Treasures!

Great McD's Cafe today! 100% of our team passed their test and came prepared! What more could a teacher ask for?

We began McD's sharing our most treasured items; ones that we would include in OUR suitcases if we were in Bud's shoes. Bud's items did not have great monetary value. They each had sentimental value and were extremely important to him. We each stood and shared our item and explained why it was significant to us. Below, you will see a slide show of each of us sharing our items! We will be using these items as a springboard for a writing assignment.

Mrs. Haddox and Mrs. Mac modeled the discussion process at their own cafe table today. Our team eagerly participated in this discussion when given the chance. Team discussions followed the modeling. Everyone seems to enjoy the story very much. It's hard to hold back from reading ahead in the book. This is because Bud has met a new character who seems very interesting and has a great sense of humor. He is kind and wise and is giving Bud a ride - possibly to his desired destination! We're really pulling for Bud to find his dad.

In other news...our drafts are completely typed! Mrs. Mac will enjoy reading them at her leisure this weekend!

Our team really impressed Mrs. Haddox today with their performance on the Math test! Even our dear Aunt Sally would have been happy!

Homework:
Language Arts - Please continue to read Bud, Not Buddy! This week's assignment is reading pages 108-160 (Chapters 11 through 13). Also, work on your new role.

Pumped Up for Our Math Test!

Review day in Math today!! We are ready to apply our knowledge of Order of Operations (Remember Dear Aunt Sally!), The Properties of Addition and Multiplication, The Distributive Property, Mental Math Strategies, and Word Problems. Remember to do some sample problems from each section or redo some review questions. Good Luck!

After incorporating our partners' suggestions, we began to type our drafts of 'It Happened to Me!' Everyone is very excited about sharing these stories. We are very close to finishing them.



In Reading, we were introduced to new vocabulary words for Hot Dogs and Bamboo Shoots, our new story. Some of the words were ones we've never used before. We also practiced recognizing broad statements that refer to several people or things called generalizations. After finding examples in a short story, we discussed whether they were valid or faulty statements. Generalizations are easy to find when the author uses key words such as many, all, usually, etc. We will continue to apply this skill in the coming week. New spelling words with R-controlled vowels are also being practiced. The R is such a bully letter! When it follows a vowel, the vowel forgets how to make its usual sounds! These words can be practiced on the Spelling City link on our blog.

Our team also had a chance to prove what they knew about compound and complex sentences today! A quiz was given in class.

Homework:
Language Arts - Please make sure you've read chapters 6 through 10 for McD's Cafe tomorrow (Bud, Not Buddy). Also, make sure your roles is complete and cut apart! Finally, bring your treasured item for your suitcase!
Math - Complete your review for your test.
Wellness - (204) p. 340-341 (review for test, (202) p. 338 (vocabulary and questions).
Spelling - Trace +2 exercise

Rockin' Our Pink!

N.S.I. was a sea of pink today! The students came in full support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The slide show above shows our team rockin' our pink!

The geography of Europe and Russia was the topic of discussion in Social Studies today. Students were amazed that although Russia is so vast in area, there are few people living in a large part of it. Russia's cities are located in the eastern part of Europe. Europe, on the other hand, is densely populated, although much smaller in area. We learned about the different landforms, bodies of water, and varied climate. We will continue our study of the geography tomorrow.

In Writing today, our team concluded work on our drafts for 'It Happened to Me!' We also worked through a peer editing exercise to make our drafts include clearer details. Our stories are really taking shape!

In Wellness we are wrapping up Chapter 10 on Setting Goals. The students shared past conflicts with the class and we brainstormed different solutions. Many of the students shared that they have daily conflicts with their siblings...but, they agreed they would work on more mature resolutions in the future.

Our pencils were moving and grooving in Math as we discussed the different methods to solve a word problem. Some strategies include drawing a picture, making a table, making an organized list, and making a graph. The students received a review sheet to help them study for Friday's test.

Homework:
Language Arts - Read Chapters 6-10 (p. 45-95) and complete role for 'Bud, Not Buddy' for Friday. Also, bring in one treasured item you would include in your suitcase if you were in Bud's shoes for Friday. We will use this treasured item as a topic for a writing exercise.
Math - Review for Friday's Test
Social Studies - Review
Wellness - (204) 3-22 on pages 340-341; (202) 1-3 on page 328 and vocabulary.

Independent or Dependent?

In an effort to increase the fluency of our writing, our team learned more about the structure of compound and complex sentences. We learned that compound sentences contain two independent clauses (sentences that can stand alone), while complex sentences contain an independent clause coupled with a dependent(subordinate) clause. We plan on using more of these sentences in our writing this year, beginning with our "It Happened to Me" story.

Our "It Happened to Me" stories began to take shape in Writing today. Everyone seems excited to tell their tales about an event they'll never forget. Since we are still focusing on the Ideas Trait of Writing, we are working hard to include rich details. These stories are sure to be entertaining!


Everyone is enjoying the story Bud, Not Buddy! We are finding him to be a very brave young man, setting out on a journey to find his father with nothing but the clothes on his back and his suitcase filled with his most treasured belongings. Team Enterprise is giving some thought to what they would take with them if they were in Bud's shoes. What do they value? What does it mean to them? These special items are to be brought to McD's Cafe this week!

We received new books today in Social Studies! We also began our exploration of Europe and Russia! Today we compared the two countries in size and population. We will be studying the geography of these countries to begin.

In Science, we took a trip to the computer lab to explore more information about the three types of rocks. The website we enjoyed was :

http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/

Through a hands-on lab tomorrow, we will discover description and properties of metamorphic rocks.

In Math, we continued to think...and think hard we did! We used different mental math strategies to compute different problems. The students were creative in the different ways that they broke down numbers to make the problem easier. We will begin to tackle more word problems tomorrow and then review for a math test on Friday. Look for a review sheet to come home to help you.

TOMORROW IS N.S.I.'s BREAST CANCER AWARENESS DAY! SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY WEARING PINK TOMORROW TO SCHOOL!



Homework:
Language Arts - Complete grammar practice p. 15. Also, read chapters 6-10 (p. 45-95) of Bud, Not Buddy and complete your role for Friday. Bring in a treasured item for McD's Cafe Friday.
Math - page 34, 21-25

The Thinker!

There were many THINKERS on Team Enterprise today! In Math, we discovered different methods to use to solve problems. The students learned to break numbers apart to make them easier to add. They also learned to search for numbers that are easier to multiply together. We will be reviewing for a test on Friday or Monday.

Group 204 discussed steps for resolving conflicts and seeking peaceful resolutions in Wellness today. As a result, we are sure, there will only be peace on Team Enterprise! What are some ways you try to solve conflicts?

After our quizzes in Language Arts today, the students worked on their story telling skills! They sat with partners and shared three story ideas for the topic "It Happened to Me!" Partners helped each other to narrow the topic. Using our ten sentence chronological outlines, the students will begin drafting tomorrow.
Mrs. McIlvaine can hardly wait to read these exciting tales.

The video below is a preview to our discussion in Social Studies tomorrow. In class, we will be beginning our study of the geography of Europe and Russia. Please watch the short video and be ready to discuss the question posed at the end tomorrow.


Homework:
Language Arts - Chronological Summary of story for Writing. Read chapters 6-10 (p. 45-95) and complete role for Bud, Not Buddy (due this Friday).
Math - Pg. 34 (4-19)
Wellness - pg. 338, 1-3 and all vocabulary (group 204 only).
Social Studies - Watch the video about the geography of Europe and Russia (above).