Friday, December 14, 2012

Monday, December 10, 2012

Quick Post

Just the homework for right now….

Homework:  (1) Write all spelling words 3 times in cursive and write sentences for words 1-5. (2) Do the “Magnetic Poles” and “Magnet meets Magnet” study sheet. Students will need the purple Science book for this. "(3) Do “Multiplying Money 1” worksheet. Be sure to place the decimal point in the right spot! (4) Do “Perspective,” pages 212-213 in the math book, and “Building Blocks” on the back of the math answer sheet.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Breaking the Force

This was the big day for our orchestra players, their first concert! They performed for the second and fifth graders this afternoon, and they will be performing for parents tonight at our annual winter Family Night. This is also a great time for some Christmas or Hanukkah present purchases at the Book Fair!

We did a few things differently because of this, and the students who are not in orchestra had an hour of "study hall" at the end of the day. Our students worked on a project for Mr. Lawton this morning which combined both music and fractions. They read a story about Jaime Escalante, the famous calculus teacher from Garfield High School. They went to Mr. Pratt for Social Studies. They learned the difference between radii, diameters, and chords in mathematics.

Probably the most interesting thing we did today was to explore how distance can weaken the force of magnetism. The students were given balances. On one side of the balance was a magnet on a stick. In the cup above it there was another magnet. The students had to carefully add washers to the other cup and then determine how many washers were sufficient to "break the force" and separate the magnets. They then added little plastic chip between the magnets and repeated the process several times. They recorded and graphed the results. This was fun!

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Homework(1) Write all spelling words 3 times in cursive and write sentences for words 11-15. (2) Do pages 173-174 in the Practice book. (3) Do the "Division 3" math worksheet. (4) Do "Circles," on pages 204-205 in the math book. 

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Come to the Fair!

It was like we were hardly ever in the room today! We started off today in the Tech Center where we worked with Mr. Riko on creating special holiday story PowerPoints. We then went off to see Mr. Lawton who discussed rhythm with the students. After recess, the students went to Mr. Pratt for history. And, after a scant 45 minutes, we finished our day at the Book Fair.
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One of our students even helped with the cash register there! Also note Tim Hill, one of our dads, helping out as well.
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Homework:  (1) Write all spelling words 3 times in cursive and write sentences for words 6-10. (3) Do the "Division 2" math worksheet. (4) Do "Quadrilaterals," on pages 202-203 in the math book. 

Monday, December 03, 2012

“For the Rain it Raineth Every Day”

So sang Feste at the end of Twelfth NIght. It certainly feels like that lately! I suppose we in Southern California are just not prepared for five straight days of drizzle. My sister from Portland would have no idea what I was complaining about.

Despite our third day of rainy day schedule, we had a productive day. We worked on revising our holiday stories. We went to a performance of The Grinch who Stole Christmas put on by the students in room 17. We continued looking at polygons in geometry.

Homework:  (1) Write all spelling words 3 times in cursive and write sentences for words 1-5. (2) Do "Phonics," page 167 and "Vocabulary," page 168 in the Practice book. (3) Do the "Division 1" math worksheet. (4) Do "Triangles," on pages 200-201 in the math book. Also do "Mixed Up" on the back of the answer sheet.
The PTA Toy Drive starts today. Please be generous!

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