Blog Archives

CRAAP

11/30/2017

Today we continued working on our writing project and had our Word Work Unit 7-11 Review Party. Please check out Fresh Grade to see the results and the words you still need to work on. In the afternoon, we spent some time using the CRAAP test to help us evaluate the reliability of the web sites we will be using for our Inquiry on Early Humans. CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose.

Following this, we did a practice evaluation and then got into immersing ourselves in early humans and working toward our individual Inquiry questions. Most students have their question and are ready to get into their knowledge building circles and dive into the next phase of inquiry which is INVESTIGATING.

1) Reminders:

No school tomorrow
Sign up for skating drivers
Sign up for conferences next Wednesday and Thursday (see link from last post)

2) Post A Response:

Watch the following amazing video.
In paragraph form, write a personal response to what you have just seen.
Give another student feedback on how to improve their response paragraph.
Edit/revise your paragraph for (spelling, capitals, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure).

Sr. Girls Volleyball Final Play Day Pics

41 Comments

Inquiry: Adding and Subtracting Standard Fractions

11/29/2017

60 Comments

Today we did another mini Inquiry on strategies for adding and subtracting fractions. Students discovered that when adding and subtracting fractions both fractions need to have the same denominator. Students also participated in a school wide presentation on sexual health and filled out a learning styles inventory to gain some insight into strategies that may help them improve their learning at school. We closed out the day by getting started on a creative French Cooking Show Project.

1) Reminders:

Share your learning styles inventory with your parents and have them sign the paper.
Word Work unit review party tomorrow!
Sign up for a conference for next week

2) Post A Response:

Choose a character from Threatened and, in paragraph form, give as much information about them as you can. Challenge: As a class can you get all the characters in the book?
Reply to a post and ask a question or add a detail that was missed.
Proof read your post.

Click the picture to hear Eliot Schrefer read from Threatened

60 Comments

The Inquiry Process

11/28/2017

65 Comments

Today was a fantastic day of learning. We uploaded our gymnastics assessments to Fresh Grade, worked on our Alphabiography writing project, used our reading strategies in another visual thinking exercise and continued immersing ourselves in our social studies inquiry on early humans.

1) Reminders:

Word Work unit 7-11 Review Party Thursday (words posted on Fresh Grade)

PARENTS:

We still need parent volunteers to drive students ice skating (click here)
Click here to sign up for Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences next week
HOMEWORK FOR PARENTS: It has been great seeing more and more parents commenting on student assignments on FreshGrade. Parents, please take a few minutes out of your day to view your child's assessments on FreshGrade and comment on them. The goal is to have students, teachers, and parents all actively involved in the feedback process on FreshGrade.

2) Post A Response:

The first phase of Inquiry is IMMERSE. In a short paragraph, explain what you will be doing in the Immerse phase.
Post two questions you have about early humans so far.
Read another students post and give them some feedback on their writing.
Edit/revise your paragraph for (spelling, capitals, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure)

65 Comments

Self Assessemnt

11/27/2017

55 Comments

Today students started the self-assessment component of the lab write up and worked on making some hypothesis statements. They also continued working on comparing and ordering fractions and decimals. Next, we will move on to estimating sums, differences, products and quotients of decimals.

PARENTS:

We still need parent volunteers to drive students ice skating (click here)
Click here to sign up for Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences next week
HOMEWORK FOR PARENTS: It has been great seeing more and more parents commenting on student assignments on FreshGrade. Parents, please take a few minutes out of your day to view your child's assessments on FreshGrade and comment on them. The goal is to have students, teachers, and parents all actively involved in the feedback process on FreshGrade.

1) Reminders:

Word Work unit review Party Thursday
Math homework posted. Interactions p 61,62,64

2) Post A Response:

Write a short paragraph about why you think we want you to learn to self assess your our own work. How might this help you in the future? Give an example of how being able to accurately self assess you work might help you in school and out of school.
REQUIRED - Ask one student a question about their response.
Edit/revise your paragraph for (spelling, capitals, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure).

55 Comments

Adding Complexity

11/24/2017

48 Comments

One thing good writers do is develop their ideas by breaking them down. This adds complexity to a piece of writing. For example, if I make the statement, " I love playing basketball," I have shared an idea. Now it's time to break it down. What do I like about it? Being part of team, the competition, the exercise, hitting big shots, special moves. Now we are getting into the idea. So now lets break it down even more. What is it I like about being on a team? Meeting new people, spending time with people I know. Now break down the competition aspect. What is it about competition I like? Do you get the idea! Good writers develop ideas by breaking them down and adding complexity!

Now its your turn!

1) Reminders:

Skating drivers
Word Work Party on Monday for this weeks words
Volleyball practice tomorrow @ 7:30am

2) Post A Response:

Post 5 statements like the one I gave about basketball above
Then choose ONE of them and break it down by adding complexity! Try breaking it down twice like I did above. Add several reasons that support the original statement and then add more support statements to each of those.

Example: I like basketball > I like being on a team > I get to meet new people

Reply to another post and add development to one of their 4 remaining statements.
Give feedback to another students post!
Revise your post based on the feed back you received

*** Use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation****
READ THE PAR CRITERIA!!!

48 Comments

What were you thinking!!!!!..............during Inquiry?

11/23/2017

42 Comments

Today we continued working on our Alphabiography writing project, worked on comparing factions and carried on immersing ourselves in our inquiry on early humans. We learned some amazing ideas about what researchers believe may have caused certain species to evolve over time. One of the most interesting ideas to me was that the ability to sweat may have been a key factor in certain hominids being able to obtain food.

1) Reminders:

Skating Drivers
Word Work Party tomorrow

2) Math:

Math Focus p 47-49 (see assignments)

3) Post a Response:

Think about the video we watched on early humans and:
Write one sentence for each of the following sentence frames:

- Something new I learned was....
- Isn't it amazing......
- One connection I made was.....
- Two questions I have are.....

Respond to two other posts.

42 Comments

Fitness Goals and Math Strategies

11/22/2017

50 Comments

Today was the last day of gymnastics and all students performed a skill that was filmed and uploaded to their Fresh Grade digital portfolios. Be sure to check them out and share them with your family. In math, we have finished our mini inquiry on strategies for comparing fractions and applied what we have learned.

1) Reminders:

Volunteer drivers needed for skating
Bring fitness goal sheet tomorrow

2) Math:

2 pages of comparing fractions

3) LA:

Word work Friday

4) Post A Response:

List 5 or more strategies for comparing fractions
Post two pairs of fractions (example: 1/3,1/5 and 3/11, 4/15)
Reply to a post and state which fraction is larger , give the strategy used and provide a detailed explanation of the strategy
If someone does not get at least 5 strategies please reply to their post and help them out

50 Comments

Visual Thinking In Inquiry

11/21/2017

81 Comments

Today, the students all completed their first 'VISIBLE THINKING' exercises in Inquiry. Students learned the first reading strategy and examples of how they can 'SET A PURPOSE' before they read. We all set purposes when we read, however, we are not always aware we are doing this. Some examples students gave included: for pleasure, for information, to get a feel, etc. Parents, please click here to see what VISIBLE THINKING is. Students, review it as well.

1: REMINDERS:

We still need drivers for skating. PLEASE HELP!
Bring your fitness goal sheet to school tomorrow
Volleyball practice tomorrow at lunch

2.) POST A RESPONSE:

Post what skill you will video tomorrow in gymnastics.
Watch this video on VISIBLE THINKING.
Write a few sentences stating your own definition of visible thinking.
Include three examples of things you read on a daily basis and list the reason why you read each of them (PURPOSE).
For example: I look at my alarm clock every morning to make sure I wake up on time. I look at the bus schedule to make sure I can catch it when it goes by my house. I check the class website every day to make sure the students are posting on a daily basis.
Self-assess your post to make sure you have followed the criteria for today's post a response. Also, check your spelling, capitals, grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary.
Give one student a suggestion for improvement.
Edit/revise your original post

81 Comments

What is a Rubric?

11/20/2017

36 Comments

Only one more gymnastics class to go. Great job everyone working on your skills check list today. In math, we uploaded our mid unit assessments and stared a mini inquiry on strategies for comparing fractions. After music, we had a mini lesson on using a rubric to help guide us on how to improve our writing, followed by some writing time. Several students had 1 on 1 writing conferences with a teacher. Everyone will have conference time with a teacher by the end of the week.

1) Reminders:

Post a response from the weekend (Friday post)
Show your math mid unit assessment to your parents
Sign up for driving to skating (Click HERE)
Bring your fitness goal sheet to school everyday this week!
Decide what skill you will perform for your gymnastics video

2) LA

Keep working on the Alphabiograpgy Writing Project
Word Work Definitions

3) Post a Response:

Answer the blog post title question: WHAT IS A RUBRIC? What is it used for? How should it be used by students? Explain.
Post 3 improper fractions
Reply to a post and write each improper fraction as a whole number or a mixed number fraction

36 Comments

Uzume Taiko

11/17/2017

25 Comments

Today Uzume Taiko put on a fantastic show. If you are interested in learning more about Uzumi Taiko click on the picture above. We spent most of the rest of of the day working on finishing up our science labs and presenting photo essays. Next week, we will finish up the science unit and will get back to learning about inquiry.

1) Reminders:

All Lab write-ups are due on Monday unless you have a homework pass.
Comparing and ordering factions and decimals next week
WE NEED VOLUNTEER DRIVERS FOR SKATING IN DECEMBER click HERE to sign up.
We will be checking in on our fitness goals next week. Are you doing yours? Be honest
Volleyball practice Monday morning at 7:30pm

2) Math:

Try these comparing fractions games!
The mid term math assessment will be uploaded to Fresh Grade on Monday!

3) Post A Response:

I was astonished to learn in the photo essays that ducks eat fish, worms, snails and salamanders. They are omnivores, just like humans.
Do a little research this weekend and find two facts about an animal, plant, or any organism that you think most people would not know and post it as a response
Make sure your fact comes from a reliable source. Post two reasons why you think the website you found the fact on is reliable.