Virtual Pumpkin Stroll

We were all a little sad that the pumpkin stroll was cancelled due to the hurricane.  Here are some pictures of the doorways that were decorated in anticipation.  Have a safe and Happy Halloween.

Here's the latest news

     In reader’s workshop we have begun writing personal narratives.  Students have created timelines of their stories and spent time developing interesting leads.  We are working on focusing on a small period of time and describing it deeply.

     Students continue to work hard on math using IXL.  They have completed over 30,000 math problems this year!   Here is another great website they can use to practice using a protractor to measure angles, and another where they can have fun while studying the properties of polygons.

     We are wrapping up our study of simple machines by looking at how the design process works.  We will be building go-carts in class using the design process.  After that we will begin our study of matter.

     The children are creating posters to demonstrate their understanding of Incan culture.  Look for pictures of these on the blog soon.  We will finish the ancient civilization unit by studying the Aztecs.

    The Living Wax Museum is creeping up on us.  Please make sure that your child has written and 

memorized a speech that includes all important information about their character, created a poster with a biopoem and pictures, and has a simple costume to wear that represents their person from history.  We hope you will join us when they present on November 8^th.

Simple machines

Students worked very hard this week studying for the Mayan test as well as the unit 2 math test.  They demonstrated a good knowledge of the concepts taught.  Here is a terrific website to help them study for the simple machine test they will take next week.

Math fun

Mr. Kelly, our math CET, has passed along some free apps for playing math games.  This sounds like a great way to practice math while having some fun.

The publisher of Everyday Mathematics, McGraw-Hill is once again offering five of its ten EM game Apps for free on the following dates:
October 10-12
October 24-26
November 28-30
 
The following apps will be free and available via the iTunes App Store:
Addition Top-It
Monster Squeeze
Equivalent Fractions
Beat the Computer
Divisibility Dash


NOTE:Android apps will be 1/2 price.


To learn more about the game apps go to [ https://www.mheonline.com/apps/ ]https://www.mheonline.com/apps/ 

Indoor recess and free time - not the same thing

We have had a lot of indoor recess over the past few weeks due to the rainy weather.  Here are some pictures to show you what that looks like in our classroom.  I am experimenting with taking pictures with my tablet, so please excuse the lack of clarity in many of the shots.

Some of these activities are also done during 10 minutes of free time each day.  Ten minutes a day is a lot of instruction time to give up each day.  Think about it; that is almost an hour a week!  How do I justify that? 

I justify it by making sure that during those 10 minutes each day, Mrs. Duhamel and I spend the time working with someone who needs a little something extra.  If you send in a note that your child did not understand their homework or something on a test, we will probably go over that information during free time.  It is not meant as a punishment, but as an opportunity to provide extra instruction on a confusing topic.  If someone has a difficult time keeping up with class work, they will be given that time to work on it. Again, this is not to punish someone for working slowly, but to give them a little extra time to catch up. 

Over the course of the school year, all of your children will have worked with the teachers at some point during free time.  Please understand that free time is not an extra recess, but rather an additional learning time during which some children receive one-on-one or small group instruction. I like to think of this time as a chance to give students something extra, not a chance to take something away from them.