Field Trip tomorrow to the Exploratorium
Timing: Please arrive on time. We will depart around 8:45am and return by 3:15pm.
What to bring: Please bring a SNACK, LUNCH, rain coat (warm coat). Good shoes too, we will be on our feet all day.
Science Homework: Electricity in Our Lives activity sheet to complete at home. The sheet is due no later than MONDAY.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Homework
Math: There is no additional homework in math today due to a Cerrito field trip tomorrow and Strawberry trip on Thursday.
4th Grade math handed out Monday will be checked on Friday.
Other Homework:
Work on Wordly Wise for 15-20 minutes.
Finish any book club jobs for the week.
Reminder: Our field trip to the Exploratorium is on Thursday. Please provide a packed lunch for your child, as hot lunch will not be available.
We began math class today with a missing factor game outside. We continued working on division, this time with a focus on Factor Families and ways to use multiplication and skip counting to solve division problems.
Lively discussion and perseverance in problem solving were the order of the day in Math Club! One of the most engaging problems, Petals Around the Rose, perplexed many students, emphasizing pattern-finding skills and patient persistence. A few were excited to finally figure it out, after much conjecture and testing, and have been sworn to secrecy. Try the game yourself here. Algebra was another theme today--students solved multi-step problems with unknowns, or built successive wall patterns, extending this to rules to make predictions, with our Growing Patterns problems. One of our third-graders generalized the wall problem to an algebraic rule, 2n + 2, and relished explaining why the number of blocks were always even. Finally, students explored an online pan balance activity, discovering relationships between symbols that would allow them to deduce values for each--great preparation for solving simultaneous equations in middle school and beyond.
Word study time focused on completing Wordly Wise review of lessons 1-4 and moving forward in Wordly Wise lessons. For the other half of our later morning, we brainstormed different writing topics that we can pull from for future writing.
We met in our book clubs today-- some groups discussed their books while others finished their reading and their jobs in preparation to meet tomorrow.
In science, we explored magnetism with magnets and other objects such as straws, foil, nails, and metal washers. After the introduction to magnets, students then constructed and electromagnet with a metal core and coil, a battery, and two different wires. They used their electromagnet to pick up multiple washers at a time!
Math: There is no additional homework in math today due to a Cerrito field trip tomorrow and Strawberry trip on Thursday.
4th Grade math handed out Monday will be checked on Friday.
Other Homework:
Work on Wordly Wise for 15-20 minutes.
Finish any book club jobs for the week.
Reminder: Our field trip to the Exploratorium is on Thursday. Please provide a packed lunch for your child, as hot lunch will not be available.
We began math class today with a missing factor game outside. We continued working on division, this time with a focus on Factor Families and ways to use multiplication and skip counting to solve division problems.
Lively discussion and perseverance in problem solving were the order of the day in Math Club! One of the most engaging problems, Petals Around the Rose, perplexed many students, emphasizing pattern-finding skills and patient persistence. A few were excited to finally figure it out, after much conjecture and testing, and have been sworn to secrecy. Try the game yourself here. Algebra was another theme today--students solved multi-step problems with unknowns, or built successive wall patterns, extending this to rules to make predictions, with our Growing Patterns problems. One of our third-graders generalized the wall problem to an algebraic rule, 2n + 2, and relished explaining why the number of blocks were always even. Finally, students explored an online pan balance activity, discovering relationships between symbols that would allow them to deduce values for each--great preparation for solving simultaneous equations in middle school and beyond.
Word study time focused on completing Wordly Wise review of lessons 1-4 and moving forward in Wordly Wise lessons. For the other half of our later morning, we brainstormed different writing topics that we can pull from for future writing.
We met in our book clubs today-- some groups discussed their books while others finished their reading and their jobs in preparation to meet tomorrow.
In science, we explored magnetism with magnets and other objects such as straws, foil, nails, and metal washers. After the introduction to magnets, students then constructed and electromagnet with a metal core and coil, a battery, and two different wires. They used their electromagnet to pick up multiple washers at a time!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Homework:
5th Grade Math: Math Packet
4th Grade Math: Flashcard sheet and math packet due Friday (the homework page says Wednesday, however the due date is Friday due to field trips in both classes Weds & Thurs.
Words Their Way Word Sort- Finish your word sort from today or do an open sort and record your sort in your spiral notebook.
Open sort: Find a different way to sort your words. Use all of the words and record the sort in your notebook.
Book Club Jobs: Book clubs will be meeting to discuss on Tuesday and Wednesday, so jobs should be finished and ready to discuss.
Reminder: We have our field trip to the Exploratorium on Thursday.
We began our morning thinking like scientists! After observing a random object (tree trunks, spool of yarn, hand held drill, etc.) students put on their scientist hats and wrote about the object from the point of view of a scientist. Then, after writing for about five minutes, students switched gears and wrote about the same object from the point of view of a poet. It was great to see the different types of language and observations that were being made!
We started off math class with a math version of "Steal the Bacon". Everyone was given a number and when their number was the solution to a math problem they had to run and try to steal the "bacon" (our foam die), without getting tagged by the other side. It was a great way to get out some Monday morning energy! In class, we continued to work on division and our station activities.
During Writer's Workshop, students were given the opportunity to add to our Story Starters Bags. In addition to animals, transportation, and verbs, we now have class generated ideas for places and things. Starting with the famous sentence: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." students created a story that had to include different words that were dropped on their desk. We heard stories about giants, baseball fields, Texas, and ginormous shoes!
After lunch, we met in our book clubs to work on finishing the reading goal and start this week's jobs. Groups will meet tomorrow and Wednesday to discuss their reading.
5th Grade Math: Math Packet
4th Grade Math: Flashcard sheet and math packet due Friday (the homework page says Wednesday, however the due date is Friday due to field trips in both classes Weds & Thurs.
Words Their Way Word Sort- Finish your word sort from today or do an open sort and record your sort in your spiral notebook.
Open sort: Find a different way to sort your words. Use all of the words and record the sort in your notebook.
Book Club Jobs: Book clubs will be meeting to discuss on Tuesday and Wednesday, so jobs should be finished and ready to discuss.
Reminder: We have our field trip to the Exploratorium on Thursday.
We began our morning thinking like scientists! After observing a random object (tree trunks, spool of yarn, hand held drill, etc.) students put on their scientist hats and wrote about the object from the point of view of a scientist. Then, after writing for about five minutes, students switched gears and wrote about the same object from the point of view of a poet. It was great to see the different types of language and observations that were being made!
We started off math class with a math version of "Steal the Bacon". Everyone was given a number and when their number was the solution to a math problem they had to run and try to steal the "bacon" (our foam die), without getting tagged by the other side. It was a great way to get out some Monday morning energy! In class, we continued to work on division and our station activities.
During Writer's Workshop, students were given the opportunity to add to our Story Starters Bags. In addition to animals, transportation, and verbs, we now have class generated ideas for places and things. Starting with the famous sentence: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." students created a story that had to include different words that were dropped on their desk. We heard stories about giants, baseball fields, Texas, and ginormous shoes!
After lunch, we met in our book clubs to work on finishing the reading goal and start this week's jobs. Groups will meet tomorrow and Wednesday to discuss their reading.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Reminder: Please send your student to school with their permission slip for our Exploratorium Field Trip on Thursday, December 6.
We started off this morning with a geography bee for our Cerritoberry meeting. Students worked in mixed groups of eight people and talked with one another to find the answers to a variety of questions about United States geography.
4th Grade Math: In math, we continued our work with measuring and graphing. We measured one another and then made a line plot graph to analyze the different heights in our class.
We continued our Wordly Wise study today with students checking their most recent sections and making corrections. We also reviewed some of the science we have done with electricity this week in a brief assessment.
We took advantage of the rainy day weather and caught up on a few of our state videos. We learned about Washington, Utah, and Rhode Island.
We started off this morning with a geography bee for our Cerritoberry meeting. Students worked in mixed groups of eight people and talked with one another to find the answers to a variety of questions about United States geography.
4th Grade Math: In math, we continued our work with measuring and graphing. We measured one another and then made a line plot graph to analyze the different heights in our class.
We continued our Wordly Wise study today with students checking their most recent sections and making corrections. We also reviewed some of the science we have done with electricity this week in a brief assessment.
We took advantage of the rainy day weather and caught up on a few of our state videos. We learned about Washington, Utah, and Rhode Island.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Step Up Day
4th Grade Math Homework: Multiplication Math fact cards practice. Since we did not have math today, the students were not given additional homework, and do not have the sheet called, "Practice with multiplication cards," as indicated they would on the flash card schedule for Thursday. We will do this part in class tomorrow.
Also, please work on Wordly Wise for 15-20 minutes this evening.
Reminder: Please fill out and return the pink Exploratorium Field Trip Form.
*Drivers have already signed up on the class Wiki, however if you are available as a back up driver, please let us know on the form.
Today we welcomed the Sweet Briar 3rd graders into Strawberry Creek while our 5th graders went up to Wildcat for the morning. In Strawberry Creek we read "The Doorbell Rang" and then played our division practice game, Leftovers. Fourth graders were paired with the third graders and they worked together to solve division problems. After doing some class work, we went outside and played our math variation of "What Time is it Mr. Fox?". The third graders did a wonderful job keeping up with our fourth graders and the fourth graders were great role models and helpers.
After a quick snack break, the students measured each other with meter sticks to create a height line plot. After graphing our heights, we analyzed the graph to find the mean, median, mode, range, and estimated average.
During our writing time the 3rd and 4th graders worked on a story with the starter "It was a dark and stormy day...". After starting their stories, students were given different animal names and modes of transportation that they had to incorporate into their stories. We had many creative, funny stories!
Science: Students built series and parallel circuits today and discovered how they could light 4 bulbs brightly with one battery (D-cell).
Also, please work on Wordly Wise for 15-20 minutes this evening.
Reminder: Please fill out and return the pink Exploratorium Field Trip Form.
*Drivers have already signed up on the class Wiki, however if you are available as a back up driver, please let us know on the form.
Today we welcomed the Sweet Briar 3rd graders into Strawberry Creek while our 5th graders went up to Wildcat for the morning. In Strawberry Creek we read "The Doorbell Rang" and then played our division practice game, Leftovers. Fourth graders were paired with the third graders and they worked together to solve division problems. After doing some class work, we went outside and played our math variation of "What Time is it Mr. Fox?". The third graders did a wonderful job keeping up with our fourth graders and the fourth graders were great role models and helpers.
After a quick snack break, the students measured each other with meter sticks to create a height line plot. After graphing our heights, we analyzed the graph to find the mean, median, mode, range, and estimated average.
During our writing time the 3rd and 4th graders worked on a story with the starter "It was a dark and stormy day...". After starting their stories, students were given different animal names and modes of transportation that they had to incorporate into their stories. We had many creative, funny stories!
Science: Students built series and parallel circuits today and discovered how they could light 4 bulbs brightly with one battery (D-cell).
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