Here's my pumpkin...

Give me another 20 years and I will be as good as Ray Villafane...

Science Week of Oct 28

This week we will spend Monday and Tuesday covering the Respiratory and Circulatory systems.  Wednesday will be our Science Fair Project work day so come to class prepared to research or draft your work.  Please use GoogleDocs to do your work so that it is easier to stay organized.  Don't forget to consult the documents in the "Science Fair Project" folder!  Remember, you are allowed to do a little each week or you can work ahead.  Whatever you do, don't wait to do it all the night before it is due!!


BWI Science Night has been changed to January 30th, 2013!!

LA Week of Oct. 28

This week all classes will take a short break from Treasures in LA.  Each class will be working on various needs for the students' reading and writing.

Graven Homework
Monday-book contract #1 is due, finish reading literature circle book, final copy of monster writing is due Wed.
Tuesday-final copy of monster writing is due Wed.
Wednesday-final copy of monster writing is due....Which monster/student will win the contest????
Thursday and Friday-no school, but keep up the reading!

Wright Homework
Wednesday- Book Contract Due (YOU check to make sure the lexile level is appropriate and that there is a Reading Counts quiz available!!)

SS Week of Oct. 28

Classes will be tested on History Alive Ch. 3 this week and continue working on their Native American group projects.  All kids should keep working on the Native American group projects through Google Docs!!!!

Learning Target: I can make generalizations about the cultural ways of life among American Indian cultural groups in North and South America.

Homework

Monday-letter, Ch. 3 tutorial for extra credit is due Wed.

Tuesday-study, Ch. 3 tutorial for extra credit is due Wed.

Wednesday-Ch. 3 test, turn in Ch. 3 notes packets for a homework grade, turn in tutorial for extra credit

Thursday and Friday-no school

Monday-Group Presentations

Tuesday-Group Presentations

Veterans Day Observance

ASSEMBLY

Students are asked to invite veterans they know to our school assembly on Nov. 11.  Breakfast for the veterans and the students that invited them will be at 9:30am.  Shortly afterward, a BWIS assembly will honor our veterans.  Please return the red invitation form by Oct. 30 if your child has a vet to bring.

WRITING CONTEST

BWIS is holding a writing contest in conjunction with Veterans Day.  Two students from each grade level will get to read their writing during the assembly.  

Think about the sacrifice made by the women and men of our Armed Services in order for us to be free and safe.

Describe the sacrifice they have made and what it means to you.

Your well-written response (prose or poetry) should address the prompt above, be free of spelling and grammatical errors, and appropriate for reading aloud at the BWIS Veterans Day Observance.

Please submit your response to Mr. Firchau in room 132 by Wednesday, October 30.

Native American Group Project

Currently in SS class, students are working in groups on their tribe of choice to dig further into our studies of all of the North American cultural groups that we've discussed.  The kids are using Google Docs Presentations to demonstrate their learning.  Groups have been given guiding questions for their research as well as the rubric that Mrs. Graven will use to assess the final project.  All students should be working at home on this project also to help their group's progress.  Presentations will take place in class the week of Nov. 4.  Here's a few pictures of their work in the library this week.  Ask your child to show you their presentation!  They're doing a fantastic job so far!

Great Plains Moccasin Game

After learning about the Great Plains group this week in SS class, students were able to participate in a traditional game of the culture group.  It was a team hid and seek/guessing game of sorts that went back and forth.  Drums and shakers were also used in class just like the Great Plains groups did.  

Treat for Troops

• Big Walnut Education Association is collecting unwanted Halloween candy to send to troops. There will be a collection box at each school for students to bring in their unwanted Halloween candy. Candy can be brought in October 29-November 4. We will then collect all candy donations and send to troops.

Math Week of Oct 21st.

This week we will begin to explore Angles.  Students will review some past  vocabulary and learn some new vocabulary.  Students should review and keep their notes in their folders.  We identified  different types of angles, which most students retained  from last year.  We are learning to measure with a protractor Students are working hard to identify which numbers should be used for the angle they are creating or measuring.  This is one of my favorite units.  The students are catching on quickly.

Homework

Monday- Math Journal p. 66
Tuesday- Math worksheet 80
Wednesday-Math journal p. 65, 71
Thursday- Math journal p. 59, 61
Friday- Vocabulary Quiz

Science Week of Oct 21

We will wrap up our discussion of natural succession and how ecosystems are changed by natural and man-made occurrences.  The quiz will be Tuesday!!  For the rest of the week, we will be delving into Body Systems!  Our goals for this week will be to determine the major functions of each body system and how the systems are interconnected.

Additionally, this week marks the official start of our 2nd Quarter Science Project!!  Each student will complete a written report, a trifold presentation board, present to the class, and participate in the BWI Science Night on February 6th.  I am allowing three different types of science projects this year: Classic Science Fair Project, Design Challenge, or Concept Demonstration.  The written report is due Monday, December 9th.  Students will sign up for a day between December 9th and December 20th to present to the class.  

If students decide to take their project to the Big Walnut Science Fair on February 13th, they will earn bonus points that count towards their final science grade!  I have shared a folder of information about this project entitled "Science Fair Project" through your student GoogleDocs account.  This folder contains an informational sheet about the project, a pacing guide, report guides for each project type, a works cited info sheet, and a page with 200 science fair ideas!  Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.

You will have one day each week to work on your project in class.  The homework this quarter is to work on your Science Project!!  Use the Pacing Guide to help you focus on what to do each week.

Mon- Review for Succession Quiz
Tues- Succession Quiz
Fri- Science Project Work Day/ Library and Computers Reserved for research!!

LA Week of Oct. 21

This week's story is "Rattlers" and focuses on main idea and details.  It is a high interest nonfiction story about various snakes.  Read to find out how rattlesnakes catch their prey.

Essential Question: What do all of the important details in this selection have in common?

Strategy: Summarize

Skill: Main Idea and Details

Genre: Expository and Folktale

Fluency: Expression and Phrasing

Phonics/Spelling: Plurals

Grammar/Mechanics: Singular and Plural
Nouns, Capitalization and Abbreviations in
Letters

Literary Elements: Hero and Personification

Spelling Words-plurals

rattlers, fangs, countries, liberties, potatoes, rodeos, taxes, reptiles, surroundings, beliefs, difficulties, batches, abilities, lashes, identities, losses, possibilities, notches, zeroes, eddies

Vocabulary Words

species, survive, alert, vibrates,
surroundings, prey, predators, lunging

Graven

Monday-Read p.158-179, practice book p. 55-63 due Thursday

Tuesday-practice book p. 55-63 due Thursday

Wednesday-practice book p. 55-63 due Thursday

Thursday-selection test, practice book p. 55-63 due

Friday-spelling test, skills test

*Study Island for LA is currently unavailable until further notice.

LEXILE: Students will select a book within their Lexile level for silent reading.  They will 
need to take a Reading Counts quiz on this book this quarter.  Two book quizzes are required for the 2nd quarter. 

WRIGHT

Monday-Read p.158-179, practice book p. 55-63 due Thursday

Tuesday-practice book p. 55-63 due Thursday

Wednesday-practice book p. 55-63 due Thursday

Thursday-selection test, practice book p. 55-63 due

Friday-spelling test, skills test

BODKER
Mon- Read Treasures p. 162-175  Practice p. 56
Tues-Practice Book p. 55,58
Wed-Practice Book p. 57, Rough draft letter to parents or guardian.
Thurs-Reading Comprehension test Practice p. 59 , review Rattlers Story, study Spelling words
           Parent letter due Friday
Friday-Spelling Test, Skills test, Parent letter due

SS Week of Oct. 21

Ch. 2

Essential Question: How does where you live influence how you live?

Learning Target: I can make generalizations about the cultural ways of life among American Indian cultural groups in North and South America.

This week we will continue with Ch. 3, "Native Americans Cultural Regions".  Students will learn about Native Americans of the Northwest Coast, California-Intermountain, Southwest, Plateau, Great Plains, Eastern Woodlands, and Southeast regions.  They will also begin working in small groups on Power Point presentations using Google Docs on their selected tribe in one of these cultural regions.  Examples of past presentations can be found here.  NA Tribe Power Point Examples

Homework

Monday-3.4 and 3.5

Tuesday-3.6

Wednesday-group work time

Thursday-group work time

Friday-3.7 and 3.8

Watch the "America Before Columbus" video here that we watched last week in class: America Before Columbus Video

It's very interesting for the students to see the meeting of the 2 sides of the world in the 15th century and what life was like!

End of the 1st Quarter

Today marks the end of the first quarter!  Enjoy your Friday off of school and come back on Monday for a fresh start to a new quarter.

Report cards will be available to view on Power School Oct. 24.

Math Week of October 14th

In Math this week students will continue to review division problems.  This week we will focus on quotients with remainders and zeros.  Students will learn to interpret the remainder and determine whether it is important in their answer.

This is a short week. Students will be given a short division quiz on Thursday to end the nine weeks.

Homework

Mon-MJ 112, 114

Tue- Math remainder worksheet

Wed-Long Division with Zero in the Quotient

Thur-Division Quiz

Fri-No School

5th Grade Math Week of October 14th

In Math this week students will continue to review division problems.  This week we will focus on quotients with remainders and zeros.  Students will learn to interpret the remainder and determine whether it is important in their answer.
This is a short week. Students will be given a short division quiz on Thursday to end the nine weeks.

Homework

Mon-MJ 112, 114
Tue- Math remainder worksheet
Wed-Long Division with Zero in the Quotient
Thur-Division Quiz
Fri-No School

Science Week of Oct. 14

This week we continue on with our unit, How Ecosystems Change. Last week, we looked at natural succession and how nature bounces back fairly easily after a natural disaster.  This week, we look more into the ways that humans seriously damage ecosystems and ways to try to curb this damage.  Be sure to tell your parents about the Acid Rain Lab that we did today in class!!  NO QUIZ THIS WEEK!

Tuesday- B101 review questions

Wednesday- Bring Creek Shoes for a creek trip either Wed or Thur

SS Week of Oct. 14

Ch. 2

Essential Question: How does where you live influence how you live?

Learning Target: I can make generalizations about the cultural ways of life among American Indian cultural groups in North and South America.

This week head into Ch. 3, "Native Americans Cultural Regions".  Students will learn about Native Americans of the Northwest Coast, California-Intermountain, Southwest, Plateau, Great Plains, Eastern Woodlands, and Southeast regions.

Homework

Monday-3.3 and 3.4

Tuesday-"America Before Columbus" video

Wednesday-"America Before Columbus" video

Thursday-"America Before Columbus" video

Friday-no school

Watch the "America Before Columbus" video here: http://www.quietyoutube.com/watch?v=brSPQ7sUE84
It's very interesting for the students to see the meeting of the 2 sides of the world in the 15th century and what life was like!

LA Week of Oct. 14

This week we will dig into Unit 2 in Treasures.  The theme is "Investigations" and most of the stories are nonfiction science topics.  This week's story is "Hidden Worlds: Looking Through a Scientists Microscope" and focuses on sequencing events.  

Essential Question: How can recognizing sequence help you understand the relationships between ideas?

Graven

Monday-Read p.138-157, practice book p. 46-54 due Wednesday, Study Island "Capitalization" due Thursday

Tuesday-practice book p. 46-54 due Wednesday, Study Island "Capitalization" due Thursday

Wednesday-selection test, practice book p. 46-54 due, Study Island "Capitalization" due Thursday

Thursday-spelling test, skills test, Study Island "Capitalization" due

Friday-no school :)  READ!!!

WRIGHT

Monday- Read Treasures p 133-153, PB p. 46-53 due Thursday
Wednesday- "My Perfect Classroom" Final Draft turned in through Google Docs
Thursday- Selection Test

BODKER
Monday- Read Hidden Worlds p140-151 in Treasures Practice p. 47
Tuesdsay- Practice p. 48 and Fluency p.50
Wednesday-Practice p. 52

Math for the Week of Oct 7th

This week students are working to improve their long division skills.
We will begin the week reviewing vocabulary related to a division problem.  We will move to division problems with 1 digit divisors and 3 and 4 digits in the dividend.  Students will learn to make estimates for given problems to help them judge whether their answers are in the ballpark.  Later in the week, students will learn to check a division problem using the multiplication method.  We will end the week practicing to divide numbers that have a decimal in the dividend.
Students will have lots of skill and drill this week.

HOMEWORK

Mon-Math Journal 53
Tue-Math Journal p 100
Wed-MJ p. 109 (estimates only)  and division crossword puzzle- due Friday
Thursday-
Fri-Crossword Puzzle due

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for Monday, November 4th and Thursday, November 7th from 4:00-7:30 pm.  They are in 15 minute increments and include all of your child's teachers (Mrs. Graven, Mrs. Bodker, and Mr. Wright).  We have already sent notices home for the students that we feel it's necessary to have a conference.  BWIS holds conferences differently than the elementary schools in that we do not meet with all of the families; only those that are requested by a parent or teacher.  Please call the school office at 740-965-7800 to schedule a conference if you are interested.

Science Week of Oct 7

We will wrap up our study of the six major land biomes this week with a short quiz on Wednesday. Students groups will finish presenting on Monday and then we will review Tuesday.  We will focus on Natural Succession (the slow transformation of ecosystems over time) for the rest of the week.

Mon- Finish presentations, review biomes
Tue- Read pages B64-B73, Answer the review ?'s on page 73 to help you study!
Wed- Biomes Quiz
 

SS Week of Oct. 7

Essential Question: How does where you live influence how you live?

Learning Target: I can make generalizations about the cultural ways of life among American Indian cultural groups in North and South America.

This week we'll finish up Ch. 2, "Native Americans and Their Land".  Students will learn about the first native peoples to North America and how they adapted to the land.  

Homework

Monday-Ch. 2 review sheet and processing 2 page in Ch. 2 packet

Tuesday-Ch. 2 tutorial and study

Wednesday-Ch. 2 test

Thursday-none

Friday-none

 *Ch. 2 test will be Wednesday.  There IS a tutorial online for Ch. 2 that students can complete at any time.  http://tutorial.teachtci.com/  To earn 3 extra credit points, students need to earn 100%, get a parent signature, and print out their results.  This is due on test day.

LA Week of Oct. 7

 --This week will be a review of Unit 1 skills and strategies, including problem and solution, character and setting, story structure, main idea and details, making inferences, summarizing, drawing conclusions, suffixes, context clues, idioms and adages, homophones, word families, meter and alliteration, time lines, diagrams, punctuation, sentence types, correcting sentence fragments, capitalization, subjects and predicates, sentence combining, and personal narratives.  WOW!!! We've been busy in Unit 1!  Each class will do various activities to review the skills that students need.  A Unit 1 test over these skills will take place this week.  There are no new stories, practice book pages, vocabulary words, and spelling words this week.

Graven
-Unit 1 Review test is Thursday.
-Final copy of "Focus on a Moment" is due Friday.  Final copies need to be typed or written in cursive. Students will turn in all of the writing process papers (drafts, checklists, rubrics, etc.)
-2 Reading Counts quizzes are due Friday.
-Spelling words this week are "personal words", which are all of the words students have missed throughout Unit 1 spelling tests

Monday-worksheet, spelling sentences assigned for personal words
Tuesday-worksheet
Wednesday-finish up "Focus on a Moment"
Thursday-Unit 1 test, spelling sentences due
Friday-personal spelling test, "Focus on a Moment" final copy packets are due, 2 Study Island topics are due

WRIGHT
-Unit 1 Review Test is Friday
-A few people still need to complete Reading Counts Quizzes (this was due last Friday!)
-Final copy of "My Perfect Classroom" is due next Wednesday, 10/16. Final copies need to be printed            out or turned in through Google Docs.  Students will also turn in writing process papers                              (brainstorms, drafts, etc).

Mon- Skills Test (Unit 1 Week 5)
Tue- Spelling Quiz (words from last week)
Wed- Computer Library lab to draft "My Perfect Classroom"
Thur- Begin revising/editing "My Perfect Classroom"
Fri- Unit 1 Review Test

BODKER
-Unit 1 Review Test Thursday and Friday
-Final copy of Interesting or exciting trip due Friday (may be hand written or typed)
-Reading Counts (SRI) reading test # 1 due Monday, October 21
-No Spelling this week.

Mon-Brainstorm writing ideas for An interesting or exciting trip
Tues- Complete a story web for writing assignment due Friday
Wed-Write and have someone edit your rough draft of writing assignment,
Thurs-Write final draft of writing assignment
Fri-Final writing draft due.

5th Grade Math week of Sept 30th

We will complete Unit 2 this week.  Monday and Tuesday,  we will work to estimate numbers prior to performing the multiplication operation.  Students will review multiplication of whole numbers and decimals and then  use their estimate to compare their answers.  Wednesday, students will receive a Unit 2  review in class.  Students should begin the review as homework.  We will  continue to work on it in class on Thursday.  Students should come to class on Friday prepared to ask questions before they take the Unit 2 test.

Homework-
Mon- Math Journal 48
Tues- Math worksheet 55
Wed- Math journal. 58 and review worksheet
Thur- Review for Unit 2 Test
Fri- Unit 2 Test