Technology Thursday on March 29, 2012

Here is what we are doing today, March 29, 2012

First thing: Monthly STAR test
Click here to take the test

Second thing,  15 minutes of typing practice

Third thing, CNN Students:
Click here to read which questions you are watching out for.
Click here to watch CNN students
Click here to answer your two questions.  Remember you can go and watch the movie if you did not take great notes the first time.

Fourth thing,
Watch this video that explains why gas prices increase and decrease
Click here to answer the questions about gasoline and the Khan video

Brainpop Grammar Lessons:
Watch this Brainpop on parallel structure
Then take the “graded” quiz and print up your results.  Turn it into Mr. Hubbard

Fourth thing, Brainpop Grammar Lessons:
Watch this Brainpop on nouns
Then take the “graded” quiz and print up your results.  Turn it into Mr. Hubbard

Fifth thing, let’s learn some more internet safety.
Click here to watch the movie and play the games.

Wednesday #133 2011 2012

CNN Students -- today’s talking points were about the new attempts to bring peace and stop the violence in Syria.   Then we continued our talk about the constitutionality of the health care legislation.   Finally we watched a cool driving simulator at the University of Iowa.  It emphasized the point that texting or talking on the phone driving greatly increases your chances of injuring yourself or someone else.

Math review with geometry.  Mrs. Cooper did a great review lesson and assessment regarding their knowledge about all of the geometry shapes and terms expected and tested on in May.  

Science rotation -- Everyone needs to complete 118, 120 and 121

Non-Fiction reading/writing -- we discussed the El Nino.   The main emphasis was working with students to use complete sentences and thoughts when completing this work.  
Due tomorrow is the Nervous System.

Singing

Math review -- we worked hard on working out the kinks in regards to adding fractions with unlike denominators.   

We did take a few questions regarding outdoor education.  

At the end of the day, we watched a www.brainpop.com regarding on-line safety.  I strongly encourage you to watch this video with your child and have a discussion regarding this.  

We need paper tissues for the runny noses that we have.  

Every child needs a pencil sharpener and pencils.   They can have a mechanical pencil however they need their own led.  Writing utensils and writing preparedness is becoming a significant learning distraction this year.  

Camp Information:

• Camp paper work for students was sent home yesterday and is due into the teacher by  Tuesday of next week.
• Counting by school days we leave for camp in 8 1/2 days!
• Disposable bag lunches for every student and chaperone are needed for the 1st day at camp. The camp does not serve lunch on Tuesday.
• Students arrive at Dublin Elementary the day of camp Tuesday, 4/17 @ 10:30 and report to the multipurpose room with bag lunch and gear.
• Payment deadline for camp is next week on Monday, 4/2. Mrs. Bastida, in the office, has a record of each student's balance and will accept cash or checks.
• Chaperone paperwork was sent home with students last week. Please return ASAP.
• Drivers to camp on Tuesday, 3/17 @ 11:00 a.m. and from camp Friday, 3/21 @ 1:00 p.m. needed. Please let us know if you are available to help with driving ASAP.
• Included in the papers going home with students today are the forms for taking an RX or OTC medication to camp. If the school has a physician's signature already on file in the office, another signature is not needed UNLESS additional medications are being taken to camp. All forms with the required signature and pharmacy packaged ONLY RX/OTC medication must be brought into the office Monday, 4/16 in a plastic bag with your child's name on it.

Ron Hubbard
http://www.diigo.com/user/iamron
http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/
Use my Gmail account and you can make me your coach on http://www.khanacademy.org/class_profile
"You can't make a great play unless you do it first in practice."
~Chuck Noll~

Homework for the week:

Book Card -- Non Fiction book is due Friday
Quotes can be cool facts about the non-fiction topic
Main character -- what ever the non-fiction topic is

Math:
90% or above -- 30+ minutes of 6th grade curriculum practice (www.pearsonsuccessnet.com or www.ixl.com)
The rest of the class:
254 1-22 all due Thursday  **must show work, homework being turned in
258 1-22 all due Friday **must show work, homework being turned in

Non Fiction Reading Practice + 5th grade science practice:
Nervous System reading is due Thursday
Water Pollution reading is due Friday

Cargo and Geometry (all students)
Page 318 and 319 all problems from our math book

Vocab due Thursday
P.B. 347, 352 and 356
5 challenge words or mini posters

Spelling test and vocab test on Friday
This week's words

Free Write due Friday:
I bought one of those sets of “writer’s block dice.”  You roll the dice and different pictures come up and you write about them.  Here is what came up today:
hand, parachute, fire, cell phone, tepee, smile clock, rainbow and book
Students, at a minimum, need to include four of those things in their free write.

Grammar due Friday:
P.B. 357, 358, and 359

Science -- Page 118, 120 and 121 due Tuesday

Missing Learning Opportunities as 3/28/12:

El Nino -- #20
Science Homework due 3/28/12  -- #13 and #20
Life Science Packet #2 -- #27
Homework due from last week in Mrs. Cargo -- #20 and #26
Science Circulatory Body Study Guide -- #1, #12 and #26

Tuesday #132 2011 2012

Day 132 of week 29
Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Exciting and big news...since offering to allow students to retake tests and earn a higher grade, I have had zero students take me up on the offer.  Well, today I had two students retake math tests.  In both cases they had practiced the specific skills covered in their tests (redoing the reteach lessons, khan academy and www.ixl.com)  and they “significantly” raised their overall math grades.   In both cases students turned 50% test grades into 90% or greater grades!!   All they had to do was practice and pre-schedule a time after school to take the tests.  One student loved it so much that he is already planning on taking the division test again either later on this week or next week.   Any student is encouraged to practice &  improve their skill knowledge and then retake/improve their math grade, spelling grade, vocabulary grade or theme test grade.  

Spelling pretest

CNN Students -- Today’s big lessons were about the Supreme Court and the Health Care Bill.  We talked about the pros and cons of making it mandatory to have health care.  They then discussed how the Pope spoke with the people of Mexico and urged them remain faithful and turn to God during these times of poverty and gang violence.  Finally they discussed how professional memorizers go about memorizing long streams of numbers.  

Camp Information -- we handed each student three things:
1.  A camp packet -- read through this.  We require the health form completed by THIS FRIDAY.
2.  A camp check list -- keep this so you know what to pack and what not to pack
3.  DUSD’s official medicine forms.  Yes, the district wants you to get your pediatrician's autograph authorizing any and all medicines.  Even the over the counter ones that you can purchase at Safeway, CVS, Target, etc..(e.g. ibuprofen, Claritin, etc..)

We also spent about 30+ minutes answer all their questions about camp.  If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask your son/daughter they probably know the answer.  

The students then completed a survey telling us who are their top 3 people they would like to hang out with while at camp, warn us about any dietary needs and they could share if there were people they didn’t want in their cabin, etc.   

Math time -- students with averages 90% or higher on our tests this year are working independently and collaboratively on 6th grade curriculum that I have assigned them.  Therefore that group of students have nightly homework of 30 minutes working on 6th grade curriculum (www.pearsonsuccessnet.com or www.ixl.com)

Science Rotation and Cargo rotation.  Therefore it was a busy busy day.

Students did have 35 minutes to write their homework in their day planner and also begin tonight’s homework.  

On a much less exciting note, students with missing learning opportunities are eating lunch from 12:30-12:45 and then returning to our class to work silently until they complete the missing homework.  Regrettably this is the first time in 9 years of teaching that I have had to resort to these type of draconian methods.  However a significant amount of students are not finding the personal responsibilities of learning or the desire to “do the right thing” a strong enough incentive to practice skills learned in class.  Since we have not found motivation through altruistic &  intrinsic methods, we will try “inspiring” through punitive methods; and in a related note a part of me is dieing inside :(

Ron Hubbard
http://www.diigo.com/user/iamron
http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/
Use my Gmail account and you can make me your coach on http://www.khanacademy.org/class_profile
"You can't make a great play unless you do it first in practice."
~Chuck Noll~

Homework for the week:

Book Card -- Non Fiction book is due Friday
Quotes can be cool facts about the non-fiction topic
Main character -- what ever the non-fiction topic is

Science -- 1 more day to turn in extra credit and science packet (due Wednesday)
2 and 3 sentences due Wednesday

Math:
90% or above -- 30+ minutes of 6th grade curriculum practice (www.pearsonsuccessnet.com or www.ixl.com)
The rest of the class:
240-241 all problems due Wednesday
254 1-22 all due Thursday  **must show work, homework being turned in
258 1-22 all due Friday **must show work, homework being turned in

Non Fiction Reading Practice + 5th grade science practice:
El Nino reading is due Wednesday
Nervous System reading is due Thursday
Water Pollution reading is due Friday

Cargo and Geometry (all students)
Page 318 and 319 all problems from our math book

Vocab due Thursday
P.B. 347, 352 and 356
5 challenge words or mini posters

Free Write due Friday:
I bought one of those sets of “writer’s block dice.”  You roll the dice and different pictures come up and you write about them.  Here is what came up today:
hand, parachute, fire, cell phone, tepee, smile clock, rainbow and book
Students, at a minimum, need to include four of those things in their free write.

Grammar due Friday:
P.B. 357, 358, and 359

Camp Survey

Here is the link for the Survey:

CLICK ONTO THIS LINK

States and Capitals -- Dates and What to Study

Here are the dates of the exams:

Friday, May 6, 2022 --  13 states  and capitals

Friday, May 13, 2022 --  25 states  and capitals

Friday, May 20, 2022 -- 37 states  and capitals

Friday, May 27, 2022 -- all 50 states and capitals

 Click here to see the "real" numbered maps that will be used in each of the four tests.

Click here to print up a list of each state and each capital tested in each of the specific four tests.

Click here to get a list of popular on-line games and flash card making websites that help when studying for the states and capitals.

I made Kahoots with maps from up above, what a great way to practice:

Test 1 on Kahoot

Test 2 on Kahoot 

 Test 3 on Kahoot 

Test 4 on Kahoot with all 100 questions.

Do you have an  Ipad or a tablet?  Don't forget to try some of the many apps that are out there to help study your states and capitals.   Try this link as a starting point if you have an IPAD.   Try this link as a starting point if you have an adroid tablet.

For the parents:
As I stated back in August when we began discussing this project with the students, historically there is no middle grades on these tests.  Students either prepared and memorized their states and capitals and earn 90% or above while students that fail to prepare "earn" a 50% or much lower.  It is multiple choice identification on a blank/numbered map, so you either chose to study ahead time and memorized them or you achieve an epic failure.

2022 recommended by students:

https://www.britannica.com/quiz/us-state-capitals-quiz

 https://www.sporcle.com/games/Matt/find_the_states

 

Technology Thursday -- March 22, 2012

This was the computer Mr. H used back in 1987

Here is what we are doing today, March 22, 2012

First thing: 15 minutes of typing practice

Second thing, CNN Students:
Click here to read which questions you are watching out for.
Click here to watch CNN students
Click here to answer your two questions.  Remember you can go and watch the movie if you did not take great notes the first time.

Third thing, Brainpop Grammar Lessons:
Watch this Brainpop on idioms and cliches
Then take the “graded” quiz and print up your results.  Turn it into Mr. Hubbard

Fourth thing, Brainpop Grammar Lessons:
Watch this Brainpop on interjections
Then take the “graded” quiz and print up your results.  Turn it into Mr. Hubbard

Fifth thing, work “strategically” on IXL.com
I will give you the print out of your most recent Grade Level assessment and your grade break down again.  
Analyze the data and then work on the skills that you need to improve.  
See me if you are having a hard time reading through the data.

Tuesday #128 2011 2012

Tuesday, Day 128, Week 28

The day started off topsy turvy as we rotated early so we could work around the spring photos.  

Therefore the students started out with science.   Students have 9-11 due tomorrow and their study guide is due on Tuesday (3/27/12).  

We continued our review of the theme 5 study guide.  We had a ton of fun completing our discussions on propaganda.  

CNN Students  - four questions today.   Another update on  the Republican nomination race.  The discussion on rising gas prices and how that has a ripple effect on families and businesses.  Also how little influence does the President have over gas prices.   The other lesson was in regards to Brazilian rainforest and how opportunistic farmers would like to expand while environmentalists would prefer to slow down the cutting down of the forest.   Finally they had another woman hero, Pushpa Basnet, who is helping the children of Nepal.  Apparently due to extreme poverty young children are being allowed to stay with their parents while their parents are in prison.  She has started a daycare that takes the children away from the prison during the day time.

Grammar -- more when to use “I” and when to use “me”  

We reviewed the non-fiction reading about classification.   Many of the kids blew me away with their references and defence of their answers by saying “look at paragraph xxx,  the answer is right there.”   This type of inference where they specifically refer back to the reading is the type of reading that will help them succeed come May.  

Math -- fraction review.  this time reviewing greatest common factor and least common multiples

Cargo rotation-- more geography work

Kind regards,
Ron Hubbard
http://www.diigo.com/user/iamron
http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/
Use my Gmail account and you can make me your coach on http://www.khanacademy.org/class_profile
"You can't make a great play unless you do it first in practice."
~Chuck Noll~

Homework for the week:

Math
Page 204 - 205 2-24 evens must show work due Wednesday
Page 220 - 221 2-24  evens must show work due Thursday
Page 227 1-32 all  must show work due Friday

Theme 5 test will be on Thursday the 22nd.
Here is the study guide.

Grammar practice for the theme 5 test and for the May testing
Pages108,112 and 114 due Wednesday 3/21
Pages 116,119 and 123 due Thursday  3/22
Pages 124 and 125 due Friday  3/23

Science
complete 9-11 and then the study guide is due on Tuesday (3/27/12)

Cargo:
Page 314 A,B,C,D, and E -- due Tuesday

Non-Fiction Reading (practicing for both reading comprehension and science):
One per night -- tonight is plant cells

Free Write due Thursday
A “free” free write

Free Write due Friday
describe your room  

Missing Learning Opportunities:

Cargo homework from last Tuesday 3/13    20 and 26
Science Study Guide from last week 3/13 (cells) 22
Science Study Guide from this week 3/20 (respiratory) 10, 22 and 30
Math page 266 27  
Math 366-367 22

Monday #127 2011 2012

Mr. H's son meeting Dublin's Leprechaun 

Monday, Day 127, Week 28

It was Monday and we did not have a spelling pretest.  

Spring photos are tomorrow.   Bring your money if you want to take photos or visit the office prior to school if your son/daughter failed to bring home the envelope.

We started the day with CNN Students -- We discussed Puerto Rico’s Republican primary,  the USA’s and Pakistan’s “it’s complicated”  relationship and finally they showed an interesting piece on how women in Congress, regardless if liberal or conservative have each other’s back.  

Silent Reading --

Theme 5 --study tips for the theme test.  We covered propaganda in more detail.  We observed examples in advertising and in politics.  I also discussed the difference between don homework and studying for a test.   

Math --
We reviewed concepts from our recent math assessment that as a class we struggled completing correctly.  We reviewed finding a fraction of a fraction, some geometry concepts, what is a quotient, and how to find a percentage.  
Homework this week will be re-reviewing our fraction lessons since that is our largest area for improvement.  
We are also turning in our math notebooks on Thursday so we can verify that notes are being taken and that when we say, “work on this problem” students are activley taking part in the learning process.  

P.E.

Preparing and strategies for the week...
A big week with about ⅔ of the students participating in the talent show.  It is a big time commitment however the commitment for education excellence also barrels forward.  
So we spent time talking about “sucking it up,”  “pushing your expectations on Monday evening” or “having a looong night(s) of homework” PRIOR to the afternoon/evening that there are practice rehearsals or the Thursday night show.   We want proactive planning and we want to avoid excuses.   If you know you can’t get much done on Thursday night, then you better complete your Friday homework on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Kind regards,
Ron Hubbard
http://www.diigo.com/user/iamron
http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/
Use my Gmail account and you can make me your coach on http://www.khanacademy.org/class_profile
"You can't make a great play unless you do it first in practice."
~Chuck Noll~

last week we discussed the greening of Chicago's river

Homework for the week:

Math
Page 202 - 203 2-30 evens must show work due Tuesday
Page 204 - 205 2-24 evens must show work due Wednesday
Page 220 - 221 2-24  evens must show work due Thursday
Page 227 1-32 all  must show work due Friday

Theme 5 test will be on Thursday the 22nd.
Here is the study guide.

Grammar practice for the theme 5 test and for the May testing
Pages 104,106 and 107 due Tuesday 3/20
Pages108,112 and 114 due Wednesday 3/21
Pages 116,119 and 123 due Thursday  3/22
Pages 124 and 125 due Friday  3/23

Science
Pages 113, 114 and 115
Heart Worksheet and extra credit is all due on Tuesday

Cargo:
Page 314 A,B,C,D, and E -- due Tuesday

Non-Fiction Reading (practicing for both reading comprehension and science):
One per night

Free Write due Thursday
A “free” free write

Free Write due Friday
describe your room  

Missing Learning Opportunities:

Cargo homework from last Tuesday 3/13    20 and 26
Science Study Guide from last week 3/13 22 and 30
Math page 266 10 and 27  
Math 366-367 30
Math 380-381 + 383 30

Thursday #125 2011 2012

Thursday, Day 125, Week 27

Super quick one, I have been locked up all afternoon getting all of the short stories ready for submission since they had to be mailed off today.     

Today in a lightening quick nutshell:
Technology time -- we spent it working through the Window’s Skydrive and share features.   Then we created our cover pages.   Finally we ended the technology day working on 5th grade review subjects.  Expect fractions and decimal reviews over the next few weeks.

Library time

Buddies -- Visit w/ our kindergarten friends.   They did some mathematics using Lucky Charms, checked out their buddy’s leprechaun trap and they read together.  

CNN Students -- the big news today was their in-depth look into the gaming industry.  It sells more entertainment than the music or movie businesses.   They also talked about working in the industry as a creator of games.  

Cargo rotation -- Page 314 a,b,c,d, and e all due Tuesday

Grammar review -- another night of adverbs

math -- fraction review and my personal plea for them to choose to retake math tests.  Students make work on any chapter (review the lessons in the book, Kahn academy, old notes on line or www.ixl.com) and then schedule a day after school to retake a test.  The new result will replace the old one (unless they somehow did worse).  So they have everything to gain by retaking a test -- more increased math knowledge and improved math grade.  

Spelling and Vocab test for the week -- big theme review

Kind regards,
Ron Hubbard
http://www.diigo.com/user/iamron
http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/
Use my Gmail account and you can make me your coach on http://www.khanacademy.org/class_profile
"A healthy-minded boy should feel hearty contempt for the coward and even more hearty indignation for the boy who bullies girls or small boys, or tortures animals."
Theodore Roosevelt

Homework for the week:

Math
Page 266 all (letters A-C) due on Friday

Theme 5 test will be on Thursday the 22nd.
Here is the study guide.

Grammar practice for the theme 5 test and for the May testing
Pages 72 through 74 due Friday

Pages 104,106 and 107 due Tuesday 3/20
Pages108,112 and 114 due Wednesday 3/21
Pages 116,119 and 123 due Thursday  3/22
Pages 124 and 125 due Friday  3/23

Science
Pages 113, 114 and 115
Heart Worksheet and extra credit is all due on Tuesday

Cargo:
Page 314 A,B,C,D, and E -- due Tuesday