502 in CookShop Action!

Wednesday, January 18th

Today we read from our class novel and then finished reading a picture book about a famous civil rights person Little Malcolm (Malcolm X).  After quizzing, we collected homework.  7 students out of 13 didn't do their homework in 502, and 5 students out of 25 didn't do their homework in 501.   This is unacceptable!  Parents, I need you to check the blog daily and check homework.

We reviewed lesson 12 and then did lesson 13.  We finished the story "A Clean Sweep" and looked at words and phrases the author used to add meaning.  We looked at choices in complete sentences vs the use of fragments and discussed why the author might have done that.  We finished by answering text dependent comprehension questions that required text evidence.

We had a shortened class today because today was COOKSHOP in the classroom.  The lesson today was adding on to the MYPLATE aspect and WHOLE is better than PROCESSED... .today we looked at the FRUIT section and talked about natural vs added sugar.  We also looked at food labels to make sure we could understand the need for looking at serving size and how much sugar was in a serving. We finished by cutting up and making one big class fruit salad and tasting it.  I think with almost everyone in agreement, fresh fruit salad is easy to make, taste great, and has whole fruits and natural sugar.  WIN! WIN!

Homework:

1. Read 45 minutes - LOG and get signature
2. Reading Comprehension Sheet (4 questions)
3. CookShop Lesson 2 home activities

Problem Solving in Room 404

Dear Families,

This week we will conclude our Chapter on dividing decimals. Chapter tests and Performance Tasks will be administered Thursday and Friday.


COMING UP NEXT! Chapter 5 Our math class will study the operations of addition and subtraction with fractions. The students will study and learn to identify and apply common denominators.

You can expect to see homework that includes adding and subtracting mixed numbers. 


Vocabulary:

• commondenominator Acommon multiple of two or more denominators
• equivalent fractions Fractions that name the same amount or part
• least common multiple The least number that is a common multiple of two or more numbers
• least common denominator The least common multiple of two or more denominators

QUICK TIP: Having a ruler handy helps to quickly identify benchmarks to use when estimating fraction sums and differences. 

Please continue practicing multiplication and division facts.


Important Dates/Events:

• Award Ceremony January 25th  TIME- TBD
• Please make sure all work is being completed and turned in on time
• Progress Reports and Promotion in Doubt letters will be going home soon!

Warmly-- Ms. D Cruz :-)

Tuesday - January 17th

 Today we started reading "Clean Sweep" in our text collection.  Our focus was to compare and contrast the two best friends in the story "Cornelius and Otis" and how they are reacting to one of their mother's secret plans to run for Mayor after women got the right to vote.  To make matters worse, the boy's dad is already the Mayor and has different ideas on how the town of Umatilla, Oregon should be run.  We read the first half from pages 66-74 today and will finish the rest tomorrow.

Next we started talking about what makes a good opinion speech.  We went over all the parts of a speech and how to make it interesting.  Students took notes as we discussed the slides from my presentation.  Students will begin researching and thinking about a topic they feel strongly about that is a SOCIAL issue they are faced with.  I love speeches so this should be real good.  Ms. Mendoza said she would share some speeches her kids wrote from last year so they can see what they look like and we could use the document camera to discuss, add, or change what we think is missing or needs work.

Finally, we collected the homework on Martin Luther King Jr, and then passed out the homework from the Sleuth Magazine.   Students need to CLOSELY read the article on The Price of Freedom and then either answer the questions on paper, or use page 83 of their readers response journal to respond in depth and with much thought.

Homework:

• Reading:  Read for 45 minutes (We still need almost 200 AR points in 5 weeks!)
• Reading:  The Price of Freedom (pg 82/83 in RRJ)

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Friday, January 13th

Today was a skill review day.

Students did their 20 minutes of independent reading before we broke into groups for our group work.  Some students worked on Using Words Precisely, some worked on Main Idea, while others worked on Inferences or Critical Thinking.  Whatever the data said they needed work on, that is the group they worked with.  

They read an article about being lost in the Wilderness with their small group.  Then the small group talked the questions that went with their category and discussed the answers.  It was our first time doing this focused learning group work and it went quite well.

Next we did some review and assessment of using sentences, making questions statements, and coming up with TS Topic Sentences and CS Closing Sentences when you have details and facts.  We had been doing this all week and today was the day to practice and assess.

We then moved into social studies and did a talk about Martin Luther King Jr.  Students watched a video about Martin Luther King Jr. Day and why we celebrate it.  Students were given homework where they had to read about Martin Luther King Jr and answer 4 comprehension questions as a quiz.

Enjoy your Monday off and see you back at school on Tuesday at 8AM!

Homework:

1. Read each day for 45 minutes
2. Martin Luther King JR NewsELA article and questions.

Thursday in Room 403

Today we finished reading our book about slavery and the struggle for civil rights called Heart and Soul.  The last chapter took us right up to Martin Luther King Jr.'s amazing speech in Washington D.C. - "I Have a Dream!".... I pulled the actual recording and the students got to listen to the end section which was so amazing!  In a couple weeks students will take their first stab at writing a speech for their 2A PBA.  

After listening to the speech, we worked together to summarize the book and read the epilogue.  We talked about the tone of the book toward the slaves and struggling blacks, toward women, and toward the masters and white men who tried to hold them back.  We talked about what type of voice was used and whose point of view we were hearing from the text.

Then we switched to writing and worked on taking prompts/questions, and turning them into statements.  We worked on prepositional phrases and making sure we knew how to spot them and use.  We ended by reviewing yesterdays expanded sentences.

Finally, we took the AR test for the book and had quiet reading time.  

Homework:

• Read 45 minutes, Log
• Sentence Expansion practice (half sheet)
• Lesson 2A.11 - Book Walk and favorite part review

Wednesday Round Up

Today we attacked our I can statements in new and different ways.  Today for our first I can statement, we did either buddy reading or table reading where small groups read the text together, answered questions for each other about mispronounced words, and words they didn't understand.  This will allow them to become stronger readers on their own.  The next chapter we read together with students practicing choral reading when I gave them the que to read.

We answered the questions from the two chapters and discussed how the author used different craft techniques like asking repetitive questions to get them to highlight an understanding about the subject, in this case the inventions of black people.  Finally we moved to writing and practiced doing extended sentences and using conjunctions.

501's Extended Sentences

502's Extended Sentences

Homework:

• Read for 45 minutes, log summaries
• 501 - Preposition Homework
• 502 - Class Work Lesson 2A.10

January 10th

 We started the day reviewing the writing homework from last night.  Well, I actually gave them 20 minutes of reading time and for those who didn't do their writing, finish it then.  Well, in each class only a SMALL portion of the students did their writing.  Parents, writing is 1/3 of their ELA State Test and if they refuse to practice, they cannot hope to pass the state test.

We shared their writing on the document camera, talking about what was good, what was OK, and what needed to be changed or added.  This is a great learning opportunity for students to learn from other students.  Again, if you didn't do your assignment, you had nothing to share and gain.  I am very disappointed with my young writers for not even trying.

Chapter 9 was about "Hard Times and World War II".  We got to learn about how the Stock Market Crash affected everyone.  We got to learn about Joe Louis and his personal fight with the Nazi's in his epic battle with Max Schmeling where he defeated him in the first round!  We got to learn about the Tuskegee Airmen and the 761st Battalion.   We got to see how each of these groups faced racism or injustice and how they overcame it.  It was a pretty powerful chapter.

Students then started looking at how the author described the characters and using the text evidence to support their description.  (Lesson 2B.9).

Long Soup Lines during Great Depression

Stock Market Crash

Joe Louis 

Tuskegee Airmen

761st Battalion

I loved that the students could see all the accomplishments of the African Americans,  I also love how they could see that even with these accomplishments, they were still not treated the same.  Even more powerful, the spirit to never give up and to keep doing what was right, regardless!

We will be working with the essays started for homework last night tomorrow in class.  Students who didn't do it last night are strongly advised to do so tonight!

Homework:

1. Read 45 minutes - Fill out log... (Logs are in corner of reading area!)
2. Preposition practice - Lesson 1.16 Prepositions
3. Reading Comprehension "Moving to the City"
4. Writing - If you didn't do your opinion essay, do so tonight!

Monday, January 9th!

The focus today was using text evidence to support your opinion and being able to understand figures of speech and how they can help your understanding of text.   We read Chapter 8 "Harlem and the Vote for Women" in our text "Heart and Soul".  It showed how life was during the Harlem Renaissance and also how women were beginning to fight for their rights now too!

I modeled how to write a short opinion essay with just two reasons for the opinion.

• You again start with a introduction that has a HOOK, FOCUS, and Opinion Statement.   
• Then you prove your opinion by making your first point and giving two supporting details to that point.
• Next you prove your opining by making your second point and giving two supporting details to that point.
• Finally, you conclude by restating your opinion and your points and sum it up!

Written WITH Class 502

Written WITH Class 501

Students will have to write an opinion essay tonight to work with tomorrow in class!!!

Homework:

1. Read 30-45 Minutes, summary in log
2. Reading Comp - War of 1812
3. Writing:  4 paragraph opinion essay (Pick One)
1. Life for black people in Harlem was...
2. Life for women during this time was...

Where is Everyone Friday?

• Core instruction for your children is from 8AM until 12:30 daily.  They MUST be here in order to get the education they are entitled to.  

• Keeping them home does not help them!  Unless they are extremely sick or in the hospital, COME TO SCHOOL!

We had quiet reading time while students took AR tests and a few students retook their STAR Reading test.  Afterward, we collected homework and copied down the "I Can" statements for the day.  

We reviewed the previous chapters and made sure they understood what has happened in order to get to where we are.  Chapter 7 was about the Great Migration of blacks to the North for a better life, but that better life was not as perfect as they thought it would be.  Again, they had many many obstacles to overcome.

We did group work today working with TONE!  They had to look at pages 53 and 54 and look for clue words that showed the author's tone (attitude toward) the south and the north.

Homework:

1. Read for 45 minutes, log, get signatures.
2. Share new Reading Levels with parents
3. Reading Comp - "A Day at Wet World"

A Very Cold Thursday

Today we moved into Chapter 6 of Heart and Soul.  This section was about the challenges slaves (and Native Americans) faced as they moved west after the end of slavery and the failure of reconstruction.  We looked at the theme of Freedom (at any cost) and what Freedom is worth.

Students worked in groups to complete their independent practice (working with theme and answering comprehension questions).

We did a quick write activity and then had time to finish testing and to read quietly.

Homework:

1. Read for 45 minutes, fill out log, get signatures
2. Preposition Quiz (7 questions)
3. 502 - Finish THEME activity

What's cooking?

Happy New Year!


Today was our very first COOK shop lesson--Meet MyPlate.

In this lesson students were introduced to CookShop Classroom , characteristics of My Plate, the five food groups and balanced meals using the My Plate image.

We discussed food processing and how it affects the nutritional vale of food.

Next, students tried out samples of healthy whole foods! They used their five senses to describe them.

In Math-- We continue to review Multiplying decimals, We began our our STAR assessment #3 . Ask your child for updated results!


 

Wednesday, January 4th

Talk about a fast moving day....

We had to shorten each class by 20 minutes so we could fit in a fun activity today called COOKSHOP!  I hope you got the information we sent home before break.  It had 3 questionnaires that if you fill out you can get money from the program.  $10 for the initial survey, $15 for the second, and $15 for the third.  Please make sure you look at the family programming that comes home today and earn some money while learning about eating healthy!

Today we had a "catch up" day along with an assessment day.  We started by writing thank you letters to Winter Wishes for the very nice gifts that Citicorp donated to the school... all 550 students received their wish and that is pretty amazing!  As you know, when someone does something nice for you, you thank them, and since we don't know them in person, we write thank you letters to show our appreciation.

Then we did our third STAR Reading assessment to see if we have progressed another two months.

After we did our thank you letters and STAR assessment, we did the writing and language activities for lesson 5 of unit 2.  Our focus was using evidence to support an opinion and our language focus was "what is a preposition?"  I told them a simple way to remember is to think "Anything a rabbit can do to a log".... It can jump {on, over, under, around, near, by, with, to, from, etc....}

The last thing we did was CookShop.  Today was reviewing the food groups and looking at the MY PLATE format.  We discussed WHOLE foods vs. minimally and highly processed foods.  We then used our senses to explore some different foods...  It was a fun learning activity and the students had a good time!

Homework:

1. Read for 45 minutes, log, get signature
2. Writing opinion piece about slavery (Use text for evidence)
3. Language:  Preposition Practice
4. CookShop:  Draw your dinner plate and see if it fits the MYPLATE website
5. Helen Keller Vision Screening Form - ONLY return if you refuse to be screened

January 3rd - 2017

Welcome back!!!

Today we started by thinking of three things we could start doing TODAY that would improve our lives.  I gave the example that I wanted to start working out so I can get back in shape, I wanted to try yoga to deal with my stress better, and I wanted to read more so I can stop watching so much tv.  I wanted students to think of easy ways they can improve their lives instantly.

After silent reading, we reviewed chapters 1 -4 of Heart and Soul and then read Chapter 5 - Reconstruction.  Today's focus was craft and structure so we focused on precise words the author used to get their point of view across.

I collected Literacy Vacation Packets (we are going over them Friday so you better hurry!).

Homework:

• Reading:  45 minutes, log summary, get signature (Need AR Tests!)
• Writing:  Finish three things writing if you didn't
• Language:  Adverbs That Compare
• Comprehension: Changes for Women
• Other:  Vacation Packets due by Friday

We are taking the STAR reading test tomorrow... Read, Read, Read....  Get to school on time!