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Week of April 28 2nd and 3rd

Because of CRCT testing, our time with our third graders was considerably shortened this week.

Second graders started the day with Triangle Math Circuits, a challenging math puzzle.  They then worked on a Logic-in-the-Round brainteaser, Skydivers. All students worked on Logic Links, an activity that combines logic with the ability to follow written directions.

Second graders watched a video on the life of Amelia Earhart. All students reviewed the last days of her life, drew their own conclusions about her disappearance, and began a newspaper article that would provide proof of their choice.

The year is quickly come to an end.  Our last meeting with the third graders will be May 12, and our last meeting with the second graders will be May 16.  If you would like to help with the year end celebrations, send a note with your student and we will pass them on to our Room Moms.

Fourth and Fifth Week of April 28

This week is shortened for fourth graders due to the C.R.C.T. which  will be given Tuesday.  Therefore, fourth graders will come late to Target and we will plan to spend most of our time reviewing with this group for their anatomy test next week. We will also put some finishing touches on our PowerPoint presentations.

Fifth graders will take the anatomy test in preparation for next week's dissection which will take place for both Wednesday and Thursday Target students next Thursday, May 8, due to field day next Wednesday.  After the test, students will view a dissection video and we will finalize and begin presentation of our Movie Maker shark videos.  STUDENTS SHOULD PLAN TO BRING OLD CLOTHES TO PUT ON OVER THEIR CLOTHING DURING DISSECTION.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:  PARENTS, IF YOU CAN COME FOR THE MORNING OF DISSECTION (THURSDAY, MAY 8, FOR FIFTH GRADERS OR TUESDAY, MAY 13 FOR FOURTH) PLEASE SEND YOUR CHILD'S TARGET TEACHER A NOTE.  WE NEED YOU TO HELP SET UP AND SUPERVISE A GROUP OF STUDENTS AS THEY DISSECT.  SOME CLEAN UP HELP IS NEEDED AS WELL.  OUR TIME WINDOW IS MIDMORNING TO ABOUT NOON OR TWELVE THIRTY.

PARENTS:  AS PART OF OUR LAST CLASS, WE WOULD LIKE TO HOLD A CELEBRATION.  iF YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THIS EITHER BY SENDING IN FOOD, PAPER PRODUCTS, DRINKS, OR COMING TO HELP, PLEASE LET US KNOW AT LEAST A WEEK IN ADVANCE.  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP!

LAST DAY OF CLASSES FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR WILL BE:

FIFTH GRADE:   WEDNESDAY CLASS - LAST DAY WILL BE MAY 14 AND

THURSDAY CLASS - LAST DAY WILL BE MAY 15!

FOURTH GRADE:   LAST DAY WILL BE MAY 20!

 

Week of 4-28-08

Problem Solving

Today students fired up their brains with two logic problems, a challenging perplexor, and a word boggler. Our students have learned to use their deductive reasoning skills effectively and consider the implications of each clue given to help solve the problem at hand.

Unit Work

Students brainstormed words associated with weather as a class and discussed how weather impacts their daily lives. We examined a real thermometer and noted the temperature at several different times during the day.

Classes examined the meaning of the expression, " Be careful what you wish for." Teachers then read the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck to their students. After thoroughly discussing the book, students made their own cup of oobleck.

We conducted a number of experiments with our oobleck, followed up with a lesson on solids and liquids, and introduced the term non-Newtonian to our students.

Vocabulary words this week were precipitation, non-Newtonian, and floundering.

In the afternoon, teachers read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to their classes and encouraged students to make a text to text comparison of this book to Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

Week of April 22nd 2nd and 3rd

Our third grade students began the day with the next lesson in Hands-On-Equations.  They then sharpened their deductive reasoning skills to work on a Logic in the Round activity called "Skydivers". Some students completed "Flying Solo" , a visual thinking activity, and some finished The Brainy Rotations from last week.

All students watched a video "The Sky's the Limit" about early female aviators.  They got to see some actual footage of barnstormers. Students listened to a story about Amelia Earhart and watched a video about her career as a pilot. The possible reasons for her disappearance were discussed.  Students performed some activities with their parachutes.

Because of CRCT testing this week, our time with our 2nd graders was considerably shortened. We wish all of our students success this week.

Week of April 22nd 2nd and 3rd

Our third grade students began the day with the next lesson in Hands-On-Equations.  They then sharpened their deductive reasoning skills to work on a Logic in the Round activity called "Skydivers". Some students completed "Flying Solo" , a visual thinking activity, and some finished The Brainy Rotations from last week.

All students watched a video "The Sky's the Limit" about early female aviators.  They got to see some actual footage of barnstormers. Students listened to a story about Amelia Earhart and watched a video about her career as a pilot. The possible reasons for her disappearance were discussed.  Students performed some activities with their parachutes.

Because of CRCT testing this week, our time with our 2nd graders was considerably shortened. We wish all of our students success this week.

Week of April 21, 2008

This week will be a shortened one for fifth graders due to CRCT.  Our main job this week for fifth will be to review for the anatomy test NEXT WEEK!  We will also try to get into the lab to work on our Movie Maker movies.

Fourth graders will create a study guide for themselves to study for their anatomy test  the week of May 6.  Additionally, we will compare and contrast the shark's anatomy with human anatomy.  They will also work on their Powerpoint presentations.

HOMEWORK:  STUDY FOR THE ANATOMY TEST!  STUDENTS WILL ALSO NEED TO  COMPLETE THE TESTS FOR EXTERNAL ANATOMY AND THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEMS AT THE END OF THE WEBSITE, http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/Biology/ppepe/BIO145/lab04_1.html

BE SURE TO PRINT YOUR TESTS AND BRING THEM TO CLASS SO WE CAN CHECK THEM TOGETHER.

Week of 4-21-08

Dear Parents,

Due to CRCT testing, we had an abbreviated schedule today. We look forward to resuming our normal rountine next week.

If at all possible, we would like to request that you try not to schedule medical appointments on Target days. We only see the children once a week and so we cover quite a bit of ground each day.

It's hard to believe the end of the year is right around the corner!

Sincerely,
Lee Lindsley, Liz Goldstein, and Judy Bullard

Today we read McElligot's Pool in class. The children were delighted to discover that the main character in this book, Marco, was the same little boy we met in Dr. Seuss' first book, And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street. We enjoyed his vivid, "outlandish" imagination.

The children let their imaginations run wild when they reached into a basket to draw out the name of a fish that could be illustrated by using the fish's name, i.e., nurse fish, angel fish, and zebra fish. Our students so enjoyed sharing their creations with the class.

Have a safe and restful week.

Week of Aril 14th 2nd and 3rd

WELCOME BACK     We're so glad to have everyone back, refreshed and ready to "fly" to the end of the year.

All of the third grade students have now completed Level I in Hands-On-Equations. They will spend the next 5 weeks on Level II.  It's amazing what they have learned about Algebra.  Our second graders worked on Math Circuits. These puzzles require math skills and logical reasoning.  All students worked on "Brainy Rotations", a word puzzle, and completed some visual intelligence activities called "Noodlers".

Students continued our Journey on flight by discussing the advancements made in the 1910s and 20s.  Students learned about barnstormers and about one famous barnstormer, Charles Lindbergh.  They then completed a Venn diagram comparing Lindbergh and Bleriot. Students continue to work on their Milestones in Flight time line.

Students observed and discussed the effects of drag on a parachute.

http://www.avkids.com/hangar/smartparts/ - See the parts of an airplane!

Week of April 14, 2008

WELCOME BACK!!!  We hope everyone had a wonderful spring break.

It is hard to believe that we are heading into our final six weeks of the school year.

We got a fresh start exercising our brains on two logic matrix problems and a perplexor.  Many of the students our becoming very strong analytical thinkers.

Our story this week was Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose.  We introduced our story by brainstorming what are attributes of a "big hearted" person.  When we completed the story we compared and contrasted the theme of this Dr. Seuss tale to several others we have shared.  Students completed a Venn diagram comparing Horton and Thidwick.   Thidwick had many "friends" living in his antlers, we connected this with the scientific concept of "symbiotic relationships".  We read a beautiful book called Weird Friends,  explaining and illustrating many symbiotic relationships in nature. After discussing the 3 different kinds of symbiotic relationships,  students determined what kind they thought Thidwick and his friends represented.  Our vocabulary words for the day were:  yank, obnoxious, forlorn, symbiosis.  Students completed the day making handprint antlers, and placing thumbprint animals in the antlers that would be mutually beneficial to Thidwick and the guest.

FYI:  NEXT WEEK IS CRCT WEEK.   WE WILL BE HAVING TARGET CLASS.  HOWEVER, DUE TO MORNING TESTING, WE WILL ONLY MEET FOR HALF A DAY.

Week of April 14, 2005

ATTENTION PARENT VOLUNTEERS:  We are looking for a few good men (or women) who would be willing to assist us with dissection.  Fifth graders will dissect the second week in May and fourth will be dissecting the third week in May.  Please let us know by emailing or sending in a note to your child's teacher.

After a long, restful Spring Break, we are back to our study of the shark's anatomy.  This week, after warming up our brains with DooRiddles and reviewing with a shark crossword puzzle, we will match the functions of the shark's internal organs with their names and create a shark internal anatomy poster with the help of the Internet.  We will then work on creating our movies on the computer.

HOME EXTENSION: STUDENTS NEED TO BE STUDYING FOR THE ANATOMY TEST.  WEDNESDAY FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS WILL BE TAKING THIS TEST ON APRIL 30, THURSDAY FIFTH WILL BE TESTED ON MAY 1, AND FOURTH GRADERS WILL BE TESTED ON THE 6TH.    DISSECTION IS SCHEDULED FOR MID MAY FOR BOTH GROUPS.  FIFTH GRADERS - ALL FIFTH MUST COMPLETE THE SHARK INTERNAL ORGAN MATCHING ACTIVITY FOR HOMEWORK !  ANY STUDENT WHO IS BEHIND ON HIS/HER POWERPOINT OR MOVIE NEEDS TO BE WORKING ON THOSE PROJECTS AT HOME IF POSSIBLE OR IN THE LAB IF SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE AFTER SCHOOL THURSDAY SESSIONS.