Monday, February 28, 2011

Exhibition Organizers

Today every student got a copy of the Exhibition Organizer for their second exhibition. I will be working with them to make sure it gets filled out this week. This sheet will be their guide for getting ready and practicing what they need to say. It has all of the parts on it, so hopefully there is no confusion about what they're supposed to present.


Because I want it to be clear, here's a summary of all the parts and what's been done at school and what needs to be worked on/completed at home:
  • WRITING--Tell what you learned about biographies; share the info you learned about your Wax Museum subject (SHOULD BE DONE ALREADY)
  • READING--Share your circuit game & Glog (WE FINISHED THE GAME THE FRIDAY BEFORE BREAK and THE GLOG WAS DUE LAST MONTH)
  • POETRY--Share your hat poem and how you revised it (THESE SHOULD BE DONE AND TYPED ON GOOGLE DOCS)
  • SOCIAL STUDIES--Show your Google Map and tell what you learned about five of the places (FINISHED THIS IN DECEMBER)
  • SCIENCE--Circuit game (same as reading)
  • MATH--Show how to do 3 problems (these are all things we've done before. They just need to practice and make sure they have the right answers and that they teach us all the steps)
  • TEN THINGS PROJECT--This will need to be finished at home!!!
  • INTEREST PROJECT--This was due before the break.
As you can see, almost everything is done. If it's not done, now is the time to finish it. Please ask your child about each of these just to confirm that they don't have more to do. Of course, as we love to say, when you're done...you've just begun!

Here's what the organizer looks like:


Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Book Club Books

PLEASE don't forget to have your book-club-in-a-bag reading assignment done. Also, there is a question on Edmodo for each group. Please answer that, too!

The books this time around are: The Get Rich Quick Club, Fourth Grade Rats, The Year My Parents Ruined My Life and How Do You Spell G-E-E-K?

Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

10 Things Sample

As students work on their 10 Things project, they may need some guidance from you (and me) as they get closer to being "done." Now our slogan in class whenever we're writing anything is "When you're done, you've just begun." Students, no matter what their age or where they live, tend to want to rush through things just to get them done. I try to push them to go beyond that--to strive to create the best possible work that they can. 

So here are a couple of ways you can help them do that...


  • Check out my Sample 10 Things Project. This is one that I'm making. I only have 7 things so far, but when you see it, it will be clear what kinds of things they should be trying to do with theirs. CLICK HERE to see it.
  • We used a checklist in class to help us peer edit each other's paragraphs. This checklist tells you exactly what each of the 10 paragraphs should have. Here it is...
_______ The paragraph has a topic sentence.  (One thing I love is…)

_______  There are 3 facts about the topic.

_______ There are 3 reasons why the person loves this thing

_______  Each reason has at least one sentence of explanation.

_______  The paragraph has a concluding sentence that restates the topic.

_______  At least 3 Linking words/phrases are used (In conclusion, in addition, also, another, etc.)

_______  Paragraph has at least 10 sentences

_______  Paragraph is indented

_______  No spelling errors

_______  No capitalization errors

_______ No punctuation errors

_______ NSTSWTSW (Sentences begin in different ways)

_______ OAPS (One AND per sentence)

The last two are little codes we use in class. Your child will know what they mean. And if you really want to freak them out, just use my "When you're done, you've just begun" quote on them!

Happy writing! And if you have any questions, be sure to let me know.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Over the Break

I know I sent a note home about this yesterday, but wanted to put it on the blog using fewer words...

Here's what students should be working on during next week's break (don't let them tell you there's no homework!)...


  1. 10 Things Project--type, add images, add links. Please take a look at what they've written and help them improve it, if necessary. Have them show you my sample page I made and use the videos I made if you need help.
  2. Book Club Book--They need to have their assigned pages read by the 28th. There's also a question on Edmodo they need to answer.
  3. Wax Museum Paragraph--They need to write and memorize this. They also should try to dress up like their person on March 1.
Thanks and enjoy the week!

Going Global Update

This month, we traded PowerPoint presentations with a classroom in the city of Kars, Turkey. Students worked in groups to make slideshows for the following categories: Things to Do and See in our City, Things We Do For Fun, What We Eat, and Our School. Take a look:









The students in Turkey sent us similar PowerPoints that taught us a lot about their city and their country. We also watched a short movie I brought in about Turkish culture. I think the students learned a lot about a culture that's very different from our own and about cities that are many hundreds of years older than ours. I asked them to write about some of the interesting things they learned...here are some samples...

Istanbul is the biggest city in turkey.It is in Turkey.There flag has a red background and it has an silver moon and it has an silver star.There border has 8 diffrent contenets.You would have to take a fairy across.Istanbul has very crowded streets.Istanbul is famous for making rugs.Every dish is hand painted.Ankarn is the capital of Turkey.Hagia Sophie is a museum in Istanbul.People will come from all over to visit Turkey. --By Selena


Kars, Turkey's population is 349,437. Things they're famous for are cheese, geese, and winter. Their castle was made in the 10th century. A mosque is a church. Somethings they eat are fried goose,and apple stuff. Don't leave without eating yellow fish and visiting the castles. By Jenna






What I learned about Kars!!!
Kars is a country in Turkey!!! The population of Kars is 349,437. Kars famous dance is called the Kafkas Dance!! Kars palace was made in 1579. One thing they eat is called Apple Stuff!!!
Istanbul!!!!!
There flag is red and has a white moon also a star on it!!!They speak Turkish!!  --By Kaylen



In Kars They have there own Kaftkas dance.They have a clothing factory.The palace is located at the outskirts of the Kars Castle. The Kars Castle is also called as central castle or inner castle and was constructed in the 10th century. Next to the Kars castle was a church. Kars population is 349,437.  
By Kaelyn






I learned that in Turkey that the Kars Castle was destroyed by the force.
The palace was build out side of the castle.Next to the Kars Castle was a church named Mosque. They did different types of dances like folk dancing.They eat goose and cheese and apple stuff.Things you have to do that is very fun are tasting the famous honey sheep,visiting ancient ruins of Ani and Kars castle.  --By Suhmer



The Palace was built in 1579 in Turkey. The Castle was built in the 10th century Also in Turkey. The dance in Turkey is the Kafkas dance.Boza is a kind of drink in the City.Hagia Sophia is a famous building.The Sugar festival is holiday in the City.  --By Romance



Wednesday, February 16, 2011

How to Add Pictures to Your Wiki

Here's a video that explains how to add images to the 10 Things Project. Use it to help you as you work on this project at home. Also, below the video, you'll find a typed list of the steps, if you prefer to have your instructions in written form. These resources can also be found on the 10 Things page of the class wiki.



2nd Trimester Exhibition Sign Up

Please complete the form below to sign up for an Exhibition time next month...I will get a confirmation note to you before the end of this week...

New Book Club Books

New Book-Club-in-a-Bag books were chosen yesterday. Every child picked one and was given a pretty big reading assignment--approximately 8 chapters each. This reading should be done during next week's mid-winter break. Also, look for questions to be posted on edmodo for students to answer.

Reading assignments should be completed by Monday, February 28.

This round's books...




Monday, February 14, 2011

Scenes from Our Party

Thanks to all who contributed treats and supplies for our party today. The kids really enjoyed it and it was a nice, relaxing break after about 6 weeks of hard work so far in 2011! Take a look...



Friday, February 11, 2011

Valentine's Day Party

I was tricked  talked into having a small Valentine's Day party on Monday. We'll make it a cookie decorating party. I'll bring in some sugar cookies, frosting, and decorations so that each student can decorate a couple of Valentine's Day cookies.

If your child wants to bring in cookies or treats of their own, please make sure they bring enough to share. Same goes for Valentine's cards, which I'm not sure if 9/10 year olds still like, but if they do, just have them bring enough for all 17 students. Thanks.

No Recess Today

The low wind chill forced us to cancel recess today. We'll try to make up for it next week, when it's supposed to be a little warmer. If you haven't sent your permission slip in yet, please do so.

Here's a picture that shows how fun it was last week, though...


That's us with our snowman family! Have a good weekend.

Book Club Cafe

We opened the doors to the first ever Book Club Cafe today. The lights were dimmed, soft jazz was playing, and hot cocoa was served. Students met with their Book-Club-in-a-Bag groups to discuss their books and it turned out really well. There were some really good discussions going on--it was good to see.

Take a look...








Yes, those are Christmas lights. It was the best I could do. We will choose new books on Friday. And just as a reminder, help us add books to our Book Club choices...when you order from Scholastic Books, we earn free books for the classroom. Order forms are due next Friday. Or, you can order online. Click on the LINKS tab on the blog homepage to get to the instructions for Scholastic Book Clubs.

Special Note about Science

The science demonstration for students' second exhibition is going to be pretty cool. It sounds complicated, but the students should completely understand it. Mrs. Wagner and I will be guiding the students through this next week. However, they do need a piece of white posterboard. Please send in a posterboard to school by Thursday of next week.

And please read this blog post from Mrs. Wagner that explains the assignment in more detail...

http://room303303.blogspot.com/2011/02/science-exhibition.html

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Ten Things I Love Project

Here are some details for this project:

  • Students are writing 10 paragraphs, each one about something they love. They've each been assigned a letter and all the things they write about must start with this letter. This could include things, people, foods, songs, games, movies, etc.
  • For each paragraph, they must write a rough draft on the organizer worksheet and a final draft on notebook paper. Students have been given a packet of these worksheets and notebook paper. This should be worked on at home and we'll be working on it at school, so the packet needs to go back and forth between home and school every day.
  • Each paragraph should be at least 10 sentences and include a topic sentence, information about this thing/person, reasons why they like this thing/person, 
  • All final drafts are due Wednesday, February 16.
  • Once final drafts are written, each student will then post their paragraphs on a page on our class wiki. They will add images and links. We will work on this in class, but the wiki can also be worked on at home. Here's a sample from a previous class: http://mrcurran.pbworks.com/w/page/21708761/Troi10
  • The due date for their completed wiki page is at their second exhibition. They will show theirs and explain it during their presentation.
If you have any questions about this, let me know. Here is a copy of the organizer if you need it:

Ten Things I Love Organizer

POW This Week

This week's POW combines multiplication and addition. There are multiple steps, but it's pretty straightforward. I think it's a good problem because it's fairly authentic--it's the kind of math people have to do in the "real world." Here's a copy of it--it's due on Friday:

POWgradefour-ten

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

This Week's Update

Wow, it's been awhile since I blogged. Those snow days really threw us off, but we're back on track.

Here's a copy of the note I'm sending home today, which should get you up to date on everything you need to know for the near future...


From the Desk of 2-08