Thursday, February 10, 2011

Dear for the first 30 minutes.
Speaking of reading, we have a book club sale going on.  If you are interested in purchasing books, your son/daughter brought home the catalog last week, please return your book order ASAP.  We would like to mail off on Tuesday.   

L.A.  
We discussed our upcoming L.A. assessment.   It does a great job of mirroring the May testing for language arts.  Therefore it will be great practice for reading comprehension, writing perspectives, grammar, and spelling.

Math:
More division with decimals.  
We worked on both the traditional style division and also the best practice method taught by the Alameda group.  
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024
Videos:
http://www.khanacademy.org/video/dividing-decimal
http://www.khanacademy.org/video/dividing-decimals

Homework change:  page 157 1-27 odds only

Buddies!!
We helped the kindergarten students create cherry blossom art.  It was fun watching the 5th graders try to help the overeager 5 or 6 year olds trying to finger paint.  

We then ended the day with rotations.  

Valentines Day

As a friendly reminder we want to respect all of our students so it is important that if your family chooses to hand out cards/candy that they bring one for every student in the class.  If there is any budding romances or “crushes” and special cards/gifts want to be given out, your son/daughter should give that out before or after class on their own time.  
Another idea that has grown in popularity over the last few years, is to have your child sign the cards with their individual name (i.e the From section)  and not put a specific name on the card (i.e. leave the To: section blank).  Then the child will randomly distribute the 25 cards to their classmates.   
Here is the link of the 25 student names if you do want to personalize the cards:




Homework for the week:
157 1-27 odds only  all due on Friday
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Comprehension due Friday:
Read 392-408 by Thursday
P.B. 233 and 234 due Friday
2 Materpiece Questions answered and take the AR test by Friday

Free-Write due Friday
Let me tell you about a story of LOVE

Vocabulary and Spelling Test
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t04_03.html

Famous American Report:
http://www.box.net/shared/4idhdcrbhs
Here are the high level due dates:Notes due – broken into the five topics    Friday, February 18, 2011
Rough Draft due                                                                                   Friday, March 18,  2011
Final copy due                                                                                           Friday, April 15, 2011

Late Night Post

I know it is too late to be super useful right now but I wanted to get something out about Valentines day.   
As a friendly reminder we want to respect all of our students so it is important that if your family chooses to hand out cards/candy that they bring one for every student in the class.  If there is any budding romances or “crushes” and special cards/gifts want to be given out, your son/daughter should give that out before or after class on their own time.  
Another idea that has grown in popularity over the last few years, is to have your child sign the cards with their individual name (i.e the From section)  and not put a specific name on the card (i.e. leave the To: section blank).  Then the child will randomly distribute the 25 cards to their classmates.   

Camp Chaperon
I know I’m a broken record however we are in desperate need for camp volunteers.  We need to get some “closure” on this issue by Friday, April 1st or we will be CANCELLING  the trip.   

Outdoor Education/Camp between May 24th through May 27th

If you are interested or can help us out, please see Mrs. Bastida ASAP.    Camp is one of the highlights of the 5th grade year, your child will really be missing a great learning experience.  Plus it will be the first year it is ever canceled.  

• It is in Livermore so it is close.  
• The food there is pretty yummy.  
• If you can only work a Tuesday/Wednesday or a Thursday/Friday we can work something out.
• Think beyond your immediate family.  We have had grandparents, a much older brother or sister, or the “fun” uncle or aunt volunteer for the week.  

Please call, visit or email Mrs. Bastida and get the ball rolling on helping us avoid being the first canceled Outdoor Education/Camp at Dublin Elementary.  

I’m off to bed.
Mr. H

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tuesday
Non technology lab Tuesday, however we all survived and grew from the change :)

DEAR time -- students were strongly strongly encouraged to study for tomorrow’s math test, work on Famous American notes, read Yang & Secrete Admirer or read whatever they choose.

Writing:
We spent a great deal of time kicking off our Short Story Contest.
As I have done the past 7 years, we will be participating in the Alameda and Contra Costa County 5th grade short story contest.
In the past students from my class have earned a 1st place and 2nd place cash reward.  

Here are the details on the competition:
http://calwritersclub.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/cwc-25thannualfifthgradestorycontest2011-final.pdf

Here is a great graphic organizer that we will be using to help us plan out our story:
http://www.myeport.com/published/t/uc/tucson5/collection/10/18/upload.pdf

Here is a great website with helpful kind-friendly advice:
http://www.coreygreen.com/storytips.html

Here is a great “rap” that helps remind your son/daughter what goes into a well written short story:http://www.flocabulary.com/fivethings.html

DPIE -- we did some more work for our DPIE art-project.  We made human D’, U’s, B’s, L’s, I’s, and N’s and photographed it.  

We did more discussion of the graphic organizer since it also happens to piggyback on this week’s reading strategy.  
First due date on the short-story:  ½ of it must be written by Friday, February 18th
Then a rough draft version will be due on Friday, February 25th.  

Math:
We had a long talk about some issues that were related to tomorrow test and prior test scores.
Talking points:
There is a big difference between “studying” for a test versus simply just doing all your homework
I pointed out some common mistakes that students have been making that SHOULD NOT happen if they dedicated time memorizing or keeping their notebook up to date.
Note taking, if they don’t understand what is going on, still write what you see, you can reference them later plus the act of writing and following puts it into your brain for recall later.
Finally we talked about resources for help studying:
www.pearsonsuccessnet.com -- all the lesson videos and practice problems are accessible
Retake the chapter 6 test or retest on www.pearsonsuccessnet.com
Use the http://www.khanacademy.org/  for more video math lessons.  
Go on google video and type in “multiplying decimals” there are many great lessons/resources.
Go to our math link:
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024
here you can all of our notes from classtime and practice tests

Packed up for the day and then they had P.E.

Have a glorious evening,

Mr. H

Homework for the week:
Version A practice test must show work and due Wednesday
Chapter 6 test will be on Wednesday
154-155  9-39 all due on Thursday
157 1-28 all due on Friday
Notes that we have had leading up to the test;  Also the practice test A is at the link.  
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Comprehension due Friday:
Read 392-408 by Thursday
P.B. 233 and 234 due Friday
2 Materpiece Questions answered and take the AR test by Friday

Free-Write due Friday
Let me tell you about a story of LOVE

Grammar due Thursday:
242, 243, and 244

Vocabulary Work due Wednesday:
5 challenge words (definitions and sentences)
P.B. 232,237, and 241
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t04_03.html

Famous American Report:
http://www.box.net/shared/4idhdcrbhs
Here are the high level due dates:Notes due – broken into the five topics Friday, February 18, 2011
Rough Draft due                                                                Friday, March 18,  2011
Final copy due                                                                    Friday, April 15, 2011

Monday, February 7, 2011

Today:

Spelling Pretest:
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t04_03.html

A special Monday technology day, with no technology lab on Tuesday.  
20 minutes of typing
50 minutes of Chapter 6 math using www.pearsonsuccessnet.com
30 minutes of Famous American research

Language Arts:
Yang the Second and Her Secret Admirers is this week’s story.  
We reviewed this week’s lessons on main character, minor character, setting and plot.  
We also went over this week’s grammar lessons -- commas with quotes and commas with exclamation points.
We also went over this week’s story’s key vocabulary terms.

Math:
I showed a new way to also go about multiplying decimals using multiplication blocks.  It appeared to be really helpful for those students that continue to struggle with multiplication and decimals.  
I have the notes to show how to use this new method.  Also we completed 4 of the problems by using this new style.  
Page 148-149 all **must show your work
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Plan for the entire week.

We then had a special circle time to share out with our new student, George.  
FYI -- students can earn extra credit by completing a free write for George where they share out important information about our class and our school.  

Homework for the week:
Math 148-149  all must show work and due Tuesday
Version A practice test must show work and due Wednesday
Chapter 6 test will be on Wednesday
154-155  9-39 all due on Thursday
157 1-28 all due on Friday
Notes that we have had leading up to the test;  Also the practice test A is at the link.  
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Comprehension due Friday:
Read 392-408 by Thursday
P.B. 233 and 234 due Friday
2 Materpiece Questions answered and take the AR test by Friday

Free-Write due Friday
Let me tell you about a story of LOVE

Grammar due Thursday:
242, 243, and 244

Vocabulary Work due Wednesday:
5 challenge words (definitions and sentences)
P.B. 232,237, and 241
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t04_03.html

Famous American Report:
http://www.box.net/shared/4idhdcrbhs
Here are the high level due dates:Notes due – broken into the five topics Friday, February 18, 2011
Rough Draft due                                                 Friday, March 18,  2011
Final copy due                                                      Friday, April 15, 2011

Famous American Report -- First Due Date

What person are you doing your famous American report on?

Well, tell me here:


https://spreadsheets0.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHZGckt5ZVRwUUJ6TVl4b1pwT1JHZ1E6MQ#gid=0

Thursday, February 3rd

DEAR time -- students were encouraged to study for the big science test, complete AR tests, read Mom’s Best Friend or read their own self-selected literature.

Vocabulary Work:
We spent some time improving upon our challenge word sentences.  We were able to share our sentences in front of everyone and make improvements.  The key things we learned, maybe throw in a “because” and supply reasons for your sentence.  
See our class’ examples:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AtOH1AduQvi0dDZRVm5EX2tUbEFDNml6dlBfTE5fZGc&hl=en&authkey=CMjj4LIK

here are the definitions:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Fcwy6R70iSMr_kgJz1-9Etun1PdGBaVLYKWsby5VGg/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJ7K4q8L

Math:
More work with multiplying decimals with decimals.  
We did more work discussing how choosing to first estimate greatly improves one’s chances of correctly placing the decimal in our final answers.

Our notes from today’s math lesson:

http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Here is the Alameda lesson on multiplication with decimals (about 20 clicks into presentation):

http://www.acoe.org/acoe/files/EdServices/Area%20model%20through%20the%20gradesV2.swf

Here are two great resource lessons on multiplying decimals as well:

http://www.khanacademy.org/video/multiplying-decimals?playlist=Developmental%20Math

http://www.khanacademy.org/video/multiplying-decimals-2?playlist=Developmental%20Math

Students did not get time to begin their math homework for tonight.  So they will have all 18 problems (minus the 3 we did as a class during note time).  

P.E. -- We enjoyed this beautiful weather by moving around and enjoying playing for 30 minutes prior to lunch time.    This was because we missed our PE time on Tuesday afternoon.

Cargo rotation and Wimott rotation.  Many students felt they did great on the large science test.  

Our photo project that we are doing for DPIE is due on Friday morning.  Please make sure that your son/daughter returns the disposable camera for turning in tomorrow morning.

Outdoor Education/Camp between May 24th through May 27th

We really really need chaperons for those four days in May.  
We have people that have taken the paperwork, however the paperwork and the finger-printing takes time to process.  If you are interested or can help us out, please see Mrs. Bastida ASAP.  If we don’t get more interest in the next 30 days, we may have to cancel this year’s camp.  

Homework for the week:
Math
Page 144-145 2-38 evens due Friday
**most also show your estimated answers

Comprehension all due by Friday:
Read pages369 through 385
Answer any two questions on page 385; make it your master piece;
P.B.  218
A.R. test

Grammar all due on Friday
Commas
P.B. 227, 228 and 229

Spelling and Vocab test on Friday
5 challenge words -- definition and use them in a sentence
See above for the examples of sentences and definitions that we created as a class.
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t04_02.html

Free-Write due Friday:
Describe the day in the life of “Mookie”

Famous American Report:
http://www.box.net/shared/4idhdcrbhs
Here are the high level due dates:A person chosen & a book found         Friday, February 4, 2011
Notes due – broken into the five topics    Friday, February 18, 2011
Rough Draft due                                                                               Friday, March 18,  2011
Final copy due                                                                                       Friday, April 15, 2011

Please complete this vocabulary form....

Here is the link, click onto this link and complete this form:


https://spreadsheets0.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDZRVm5EX2tUbEFDNml6dlBfTE5fZGc6MQ#gid=0

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Library -- students have their first deadline for the Famous American project.  They need to choose a famous American and show me a book about the person.  Therefore some of the students used their time wisely to find their books.

DEAR -- free choice reading, work on science, or read this week’s story.

Computer Lab:
Monthly Star Test, Typing for 20 minutes, Research & collect notes on Famous American and review today’s math concept.

Math:
Multiplication of decimals by another decimal.
The key point of emphasis -- students must first estimate the two numbers.  Then when they work out the final answer this will help them confirm where the decimal should be placed.  

Our notes from today’s math lesson:
http://www.box.net/shared/8hcenbm024

Here is the Alameda lesson on multiplication with decimals (about 20 clicks into presentation):
http://www.acoe.org/acoe/files/EdServices/Area%20model%20through%20the%20gradesV2.swf

Here are two great resource lessons on multiplying decimals as well:
http://www.khanacademy.org/video/multiplying-decimals?playlist=Developmental%20Math
http://www.khanacademy.org/video/multiplying-decimals-2?playlist=Developmental%20Math

I will have more Zeum information soon, I eagerly await to see their free-write responses.

Homework for the week:
Math
Page 142-143 2-34 evens due Thursday  *Students must show me their estimate along with calculating their final answer.
Page 144-145 2-38 evens due Friday

Comprehension all due by Friday:
Read pages369 through 385
Answer any two questions on page 385; make it your master piece;
P.B.  218
A.R. test

Grammar all due on Thursday
Commas
P.B. 227, 228 and 229

Vocab all due on Wednesday
P.B. 217, 222, and 226
5 challenge words -- definition and use them in a sentence
http://www.eduplace.com/spellinglists/lists/sl_g5t04_02.html

Free-Write due Thursday:
Tell me about your experience at Zeum

Free-Write due Friday:
Describe the day in the life of “Mookie”

Science:
The large exam is on Thursday.  

Famous American Report:
http://www.box.net/shared/4idhdcrbhs
Here are the high level due dates:A person chosen & a book found Friday, February 4, 2011
Notes due – broken into the five topics Friday, February 18, 2011
Rough Draft due                                                                Friday, March 18,  2011
Final copy due                                                                    Friday, April 15, 2011