Homework:
4th Grade Math:  No assigned work tonight.  Optional assignment.
5th Grade Math: Math packet (Please check Cerrito's Blog for more information).

Other Homework: State crossword
Reminder: State maps are due Tomorrow!

Today all of the fourth graders had a preview of our game, Frogs and Toads.  In Math Club many students puzzled over how to switch the positions of the frogs and toads reliably, and record their steps. After acting out the solutions for 1 and 2 frogs and toads, we decided to start next week's Math Club with the 3 frog/toad solution.  Many students pondered the Measuring Up problem, using proportional thinking in different situations, like scaling up a recipe for Stone Soup.  Other students worked on this week's Puzzles.  It is encouraging to see more students trying out Math Club.

STATE MAPS DUE TOMORROW! Please make sure to bring in your state maps and any borrowed materials to class tomorrow morning!

4th Grade Math: We continued to work on our station rotations this morning as well as the 9-Lines.  When all was said and done with the different activities, we did not have time left to review the homework planned for the day.  An alternate homework problem was provided as an optional assignment.

We focused more on dialogue and quotations in our writing today with a couple of correction worksheets and practice. Hopefully these activities will lead to some interesting conversations in our writing!

We have shifted gears away from state study to the cultural history of the United States. Today's discussion centered around the first people in North America, Native Americans, and how our nation came to be. We watched a clip from the movie "500 Nations" and reflected on how North America has changed since 2000 B.C. 

Homework:
5th Grade Math: Math packet (Please check Cerrito's Blog for more information).
4th Grade Math: Math sheet

Other Homework: State Wordsearch
Reminder: State maps are due on Wednesday.

We started the morning off introducing ourselves to our new student, Sunny, and sharing something that most people wouldn't know about us. We learned a lot of interesting things about one another!

Math: We started working in different stations today which will review and solidify different math concepts such as telling time, measurement, fractions, and comparing weights on a pan balance. We also continued working in small groups with some more 9-lines practice. By the end of the week everyone should have had a turn at each station and will have worked on each corresponding packet.

During Writer's Workshop we reviewed how to write dialogue with correct punctuation, indentation, a little creativity thrown in there, too!
We played BINGO to introduce the last list of state spelling words (Oregon-Wyoming) which we will be concentrating on this week.


There are some wonderful opportunities for science lessons on Saturdays for 4th and 5th graders called Science Saturdays at UC Berkeley.
SWE Science Saturdays are 2 hour fun engineering projects and lessons from 10am-12pm for 4th and 5th graders. Spaces are given to those who RSVP here first--you will receive a confirmation email if there is space for your child. A $5 dollar donation is suggested from each confirmed student to cover the cost of supplies.

Have a wonderful night and GO GIANTS!

State Maps Coming Home & New Student

State Maps Coming Home to finish

The students have spent a considerable amount of class time working on their state maps, and many have a few steps left to accomplish.  We have sent the maps home with the kids who need to complete their maps along with the materials they require.
We will not be working on them in class, so the students should plan times to work on them over the next 4 days.

The maps are due on Wednesday, October 17

Map criteria (or requirements) - The students should have a paper copy of this to guide them.

In addition, the students have selected 7 factoids from their background research to include on the map.  Most students have these written on index cards in an envelope (ready to be attached to the map).  Please note: the background research question sheet has 15 facts that were to have been researched.  Only 7 need to be placed on the map, however, one of the following is required:  Famous Person, Historical Event, Interesting Fact or Famous Place to Visit.

Colored pencils and other materials borrowed from the classroom for the project should also be returned by Wednesday.

New Strawberry 5th Grader:  Please welcome Sunny (and family) joining Strawberry on Monday.  He visited a couple weeks ago and the class is excited he will be part of our community. 

Homework:
5th Grade Math: Math Page (Check Cerrito's Blog for details)
4th Grade Math: Airplane Fuel Filling math page

Wordly Wise: Please work on Wordly Wise for 15-20 minutes tonight.  Be sure to bring your workbook to school tomorrow.

Well, it looks like the rain is coming our way at The Berkeley School! Today was very cold, cloudy, and a bit drizzly. Luckily, we were able to be outside for recess (fingers cross that the rain stops each day between 11:45-12:15!). Our assembly was held in the Depot today where we watched our buddies in Laurel Creek sing songs about the letters and heard about the 7th graders rafting trip! Also, Kate gave us some information about our Student Council and we'll be discussing class representatives sometime next week.

We continued our conversation about Discussion Elements and how it looks and sounds like to have a respectful, productive discussion. We then separated into small groups to discuss our ideas about getting a.... wait for it... CLASS PET! There were many great ideas and thoughts shared by everyone in their groups. We also had a chance to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of our discussion through an evaluation sheet. We had a lot of participation, but there is always room for improvement!

Our afternoon was spent engulfed in maps, research, state facts, and information! We're getting very close to finishing up our state maps and I'm looking forward to learning about everyone's state.

Due to Cerrito Creek's field trip today, we did not have math class and do not have any newly assigned homework. The homework from Tuesday evening is still due tomorrow.

Homework: State spelling practice.

Reminder: State Spelling test tomorrow! Study those words!

This morning we took the opportunity to focus on our states puzzle and the location of the states. After reviewing the states and their location, we took our first "pop quiz" and tested our knowledge of where the states are geographically. We continued to work on our states and embarked on rewriting information to add to the maps, which we are finishing this week!

Today was our last session of Spot Writing at Strawberry Creek Park for a while.  Today's focus was to use the environment to inspire fictional writing.  Some students created stories about critters, plants, and trees that they encountered during the past few weeks, while others posed questions and thoughts about their spot and surroundings. We are looking forward to continuing the writing we have started outside in the classroom and maybe even publishing some of our Spot Writings!

Today was our Buddy Day and we went over to the park to play some "Roshambo" games together. It was nice to be out in the open field running around with our Laurel Creek buddies!