Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Grammar: Today we took the simple sentence assessment. For tomorrow, your assignment is to write about your morning routine USING ONLY SIMPLE SENTENCES. Underline all the subjects (but not every noun) once and all the verbs twice. For a challenge, I would like you to NOT repeat a subject or a verb twice in a row. We'll start compound sentences tomorrow.

Math: We finished the cup stacking experiment. Your assignment is to complete a reflection: Your assignment for tomorrow:

• General feelings about this experiment.
• What processes did you go through?
• Problems you encountered and how you solved them.
• What you learned.

LA: Today we focused on the topic of heroes. We watched a 12-minute YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwWzjjbIISw) entitled “The Red Bandana,” which discussed the heroism of a man named Welles Crowler. For Friday, you need to write a solid paragraph response to the following journal entry:

JOURNAL ENTRY #2

“I see this incredible hero, running back and forth and saving the day...People can live 100 years and not have the compassion, the wherewithal to do what he did.” These words were spoken by Judy Wein, who says that Welles Crowther directed her and several others on the 78th floor to safety on 9/11, thus saving her life along with many others.

**What do you think drove Welles to be the person Judy Wein describes? Have you ever helped someone you did not know? How did it feel? Would you do it again? If you have not done this, would you, in the future, after hearing about Welles?**

SOCIAL STUDIES: Thank you for sharing your 9/11 interviews. Your variety of stories reflected the many different ways that individuals across the country were affected by this event. Being that it is the anniversary of 9/11, many activities this week will focus around this time in history, as well as the idea that humans are connected and impacted by events such as these.

A reminder: Be sure to join the Edmodo class for Social Studies, as you should have been practicing the map quizzes. Your goal is to have a 100% achievement on those quizzes.

One more reminder: Continue to work on your 5 Themes of Geography project. As of now, it is due Friday, September 21. This may change based on the length of some of our other activities. Either way, you should be devoting some outside-of-class time to this project.

One last reminder: Please remember to get your permission slips in! :)

Monday, September 10, 2012

Grammar—Simple sentence quiz tomorrow! Be prepared! If you review your notes, you should be good-to-go!

Math—We absolutely must finish the cup stacking project tomorrow so we don't get too far behind with the rest of the “Thinking with Math Models” book. I will demonstrate for you how I went about solving the problem.

Language Arts—Your assignment for tomorrow is to revise your paragraph about how you would change your room. Anyone getting less than 4 points the second time around will be asked to come in for a study session so that I can teach you specifically what you are having a hard time with.

Social Studies—September 11 interview due TOMORROW! Be ready please. The 5 Themes project is now due Friday, September 21. We figured you would need more time to complete this project since we are viewing the September 11 video. Please make sure you log in to the Social Studies class on Edmodo so that you can practice the geography of the Eastern hemisphere. Only 9 of you had signed up by about noon today.

Just a note—I get to school at 6:50 a.m. every morning, and I often stay past 4. If you need extra help on something, need something explained in a different way, or just need a quiet place to work (or access to technology), please feel free to join me. We do have staff meetings once a month, so on those days I'm not available in the morning—including this coming Friday, and I will have Student Council meetings in my room twice a month, starting next Tuesday. You are still welcome to come on Student Council days, but you will not have my attention, and it may not be very quiet.

Oh, and a reminder... Please get those permission slips in ASAP! As always, email or message me on Edmodo with concerns.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Pardon my lateness in writing a post for Friday! I left early to take one of my son's to a doctor's appointment and I never got the chance to take care of it last night.

Math students, no new homework for you. However, we will be finishing up the cup stacking activity on Monday, and you will be journaling about the cup stacking project after we are done. I really want to you to think about the linear equations that you discussed last year. (Does "y=mx+b" ring a bell??? Think about it.)

Language Arts and Grammar—no new homework for you either :)

Social Studies: Just a reminder that your 9/11 interview should be completed and ready to be shared by 9/11 (Tuesday).  Also, you were assigned the 5 Themes of Geography project yesterday, and I have uploaded the necessary files to Edmodo to help you stay focused. You need to be ready to present by this next Friday, September 14. Use your time wisely and work efficiently!