Tuesday, #15 2012 2013 (9/18/12)

Great news.. the students had their photos taken circa 11:45’ish.  Therefore no clothes or hairdos were messed up during our “picnic day” lunch period.    If you did not send in money or make it on-line, you can still order your photo on-line:
www.inter-state.com
Dublin Elem. code is 156831  

Today -- we spent the morning in the computer lab.   Singapore math, learning about the “main idea,”  and IXL practice all took place. You can read about it here.  

We then had some intensive multiplication lessons.  We used the generic area model and the decomposition method.  
All our notes on this “best practice” method can be found here.  
Here is a great walk through of the multiplication this week.
Here are some model examples of what is coming up.  

Photos were during math time, therefore the morning was used up learning the new multiplication styles, practicing and working on homework.

In the afternoon we watched CNN Students with Mrs.  Cho’s class.  
Talking points that you can ask your child about:
What has many Muslim countries upset at the USA?  Are Chicago kids still not going to school and why?  Any interesting fact that they learned about the history of the Democratic party?  How did they get a donkey as their mascot?  What is the debate over some cities having the 10 Commandments on display?  

Cold Stone fundraiser on Thursday night.
I am scooping from 6:oo-6:45     It is a great opportunity for your son/daughter to show up and “make me work.”  I told it was their chance to give me orders and have me mix 3 or 4 challenging toppings.   

Homework for the week:
Math
Page 57 5-14 all and page 61 9-13 due Wednesday
Page 57 15-19 all and page 61 14-28 due Thursday
Page 64-65 3-19 all due Friday.
Here are all the chapter 3 notes.
Here is a great walk through of the multiplication this week.
Here are some model examples of what is coming up.  

Language Arts
Spelling Words and Challenge Words.
5 Mini-posters are due on Wednesday -- photo/drawing/picture on one-side; the word and its definition on the other side.

Practice Book (aka PB) pages 12 and 13 due Wednesday

P.B. 6 & 7 and 14 & 15 due on Friday

Grizzly Bear due on Friday
“Which Clown” due on Friday

Writing:
Free-Write due on Friday
“I just invented a time machine and I am off to....”
1 page or 20 minutes (w/ parent’s autograph)

History:
John Adams due on Thursday

Technology Tuesday 9/18/12

Please use Firefox for getting into Mr. Hubbard's Class.

Please click onto this link to put the newest Firefox onto your computer system:


1.  Go to Renaissance Place 
Take the Star test
Ask neighbor about the user name and password.
The test password is "admin"

2. Go to www.ixl.com 
Sign in and then go to this link for skills to work on.

3.  Khan Academy -- Singapore Math!!
Get out your math notebook, put on headphones and watch and learn about this video.

4.  Brainpop on "Main Idea"
Sign into Brainpop, watch the video, stop it and take notes, and when you get to the end take the quiz.
Click here to take the quiz
Choose "Graded Quiz" -- at the end choose print , put your name on it and hand this to Mrs. Cooper so we can put this into the grade book.

****If you don't have a printer installed on your computer, go to this link.
I will help you install the correct printer.


ONCE YOU ARE DONE WITH Brainpop...
Click onto this and boss someone around for a while :)

Monday, #14 2012 2013 (9/17/12)

2 and 0!

Day #14

Happy Monday.

Photos are tomorrow.  It appears that we will be having our photos taken after lunch.  So discuss with your kids about not playing too much basketball or whatever if you want them to look their finest.  
We have great success ordering on-line therefore you do not have to stress about forgetting the check or order form or having a 10/11 year old misplace it.
www.inter-state.com
Dublin Elem. code is 156831  
You can choose background, border, and choose your packets.  Heck, you can even choose different backgrounds for different packets.  
I’m personally ordering the C.D. rom for $20 so I can order the photos from my own source and mail them directly to grandma and grandpa who live out of state.  

Cold Stone fundraiser on Thursday night.
I am scooping from 6:oo-6:45     It is a great opportunity for your son/daughter to show up and “make me work.”  I told it was their chance to give me orders and have me mix 3 or 4 challenging toppings.   

Here is what went down today....

P.E. with Mrs. L.

We then had students work on completing their chapter 2 test.  Many students could not complete the test during the hour given on Friday.   When students completed that test, students began our first Curriculum Associates assessment.  These results will be used over the next two weeks as we begin collaborating.   
As a reminder there will be an early release day on the next two Wednesday.   19th and 26th   
As a 2nd reminder, if the blue Shark Bites don’t make it home to you, on the bottom of my website you can find the three most recent Shark Bites.

Spelling Pretest.
Here are this week’s words.  

Math:
We began multiplication.
Today was pretty basic.  We worked on estimating and then multiplying when you have 10’s, 100’s, 1000’s in the problem.  
I did do a few of the “best practice” strategies for multiplication that we will be using for multiplication.  
Here are the notes:
Here is a great walk through of the multiplication this week.
Here are some model examples of what is coming up.  

CNN:
Items to ask your son/daughter about:  Afghanistan - -increased violence towards Americans.   Typhoon Sanba is going to hit through Asia over the next few days.  A brief history of the Republican political party -- who was the party’s first elected President?  What was their stand on slavery?    Rosh Hashanah -- what do you eat for good luck?  In the Jewish culture what is this celebration about?  225 years ago today the USA Constitution became the law of the land!!  Finally CNN kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month.

Constitution Day
We watched the Brainpop.com movie on the Constitution.  We discussed a few details about the Constitution.  We will be having a whole unit on the Constitution and our Bill of Rights.  

We ended the week with students writing down the homework for the week in their day planners and beginning to work on their homework.    Therefore students had 45 minutes to write down in their day planner and begin working on their homework.

Homework for the week:
Math
Page 55 7-20 all due Tuesday
Page 57 5-14 all and page 61 9-13 due Wednesday
Page 57 15-19 all and page 61 14-28 due Thursday
Page 64-65 3-19 all due Friday.
Here are all the chapter 3 notes.
Here is a great walk through of the multiplication this week.
Here are some model examples of what is coming up.  

Language Arts
Spelling Words and Challenge Words.
5 Mini-posters are due on Wednesday -- photo/drawing/picture on one-side; the word and its definition on the other side.

Practice Book (aka PB) pages 12 and 13 due Wednesday

P.B. 6 & 7 and 14 & 15 due on Friday

Grizzly Bear due on Friday
“Which Clown” due on Friday

Writing:
Free-Write due on Friday
“I just invented a time machine and I am off to....”
1 page or 20 minutes (w/ parent’s autograph)

History:
John Adams due on Thursday

North American Explorer Project

Students research and present the following facts:

1. Name of the Explorer
2. Personal Information (Nationality, trade, childhood information-if available, how they became interested in sailing/exploring)
3. Purpose of Expedition(s) (include who was financing the expedition)
4. Travel Route(s) (include the date(s) of the expedition)
5. Results of the Expedition(s) (New trade route, discovery of new land, etc)
6. Importance of this Discovery and this person’s journeys
7. Challenges that this explorer faced
8. Other Important facts that you would like to include about this explorer

DUE ON OCTOBER 19TH

You may present this information in any media communique that you desire.   Examples used in the past have been www.prezi.com , a webpage, Powerpoint, a physical poster-board, and a video representation.  

1. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (1490-1557)
2. Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512)
3. Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)
4. Don Juan de Onate
5. Eric the Red (986)
6. Estevanico
7. Ferdinand Magellan   (1519)
8. Francisco Coronado
9. Francisco Orellana (1541)
10. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (1540-1542)
11. Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) (1497)
12. Giovanni De Verrazano (1524)
13. Henry Hudson (1610)
14. Hernando Cortes (1519-1521)
15. Hernando de Alarcon (1540)
16. Hernando de Soto (1541)
17. Jacques Cartier (1534)
18. Jacques Marquette (1673)
19. Jean Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe (1683- September 26, 1765)
20. John Cabot
21. Juan Bautista de Anza (1736-1788)
22. Juan Ponce de Leon
23. Leif Eriksson (1000)
24. Louis Jolliet (1673)
25. Martin Frobisher (1576)
26. Pedro Alvarez Cabral (1500)
27. Pedro Menendez de Aviles
28. Ponce de Leon (1513)
29. Robert LaSalle
30. Samuel de Champlain (1604)
31. Sieur (Robert) de La Salle (1682)
32. Sir Francis Drake
33. Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1789)
34. Sir Humphrey Gilbert (1539-1583)
35. Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1513)
36. Vitus Bering (1728-1741)
37. Willem C. Schouten (1615)
38. William Baffin (1616

For those that want to present in a blog or website:
click here

Here are some websites to use to get a great start:

http://www.newton.k12.ks.us/tech/explorer_websites.htm   

http://library.thinkquest.org/4034/links.html

Thursday, #12 2012 2013

photo from petervanallen

Day 12

A super quick update.  I’m sorry for the last two days.  The district rolled out its science coaches and 5th grade curriculum yesterday after school so that took up a portion of my evening.  Then today I taught a technology class to my fellow teachers after school.  So the last two evenings have been jam packed.

Today’s happenings:
CNN Students.  
Libya -- small group of evil;  Chicago school strike -- how does one evaluate a teacher?   What was the bubonic plague?  What do fleas on squirrels have to do with it today?  The government is building a super energy house, why and what goes into being 0 energy use?

Back safety presentation from Dr. Palomares   A big discussion is how backpacks are extremely helpful however they can be dangerous to our backs if misused.  

Noun review and how some nouns are tricky.  We discussed salami.  Usually my favorite processed spiced meat is a noun however when used as “a salami sandwich” is it an adjective.  

When to graph and when not to graph...why graph at all?  The students did a great lesson on why graphs increase our understanding of numbers.   For homework due on Monday, finish up their graph comparing costs of items in 1806 versus 2012.  They were given a cost of items in 1806 and a safeway flyer with current day prices.  

Math:
Chapter 1 test was returned.
Per district restrictions these tests can not be taken home.  Students were able to assess what happened and go “CSI” on their test.  Many students made simple mistakes of going way too quick and not following the explicit instructions.
As a reminder once a student shows they have done further practice on the chapter topic (e.g. more examples from the book, watched Kahn academy videos or master the subjects on www.IXL.com) they may schedule a retest.   The first test score will be thrown out and the new test score will count towards grades/mastery.

Review for the Chapter 2 test -- students were given time to view what the test will be like tomorrow and also begin working on the chapter review (i.e. tonight’s homework).  

Homework grades versus work assessed for mastery in class...
Daily homework and weekly homework will be given a “quick” grade of 1 or 0;  I am looking to ensure they put in a complete effort, trying their best, and putting in the “mindful practice” that will lead to skill mastery.  So the grading is quick and it is a 1 or 0;  All 0 can be turned in for the first time or redone to bring up to a 1.  

Graded work that I want to see mastery and often given in class.  The exceptions would be the book reports/presentations and free-writes.   Those will receive a 1, 2, 3 or 4 that models the report grades of “3” is on grade level, 2 is “approaching” grade level and 4 is beyond 5th grade.

The field trip -- we will need all of our drivers and they need to make sure they have their insurance up to speed.  If you haven’t turned in your driver’s information this school year, you should get those forms from the office and also turn in a fresh new copy of your proof of insurance.  

Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Math
Click here for all the chapter 2 notes
Page 46-47 1-14 all due Friday
Chapter 2 test is on Friday
All homework this week must follow format described above and modeled in my notes.

Free-Write due Friday
What would the world be like with no Saturdays?
1 page (if typed 12 to 14 font) or 20 consecutive minutes whichever comes first.
Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.   
We are working on writing our ideas and brainstorming.  We are more concerned with increasing our speed with thinking & writing.

Reading Summarizing is due on Friday
2 sided sheet with “Bon Appetit” on it.

George Washington -- reading/social studies is due on Friday

Spelling Test -- Here are this week’s words.

Lewis and Clark graphing -- due Monday

Tuesday, #10 2012 2013

9 11 Memorial by Stephen Nessen/WNYC

Day 10

It was like no other day that I have taught.   

The big news that your son/daughter will be talking about was our security lock-down that we began at 12:35’ish today.  It lasted until 1:30’ish.   It was related to this incident that happened in the general area of the of school.  

Your kids were amazing.  They remained silent, they understood that we had to take this seriously and everyone remained calm and ready to help/listen.  The only challenges were that the security procedures began at the beginning of our lunch break so some students had not had a chance to use the restroom before we entered a complete lockdown (i.e. no one leaves the classroom under any circumstances).  

Besides that we had our first experience in the computer lab today.  Students were able to log in, try Renaissance Place and use www.ixl.com    

Math:
Please note that I received the feedback from a few parents about the expanded form style taking up some time.  So we practiced as a class for 45+ minutes.  
I also modified the number of problems so kids can focus on expanded form and doing it correctly.
So please note below the reduction in problems.  
Click here for all the chapter 2 notes

Seaman -- we read and discussed for 30 minutes the beginning of our Lewis and Clark book.

The rest of the day was lost dealing with the lockdown, ensuring the kids received their 25+ minutes of lunch-recess and then all the logistics of walking 26 students safely to the front of the school.   

I am mentally drained however I am so proud of your courageous students and their exceptional behavior in a unique situation.  

Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Math
Click here for all the chapter 2 notes
Page 38-39 9-19 all due Wednesday
Page 41  12-19 all due Thursday
Page 46-47 1-14 all due Friday
Chapter 2 test is on Friday
All homework this week must follow format described above and modeled in my notes.

Vocabulary -- mini posters are due on Wednesday.
Here are this week’s words.

Grammar is due on Thursday
2 sided sheet with “Crack the Code” on it.

Free-Write due Friday
What would the world be like with no Saturdays?
1 page (if typed 12 to 14 font) or 20 consecutive minutes whichever comes first.
Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.   
We are working on writing our ideas and brainstorming.  We are more concerned with increasing our speed with thinking & writing.

Reading Summarizing is due on Friday
2 sided sheet with “Bon Appetit” on it.

George Washington -- reading/social studies is due on Friday

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Monday, #9 2012 2013

9 by Leo Reynolds

Day 9

The students had P.E. on this glorious sunny California Monday morning.

CNN Students.  
Things we discussed and took notes on:

1. President Obama and Mitt Romney offer alternate descriptions on the latest jobs reports and unemployment numbers.  Why is that?
2. Congress is going back to work.  What do we call the two branches of Congress?  
3. More discussion on hazing and if the “hazing pledge” will work.
4. They are designing robots that can “walk” and “climb” rough terrains -- what future uses may exist for this technology?  

More procedure discussions...
Here is what we have documented so far....

Math:
More work with adding and subtracting using the expanded form.
It is important students complete homework ALL WEEK following this format:
1.  Write down the original question
2.  Immediately below write the estimated numbers and the estimated answer
3.  Solve the arithmetic problem using the “expanded” form.  

This is being role-modeled and students are strongly encouraged to take notes of this more effective strategy of adding and subtracting.  
Click here for all the chapter 2 notes

Lewis and Clark:
We watched some of the Lewis and Clark documentary.  We re-reviewed the Louisiana Purchase, Rush’s Thunderbolts, Lewis, Clark, President Jefferson and “rumors” that existed about this “new” land.  

Spelling
How this works:  spelling pretest on Monday, students grade & analyze words missed, and the final test will be on Friday.  
Here are this week’s words.

Vocabulary:
Students need to produce “five mini-posters” every week.  They have the five challenge words and they create mini-posters or slightly larger flash cards.  One side has the definition and word and the other side has either a drawing or an image(s) glued to the other side.   This is not intended to time consuming project rather the drawing/image tends to help students remember the words.

Getting prepared for the day.
I role-modeled how students should be completing their day-planner based on the homework for the week.  
I try to give 90 to 100% of the homework from my class on Monday.  That way the students can effectively plan out their week and work harder/longer on open days/evenings while lessening stress on practice, church or family events that occur on weeknights.  
The key?   Students need to listen to my pleads to work smartly throughout the week and use Monday evening as a big homework night.  If not, Thursday nights will become a living heck.
One more note on this -- some students become emotionally flooded with writing down all of the work at once.   They become overwhelmed.  They need to be reminded to take it assignment by assignment.  

Kind regards,
Mr. Hubbard

Homework for the week:
Math
Click here for all the chapter 2 notes
Amazing Arrows - -Math + Art  due on Tuesday;  Students worked on this for 20 minutes on Friday.
Page 35 - 36 2-23 all due Tuesday
Page 38-39 9-26 all due Wednesday
Page 41  12-27 all due Thursday
Page 46-47 1-14 all due Friday
Chapter 2 test is on Friday
All homework this week must follow format described above and modeled in my notes.

Vocabulary -- mini posters are due on Wednesday.
Here are this week’s words.

Grammar is due on Thursday
2 sided sheet with “Crack the Code” on it.

Free-Write due Friday
What would the world be like with no Saturdays?
1 page (if typed 12 to 14 font) or 20 consecutive minutes whichever comes first.
Don’t worry about spelling or grammar.   
We are working on writing our ideas and brainstorming.  We are more concerned with increasing our speed with thinking & writing.

Reading Summarizing is due on Friday
2 sided sheet with “Bon Appetit” on it.

George Washington -- reading/social studies is due on Friday