Halloween Fun

SCIENCE EXTRA CREDIT!

This cloud was generated from our class blog!

Well since there's no school tomorrow, you kiddos may need something fun to do! Not that video games are not fun... but extra credit assignments can be too!

Try this. Watch the news, WMUR will do. As they report about hurricane Sandy, take notes. Write down major words such as, wind speed,  tropical, dangerous, rain, force, damage, etc. Try to get as many words as possible including proper and common nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Shoot for 20-25 words.

Next go to:http://www.tagxedo.com/app.html

Create a word cloud in a shape by typing in all the words you heard about the hurricane. It's a lot of fun to play with the shapes and color!

If you are prone to printer problems like me, ask an adult for help emailing it to me at: hwatson@mansd.org and I can print it for you at school in color. This will add a plus, (+) to your science grade on your report card. Have fun and stay safe during the storm!

PS:  I'll post some pictures tomorrow of the Halloween parade. Just Dance on the Smartboard was FUN!

In the Lab

This year our class received Science Studies Weekly, a subscription to a science newspaper that is tied to the Common Core Teaching Standards. It is FABULOUS! It has great articles, experiments, quizzes, and vocabulary activities. The students loved doing the first experiment today.  If you have a minute, ask your son or daughter about the experiment. I'm encouraging them to use the vocabulary that they will be quizzed on this Friday when they discuss the experiment. Here are some shots of the scientists working together!

Game On!

Here is a link to multiplication tests and quizzes. 

Multiplication Tests and Quizzes

Now that we're finished with NECAP testing we're ready to conquer new math skills. In order for students to do that successfully, it is crucial to know their times tables backwards, forwards, and inside out! We'll be doing daily multiplication quizzes at school, but students must practice them at home as well!

Blowing Away the NECAP

Demetri is ready to score another PD (proficient with distinction)!

We have one more day of testing left. The kids have worked extremely hard. As the students turn in their tests, I've been checking to see if they've been showing all their work, underlining key parts in questions, and taking their time. Now if a student has accomplished all this, they receive a raffle ticket. Each student has an opportunity to earn six tickets, one for each session. Mrs. Otero will be awarding a snowboard, an autographed skateboard, and a few other special prizes as well! I hope some of my hard-working students win! They are all winners in my eyes! 

Here's What's Popping!

Well, we finished our final drafts of our bubble gum stories. They are a riot to read! I think the ABC strategy worked well for this. Plus, it made such a cute display in the hallway to showcase the student's writing! 

A Bit of Creative Writing

Today in Writer's Workshop we worked on writing a story using a new strategy. I think overall it was a success! The students all drafted a story with a bubble gum theme. The objective of the lesson was to vary the start of each sentence using a different letter of the alphabet. Here is the example that I wrote to help teach the lesson. It's a true story by the way! Students began by writing the alphabet across the top of their paper.  Then as they wrote their story, they had to cross out the letter that each sentence began with. In the example below, I used as many letters as I could. It is not important that students use every letter, only that they try their best and use as many as possible! 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Let me tell you about a sticky situation. On a beautiful spring day I was riding in the backseat of my mother's car. Windows open, breeze blowing, life was good! I chewed my bubble gum as we drove to pick my brother up from school.

You would not believe the bubbles I could blow! Right as my bubble was growing into about the size of a soccer ball, the wind blew my long hair right across my face! No, no, no!! My mom saw the whole thing in the rear view mirror. We pulled up to the school and she came around to see the damage. Ughh, lots of sticky gum stuck in my hair. Please mom I thought, get this out!

As we were driving home, mom said she wasn't sure if we could get all of the sticky pink gum out. On the kitchen counter I sat as she tried to wash the gum away. By the time my dad got home, it was clear that the gum was probably there to stay.

This story ends with a very bad haircut. As you know, a girl's hair is important to her. VERY important. Just imagine how I felt! Here's the moral of the story: Never chew gum in a car with the windows open. Ever.

I know, I didn't use "Z" or "X". But that's okay! The students first drafts were impressive because the sentence structure was much different than in usual narratives. Tomorrow we'll do a second draft and some conferencing. Later this week we have a fun art project- related to the bubble gum theme, to celebrate all of the hard work and terrific writing!