The students were worn out after PE today.  As soon as they entered the classroom they were talking about the strenuous PE schedule for the day.  They all came back healthy and ready to go, so I am guessing that it may not have been as bad as they thought it would be!

During reading, the students discussed their directives for chapters 23-24.  I led the class in a discussion about personification.  Now that Karana has experienced life with another human, her emotions and ideas about being alone on the island begin to change.  After Tutok leaves, Karana begins to personify some of her animal friends.  This shows how much she really is longing to be around people again.  We talked about how Karana begins having imaginary conversations with Tutok instead of just talking to her dog.  Life on the island is beginning to look a little different to Karana now that she remembers what it is like to have companionship with people like herself.  We will continue to focus on how her characters is changing now that her journey is coming to an end.  The students will have a quiz on chapters 21-25 next Tuesday.

During science, the students were asked to create parallel circuits.  This proved to be a more difficult task than they thought.  The different series circuits that they built last week were more straightforward.  Now that they have been given more components to use and must use them to build more complex circuits, their knowledge of how electrons flow is very critical.  They have been given mental homework.  I will be adding a switch component into their circuits.  They were told that the switch would consist of a note card, two brad fasteners, and one paperclip.  They have been asked to think about/visualize how this switch should be built and how it will work.

Our social studies time was spent working on our story boards.  The students were told that their storyboards must be completed by the end of class on Friday.  I will be demonstrating to students tomorrow how to use the presentation software to create their presentations.  We had to give the laptop cart back early today, so it was not used other than having late newsletter groups work during recess.  I will try to sign up for the carts again this week, but if they are not available, we will be using them on Tuesday.

My math group worked to better understand divisibility rules.  I am asking the students to take time to memorize these rules as they have been working to memorize their multiplication facts.  We will continue working on the rules tomorrow.

At the end of the day, I talked to my students about our field trip.  We will talk in more detail tomorrow.  The students will be able to purchase cookies at the cookie factory during our trip.  As a 4th grade team, we think that $5 will be enough money for the students to purchase cookies.  No other opportunity will be given for students or parents to purchase other items during this trip.  We will only be buying cookies during one of many walking trips we take during this trip.  Students may bring in the money tomorrow in an envelope for me to hold onto until Thursday, or they may bring it with them on Thursday.

Homework

Writing – DLR Tuesday (explain corrections made for #2-3); spelling Tuesday, handwriting Tuesday

Reading – NLL Tuesday; IBD quiz over chapters 21-25 will be given on next Tuesday

Math – Larson HW – homework book pages 181-184; Bell HW – multiplication review sheet; Allen HW – Study for tomorrow’s test

Science – Magnetism and charge test given on Friday – the students should study the material in their notebooks and use the textbook to provide extra insight if needed.  The test will relate to the hands-on work we have been doing in class.

Social Studies – Just a reminder that the students are working on an in-class project for our missions unit.  Part of the project asks that they students provide an extra visual aid.  If your child comes home saying that they HAVE to build a mission, please know that the groups have been given the freedom to choose what type of visual aid they would like to create – these range from lego models, posters, drawings, etc.  I will also be making available to students information about candle making, adobe bricks, branding, etc.

Other – Book orders are due on Friday; Please take the parent survey.  Thank you to the students and parents who have participated so far – I was able to hand out a few “fancy” pencils today.  You can find the survey online by visiting the eaton website and clicking on the “Parent Survey” link located at the top of the left-hand scrolling section.  You can also find the link to the school website in my links page.

Reminders/Upcoming Events

Ryuhei’s farewell celebration will be at the end of the day tomorrow.  This will be a special time for the students to share fond thought of Eaton and of their friend Ryuhei.  Students who would like to bring in something special for him may do so tomorrow.  He will be here on Thursday, but our field trip will occupy all of our time.

Wells Fargo Museum trip on Thursday.  We will hopefully be leaving promptly at 9:15 on this day.  All parent chaperons, please be at the school by 9am.

March 25 – Rancho Bernal field trip.

No School on March 15 – Learning Day

We began our day with a new vocabulary word.  The word for the day was cache.  The students had to write a journal entry about finding a hidden cache.  In their story, they had to include details about how they found the cache, what they found, and who they thought left it there.

The students took a spelling test over lists 21-24.  I gave the students 10 words and they had to use as many words as they could in a short story or poem.  They were asked to write this on demand and had ten minutes to do so.  They did a pretty good job with their last on-demand writing assignment and I am looking forward to seeing how they were able to fit their words into a creative writing piece.

After recess, we spent time completing our leprechaun traps.  The students were amazing and Ms. Hsu and I saw some great ideas at work.  Groups that did not finish their traps will be asked to finish them either at home or during their breaks at school.  The traps will be put to work on March 17.  I hope they are able to trap a few leprechaun and earn some gold.

My math class took a pretest today in order to determine upcoming group activities.  I will be covering division and multiplication from Unit 3, 5, and 6 at one time.  We will begin individual/group activities beginning next week based on the scores of these tests.  This week, we will look at divisibility rules and learning the vocabulary associated with division and multiplication.  Continue to have your child work on memorizing his/her basic multiplication and division facts.

Our social studies and tech lab times overlapped today as the students began planning their mission presentations.  Many of the groups worked together cooperatively this morning while creating their story boards.  As we use the laptops today and tomorrow, the students will be challenged to use their time wisely and to make wise choices about what to place on each slide.  The students will also be using part of their time finishing up their newsletters.  I will be compiling all of the pages created into one document and making it available for parent viewing.  Please keep your eyes and ears open for more information on how to access the classroom newsletter.

Homework

Writing – DLR Monday (explain the corrections you made for #3-4); Spelling Monday; Handwriting Monday.

Reading -NLL Monday; Read IBD chapters 23-24 and complete one directive for each chapter.  IBD quiz over Chapters 21-15 will be given next Tuesday.

Math – Larson HW – homework book pages 177-180; Bell HW – None – the students took a test; Allen HW – homework book pages 115, 116, 117 – Chapter 13 test on Wednesday

Science – Test on Friday will cover magnetism and charge

Social Studies – No HW (student who feel they need to conduct more research may continue working)

Other – Book orders due Friday; Please complete parent survey.

Upcoming Events/Reminders

Thursday field trip to San Francisco – if you are a parent chaperon, I will have more information to share with you at the end of the day on Tuesday.  I will send the information to you via email.

March 25 – field trip to Rancho Bernal

Parent Survey – please take the survey.  Each student with a finished parent survey will receive a pencil; If 90% of the class completes the survey, fruit snacks will be provided by PTO for the class to enjoy.

I am sad to announce that this will be Ryuhei Fujii’s last week at Eaton.  We wish him and his family well as they return to Japan.  We are planning a celebration in honor of Ryuhei on Wednesday afternoon.  If your child would like to bring something special for Ryuhei on this day, please send it to school with him/her at the beginning of the day.

No school on March 15 – Learning Day

Report cards go home on March 19

What a beautiful day!  It was nice to enjoy what looks to be the only dry day for the next few days.  I am glad that the students got to enjoy some outside time.

To start the day, the two debate teams were given ten minutes to meet, discuss, and choose five students to represent them in the debate.  After getting the teams chosen, we moved into reading for the day.  The students checked their last Island of the Blue Dolphins quiz and we discussed the short response questions.  After checking the quiz, we dove into chapter 21.  I read the chapter aloud and along the way stopped to share some insight into the plot or to ask the students a few questions.  The key points I wanted them to think about was how Karana begins to think about what she hears differently.  Before meeting Tutok, she found happiness in the sounds that she heard – the sea lion sounds brought her joy, the sounds of the ocean reminded her of her people, etc.  Once Tutok leaves, the sounds no longer bring her happiness.  Instead, they remind her of how lonely she is and how much she needs other people in her life.  I also asked the students to consider how Karana’s trust begins to change.  As food for thought for the next reading assignment, I asked the students to think about how Karana’s interaction with the animals begins to change.  I specifically asked them to pay attention to any personification that is used when describing or interacting with the animals.  We will discuss this next week.

Our buddy time was spent drawing blue prints and beginning our trap building.  We will be working together again on Monday to ensure that the traps are completed on time.  Any other supplies needed should be brought to school on Monday, instead of the original March 11 date.  Ms. Hsu and I decided to make the change due to upcoming schedule changes for her and for my class.

During writing, we used the “Name it, Verb it, Finish it” method for writing a topic sentence.  A good topic sentence for a summary should always name what is being summarized, should include a verb that relates to the purpose of the piece being summarized, and should be finished with details that relate the the verb chosen and the main idea of the piece.  We will continue working tomorrow to rewrite our topic sentences and begin using a fact outline to gather details for the summary.

My math class reviewed over simplifying expressions and basic multiplication/division skills during our warm-up time.  We checked homework in partner groups and played a division with remainders review game.  Tomorrow, the students will take their 6-10 multiplication facts test and will continue working on problem solving that we began last Friday.

Our reading debate was very interesting to view.  I enjoyed seeing so many students fired up about their favorite book choice.  Both groups did a good job defending their choices and one group did a stand out job.  The voting was not as successful as the debate.  After taking so much time to allow them to voice their interests, I was expecting 100% participation.  Unfortunately, like the first time, some students chose only to vote once knowing what the outcome might be.  Since the first vote was a tie, and I told the class that I would be the tie breaker, I made the final vote.  Some students were very upset, but in the end, I think they handled it well.  I want the students to see how important it is to have an informed opinion and to take a stand for what they believe in, instead of waiting to see what everyone else is going to do.

During social studies, the students were given their last class day to conduct research.  Tomorrow, I will give them their presentation rubrics and they will begin planning their story board for the presentation.  On Monday, we will use our tech lab time to practice keyboarding skills and to begin working on presentations.

Homework

Writing – DLR Thursday (write down the “why” behind each correction you make); Spelling and handwriting Thursday; The summary reflection is due tomorrow (this was assigned yesterday).

Reading – NLL Thursday; Read IBD chapters 23-24 for Tuesday.  Complete one directive for each chapter.

Math – Larson HW – homework book pages 173-176; Bell HW – division worksheet; Allen HW – homework book pages 113-114

Science – Magnetism and charge test on March 12

Social Studies – Research is due by end of class time tomorrow

Other – Pooja is Student of the Week; Book orders are due on March 12

Looking Ahead/Reminders

March Field Trips -March 11 (Wells Fargo Museum) March 25 (Rancho Bernal)

No School March 15 – Learning Day

Report cards go home March 19

We began our day with library and music.  It makes for a busy Wednesday, but it is SO nice to have so many resources available to us.  Mrs. Glass does a fantastic job and the students love their music time with Mrs. Zhao.

During writing, the students met with their partner to share main ideas for their TFK article.  Half of the groups were able to share their agreed upon main idea with the whole class and the others will share tomorrow.  The students were given a rubric to reflect on for homework tonight.  The rubric gives them a few specifics about summary writing and how important paraphrasing the main ideas are to writing a good summary.  During our writing time, we also took time to discuss the DLR corrected sentences.  I have asked the students to begin thinking about why they make the corrections that they choose to make.  For each correction they make, the students must tell why they make the correction.  They can use their Writer’s Express books and any other resources they have available to them.  These corrected sentences will guide our mini-lessons each week.

The students continued to conduct mission research today.  I gathered books from the school library, the public library, and from other schools.  They will be given time on Friday to finish up their research from the books and all research is due on this day.  We will go over PowerPoint presentation guidelines and starting on Monday, the students will work to create their PowerPoint slides.

During math, we checked over yesterday’s class work/homework as a way to review over division and checking with multiplication.  I showed a math video to the class today that gave the students a different view of multiplication and division and how they are related.  The students were also introduced to other topics that we will be covering during our unit on multiplication and division – exponents, prime factorizations, distributive property of multiplication, and much more.

Our science time consisting of short circuits, working circuits, and a a lot of frustrated students.  Today, the students were asked to add one more wire to their circuits from last week.  They had only their hands and the following components to use: two wires, one D-cell battery, and one light bulb.  Many students had to spend most of their time troubleshooting in order to figure out what was not working for them.  Others struggled with trying to keep the batteries from rolling while touching the wires to them.  The use of the materials in this way allows them to experience short circuits in a safe way.

The students voted on their read aloud book today and it was a tie.  The majority of the classroom wanted to have a debate on each book in order to try to sway classmates to their book choice.  I am giving them this opportunity.  Students from the different book sides will be meeting briefly in the morning to share arguments that they have created.  Five students will be chosen from each side to debate.  The debate will be held for ten minutes only after math tomorrow.  Each side will be given 5 minutes to argue its case and then the class will vote one last time.  If there is a tie, I will be the tie breaker.  I am looking forward to the students sharing their opinions.

Homework

Writing – DLR, spelling, handwriting for Wednesday.  For Tuesday and Wednesday’s DLR corrected sentences, the students have been asked to write down why they make each correction.

Reading – NLL Wednesday; IBD directive for chapters 21-22 are due tomorrow (one from each chapter)

Math – Larson HW – homework book pages 171-172; Bell HW – division worksheet; Allen HW – homework book pages 111-112

Science – Magnetism and charge test next Friday, March 12.

Social Studies – All mission research should be completed by the end of social studies time on Friday.

Other – Pooja is Student of the Week; Book orders are due March 12; Bring in supplies to build your leprechaun traps.

Looking Ahead/Reminders

March Field Trips – March 11 (Well’s Fargo Museum) March 25 (Rancho Bernal)

Parent Survey is online!  Please share your feedback.

Tonight is the last night for McHart’s pizza fundraiser for science camp.

No school March 15 – Learning Day

The students were able to have their PE outside today thanks to the covered tables! After PE, they worked on their new vocabulary entry for the word attire. The writing prompt asked the students to write, from a reporter’s perspective, about an event where the attire is very connected to the event. They had to use vivid words to describe the event and the attire seen. The students could choose their event (real or made up). Some students asked questions about amour being used, so I am curious about what typed of events they will be writing about.

After vocabulary, we spent time talking about silent letters and why it is important as readers and writers to be aware of silent letters. The more knowledge we have about how to pronounce words, the more likely we are able to attack new words accurately. The students were given papers today to guide them during our next writing unit on summary writing. They chose a writing partner today that they will use during writing activities for our first summary. We are working to summarize non-fiction writing found in our weekly Time For Kids magazines.

During science, we watched a Popular Mechanics for Kids video on electricity. The video did a great job showing the students how closely related magnetism, static electricity, and current electricity are related. The students were told today that on March 12, they will be given their magnetism and static electricity assessment. We will continue to work on learning more about current electricity until we begin our Environments unit.

My math class worked on division today and using multiplication to check. I want to continue to stress the importance of memorizing the 1-12 multiplication facts. This will help students so much as we work to learn long division, fractions, and many other math concepts. The students were given a new multiplication table today to help them complete their math work and to practice their math facts.

Homework

Writing -  DLR, spelling, and handwriting Tuesday

Reading – NLL Tuesday; Read chapters 21-22 in Island of the Blue Dolphins and complete one directive for each chapter – this is due on Thursday

Math – Larson HW – homework book pages 167-170; Bell HW – students who did not finish page 131 in class must complete it for homework; students who finished page 131 in class should complete page 137 Set C for homework – the students will be given a test over their 6-10 multiplication facts on Friday; Allen HW – No homework because they took a test today

Science – The math sheet from Monday is due tomorrow; The students will be given their magnetism and static electricity assessment on Friday, March 12

Social Studies – continue to conduct research and if you have any mission books at home, bring them to school tomorrow to use.

Other – Pooja is Student of the Week; Book orders are due March 12

Looking Ahead/Reminders

March field trips – March 11 (Well’s Fargo Museum) March 25 (Rancho Bernal)

No school on March 15 – Learning Day

Last day to dine out at McHart’s Pizza is tomorrow.  Remember – 30% of proceeds raised by Eaton diners will be given back to Eaton for science camp for next year.  Just let them know you are from Eaton and they will do the rest!

The Parent survey is online.  Please give us your feedback!

Another month is here and the school year is racing by.  An old student of mine emails me often with a countdown to the end of the year.  Based on his calculations, there are less than 70 school days left.  Wow – time really has flown by.

It was a busy start for the week.  Since we were able to sign up for the mobile laptop cart again, the students continued their research on their assigned California mission and on publishing their Native American research papers.  I have given the students the addresses of a few helpful research sites that are also available on my links page.  The students may research on their own at home; however, this is an in-class, group project.  Students should be sharing the weight of the work in as fair and equal a manner as possible.  After using book resources on Wednesday to continue their research, the groups will learn more about what will be required in their presentations and will start planning and preparing their powerpoint presentations.

Our language arts time was filled with read aloud and writing/TFK today.  For the next few weeks, we will be focusing on using apostrophes in our everyday writing.  The students used their TFK cover story today to help them begin thinking about writing summaries for non-fiction reading.  We read the cover story together and the students have been asked to reread it for homework tonight and to write down what they believe to be the main idea of the article.  We will use these main ideas to get us into writing our summary of the article.  We finished reading The Mysterious Benedict Society: The Perilous Journey.  We will take a class vote on what our next read aloud book will be.  We will also be finishing up Island of the Blue Dolphins in the days to come.  Once we finish reading this book, the students will be assigned their book report.  I will assess the students understanding of the story and the skills that we have been working on through a book report, an end of the book test, and through an alternative  writing assignment.

My math group worked on division with remainders.  I am encouraging the students to study their multiplication facts each in order to build their speed and efficiency.  The students will take a multiplication quiz each week over the facts they have been asked to study.  This Friday, the students will be given a test over their 0-10 facts.  They did very well last week and if they can apply their knowledge to their everyday work and to their tests, they should see fewer and fewer errors made.

Our tech lab time today was dedicated to our newsletters.  The students are in their final stages or preparing their newsletters for printing.  I am looking forward to having these available to you soon.  I have noticed that the students as a whole, have been struggling with keyboarding skills.  I will be requiring the students to complete 10 minutes of keyboarding practice every Monday when we are in the lab.  If you have keyboarding software at home, please make that available to your child.  Students are not yet comfortable using home row keys to guide their typing.  Fourth and fifth grade should be the years that the students begin to become more proficient in their keyboarding skills – in both speed and accuracy.  If you are interested in purchasing keyboard practice software that is kid friendly and fun, check out the software available on the Click Scholastic book orders.

Homework

Writing – DLR Monday, Spelling Monday (do all copy and cover and spell); Handwriting Monday

Reading – NLL Monday; Reread over the TFK cover story.  On a full sheet of lined paper, use one – two lines to write down what you think the main idea of the cover story is.

Math -Larson HW – None, took test today; Bell HW – Basic Facts 11 sheet; Allen HW – Study for tomorrow’s test

Science – Complete the math extension sheet for Wednesday

Social Studies – You can continue to conduct individual research using the websites listed on my links page.

Other – Pooja is Student of the Week; Book orders are due on March 19; Students should begin bringing in any supplies they want to use on their leprechaun traps.  We are not scheduled to officially begin building them until next week, but some students may find that they finish their blueprints early this week and have time to start building.

Apologies

I am SO sorry for the mix up on dates and information on the permission slips.  I used this as an example to the students today – proofreading is very critical!!!  I have listed current information on the side panel of the homepage and have sent an email to all parents today about the error.

Looking Ahead/Reminders

Dine out at McHart’s Pizza to raise money for science camp!

No school on March 15 – Staff Learning Day

Field Trips – March 11 (Wells Fargo Museum and more), March 25 – Rancho Bernal

Report cards go home March 19

Another beautiful day.  With the forecast not looking so bright for tomorrow, it was nice to have a day out in the sun.

The students began the day working on handwriting and vocabulary.  Our vocabulary word for the day was incognito.  The students had to write a fictional personal narrative from the perspective of being a famous person trying to do an everyday activity without being recognized.  I am sure to hear a few interesting stories when these are shared during public speaking.

Our buddy time today was spent brainstorming and planning for building a leprechaun trap.  We will spend the next few Thursdays using our buddy time to create the most inventive, efficient traps possible.  Students who are able to catch a leprechaun in their traps will be able to keep the leprechaun’s gold!!  This should be a lot of fun for the students.  It will involve cooperation, mentoring opportunities, the use of their math and reasoning skills, and so much more.

The students took their Island of the Blue Dolphins test over chapters 16-20 today.  They were given two extra questions that I took from student directives created by students in the classroom.  We will focus on chapters 21-25 next week.

Our writing time today was spent focusing on when to use apostrophes.  In the Writers Express handbook, the students can find a wealth of information and facts to guide them toward stronger punctuation and grammar skills.  Using apostrophes to show possession (singular and plural) can be tricky.  Today we talked about the importance of using sentence context as a way to guide them when determining when apostrophes are needed.

During math, my group worked to use their multiplication table to help them notice more patterns about their times tables and division facts.  We will take a 1-5 multiplication test tomorrow.  By the end of 4th grade, the students should master their times table facts through the 12’s times tables.  Please help your child by reviewing over the facts in fun ways at home – a game in the car while coming to school, flash card challenge between you and your child, etc.  The more memorized facts your child can utilize, the more efficient their computation can become.

Today we used our social studies time to get back into the book.  We ended our class discussion on the greatest effect that the Spanish influence had on the Native American way of life.  The students were told to remember the following: The Native Americans change from a hunter-gatherer way of life to a agricultural way of life that eventual leads to using the land for cultivation.  Cultivation goes against the beliefs that the Native Americans had about living in harmony with the land.  Those students who needed to continue working on their Native American papers (either independently or one-on-one with me) worked during a scheduled SSR time.  The students will be working on another research project in class – with some work being required at home from time to time.  We will be focusing our attention on the California missions.  This is a critical part of California history because it has shaped California’s settlement.  The students will be researching specific missions and will be using their critical thinking and creative thinking skills to help them present their research in a meaningful way.  Today the students were able to choose a few names of students they wanted to work with, thought they should not work with, and did not want to work with.  I want to use their input to put together the most productive groups possible.  If your child has any California mission information at home, please allow him/her to bring it to school for researching purposes.  I will be providing resources of my own and from the public library.

Homework

Writing – DLR and spelling Thursday; Apostrophe worksheet

Reading – NLL Thursday

Math – Larson HW – Chapter 18 test; Bell HW – 1-5 times table test tomorrow and unfinished classwork – students should review and study; Allen HW -homework book pages 107-108

Science – charge worksheet due tomorrow

Social Studies – final copies are due tomorrow morning

Other -Mitesh is Student of the Week; Please continue to support Haiti!

Looking Ahead

March Field Trips

- March 11 – Wells Fargo Museum

- March 25 – Rancho Bernal

- Dine out at McHart’s Pizza on Monday – Wednesday and 30% of proceeds generated by Eaton diners will be given back to the school toward 5th grade science camp next year

- Take the online parent survey!

It was a gorgeous day and I am so happy that the students got to run off their energy outside during lunch and recess!!

The students had a busy morning of library and music.  It is always fun to listen to the stories that Mrs. Glass reads to them and to hear the wonderful notes being played with Mrs. Zhao.  The teachers at Eaton really appreciate the amount of care and work that goes into making our library and music program a success.

During our read aloud time we discovered that Reynie’s sense of trust was not wasted on Captain Noland.  In the end, the captain came to their rescue and all members of the Mysterious Benedict Society and their friends were safely aboard the Shortcut and out of the grasp of Mr. Curtain and his henchmen.  At the end of our reading, Kate realized that she was indeed nothing like her enemies.  When faced with a chance to do severe harm to Mr. Curtain and the Ten Men, she chose to be true to her good nature and to be more like her father.  I asked the students to think about a terrible mistake Mr. Curtain made in order to escape capture.  Some students shared that it was leaving Martina Crowe behind or maybe forgetting the duskwort.  I asked the class to think about Martina Crowe’s nature – Will she be loyal to Mr. Curtain?  Has she ever cared about anyone other than herself?

Our social studies time was used to correct and review over some of the Unit 2 work in the social studies folder – this is a lead into our focus on California missions.  We also spent time working on our final copies for our Native American research papers.  I worked with a student one-on-one today and will work with a different student tomorrow.  All final copies will be collected Friday morning in order for to check over who is truly finished writing their papers before we begin publishing them that afternoon.  Tomorrow, the students will be forming small groups to begin their mission research.  This research will be presented in the form of an informative poster.

My math class continued to look at multiplication and division today using the times table chart that was completed for homework.  We discussed what a multiple is, what divisible means, and how a times table chart can help them with these two concepts.  We will continue to focus on how multiplication and division are related throughout our focus on Chapter 6.  We will be ending this week looking at patterns in problem solving and will pick up next week with multiplication and division.

During science, the students reviewed over what they found during their investigations from yesterday.  I demonstrated a little more about charge in front of the whole class and gave a mini lecture on charge and static electricity.  We will not be delving deeply into the world of electrons and neutrons, but students who are really interested in these topics should feel free to do a bit of their own exploring.

Homework

Writing – DLR and spelling Wednesday

Reading – NLL Wednesday and the IBD test on chapters 16-20 will be given tomorrow.

Math – Larson HW – Chapter 17 test if unfinished; Bell HW – Squirrel worksheet and unfinished classwork due tomorrow – the students will be given a test over their 1-5 times tables on Friday; Allen HW – HW book pages 104, 105, and 106.

Science – Are your folders updated?  The worksheet from class is due on Friday

Social Studies – All final copies must be completed by Friday morning.

Other – Mitesh is Student of the Week; Please continue to support Haiti

Looking Ahead

March Field Trips

- March 11 Wells Fargo Museum

- March 25 – Rancho Bernal

Please Help Out Eaton School By:

- dining out at McHart’s Pizza next Monday – Wednesday.  30% of proceeds earned by Eaton diners will be donated toward science camp for next year!!!

- completing the parent survey online; your feedback is greatly appreciated

What a wet day.  The students were able to remain outside during PE this morning.  Mr. Wycoff spent time taking weight and height measurements for part of the class.  This will be needed for the fitness testing the students will be taking.  After PE, the students used the portable laptops to work on their group newsletters.  I gave the students their rubric for this assignment and many students thought of changes and additions that they can make in order to work toward the score that they want to receive.

We are only a few pages away from finishing The Mysterious Benedict Society: The Perilous Journey.  Today, we learned that Milligan is still alive, that Number Two has been rescued, and that Reynie must put his trust in someone he felt was not dependable.  We will find out by the end of the week the fates of the children and their beloved friends.

During our science investigation, the students were given the opportunity to discover a little more about charge using their own balloons.  Before the break, I demonstrated a few investigations in front of the whole class to get them thinking about charge and static electricity.  Today, they used their own balloons to take my demonstrations one step further.  After the groups were given time to carry out the investigations, we shared our findings.  As a class, the results were quite mixed.  These investigations will be a great opportunity for us to talk about variables and how they can change outcomes or effect outcomes in different ways.

My math group continued to play the game introduced yesterday.  The students played the game and answered two questions related to the game that helped us arrive at the fact that there are patterns that we can see in multiplication.  The students worked to complete a multiplication table and they looked for patterns within the table that go beyond “counting by” a specific number within the different times tables.  We will continue to look at multiplication patterns and how they can help us use multiplication facts more efficiently.

Homework

Writing – DLR and spelling Tuesday

Reading – NLL Tuesday; Continue to study for the IBD test over chapters 16-20 that will be given on Thursday

Math – Larson HW – homework book pages 165-166; Bell HW – complete the multiplication table for tomorrow, complete the squirrel worksheet for Thursday; Allen HW – finish unfinished classwork.

Science – None

Social Studies – Due to double booking of laptops, we will not be publishing tomorrow (we will have the laptops on Friday instead).  The students should use tomorrow as the day to finish their final copies.  I will continue to work with students one-on-one to complete their essays tomorrow.

Other – Mitesh is Student of the Week; Please continue to support relief efforts in Haiti – we still have our Help Haiti box in the classroom; Students who did not bring in their poems for public speaking must bring them in tomorrow – I will be sending emails home tonight for students who have failed to bring these to school.

Looking Ahead

March Field Trips

- March 11  -Wells Fargo Museum (permission slips coming home in Friday Folders)

- March 25 – Rancho Bernal (permission slips coming home in Friday Folders)

Next Monday – Wednesday – help earn money for your child’s science camp experience by dining out at McHart’s Pizza.  30% of the funds earned by the restaurant by Eaton families will be given to Eaton for science camp for next year!  What a great, family fun way to help decrease the cost of science camp next year.  Thank you to Ms. Hoh for setting this up!

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful break.

We began our day with our usual handwriting and vocabulary. The vocabulary word for the day was “specter” and the students were asked to write a short story in which a specter appears to someone. They had to include chilling details to make the story come to life. They will continue to work on this writing activity until Wednesday. On Wednesday, they will receive a new word.

Mrs. Abada worked with the students to paint their Egyptian profiles. Because we only had the supplies available to us today and because painting can often require a lot of time, the students were allowed to work, until completion, on these paintings. This took up most of our midday class time. The pictures look wonderful and I cannot wait for you to see them.

During math, my math group played a math game called Four in a Row. The game helped them to review over their multiplication facts and made them consider the best strategies to use in order to win. We will continue to play the game tomorrow. Throughout the next few chapters, the students will need to review over their basic division and multiplication facts.

The students were given an on demand writing/spelling test today. I gave the students 10 words from previous spelling lists to spell. They had to choose at least five of these words to use in a shot story, dialogue, or poems. We will begin incorporating more timed on demand writing activities in the classroom.

Our social studies time was used to peer revise and edit our Native American research papers. The students worked independently and/or with their peers (depending on what stage they were at in their writing) to fine tune their paragraphs. During this time, I worked with individuals at my desk who needed more concentrated help to complete their essays. We will have a block on time tomorrow to continue final drafts and will be using the portable laptops on Wednesday to publish these essays. On Wednesday, I will be showing the students how to use the different features within the word processing program available to them to format their work.

Homework

Writing – DLR Monday and spelling Monday (complete both the copy and cover and spell)

Reading – NLL Monday; Study for the IBD chapters 16-20 quiz for Thursday.

Math – Larson and Allen – No homework today; Bell – complete the multiplication mazes worksheet – the blank puzzle on the backside of the worksheet should be used to complete the challenge problem.  The students will swap mazes tomorrow to complete as part of independent work.

Science – No Homework

Social Studies – We will be working on our final copies throughout the next two days.  The students should be ready by Wednesday to publish their essays using the portable laptops.

Other – Mitesh is Student of the Week; Haiti donations are still be accepted; Those students who did not bring in their public speaking poem today must do so by tomorrow – I will be assigning a poem to those who do not choose their own by tomorrow.  I only received on contest entry for the “If I Were President” contest today.  Students who did not give them to me today may bring them in tomorrow – I did not specifically ask for these today, so the late return will not be held against anyone.

Looking Ahead

Field Trips:

- March 11 – Field trip to Wells Fargo Museum – we need chaperons!!

- March 25 – Field trip to Rancho Bernal – we need chaperons!!