Have a great break!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving
Some photos of recent and today:
Working on book club projects
Book Club projects
Troika performance today for Grandfriends Assembly
Sharing seaweed research - dead man's fingers
Bull kelp
Giant kelp
Red Algae
Acid Kelp
Taste testing seaweed!
Taste testing products to determine if they might have seaweed products.
Wonderful processed foods . . .
Sharing results from the tasting.
Have a great break!
Have a great break!
Monday, November 25, 2013
Homework
4th Grade Math: Lattice Multiplication (finish another page of problems - bring to school tomorrow to work on in class)
Science: Tonight's Seaweed Homework (find products to bring to school tomorrow - or list them on the sheet - that have seaweed or seaweed product as an ingredient)
Upcoming Events:
4th Grade Math: Lattice Multiplication (finish another page of problems - bring to school tomorrow to work on in class)
Science: Tonight's Seaweed Homework (find products to bring to school tomorrow - or list them on the sheet - that have seaweed or seaweed product as an ingredient)
Upcoming Events:
November 26 - Grand-friends Day
November 27 - Thanksgiving break
December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef
December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Happy Friday
Today in Strawberry: The morning we had an abbreviated math time in order to make to a rehearsal for Grand-friends Day. Strawberry will perform the Troika dance at the assembly for the visitors with percussion instruments led by Owen Roberts the music teacher.
After snack the students worked in their book club groups on projects related to their book: wanted signs, survival guides, a board game, character trait poster, a diorama and post cards (each project is focused on themes from the books read). Students are still expected to finish reading their book by next week, as assigned in book groups.
We watched most of the 1964 production of Island of the Blue Dolphins in the afternoon today. We discussed the differences and similarities of the book to the movie. Some interesting elements of the movie are that the filming took place near Point Arena (near Fort Ross) and Kashaya and Pomo people from the area are in the movie (mostly non-speaking roles).
Upcoming Events:
After snack the students worked in their book club groups on projects related to their book: wanted signs, survival guides, a board game, character trait poster, a diorama and post cards (each project is focused on themes from the books read). Students are still expected to finish reading their book by next week, as assigned in book groups.
We watched most of the 1964 production of Island of the Blue Dolphins in the afternoon today. We discussed the differences and similarities of the book to the movie. Some interesting elements of the movie are that the filming took place near Point Arena (near Fort Ross) and Kashaya and Pomo people from the area are in the movie (mostly non-speaking roles).
Upcoming Events:
November 26 - Grand-friends Day
November 27 - Thanksgiving break
December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef
December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Words Their Way & Typing Club
Home Assignments:
1.
1.
5th Grade Math: Packet
4th Grade Math: Skills Packet for week of 11/18 (due Friday). Also, the 8s group should finish the practice pages.
2. Wordly Wise: This week's goal for most students is to finish lesson 2 and begin on lesson 3. Spend at least 15 minutes/night. Carry the book in your binder each day to and from school.
3. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students should read from their assigned Book Group books - all groups are nearing the end of their books or have finished.
3. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students should read from their assigned Book Group books - all groups are nearing the end of their books or have finished.
We Need: Newspaper, & egg cartons - We have a big project coming up that will need lots of newspaper! If you still get the paper the old fashioned way, please set it aside for Strawberry. Thanks
Upcoming Events:
December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef
December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.
Today in Strawberry: Students downloaded photos of organisms they are studying to draw from as part of our research on the kelp forest.
We began Words Their Way, a spelling program involving sorting groups of words into spelling categories (vowel patterns, prefixes etc.) as its main focus.
Words Their Way: speed sorting
Words Their Way Bingo
Typing Club Link now on the side bar of the blog. The link will take you to our account. Username is the student's first name, and password is "strawberry." The students may continue at home with typing practice.
Today in Strawberry: Students downloaded photos of organisms they are studying to draw from as part of our research on the kelp forest.
Typing Club Link now on the side bar of the blog. The link will take you to our account. Username is the student's first name, and password is "strawberry." The students may continue at home with typing practice.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Book Group Projects
Home Assignments:
1.
1.
5th Grade Math: Packet
2. Wordly Wise: This week's goal for most students is to finish lesson 2 and begin on lesson 3. Spend at least 15 minutes/night. Carry the book in your binder each day to and from school.
3. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students should read from their assigned Book Group books - all groups are nearing the end of their books or have finished.
3. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students should read from their assigned Book Group books - all groups are nearing the end of their books or have finished.
We Need: Newspaper, paper bags & egg cartons - We have a big project coming up that will need lots of newspaper! If you still get the paper the old fashioned way, please set it aside for Strawberry. Thanks
Upcoming Events:
December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef
December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.
Today in Strawberry: Book Groups that have finished reading are now creating final projects about the book including: character trait poster (Esperanza Rising), wanted signs (Holes), survival guide (Hatchet - Iris's group) and more are to come. The goal of the project is to focus on themes of the book and character relationships.
Our ocean zone posters are coming together too!
Today in Strawberry: Book Groups that have finished reading are now creating final projects about the book including: character trait poster (Esperanza Rising), wanted signs (Holes), survival guide (Hatchet - Iris's group) and more are to come. The goal of the project is to focus on themes of the book and character relationships.
Our ocean zone posters are coming together too!
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
1st Rainy Day
Home Assignments:
1.
1.
5th Grade Math: Packet
4th Grade Math: Skills Packet for week of 11/18 (due Friday). Students from the nine-lines group today may substitute a page of homework for two pages of 8's practice as needed.
2. Wordly Wise: This week's goal for most students is to finish lesson 2 (or set a goal for how far to get in lesson 3). Spend at least 15 minutes/night. Carry the book in your binder each day to and from school.
3. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students may read from their assigned Book Group books.
3. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students may read from their assigned Book Group books.
We Need: Newspaper, paper bags & egg cartons - We have a big project coming up that will need lots of newspaper! If you still get the paper the old fashioned way, please set it aside for Strawberry. Thanks
Upcoming Events:
December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef
December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.
Today in Strawberry: Our final Fort Ross work . . . so sad. We are now re-writing a journal entry and planning ways to improve the realism and details of our writing. Each student will select a goal for their writing, write a 2nd draft and then after teacher feedback, complete a final draft.
Today in Strawberry: Our final Fort Ross work . . . so sad. We are now re-writing a journal entry and planning ways to improve the realism and details of our writing. Each student will select a goal for their writing, write a 2nd draft and then after teacher feedback, complete a final draft.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Ocean Zones
Home Assignments:
1.
1.
5th Grade Math: Packet
4th Grade Math: Skills Packet for week of 11/18 (due Friday). An option for students working on the order of operations was provided in place of the packet. Students may work at their own pace. We will check the packet on Friday in class. In math today the students were introduced to problem solving activities to do in small groups. These problems encourage "out of the box" thinking and there can often be more than one solution to a problem. An example of one problem we tackled today is linked here.
2. Wordly Wise: This week's goal for most students is to finish lesson 2 (or set a goal for how far to get in lesson 3). Spend at least 15 minutes/night. Carry the book in your binder each day to and from school.
3. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students may read from their assigned Book Group books.
3. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students may read from their assigned Book Group books.
We Need: Newspaper & egg cartons - We have a big project coming up that will need lots of newspaper! If you still get the paper the old fashioned way, please set it aside for Strawberry. Thanks
Upcoming Events:
December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef
December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.
Today in Strawberry: Today we focused on the major zones of the ocean. After a book about the depths of the ocean and brief Blue Planet segment, the students were organized into groups to study a particular zone in more depth, either the sunlight, twilight, dark zone, the abyss or the deep trenches.
Reviewing the proportion of the zones of the ocean.
After researching the zone the students designed a poster section for their "zone."
Organisms were drawn and cut out to be glued onto the poster.
Today in Strawberry: Today we focused on the major zones of the ocean. After a book about the depths of the ocean and brief Blue Planet segment, the students were organized into groups to study a particular zone in more depth, either the sunlight, twilight, dark zone, the abyss or the deep trenches.
Friday, November 15, 2013
What is Normal?
Important Classroom Discussion: Today we had a class meeting about the phrase, "That's so gay." This expression has been overheard on two different occasions by adults listening to casual conversations among Strawberry students. We wrote the expression on the board and the kids led a discussion about it. The students identified it as a "slang" expression, and pondered the question, "Why do people find it offensive?" This led to writing the possible intended meanings underneath it, like a fill in the blank.
"That's so _______ (stupid, dumb, weird . . .)."
The students identified that the intended meaning was to point out a difference in someone else in a negative way, which led to vibrant conversation about what it means to be "normal." One student suggested that the word "normal" should not even be a word used when talking about people. Many students made the point that differences are what make people interesting.
After a rich discussion the students were asked, "Where do we go from here?" Their suggestions were focused on advocacy, making posters and presenting to the school at an assembly etc. We are now busy planning what that will look like. One student pointed out that someone using that expression probably does not know what it really means, and that another thing we can do is just not say things we don't understand.
Teacher comments: During the discussion, we as teachers interjected at key moments. Along with clarifying that the expression is considered offensive, and not acceptable at TBS it was also pointed out to the kids that they will hear expressions like this in the future, and it is how they deal with it that matters. Also discussed was the term "gay." We explained that as kids grow into teenagers and go through puberty (and before this too) the awareness of identity (being heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual - explained as being interested in both women and men for relationships) develops, and is not something random. We acknowledged that not everyone understands this at their age, and that it is not something they are expected to, but it is important to be aware of the impact of using a word, like "gay" that describes real people, in a negative context. In the discussion a student mentioned the term "transgender," but it did not specifically become part of today's conversation due to the direction of the discussion. Nor did the recent hate crime against a former TBS student come up (in the news), so we did not discuss the incident.
Please be in touch if you have any questions.
Other notes:
Found: A pair of glasses in a case appeared after the Dress Rehearsal. It is just next to our door.
From Wednesday: Reflecting on our trip to Fort Ross
During choices today some students "blew" eggs to decorate. The eggs were left from our trip.
Blowing the yolk out.
Other students continued and started new carpentry projects.
Others played games.
"That's so _______ (stupid, dumb, weird . . .)."
The students identified that the intended meaning was to point out a difference in someone else in a negative way, which led to vibrant conversation about what it means to be "normal." One student suggested that the word "normal" should not even be a word used when talking about people. Many students made the point that differences are what make people interesting.
After a rich discussion the students were asked, "Where do we go from here?" Their suggestions were focused on advocacy, making posters and presenting to the school at an assembly etc. We are now busy planning what that will look like. One student pointed out that someone using that expression probably does not know what it really means, and that another thing we can do is just not say things we don't understand.
Teacher comments: During the discussion, we as teachers interjected at key moments. Along with clarifying that the expression is considered offensive, and not acceptable at TBS it was also pointed out to the kids that they will hear expressions like this in the future, and it is how they deal with it that matters. Also discussed was the term "gay." We explained that as kids grow into teenagers and go through puberty (and before this too) the awareness of identity (being heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual - explained as being interested in both women and men for relationships) develops, and is not something random. We acknowledged that not everyone understands this at their age, and that it is not something they are expected to, but it is important to be aware of the impact of using a word, like "gay" that describes real people, in a negative context. In the discussion a student mentioned the term "transgender," but it did not specifically become part of today's conversation due to the direction of the discussion. Nor did the recent hate crime against a former TBS student come up (in the news), so we did not discuss the incident.
Please be in touch if you have any questions.
Other notes:
Found: A pair of glasses in a case appeared after the Dress Rehearsal. It is just next to our door.
Upcoming Events:
December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef
December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.
During choices today some students "blew" eggs to decorate. The eggs were left from our trip.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
A Few Fort Ross Pics
Home Assignments:
1.
1.
5th Grade Math: Packet & POW
4th Grade Math: Main group: Standard algorithm multiplication (12 problems or one page)
Side group: PEMDAS or other packet (one page)
In 4th grade math we are introducing different approaches to solving multiplication problems. Today students were introduced to the standard algorithm for multiplication. Students who already were familiar with this were introduced to the order of operations (PEMDAS). All students will be introduced to the order of operations as well at a later date. We will cover a total of 3-4 different multiplication methods over the next week.
Side group: PEMDAS or other packet (one page)
In 4th grade math we are introducing different approaches to solving multiplication problems. Today students were introduced to the standard algorithm for multiplication. Students who already were familiar with this were introduced to the order of operations (PEMDAS). All students will be introduced to the order of operations as well at a later date. We will cover a total of 3-4 different multiplication methods over the next week.
2. Reading (20 min. every night)– Students may read from their assigned Book Group books.
We Need: Newspaper & egg cartons - We have a big project coming up that will need lots of newspaper! If you still get the paper the old fashioned way, please set it aside for Strawberry. Thanks
Upcoming Events:
December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef
December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.
Fort Ross Photos: There are a great many photographs of our trip taken by our photographer which will be available to you at a later date. Photos currently appearing on the blog are from the classroom camera used by Ivan (Jeff) and Pavel (Iris) during the trip.
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