Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Library time....students are excellent at listening and participating during the story time.

DEAR time -- students had an opportunity to read their new books, work on homework or study their social studies/vocabulary words.

Math -- more work with division.  As a quality control measure, I wanted to collect today’s homework and an amazing six people did NOT have the homework done completely.  So some people may have some extra homework to work on tonight.

Social Studies -- BIG TEST TOMORROW.
More talk about tomorrow’s test, the Bill of Rights and reviewing the checks and balances.  
For studying:
http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/2010/10/bill-of-rights-and-us-constitution.html
I added the prezi links and brainpop suggestions....
Also students were reminded to know about Eminent Domain....it should be added to the 5th Amendment.  

Language Arts -
We reviewed the 5 vocabulary words and the PB pages.
We reviewed the three grammar lessons for the week:
1.  action verbs,  2.  specific verbs and 3. Direct Objects
We reviewed how to assess which is the proper definition to use when you read a dictionary definition and it has more than one definition.

We also had a great talk about records since Nicki brought in some actual records. The kids were pretty amazed and asked some great questions about records.
Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week

Math:
Page 100   11-18 all due Wednesday  *use both multiplication method and standard division when you answer each question; therefore the 8 problems will seem like 16 of them.   SIX PEOPLE STILL OWE ME THIS!!
Page 103-104  1-14 all due Thursday
Page 106-107 1-14 all due Friday **test on Friday**

Free-Write due Friday
Let me tell you about my best friend..........
This free write always makes me think about Courtship of Eddie’s Father
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGu0m08Etm8

Language Arts:
Grammar due Thursday
P.B. 93, 94 and 95

Comprehension all due Friday
Read 160-176 by Friday
Answer any FOUR questions on page 176 due Friday
P.B. 84 and 85 due Friday

Writing “rough draft due on Friday”
Let me tell you about a time that I gave it all it got.....
*mostly non-fiction
*about one full page
*This really is similar to a free write, we are going to use this braindump/rough draft to make a stylized final draft next week.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sorry about not communicating on Monday....I was at a wonderful training session with those math teacher gurus from the County of Alameda.  They are the ones responsible for me teaching your kids those methods in multiplication, division, fractions and decomposing that are far different and effective than the ones we were taught by in the 70’s/80’s.    Much of their teachings have been influenced by the Singapore method (they have historically finished in the top 3 for science and math in international competitions).  
Here the is the story about Singapore:
http://www.singaporemath.com/Singapore_Math_Story_s/10.htm

Here is the Alameda website that I would recommend for your students or yourself....We are going to host a math family night later on regarding this subject as well.
http://www.acoe.org/math
Here is a parents guide that they have put together:
http://www.acoe.org/acoe/EdServices/ProgramsandServices/Math/parentsguide

Here is what we did today:
Technology -- we did 15 minutes of typing and then spent 45 minutes on the www.pearsonsuccessnet.com ;  students are working on current lessons or lessons they need to rereview based upon their preassessment tests.

Social Studies -- more discussions regarding the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.  

Math:
More practice with longer division.  The great thing is that many students had great success with the division.  I believe using the multiplication method is starting to really work now so we had a high success rate today.  
Homework tonight is ONLY 8 problems however I want them to do the same problem with two different styles of solving.  One way is the traditional method and the 2nd way is the multiplication method.
See the attached notes for examples that we did as a class:http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

DEAR time -- the students were allowed to read independently for 25 minutes today.  Some students chose to work on various homework assignments which was fine.

We had a theme 1 project on Pompeii, they did a great job with their prezi and they put together a beautiful clay recreation of a city living below a volcano.  

Here is their prezi:http://prezi.com/8vwqxtot8nga/pompeii/

They ended the day with PE....

Other notes related to this week and life in general:
The students had a chance to read about 1/2 the La Bamba story this week.  Also it refers to 45 and 33 records, if you have any great record stories you want to share with this IPOD/MP3 generation now would be a great week.

www.typingweb.com is the website being used by our after-school typing class.  I recommend signing up for her January class since this current class is completely full.  However if you can’t wait that long, sign your child up for this great typing software.  

If you order them, photos went home today.  Take them out of the back packs before they get crushed.  

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week

Math:
Page 100   11-18 all due Wednesday  *use both multiplication method and standard division when you answer each question; therefore the 8 problems will seem like 16 of them.  
Page 103-104  1-14 all due Thursday
Page 106-107 1-14 all due Friday **test on Friday**

Free-Write due Friday
Let me tell you about my best friend..........
This free write always makes me think about Courtship of Eddie’s Father
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGu0m08Etm8

Language Arts:
Vocabulary Work all due Wednesday
P.B. 83,92 and 5 challenge words work (definitions and sentences)

Grammar due Thursday
P.B. 93, 94 and 95

Comprehension all due Friday
Read 160-176 by Friday
Answer any FOUR questions on page 176 due Friday
P.B. 84 and 85 due Friday

Writing “rough draft due on Friday”
Let me tell you about a time that I gave it all it got.....
*mostly non-fiction
*about one full page

In the computer lab on Monday, October 11, 2010

FIRST THING TO DO:

The first 20 minutes practice their typing on Mavis Beacon.

2ND THING TO DO:

After 20 minutes, stop them from typing and read and take notes on the Bill of Rights.....
I want you to try and read/use the Prezi for learning about the Bill of Rights.  
Here is the first link:
http://prezi.com/rn_jr9ibbfr5/the-bill-of-rights/

It has tons of great information about our Bill of Rights which will be on Thursday's test .  You should not be done “reading” these Prezi’s in just 5 minutes, take your time and read through them.

This is another great link to help study for the Bill of Rights:
http://prezi.com/en8b7tgav-oo/copy-of-copy-of-bill-of-rights/

Now this one is a great video to watch while at home to review the first part of our constitution:
http://prezi.com/vgidnmzq7c80/copy-of-checks-and-balances/

If you still have time before 9:30 -- you should watch the prezis again OR watch Brainpop movies on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  

user name dublinelem and password -- ask a neighbor
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/usconstitution/
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/billofrights/preview.weml
http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/branchesofgovernment/

3RD THING TO DO:

Around 9:30’ish stop watching the Prezi’s and move onto our math for today.
Sign into their www.pearsonsuccessnet.com accounts.  

1. I want everyone to watch today’s video lessons and complete the quiz that goes with it.  
2. I assigned everyone the last 3 lessons of the chapter, so they should watch the lesson and then successfully complete the 5 question quiz.  
3. I assigned everyone the chapters 1 through 3 review test.  It is 40 questions long and you must complete this “test” by Friday.  You may use your book and your notebook to do your very best on this test.

The History of Fastfood...interesting poster

Via: Medical Insurance

A simple notebook..maybe the best Christmas gift you can give?

http://thetalentcode.com/2010/09/21/the-one-best-habit/

And here are examples of 20 famous notebook addicts:
http://artofmanliness.com/2010/09/13/the-pocket-notebooks-of-20-famous-men/

Read the talent code posting above...Mr. Coyle includes several examples of how successful people have had success with a simple notebook.  The notebook is used as a place to capture ideas, brainstorm and write down thoughts or analysis for later use. 

Devin is too young to read and write, but I know what I'm going out to purchase him once he does learn....a notebook.

The Romantic Scholar

http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/09/24/the-romantic-scholar-a-new-approach-to-student-life/

The link above is intended for high school or college students however I believe the premise works with 5th graders as well.  The author is going to build upon his premise that a "romantic scholar" will acknowledge these two truths:

1. Finding Enjoyment in Difficult Work
2. Finding Awe in Learning

If you like reading on-line or if you know how to use a RSS:

http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/

Here is the much anticipated Social Studies Study Guide...

http://mrhubbardsclass.blogspot.com/2010/10/bill-of-rights-and-us-constitution.html

The test is on Thursday.

Here is the link to the today's division quiz and the notes that went along with the quiz.

http://www.box.net/shared/static/k9h392122u.pdf

Just because I was reminded of this today during math time since we are trying more effective but new & challenging division.   When your son/daughter, heck even us adults,  are "true scholars" there should be frustration, new concepts should make them feel uncomfortable, they should be making mistakes —- these are the steps to learning a new skill or learning something that matters.  We all need to continue working on the idea that it is through our mistakes that we learn and grow as scholars and learners.  If we were always "smart" and always "getting things on the first try" then we really aren't leaving our comfort-zone nor challenging ourselves.   So this relates to our math frustrations today, in the words of Winston Churchill, "If you're going through heck, keep going."  Our greatness is created, strengthened and molded just like our muscles and our bodies, we have to keep mindfully practicing, taking notes and we have to keep "trying."  

Here is the link saying what I'm trying to say but much more effectively:

http://thetalentcode.com/2010/08/24/letter-to-students-cliffs-notes-for-a-faster-brain/

We had more great presentation today for our Theme 1 projects....

Austin and Rose amazed us with their volcano knowledge and powerpoint.

Nicki and Megan gave us a quick overview of their earthquake and earthquake preparedness research with a Prezi.  They also have an amazing clay-mation movie coming once we work all the technical gremlins out of the system.

Elvira was moved to learn more about Mount St. Helens.  She was able to share that information and also inform us that the animals and plants have begun to make a great comeback in the once magma devastated region. 

Finally Anna and Isa did an amazing job teaching about the theory of Pangaea.  The scientific belief that all of the continents were once literally connected and over years due to various reasons they have separated into the continents that we know today.  They also did a three piece clay representation of early earth, the pangaea earth and earth today.

To get a look at these great powerpoints, go to this link:

http://www.box.net/shared/cl807c0r96

Also all of the student grades for math, spelling and vocabulary are being hosted at www.Engrade.com

Here is my website:

http://www.engrade.com/iamronhubbard

Your user name and password will be your student's unique 5 digit i.d. that the district gives them.  I have not input all of them yet, so email if you try to get on and you can't.

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Hubbard

Bill of Rights and the US Constitution Study Guide...

The study guide:
 http://www.box.net/shared/static/kdo4u76xnr.doc

The Children Friendly Constitution:
http://www.box.net/shared/static/2nnqgc82jn.pdf

All of my social studies files are kept here, I recommend making this link a favorite:
http://www.box.net/shared/f9apqab3di


As a reminder all social studies tests are open notebook, so your son/daughter may take notes that will help them with the study guide. 

Generally all exams are a blend of multiple choice and short essay questions. 

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The 2 stars of Wednesday's Puppet Show

Happy Thursday!!  

We spent more time this morning reviewing our Language Arts for the week.  We reviewed all of the practice book for grammar, vocabulary and reading strategies.  
Grammar for the week:
1. Identify compound words, and spell them correctly.
2. Identify common and proper nouns, and write them correctly.
3. Use possessive nouns to show ownership. Identify and use both singular and plural possessive nouns.

We also spent a great deal of time discussing this week’s strategy of “opinion versus facts.”  If you have time, it would be great if you can discuss when something is a fact versus an opinion.   

Math:
More division using multiplication to make our lives easier.  I included the notes from today and yesterday to help show how this process works.   Yesterday’s lesson had many examples how to use this different yet simple way.  Here is the link, especially if you think your son/daughter is speaking crazy talk:
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Cargo rotation -- they had the opportunity to play with the new playground
Wilmott rotation --- see her website however there is homework tonight.

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Math:
93 1-25 all due Friday

Vocab and Spelling
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/index.html#g5

Social Studies test will be on 10/13 the study guide will be handed out later this week

Free Write due Friday
“For Halloween this would be the ultimate candy bar...”

Reading Comprehension all due on Friday
138-152 answer any three questions on page 152
P.B. 64 and 65

Perfectionist have it all wrong....

Another great analysis written by Daniel Coyle author of The Talent Code.  He talks about how creative people consistently throw away their initial work to edit and improve upon it.

This is super important if you have a student or a son/daughter that plagued themselves with perfectionism.   They should realize that their "art" whatever that may be is constantly evolving and adapting.

As a teacher this article lessened some of my guilt about not recycling more of my Smartboard lessons, especially the ones in math, since each year I add something different or try to add examples relevant to what is in that class' circumstance or context.

http://thetalentcode.com/2010/10/06/how-to-be-more-creative-step-1-destroy/

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Super quick since I have been working on technology issues and challenges all afternoon. 

We started the day with a quick presentation for our theme 1 project.  It was an informational puppet show about how to respond to various natural disasters.  It was funny and humorous.  The puppets even found a way to show us some information.  It was a fun and informative performance put together by Mason and Hayden.

We then had our library visit with Mrs. Klein.

After library students had time to read independently, work on upcoming homework assignments and complete their theme 1 project.

Afterward we had a great presentation on various natural disasters.  Once again someone used the prezi software and it was impressive.  Some gremlins at Prezi.com have gotten to it so we will let you see it after they have a chance to recover their masterpiece.  Both Kyle and Derek showed great perseverance and they fought through the various technology challenges. 

Math:

More work with division.   More students are following for the exactness of the multiplication/division method.  When useful the power of one can be a great way to minimize and reduce our divisision problems. 

We did an amazing six examples today.  I'll attach the notes from today tomorrow.

We reviewed the 5 vocabulary words today.  We then had rotations. 

Students are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to complete the science study guide since it will be extra credit and it is a great way to study and prepare for tomorrow's science quiz.

Book Orders went home.....please have them returned by October 20th. 

Kind regards,

Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Math:
90-91 1-25 all due on Thursday
93 1-25 all due Friday

http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/index.html#g5

Social Studies test will be on 10/13 the study guide will be handed out later this week

Free-Write due Thursday
“Let me tell you all about the homework machine.....”

Free Write due Friday
“For Halloween this would be the ultimate candy bar...”

Reading Comprehension all due on Friday
138-152 answer any three questions on page 152
P.B. 64 and 65

Grammar
P.B. 73,74 and 75

A great visual of our Seperaton of Powers.....

Copy of Checks and Balances on Prezi

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

We began our presentation today!! We started off with Phillip and Reghan.  They taught us about Pompeii and Tsunamis.  They also used clay to make a mini Pompeii and to show a tsunami about to crash into a shore.  

We did go to the computer lab and we accomplished the following:
STAR reading comprehension test for the month of October
15 minutes of Mavis Beacon
Then 60 minutes to work on finalizing our theme 1 projects.  As of today we have reached the 10 hour requirement.  

We returned to class with more projects.  Matthew and Michael did an interesting way of showing us their knowledge about hurricanes and tsunamis by staging a “debate” that morphs into a brawl.  So there was much information about their subjects and also some fine comedic acting.  They created a www.prezi.com and created two different pamphlets.  

Logan was next up and he did a great job of using note cards to keep making eye contact with the audience while he shared his research on tsunamis, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes.  

Finally we ended the day’s presentations with Jenni A sharing about typhoons, something she had experienced first hand while traveling abroad, and hurricanes.  She originally planned to just research and present about typhoons; however she created a classroom survey and the class seemed to think hurricanes were the most dangerous natural disaster therefore sh felt that she should research them more.  
Here is a link to all their presentations today:
http://www.box.net/shared/cl807c0r96

We then reviewed the math from last night, took questions and I modeled two more problems that they have to complete tonight.
Here are the notes that we took: http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

The student had PE today.

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Math:
87-88 10-42 evens due on Wednesday
90-91 1-25 all due on Thursday
93 1-25 all due Friday

Vocab: all due on Wednesday
5 challenge words define and use in a sentence and P.B. 63, 68 and 72
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/index.html#g5

Social Studies test will be on 10/13 the study guide will be handed out later this week

Free-Write due Thursday
“Let me tell you all about the homework machine.....”

Free Write due Friday
“For Halloween this would be the ultimate candy bar...”

Reading Comprehension all due on Friday
138-152 answer any three questions on page 152
P.B. 64 and 65

Grammar
P.B. 73,74 and 75

What social studies teachers think and do

What social studies teachers think and do

Click onto the link above....it contains some interesting facts about concerns and ideas that social studies teachers have regarding our future "citizens."

October 4, 2010

Our day went pretty quick....
Spelling Pretest...FYI this week the words are compound words, some are not and some have hyphens.
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/index.html#g5

Theme 2
We spent some time discussing our newest theme, “Give It All You Got!”
We went over the vocabulary for the week and what the theme means.

Theme 1 projects:
The kids signed up for their presentation time..we are all set.
Here is their estimated presentation day:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AtOH1AduQvi0dGlWMXM1Mjh2LUNiN1ZmbDFtZkZld0E&hl=en&authkey=CKHi7sAK

Students worked on finalizing their project. They will also have another 60+ minutes tomorrow. After than except for two special projects students should be finalizing their projects.

Math:
We covered division. We used the “power of one” and the multiplication method of division.
Here are our notes for the day, specifically their notebook should look similar to this:
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Planning for the week....
We spent 15 minutes writing out the game plan for the week. We also again discussed making a priority list.

Free-Writes:
We shared out some free writes from last week. Another amazing week of the students really getting into the subject and writing about the life of an eraser.

Kind Regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Math:
87-88 9-41 odds due on Tuesday
87-88 10-42 evens due on Wednesday
90-91 1-25 all due on Thursday
93 1-25 all due Friday

Vocab: all due on Wednesday
5 challenge words define and use in a sentence and P.B. 63, 68 and 72
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/index.html#g5

Social Studies test will be on 10/13 the study guide will be handed out later this week

Free-Write due Thursday
“Let me tell you all about the homework machine.....”

Free Write due Friday
“For Halloween this would be the ultimate candy bar...”

Reading Comprehension all due on Friday
138-152 answer any three questions on page 152
P.B. 64 and 65

Grammar
P.B. 73,74 and 75

Be specific, encourage mistakes and they should get frustrated at times...