Tuesday May 10th

• Mrs. Avalos was not here today.  She had an appointment.  Mrs. Hernandez subbed with our class today.  Today was a very low key day.  We kinda split the class in two.  At the back of the class was Mr. Johnny, Ms. Liecea, and Ms. Garcia.  They were working one on one with students who needed help with their PBA.  At the front of the room it was business as usual with me and Mrs. Hernandez doing regular instruction.

• 1st/2nd - Literacy Block
• After breakfast, we moved into literacy.  Some students worked in the back on their PBA, others stayed up front and worked with the class.  We reviewed the last chapter of Stuart Little and then did guided group reading of chapter 11 - The Automobile.  We stopped throughout the chapter to answer questions, to talk to partners about what they would do, and to make sure we understood the text.  Finally, we finished the chapter and went over a series of "key ideas and details" questions to make sure students comprehended what we read.
• We previewed our next unit 3B by looking at what we had to do and looked at the first article in our text collection on weather instruments.  Then we started talking more in depth about what expect on the MOSL tomorrow and Wednesday.  I told the students they were lucky because the MOSL was an opinion piece, so we have just covered that. We then practiced for 30 minutes writing hooks for our introduction paragraphs.  I gave them several different "opinions" and they created hooks for each situation.  
• First Paragraph is the INTRODUCTION
• Needs a Hook
• Needs where you got your information from
• Needs your "In My Opinion..." and what you will prove
• Second Paragraph is the BODY
• Needs your first reason
• Needs details FROM THE TEXT to support that reason
• Needs your second reason
• Needs details FROM THE TEXT to support that reason
• Last Paragraph is the CONCLUSION
• Needs a "So in Conclusion..." to restate what you were talking about.
• Needs a quick reminded of the reasons (no details)
• Needs a sum it up sentence to end it
• We are splitting the writing up over two days.  Tomorrow they will read the texts and then answer a series of short response questions.  Thursday they will write their opinion essay about the texts.  Make sure that students get plenty of sleep and have a big breakfast to keep them fueled and ready to write tomorrow.  The MOSL is very important.  This shows how much they have improved in writing between September and May.  This is one of the tools we look at to see GROWTH.  
• 3rd/4th - Math Block
• The internet was down, so we did not start by watching the On Demand Video or the Interactive lesson.  Instead we used the Smartboard lesson and worked through the Unlocking the Problems and Share and Show the good old fashioned way.   We did our lesson on "using data to create picture graphs" (GoMath 2.3).  After working through all the modeled instruction and shared learning, students worked independently to complete their assignments.
• We met back and went over the classwork. Noticing that students were still having problems using the KEY as the multiplier in their picture graphs, we went ahead and did the homework/practice page in class and went over it step by step to try and practice this skill in more detail.
• 5th - Lunch/Recess
• 6th - Science with Ms. Galan
• 7th - Preparing for the MOSL
• In preparation for tomorrow's MOSL, we read two short texts and went over how to answer the short response questions.  Students had to complete for homework.  We will discuss tomorrow before the MOSL to make sure everyone feels ready.

Homework

• Math 
• Pictograph - Fish Tank
• Study Multiplication Facts
• Literacy
• Ready 45-60 minutes independently (next week is STAR TESTING)
• Spelling Practice / Reading Comp
• MOSL Practice Short Answers