January 19th, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• From 10:30-11:30 on Thursday, January 28, each of our classrooms will host a Poetry Slam, and you’re invited! Stay tuned for more information.  

MATH

Barber: Review decimal multiplication and division.  Delta Mid-Year Assessment.

Brazier: Computing quotients of decimals to the hundredths place efficiently and accurately. The Meaning of Remainders. DELTA Mid-Year Math Assessment.  

* ASK: “How can you use multiplication to check that 519 ÷ 4 equals 129 R 3? Also, what does the remainder of 3 mean in this problem? (Why do some division problems have remainders?)”

Martinez: CFP

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Partnerships cite page numbers as evidence.”

Brazier: “Partners push each other to make evidence-based statements.”

* ASK: “Tell me about an idea that you and your partner pored over today.”

Martinez: “Partners push each other to make evidence-based statements.”

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber:  “Poets borrow structure: If I ruled the World.”

Brazier: “Poets, like all writers, constantly aim to do better.”

* ASK: “Name one word you substituted for another word today because your first attempt wasn’t very strong.”

Martinez: “Poets copy change existing poems.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

                                

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

* HOMEWORK: FINISH PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION (Diagram) IF NEED BE

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

Martinez: Labeled the skeleton

January 15th, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• No school on Monday
• From 10:30-11:30 on Thursday, January 28, each of our classrooms will host a Poetry Slam, and you’re invited! Stay tuned for more information.  

MATH

Barber: Computing quotients of decimals to the hundredths place. Practice packet.  

Brazier: Computing quotients of decimals to the hundredths place efficiently and accurately

Martinez: Strand Four Study Guide.

CFP (Division) on Tuesday.  A study guide went home today.

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Partnerships share an indelible image.”

Brazier: “Partners pore over one idea.”

* ASK: “What does it mean to pore over an idea?”

Martinez: “Readers cite page numbers as evidence.”

* ASK: “How did your partnership conversation go today?”

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber:  Work day: computer lab

Brazier: The Six-Room Image Poem

* ASK: “Describe the lighting in the image your described during writing worskhop today.”

Martinez: “Poets are thoughtful about line breaks.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

Share and discuss findings from Chapter 7: Colonial settlements.  

Next week, Chapter 8: Slavery.                                             

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

Word of the Day (illiterate). Spelling Activities.  

* HOMEWORK: FINISH PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION (Diagram) IF NEED BE

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

Barber: Last presentation, Labeled the skeleton

Brazier: Labeled the skeleton

Martinez: Skeletal System Notes

January 14th, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Mrs. P visited BLE today to talk to our fifth graders about the U.S. Civil War. We wish to thank the BLE PTA for financially supporting her lecture series.

MATH

Barber:  Dividing Decimals.  

Brazier: CFR (Check for Retention) and a Division Practice Packet

* HOMEWORK: FINISH PAGE P75 IF NEED BE

Martinez: Division Practice.

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Partnerships push each other to make evidence-based statements.”

Brazier: “Partners respond to each other’s ideas.”

* ASK: “How does reading change when your partner is reading the same book you’re reading (and at the same pace)?”

Martinez: “Partners respond to each other’s ideas.”

* ASK: “What is something you can do to encourage your partner to grow his or her idea, to talk longer and stronger?”

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber:  “Reading poetry inspires the writing of poetry.”

Brazier: Apology Poems!

* ASK: “What’s part of all apology poems?”

Martinez: “Poets are thoughtful about line breaks.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

                                                   

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

January 13th, 2016

MATH

Barber: Introducing Dividing Decimals.  

Brazier: Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying and Dividing Decimals

* ASK: “How much would each of five friends receive if they decide to equally split $6.25? Can you solve this problem mentally? In how many other ways can you solve it?”

Martinez: Division Practice.

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Partnerships pore over one idea.”

Brazier: “Partners push each other to talk longer and stronger.”

* ASK: “What is something you can do to encourage your partner to grow his or her idea, to talk longer and stronger?”

Martinez: “Partners respond to each other’s ideas.”

* ASK: “What is something you can do to encourage your partner to grow his or her idea, to talk longer and stronger?”

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber:  “Reading poetry inspires the writing of poetry.”

Brazier: “Reading poetry inspires the writing of poetry.”

Martinez: “Poets are thoughtful about line breaks.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

                                                   

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

January 12th, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Congrats to the 10 finalists who participated in this morning’s 2016 BLE Geography Bee. The champion, Andrew Floros, hails from Mrs. Brown’s class, marking the first time a fourth grader has won the BLE Geo Bee.   

• Late Start tomorrow

MATH

Barber: Multiplication with decimal review.  No formal math class due to Geo Bee.

Brazier: Dividing Decimals

* ASK: “How much would each of four friends receive if they decide to equally split $7.00? Can you solve this problem mentally? In how many other ways can you solve it?”

Martinez: Practicing the Standard Algorithm.

Connecting Base Ten Pieces with the Standard Algorithm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IXAqXGDMXw

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Partnerships respond to each other's ideas.”

Brazier: “Readers use prompts to grow ideas.”

* ASK: “Summarize today’s reading for both Zane and the Hurricane and your partnership text.”

Martinez: “Partners respond to each other’s ideas.”

* ASK: “How did your partnership meeting go today?  What is going well?  What do you and your partner need to work on?”

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Poets sometimes follow specific structures.”  

Brazier: “Poets borrow the structure of existing poems.”

Martinez: “Poets sometimes follow a specific structure.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

Barber’s class:

Colonial America: Exploring the colonies.  What is the culture, the history, the civics and more about these areas.  Group discussion.                                                            

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

No Science Today.

January 11th, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Late Start on Wednesday

MATH

Barber: CFP

Brazier: Dividing Decimals

Martinez: Connecting Base Ten Pieces and the Standard Algorithm.

* HOMEWORK: “Base Ten and Standard Algorithm connection” due Monday tomorrow.  

We didn’t get much time on Friday to practice the standard algorithm but students insisted on doing the homework over the weekend, instead of waiting until Monday.  We practiced more today.  We talked a lot about how the picture explains the standard algorithm that us old folks have simply memorized.  

View the video below for a tutorial on this model.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IXAqXGDMXw

* HOMEWORK (Optional): Continue working on the Christmas break math packet.  Turn it in for a prize.

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Partnerships use prompts to grow ideas.” Day 2

* ASK: “What are Push Your Thinking Prompts?”

Brazier: “Partnership talk has a beginning, a middle, and an end.”

* ASK: “Summarize today’s reading for both Zane and the Hurricane and your partnership text.”

Martinez: “Partners push each other to talk longer and stronger.”

* ASK: “What did you say to your partner to get them to talk longer and stronger?”

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Poets borrow structure from existing poems.” Day 3: “things that bother me…” poems.  

Brazier: “Poets sometimes follow the rules of a form.”

* ASK: “What are the rules to follow when writing a haiku?”

Martinez: “Poets sometimes follow a specific structure.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

Colonial America: Exploring the colonies.  What is the culture, the history, the civics and more about these areas.  Group discussion Friday.                                                                 

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

Word of the Day (fortunate). Analogies. Portfolio Submission.

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

Barber: Day One of the Skeletal System.

Martinez: No Science today.

Brazier: Made snowflakes.

January 8th, 2016

MATH

Barber: Powers of Ten and Division Practice.

*OPTIONAL HOMEWORK: Review work

* CFP MONDAY

Brazier: CFP

Martinez: Connecting Base Ten Pieces and the Standard Algorithm.

* HOMEWORK: “Base Ten and Standard Algorithm connection” due Monday.  View the video below for a tutorial on this model.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IXAqXGDMXw

* HOMEWORK (Optional): Continue working on the Christmas break math packet.  Turn it in for a prize.

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Partnerships use prompts to grow ideas.”

Brazier: “Partnership talk has a beginning, a middle, and an end.”

* ASK: “Tell me about The Burger.”

Martinez: “Partnerships use prompts to grow ideas.”

* ASK: “What are Push Your Thinking Prompts?”

* HOMEWORK: Some partnerships have at-home reading to do this weekend.

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Poets borrow structure from existing poems.” Day 2

Brazier: Freewrite Friday!

Martinez: “Poets use precise words.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

Colonial America: Exploring the colonies.  What is the culture, the history, the civics and more about these areas.                                                                   

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

Portfolio Submission

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

Barber: Made snowflakes.

Martinez: Finished last presentation.

Brazier: Finished last two presentations.