Following the warm-ups I led the morning meeting which consisted of the Pledge of Allegiance and a free write exercise. The class was given 5 minutes to write a description of how they spent their weekend. At the end of the allotted time, several students shared out their weekend experiences. As for my family, we traveled to Sacramento and enjoyed a visit to the Gold Rush Days festival in Old Town Sacramento.
Gold Rush Days, Old Town Sacramento 5 Sept 2010
We transitioned to our math lesson on comparing and ordering decimals with a partner activity. Each partnership was given graph paper and we used it to create three decimals (1.4, 1.05, and 1.24). The numbers were made by drawing 10x10 grids to represent 1 whole. At that point, partners were easily able to compare and order the decimals.
At 9:45, several students left for the first session of the Advanced Band with Mrs. Zamora in Room 7. During that time I had the class continue with a few additional problems comparing and ordering decimals out of the textbook on page 47.
After recess we went right into Rope Burn which is the first story in our language arts program this year. The Question of the Day was posted on the board for discussion: "What can you learn from "Rope Burn" about facing a challenge?" We then opened our books and completed a second read-through of the story by listening to it on the audio text CD.
At different points of the story we practiced our reading fluency by doing a choral reading with the narrator on the CD. We stopped several times to discuss the plot events as the main character Richard learned from his new friend in his new school, James, how to climb a rope, in preparation for a P.E. test at school.
Following the story and related activities there, we turned our attention to the spelling and grammar components of the story. We completed our first spelling test before lunch.
Right before lunch I distributed the Scholastic Arrow and Click! book and software catalogs for the big September order. Hopefully all students will be able to submit an order (check or cash) to the classroom by the end of this week or next. A total of $400 will equal 12,400 Bonus Points. So for this month only, at the very least, please submit an order!
When the class returned from lunch recess they began silent reading. I completed the final reading fluency tests as part of the Entry-Level Assessment for language arts, and a few remaining students completed the rest of the reading comprehension and vocabulary development sections of the test.
We wrapped that up around 2pm and then held a drawing for the Quarterback Club. This is a math-related activity that builds knowledge of working with fractions, decimals, and percentages early and often throughout the year using the NFL season schedule each week as a fun tool for learning. The kids will predict each weeks worth of games and from there, we'll analyze their results by simplifying fractions and determining their percentage correct. To add a little incentive, students can earn McMurray Bucks by outdoing me with their weekly predictions.
Each student was able to draw a team helmet from a bucket and tonight for homework they are supposed to design that helmet.
At the conclusion of the QB Club drawing, we took down notes for tonight's homework, cleaned the room, and prepared for dismissal.
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