We kicked things off today with Warm-Ups. Following the warm-up problems we discussed doing partner work to review last night's math homework. Students offered suggestions for what good partner work and not-so-good partner work looks like. I introduced the idea of Clock Partners (nothing to do with actual time) where students have a 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock partner to work occasionally on various assignments. The class agreed to the expectations they set in our discussion.
At 8:50 it was time to head out to PE. Mrs. Pane led the class through a very competitive game on the upper playground. She still feels like we could have "less talking" and so while she gave us a "Good" for PE, still no "Awesome" ticket. I was a bit disappointed by that. The class has a chance to earn their first "Awesome" ticket on Monday morning when we return to PE.
The class split up into Clock Partners and reviewed the chapter review math assignment in preparation for this morning's chapter 1 test. This led up to the 10:30am recess.
After recess we took the chapter 1 math test. Everyone seemed to take their time and do their best effort. We'll see how it goes.
Afterwards, we put in extra time on completing the character description essays which are due tomorrow. I gave the class the option to e-mail the final draft tonight (alexmcmurray@gmail.com) or bring in a nice copy of the final draft to share and turn in tomorrow morning.
We then reviewed our six vocabulary words for "Rope Burn" and discussed them over a short story from our textbook about a girl who was struggling with a sport in gym class. Our vocabulary words this week include the following:
- hesitating
- fringes
- sincere
- coaxed
- expectations
- humiliation
By 12:30 we were ready for lunch!
After lunch just about the entire class went off to the cafeteria for the first band class and strings class with Mrs. Zamora and Mrs. Dahms. Back in the classroom, the few kids remaining found a quiet spot in the classroom to do some independent reading.
At 1:50pm, all the music students returned to class and we dove into science. We took out last night's assignment on Lesson 2: Where Is Fresh Water Found? and started by briefly reviewing Lesson 1 on oceans. The class called out the five oceans of the earth: Pacific, Atlantic, Southern, Indian, and Arctic. I called on students to tell us what all the water on the earth is called: hydrosphere. And we discussed how much of the hydrosphere is fresh water: 3%.
To illustrate how little fresh water there is for cooking, cleaning, and drinking on the earth, I poured a glass full of water. I took a drip from that glass into another glass and explained that there are a lot of people on the earth who need this water for a variety of reasons. The class understood that there is a limited amount of water to go around. I furthered explained that because there is such a high demand for such a small amount of water, can you imagine how dangerous it is to pollute the water we have?
Ms. Shooter touched on other parts of the world where water is scarce and for various reasons - in the case of a few African countries, war - people often have a difficult time gaining access to fresh water.
We then looked over the chart of information about where fresh water is found: groundwater, ice, rivers, and lakes. The class reviewed their answers and we wrapped up the lesson.
Tomorrow morning the class will visit with Mr. Reynes in the Science Lab and build aqueducts. It's one of the most exciting lessons of this unit, so I'm sure the class will really enjoy this activity!
To finish the day, the class chose teams for a math activity we're beginning this week called the Quarterback Club. Each week students will predict the winners for each NFL game against me. We will track our success and record the results, analyzing the data for accuracy percentage and simplifying fractions. When we finally get into fractions, this fun activity will have given the students some prior knowledge.The class cleaned up the room and prepared for dismissal at 2:50pm. Tonight's homework was to decorate their helmet (using the internet for help, if necessary) and to write the final draft of their character description essays.
Tomorrow morning the class will have a guest teacher, Mrs. Brandeberry. I am under the weather and have called in sick. Ms. Garcia will be visiting the class at 8:30am for a beginning of the year welcome, and I know that Mrs. B will do a great job with the class and our lesson plans tomorrow!
BOOK & SOFTWARE ORDERS
On the book and software order front, by the way, we're up to $20-of-$275 in Click! software orders and $53-of-$275 in Arrow book orders. We have until September 26 to get those book orders turned in. Feel free to send in a check with your child's orders from both catalogs this week or next, or order online. There is a link to the Scholastic website on the upper left-hand corner of the page.
SHELFARI
Also, please notice the virtual bookshelf to the right of this posting. All the books on the bookshelf are the books that all 29 students in our class are currently reading. In case you are interested in choosing a book that's just right for your child, browse through our classroom bookshelf.
Take care!
Mr. McMurray
No comments:
Post a Comment