time, patience, and mentoring.  Thank you!

Muir Beach Field Trip

The weather was fantastic and the experience of planting and reclaiming our small part of the Redwood Creek watershed was a very satisfying experience for us all.  The students were so into wielding pick-axes to dig and plant bulrushes that they left their snack break early to get back to digging!  We learned from our docent Patrick that coho and silver salmon and steelhead trout (also in the salmon family) come into the creek from the ocean and can reproduce only if the water is clear.  The plants help keep the creek clean for these fish and produce habitat for many other animals.

After planting from 10am-1pm, we enjoyed lunch and walked down to Muir Beach for some fun!  Some students played in the sand, others waded in the water.

Below are some snapshots of our day. Check out the left side of the blog for a slideshow.  Have a wonderful week!

Community Lunch & Chemistry

No school Friday, February 17 through Friday, February 24 for Prof. Dev. & Presidents Day break.

IMPORTANT FIELD TRIP INFORMATION:
Depart at 9:00am return by 3:00pm
Student Waiver (for those who still need to turn it in)
Tomorrow is our field trip to Muir Beach to take part in the ongoing restoration of the Redwood Creek area. You can watch a short video about the project narrated by Doug McConnell.

Find out more about the Redwood Creek Restoration at Muir Beach
For the day, please bring: SNACK, LUNCH and a WATER BOTTLE

What to Bring for the Work Time: Wear comfortable work clothes, long pants, and sturdy shoes or boots (no shorts or sandals for the work time). Bring a reusable water bottle. We’ll have water stations for refills. The program is on, rain or shine. Dress in layers for changing weather, bring hat, and wear sunscreen. Be prepared to get dirty. All necessary tools, supplies, gloves and training will be provided. If you have a pair of favorite gloves, feel free to bring them.

What to bring for the Beach: As an option, students may wear shorts or swimsuits UNDER their clothes in the event weather permits playing in the water at the beach (not swimming). There is no convenient place to change, so students will “un-layer” at the beach. Be sure to pack you lunch, water bottle, a towel, sunscreen and other beach items in a bag or day pack to take to the beach.

Directions to Muir Beach Click here to view a map.

Homework:
Purple group: Please complete pages 156 through problem 2 of page 159 in the JUMP packet. Do NOT finish the packet!

4th Grade Blue Group: Polygons

5th Grade Math: Monday's packet.

Strawberry Homework (due Thursday): Gold Rush history and Writing Conventions

Fourth grade math
Purple group: We did another 5 minute multiplication fact practice this morning, then worked on geometry. Today's questions were: What makes lines parallel? What makes polygons quadrilaterals? Students discovered that lines must be straight and never intersect to be parallel. Quadrilaterals are polygons with four straight sides.

Blue Group: The blue group practiced drawing polygons, naming them, identifying properties, such as, parallel sides, concave and convex (non-concave) angles, and related terminology. Students are sorting polygons by properties and learning how to determine what are "regular" polygons.

5th Grade Math: Fifth graders learned how to name angles this morning and how to identify regular and irregular polygons (regular means that all the sides are the same length). The learned the difference between a vertex and an angle. Download homework on Monday's blog.

In science we looked for evidence of chemical reactions.








Photos from our community lunch!
Special thanks to Kathleen for organizing the event, and to her adult helpers: Madeleine, Anne H. and Mario for cooking and setting up with the kids, and Anne B. Sophie, and Beth for staying after to clean up.

Community Lunch & Valentines Day are Tommorrow!

Reminders:

• Tomorrow is the Community Lunch: Strawberry students are preparing and serving lunch tomorrow, so your children do not need to bring a lunch (but should still bring a snack). Eat Smart lunches will be served in our room as an option for students who are signed up.
  
• Tomorrow is also Valentine's day. If you child chooses to make Valentines, please make sure they make one for all 24 students in the class (list of students), and do not include any candies or treats (we will have cookies as part of our Community Lunch that day). No need to pack a lunch.
• Wednesday is the field trip to Muir Beach: Please fill out, sign, and turn in the Muir Beach Student Waiver if you haven't already, so that your child can participate. Adults on the trip are covered by a group waiver and do not need to complete individual waivers.
  
• No school Friday, February 17 through Friday, February 24 for Prof. Dev. & Presidents Day break.

Homework:
Fourth grade homework, due tomorrow
1. TERC Unit 4, pages 13-14
2. Practice multiplication fact family that gives you the most trouble for 10 minutes, using cards or Math Magician Multi

4th grade Blue Group Homework: Division and line plots.

5th Grade Homework for the week: Part 1, 2, 3, 4

Reading 30 minutes/night.

Analogies: Today we learned about analogies and practiced completing several together. The goal is for students to analyze the context of a comparison to determine how to complete the anology. Some examples from today to get us started: Go is to green as red is to _____. Land is to dirt, as ocean is to _____. Meow is to cat as ____ is to _____. And lastly, our challenge for the day, Seed is to tree as _____ is to _____.

4th Grade Math
Blue Group:Today the blue group practiced measuring in centimeters to calculate the perimeter of polygons and to consider the practical uses of perimeter. We then continued work from Friday on creating and analyzing polygons.

Purple group: Students started the day with a broken calculator problem, in which they couldn't use the 7 key, but had to write math expressions using addition and subtraction to equal the number 489. We talked about equations, and how expressions on both sides of the equal sign have to be equivalent.

Then students gave advice about our question of the day: How do we measure length accurately? Guidelines for measurement:

• Start at the zero on the ruler, of if you start at 1, subtract 1 from the number at the other end.
• Don't mix metric units (meter, centimeter, and millimeter) with US customary units (inches, feet, and yards).
• Line up the ruler and use your finger to mark the end of the ruler, as the point to start measuring again.
  
• Write down how many times you move the ruler or each subtotal, to keep track.

Students practiced estimating the perimeter of things in our room, then measuring with rulers and meter sticks.

5th Grade Math: Fifth graders spent the morning measuring angles not with protractors but with other angles. They used polygon manipulatives to make deductions such as the following: if two equal angles put together form a right angle, then each of the angles must be equal to forty-five degrees. We will work with protractors, practice angle vocabulary, and play angle games in the week to come.

Power Polygons

No homework this weekend!

Reminders:

• Please fill out, sign, and turn in the Muir Beach Student Waiver if you haven't already, so that your child can participate in the Wednesday, February 15 field trip. Adults on the trip are covered by a group waiver and do not need to complete individual waivers.
• If you child is preparing next week's Community Lunch, please remember to bring in the food this Monday, Feb. 13.
• Tuesday is Valentine's day. If you child chooses to make Valentines, please make sure they make one for all 24 students in the class, and do not include any candies or treats (we will have cookies as part of our Community Lunch that day). No need to pack a lunch that day.
• No school Friday, February 17 through Friday, February 24 for Prof. Dev. & Presidents Day break.

Buddies and Community Lunch Planning
During Buddies today the students worked on posters for our upcoming Bake Sale fundraiser for Marine Mammal Center on March 8. More details about this event will be forthcoming. During Buddies, Kathleen (Caroline's mom) worked with the students preparing Tuesday's community lunch to make decorations for the event. Many thanks to Kathleen for her dedication to this special event.

Fourth grade math
Students met all together today to talk about polygons--what makes a polygon a polygon, and how can we identify shapes that are not polygons? They came up with these ideas:

• Polygons have straight sides, no curves.
• Polygons are closed figures, no gaps or lines sticking out.
• Polygons have no intersecting lines.

We played Guess My Rule using a variety of small plastic polygons called "Power Polygons," then students created new polygons with different rules by putting together Power Polygons and tracing them.

Class Newspaper update: The Strawberry class newspaper is on hold while we sort out an unfortunate event with our use of technology. Several students had the articles they were working on deliberately erased. This event has also placed our use of the class document sharing site on hold. The class met to discuss this issue, and the teachers hope that student(s) involved will come forth to help us move forward. When we first began use of the document sharing site, we discussed the issues of trust and personal responsibility that was expected. Using the site helped us manage use of a limited number of computers. We will be moving to an alternate solution for use of computers for the remainder of the year, but are still hoping the loss of trust will be restored by having this event resolved (as discussed with the students today).

Musical instruments at the assembly

Reminders:

• Please fill out, sign, and turn in the Muir Beach Student Waiver if you haven't already, so that your child can participate in the February 15 field trip. Adults on the trip are covered by a group waiver and do not need to complete individual waivers.
• If you child is preparing next week's Community Lunch, please remember to bring in the food Monday, Feb. 13.
  
• Tuesday, Feb. 14 is Valentine's day. If you child chooses to make Valentines, please make sure they make one for all 24 students in the class, and do not include any candies or treats (we will have cookies as part of our Community Lunch that day). No need to pack a lunch that day.
• No school Friday, February 17 through Friday, February 24 for Prof. Dev. & Presidents Day break.

Homework:
Reading log due tomorrow (see Monday's blog post).

Fourth grade math homework, due tomorrow
Purple group: Please finish the last 2 pages of the JUMP perimeter math packet as well as TERC Unit 4, pages 9-10
4th Grade Blue Group: Tonight's homework is a multiplication practice page to keep up the skills!

Musical Instrument Making
Three of our students, Hannah, Riley, and Tyrrell, spoke at our assembly to the whole school this morning about their experiences making musical instruments, and showed off their creations. Their instruments were great examples of how people can have ideas, design them, and make them a reality with the right tools, materials, and guidance. Kudos to all the student designers, and the great instruments and music they are bringing to life!

All School Service Learning
Our service learning council, including Strawberry representative Sam, also spoke at today's assembly about their plans for an all-school service project, a walk-a-thon, planned for the end of the school year. They are excited to hear from other students, parents, and teachers about how they would like to be involved and ideas they have to make this a success. Students will also be choosing which people-oriented charity the money should go to. A suggestion box is in the EGG office at the front of the Depot as you walk into the school, if you have ideas you'd like to share.

Fourth grade math
Purple group: Because of our excellent assembly this morning, math class was short today. We continued talking about perimeter, and students shared their strategies for keeping track of all the sides and making sure they are added correctly.

4th Grade Blue Group: The blue group explored perimeter using tiles to discover how perimeter can change even when the area (number of tiles) does not.

Periodic Table bingo

Reminders:

• Next week on Tuesday is Valentine's day. If you child chooses to make Valentines, please make sure they make one for all 24 students in the class. The TBS policy this year is no candy or treats on Valentines, although we will have cookies as part of our Community Lunch that day. No need to pack a lunch that day.
• February 15, Field Trip to Muir Beach: Student Waiver
  
• No school Friday, February 17 through Friday, February 24 for Prof. Dev. & Presidents Day break.

Homework:
Muir Beach Waiver (due tomorrow) Please fill out and sign the Student Waiver in order for your child to participate in the activities on February 15 at Muir Beach. Adults on the trip are covered by a group waiver and do not need to complete individual waivers.

Fourth grade math, due tomorrow
Purple group: Please finish first two pages (pp. 114-115) of the JUMP perimeter packet.
Blue Group: Continue work in the perimeter packet from class today (pages 14-16).

Science: Periodic Table Bingo
Yesterday students made observations and inferences of ice cubes, apple slices, baking soda & vinegar, steel wool & vinegar, and a burning birthday candle, as part of our exploration of matter. Matter can show physical changes (in shape, state, or size, for example) or chemical changes (often producing color changes, light, heat, or gas). We also watched a short cartoon, "Physical & Chemical Changes of Matter," which you can watch here.

Today students moved their lab observations from a table format to a Venn diagram, and proposed other examples from their lives of physical and/or chemical changes of matter, to share with others. Then we watched another short cartoon, "The Periodic Table," which you can watch here.

We played Element Bingo: the computer provided the name of an element, students used their copies of the periodic table to find its symbol and atomic number, and students checked to see if they had that element on their bingo cards. We didn't have time to find a winner, but we did learn that most of the elements are actually metals, some are non-metals, like the stable Noble Gases, and some, like silicon, are metalloids.

Fourth grade math
In the purple group, students determined the perimeter (length around the outside) of various polygons, using different strategies, and students shared their tricks with the group. Then we discussed what happens to perimeter as we increase a shape's size incrementally, or if we add a square to different places in an irregular shape made of squares and rectangles. Students were surprised to find that you can actually reduce the perimeter by adding a square to the right place, or keep the perimeter the same.

Blue Group: For the first half of class today we practiced converting within the metric system (centimeters to millimeters, meters to centimeters etc.), followed by a review of perimeter.

Tuesday, February 7

Tuesday Homework

Fourth grade math homework, due tomorrow:
Fourth graders worked on measuring items around the room using centimeters. They had to measure their index fingers and hands and then approximate measurements of other items, such as the tables, their binders, and Stephen's coffee cup. They also did some measuring with rulers.
Please finish your JUMP math packet on estimating and measuring centimeters.

Fifth grade math, due tomorrow:
Fifth graders did more "Quick Images" today, which require them to draw a complex geometrical design after seeing it for only five seconds. It trains them to visually discern the various shapes within the larger design. Then they took notes on how to describe the different types of quadrilaterals: squares, rectangles, parallelograms, rhombuses, trapezoids, and kites. Tonight's homework can be downloaded on yesterday's blog.

Reading Groups:
Because Jeff was not here today, his groups will meet to discuss their books on Thursday. Reading assignments for each group for the week (due next Tuesday) are as follows:

Matilda - read to page 134
Wrinkle in Time - read to page 90
Mr. Popper's Penguins - read to page 84
Hatchet - read to page 89 (chapters 7, 8 & 9)
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson - read to page 117 (chapters "July" and "August")

Continue making notes on your "notice, think, wonder" sheets and be ready to discuss!

Today we had Spanish and the students continued work on their instruments in the Drescher Music Project. In Science, Sima lead a lesson on the difference between physical and chemical change. The students performed a number of experiments to observe physical change, chemical change, and both.

Monday homework

Reminders:

• Please consider driving and chaperoning on our trip to Muir Beach next Wed., Feb. 15. Please sign and return the permissions slip. You can download a copy here.
• Next week on Tuesday is Valentine's day. If you child chooses to make Valentines, please make sure they make one for all 24 students in the class. The TBS policy this year is no candy or treats on Valentines, although we will have cookies as part of our Community Lunch that day.
• No school Friday, February 17 through Friday, February 24 for Prof. Dev. & Presidents Day break
  

Homework:
Fourth grade math homework, due tomorrow
1. Unit 4, pages 3-4
2. Give parents their letters about our new unit (download letter 1, letter 2)
3. Practice multiplication facts, 10 minutes

5th Grade Math: Fifth graders began a new unit on 2D geometry today. They learned to classify triangles by sides and angles, using the following terms: isosceles, scalene, equilateral, obtuse, acute, and right. Their packet this week is in three parts:

Monday
Tuesday

Wednesday-Thursday

Also, check out the geometry and measurement information on this pdf to better understand what we will be teaching in this unit.

Word Study Homework & Reading Log: As usual, the students practice sorting the words for this week, and record their sort in the blue notebook (due tomorrow). The reading logs include word study work as well, and are due on Friday.

Fourth grade math (Blue & Purple groups)
This morning fourth graders took a pre-assessment for our new geometry and measurement unit, titled "Size, Shape, and Symmetry." Students in both groups used rulers and meter-sticks to find benchmarks (convenient, everyday items) equal to one centimeter, one meter, one inch, one foot, and one yard. Being able to estimate measurement is a very useful skill that requires lots of practice--students will be surveying their parents about estimating measurement tonight for homework.

Ocean Research project: Students began taking notes from their library books. If your child did not visit a library yet, it is still required.

Valentine card policy, Still Life, Metrics and Buddies

Please observe these guidelines if your child plans to bring cards on Valentine's day:
1. If someone wants to make Valentines, they must be 100% fully inclusive of all students in the class. Homemade Valentines (instead of store bought) are encouraged, but not required. List of students in Strawberry Creek.

2. No candy or sweets should be attached to (or in place of) Valentines. Things like pencils are acceptable.

Our Day:
This morning the students began the day with a still life drawing of machines and tools. We practiced the idea of focusing in on part of the object for a drawing study.

In math today we continued measuring with the metric system. Activities included finding personal references (cm = finger nail width etc.), measuring small items in millimeters, body parts in centimeters and large items in meters and centimeters. Our discussion today emphasized the connection to base-10 math, and how to convert cm to mm.

Strawberry students read to their Laurel buddies today. We have a service learning/fundraising project planned with our buddies that you may have heard about. The kids have decided to raise funds for the Marine Mammal Center. The teachers are in the process of determining dates for our fundraising efforts, and hope to announce that by the end of next week.


Our still life subjects!




Photos from the measurement activity!

Class Newspaper & Word Study Games

Please note there are two posts today. The second post follows the photos of the word games.

Class Newspaper: A few Strawberry students came up with an idea to start a class newspaper this week. Due to the growing popularity of the idea we had a meeting today with interested students. The students shared ideas on how the paper would come together, and what roles would be needed. There is general agreement that a few students will head the management part of organizing and keeping track of who is doing what, and that any and all classmates interested may submit articles. The goal of the meeting today is to prepare the class for a student run project with teacher support along the way including filling the role as final editors before publishing.

Word Study: Students were introduced to word sort games today for the words this week. Photos of Spin and Win below:

Elements & Measurement

Reminders:
Please consider driving and chaperoning on our trip to Muir Beach, Wed., Feb. 15. Please sign and return the permissions slip. You can download a copy here.

Homework:
Due tomorrow: Reading Log & Word Hunt. If your child was absent on Monday, the word hunt is not required.

No additional homework.

Measurement Hunt
Since the Cerrito class is out for their trip to Fort Ross, we had math with the fourth and fifth grade all together today. As part of our Measurement Hunt, students made measurements of length in millimeters, centimeters, and meters, of small objects, parts of their bodies, and things around and outside the classroom.

Science
We have been discussing atoms and molecules, and elements and compounds in science. Students hypothesized what would happen if we put a tablespoon of powdered sugar in a completely full (at the verge of overflowing) glass of water. Several students figured it would overflow, but it did not--the sugar dissolved into the empty space available around the atoms, even when we added more and more sugar. What would happen if we added sugar to cold water or hot water? Would more, less, or the same amount of sugar dissolve?

Students watched the Elements video, which you can also watch here:


Milo entertained us all by singing all the words to The Elements Song, which includes the names of more than 100 elements. There is an animated version of the song here:

Field Trip Persmission Forms and Library Plan

Reminders:

Parents, your student should have a permission slip for our upcoming trip to the Muir Beach/Redwood Creek area in Marin, for creek restoration work we will be doing. Please consider driving and chaperoning on this trip, Wed., Feb. 15--it promises to be a great experience. You can download a copy of the permission slip here; please sign and return it.

Homework:
Library Research: Due tomorrow: Library planning sheet (pink) to find books for the ocean study.

No additional homework tonight.

Due Friday: Reading log and word hunt. If your child was absent on Monday, the word hunt is not required.

Photos from the Dresher Music program:







Drilling!