Classroom Happenings ~ September 23rd

Good Evening!

Welcome to another week of school!
I have to start with a great big THANK YOU to all the parents who have graciously donated snacks!!! At this rate we will be snacking well through Winter Break! Your generosity is much appreciated!
I'd like to give a a great big THANK YOU for the three refrigerator boxes which arrived in the classroom last week. If you haven't heard, we are going to attempt to construct our version of a space station! Students have been designing plans and brainstorming ideas on what our version of the ISS should look like! I have a feeling this will be an ongoing project taking many weeks. Wish us luck!
Another great big THANK YOU goes to Andrea for coming in and helping students start our 'Space Mural' Thursday afternoon. It is always helpful to have an extra set of hands helping out in the classroom. Speaking of volunteers, many of you have been asking about it! On curriculum night I will have a sign up sheet for all interested parents!
Finally, another great big THANK YOU goes to Tom for coming in and doing a solstice presentation today. He took the kids on the playground and did a wonderful job of explaining how the tether ball pole and the sun helped the second best mathematician of all time, Eratosthenes, discover the approximate circumference of the earth, 2300 years ago!

Happenings by Subject:

Reading ~ This week we completed our district reading and vocabulary testing. Students have also been engaged in self-selected reading material. I am impressed with the challenging reading materials most students are self selecting.

Writing ~ Using a multitude of non-fiction space literature we found fascinating space facts this week. These facts will be used to enhance our expository writing experience next week. Students are also working on legends to match the constellations they are painting in art block. Finally, students learned about 'great grabbers'. These are hooks authors use to pull readers into their stories. Students are encouraged to recognize great grabbers when they read, and to use great grabbers in their original compositions.

Social Studies ~ Melissa has been doing a wonderful job of giving students the opportunity to explore the world through geography. Students are in the process of creating a huge global map using an 'old fashion' overhead machine to project outlines of the continents for tracing onto butcher paper. We are excited to hang our world map up soon!

Science ~ We continue to explore the final frontier of space! This week students viewed quick videos explaining how the ISS (International Space Station) was constructed while orbiting the earth at 17,500 miles per hour!! Students also learned astronauts orbiting the earth look like they have swollen faces because their body fluids shift to the top part of the body while in orbit. It is a similar feeling to hanging upside down for an extended period of time. Students also viewed the shuttle docking onto the space station and learned about the airlock door opening to allow shuttle astronauts onto the ISS.

Art ~ Student sculptures are nearly complete. Many have been painted. We hope to have these on display for curriculum night next week!

Math ~ We continue to explore arrays. This week students created 'Area Bots' on graph paper. Students are building on the concept of arrays by calculating the dimensions of the robots, and using the calculations to find the total area of their robot. We are also working on memorizing the doubles. (3x3,4x4,5x5,6x6,7x7,8x8,9x9)

HOMEWORK ~Due September 28th

Reading Log ~ Click here to download a reading log! :)

Writing ~ 4th graders need to compose 4 great grabbers to put into their portfolios
5th graders need to compose 7 great grabbers to put into their portfolios
***Please encourage students to choose grabbers of stories they would be interested in continuing at a later date in the school year.

Special Science Projects Due September 28th ~ Click here to download a copy of the assignment!

Math ~ No homework this week

Have a wonderful week!
~Ms. DuBois

Classroom Happenings ~ September 14th

Dear Parents,

It has been an amazing first week of school. The students are fantastic, the curriculum is engaging, and the energy level is through the roof! Everyone seems very happy to be back at school and we are beginning to settle into our routines. I can't express how impressed I am with each and every student this year!

As the month of September progresses, there are a couple of things we could use in class.
SNACK DONATIONS:
Each child is encouraged to bring a snack everyday. By recess time, we are getting quite hungry. A simple morning snack of fruit, cheese, or crackers helps a lot! Not all children remember each day, so I like to have some extra snack items on hand. If you are in a position to donate snack items for our class, we would VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT! Some healthy snack suggestions from our district wellness policy include: Graham Cracker based items, Teddy Grahams, Animal Crackers, Wheat Thins, Cheese Nips, Goldfish, Ritz Crackers, and Pretzels. These items also store well. Thank you for your kindness!!!!

REFRIGERATOR BOXES:
Do you have any idea where we can get some VERY LARGE boxes? I have a very special project in mind and would love to get 2 or 3 refrigerator boxes brought to our classroom! Please Contact me if you can help!

RECYCLED ITEMS:
Thursday and Friday we are beginning our recycled space sculptures. If you have clean items in your recycling at home please send them in as soon as possible so we can begin creating. Items we need include, clean plastic bottles, containers, lids, corks, boxes, unusually shaped items, etc... Any item you have which can be turned into a rocket, alien, space station, or planet will be very much appreciated!!!

HAPPENINGS BY SUBJECT!

Reading ~ This week students are continuing to read self selected chapter books. Students are keeping record of the books they read and identifying the genre, as they fill in their reading logs. In our Treasures Reading Anthologies, 5th grade students learned about Space Camp in Alabama, and 4th grade students learned about our solar system. All students are working on summarizing information.

Writing ~ All students were given a writing portfolio this week. The portfolio is where students will keep all writing compositions for the entire school year. The Young Writers Association of Lane County is sponsoring a scary story writing contest. Some students have decided to write a scary story. Other students are working on Alien stories, comic strips, and/or choice writing compositions.

Social Studies ~ We have started a geography unit. We will be working on distinguishing between continent, country, state, county, and city. We started this week by identifying countries of the world and listing which continent they are located in. Students are encouraged to bring in small objects/artifacts from around the world for our 'Where in the World' bulletin board. It would be amazing to obtain one item from every country in the world!

Science ~ September is the month of Space exploration! Our classroom wall now has many planets hanging among the constellations. It looks stellar!

Speech ~ Students continue to present their '3 things in a bag'. The presentations have been very well done. Everyone is enjoying telling about themselves and we are learning a lot about the members of our classroom community.

Math ~ This week we are reviewing the vocabulary words product, factor, and array. Students have created arrays using puffy stickers, dots, pencil drawings, and each other! In the coming weeks we will be working hard on memorizing our multiplication facts. Practicing at home every night will help your child become fluent with their facts. Students who are fluent may want to extend themselves by learning 12's and 15's!

Art ~ Art Smart vocabulary this week included, Color, Mood, Line, Sketch, Horizon Line, and Action Lines. Students have been sketching aliens and working on choice sketching art. I hope you come by and see our amazing alien art work. It is out of this world!


Wow... all that work and we have only been in school 5 days! It IS going to be a great year.

~Ms. DuBois

Homework Routine & Assignments ~ September 14, 2010

Dear Parents & Students,

Welcome to our first homework week! This year we have two types of homework. Students are responsible for independent homework, and occasionally I will assign family projects. Independent homework includes weekly reading logs, weekly writing assignments, and weekly math practice. Family projects are usually related to social studies, science, and health concepts. Homework will arrive home on Tuesday and it is due on the following Tuesday. If you don’t receive anything from your child you can check this classroom blog to get the most up to date information.

This week’s homework due Tuesday, September 21st (unless otherwise noted):

Reading Log ~ Students will complete 20 minutes of reading 5 nights during the week.
Click here to download this weeks reading log

Writing ~ Students will complete the homework plan handout.
Click here to download homework plan assignment

Science Family Project ~ Students will choose a space topic and prepare a report and project reflecting their preferred learning style. Students all received a handout with details of this project. (Due Tuesday, September 28th)
Click here to download science project assignment

Math ~ Students will find six arrays at home. Students will draw what they find, and create an addition sentence and a multiplication sentence to describe their array. (See example on student handout) Math students from Susan's class are also expected to complete a homework plan. :)
Click here to download math homework week 1
Click here to download homework plan assignment


Art ~ PLEASE send in recycled materials so we can begin our space sculptures on Thursday. We need things like clean boxes, bottles, lids, containers, etc… THANK YOU!

Social Studies ~ We are creating a where in the world bulletin board in our classroom. Students are encouraged to bring in items from different countries around the world. It would be great to have as many different countries represented as possible. Items such as postcards, small souvenirs, photographs, etc... Space is limited so, small is best!

THANKS FOR YOUR AMAZING CHILDREN!!!!!!

First Day of School.... September 8, 2010

Welcome to our Classroom Link blog!

Today was soooooooo much fun. I completely enjoyed meeting students and parents today. Last year was the first year of Classroom Link. I must warn you when things get busy, sometimes the blog gets neglected, however I am going to try my best to keep up with getting information to you via this blog. Please keep in mind, it is always work in progress! On this blog you will find information about what is happening in room 6. You will be kept informed of homework assginments, important dates and classroom happenings. Feel free to comment as comments motivate me to keep up with the blog! :)

September is space month!! In July I had the wonderful opportunity to attend International Space Camp in Huntsville Alabama. I am very excited to share these experiences with the 4th & 5th graders. We will be exploring space through reading, writing, and art this month. We might even invent a few aliens of our own!

Students in our homeroom (Language Arts Students) will be staying in room 6 for the first Arts Block, and for the first Project. I am excited to have these first few weeks together so we can bond as a class and have some fun learning together.


HOMEWORK due September 14th:

Language Arts Class ~

Parent Homework ~ Students brought home a parent questionnaire. Please fill out the information and return the yellow sheet by Tuesday, September 14th. If you did not get a copy of the handout, here are the questions:
1. What is your child’s name?

2. Has school been a positive learning experience for your child?
Please Explain:

3. Is your child developing a good self-image?
Please Explain:


4. What are your child’s special strengths? (art, music, humor, etc.)


5. What limitations must your child overcome? (moods, temper, lack of coordination, etc.)


6. Please write a paragraph describing your son or daughter. Why is he or she a very special person?

What's in the Sack Assignment ~ Students need to put three small items into their sack, representing something about themselves to share with classmates. The items must represent something about the student's interests, personality, or experiences. For example, if your child plays soccer, they might put in a soccer photo or a drawing of a soccer ball. If your child likes to draw they might include a pencil. Please leave valuable items at home. All sacks are due by Tuesday, September 14th.


Math Class ~

No Homework this week

Arts Block ~ Donations Needed, please help!

We are going to be creating space sculptures out of recycled materials. Please send in recycled materials which will inspire aliens, planets, space stations, rockets, and other 3 dimensional space sculptures. Items we can use include: shoe boxes, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, clean plastic bottles, lids, corks, containers of any type, and any other clean item you might put into your recycle bin at home!

MULTIPLICATION PRACTICE

Here are some games you can play against other people!

Have Fun!!

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/penguin-jump/penguin-jump.html

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/meteor/meteor.html

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/grand_prix/grand_prix.html