Tuesday, January 27, 2015

While our class has been passing around our germs, I was out yesterday since my little guy was the one running a slight fever.   I’ve had a few people concerned about the overall health kids in C-5.  I can assure you that we are getting sick at normal rates and no one in our class has acquired whooping cough.  

To be on the safe side we are wiping down our desks with disinfectant wipes at the end of the school day.  We also encourage recommended hand washings and discouraging sharing of each other’s pencils/pens.  

Regarding last night’s math homework there was a disconnect between what was assigned/recommended and what was written out for the kids.   The 2nd lesson was supposed to be a lesson on estimating therefore students were to round numbers reasonably and then quickly estimate answers.  Many students heard the substitute teacher ask them to do that AND ALSO solve the real answer.  Something that would entail an additional 60 minutes of work for those not too fast with large multiplication.  

Today we are crystal clear with the expectations and the students know to focus on the lesson of estimating with division and numbers ending in 0, 00, or 000.   

Homework:  108-109 11-30 all (5-1) and 110-111 9-26 (all) (5-2)

Students had their first brand new rotation with Ms. Katzman’s science.  They will be covering the human body, test prep (5th graders will be taking the “old school” multiple choice science test this year) and some engineering.  

We reviewed this week’s vocabulary words and had a short discussion on who was William Shakespeare.  Many students had never heard of him or knew what he did, however three kids were able to piece together that he wrote:  Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.  

Students did make it to the library so they were able recheck out their dead American books or check out new ones.  

Students are playing basketball in PE and there was a short list of names sent back to the class because some struggled to play nice.  

Tomorrow we will spend some time reviewing each other’s Dead American report.  I am also going to give a lesson on how to create a bibliography.   A large portion of the students feel they have written the main part of their report therefore they should now be putting together their bibliography to go along with the report.  Students are also going to have an opportunity to have myself and their peers read through reports.  

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop."  Robert Hughes

Homework for the week:

Math

108-109  11-30 all  5-1 due on Wednesday

110-111 9-26 all 5-2 due on Wednesday

134-135 9-42 all 6-1 due on Thursday

36-38 9-45 all 2-3 due on Friday

41-42 9-26 all 2-4 due on Friday

Dead American project…

proofreading, ensuring there is enough information in each section and working bibliography

**in many cases spending 20 minutes per evening on this

Vocabulary

page 40 due on Wednesday

page 41 due on Thursday

Spelling and Vocabulary “our greatest hits”

Students were given hard copies and the words on in Spelling City

25 most misspelled words through the first 11 spelling weeks

25 most missed vocabulary words through the first 11 vocab weeks

That test is on February 6th.

Students should use spelling city to practice the vocab and spelling

Getting to know the P-1 Sailors

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Wednesday, January 21st

Thank you so much for all of the kind birthday wishes, gifts and sincere kindness today.  It was so “energizing” to receive all of my snacks and more of my “superpower” secret (aka energy drinks).     The decorations were awesome.  I also enjoyed my yummy Mr. Pickle’s sandwich.  I plan on wearing my new shirt tomorrow during the field trip.

Tomorrow is the field trip.  The bureaucracy gods were on our sides and four people were able to initiate and successfully complete all of the herculean paperwork associated with driving on a field trip in the year 2015.   See it is not just the solving of mathematics that have become burdensome and unnecessarily expanded in schools.  

Very important please have your son/daughter pack a lunch and/or snack!!  

Today besides celebrating my birthday?  

As a 5th grade we had some kids review math fact fluency, some kids practice “high stakes” multiplication arithmetic, and some kids completed math projects.  

We completed three math lessons today.  Three? One was understanding math properties which entails taking down their definitions and then understanding what their superpowers are.  The other lessons involved multiplying by 10,100, 1000 and with numbers that end in zero.  We had practiced that significantly earlier in the year so that should be a review.  Regardless students were given 35 minutes to work on their homework.  

We used President Obama’s state of the Union to review what we learned about the Constitution back in September.  A funny observation about the post quiz?  Students remember that the president has the power to use the veto and that the legislative branch makes the laws.  However they struggled with the definition of “checks and balances.”  Something as drastic as the “veto” sticks in their heads but the idea of each branch canceling each other out is not dramatic enough.  

At the end of the day we had circle time, enjoyed those Friday cookies and shared out any birthday-family traditions people may have.   As a youth my two main traditions were one, my sister and I are exactly one day apart so one year one of us had a full on birthday party and the other had a best friend(s) sleep over/pizza thing.  Then we would flip it the next year.  The second tradition was my mom always made her “famous” beef stroganoff dish.  

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

Martin Luther King Jr.  

Homework for the week:

Math:

Page 62-63 (1-32 all)  Lessons 3-1 due Friday

Page 64-65 (2-28 even) Lessons 3-2 due Friday

Page 66-67 (16-34 all) Lessons 3-3 due Friday

Mrs. Cargo’s Science:

Sunrise/Sunset - 1/23

The Brightest Sky 1/23

Changing Shadows 1/23

Vocab Week 11:  Words from literature  

page 37 due Friday

page 38 due Friday

Rough Draft of the Dead American Report due on Friday.  

Tuesday, January 20th

Happy Tuesday……

First off thank you for all of the offers of help with getting us to Chabot Space and Science.  It looks highly realistic that we can now get everyone to Chabot Space and Science.  

The rough draft for the Dead American report is now due on Friday.  That allows the students to continue researching and documenting their notes for the rest of the week.  On Friday they were given 90 minutes to begin researching and documenting their discoveries.  All students now have access to the files needed to complete their project.

Click here to access the documents.

FYI -- I did a video presentation and we walked through how to use some of the Google advanced search function on Google.  Therefore students now know about the usefulness of using “ “  when researching.   We also discussed how the external links in wikipedia are a great place to find information on your American.  

Math:

Over the next two months we will be focusing on adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing with DECIMALS.  

Today’s lessons are all all about rounding and mental math.  

The homework tonight:  Page 31-32 20-34 all and page 34-35 (15-30 all) both due on Wednesday.  Students were given 20 minutes to begin tonight’s homework.  

Vocabulary of the week were brought back today -- “Words from Literature” Week 11

Read-A-Thon -- we did some amazing work.  

The kids really push themselves.

I had the students bring their reading log home on Friday since a few felt that my spreadsheet’s math was incorrect.  While I doubt excel’s sum formula, I may have miss input the numbers so students were given their total numbers to verify.  Once they look at it, they may return their reading log into me at their earliest convenience.  

Also if your family raised any money for the Read-A-Thon, please return that into school at your earliest convenience.   I understand coming after camp and the holidays it was tough to ask family members or yourself to pitch in more money.  Therefore just know I appreciate you working so hard to encourage and verify on a nightly basis that your child was reading 45 minutes every evening for their homework.  I promise the work towards reading pays off now and will pay off in the future.    

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

Martin Luther King Jr.  

Homework for the week:

Math:

Page 31-32 (20-34 all) Lessons 2-1 due Wednesday

Page 34-35 (15-30 all) Lessons 2-2 due Wednesday

Page 62-63 (1-32 all)  Lessons 3-1 due Friday

Page 64-65 (2-28 even) Lessons 3-2 due Friday

Page 66-67 (16-34 all) Lessons 3-3 due Friday

Mrs. Cargo’s Science:

Sunrise/Sunset - 1/23

The Brightest Sky 1/23

Changing Shadows 1/23

Vocab Week 11:  Words from literature  

page 36 due Wednesday

page 37 due Thursday

page 38 due Friday

Rough Draft of the Dead American Report due on Friday.  

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Thursday of a terrific week.  

I forgot to mention that on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we had 100% participation and success where the students returned their reading logs signed.  I had told them if they did this for 2 straight days -- 100%, no excuses and no mistakes, that I would bring in some sort of treat.  Therefore today I brought in various Oreos for them to enjoy.  Tomorrow I am bringing donuts since they did it for a 3rd straight day.  It took them some time however they finally worked the workflow of getting their formed brought home, signed and returned to school!!  Therefore one more night of 45 minutes of reading and bringing the form signed and returned to me.  Another 100% and more treats are brought in on Monday.  

All the students have selected their Famous “Dead” Americans.   They should now start working on their reports.  There will be some time to work on them while at school however beginning next week, we will once again modified their homework so they should be spending 20 to 30 minutes researching and working on their research project.  

Here are all the details.

We fleshed out chapter 11 today so everyone will be successful during tomorrow’s Chapter 11 test.  It is all about multiplying and dividing fractions.  Students received an email with:

1. All of the IXL skills they could practice today while in class and for 20 minutes while at home    or
2. All of the Khan Academy movies/skills they could practice while in class or for 20 minutes while at home

Students also 90% completed their Pen Pal letters, I will proofread and return them tomorrow for some final minor edits.  

We have been reading and we completed an extensive non-fiction reading effort on “Invasive Species.”   It details how some communities have been drastically changed or the existing food chain has been forever altered due to “alien” plants or animals that were brought into parts of America.  You can ask your son or daughter about:

feral hogs, the Asian carp, lionfish or just the mess that is the state of Florida

The trouble making Lion-fish

Tomorrow we will listen to a Freakonomics report about what happens when communities try to make incentives for the common citizen to help handle the invasive species with large “bounties?”  

We have Fine Arts day tomorrow!!!  10:30-11:30.

Next Thursday’s field trip -- as a “holistic” grade if you can drive, we would love to have you join us.  We will return prior to the end of the school day.   Let me know here.

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

― Stephen King

Homework for the week:

Math:

Chapter 11 test will be on Friday.  Use Thursday night to practice multiplying and dividing with fractions.

Read 45 minutes every night.  Bring the signed sheet every single morning into school and bring it home every night.

“Dead” American report -- start working on finding research on the 7 topics

Science:

Sunrise/Sunset due Friday 1/23

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Terrific Tuesday!!

It was a busy jam packed day today.

We began the day with some more chapter 9 review so we were best prepared for the test.    We discussed invasive species, we discussed why you should report young kids that hurt neighborhood pets and we discussed the 4th graders in New York that were plotting to bring harm to their teacher.   

We also visited the library today.  So kids were able to check out books for their possible

“Dead” Famous American report.   Tomorrow they turn in their top three people they would like to do their report on.  

They then had their science with Ms. Cargo.  

Students then completed their math tests.   Most completed their test and were encouraged to begin working on tonight’s homework so I could answer their questions regarding tonight’s division/common core lesson.    Please have the students just focus on working out the correct answer to the division problems.  I will work with them on drawing or using the pictures to understand how to visual learn division w/ fractions.  For example:  ¼ divided by 2

Just focus on solving the problem.   ¼ divided by 2 becomes   ¼ * ½ = ⅛  

Don’t focus on making sense of the line or box drawings, we will do that tomorrow.

Here is a great lesson that describes tonight’s concept if your child is determined to understand the line method.  

We also completed the day with our school's annual spelling bee.  Our class had a competition last week and Kylie and Sydney were the two victors within C-4.  I was proud of both them today as they competed in the must larger competition.  

Another night of 45 minutes of reading and bring the form signed and returned to me!!

Next Thursday’s field trip -- if you drive, we would love to have you join us.  We will return prior to the end of the school day.   Let me know here.

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

― Stephen King

Homework for the week:

Math:

276-277 1-17 all Lesson 11 -11 due Wednesday**focus on solving the division problem and ignore the boxes or number lines, we will review on Wednesday

282-283 1-17 all Chapter 11 review due Thursday

Chapter 11 test will be on Friday.  Use Thursday night to practice multiplying and dividing with fractions.

Read 45 minutes every night.  Bring the signed sheet every single morning into school and bring it home every night.

Pen Pal Letters are due on Thursday.  We began these last week so they should be primarily completed at school.

“Dead” American report -- give me your top three people.  

Science:

The Ever Changing Sky is due Thursday.

Sunrise/Sunset due Friday 1/23

Monday, January 5, 2015

Happy 2015!!

It had been 24 days since your son or daughter had a “typical” school day where they were expected to sit down a great portion of the day, read, communicate and learn.  During that time they mud filled days at science camp, a holiday party and then the 2 weeks of winter break.  

To ease into the grind I allowed the students to have a Fed Ex day where they had to produce something or begin something significant over a 3 hour period.  The only catch was that it had to be related to something that mattered to them.  We had a variety of subjects being researched and documented.  Different types of cute puppies, students watching TED talks about video game violence, Spartans versus Romans, Pokemon cards made of Greek mythology characters, the top 10 facts you need to know about Stephen Curry and several presentations on Mindcraft.  

Math --

We do have a chapter 10 math test tomorrow.  It will focus solely on adding and subtracting fractions with UNLIKE denominators.  The key points that we discussed today is the need to always make common denominators.  

We discussed how to best study for tomorrow’s test.  I recommend setting a timer and spending 20 minutes re-reviewing the concepts associated with adding and subtracting fractions.  

Review using IXL.com

http://www.ixl.com/standards/california/math/grade-5

• Start with:  Add fractions with unlike denominators (Fifth grade - M.8) and continue reviewing all the way through (Fifth grade -- M.21)

Review using Khan Academy:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-fifth-grade-math/cc-5th-fractions-topic

This week is the end of the readathon...most of the readathon happened over the winter break.  However we do still have Monday-Friday to make some reading magic happen. Therefore this week I am lessening the usual language arts responsibilities and asking students to make a push to challenge themselves and read whatever they want for enjoyment.  Therefore Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the students will be expected to read a minimum of 45 minutes every evening (outside of class).  If reading is required for Science homework (they have both homework due tomorrow and Thursday) that reading may count towards their 45 minutes.  It does entail them bringing their reading log home every night and bringing it into school every day as I check them off 1st thing in the morning.    

Why reading matters so much?

How your brain simulates what you are reading

14 things going on with your brain as you read

growing white matter in the brain

On Friday we will participate in a read-in day within our class.  Students may bring books, magazines, pillows, and wear comfortable clothes.  However they are to wear appropriate clothes for going outside, playing during recess, and we do have an assembly in the multipurpose room that day.  I am purposely not saying they can wear PJ’s since we just did that for the holiday party and not everyone else is celebrating with a read-in day on Friday.  

The handout for the 2nd trimester large non-fiction research paper was given today.  The first deadline is to find an American, that is dead, and who did something historically significant.  Students will need a minimum of two book references therefore people should not be selected who are too obscure.  There will be absolutely no rock stars, actors, gangsters, athletes or people still alive.  They also need to be an American however they could have become a US citizen.  

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

“You know you read a good when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.”  Paul Sweeney

Homework for the week:

Read 45 minutes at night every evening (this is on-top of reading done while at school)

Here is the reading log if it should be misplaced.

Math:

Chapter 10 test on Tuesday

272-273 (1-14 all) 11-9 due Wednesday

224-225 (1-16 all) Chapter 9 review due Thursday

274-275 (1-24 all) 11-10 due on Friday

They do have a science assignment due tomorrow that was given to them by Mrs. Cargo.  In the 24 days since receiving the handout a few students misplaced their paperwork and were strongly encouraged to visit Mrs. Cargo at recess or immediately after school.