April 15th 2011 Tax Day!!

We talked about taxes today with the kids, they had many questions about where the money goes and how the Feds. spend our money. 


This website will produce a receipt showing where your tax money goes once the Federal Government receives it.  It could be a great discussion item to share with them tonight.


Click here to create your receipt

Thursday, April 14th

Happy Thursday!

Today’s happenings....

We began the day with the students having 45 minutes to focus on the following priorities:
Their grammar packet
Completing last night’s poetry assignment
Completing last night’s science study guide

With a large % of the class at band, we did some grammar practice with the students still in class.  Amazingly we have finally completed the large bucket of red-vines that were given to the class during Red-Ribbon week.

We then spent some time having the students put the dates of the large events into their dayplanner so they could show ownership and begin planning out how the last two months of the school year.  
The dates were taken off the handout that you were given last night.  

April 19th -- End of the Year parent planning meeting 2:10 in room C-7
May 3rd -- State testing Language Arts part I
May 4th -- State testing Language Arts part II
May 5th  -- State testing Math part I
May 10th -- State testing Math part II
May 11th -- State testing Science part I
May 12th -- State testing Science part II  and the first states and capitals test
May 12th ---The school needs to have $$ or discussions with you regarding Outdoor Education Week
May 19th -- states and capitals test II
May 23rd -- states and capitals test III and Manners Tea
May 24th through 27th -- Outdoor Education Week (students show up late on the 24th and go home early on the 27th)
May 25th --- Parents Night at Wells Middle School
June 2nd -- Fine Arts Day
June 8th --- Bowling  8:30-Noon
June 9th -- 5th Grade Picnic and Outdoor Games
June 10 -- Promotion Ceremony 10:30 - Noon’ish
June 1st -- final states and capitals test

CLICK HERE IF YOU need the family life permission slip again



Poetry
We worked in various groups discussing our thoughts, opinions and what we thought the author’s intent was with the Tarzan poem and also the Numbers poem.  
I was really impressed with the type of comments and the perspectives that the students had regarding the two poems.
CLICK HERE TO GET TONIGHT’S POEM



Math:
Area --- B * H and the answers should all be “squared”  cm2 / mm2/ inches2/ ft.2
Page 304-305 1-18 all due Friday

Theme 5 Study Guide:
We quickly reviewed the study guide.
Students are strongly encouraged to read through the study guide.
They should begin memorizing the syllabication, the grammar rules and the prefix/suffix meanings.
CLICK HERE for the finalized “new” theme 5 study guide

Cargo rotation

Wilmott rotation -- Science homework due tomorrow
Also 7 students, despite the 45 minutes in class this morning, did not complete the science study guide?



Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard



Homework for the week:
Math:
Page 304-305 1-18 all due Friday

Poetry:
A poem a night -- read the poem several times and then write what you believe the poem is trying to tell you.
Also begin jotting down ideas for your poem(s) -- be comfortable with rewriting and editing your poem.
Click here is tonight’s poetry assignment if your child left it at school.

Theme 5 Study Guide:
The finalized study guide will be completed on Tuesday.  
If you can’t wait to begin studying, here are the rough draft versions:
Click here for the rough draft versions

Grammar Study Packet:
The final packet will be handed out Tuesday.  This theme test does require the students to memorize and dedicate several evenings reviewing and memorizing the grammar rules.  
Students should aim to complete 4 to 5 pages per night (not counting Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)

Science Fair Project -- your son/daughter will improve their science grade by 10% if they complete the science fair  project.  Everyone is strongly encouraged to participate and complete a science fair project. 

Fraction Fun for Thursday morning...

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S FRACTION FUN

You do need to go to the section titled "fractions"

Technology Tuesday....

1.  A new month so we are taking a new star test.   So it needs to be SUPER quiet so people can concentrate.

2.  Type for 15 minutes -- remember to stay silent so we those still working on their STAR test can finish and do their best.

3.  www.pearsonsuccessnet.com -- I made a chapter 8 test prep that I want you to take. 
EVERYONE SHOULD BE TAKING THIS TEST.

4.  Watch the following two Brainpop movies:
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INTO MOVIE ON ELECTOMAGNETIVITY

CLIKC HERE TO WATCH MOVIE ON MORE IN DEPTH ELECTROMAGNETIVITY

5.  Only if you have time, you may begin checking out some of the states and capitals games:
CLICK HERE FOR STATES AND CAPITALS GAMES

Monday, April 11, 2011

It was  nice returning to school and to begin getting the learning ramped up for our May testing.  

We started off mellow with some D.E.A.R. time.

We then went into some circle time where the students were able to share out about their spring break.  They also shared with each other about if this morning was a challenging morning to get up and running or were they up, running and ready to learn.  

Finally while in circle time we began discussing the upcoming May testing.  We discussed their importance, how to best prepare for these tests, and how we will prepare for them over the next 3+ weeks.

Reviewing the States and Capitals tests...
We looked at what the four tests will look like.   The testing will begin after early May.  
Click here are some great on-line state/capital practice games.

Spelling Pre-test:
Click here for the list of the review spelling words
*The spelling test will be on Wednesday, April 20th.

Math:
Review our geometry terms and prepare for Wednesday’s math test.
Homework for tonight:  Page 188-189 all due Tuesday

Poetry
This month is National Poetry Month, so we will be reading various poems and creating poems of our own.  
The nightly homework will entail breaking down the poems metaphor by metaphor and writing what we believe the poem is all about and what the author is try to say.  
Click here is tonight’s poetry assignment if your child left it at school.

Get Ready for the Week -- students were able to document their homework for the week.

Extra P.E. -- students were allowed 10 minutes to enjoy the summer sun and get some exercise.

Tomorrow Night (4/12/11)  is Dublin Elementary School’s night to shine at the school board meeting.  Our class has some students presenting during the evening and our presentation is the first agenda topic for the evening.  
Begins at 6:30 p.m. at the district office -- if you would like to come out and support or even to speak at the school board meeting, please considering showing up for 30 to 45 minutes.  

Famous American -- I completed grading 16 of the 25 Famous American reports.  Those 16 students received their report back with feedback on how to improve their final grade.  The finalized version will be due back to me on.......    TUESDAY, APRIL 26TH.

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Page 188-189 all due Tuesday
Test Version A all due Wednesday
Chapter 8 test is on Wednesday
Page 301-302 1-21 all due Thursday
Page 304-305 1-18 all due Friday
Click here for the math handouts and to study for the test on Wednesday.

Poetry:
A poem a night -- read the poem several times and then write what you believe the poem is trying to tell you.
Also begin jotting down ideas for your poem(s) -- be comfortable with rewriting and editing your poem.
Click here is tonight’s poetry assignment if your child left it at school.

Theme 5 Study Guide:
The finalized study guide will be completed on Tuesday.  
If you can’t wait to begin studying, here are the rough draft versions:
Click here for the rough draft versions

Grammar Study Packet:
The final packet will be handed out Tuesday.  This theme test does require the students to memorize and dedicate several evenings reviewing and memorizing the grammar rules.  

Science Fair Project -- your son/daughter will improve their science grade by 10% if they complete the science fair  project.  Everyone is strongly encouraged to participate and complete a science fair project. 

More computer games may reduce a teenager's chance of going to university.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE....

"Frequently playing computer games appears to reduce a teenager's chances of going to university, while reading enhances the likelihood that they will go on to study for a degree, according to Oxford University research that tracked 17,000 people born in 1970."

I'm not really surprised by this finding, I blame games for the increasing higher education gap between boys and girls.

Please read the article so you can go further inside the numbers....

Is President Obama starting to evolve his opinion on high stake testing?

Click here to read the pullout quote and article about President Obama

I can only hope that this isn't political double speak and that he is sincere about us evolving towards other forms of education accountability.

Spring Break.....

I hope your son/daughter has a great week off.

If they do appear to be bored they are strongly encouraged to read for enjoyment.  

Also if they want to review or preview upcoming chapters, I have given the students math chapters that they can work on.
They just have to sign into:
www.pearsonsuccessnet.com

If they want another lesson or another chapter, they can email or call me.  See the call button on my website www.mrhubbardsclass.com

I also didn’t return the Famous American Reports to everyone today, so I’m giving everyone until April 22nd to turn in their finalized version.  That will give them 2 weeks to make corrections after they receive their rough drafts back.  

Kind regards,
Ron Hubbard

Elena Masterpieces

CLICK HERE TO ENTER YOUR TWO MASTERPIECE ANSWERS

Thursday, March 31st

In the morning students were given time to read, prepare for their social studies test, complete their practice book pages for the week, and read for science.

After this DEAR time, we had a special adverb lesson given by guest “teacher” Nicki B.  She did a great job showing her correct work and also explaining why her words were adverbs :)

We then did some social studies catch-up in preparation for tomorrow’s social studies exam.  We watched a great lesson on General Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben.

We also watched and discussed how:
General Washington was a man of the up most character because he easily could have become a “king” or a dictator once the Revolutionary War ended.  
General Washington had to fight off a potential rebellion early on and he did it by “reaching for his eye glasses.”  
Tomorrow is the big test, so they MUST have completed their study guide and they MUST bring that study guide with them.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SOCIAL STUDY GUIDE

Math:
More geometry definitions and using algebra or Singapore method to find missing angles.  
Students will need to have memorized all of the definitions that we discussed today and that they wrote either on notecards or in their notebook.  
Once again Smartboard crashed on me and we lost all of our work and notes :(

Cargo and Wilmott rotations.
There is science homework tonight.

5th Grade Dedications (you have received several emails about this, the deadline is a HARD deadline on Friday):
I just wanted to communicate to you about the 5th grade dedications.  Below is who I have so far.  Unfortunately, it's not many.  Could you please mention to your class that their baby pic and message has to be turned in BEFORE spring break - by Friday, April 1st.  We cannot accept anything after we come back from the break.
Thanks so much.  If there are any questions, please let me know.
~Jenn Rowen
CLICK TO OPEN the form that you need to complete

Have a great Thursday evening,
Mr. Hubbard

Math
Page 180 1-12 and page 182-183 1-15 all due Friday
CLICK HERE FOR THE MATH NOTES AND PRACTICE TESTS

Reading Comprehension due by Friday:
Read pages 550-564
2 masterpieces on-line -- WILL BE GIVEN TIME IN CLASS TO COMPLETE ON FRIDAY
P.B. 325, 326, and 327
Take your A.R. test

Social Studies Test:
On Friday for our class.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SOCIAL STUDY GUIDE

Free-Write due Friday
Describe what life would be like WITHOUT Saturdays

Vocabulary and Spelling Test on Friday:
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S SPELLING AND VOCAB WORDS

Tuesday, March 29th

Here is what we did today:
CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE DETAILS on what we did in the computer lab

The highlight of the time there was easily the “Build Your Wild-Self”
CLICK HERE TO BUILD YOUR WILD SELF  
I allowed them to print them up in color, so please ask your son or daughter to show you their “wild-self.”

Math Test:
We had practiced for this test last night for homework and also in the computer lab today.  So I believe the kids were well prepared for today’s test.
FYI -- we move onto Chapter 8 and it is only four days of lessons, then another review day and then the test.  Chapter 14 and Chapter 19 will be similar quick hitting lessons.

After the test, we did cover some of the basic Geometric terms that will be assessed this chapter.
CLICK HERE FOR THE MATH NOTES

While students completed their test at different times, students were allowed to:
1. study for their big science test on Wednesday
2. work on their social studies notebook and prepare for the test
3. work on tonight’s math test
4.  complete tomorrow’s vocabulary work

P.E. in this perfect weather.  

5th Grade Dedications (you have received several emails about this, the deadline is a HARD deadline on Friday):
I just wanted to communicate to you about the 5th grade dedications.  Below is who I have so far.  Unfortunately, it's not many.  Could you please mention to your class that their baby pic and message has to be turned in BEFORE spring break - by Friday, April 1st.  We cannot accept anything after we come back from the break.
Thanks so much.  If there are any questions, please let me know.
~Jenn Rowen
CLICK TO OPEN the form that you need to complete

Have a great Monday evening,
Mr. Hubbard

Math
Page 175-176 all  Wednesday
Page 178-179 all Thursday
Page 180 1-12 and page 182-183 1-15 all due Friday
CLICK HERE FOR THE MATH NOTES AND PRACTICE TESTS

Reading Comprehension due by Friday:
Read pages 550-564
2 masterpieces on-line
P.B. 325, 326, and 327
Take your A.R. test

Social Studies Test:
On Friday for our class.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SOCIAL STUDY GUIDE

Free-Write due Friday
Describe what life would be like WITHOUT Saturdays

Grammar due by Thursday:
P.B. 333, 334, and 335

Vocabulary due Wednesday:
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S SPELLING AND VOCAB WORDS
Challenge Words and Sentences
P.B. 323, 328 and 332

Science Test is on Wednesday

March 29th Technology Lab Time....

1st --- Type of 20 minutes.  So you should stop around 8:50

2nd --- CLICK HERE TO GO DIRECTLY TO www.pearsonsuccessnet.com 
I have assigned you the chapter 16 test so you can make sure you are ready for today's test.  Complete this test before moving onto the 3rd or 4th options.
You may use your book or your notebook to make sure are answering correctly.  Use this test to help you prepare to kick some serious butt on today's test.

3rd --  CLICK HERE TO BUILD YOUR WILD SELF 
You are to spend no more than 10 minutes on this.  Play around with building yourself, print it (2 of them because I would like one) and then move onto 4th and 5th  below.

4th -- Watch some Brainpops to get ready for our next chapter:   Please take the quizes and test yourself and your ability to watch and learn the concepts.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A BRAINPOP MOVIE ON ANGLES

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A BRAINPOP on basic geometry terms

5th --- Watch the www.pearsonsuccessnet.com lessons that were assigned to you.  You must take the 5 question quizzes.  CLICK HERE TO GO TO PEARSONSUCCESSNET.COM

6th --- CLICK TO READ ABOUT THE MISSING COBRA AT THE N.Y. ZOO

Monday, March 28th

Spelling Pretest...

Elena story -- we watched the brainpop.com movie on the Mexican Revolution;  This movie did a great job of setting the setting and background knowledge about the uncertainty that Elena’s family must face if they choose to stay in Mexico in the early 1900’s.   We also went over this week’s vocabulary words.  

DEAR time

Social studies:
We learned about James Armistead and the battles out in south.
We then learned about events leading up to our final Yorktown battle.
CLICK HERE to get the study guide

Math:
Reviewing our final algebra concepts prior to tomorrow’s test.  
We worked on the two pages of algebra reviews.  

Discuss our Friday Google/Fed Express day....
The kids shared out the projects that they researched and worked on last Friday.  Tons of Prezi’s were created about topics that interested the students.  We also have three kids teaching themselves HTML, a letter was written to President Obama, and some Google Sketch was experimented with.

5th Grade Dedications (you have received several emails about this, the deadline is a HARD deadline on Friday):
I just wanted to communicate to you about the 5th grade dedications.  Below is who I have so far.  Unfortunately, it's not many.  Could you please mention to your class that their baby pic and message has to be turned in BEFORE spring break - by Friday, April 1st.  We cannot accept anything after we come back from the break.
Thanks so much.  If there are any questions, please let me know.
~Jenn Rowen
CLICK TO OPEN the form that you need to complete

Have a great Monday evening,
Mr. Hubbard

Math
Test version A  on Tuesday

• Test on Tuesday

Page 175-176 all  Wednesday
Page 178-179 all Thursday
Page 180 1-12 and page 182-183 1-15 all due Friday
CLICK HERE FOR THE MATH NOTES AND PRACTICE TESTS

Reading Comprehension due by Friday:
Read pages 550-564
2 masterpieces on-line
P.B. 325, 326, and 327
Take your A.R. test

Social Studies Test:
On Friday for our class.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SOCIAL STUDY GUIDE

Free-Write due Friday
Describe what life would be like WITHOUT Saturdays

Grammar due by Thursday:
P.B. 333, 334, and 335

Vocabulary due Wednesday:
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEK'S SPELLING AND VOCAB WORDS
Challenge Words and Sentences
P.B. 323, 328 and 332

Science Test is on Wednesday