Advanced Vocabulary for Week 3

https://spreadsheets0.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFFORURKRHBuMHB3bThLeHZMSjRQeUE6MA#gid=0

Thursday, December 16, 2010

I just discovered that www.delicious.com/iamron is being shut down.  Apparently our friends in Sunnyvale were let go.  So I am in a partial panic because I have about 7 years of great educational links saved on there.   I may have an email out in January explaining to find my helpful links go to www.diigo.com or something.  

So tomorrow is a HALF DAY.   The day ends at 12:30.

Students may choose to wear pajamas or extra comfortable clothing.  It just must be appropriate for a school environment.  More importantly it must be appropriate for the upcoming rain that we will be receiving on Friday and Saturday.   I’ve heard up to 10+ inches of rain will be hitting us.  

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/16/MNKO1GR5FG.DTL

Therefore students need to wear shoes and bring a change of clothes in case of puddles or monsoons.  

**No pillows, no stuffed animals and definitely NO electronic games of any kind.  

Today:
Dear time -- we had 45 minutes to read whatever we wanted, to work on homework due today or tomorrow and/or work on our on-line math.  

Character Attribute Assembly:
All winners are selected and voted on by the students.  I do not break ties or vote.  
Respect -- Derek D
Responsibility -- Megan S. and Matthew W.
Caring -- Nicki B
Congratulations to both the individual winners and to the class for some wise selections.

Math:
We reviewed last night’s fraction addition homework.  
Tonight’s homework:  Complete the addition with unlike denominators artwork.
Students had 35 minutes to work on the 11 problems and the minimal art requirement.
This is due tomorrow.   They do NOT have to complete the art + math work on subtracting unlike denominators.

Grammar  --  adjectives and more adjectives

Social Studies -- we found all 12 Bill of Right infractions from yesterday’s reading and homework.

Spelling and Vocabulary test......
**Those doing the advanced vocabulary have until tomorrow to turn that in and take the on-line exam.

Cargo and Wilmott rotations.
Art work with cool snowflakes and science quiz on the periodic table.  

Kind regards, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Years!!
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the Friday:
Math:

1. Handout that is math + art --- adding fractions with unlike denominators
2. Complete the 1st part of the year math review (56 questions began at school on Tuesday)

Free-Write due on Friday:
“To make the world a better place the world could use more......”

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Library Time -- 8:45-9:15
I am always pleased when I hear from the librarian, today we had a sub for Ms. Klein, about how we mannered our class is during our library visits.  So great job to our parents for modeling those manners!!

Dear Time -- students had 45 minutes to read independently, work on the 56 question math review that we began yesterday, and complete homework for the week.  

Vocabulary Time -- we reviewed our 5 challenge words for the week and discussed their definitions.

After recess we reviewed the vocabulary work and we also previewed this week’s grammar lessons.  It is all about adjectives.   One of the best ways to practice adjectives is with:
http://www.kwarp.com/portfolio/grammarninja.html

We then reviewed adding with unlike denominators.  We then moved onto adding mixed numbers.
The key for adding the fractions is to work on them “horizontally” rather than vertically.  
Here is the link with our notes from today:
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024
**students were given 35 minutes to work on their math homework

Social Studies --
December 15th every year is National Bill of Rights Day
http://www.billofrightsday.com/
So we read through our Bill of Rights again
We then read a scenario will a poor guy is thrown into jail for allegedly stealing $20.  

• Homework:  students need to find at least 7 cases of where the person’s Rights are being infringed and also tell which amendment was ignored.  

Cargo and Wilmott-- rotations

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Reading Comprehension due on Thursday:
Read pages 310-328 by Thursday (we read as a class Mon./Tues)
Take the AR test by Thursday
Answer any two questions on page 328 but make them your masterpiece
P.B. 176 due Thursday (we complete as a class Mon./Tues)

Grammar all due on Thursday:
P.B. 184, 185 and 186

http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t03_03.html
*spelling test will be on Thursday of this week

Math:
page 258-259 all due on Thursday
Handout on math review concepts due Friday
*** Complete the 1st part of the year math review (56 questions began at school on Tuesday)

Free-Write due on Friday:
“To make the world a better place the world could use more......”

Adopt a Family -- money or donations are due by Wednesday/Thursday

Social Studies -- find 7 Bill of Right Infractions

Tuesday, December 14th

 A short but busy week.........

Friday is a ½ day.  The kids may show up in extra comfortable attire.  They may wear pajamas provided:
1.  the clothing they are wearing is appropriate for school and weather conditions
2.  students still need to get out for recess time so they need to bring layers and proper shoes

It sounds like food will be supplied at the party therefore students most likely will not need to bring lunch or eat lunch afterwards.  

If you need to bring supplies for the party, you may bring them in early and we can store them in the class (unless they are perishable).  

To ensure this week does not become chaotic or extra wiggly, students need to complete the assigned work.  Failure to complete the work will result in using some of Friday morning to complete their missing assignments.   

Adopt a Family -- if you would like to participate please bring in your donation by Thursday.  I would much much prefer that it came in envelope so the students don’t have loose money hanging around.  

The 12 Days of Christmas was extra credit, students requiring extra time due to their desire to the project right, may turn it in the first two days of January’s return.

Advanced Level Vocabulary is optional however it is strongly strongly encouraged.  It is handed out on Monday or Tuesday, their packet gets turned back in on Friday and they take a definition test on Friday.  

Today -- the students are working on a review math assessment that is found on-line at www.pearsonsuccessnet.com   It is 56 problems.  Students were given 45+ minutes today to work on it.   Some students apparently feel that the holiday had already begun so they only completed 10 or 12 problems.  They will need to make up for lost scholastic time on Friday if they don’t complete this by Friday.  

Students also used the last 10-15 minutes to have some fun on some great middle school level math games:
http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/2010/12/technology-lab-on-december-14-2010.html

Math -- subtracting fractions with unlike denominators
Here is the great lesson that we watched from the gurus in Alameda:
http://www.acoe.org/acoe/files/EdServices/Adding%20fractions.swf

Here are our notes from Friday and today’s lessons:
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Homework:
page 256-257 1-32 all due on Wednesday
*students were given 35 minutes to either 1. work on tonight’s homework or 2. work on their on-line test that we started in the computer lab

Language Arts --
Since everything needs to be turned in earlier this week rather than Friday, the students were given additional time yesterday and today to complete their reading, PB’s and writing for this week.
Today we completed reading the James Forten story.  We (i.e. the students following along) also completed the comprehension p.b.   We also completed a full vocabulary PB and ½ of another.

They finished the day PE.  They went into the multi-purpose room and ran off some adrenaline.  

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Reading Comprehension due on Thursday:
Read pages 310-328 by Thursday (we read as a class Mon./Tues)
Take the AR test by Thursday
Answer any two questions on page 328 but make them your masterpiece
P.B. 176 due Thursday (we complete as a class Mon./Tues)

Grammar all due on Thursday:
P.B. 184, 185 and 186

Vocabulary all due on Wednesday:
5 challenge words --sentences and definitions
P.B.  174 (we complted as a class Tues), 179 (completed ½ as a class Tues.),  and 183
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t03_03.html
*spelling test will be on Thursday of this week

Math:
page 256-257 1-32 all due on Wednesday
page 258-259 all due on Thursday
Handout on math review concepts due Friday
*** Complete the 1st part of the year math review (56 questions began at school on Tuesday)

Free-Write due on Friday:
“To make the world a better place the world could use more......”

Adopt a Family -- money or donations are due by Wednesday/Thursday

Technology Lab on December 14, 2010

20 minutes of typing practice

40 minutes of math practice

Then the last 15 minutes you may play education based games:

http://www.zoopz.com/zoopz/zoopz2.html

http://games.altec.org/

http://www.mathmovesu.com/#/sum-of-all-thrills

http://www.mathmovesu.com/mmu-games/

Advanced Vocabulary Week 2 Synonyms...

Here is the link to take the test.....

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dER2ZWdmSk01ZzhTV3pyakNaMHQzS0E6MQ#gid=0

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Technology Lab -- 20 minutes of typing, 30-40 minutes of preparing for the Chapter 10 test tomorrow, doing a little research about Christmas in the colonies and finally two short movies on WWII & Pear Harbor.  

After technology we returned to class and prepped some more for tomorrow’s math test.   The biggest areas that were stumping about 30% of the class (i.e. I know the % thanks to the response devices)  were the number line and converting fractions into decimals and back.  
Homework tonight:  The version A of the multiple choice test.   
Here is the test on-line with all of the math resources from this year:
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024
Students may also log into www.pearsonsuccessnet.com and review the results of their work that we did in the computer lab.  It will show them problems that they missed and recommend specific lessons from the chapter to review.  

Language Arts -- Reading Comprehension
Cause and Effect --
He fell asleep in class because he went to sleep at midnight last night.
His stomach ached after eating too many prunes.  
We discussed some cause and effects related to this week’s story.  We also discussed how cause and effect is used in everyday life.  

Grammar lessons this week:
P.B. 169  verbs phrases with have, has or had --
http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/helping-verbs.html

P.B. 170 and 171
teach vs learn
let versus leave
sit versus set
can versus may
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/can-versus-may2.aspx
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-sit-vs-set.aspx

They ended the day with P.E.

Reminder that we have book orders going on right now.  The catalog should have been brought home last Friday.  They are due back on the 9th.  We are going to use some class points to make sure they get back by the holiday break.  

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Here is the homework for the week:  

Reading Comprehension due on Friday:
Read pages -- 282 through 304
Answer two questions on page 304, make them a “master-piece”
P.B. 161, 162 and 163

Grammar due on Thursday:
P.B. 169, 170, 171

Writing due on Friday:
P.B 172
Type or write out a Friendly Letter to an adult that you know and that you want to write  to them.   

Vocab Work due on Wednesday:
Define and use in a sentence the 5 challenge words:
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t03_02.html
P.B. 159, 164, and 168

Math:
Chapter 10 Version A all due Wednesday, December 8th
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024
Chapter 10 test will be on Wednesday.
Chapter 11   248-249 2-36 even due Thursday
252-253 1-35 all due on Friday

Free Write due Friday:
For me the holiday season has always meant.....
*Please please make this a non-fiction free write.  I love reading and hearing about all of the great family traditions that exist out there.  

Free Write due Thursday:
Free free write -- write about whatever you want

Technology Lab on December 7, 2010

20 minutes of Mavis Beacon or www.typingweb.com

www.pearsonsuccessnet.com  and find the chapter 10 quiz and work on this quiz

Learn some more about the American Revolution:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1868506_1868508_1868518,00.html

Can you tell me how was Christmas celebrated in Massachusetts in colonial times?

Today is Pearl Harbor day.....let's learn more about WWII
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/worldwarii/

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/worldhistory/worldwariicauses/

Monday, December 6th

Another great Monday. I really love Mondays because so many times we do not have assemblies on Mondays, the kids are ready to learn, and we get so much accomplished.

Today -- we completed our Theme 2 projects for this go around. We were busy bees on Thursday, Friday and today. We now have just one more presentation to make and their delay is only because of some technical difficulties caused by MS movie maker.

We had some great presentation and overall people are growing and learning through the project process. We had some of the following:
A CBS news cast covering Jerry Brown’s election win and history.
A compare and contrast presentation between Michael Phelps and myself.
A presentation on Bob Montana the artist behind the Archie comics.
We had a prezi.com presentation on Meg Whitman and her life and times.
We had a prezi.com presentation that covered Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart.
We had a powerpoint that covered the life/times of Kristi Yamaguchi, JK Rowling, M. Sonne’s grandmother (a great artist), and the Beatles.
We had a special visit on Friday from Cleopatra and from King Tut themselves and they also did a powerpoint full of information.
We had Brandon do a great photo movie and a presentation on the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln.
Check out his cool lego movie: http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/2010/12/brandons-presentation.html
We had a prezi.com presenation on McLain Ward, Olympic horseback rider, & his horse Sapphire along with a presentation on tennis great Vennus Williams.
We had a powerpoint today on Dan Bowle of the S.J. Sharks.
We also had a powerpoint and a journal entry about Martin Luther King Jr.
We had a spirited debate full of many sports facts about who is greater Sidney Crosby or Michael Jordan.
If you would like to see all your son/daughters work here is the link with the various presentations:
http://www.box.net/shared/cl807c0r96

Here are the www.prezi.com presentations:
http://prezi.com/l2eskmq674uc/women-in-history/
http://prezi.com/dzg6sfrkv0i1/famous-people-who-gave-it-all-they-got/
http://prezi.com/hhbgetvr4rq4/meg-whitman/

Besides projects, we did do our spelling and here are the words for the week:
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t03_02.html

We read the entire story this week for Katie’s Trunk. We spent some time discussing what is a Torie, a Loyalist, a Patriot or a Rebel. So students do not have to spend time this week with the reading part, just completing the necessary P.B. and Open-Ended questions.
We also went over the key vocabulary for the week.

Math:
Getting ready for Wednesday’s test and I am fearful since a part of the test covers materials we began PRIOR to the Thanksgiving vacation. So I emphasized with the kids the need to restudy the entire chapter.
We did some review of tonight’s homework and also of the chapter itself.
Here is the link for the math review test due on Wednesday:
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

**FYI -- if your child has access to www.pearsonsuccessnet.com tonight or tomorrow, I also posted another practice quiz/test that has 3 questions from all TEN lessons in Chapter 10. They can take the test and get immediate feedback which would be a great study device.

After lunch with met with Melissa Grottkau. She is a teacher currently attending Cal. State East Bay. If everything goes as planned, she will be apprenticing with us beginning in January 2011. She gave a little history about herself (she shared that her mom is a teacher as well!!) and took questions from the students. She would definitely be a great asset to our DES community and I look forward to working with her.

We spent the last part of our day working on writing down our homework for the week.

Just a follow up to last week’s email conversations, the Friday before the holiday vacation is a ½ day. It runs from 8:30-12:30. Historically I have asked the room moms if we can incorporate some type of giving back into the day’s events. Why? Caring and giving back is directly aligned with our city, our district and our school’s character attributes. Also I have always remember I read somewhere, “Don’t wish for your child to have a happy life; rather wish that they will live a life full of goodness and kindness and the happiness will follow.” Therefore we have made tree ornaments for the elderly in the past (e.g. Mr. Haar’s class is writing letters/cards to the elderly on that Friday), we have donated and wrapped toys for Toys for Tots and we have adopted a family as well. In my opinion the students have enjoyed participating in these type of activities, feel it is far superior to a vocabulary/spelling test and they don’t see it as a chore.

Now having said that, we do spend a great deal of the day with a party of some-kind. I must say that several years, I have end up playing the movie Elf with Will Ferrell or allowed them to run off their sugar high outdoors towards the end of the day since you can only eat so many cupcakes, drink hot-chocolate and what-not. However these parties are whatever you guys want them to be, I 100% get that after this year there will be no more school site parties so I do not plan any great lectures, tests or exams on this day -- they are whatever you want them to be.. So continue having the discussions and offering to volunteer/help with our room-parents.

Here is the homework for the week:

Reading Comprehension due on Friday:
Read pages -- 282 through 304
Answer two questions on page 304, make them a “master-piece”
P.B. 161, 162 and 163

Grammar due on Thursday:
P.B. 169, 170, 171

Writing due on Friday:
P.B 172
Type or write out a Friendly Letter to an adult that you know and that you want to write to them.

Vocab Work due on Wednesday:
Define and use in a sentence the 5 challenge words:
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t03_02.html
P.B. 159, 164, and 168

Math:
240-241 1-14 all due Tuesday, December 7th
Chapter 10 Version A all due Wednesday, December 8th
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024
Chapter 10 test will be on Wednesday.
Chapter 11 248-249 2-36 even due Thursday
252-253 1-35 all due on Friday

Free Write due Friday:
For me the holiday season has always meant.....
*Please please make this a non-fiction free write. I love reading and hearing about all of the great family traditions that exist out there.

Free Write due Thursday:
Free free write -- write about whatever you want

Another attempt with photos and Animoto

Interesting study about parent effort and its influence on child learning...

Interesting finding, British students/families, that proves how important parents are to the education process:
The researchers found that parents' effort is more important for a child's educational attainment than the school's effort, which in turn is more important than the child's own effort.

As always I found this through the great Larry Ferlazzo:
http://engagingparentsinschool.edublogs.org/2010/11/24/new-british-study-parents-effort-key-to-childs-educational-performance/


Here is the specific study:

http://educationresearchreport.blogspot.com/2010/11/parents-effort-key-to-childs.html

Brandon's Presentation

Vocabulary for those that want to earn a "4"

Just click onto this link and complete the quiz:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dC1xa08zRmRzSzVWVmVlRVBSTkRWbnc6MQ#gid=0

“When the lights go down in the city,
and the sun shines on the Dub,
do i want to be there,
in my room C-5,
ohoh ohohoh ohoh”

We had no electrical power today from 8:25-12:20 today.  So it put a change into our daily game plan.  No project presentations and no math notes to share on-line.

We did some extra reading comprehension work with this week’s story, which translates into less homework :)

We did some old fashioned independent reading and they had  a chance to correct last night’s math homework while being working on tonight’s.

I also read some humorous business letters that the class found enjoyable and educational.  Ask your son/daughter about the “new” flavors at Jamba Juice, why we don’t get sick at Cold Stone, the idea to improve Scrabble and why Wendy’s hamburgers are square.

We ended the day with some quality circle time.  We had some light-hearted questions and we had some deep emotional questions.  Some students really took a risk and shared with us.  

All in all it was an invigorating day of changing our best laid plans, rolling with the punches and learning “old-school” style.  

We did rotate at the end of the day.  The students do have Science homework due on Friday.

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Comprehension:
Read 260-280 by Thursday
Answer two questions on page 280 by Friday.  Only two so make them your masterpiece, complete answers that refer back to the story and completely written.
P.B. 141 by Friday
AR test by Friday

Free-Write due on Friday
“This year Santa was on steroids....”

Math for the week:
234-235 2-32 evens due Thursday
236-237 1-17 all due Friday must show on a number line
240-241 1-14 all due Tuesday, December 7th
Chapter 10 Version A all due Wednesday, December 8th
Test will be on Wednesday, December 8th

Science due on Friday
Science study guide due next week.  A mandatory and no optional study guide.