Thursday, #3 2012 2013

Day 3....
3/180 = 3/(60*3) = 1/60  so we are 1/60th of the way done and I just gave you a quick simplifying fractions lesson.  

We began the day with a discussion reminder about the best practices for doing our best on an assessment or the “May test.”  I ask the kids to use these quarterly assessments as a practice of the best test taking strategies that they should use in May.   They shouldn’t stress over them since we are working on the discipline of using the proper techniques/strategies.  

They then began taking an assessment that mirrors the May testing they took in May.  That way we can begin assessing what areas need to be quickly re-addressed, what areas should we skip ahead to (due to mastery) and what skills do specific students need more work with.

We did some more review and work on classroom procedures.  Students now know what is expected when we want water, pencils, and emergency procedures.

We then worked more on their note taking, shorthand and assessing what is the main point.   Therefore we watched again CNN for Students.   Today they learned some about Mitt Romney and the GOP slogan of “He built it.”  There were also some information about tropic storm Isaac.  They had some first person reports from brave reporters near the eye of the storm.  We discussed the negative effects of mold after so much flooding.  They also had a short presentation on Hurricane Hunters.  These brave souls fly into hurricanes dropping various probes so they further discover what causes Hurricanes.  Truancy problems in American schools was also quickly discussed.  Finally they showed a “Tomato Festival” that takes place in Spain and involves the worlds largest food fight.  

We then watched and wrote about the website called “Brain Rules.”    Within the 11 slides it covers why consistently exercising will improve your ability to think.    They had to share with me in writing three new facts they learned about our brain and exercise, so if you have time ask your son/daughter what they remember.  


After that lesson we decided to take a walk or jog for 30 minutes.  The only requirement was “don’t stop moving.”  I was able to have conversations with many of the kids and learn more about them, we also discovered a garter snake and we were able pick up litter in the lawn area.  We are going to shoot for an additional 30 minutes a week of aerobic exercise each week in addition to the 45 minutes they have on a weekly basis with their Monday P.E. class.

Math
Chapter 1 Review
We corrected last night’s homework.
Tonight’s homework is a review of the concepts.  We will take our first test on Wednesday.  
Homework due on Friday:   Page 20 and 21 all the odd problems for sections.

Finally we ended the day with a spirited game of scavenger hunt that Mrs. Cooper put together.  The students were able to go around and collect autographs from their peers while learning about each other.    Maybe ask your son/daughter what things did they sign off on and what new things did they learn about their new classmates.  

Misc. things discussed today:
Reading Around the World paperwork was distributed.  We will definitely discuss this at Back to School Night.  

Vallet Permission Slips -- students interesting in helping our school before and after school are bringing home permission slips.

The 5th grader 10 hour community service goal.   Click here for the form to complete prior to June 1, 2013.  

Homework due on Friday:
1.  Math -- see above

2.  The Reading Survey -- complete sentences and all 20 questions.  
Click here for the survey if it has been misplaced  

3.  Name Tag -- Students are to decorate or NOT decorate their name tag.  
The requirements are the following:

1. It must be 18 inches horizontal by 3 inches vertical
2. Myself or any adult must be able to easily read their first name and their student number in the class.
3. It must not have so much bling or pizzaz that it can NOT easily be covered by contact paper.  
4. It must be “appropriate” for a school environment and not distract others from learning (no severed heads, blood, or Justin Bieber photos)

Besides those four requirements students may choose to make their name tag a reflection of their artistic abilities or they may choose to keep it simple and just write their name/stud # with a permanent marker.  

Remember you can like the class website on Facebook.  

Happy Thursday!!

Wednesday, #2 2012 2013

C-5's choice of an ultimate meal

Day 2 was as fast as number 1....

Another day of procedures, math, notes/main idea practice, and learning about each other.

We did some practice with reading independently and completing the instructions “exactly” as they are written.   The instructions are easily read however they are precise and we need to follow them as written/requested.  

We then discussed various classroom procedures and documented was what expected in each situation.  

We then worked more on their note taking, shorthand and assessing what is the main point.   Therefore we watched again CNN for Students.   Today we learned more about how to become a delegate, the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, “now” Hurricane Isaac, Lydia Ko (the  15 year old golf star) and the popularity and inspiration of the paralympics.  

Math:
Greater than, less than, and decimal place value.  
click here to see and use today’s notes
Like yesterday here is a great video that explains place-value if they have forgotten from noon’ish today.
click here
Homework  due on Thursday  (students had just under 15 minutes to begin tonight’s homework)
page 7  6-17 all
page 11 10-21 all
page 13 7-19 all  

Getting to know each other better game.
Students completed a four question exercise:
1.  Describe your ultimate dinner meal
2.  Furthest that you have traveled from Dublin, Ca
3.  My family thinks that my greatest gift is......
4.  My favorite rainy day activity is ….
Ask your kids how they responded or try to guess what they wrote down.  
We learned that a majority of the class would have steak with mashed potatoes for an ultimate meal.  Also we had our share of ribs and a handful of root beer drinkers.  

Homework due on Thursday:
1.  Get the day planner signed
2.  See the math homework above
3.  Answer the reading survey questions that are due on Friday (shoot for 7 questions per night)
4.  Read for enjoyment
My son has back to school night tonight so I will catch up on the emails that came in over the last 24 hours.  I apologize for the slight delay.  

The DES Back to School Night will be Thursday, September 6th at 7:30-8:00 for my 5th grade presentation.  

Tuesday, #1 2012 2013

Day 1 is in the books and so our 180 journey begins.

It was an amazing day with an amazing group of new students.   It is an exciting year as we have 26 students with about a 1/3rd of the class being new to the Dublin Elementary school.  Therefore we have new energy, new perspectives and new friends to make.  

We started the day with a word search so we can get to know all of the new names while simultaneously we can organize and make sense of the school supplies.  

The students then brainstormed classroom rules that they have observed that has worked in the past.   I have collected them and tomorrow we will do more work on making classroom rules that we all feel are appropriate.   

We then had a presentation on “Who is Mr. Hubbard?”   Students learned about my past, my family, my favorite hobbies, my favorite foods, colors, etc...  I hope that students now understand more about who they will be sharing these next nine month with.  

I also role-modeled how to take effective note-taking.  A key 5th grade standard is determining importance and paraphrasing information into your own words.  So we will be practicing on an almost daily basis while watching CNN for Students.    So for the first few weeks, I will be role-modeling how to determine what is important and how to put this information into your own words.   
Today we learned about the Republican Convention, what happens at a convention, what is a delegate, Tropical Storm Isaac, the 300 earthquakes in Southern California over the weekend, a children book written in Portugal that tries to explain their 15% unemployment (co-written by a fiscal conservative and liberal) and finally we learned about an everyday hero bringing education to those in need.

Math -- place value
Here is a great video that explains place-value if they have forgotten from noon’ish today.
click here
Homework:  page 4 and 5   6-24 due on Wednesday

Website -- we discussed this website and also the similar Facebook page
Click here to get to the class Facebook page.  

Finally we had a discussion on how to use our day planner and how to end the day.  

The day went by quick because there are so many procedures to discuss and so many eager students with great questions.  

Homework also due on Wednesday:
1. See math above.
2.  In writing tell me about your family.   You must write 1 full page or for 20 straight minutes (whichever comes first).   If you are using the 20 minutes, must have parent signature.   This may be handwritten or typed out.  Whatever works best for your son/daughter.  Also I am most concerned with what they have to say, don’t worry about the grammar and spelling.
3.  They should give you a packet of paper and my welcome letter.   
4.  The reading survey is 20 questions and due on Friday.   I suggest 6 or 7 questions per evening.

I promise to have more to share going forward.

Thank you again for reading this and trusting me with your child.

Mr.  Hubbard