This week was a doozy! We all had a wonderful winter break but are glad to be back in school. It was a fun packed week! PYP This week PYP was a blast. We finished up our research on our topics (Animal extinction, invasive species, deforestation, climate change and coral reefs). We started making our slideshows and speeches. It was really hard!!! One group only had 2 people!!! But we all had to present it either way. MATH In math, the first thing we did this week was reviewing. Over the extended winter break we kind of forgot math. So we did some reviewing. We looked over our old testes and corrected them. But sooo many people didn’t do their homework! Maybe 5/24 of the class did their homework! But now we’re getting back into the swing of things. READING Over winter break we took a break from school AND reading now we are getting back into the habit of reading again. Since we have OBOB battles coming up, the 5th grade is reading hard. WRITING This week in writing we have finished up our Rat articles and are ready to print them. The people who are done have free writing time where you write any genre of writing that they want. We choose to write this. The new year brings lots of fun new things! But it also rings great new writing ideas! I bet everyone is bursting with ideas from the winter break! Till’ next week! | |
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Here is post #2 from our talented press secretaries! Be sure to scroll down to check out our brand new feature... Tweets from our week! Pyp This week pyp was really was really fun. We got to do fun activities like dissecting owl pellets. We picked them apart and looked for skeletons. We found skulls and arms and then determined What animal it was. We also learned that they spit out the fur and bones of the animal out their mouth. It looks like poop. We switch classrooms well doing activities, so in the other classrooms they were doing water filters like we did last week. The next day we went into Mr.Vaughn’s classroom and did a project about the ecosystem. We got into groups randomly selected and each got a part. One part was the Sun, one was the grass, one was the mouse, and the other was the owl. We went down the line And learned how to pass energy. Then we came back in and read a comic book about energy. We also learned how to take very sophisticated notes. Overall it was a very fun week of learning. I can't wait till next week! MATH This week in math we made poster with a partner that was randomly picked by Sticks. It was a problem about which granola bar box he should buy. The two choices were 20 bars for $23, there was also 8 bars for $10. The 20 bars or $1.15 per bar. The 8 bars was $1.25 per bar. I think this math class is fun because it's all about everyday life because you go to the store really like every 1 week. it was also fun because we got to use any strategy we have learned or a strategy that we know. I personally thought was really good way to work on teamwork. I know I said that last week but still this is a really good team work and it gave you gave you the skills for when you're buying granola bars or anything else. Overalls a great week of learning. I can't wait till next week! WRITING This week in writing we wrote an opinion piece on if we thought rats are nasty nuisances or amazing animals. Last week we started by looking at articles there was about 10 different articles, some talked about rats being amazing animals or about them being nasty nuisances. After that on tuesday we had to draft out at least 3 boxes and bullets on our opinions, and on wednesday we typed that into our computers. Then on thursday we drafted our introductions we had so much fun writing about this, i just hope we do this again soon, I can’t wait to till next week. Reading This week we learned a little more about non fiction books. Mr.Basham read us a book and we had to determine what it was about. The book was called When Lunch Fights Back. The thing about this book is that it wasn’t that easy, the chapters of the book were like “Slip Sliding Away”. What did that mean? We wondered. We wrote what we thought about it and then read it. We discovered what it was really about. The book was interesting because after each story there was a page that said “Science behind the story”. The page told you how the thing happens. In the first story we read it was about the hagfish. The hagfish lets out a slime when something tries to eat it. The slime clogs up the gills so it has no way to breath but the shark in the story got away from the hagfish. It was a interesting and full of learning week! Can’t wait till’ next week!
Dear Families, We have some talented and enthusiastic writers in our class that will be keeping you up-to-date on our classroom happenings. Our class press secretaries are Nina, Ashley, and Tijana. Here is their first post: READING This week we started learning about NONFICTION. We learned how to Identify nonfiction books and how to find the right levels. We looked at the table of contents(was it easy to tell what the chapter was about?) second we looked at what nonfiction books include(text, Pictures, etc.) Overall we had a great week of reading. Everyone really enjoyed it. Can’t wait ‘till next week!!! WRITING This week we started learning about nonfiction writing. Our topic was rats. First we made our first decision, were rats nasty or amazing. Then we read articles and collected facts about both sides (you have to have both sides argues to have good writing). Then we split up into two groups. One for each sides. We had a “debate” against the opposing side. After that, we did a flash draft (which means a first, messy draft that we write as fast as we can). Last we planned out our boxes and bullets with our partner (That means that we list ideas about our main topic, and then list examples for our ideas). Overall, It was a very full and fun week of writing. We all really enjoyed it. MATH This week in math we made posters with our table partners. It was a problem about a River Trail. You had to find the fraction points of the trail that had the stopping points on them (Such as a rest area, shuttle bus, And inner tube rental). We put the amount of kilometers and the fraction(ex:4km&2/15). It was fun because we got to create our own symbols for each of the stopping points(rest area, city park, and inner tube rentals) then we added color!! I think everyone really enjoyed it throughout the week. It was a good chance to improve our teamwork skills. Overall it was a good week in math, I think everyone enjoyed what we did. It was amazing! Mr. Basham always finds ways to make math fun. He makes even the most boring of subjects amazing. I'm so glad to be in his class! PYP This week was soooo exciting!!! We learned the true definition of technology. Did you know that a glue stick is technology? Then we learned all about water filtering. We read a book (salila's turtle) about it and filled out a packet. We had to fill out problems and solutions like soap in the river can be fixed by staying away from the river while washing up. Then we got together in groups and tested some filters out. Next week we will improve them. We can’t wait!!!!!! Have a great weekend! Well, September is coming to an end and our class is still going strong! This week I was constantly impressed by how well the students transitioned from place to place, quietly, quickly, and making wise choices all the while. This was our class goal this week and we nailed it! I can't wait to see what goal they set for themselves next week.
Important Outdoor School information came home in Friday Folders today, along with a few other flyers. Please make sure to read the packet carefully with your child. There is a suggested packing list, which you should plan on keeping with you as a resource. There are THREE permission forms to read, sign, and return with your student ASAP, along with payment to BSCO. I will be talking with students about our adventure more next week, so I'm guessing a lot of questions will be answered during that time. Next week we will start to revise a personal narrative piece, deepen our thinking about volume and writing numerical expressions, kick off our first literature circles of the year, and continue to talk about our "How We Organize Ourselves" unit, which is all about government! Not to mention topping it all off with Jog-A-Thon on Friday (for which I believe there are plenty of volunteer spots still open!). Have a great weekend! I am so happy to be back with this great class! There was learning and fun galore this week. Today we wrapped up our "How We Express Ourselves" unit with some collaborative sculpture building out of random junk. Please enjoy the pictures below! We started our personal narrative writing unit this week. Many students were excited about this! We've also been talking this week about how to write well about our reading. Students should be keeping track of their reading theories in their reading journal. A great time to do this is at the end of their reading time at home while the book is still fresh in their mind. We also started a volume investigation in math today which we will continue next week.
Have a great weekend! Today just flew by. When it's almost all downhill, the miles really do fly by. I was having such a good time going fast, the only picture I got was of the gorgeous sunrise. The details of the ride can be found here: Day 7 Thanks for following me on my journey! Oh, and also a fraction of the gear drop at the end...
Couldn't post this today, but here is the gist of day 5: sustained climbing. Almost 5,000 feet of it, with limited flat parts. In total, we gained over 7,000 ft in elevation. My legs hurt by the end. Fortunately, it was in the 80s when I arrived, an we're camping on the Rogue River. Ask I stood in the sun, soaking my legs in the river, I watched some youngsters play on a rope swing across the river and struck up a conversation with a fellow rider doing the same as me. The perfect way to end a long day of climbing. Here are the details of today's ride: Day 5 Today's ride was just what my legs needed after Thursday's long climb - 85 miles of mostly flat and up and down riding. I say that with only a hint of sarcasm. It felt really good to spin my legs and not have to work too hard. Riding along the Rogue River this morning was pretty awesome. It's such a beautiful place, I'm already planning a camping trip there. The details of the ride can be found here: Day 6 One more day to go, and it's all down hill! Watching the sunset last night was a major highlight in the trip so far! Not only did the sunset, but the waxing gibbous moon was rising above the coastal mountains. Spectacular! Just as I was falling asleep, the tsunami siren blared! I jumped out of my sleeping bag and had my shoes on, forming my escape route in my head. As I unzipped the rainfly, the siren stopped and a eerie silence hung in the air, just like the mist off the ocean. I looked around and saw many people doing the same thing I was. We put our heads together and questioned if it was likely a tsunami would come crashing at us any minute. After seeing several police cars driving by without lights on like it was no big deal, we concluded that a tsunami was not indeed coming do drown us. As we found out about five minutes later, the fire department was trying to dissuade unruly beach goers from getting out of control. Okay, enough about last night and on to Cycle Oregon day four! Today was a layover day in Gold Beach. The ride today was completely optional, which kept only the most committed riders on their bikes. I got to try out a really good road racing bike all day today and felt like a superhero. A lovely ride down in the morning, although all the way on Hwy 101. A bit chilly, but by lunch in Brookings the sun was out and the wind was blowing. On the way back, there was another option. We could ride 101 the way back we came, or climb into the costal mountains following the old US 101 highway. It was an easy choice leaving the traffic behind for an awesome climb and decent on country roads. Amazing ride. The details of the day's ride can be found here: Day 4 All the training I did over the summer really paid off, as I woke up this morning, legs feeling good again after the hard day of climbing yesterday. This morning was beautiful and sunny and we had a great view of the Pacific Ocean as we rode out of Bandon. The route today was mostly along 101 south, where the weather undulated just like the terrain. Flat with a few roller coaster rides (or is that coaster rollers?!) The highlight was the last 15 miles into Gold Beach, once we turned off 101 and followed a rolling, twisting country road that met up with and followed the Rogue River as it found its way down to the Ocean. Thank you for all your comments! They are inspiring me. The detailed route information can be found here: Day 3 Mr Taft, such an inquirer you are! I wouldn't be a proficient inquiry teacher if I didn't give you a little picture sort to help you answer your own question. Reflect on this: how would you find your own tent?
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