Thursday, January 28th, 2010
January 28, 2010
Ms K Math: Chapter 5 test tomorrow…study from pre-test.
HOMEROOM:
Museum Project: all rough drafts of written material are due TOMORROW AT 10:05 ( students will have 1 and 1/2 hours in the morning to work on the writing.) Rough drafts will be checked over the weekend by Ms K and returned to the students for final versions. This way they being glueing items to their boards at the beginning of the week.
The boards are beginning to take shape! The kids are doing a great job on preparing for our colonial week.
February 1st: Continue to work on Museum Project in class and at home
February 2nd: Costume due HOMEWORK: practice lines and Project
February 3rd: PARENTS ARE INVITED! Please come..this is a highlight of the year! Bring cameras.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR WALK
8:15 to 10:45 in room 39A
February 4th: Homework COMPLETE THE MUSEUM BOARD
February 5th: PARENTS ARE INVITED TO
A COLONIAL MUSEUM
11:30 to 12:30 Room 39B
Feb 6: Bill’s last day at school before returning to China
Feb 10th: Field trip to Chabot
Feb 15- 19 : SCHOOL BREAK
March 15 : Progress reports go home
March 29- April 2 : SPRING BREAK
April 19-23 : OUTDOOR Ed WEEK
May 3 -14 : STAR Testing
June 11: SCHOOL’s Out !! (minimum day)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
January 28, 2010
Ms. K’s math: please practice items that you missed on today’s pretest. NO MATH tomorrow for 5th grade. Friday Chapter 5 unit test (same type of questions as today’s tesgt.)
HOMEROOM: Pleasse continue on the Museum piece. All 10 questions from the blue sheet must be completed by tomorrow.
Two hours will be allotted tomorrow (with varied activities : art work, poster design, etc.) Keep rehearsing your lines for the Revolutionary War Walk (Tuesday–8:15 to 10:45). The Museum will be “open” Friday, 11:30- 12:30. Students will wear the same costume for both presentations.
It is great to be back in the classroom again. I thank you for the many kind and supportive messages I have received. My husband’s recovery is nearly complete and my mother now resides in residential care facility in Scott’s Valley. It has been a rather intense two weeks.
MsK’s Math:
Students took a quiz today (Math Box 5-5). I will send the corrected copy home tomorrow. Tonight’s homework consists of : Study Link 5-5; Journal Pages 143 and 145 (# 3-6 and parents may assist).
Homeroom: Students are making excellent progress towards compiling the research and written products needed for their museum boards.
The only homework assigned from room 30 this week will be in connection with this project. Reading of the novel My Brother Sam is Dead will resume following the completion of the history project. The only other homework should be math.
Today most of the class was able to complete the rough drafts of our “I Poem”.
Specific task for tonight. Complete at least three paragraph which answer the question posed in the sections. Each paragraph should be a minimum of 5 sentences of 7 or 8 words each.
The tri-fold boards will be given to the students after I see the rough draft paragraphs for the section questions 10 total–5 per student AND the rough draft of the personal piece (150 words). Tomorrow night they will work on 2 more of the section questions. Wednesday night finish the final drafts of the “I Poem” and Persona Write. Then by Thursday all the significant written work will be at least in draft form. Time will be allotted daily in class (roughly an hour and a half per day).
The sign, calligraphy, doll, map and pie graph include virtually no writing at all. They all consist of coloring and labeling items.
So essentially, the students will have a week to work on the boards themselves; layout, art work, etc. Rough drafts will be returned to students by Monday, allowing them to revise and print final copies in class.
I hope this clarifies the time line a bit.
Take Care,
Ms K
Tuesday, January 27, 2010
January 27, 2010
Ms K’s Math: Friday will be the chapter 5 test. Tomorrow your child will take a pretest in preparation for the unit test. Today I sent home two quizzes, please ask your child to show them to you. TONIGHT’s homework is brief -5 problems asking students to compare fractions with like and unlike denominators. As the workload is heavy in all of the 5th grade classes this week, I’ve given the students a limited amount of problems. Please feel free to create additional problems or use the on-line resources (games).
HOMEROOM: By tomorrow 6 out of the 10 questions from the 3 guiding sections should be complete. I’ve found that students are creating brief paragraphs which lack specific supporting details. (” Blacksmiths usually started out as apprentices. “ TOO vague ! Give specific details to add depth to their writing. ” Often their beginning tasks simply involved hauling water for the red hot metal to be cooled in. Or they gathered wood for the forges.” ) All students should have already completed the “I Poem” as well. Students will have from 11:00 to 12:20 to work on their project. Thursday students can count on 2 and half hours work time. Friday should be about the same.
Jan 13, 2010
January 14, 2010
Unfortunately several of my loved ones are encountering some very difficult health challenges. I was out Monday and Tuesday caring for my husband after returning from the emergency room. His condition has improved and he is slowly regaining his health. On another note, my mother has begun to enter the very confusing stages of Alzheimer’s. I am moving her from Laguna Beach to Santa Cruz so that I may care for her. I will out four days next week attending to this personal matter. Ms McDermott will be my sub for the entire time I am gone. She is a highly capable and professional educator,
Today I sent home a “parents packet” regarding the exciting projects in history for the next month: the Revolutionary War Walk (Feb 3rd) and the Colonial Museum (Feb 5th). Very specific guidelines are included for the Museum project. The blue sheet is a copy of the grading sheet we will use.
In class we continue to read the historical novel Blood on the River, an account of the founding of Jamestown and an exciting read! Evenings students will read a chapter nightly of My Brother Sam is Dead in preparation for the Revolutionary War Walk.
HOMEWORK for the next month :
Follow the time guidelines for the Museum project (forwarded today via your child).
Memorize their parts for the Revolutionary War Walk ( due by Jan 27th). Please practice nightly.
Read one chapter per night and write a 3 to 5 sentence summary of My Brother Sam is Dead
I will update the blog daily, but only include changes or additions to the assignments above. Usually the only comment will be :
Continue projects and reading assignment (including a summary)
As i will be out of town, I will not be making an entries for the next week, January 19-22.
Take care,
Ms Kellogg
Jan 7, 2010
January 8, 2010
Field trip tomorrow!!! Please wear good walking shoes. We leave promptly at 8 am tomorrow, don’t be late!
PARENTS: Please read last night’s blog for important upcoming dates.
No math today.
HOMEROOM ; Just Wordly Wise 12 – all exercises, cards and sentences due (with parent signatures). Study for spelling test and vocab test.
Jan 6, 2010
January 7, 2010
Dear Parents:
Hold the morning of Wed. February 3rd free! From 8 to 10:30 room 30 will be hosting an event: A Revolutionary War Walk. Bring your cameras and watch as your children take the stage in costume to introduce you to the key events and people of this amazing time in our history. More information to follow
I would like to encourage you to participate in the on line survey for Oak Knoll. We have had only 10 responses as yet from room 30 parents. With so few (less than half), it is difficult to create a clear summary that reflects the general opinions of a class or school. Please consider taking the time to complete the survey. Thanks for your support. Ms K
Just a reminder of Friday’s field trip. Be sure to get those permission slips in….
The flyer I sent for the girls group will be forward by hard copy in the near future due to technological difficulties.
Ms K Math: study links 5-2 and journal pages 5-2 (except for the math boxes page).
HOMEROOM: WW 12 activities.
We are treading lightly this week on the homework. The last three nights have only included Wordly Wise. During the next month we will be deeply examining the early colonial era and the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Each child will create a “persona” from this era. They choose their names, their country of origin and generate rich details about their “alter-ego”. Using this persona, they will choose a trade, profession or occupation. By the end of January (the 29th), students will present the culimination of this 3 week creative project in the form of an occupational fair. The personas will be unique for each child; however, the students will conduct research in pairs and present a project together. There will be many more details forwarded to you. Please check the blog to view further instructions and guidance for these tasks.
The only homework (other than math, of course) will be in support of this project. Wordly Wise will be suspended and no oral book talks will be scheduled. Students nightly required reading will be My Brother Sam is Dead ( a revolutionary war story). In class we will be continuing the reading of Blood on the River (the founding of Jamestown). Each of these novels were selected because of their accurate portrayals of daily life during significant events in the colonial era.
This is a great time for the students!
Jan 5, 2010
January 6, 2010
Greetings once again! I hope you all had and restful and enjoyable two weeks.
Tomorrow Jim Wiltens will begin working with 5th grades student ! The students always enjoy his intriguing and highly interactive presentations. These will continue for the four Wednesdays in January. He begins first thing in the morning, so be sure to arrive on time.
This Friday we will be taking a walking field trip to Stanford for the Lively Arts performance featuring the musicians from So Percussion. We will leave promptly at 8am! (There will be not music here at Oak Knoll for the 5th graders.)
Six students still need to hand in their permission slips. I gave each of the six a new form today. Please check with your child.
HOMEWORK:
Ms K’s Math; Study link 5-1 and “packet page” 5-1.
Room 30: Wordly Wise 12 A/B and 4 word cards with an additional set of sentences written on a separate sheet. Please review the sentence page each night and initial the sheet at the bottom of night’s entries. Students should have at least one sentence for each part of speech that is noted in the definition (not for every word in black, but only one for noun forms, etc.)
Nightly reading: 20 minutes
NEXT FIELDTRIP : Feb 10th to the Cabot Science Center.
