Day 173 - Greek Mythology

Hi everyone! Today is Monday, June 13, 2011, and Pajama Day! I hope you all are wearing your pajamas! We entered class and went through our morning routine. At 9:04, we went to music. We had a substitute so we naturally played a lot of games. The first game we played was where you found a partner and danced with them. There was a murderer, and if you danced with them and they squeezed your hands, after you swapped partners, you would die and go sit out. Another game was called Beat Detective. There was a detective and a security guard, and they went outside while the class chose a person to be it. The “it” person started a beat, and the detective had to guess which one is “it”. We went back to class and did our morning work until recess. If we were done before 10:30, you could play on a math site called Hooda Math. When we returned from recess, we filled out a Word document that asked you about what you want to do when you grow up, or what you want to do for a career. Then, we worked on a project for our student teacher. We worked on it until 12:05, when we docked our net books and then went outside to recess.

When we came back from lunch, we watched a movie on Greek Mythology. We stopped when we were 42 minutes in and did book clubs for about twenty minutes. Then we came back and did Social Studies. We read two chapters and filled out a sheet in our note book. Then we continued to watch the movie on the Greek Gods and Goddesses. We stopped at 3:20, and did PSV, jobs, wrote down homework, and left. Your homework is Reading 30 minutes and Reading Record. Enjoy your evening! Tomorrow is Fashion Disaster Day!! Dress crazy!

Day 170 - CIV Murals

                Good morning! Today is Wednesday, June 8, 2011. We entered the classroom and went through our morning routine. We were supposed to go to music, but we joined up with the other sixth grade class and did P.E. We played a game called “Coconut Island”. There was a giant unfolded mat laid down in the center of the gym, where the islanders stood. There were “Coconut Islands” that had “coconuts” in them. The islands were hula-hoops, and the coconuts were two balls. There were some foot balls, some gator-skin balls, etc. There were also sharks and coconut grabbers. The sharks wore yellow vests and could tag you. When you were out, you had to go to “Prisoner Island”, where you waited to get back in. The coconut grabbers grab the balls that are out in the ocean, or are on the gym floor. When an islander took a coconut to the large mat, they showed the gym teacher, and she wrote down the score. Then you would toss them out into the ocean, hence the need for “Coconut Grabbers”. It was a lot of fun, and we kept on adding and subtracting sharks! We went back to class and worked on our morning work until morning recess. When we came inside, we worked on CIV. Some people got together in a group to work on a mural for our civilization. The rest of the class worked on their PowerPoint and a description for their characteristic. We worked on it until second recess.

                When we came back from lunch, we did a science experiment. There was a secret word on a wooden block on the back cabinets (up high where we couldn’t see), and we had to make a device that allowed us to see the word. Then we filled out a Student Sheet, and did PSV, did jobs, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Homework

Read 30 minutes and Reading Record

Math Investigations 3, p. 106 &107

Day 168 - Glazing the Artifacts

Good morning! Today is Monday, June 6, 2011. We came into the classroom and started our morning routine. We went to P.E at 9:04. In P.E., we got to do scooters, climb ropes, play Ring Toss, throw foam balls into buckets, and do the Rope Swing. In scooters you were just riding around for about five minutes, and in Ring Toss you were throwing rings around cones. You were throwing the balls into buckets at Ball Toss, and climbing two hanging ropes. The last station was Rope Swing, on which you just got on the rope and swung back and forth ten times. We went back to class, finished our morning work, and then got our net books out. Once they were out, we went to recess. After we came back, we worked on our Moving Up/Graduation PowerPoint. You could only have one slide, and you had to include certain things; #1 is your name, #2 is what your goal is for junior high, for example, to get straight A’s, #3 is your goal for the future, for example, to finish college, and last #4 is a fond memory from Juanita Elementary. Then you could include a school picture from this year (2010-2011). You can also bring pictures from home, and can add clip art. We worked on the PowerPoint, and once we were finished we worked on CIV. Then we went out to recess.

When we came back, we did the glaze for our artifacts (for those who don’t know, glaze is tiny grains of silica or glass in paint, and when it is put in a kiln, it melts, forming a glassy surface). You could choose from black, white, brown, green, blue, red, yellow, and purple. Once we had painted our artifacts, we put a coat of green liquid glass that forms a clear glossy shell around the artifact when baked. It took most of the afternoon, and was a lot of fun! We came back around 3:00 to 3:10. When we were all seated, we read an article about virtual images. Then we did PSV, did our jobs, and left. Your homework is Read 30 minutes and Reading Record. Enjoy your evening!

Day 167 - Team Elimination

Hi everyone! Today is Friday, June 3, 2011. We entered the room and went through our morning routine. We got our net books at 9:13, and then we went to library. There was a substitute there, so we went into the computer lab and did scavenger hunts on maps and the human body. We left at 9:55, and we did Project Alert until 11:00, when we had a ten minute break. When we came back, we worked on a persuasive essay for the Giver. We were addressing the Council of Elders about a subject that we agreed/disagreed with. Then we docked our net books and went out to recess. We played a game called Team Elimination. There were four teams. One team had orange flags, another had green, one team had blue, and the last team had no flags. We went to four corners of the playing field, and we played Elimination. If you got hit, you had to be high fived by someone on your team. If everyone on one team was down, they went to sit out until the rock wall. We played one long game. It was a lot of fun!

When we came back from lunch, we did science. We learned about reflection of light, and that everything that is reflected is opposite. Then people came up to the front and gave their speeches to the class about the topic they chose for the persuasive essay that went with The Giver. Then we did PSV, cleaned the classroom, and left. Your only homework is Read 30 minutes and Reading Record. Enjoy your weekend!

Day 165- We Finish “The Giver”

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, June 1, 2011, and a half day. We entered the classroom and went through our morning routine. We went to music at our normal time. We studied another composer named Sergei Prokofiev. He was the one who wrote “Peter and the Wolf”. When we were done, we went back to class and finished our morning math. Then we finished The Giver. We filled out Connector and Summarizer, and then we started a little project. On our net books, we made an outline for a letter to the Council of Elders on something we agreed/disagreed on from the book. We could write about Sameness, the terrible release ceremony, color, anything that we wanted to. We stopped because it was 10:30, or recess time. We went outside to enjoy the rainy weather. When we came back, we did CIV. We had to design an artifact that could be made of clay. Tomorrow, we will make our objects/artifacts in the art and science room, and then we will put them in the kiln. We worked on CIV until 12:05. Then we docked our net books and went out to recess.
When we came back from lunch, we went over two tests, one for Social Studies, and one for Science. The Social Studies test was on our knowledge of the Persian Wars, the Battles at Marathon, Salamis, Thermopylae, Plataea, and the Ionian Revolt. The Science test was on; light, shadows, energy transformations, mixing colors, wave lengths, prisms, and more. Then we did PSV, cleaned up, and then left. Your only homework is Read 30 minutes and Reading Record. Enjoy your evening!

Day 160 - Color Mixer

Hello everyone! Today is Tuesday, May 24, 2011. We came into the classroom and started our morning routine. We went down to P.E. with the other sixth grade class. Once we got there, we got with partners and decided what stations we wanted to do for Field Day. Then, at about 9:30, fifteen minutes before we had to go, our music teacher took us into the music room to practice our graduation song together with a piano player. It sounded really nice! We went back to class and got our net books out after we finished our morning work. When we had them, we worked on our persuasive writing for about fifteen minutes before we went out to recess. We came back and looked at arguments that could be used against our essays. We also did some peer reviews. We stopped at 12:06 to dock our net books, and then we headed out to recess.

When we came back from lunch, we did science. The student teacher found a website that allowed you to add red, green, and/or blue to make different colors. We tried to make ROYGBIV, also known as; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. We also tried to make Gray, Black, Brown, and White. We then went onto The Giver. We had a big discussion about the story, and then we read one and a half chapters. We filled out Vocabulator, Connector, and Predictor. Then we did PSV, cleaned up, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP, p 131 & 132

Day 159 - CIV

Good morning! Today is Monday, May 23, 2011. We entered the class and started our morning routine. At our usual time, we went down to P.E. In P.E., we played a variation of dodge ball. We had four large mats to hide behind for ten seconds, and then we had to move on. There was one person in the middle who tried to hit us with foam balls. If you were hit, you went to the middle and hit other players. It was a lot of fun! The last person to be hit became the next person to be it. Then we started a new game. We went back to class and immediately started working on our persuasive writing (We don’t have to do our MSP questions anymore!J). At about 10:00, our teacher revealed our CIV groups. We got together and decided on a leader for our group. The leader would meet with the teacher every now and then to give him an update on what we were doing. At 10:30, we went out to recess, because we don’t have break anymore. We came back and worked on our persuasive writing. We went over the paragraphs and started to get our conclusion done. We did one peer review, and then we went over the changes. Then we went out to recess.
When we came back, we did science. We looked through spectra scopes at light through colored filters. We wrote down the results, and discussed the reasons for the appearances of colors. Then we moved on to Social Studies. We read about the Battle at Marathon, and how a man with about three hundred men, including Spartans, fought to the death against the Persians to delay them while the rest of his army escaped. We then announced the president and vice president for the Student Council. We then continued on to The Giver. Upon completion of Connector, we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Math Worksheet (Two questions)

Day 158 - Fighting the Persian Wars

Hi everyone! Today is Friday, May 20, 2011. We came into the class and started our morning routine. At 9:15, we had library, so three minutes earlier, we got out our net books and tiptoed down to the library, because the other sixth grade class was taking the math MSP in the computer lab. In library, we tried to get onto the Communicator site where we would put a post on our librarian’s blog about a book that we read. We checked out books in the last five minutes, and then left to work on morning math. When we were done, we worked on our introduction, and our second and third paragraphs that stated our reasons why we should/shouldn’t have healthy vending machines. We did one peer review for ten minutes before break. We got our partners by pulling sticks. We quickly went over the other person’s essay, and then stopped for break. When we came back, we continued to work on the paragraphs, and then we did a second peer review with different partners. We had 17 minutes, so we went out at 11:54. When we were divided onto teams, it turned into boys verses girls, with the two teachers on the girls team, and the counselor on the boys team. It was a lot of fun!

We came back from lunch, and worked on the science stations again. We finished them up with a quick discussion about light and spectra scopes, and then we moved on to Social Studies. We read two chapters on the Persian War. We learned how the Athenians and the Spartans had to unite to defeat the Persians. Then we read two chapters of The Giver. We filled out summarizer, and then we did PSV, and left. Enjoy your weekend!

Day 157- Math MSP

Good morning! Today is Thursday, May 19, 2011. We have another long day of testing, and we are following the same schedule as the Reading MSP (See Day 148). We had the breakfast today, and almost all of the class was there. We had eggs with spinach (you couldn’t taste the spinach), turkey sausage, cheesy hash browns with optional Ketchup, fruit, juice, and our teacher’s special chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream on top. Compliments to the chef! Our student teacher was also there, cooking and eating with us. It was a lot of fun. We entered the class room at 9:15, and left our stuff in the classroom. We didn’t even have to unpack. We took our MSP test in the computer lab, on WA Online Testing. We ran over the directions, got some manipulatives, and got started.

We were all done by 2:30, so we went outside to enjoy the sunshine. We played kickball on the upper field because there were kids on the lower, and were going to play “Danish Rounders”, but didn’t because kickball was already set up. We went in at 3:15, and we PSV, and our teacher did trivia. If someone on our side of the room got a question right, we got thrown a fistful of candy that we scrambled for. It was a lot of fun, and we went home tired. Our only homework was to get a good night’s sleep. See you tomorrow!

Day 156- Math Stations

Hello all! Today is Wednesday, May 18, 2011. We came into the classroom in the morning, and started our morning routine. We went down to music at our normal time. We looked at Debussy, (composer), practiced our graduation song, and then we tried it without words. We came back to class and worked on our introduction paragraph for our healthy vending machine persuasive essays. We looked for more sources to back our essay up, and found solid facts to persuade our audience. We had break, and then we came back and worked on math. Our teacher had set up eight stations that each focused on a different math skill. The skills were probability, number lines, fractions, decimals and percents, graphing, 2D & 3D geometry, and algebra. We got into groups, and worked on the stations until recess. About 20 minutes after 12:10, we had a drill. Everyone came into the gym and stayed there until our principal said it was safe to leave.
We came back from lunch and we worked on the stations. We got through about two stations before we had to do PSV, jobs, clean up, and leave. MSP is tomorrow. If you can, come to the teacher’s breakfast at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Here’s your homework:
Go to bed early
Eat a healthy breakfast
Don’t Worry About the Test, YOU’LL DO AWESOME!

Day 155 - TCI Learning Site

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, May 17, 2011. We entered the class room and started our morning routine. At 9:04, we lined up for specialists. We had P.E. with the other sixth grade class, so we went outside to play Frisbee Golf. This time, we had to complete eighteen holes in partners. We went back to class at 9:45, and we did morning math. We went over our MSP questions, and then we went to a TCI website. We logged onto our accounts, and then played a game that tested us on what we know about Sparta and Athens, and their economy, education, government, and their women and slaves. Once we were done, we worked on our introduction for our persuasive healthy vending machine essay. We had break, and worked on it even after we came back, up until recess.

We came back from lunch and worked on a math quiz that would tell the teachers where we needed to improve for the MSP. Don’t forget, we’re testing on Thursday! At about 2:30, we corrected them as a class, and turned them in to the student teacher. After we got them to him, we did science. We looked through spectra scopes at different kinds of light and different colors. We drew and colored what we saw, but were stopped short because we had to do jobs, PSV, and leave. Enjoy the sun! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP, p 54 & 58

Day 154- MSP Practice in the Computer Lab

Hello everyone! Today is Monday, May 16, 2011. We came into the classroom, and started our morning routine. We needed to bring our net books to music, so at about 9:03, we got them out. At our normal time, we went to music. We looked at a Russian performer, and then went into a different room and played a game called “Time Machine”, which spits out composers, and you have to name their period that they lived in. Then we went back to class and worked on morning math. We reviewed the questions for MSP, and then we did some more MSP review. We focused on nets and 3D figures. We drew the nets of dice, individual Starburst candies, and if we found the surface area, volume, and the 3D shape of the dice and candies, then we got to do a box of Nerds. We got to eat them once we got done and got them checked by the teachers. Then we had break. During break time, we went to an assembly for 3rd through 6th grade for band. They had two groups that played two songs each. One group was the sixth grade band, and the other was the junior high band. When they were done at about 11:45, we went back to class and continued to work on the nets and 3D shapes of the dice, Starbursts, and Nerds until 12:05. Then we docked our net books and went out to recess.
When we came back, we went to the computer lab to look at a tutorial for the online test that we are going to take for the MSP on Thursday. Once we got the headphones working and we took it, we did the practice test. You got to use the striker which was used to mark answers that were wrong, the highlighter to highlight important part of the questions, and other tools that were important to taking the test. Then we came back and went over what we are going to do for our science lesson tomorrow, and then we passed out homework. We got to work on it for about five minutes, when we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Don’t forget to come to McDonald’s night where the teachers serve you! Here’s your homework:
Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Math Probability Worksheet

Day 153- Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13th! Our teacher is not here today, so our student teacher is filling in. I hope nothing bad happens to either of them! Today is Friday, May 13, 2011. We entered the classroom and started our morning routine. We had library at 9:15, so at 9:10 we got our net books and headed down. We checked out books and read while the librarian graded our Favorite Author power points. We went back to class, and worked on our morning math. At about 10:00, we did MSP review for our Daily problems, and then we had Project Alert with the guy from Evergreen Hospital. We watched a video, and then made a skit or an ending for it. Then we had break. After break, we did persuasive writing. We continued to work on our introduction paragraphs, and then started our first body paragraph. We worked on it until lunch. We went outside to play our game, but we were very disorganized, and when we tried to set the field up, we kept changing it. Then everyone kept on switching sides, and little kids started coming down to play on the lower field, so we abandoned the game, and we got fifteen minutes as recompense.
When we came back, we did Social Studies, and we read about Sparta. It turns out that Spartan women trained in the military, and were expected to guard their homes in times of war. Then we went on to science. We continued looking a different wave lengths and infrared lights. Then we read two chapters of The Giver. Then we filled out the predictor, and then we did PSV, and left. Your only homework is Read 30 minutes and Reading Record. Have a nice weekend!

Day 151 - The Giver

Hello all! Today is Wednesday, May 11, 2011. When we entered the class room and began our morning routine. At 9:05, we went down to music. Today, we focused on ironing the rough spots out of our graduation song, “Follow Your Dream”. Then at about 9:35, ten minutes before we had to go, we practiced spelling different composers’ names. We returned to the classroom, and worked on morning math. At about 10:45, we did even more math. A small group went out into the shared space, and the rest of them stayed inside and worked with percentages until break. We continued after break, until about 11:30. Then we did persuasive writing. We found four solid facts that gave reasons for or against healthy vending machines. We then narrowed them down to the two best facts that we thought couldn’t be destroyed. We made the facts sentences, and added them to our introductions paragraphs. Then we went out to recess, while our teacher had a Writer’s Guild meeting.

When we came back from lunch, we read a couple chapters of The Giver. Today we filled out connector. We also shared some of them. After we finished, we went over a couple important points, like the Triple Dime a Dip. Try to come; it’s going to be a lot of fun! Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Enjoy your evening! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Log
Triple Dime a Dip Forms
Writer’s Guild Stories
Finish Math Project

Day 149 - A Basketball Court

Hello all! Today is Monday, May 09, 2011. This morning, we came in and went through our morning routine. At 9:05, we headed down to P.E. When we were all in our squad spots, we voted to either play Frisbee Golf outside, or do the timed run inside. I think you know which we voted to do. We got a score sheet, a marker, and a Frisbee, and lined up with a partner. We headed out to the lower field and ran to the end and back as a warm up, and then the P.E. teacher set up some hula hoops with numbers hung up on them. We then flew the Frisbees into the hoops in the least amount of throws. Then we came back to class and finished our morning math. Then we did math. First we did an Activote test on area, perimeter, and volume. Then we were divided up into two groups, and then the student teacher took one group out into the shared space. The group that remained in the classroom had to find the dimensions of an NBA basketball court for Eminem. We had to find the area of the key, the cost of a shiny material for the key, the perimeter and the cost of 14k gold for trim, the amount of concrete that would be laid down one foot deep, and the material that covers the remainder of the court. Then we had break. After break, we returned to our groups and continued working. Then we went out to recess.

When we came back from lunch, we did science. We looked at white light and prisms. It turns out that white light is actually a combination of colors. Then we read a chapter of The Giver, and filled out our predictions. Then we performed our Chaos in the Canyon skits. Two groups tied for first place at 91 miles. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP, p 7 & 13

Day 148 - Reading MSP

Good morning! Today is Thursday, May 05, 2011. We have a very short blog today due to testing all day. We came in and started reading the directions at 9:15 sharp. Then we began. Here is the schedule that we followed until 2:30ish.

9:15 Testing
10:00 Break
10:15 Testing
11:00 Break
11:15 Testing
12:00 Break
12:15 Testing
12:45 Lunch

1:00 Break
1:15 Testing
2:00 Break
2:15 Testing
2:30 End of testing

We then went outside until 3:00, and then came back in and did a little bit of math review. Then we did PSV, cleaned, and left. There is no homework except for Reading 30 minutes and Reading Record. Enjoy your weekend! By the way, there is no school tomorrow on Friday.

Day 147- Reading MSP Tomorrow

Hello class! Today is Wednesday, May 04, 2011. When we came in the morning, we went through our morning routine. At 9:04, we went to music. We got to watch the Kindergarten play. It was only going to be the 1st, 2nd, and our class, but it turned into a full blown assembly. After it was over, we went back and did some math review, and went over homework until break. After break, we did another “done period” and more math review for MSP. Then we went to recess and played a game outside because we earned it by being so awesome during the play by being good examples and helping out.

When we came back, we read a chapter of The Giver. Today we did Vocabulator, and then we cleaned out our desks and got rid of everything. Then we did PSV, and left. Tomorrow is the Reading MSP.

Your homework tonight is to go to bed early, get a good night’s sleep!

Day 146- Social Studies Test

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, May 3, 2011. When we came in, we went through our morning routine. At 9:04, we went to P.E. In P.E., we got into groups of eight people, and then we went to three different stations. The first station was practicing our control by bouncing Cush balls back and forth to a partner or group. The second station was throwing the Frisbees to a partner, or having them run and catch it. The last station, station number three was really three stations in one. The first set up was three pins on top of some mats. You had to try and knock them down. Then there was a hoop on mats, and hoop around a pin. The objective was to get the Frisbee through the hoop, and then get it to knock over the pin by bouncing off the wall. Then there was just a hoop that was up on top of some mats that we had to fly our Frisbees threw. Then we left. When we got back, we got our net books out and finished our morning math. Once everyone had their net books, we did some reading comprehension until break. When we came back, we went over the selection, and then went on to persuasive writing. In the writing, we talked a little more about tone in your essay and about your audience. Then we went on to writing a beginning paragraph for our healthy vending machines essay. You had to include your name, your subject, and a few other things. We worked on it until lunch. The fifth graders were having the MSP, so we selected five people to fill in for lunch helpers on second lunch.

When we came back, we did science. We set up an experiment to look at energy transfers and waves. We placed a piece of paper on a desk, and then set two blocks of wood upright, and then placed a container on them. We filled the container with water, and shone a light over it. We then did two experiments pertaining to light. Then we did a Social Studies test on the four forms of government, Monarchy, Oligarchy, Tyranny, and Democracy. After we were finished, our teacher took a small group out into the shared space to work on last night’s math, while the rest of us worked and had fun. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP, p 49 & 50

Day 145 - Algebra Aptitude Test

Hello everyone! Today is Monday, May 2, 2011. When we entered the classroom, we went through our morning routine. At 9:04, we went down to music. We learned about Johannes Brahms. He was famous for Brahms’ Lullaby, and he lived in the Romantic period. Then we practiced our graduation song, and then left. When we got back, we finished our morning math, got our net books out, and then we were split up into two groups. We looked at the morning math, and then we did an interesting problem. There were six people at a party, and they each shook hands with every person once. How many handshakes were made total? A way you can figure that out is to give every person a number, and them but them into pairs, or combinations, making sure that you don’t repeat any pairs, and then count them. That number is the total handshakes made by all the people at the party. We worked on the problem, making strategies, and showing our work to the class until break. When we came back, we did Persuasive writing. We talked about writing about the other side, or “Knowing Your Enemy”. Our topic that we were going to research was: Should we ban healthy vending machines in school. Then we were divided up into two halves, and we were assigned the side we were supposed to research, for banning the vending machines, or against. We researched it, and then shared our ideas and results with our teams, and then we researched the opposite side. We then showed our final results to the other team, and they showed us their information. Then we went out to recess.

When we came back, at 1:10 we had the Algebra Aptitude test for Honor’s Math. The group that signed up to take the test went down there, while the rest of the class remained behind to do math. We played Math Jeopardy until they came back from working on the test. Then we did a science experiment with BB bullets, a plastic tray, and a paper towel tube. Then we discussed the behavior of the bullets, and their relation to light. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP, p 53 & 57

Day 144 - Panoramic Picture of the School

Good morning! Today is Friday, April 29, 2011. When we came in, we went through our morning routine. At about 9:13, we all got our net books and went to library. We set up our net books and brought our power points on our favorite author, and filled out a sheet with some questions on which books you would read, why, etc. Then we left our stuff there, and went out to the lower field and a guy took a huge group picture of the school. We didn’t get done until about 10:30, when we left the field, recovered our net books and binders, and returned to the class room to finish morning math and to do assignments that still needed to be done. Then we had break. After break, we did a math lesson after about 30 minutes of work on extra GIMP art projects and make up assignments. The lesson was an introduction into negative numbers. If you have $5, and you buy something that was $10, you would get -$5. If you have -$5 in the bank, and you earn $9, you have $4.Then we went out to recess. Our teacher made a new game called Safe Zone to play outside on the whole lower field. It was a lot of fun.

When we came back from lunch, we did a science lesson. We read about pinpoint light, and how cameras take pictures. Then we read two chapters of The Giver. After that, we did Chaos in the Canyon. We got our cards and resolved them, but as a bonus, our teacher said that we could make a song to earn an extra two dice. We were allowed to take it home and work on it over the weekend. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Enjoy your weekend! Your homework is Reading 30 Minutes and Reading Record.

Day 143- Filling and Wrapping Math Test

Hi all! Today is Thursday, April 28, 2011. When we came in this morning, we did our morning routine, but at about 9:15, our teacher stopped us. He wanted to hear us and what we thought about some of the new rules, what’s going on at recess, and how we feel about Juanita Elementary. He listened to all of us, and then we brain stormed on things that we thought could make the school better, and what we should do for our legacy gift. We came up with an ASB, or a Student Body, that would have a President, and VP (Vice President), and other positions like advisors, playground monitors, hall monitors, etc. The ASB would meet every now and then to discuss what was going on in school, and try to solve any problems that had arose, and if we couldn’t solve them, bring them to the attention of the teachers, staff, and possibly our principal. We continued until about 10:15, when the guy from Evergreen Hospital came to do “Project Alert”. After that class, we had break. When we came back, we had some more time to do some work that we still needed to complete, and also to work on bonus art projects on GIMP. Then we went outside to recess.
When we came back from lunch, we did the Filling and Wrapping end of the unit math test. It took until about 2:00. Then we turned them back in, then we read two chapters of The Giver, and filled out our predictions. After that, we turned back to Social Studies and Democracy. We got to vote on what kind of music we got to listen to. First, we voted on genres, then on authors. After we came to a consensus, we read 26.5, Democracy: All Citizens Share Power. We filled out the section in our notebooks, and then did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework: Nothing but Reading 30 minutes and Reading Record. Enjoy your night!

Day 142 - “Done” Period

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, April 27, 2011. When we entered the class room, we went through our morning routine. At 9:05, we went to music. We started out with our ukuleles. We reviewed the E string, and then learned the fingerings for the third string, the B string. The first fret was C, and the third fret was D. We played a couple songs, and when people’s fingers started getting sore, we stopped and went on to “Follow Your Dream”. We first just did our notes, and then sang with full piano. We even got so far as to add the descant. Then we left and came back to the class room. When we got back, we finished our morning math, and then our teacher introduced the “Done” period. He had made six sheets of paper that listed the assignment and who still needed to drop box/ turn it in. So we worked on our assignments until break, and even after, all the way to lunch. We had to finish: Doctor Dinosaur Q&A, Where the Red Fern Grows Q&A, Dinosaur Ghost Q&A, Tone Ad, Storm Chasers Q&A, and our Avatar projects. Anyone who didn’t finish had to stay in for recess. The rest of us went outside.

When we came back, we continued talking about scale models and scale factors. We filled out a table that had the dimensions of an open box, the scale factor, surface area, and volume. Then we went on to answer the questions in lesson 5.3. Then at 1:50, we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Enjoy your evening! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 Minutes and Reading Record
FW, p 71, Q# 26-28

Day 141 - Greece and Oligarchy

            Hello everyone! Today is Tuesday, April 26, 2011. When we entered this morning, we went through our morning routine. Then at 9:05, we went to P.E. Today we went outside to practice throwing our Frisbees. We set up pins and hula-hoops on the rock wall to practice with. We were eventually forced to stop because the Frisbees were getting cracked from flying into the wall. So we went on to setting up cones and throwing Frisbees to each other. Then we cleaned up and went inside. When we got back inside, we did a math lesson. It was about dimensions and what happens if you double one of the dimensions or all of them. We did that until break. When we returned, we did the same thing. At about 11:30, we worked on our persuasive writing. We finished up working on those persuasive ads, drop boxed them, and worked on the storm chasers questions and answers under the MSP folder in Read Only. Then we went out to recess.

            When we came back, we did science. It was all about shadows. We saw that the closer a Popsicle stick with a black circle was to the light, the bigger and the fuzzier/blurrier the shadow was on the screen. The closer it was to the screen, the smaller it was (closer it was to being its actual size), and the more defined it was (darker). Then we studied Oligarchy and Tyranny in Social Studies. Oligarchy was when the wealthiest people ran the city-state. Tyranny was when people fought to be the ruler. Leaders arose, and the people supported them. The people with the most support crushed the resisting people, or the others went to join a stronger force. Then we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of exiling and executing the opposite side. We also talked about giving gifts to win their trust. During the study of Tyranny, someone took some of the class mates away to take pictures of them for the year book. They were the Most Likely. Then we played Heads Up 7UP and Toss the Story. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. See you tomorrow! Here’s your homework:

Homework

Read 30 minutes and Reading Record

FW, p 67, Q# 5-8 & 10-14, Bonus Q# 15, 27, & 37

Day 140 - Greece and the Rise of Monarchies

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, April 25, 2011. When we came in, we had P.E. in the morning, so we put all of our stuff away, started our Morning Routine, and left quickly. In P.E., we started the Frisbee unit. We started out with Frisbees that had plastic for the edges, and a type of netting in the middle. We bounced a Cush ball on it, kind of like we did with the tennis balls and rackets in the Tennis unit. Then we proceeded to hitting it to a partner. After that, we dropped the Cush balls, got into assigned groups of four, and we got either a hula-hoop or three pins to set up on two mats. We got to throw Frisbees through the hula-hoops and tried to knock over the pins. We also got to try out Frisbees that were all plastic and all foam. Then we came back and got our net books out after doing morning math, and did a math lesson. It was about cones, pyramids, and spheres. Then we had break. When we came back, we did language arts. We wrote ad’s for five products. Then at about 12:00, we did a quick Activote test, which lasted until 12:19. Then we went out to recess.
When we came back, we finished the math test. Then the teacher divided us into groups based on how many questions we got right. The teacher took one group outside, and the student teacher kept the rest inside. We did some review questions on area and volume. Then we did Social Studies. The lesson was about Monarchy. The teacher assigned the class a Queen and a Princess. They got crowns and were able to choose a song and the volume. Then the Queen died, and the Princess was made Queen, and did the same thing as her mother, but she also ordered all the boys out. Then we came back together and discussed the pros and cons of being a ruler. Then we read another chapter of The Giver, and did Vocabulator. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Enjoy your night! Here’s your homework:

Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
FW, p 54, Q# 9-16, Bonus Q# 28 & 29

Day 139 - Project Alert

Hello class! Today is Friday, April 22, 2011. When we came in this morning, we went through our morning routine. We didn’t have library, and it took us almost an hour to do our morning math and get our net books out! At about 10:05, the guy from Evergreen Hospital came by and showed us a video. We had to get together in groups, and make an ending for it. We presented them to the class, and then discussed them. Then we had break. When we came back, we did math. We continued to work with cylinders, but today we learned how to find the surface area (The formula is: 2 times Pi times R Squared + 2 times Pi times R times H). Then we went outside for recess and played Battlefield.

When we came back from lunch, we did science. We did an experiment that involved finding the area of the light that shone through a small square. Then we did math. In math, we had little balls of clay. We molded them into spheres that were as tall as little pieces of clear plastic. Then we flattened them down, and wrote down the height of the flattened piece of clay, and the clear piece of plastic. Then we went over everyone’s measurements. Turns out, every group got a different amount of clay and a different height of plastic. Then we read another chapter of “The Giver”. Then we did PSV, and wrote down homework. All you have is reading. Enjoy your weekend!

Day 138- Special Photography

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, April 21, 2011. We entered the classroom and went through our morning routine. We didn’t have any specialists so we did morning math until 9:40. By then everyone had gotten their net books out. We did an Activote test on surface area and volume. Then we were surprised with two things, a cylinder, and a color blindness test. The way you find the volume of a cylinder is you find the area of the 2D circle, and then multiply it by the height. The color blindness test was because on the MSP, of which we are taking on the computer, there are questions that are color-coded. Then we divided up into two new groups, and went our own second ways. Eight people went with the teacher, while the rest remained behind. We stayed that way until break, when we rejoined in the classroom. After break, we tried to finish our Avatar projects, and we worked on Mystery Class, trying to figure out our group’s location, as well as others. We worked until lunch, and decided to use our free- game pass. So we went outside and played Capture the Flag.
When we came back from lunch, we worked on math. This lesson was about finding the area of cylinders. During that time, we had the special photography for safety patrol, Global Reading Challenge, choir, honor choir, orchestra, honor orchestra, band, and honor band. After we finished the math lesson, we took a Social Studies test on the geography of ancient Greece. We graded the multiple choice questions as a group, and then went on and read some more of “The Giver”. Then we wrote down our summary, and did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 Minutes and Reading Record
Group #1 - Student Teacher’s Homework: FW, p 38, Q# 2, 8-12 & 26, Bonus Q# 13-14
Group #2 - Teacher’s Homework: Finish Soda Inc. Project

Day 137 - The Speed of Light

Hello everyone! Today is Wednesday, April 20, 2011. When we came into the classroom, we went through our morning routine. Then at our typical time, we went to music. We finished watching the video on Franz Liszt. Then we practiced our graduation song, and then we had an earthquake drill. We evacuated the building, and went out onto the lower field. Then we came back and finished our morning math, got our net books out, did our daily problem, and did math. We had new groups, so we split up, and the student teacher’s group went outside into the shared space, and the teacher’s group remained inside the classroom. In math, we were challenged to design a box that would fit a triangular model. We had break, and then continued to work on it even after, until recess.

When we came back from lunch, we did a reading on science. We also did some calculations on the speed of light, like how long it would take to travel to the moon if you were moving at the speed of light. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left at 2:00. Have a nice weekend! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Teacher’s Group’s Homework is: Package Write Up
Student Teacher’s Homework is: Skill p. 123 & 124
Bring CD’s with appropriate music

Day 136 - Ancient Greece

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, April 19, 2011. We came in and went through our morning routine. At 9:05, we went to P.E. We played a modified version of “Steal the Pins”, but we added some gator skin balls, and two footballs. When we came back, we finished morning math, and then worked on math until break. It was all about packaging. It turns out those rectangles whose dimensions are almost squares have the least surface area, which means they are going to be used for the package. The less the surface area, the less material needed for the package, and the more money you save. When we came back from break, we worked on the video comparison. Then we went out to recess.

When we came back, we did more of the same math that we did before break. We read another two chapters on Ancient Greece, and then we read “The Giver”. We filled out our predictions, and then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 Minutes and Reading Record
FW, p 24, Q# 7-17, Bonus Q# 25

Day 134 - Tax Day

Good morning class! Today is Friday, April 15, 2011. When we came into class at 8:55, we sat down and went through our morning routine. We got out our net books, and at 9:15, we went down to library. The people who wanted to got to present their favorite author power point. Then in the last five minutes of library, we got to check out. Then we went back to the class room. We continued to do our morning math. Then we did “Project Alert” with the guy from Evergreen Hospital. After that, we had break. When we came back, we did a ton of math. We were divided up into our groups, and then we sped through our math. We covered how to find the volume of a cube and a 3-D rectangle. We did math until recess. The gym was being used, so we didn’t have our Friday game, so we either went outside, or we stayed inside to play games.

After lunch, we had about five minutes to rehearse our skits for Steps to Respect, and then we went down to perform them to the second graders. They loved them; you could see it on their faces! Then we came back and did yet more math. Then, we did science. We got to do another experiment with light. Then, we got to do our own taxes. We got three sheets that we had to fill out. One was our W2 that said how much money we earned, the other was a deduction form, and the last was the total tax form. Then we reordered the desks to protect and wall off the class room. Your only homework is Read 30 minutes and Reading Record. Don’t forget the Carnival is tonight! Enjoy your weekend!

Day 133 - Math, Math, and More Math

Morning all! Today is Thursday, April 14, 2011. In the morning, we came in and did nothing but work on morning math until about 9:30. We got out net books, and then worked on our Global Warming video comparisons until break. When we came back, we did math. The class was split up into two groups. One group went with our teacher, and the other stayed behind with the student teacher. We were introduced to three dimensional squares and rectangles. We were looking at the nets of the shapes. We also got graph paper and tried to cut out shapes that would cover the rectangles and cubes. We worked on it until lunch.

When we came back, we worked on the same math, and then started the read-a-loud with our student teacher. We are reading “The Giver”. We read the first chapter, and then discussed it. After that, we did science. We discussed the science experiment from yesterday, and then we did PSV, wrote down homework. Don’t get wet! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
FW, p. 10, Q# 5-7, 15-16 & 19

Day 132 - Global Warming Video #2

Hey everyone! Today is Wednesday, April 13, 2011. This morning, we came into the classroom and went through our morning routine. At 9:05, we went to music. When we got there, we looked at another composer. After we everyone was done, we looked at our graduation song, “Follow Your Dream”. We introduced the descant part, and then the music teacher quizzed us on the composers and music that they wrote. Then we came back to class and worked on our persuasive writing. We started with beginning paragraphs. Our teacher gave us some debate topics, and we had to go out, research one of them, and make a beginning paragraph. We worked on it until break. When we came back, we worked on the avatar projects while we finished the first global warming video, and watched the entire second one. Then we went out to recess.

When we came back, we did science. We looked at light and flashlights. We even got to light our own candles with actual matches. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Math Packet, Finish It!

Day 131 - Steal the Pins

Good morning class! Today is Tuesday, April 12, 2011. We came into class and went through our morning routine. As usual, we went to specialists at 9:05. We had P.E. today. We learned how to play a new game called Steal the Pins, which is pretty much a modified version of Capture the Flag. We were divided up into teams, and then we divided the gym up into two halves. The gym teacher established a “puppy- guarding line”, and then placed six of the foam weighted pins and a bucket. The pins could be placed back no further than the red line, and the bucket had to stay underneath the basketball hoops. Each team had to stand between the puppy- guarding line and the line that divided the gym in two. There were two jails on either side. The objective was to tag all of the members on the other team, or to steal all the pins. If you were tagged on the other team’s side, you went to jail. If you hit the bucket on their side, there was a jail break for your team. You could pick up as many pins as you wanted and try to get them back to your side. It was a lot of fun!

When we came back, we worked on our morning math, got our net books out, and did the Daily Problem. Then our teacher showed us some persuasive writing paragraphs, and depending on what it was, we had to rearrange it to flow and make more sense, or we had to take out details that didn’t belong, didn’t make sense, or that didn’t back up the main idea. We worked on it until break, all of us taking turns going up to the board and crossing out sentences. When we came back, we worked on our Avatar project. Our teacher went around to everyone who needed help with their avatars, while the rest of us continued to work on our stripes. Then we went to lunch. Our teacher let us play Mario Kart, but warned us that after today, it would be twenty dollars in funny money to stay in and play on the computers or play Mario Kart.

When we came back, we took a long math test on the “Covering and Surrounding” unit. It took us an astounding two hours! Then we went over it at 3:00. We passed it in, and then watched the video on Global Warming. Our teacher wants to finish the video so that we can go on to watch the video that states the opposite side on Global Warming. Then at 3:25, we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Enjoy your evening! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Math Packet Days 15 - 18

Day 130 - A Surprise at Lunch

Hi everyone! Today is Monday, April 11, 2011. This morning, we came into class and went through our morning routine, and at our normal time, we went down to P.E. We played a modified version of “Pin Knockdown”. Instead we used weighted foam pins, and we had several other changes as well. We were divided into five groups, and we divided the gym into four sections. One section was the beginner’s square, and the other was the King’s square, where we went when we had gone through all the other sections. One group went to the King’s square, another to the third, the second, and the beginner’s square. The remaining group went to the sidelines along the beginner’s and the second square where they waited for a group to get out so they could get in. One person from each group went to get a gator skin ball and a foam ball. They returned to their group while the remaining people went to get their own foam balls. The objective was to either knock all the pins down from one group, or hit all the players and get them all out. If one group was eliminated, all the groups behind it moved up (if the group in the King’s square were eliminated they would go to the sidelines, and the beginner’s square would move to the second square, the second to the third, the third to the King’s, and the sideline’s to the beginner’s square).

When we came back, we continued to get our net books out and do our calendar math. Then we went over our persuasive writing by ourselves, and then with a partner until break. When we came back, we worked on our Avatar projects. We worked on the eyes and the stripes until lunch. Then our teacher brought out Mario Kart on the Xbox. He gave us two options. We could go outside or we could stay in and take turns playing. Most people chose to stay in, but some people weren't interested and they went outside.

After lunch, we worked on a math packet. It went over the area and perimeter/circumference of circles, rectangles, and squares. Then, we looked at some questions about light. We brainstormed together, and then we went onto Social Studies. We read two chapters on Ancient Greece. It was all about travel and farming. We went to our notebooks and answered a couple of questions on the selection. Then we continued to watch the video on Global Warming. After ten minutes, we wrote down homework, did PSV, and left. Have a nice evening! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Complete CS Review
AP p. 77

Day 129 - The Area of a Circle

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, April 8, 2011. This morning, we came into class and went through our morning routine, and got our net books out. At 9:13, we went down to library. We first checked out some books. Then, some people went up and presented their favorite author power point. When we went back, we did some more “Project Alert” with a guy from Evergreen Hospital until break. When we got back, we worked on “Where the Red Fern Grows” and the persuasive paragraph until lunch when we went outside and played “Capture the Flag” with both of our teachers and the counselor.

When we came back from lunch, we did a math checkup on circles. We had to find the circumference and if we knew how to, the area. Then we learned how to find the area of a circle. Radius squared multiplied by Pi or 3.14 equals the area of the circle. Then at 2:10 we had “Steps to Respect”. We worked some more on our role plays that we will show the second graders. Then we presented them to the class. After that, we watched some more of the global warming video, and then we did PSV, cleaned the class room, and left. Your only homework is Reading 30 minutes and Reading Record. Have an awesome weekend! See you Monday.

Homework - read 30 minutes and reading record

Day 127 - Simulating the Settlement of Ancient Greece

Hi all! Today is Thursday, April 07, 2011. This morning, we came into class and went through our morning routine. We didn’t have any specialists today, so it took until about 9:50 for everyone to finally get their net books out and get logged on. When we got on, we did the MSP questions and worked on our Persuasive paragraph until about 10:50. Then we got to play on coolmath4kids.com until break. When we came back, we read Where the Fern Grows, a PDF, and answered a bunch of questions that were in a word document (on the net books). Then we went outside for lunch.

When we came back, we did Social Studies. During lunch, the two teachers set up our desks to represent Ancient Greece areas like Athens, Crete, and Sparta. Then we were handed a packet of regular sheets of paper with our group number on them. Then in our little area, we put them down, careful not to overlap them. They represented our claimed land. If we were able to get all of them down in one minute, we survived and got our resources. If you didn’t get them all down, then one person had to go away to the Black Sea, African Minor, Italy, and North Africa. Then the rest of them got their resources. If you had two of one resource, then you had to go trade with someone else. They had to sing a song that goes to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”. The people who didn’t have to trade had to perform a song that went to the tune “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”. It was a lot of fun! Then we cleaned up and got our desks back where they were supposed to be, and we did math until it was 3:20. Then we did PSV, cleaned, wrote down homework, and left. Have a nice evening! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
CSS.1, p 78, Q# 15,
AP, p 65
Math Packet Days 13 & 14

Day 127 – Light Stations

Good morning all! Today is Wednesday, April 6, 2011. This morning, we came in and went through our morning routine, and at our normal time, we went to music. In Music we learned the E string on the ukuleles and sang 2 pages of our graduation song. Around 9:45 we headed back to the classroom and went over morning math. After everyone had their net books, we started on our persuasive writing paragraph. Once people were done with that we started picking a topic to debate on. At 11:00, we had break and at 11:10 we started math. In math today we traced a circle and found the ratio, diameter, and circumference. It turns out that when you measure the diameter for any circle, it goes around 3.14 times! Once we were done, we jumped up to our computers and worked on our Avatars. After 12 minutes, we headed out to recess.
When we came back, we visited some different stations that had to do with light. It was a lot of fun, but we had to stop at 1:50 to do PSV, write down homework, and leave. Here’s your homework:
Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP, p 64
Math Packet Days 11 & 12

Day 126 - Ancient Greece

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, April 05, 2011. We came into class, and went through our normal routine because we had the net books back. But at 9:05, we went to P.E. We had a practice of the Timed Run, so we ran and walked for 30 minutes, and then went back to class and finished our morning work. When we got our net books out, we finished our two paragraphs about ourselves. Then, we typed five facts that you could prove, like rocks are not living, and the earth is round. After that, we took one of the facts from our paragraphs, and listed four examples that backed that fact up. Then we had break. When we came back, we worked on our Avatar projects on Gimp until lunch.

When we came back, we did a math lesson. We got into groups of four and found the area, circumference, and diameter of different circles. Then we did Social Studies. We started the Ancient Greece unit and we worked on the geography of Macedonian and the Persian Empire. When we got done, we watched some more of the movie on Global Warming. Then we did PSV, cleaned, wrote down homework, and left. Here’s the homework:

Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Math Packet Days 7-10

Day 125 – Welcome back from Spring Break

Today we had a busy day getting back into our routine. We started off by going to Music. After music we came back and worked on Mystery Class. We got caught up on the week of clues we missed. There are now two cultural clues that are helping groups figure out where their class is. Some groups already think they know where their city is! Next we worked on our persuasive writing papers. We wrote positive traits about ourselves and then we traded with people and they wrote positive things about us. Afterward we wrote two paragraphs summarizing the results and put it in the drop box.
After lunch we came back and worked on math. We estimated the area and perimeter of two lakes in groups.

Day 124 - We Take a Field Trip to the Burke Museum

Good morning all! Today is Friday, March 25, 2011. When we came in, we had a field trip planned to the Burke Museum in downtown Seattle. So at 9:15 when the bus arrived, we got onto the bus and got settled, and we began the trip. I guess we got there about 9:50ish. We dropped our coats off because it was plenty warm in there, and began the tours. We got into three large groups, and went to three separate stations. One station was a field camp based activity, where you dug for fossils in a bin of sand with paint brushes. Another activity was where you got a bin of fossils, and you had to go around to different exhibits to determine what it was and what time period it came from, the Ancient Life period, the Dino period, the hot period, and the cold period. The last activity was where you got to choose any fossil from the museum, and you drew it, wrote down when it lived, where it was found, and a description of the fossil. We came back at about 12:20, and went immediately down to lunch.

When we came back from lunch, we worked on the math test. Then at 2:00, we went to a living history museum. The fifth graders had been researching colonial times, and were now going to act out a character from Gentry (rich people), Middling Sort (in between people), or Slaves. We got a sheet of paper that had three questions; #1 Did the person speak clearly and loudly? #2 Did the person answer with complete sentences? #3 Did the person get into character? We came back once we were done, and finished the math test, and read silently. Then at 3:10, we did PSV, wrote down homework, and cleaned. Then we went outside and played Elimination. Have an awesome Spring Break! You’re only is reading 30 minutes and Reading Record.
Over Spring Break, catch up your Reading Record.

Here are the words and definitions for the Word of the Day since Week 24:
Week 24
Monday- Turmoil- Commotion and Confusion
Tuesday- Consolidates- Forms a firm, solid mass
Wednesday- Gales- Very strong winds
Thurs- Sustained- Kept alive
Fri- Sanctuary- A shelter from danger
Week 25
Monday- Erosion- All natural processes that wear away earth and rock
Tuesday- Evidence- The data used to draw a conclusion
Wed- Excavation- The act of extracting items from the earth
Week 26
Tues- Veil- A very thin piece of fabric that covers the face
Fri- Lapping- Drinking the liquid by bringing it into the mouth with the tongue
Week 27
Mon- Brimming- Filled as full as possible
Tues- Tranquil- Peaceful
Wed- Scything- Cutting things down with a tool with a bent handle and a curved blade
Thurs- Hypothesis- Scientific suggestions based on what is known so far
Fri- Specimens- Samples taken for scientific studies
Week 28
Mon- Theory- An idea that is based on evidence but cannot be stated as fact
Tues- Emerged- Began to appear or develop
Wed- Prey- An animal hunted or caught by other animals for food
Thurs- Marrow- The soft material inside bones that is the source of red and white blood cells
Fri- Embryos- Animals in their earliest stages of life
Week 29
Mon- Agility- the ability to move quickly and easily
Tues- Hypothesis- Scientific suggestions based on what is known so far
Wed- Evidence- The data used to draw a conclusion
Thurs- Treacherous- Dangerous
Week 30
Mon- Catastrophes- Great sudden disasters
Tues- Geologists- Scientists who study rocks
Wed- Traces- Extremely small amounts
Thurs- Asteroids- Small often irregularly shaped bodies that orbit the sun
Don’t forget to write sentences J

Day 123 - Science CBSA

Hello everyone! Today is Thursday, March 24, 2011. When we came in this morning, we didn’t have any specialists, so we came in and got started with our morning work, like Word of the Day and Calendar Math. When one person was done with that, our teacher broke the news to us that because of some people’s disrespect, we had lost the net books, and the other sixth grade teacher got them all day. So he got a sheet with the daily problems on it, and we worked on that until 9:30. Then we went over that, and then our teacher surprised us by quizzing us on science, and then revealed to us that we would be doing a Science CBSA in the morning. So we started the test at 10:20, and worked until break. When we came back from break, we continued working on the test and dropped in a bin at the front of the room. The test took us until lunch and we all went outside and had fun in the sun.

When we came back from recess, we were bombarded with another test, this time on math. We worked on it until a fifth grade play at 1:50. It was about the Constitution. It took until about 2:45ish. Once it was over and we had put all the chairs on the racks, we went back and continued working on the test, and using the left over net books to drop-box work until it was time to write down homework, PSV, and leave. Have a nice evening! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP, p 14
Math Packet Days 3 & 4

Day 122- Ocean Bike Tours

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, March 23, 2011, and a short day. When we came into class, we had our student teacher teaching us instead of our regular teacher. So we went through our morning routine and went down to music at our normal time. When we got there, we got to critique the 5th graders play, but we were interrupted by a fire drill. It took us 4 minutes and 29 seconds for everyone to make it down to the lower field. From there, we went back to class and worked on “Doctor Dinosaur” until break. When we came back, we continued working on the article, but only after we had worked on a PDF our student teacher made for us on the net books. Once we had finished that, it was time for lunch.
When we came back, we worked on math. Today we did 3.3. It was all about making sure that they would make a profit if they charged $350 for one person. So we made a table, and added the cost of the bike rental and the food and camp costs, and subtracted the total from the revenue, or the amount the customers paid for the trip. If the expense was less than the revenue, you knew you would have made a profit. We worked on the math until 1:45, when we did PSV, cleaned up, wrote down homework, and left. Have an awesome afternoon in the sun! Here’s the homework:
Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
VP, p 55, Q# 13-20 & 38-39, Bonus Q# 48- 49
Math Packet Days 3 & 4

Day 121 - Bullies Anonymous

Morning all! Today is Tuesday, March 22, 2011. At 9:00, we came into the class and went through our morning routine. Then at our usual time, we went down to music to rehearse the play, “Bullies Anonymous” with the teachers and the other sixth grade class. Then we came back, did our Word of the Day, calendar math, and got our net books out. We then did our Daily problem, and worked on a math test on them. After we finished that, we worked on “Doctor Dinosaurs” until break. When we came back, we worked on the cards for our UWB buddies. We learned how to make envelopes out of construction paper. Then we went out to lunch.

When we came back, we worked on science. We are growing crystals. We mixed up some bluing, salt, and water up, and then put a cardboard Christmas tree with food coloring on the tips into the bowl with the solution in it. It should be growing like crazy when we come back tomorrow. Then we had our “Bullies Anonymous” play at 2:00. We had a choir performance before the play. The songs were in order: #1 Scales and Arpeggios, #2 Where Go the Boats, and #3 Zum Gali Gali. Then we did the play. When we came back, we worked on science questions until the time we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. To the sixth grade classes good job! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Practice Counts Math Packet Days 1 & 2

Day 120- Science “Rocks”!

Morning everyone! Today is Monday, March 21, 2011. I hope you enjoyed your extra day of time off on Friday. When we came in, we went through our morning routine, writing down the Word of the Day, doing our Calendar math, and getting it checked. At 9:05, we went down to music to rehearse the play, “Bullies Anonymous” with the other sixth grade class. We ran through virtually the whole play, except for the very end, and then we left for class. When we got back to class, we finished up our calendar math, got out our net books, and worked on our CBA until break. The font for the essay is 12 point and it has to be Times New Roman. After break, we worked on “Type 2 Learn 4” and some new questions on an article called “Doctor Dinosaur”. Then at 12:10, we headed out to lunch.

When we came back, we did science. We took a closer look at granite and obsidian. Our main focus was at crystals. Our student teacher brought in tubes of salol, which melts at 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 42 degrees Celsius. So we heated up water, and melted the salol. Then once it was liquid, we took one vial and put it in cold water to cool and to crystalize. We also put the other vial on the desk (at room temp.) to cool and crystalize. The salol in the water cooled really fast, and we could see crystals in the first 30 seconds. The salol on the desk hadn’t crystalized at all. We came to the conclusion that if the salol cools slower, it creates bigger crystals, but if it cools quickly, it forms smaller crystals. This explains why obsidian has small crystals, and granite has larger crystals. Obsidian cools faster, and granite cools slower. We finished up 3.2 in math, and were going to do 3.3, but instead we did “Chaos in the Canyon” until 3:25, when we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left for the night. Enjoy your evening! Here’s your homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
VP, p 55, Q# 13- 20 & 38-39, Bonus Q# 48-49
Math Packet Days 19-20

Day 119- Saint Patrick’s Day

               Happy Saint Patrick’s Day everyone! Today is Thursday, March 17, 2011. This morning, we didn’t have any specialists, so we came in and worked on Word of the Day and Calendar Math. As usual, our teacher had to check our work before we could get our netbooks out. Once we had them, we did the daily problems, finished our science experiment where we analyzed different rocks to determine if they were igneous metamorphic or sedimentary. We then worked to try and finish our SSCBA. We worked on it until lunch, and our teacher then went out to play a basketball game with the boys.

                When we came back, the boys got in trouble, so they went down to the lunch room, while the girls had fun upstairs in the classroom. Then we finished math 3.1. After that, at 2:30, we went to library to work on the book report on our favorite author. When we came back, we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left at 3:30. Have a nice weekend! Remember, we don’t have any school tomorrow because the teachers go back to school. Here’s the homework:

Homework

Read 30 minutes and Reading Record

VP, p 55, Q# 5-12 & 28, Bonus Q# 44-45

Math Packet Days 17 & 18

Day 118 - Art and Cake

Today we worked on identifying the types of rocks in science by using the computers and our science text books. We looked at different characteristics and tried to determine if they were igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary. We then wrapped up our greeting cards that we made in publisher for our UW buddies. After that we had a chance to work on our CBA's. Students who are not finished need to work on that at home.

After lunch we hard art docent. The art docent taught us about an artist named Hariuchi who did really great landscape art. She also brought in cake for Mr. Steele's birthday, which we had during the art project.

Homework:
Read 30 minutes
Reading Record
Finish Social Studies CBA

Day 117 - We Learn Some Algebra

Hi all! Today is Monday, March 15, 2011. This morning we had P.E., so at 9:05 we headed down. We played “Pin Knockdown”. You set up a pin, and then defend it. The point of the game is to knock down the other’s pins. To do this you have to set up a pin, and then grab a bean bag. Then we went back and did calendar math. Once we were done, we got out net books and did the Daily Problems. Once we were done with that, we started working on our SS CBA. Once our teacher saw we all had our computers out, we went over the problems, and continued on the CBA until we had break. When we came back, we paired up with a student of our choice, and did some peer-review. Our teacher showed us how to do track changes, so that we could see suggestions and changes done to our papers. After about 15 minutes, we went back and looked at the changes our partner had made. Then we continued working until 12:10. We garnered 8 minutes of recess, but our teacher said we could make it up tomorrow, because he was going to be a part of an Ancient Mythology computer tournament against some students. He smoked them (meaning he won, and they sorely lost).

When we came back from lunch, we did 3.1 in math. That was when we got our first taste of algebra. Instead of using stories, we used letters to represent variables. After that we tried to finish the “Fossil Primer” questions in science. We got into groups and worked, but then we did some individual work. Then we did book clubs until 3:24. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Have a nice night! Here’s the homework:

Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
VP, p 55, Q#1-4 & 21-22, Bonus Q# 27 & 43
Math Packet Days 15 & 16

Day 116- Happy Pi Day

Good morning and Happy Pi Day! If you’re wondering what I mean by Pi Day, Pi is 3.14 and a whole bunch of numbers after that. Today is Monday, 3/14/11. The fraction 3/14 is equivalent to 3.14, hence Pi. This morning when we came in, we had music, so we hurried off to the commons where we got on stage and acted the play, “Bullies Anonymous” out. We came back and did Calendar math. Once we were done, we got our netbooks out and worked on a bibliography for our SS CBA. We were going to do some peer review, but we had break. When we came back, we were going to do peer review again, but ended up working on the bibliography again until lunch.

When we came back, we did 2.3 in math. We were trying to match stories up to graphs, name them, and identify the dependent and independent variables. Then we worked on the “Fossil Primer” questions in science. At 3:00, we then did book clubs until 3:23. Then we came back together, did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Have a nice evening! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
VP, p 35, Q# 8-14 & 19, Bonus Q# 24
Math Packet Days 13 & 14

Day 115 - Communicator Site

                Morning everyone! Today is Friday, March 11, 2011. At 9:15, we have library. So in the morning, we got out our netbooks and then we headed down to see our librarian. We worked on our Favorite Author book reports for the whole period, except for the five minutes we used to check out. When we came back, we were visited by a man from Evergreen Hospital. He talked about the dangers of drugs, smoking cigarettes, and how bad it is to smoke marijuana. You can get lung cancer from smoking cigarettes! Smoking is bad for your health, and decreases your lifetime by up to ten years! Then we had break. When we came back, we got on the communicator sites where we made our avatars. We looked at our community site where we could; read the blog, look at a calendar of events in school, and post comments on topics that our teacher puts on the site. We played with that until lunch, and we collected thirteen minutes that we will have to make up next Monday. But our teacher was nice, and he let us go to play our Friday game. Today we played “Fortress Siege”! Everyone had fun. Then we had lunch.

                When we came back, we had a substitute. Our teacher’s daughter was sick, so he stayed for the game and then left. So we jumped into math. Today’s lesson was 2.2. We looked at prices of bike tours and the potential number of customers. Just as we thought, the higher the price of the bike tours as seen on our graphs, the fewer customers are expected. After we made a graph representing the information in the table, we got to choose partners to answer the rest of the problems. Then we came back together, went over them, and started a Social Studies test on the Silk Road. Then at 3:04, we turned them in and we did book clubs until 3:21. We then completed our jobs, wrote down homework, and did PSV. Then we left. Here’s the homework:

Reading 30 Minutes and Reading Record

Day 114 - Let’s All Stay in for Recess!

Hi all! Today is Thursday, March 10, 2011. This morning we don’t have any specialists, so we came in, unpacked our things, and worked on our daily math and Word of the Day until about 10:45. We also cleaned our math binders out. First we got out our calendar math, which our teacher collected, and then we stapled all our BP3 work together and stored it elsewhere, but we didn’t turn it in. Once we were all done with our work, and had turned in our work, we got out the netbooks. We were supposed to work on the “Dino Ghosts” questions, drop box it once we were done, and work on our SS CBA. But at about 11:20, we got to take a math test. Do you remember the CBSA math test that we took a couple days ago? Well it turns out a couple of problems were wrong so turns out we had to retake it.

When we came back from recess we did math lesson 2.0 and went over the CDSA retake. Later on in Social Studies we learned about the Western Silk Road and surprisingly the carpets that were traded in the western Silk Road lasted for decades! After that we designed our own board game. At 3:05 we did book club action for a small amount of 12 minutes. Lastly at the end of the day we PSV today Mr. Steele was looking for a spotless floor then he dismissed us at 3:30.

Homework:
P.35 1-4 + 15-16
Bonus 20-21
PC day# 11+12

Day 113 - Monsoon

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, March 09, 2011. We came in and did our morning routine, and at our usual time, we went down to music. We did the same thing we’ve been working on for the last couple weeks, the play “Bullies Anonymous”. We ran through the songs and the lines, and then we left for the classroom. We got out the netbooks, and worked on science. We got into groups of four to five and looked at igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Then we had break. When we came back, we worked on the “Ghost Dinosaurs” questions, until lunch. When we came back we worked on math until the end of the day at 2:00. This lesson was all about making tables and graphing from a journal and notes. Then at 3:20 we did PSV and wrote down homework. Have an awesome evening! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
VP, p 15, Q# 10-12, Bonus Q# 30
Math Packet #2 Days 9 & 10

Day 112 - Mirages in Social Studies

Hello all! Today is Tuesday, March 08, 2011. In the morning, entered the classroom and did our morning routine. At 9:05 we went down to P.E. We had more stations, and one of them was a fitness test (I don’t know the name, but it involved stretching and then sitting down and reaching as far as you could without hurting yourself). So we rotated through the stations, and at the end when everyone was done with the test, we just had fun until our teacher came and ruined all our fun. A lady from the district came by and interviewed a handful of people about the netbooks after we got them out. Then we worked on questions for an article called “Ghost Dinosaurs”, until break. When we came back, we worked on our Gimp Avatar project (The Avatars from the movie directed by James Cameron). Then we worked on our SSCBA at about 11:30 until lunch.

After recess and lunch we did math 1.4. We learned how to make a table from information in a graph. After we did math, we jumped straight into science. We did some more stuff on index fossils and layers. Then we took a break and read about the Silk Road in Social Studies. Then at 3:00, we went back to Science and we worked on some questions that went with the article “Fossil Primer” until 3:25. Then we did jobs, wrote down homework, did PSV, and left. Have a nice evening! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
VP, p 15, Q# 6-9 & 25-27, Bonus #28
Math Packet #2 Days 7 & 8

Day 111 - The Adventures of Oz

Morning everyone! Today is Monday, March 07, 2011. This morning, we came in and went through our morning routine, and at 9:05 we went to P.E. We weren’t in there for five minutes when we were called into the cafeteria to watch the all-school play, “The Adventures of Oz”. It was a really good play. At about 10:30, we headed back, got out the netbooks, and worked on the SS CBA. Then at 10:50, four people were selected to go move the music teacher’s piano. Then at 11:00, we had break. After break, we finished up questions on an article called “Search for Monsters”, which was about mythical creatures who have supposedly been seen by civilians. Once we finished that and we dropped it off in the drop-box, we worked on our CBA until lunch. Mr. Steele showed us how to put pictures into our essay using Microsoft Word.

When we came back, we did math. Instead of doing 1.2 like we were supposed to, we skipped that and went on to 1.3. It was about graphing. After we did that, we went back to the processing sheet for Social Studies. We worked on that until 2:50, and then we did book clubs until it was time to pack up. We did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Have a nice evening! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
VP, p 15, Q#1-3 & 18-20, Bonus Q# 26
Math Packet Days 5 & 6

Day 110 - Chaos in the Canyon

Good morning America! To start of the day we did morning math and we changed math books to bits and pieces #4. The specialist today was library. In library we worked on our book report on our favorite author. Remember it is due the twenty fifth of March don’t turn it in late .Then it was time for mystery class we worked on mystery class for about five to ten minutes. I can’t wait till we find out what location we are tracking! After mystery class we used the new net books to work on our three philosophies CBA . Mr. Steele surprised us with another art lesson on the commuter. He took pictures of us and we put in backgrounds and got to mess around with it.

When we got back from lunch, we transformed and did “Chaos in the Canyon”. After that, we read the introduction for math, but was interrupted our teacher, so we did “Steps to Respect”, and went back to math after the lesson. It was about by-standers. After that, we did our math lesson. We went outside to do jumping jacks, then came in and proceeded to answer the questions. Then for about 20 minutes we did book clubs. Then we did PSV, wrote down homework, and left. Have an awesome weekend! Here’s the homework:

Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Variables and Patterns, p 15, Q# 4-7 & 31-33, Bonus Q# 15-19

Day 109 - We Travel the Silk Road

Good morning Mr. Steele’s Class! Today is Thursday, March 03, 2011. We came in, unpacked, and started Word of the Day and Daily Math. We then went over that and got the netbooks out. When we got them out, we got onto a program called Gimp2. It was a program where you could do art. Tools we looked at included the paint brush, layers, and different kinds of brushes like calligraphy or big dots, and also colors. We worked on it until break. When we got back, we had our last day with our UWB buddies. Then at 11:50, we had some free time on the netbooks, and then we put them away and went out to lunch.

When we got back from lunch, we mimicked the Silk Road. We got into groups, and “traded goods” with the rest of the class. There were different obstacles that we had to pass. One of them was a mountain that we had to “climb” over, which was a desk covered in paper. There was a stretch of desert that you had to cross with your eyes closed. There was also a string that you had to crabwalk under. There was also a stretch of carpet that had pictures of lion and scorpions that you had to hop over. It was a lot of fun. Then we finished the math test we started yesterday. At around 3:10, we corrected the papers. We did jobs at 3:20. At 3:25, we wrote down homework, did PSV, and left. Have a good evening! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Reading 30 minutes and Reading Record
Math Packet #2, Days 1-4

Day 108 - Watching Videos on our Net Books

Morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, March 02, 2011. This morning when we came in, we went through our usual routine, and at 9:05, we went down to music. When we got there, we got assigned seats for the play, “Bullies Anonymous”. Then we ran through the whole play, practicing the songs, and practicing with the microphones (they were off). We got done right on time, and at 9:45, we lined up and headed back up to the classroom to get our net books and watch a video on our net books! Two people went down to the computer lab and hi-jacked about thirteen headphones since we did not have enough. Everyone should try to bring their own pair of headphones in to use. We then hooked them up to the net books and watched a video on the Silk Road. Once we were done, we answered some questions and then took a survey on how much we liked watching the video on the net book, and what else we would like to do on them. Then we had break. After break, we worked on our SS CBA until lunch and learned how to use Microsoft Outlook to do email and calendar.

When we came back, we did the end of the unit math test on decimals. Then at 1:50 we did jobs and left. The only homework is Reading 30 minutes and Reading Record. Have a nice day!

Day 107- Fitness Testing in P.E.

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, March 01, 2011. We came in at 9:00, and went through our morning routine, and at our usual time of 9:04, we headed down to P.E. where we had a number of stations do rotate to. First of all, there was the flex arm hang station. Then we rotated to a station where you can practice your tennis (hitting the tennis ball back and forth or playing a competitive game). The next station was jump roping. Then at about 9:45, we came back, got the net books out, logged them on, and started to work on our SS CBA. Then we had break. After break, we got about fifteen minutes of Type2Learn, and then started making a title page for our essay (SSCBA). We also organized our documents, and made new folders for each subject (Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts). Then we went out to lunch.

When we came back, we did an Activ Vote quiz, and then went into our regular math. Today’s lesson was 5.3. Tomorrow we have the end of the unit assessment, so review and practice tonight. Then, we got back together and did science until 3:20. We are looking at index fossils. Then we wrote down homework and PSV. Then we left. Study hard! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP p 97
Math Packet Days 19 & 20

Day 106 - Honors Writing

Good morning class! Today is Monday, February 28, 2011. This morning when we came in, we went through our usual morning routine, and at 9:05, we went to music. In music, we ran over the “Bullies Anonymous” script, and the songs. We then came back, got the net books, and worked on our SS CBA’s until break. When we came back, we worked on “The Girl Who Married the Moon” questions and answers. If we were done, we could play around on “Type2Learn 4”. Then 12:10 came and we went to lunch.

When we came back, at 1:15 we had the Honor’s writing test for some students. The other students reviewed for the upcoming math unit test. At around 2:50 we did book clubs until 3:20. We then wrote down homework, did PSV, and left. Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
AP p 96
Math Packet Days 17 & 18

Day 105 - Day After Our Mini-Break

Hello Mr. Steele’s class! Today is Friday, February 25, 2011, and the last day of the week. I hope you all enjoyed your mini-break due to a giant snowstorm on Wednesday and Thursday. This morning, we went through our morning routine, and at 9:15, we went to library. We have a new book report on our favorite author. The librarian passed out a handout that explained what was expected in the book report, things to think about and include in the book report, and note pages to write down our thoughts and plan our report (for the layout of the report). We also had time to check out books. When we came back at about 9:55, we went on to “Mystery Class” with our groups. We then went onto BBC, a website all about fossils.

Three things I learned are; The first thing I learned was in order to make a fossil you have to get buried immediately to keep it safe from animals, critters, and the weather, but it also has to be around rock so it will be preserved. An ideal place to make a fossil is somewhere muddy, like a river or a creek, because they will sink or be covered up by sediment which will keep animals from being eaten by small critters or animals. It will also prevent the air from making them rot. Lakes and oceans are also an ideal place for forming a fossil for similar reasons. The second thing I learned is how fossils are formed. The fleshy part of the animal can be eaten, leaving the bone and teeth behind. The skeleton is then buried beneath mew layers of sediment, but this will only happen where the ground is continually sinking. Because of the weight of the layers above, the pressure on the lower levels increases. The pressure fuses the rock together forming sedimentary rock. Other hard body parts may stay intact and encased in the rock. Then the ground slowly shifts up, taking with it the remains of the animal. Sometimes though, ground water is acidic and dissolves the skeleton, and if the rock is solid enough, a cavity is formed in the shape of the animal's skeleton, which is called a mold. Then the ground water can seep into the mold with minerals and fills, therefore making a mold cast. Then the ground moves up again, taking the fossil with it. Sometimes though, the skeleton goes too deep and is crushed, or doesn't go deep enough and is scattered. It just depends. The third thing I learned is foot prints can tell us how fast an animal moved, how it behaved, and more. We then went on to work on ‘The Girl Who Married the Moon”. At 12:10, we went to lunch.

When we came back, we did lesson 5.2 in math. We were trying to find out how much money we could spend for lunch, with tax and tip, but without going over a set amount. We then had “Steps to Respect” with Mr. B. After we finished with him, we finished our math lesson and went on to the science article on fossils in our “Earth History Resources” book. The article covered index fossils, and the periods the fossils were placed. It even covered radioactive decay and how we can measure the earth by measuring how much lead and uranium is in that rock layer. One question to Google “Where does uranium come from? Then we stopped to do jobs and PSV. Then we left. Enjoy your weekend! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
BP3, p 67, Q# 7-14 & 19-20
Math Packet Days 15 & 16

Day 104- Type2Learn 4

Good morning! I hope you all had a splendid mid-winter break. Today is Tuesday, February 22, 2011. This morning, we came in and went through our morning routine. At 9:05, we went to P.E. In P.E., we did some more tennis. We got in four lines, and hit a spinner or a foam ball back and forth, all the while counting how many times we could hit it without it becoming a dead ball. When we got back, we got our netbooks out and worked on “Mystery Class”. Once we were done, we got to work on our SS CBA for about 15-20 minutes. Our teacher then handed us some strips of paper that had our username and password to get onto Type2Learn 4. Then we had break at our usual time. After break, we got to create our own avatar on a communicator site (You can access it from mrsteelesclass.org). Soon it was 12:10, and we put our netbooks away and went out to recess.

When we came back, we started 5.1 in math. Today we were finding percent discounts. You put the discount over the original price, simplify, and then convert into a percent (0.75$ off any two spiral notebooks- Regular price: $3.00, With coupon: $2.25. You put the discount on the top of the fraction (75/?), and you put the original price on the bottom, so it turns out to be 75/300. You then simplify it and convert it to a percent. So 75/300 is 25/100 or 25 %.) Once we finished, we did a class science read from our “Earth History Resources” book on fossils. Turns out, the word fossil comes from the Latin verb “to dig.” We stopped about halfway through to do about 10 minutes worth of book clubs, and then we packed up and left. Here’s the homework for tonight:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
BP3, p 67, Q# 1-6 & 16-18, Bonus Q# 23-30
Math Packet Days 13-14
Word of the Day: Excavation- The act of extracting items from the earth. Veil-?

Day 103- Collaborating on OneNote

Hello students! Today is Wednesday, February 16, 2011. Today we had music at 9:05, so we came in and unpacked quickly, and then ran down and went to specialists. When we got there, we handed out our “Bullies Anonymous” scripts. We went over part of the script, and went over the songs. At 9:45, we left and went to get our netbooks. Once we were all seated in the classroom and we had our laptops booted, we got onto Microsoft OneNote and collaborated on the three ancient Chinese philosophies, Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism. Then we had break at our usual time. After break, we got to work on our SS CBA paragraphs. At 11:45, we worked on “The Girl Who Married the Moon” questions (Houghton Mifflin). 12:10 came and we went out to recess and lunch.

When we came back, we did a “math checkup” (It was really a test). Then at about 1:55, we did PSV and left. Have a great mid-winter break! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Color Poem
Emperor of Qin Poster
Skill Sheet & AP p 92-93
Math Packet Day 11-12

Day 102- Our First Paragraph For Our Social Studies CBA

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, February 15, 2011. This morning, we came in and did our normal routine, unpacking, putting our stuff in our desks, and getting started on Word of the Day and Calendar Math. At 9:05, we went to P.E. In PE, we did a tennis game. We get in a line on the wall. Then, two people go up at a time to have a spinner ball pitched to you. If you hit it in bounds, and it bounces twice without someone catching it, you can get back in line, but if someone catches it, then they get in and you go out to try and catch a ball. At 9:45, we went back and our teacher showed us a chat program where we could talk to him to get help on work, and to collaborate with other students on work and class projects. We then worked on our SS CBA. We got to the point where we did our introductory paragraph and did our title. Then, 12:10 came, and we went out for lunch and recess.

When we came back, we started a Math Cheat sheet. On one side we did generic math, and on the other side we reserved it just for geometry. When we got done, we did appointment wheels and worked on 4.3. After that, we got into book club groups and read our books. Then at 3:10, we watched a science video that was all about; magma, the continents, tectonic plates, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. Scientists believe that the continents were once joined, because they found two almost identical fossils on two different continents. We stopped the movie at 3:25 to do jobs and PSV. Then we all went home. Here’s tonight’s homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
BP3, p 55, Q# 8-12 & 20-22, Bonus Q# 30-34
Math Packet Days 9 + 10

Day 101 - Valentine’s Day

Hello Mr. Steele’s class! Today is February 14, 2011, and it’s Valentine’s Day! This morning, we came in, unpacked, and put all our goodies on the back tables for our party this afternoon. Then we lined up for music. In music, we went over the songs that needed the most work. After that, we did “Rhythm Bingo”. We then came back, and got our netbooks out. Then, we looked at the Egyptian Revolution in Egypt, because they didn’t like some of the things their president was doing. Their president had been in power for 30 years, and he finally stepped down. Egypt is going to place a new government, so it’s going to be interesting these next couple months. We then hopped on our netbooks and did some research on the revolution. Three questions we were supposed to think about were: #1- Why did the people of Egypt not like Mubarak? #2- What do you think will happen next in Egypt? #3- Describe what type of government you think they should have now. At 12:00, we had a 5 minute period of free time, and at 12:05, we lined up to dock the netbooks. Our teacher left during recess to take his son to the doctor because his son had an ear infection and was up all night.

When we came back, we had a substitute. She said to get back in our groups and finish 4.2. We then went over it with the sub. The lesson was all about finding tips and tax. All you do is you find your total and then you multiply it by your tax. Then you add the tax to your total, and then take that total and multiply it by a % tip. You would then add the tip to the total, and get your total for your meal. (For example you’re at a restaurant and you ordered a hamburger for $1.95, a small French fry for $0.99, and a small soda for $0.75. You would add these up to get a total of $3.69. Say we had a 15% tax. You would convert 15% to 0.15, and multiply it by $3.69 to get about $0.55. Then add the $0.55 to $3.69 to get $4.24.

Imagine you want to give a 20% tip. You would convert 20% to .20, and multiply it by $4.24. You should come up with about $0.85 for your tip. Last, you add $0.85 to $4.24, and get a total of $5.09, which includes the total price of the meal, the tax, and the tip. I hope this helps, and isn’t very confusing. :)

After we went over 4.2, we started 4.3, which is all about “Finding Bargains”. At last, 2:30 came! The first thing we did was pass out valentines. Then at 2:45, we opened the wall and mingled with Mrs. Malloy’s class. After the party, we wrote down our homework, and packed up and left. Here’s the homework for tonight:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
BP3, p 55, Q# 4-7 & 31-33, Bonus Q# 15-19

Day 100 - Good Bye Counting Tape!

Good morning! Today is February 11, 2011, and Day 100! We have a new student. Unfortunately, I can’t put names, otherwise I would. But he is from Korea. Today, we don’t have any library, so we went straight into Calendar Math. We went over daily problem, and then the daily shape. Turns out, we’ve already done the shape, so we skipped it and went on to Social Studies. We worked on or CBA sources. We got on our net books until break, and then got to have break. After break, we continued to work on our net books again, but this time on stream tables for science. We got to finish up looking at some multi-media tables, where we could change variables such as slope and the stream of water from stream to flood. Then we had lunch and recess.

When we came back, we did math. This afternoon we did 4.2. We got into groups (We got to pick them), and then got to order food from “Larry’s”, so that we could find the tax and the tip for our meals. Then, at about 2:05, we did “Steps to Respect” with Mr. B. After that, we went on to “Mystery Class”. During that time, we got to have leftover pancakes and whip cream made by our wonderful teacher! We then did book clubs.. After that, we did our jobs, and did PSV. Have an awesome weekend! Here’s the homework:

Homework
Read 30 minutes and Reading Record
Word of the Day: Sustained- Kept Alive. Sanctuary-?