Next Stop... 2015!

A Notebook Page in No Time!

As promised, here is a quick video explaining how to add a complete notebook page to your spiral in one fell swoop (okay, maybe two). I learned this trick from my son, who learned it from his teacher. Thanks for the idea, Mrs. Podpora!

Behold, The Grip and Rip!

The cool thing is that  you can add double-sided pages too!

Since this week's math notebook only has one printable page, you can quickly add it to your spiral this handy way!

See you in class!

Happy 12-13-14!

We don't have school today, so you may not be writing the date. In case you didn't know, today is December 13, 2014. Which means it's 12-13-14.

Aziz Inan is an engineering professor at the University of Portland who specializes in the calendar's mathematical marvels. According to Mr. Inan, "For most of us, such sequential calendar dates won't occur again in our lifetime. After December  13, 2014, the next one is 01-02-03, to occur on January 2, 2103."

How will you spend the last sequential calendar date of your lifetime? Maybe you can do something special at 10:11 AM. That will be 10:11 on 12/13/14... or 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

Enjoy!

Text-Based Responses

Today's ELA class was riveting! We continued working on ways to answer text-based questions completely. We have a fool-proof way to remember all of the parts of a convincing and thorough response. Just R.A.C.E. through it!

When we talk about R.A.C.E. Mrs. Sol's class is referring the "recipe" we use to remember the parts of a complete text-based response...

(For the R.A.C.E. printable and rubric, click here.)

Read the question carefully. Does the question have many parts? Once you understand what is being asked, read through the text one more time and highlight the text evidence you find. If it's a magazine or book that you can't write in, you can use a sticky note to mark the spot.

When defending your answer, always cite information directly from the text! In our class, we take a quote from the text and copy it word for word. Since we are using someone else's writing, we always use quotation marks and cite where the quote came from.

The sentence starters above and in the R.A.C.E. printable will help you think of good ways to begin each sentence. For example, when quoting text, a good way to start might be:

In paragraph 2, the text states...

On page 32, Avi wrote...

In the article "Eskimo Life"...

Line 6 of the poem states... 

After citing the text and adding a direct quote, explain how the text excerpt proves your answer is correct. This is a good time to elaborate and add your own thoughts. Really convince the reader with the information and commentary you provide in your answer!

To explain further, here is an example of a complete text-based response. Click on the image to enlarge. 

What makes this a thorough and convincing answer?

We restated the question in our answer.

We answered all parts of the question.

We cited text, adding a quote from paragraph 3.

We explained our answer and added our thoughts.

So, in other words, we are awesome.

But what else is new?

Here is the TBR assignment for this week. Read the story called "The Wink" (above) and then answer the questions completely in your notebook. Use the information on this page and in your notebook to guide you. Edit your response as needed. Make sure words are spelled correctly, sentences are capitalized, and you remember all parts of the R.A.C.E. writing strategy. Then type it up and send it to me by Friday. 

Thanks,

You've Got the Power!

This week we're SUPER excited to learn about the SUPER Power of Ten! Using exponents is an efficient way to write numbers that have a few too many zeeeeeros.

Here are the vocabulary words for this lesson: 

powers of ten

base number 

exponent

The exponent (or power) tells us how many zeros are in the number when the base number is 10. 

The image below has a place for everything with everything in its place. The base can be any whole number, but today we are only focusing on the POWERS of TEN!

The number above really means 10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000.

(exponent of 3 = 3 zeros)

Multiplying with powers of ten is SUPER fun! When multiplying a whole number by a power of ten, just count how many zeros you have and attached that to the whole number! If you use exponents, they'll tell you how many zeros you need. Just ask 'em.

Now for DIVISION...

The video below will explain how to use the power of ten to quickly divide numbers. The SUPER cool thing is that you can do all of this in your head. 

Dividing a number makes it smaller. When dealing with powers of ten, you just move the decimal to calculate your answer. In class today we remembered that a whole number has an invisible decimal on its right.

8.

As it says in your math book, when you multiply or divide by powers of 10, you just change the location of the decimal point. you can multiply by powers of 10 simply by moving the decimal point to the right the number of places shown by the exponent on the 10 (or the number of zeros in the power of 10, if written out). when dividing, move the decimal point to the left the number of places shown by the power of 10. remember that the decimal point is always located after the ones place, so in the whole number 23, the decimal point is located after the 3 ones.

Here is our notebook page from this week. You can click on any image on this page to enlarge it. Please make sure your notebook is up to date before next Tuesday!

If you were unable to complete the 5.NBT.2 Quick Check today, here it is! You can k-mail your answers to me. 

Have a SUPER evening!

Why is Math Different Now?

Confused by the way your child's math lessons are explained? Is it different from the way you learned math as a child?  I bet you use more efficient algorithms to solve problems.  Trust me, I'm right there with you. As a teacher, I've had to learn to look at math in a different way. Many times I find myself saying "Aha!" And this is after 18 years of teaching! What was once abstract, now has new meaning. These days, students are learning to visualize and explain these concepts by drawing pictures, breaking numbers down and writing about their findings. 

Here is a wonderful video explaining why students are learning math in a different way now.

Work together to understand this new way of thinking about math. I bet you will have Aha! moments right along with your child.

December is Here

Here is our December class calendar!

Check your k-mail for a printable version.

[click on the calendar to enlarge]

What do you like most about December?

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

November Author's Chair

What fun I had today in Class Connect! I love your stories, poems, and projects! 

Here are the writing samples shared today.

River's Eye 
by EvaKay

I sit beside my river's eye

and try to fly

but every time I sit

I sigh and cry

and I try to fly again.

Elevator Quick Write

by Alexyz

I was riding on an elevator when...

It suddenly got stuck and the lights went off, but I had a flashlight so I wasn't scared. As I waited for 1 hour, I started to see ghosts and monsters in the elevator. An hour later, the elevator turned back on and went up. I was still seeing things and thought a Dinosaur was chasing me. When I got out, I ran out...

Elevator Quick Write

by Bethany

I was riding in an elevator when...

All of the sudden, it stopped. I freaked and my mom said, "It's probably just like the one at Tyler Tech, and it stops at the end." 

  "But we are at the top. I said. We are stuck." 

  "At least I have snacks."

  "Really how could you think of eating at a time like this."

  "Don't worry, we are gonna get out."

  "Don't worry, Don't worry, How could I not worry. We're stuck in an elevator!"

November Brainstorm

by Mrs. Sol's Class

World War II Normandy

By Jacob

Preparing for the invasion of the beaches at Normandy.

During world war II the Allies put together a campaign to trick the enemy troops into thinking that they where going to Pas de Calais. They used inflatable vehicles to deceive photo recognizance. They also used a tool to make the tank tracks and transmitted fake troop and supply movements. The Alli troops also led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were were potential invasion targets.

Weather delay in the beach invasion.

 

General Eisenhower chose the date of June 5, 1944 to invade the beaches of Normandy, but a storm hit and the invasion was delayed for 24 hours. When General Eisenhower gave the orders to invade the beaches he told the troops, “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.” The campaign consisted of 5,000 ships carrying troops and supplies and 11,000 aircraft.

Storming the beach.

Early in the morning of June 6th thousands of paratroopers took over bridges and exit roads. The allies took over several beaches prior to the landing at Normandy. US forces faced heavy defenses at Omaha Beach. Over 2,000 Americans lost their lives at that beach. Around 4,000 allied troops died that  day. The Germans were confused still thinking there was going to be an invasion at Pas de Calais. The German Commander Rommel was away on leave and Hitler refused to send help. By the end of June allied forces had marched across much of France.   

Victory in Normandy.

Late August of 1944 the allied troops liberated Paris which prevented Hitler from sending more troops to France. In May of 1945 The allies accepted Nazi Germany Surrender and claimed Victory over the German troops.

If you are in a writing mood and need a creative prompt, check out Scholastic Story Starters!

www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters

Book Report projects coming soon!

Haiku Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

[grades 6-9]

Newsela

Today we tried using Newsela as a class. Hopefully everyone has an account now. If not, make sure you register before reading this month's article.

The article we are reading this month is 

Taking care of bear problems at Yosemite.

Click here to read the article and answer the questions:

https://newsela.com/articles/yosemite-animals/id/5250/

Let me know if you have questions!

R.A.C.E. to English Class!

Oh, how happy I am to be your English Language Arts teacher! This week was fun for many reasons. First, our Word of the Week was superlative which is a super over-the-top word. Remember to use the word superlative in conversation or in writing in the next seven days!

[Click any image on this page to enlarge it.]

Click here for an "super" interactive root tree like the one above.

Another cool thing about Language Arts this week was learning how to answer text-based questions thoroughly. We learned a handy "recipe" for making sure our answer is complete and convincing. 

Here is an example...

[If you'd like to print R.A.C.E. strategy information, sample text, and a rubric, click here]

Every month we will practice our text-based responses, so by the end of the year you'll all be experts! This skill will come in handy in all courses from now, through college... and beyond.

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Here is a peek at my ELA Notebook. 

The ELA printables should be added, along with your "Word Work" activity.

Homework Due 11/19/14:

• Sign up for a Newsela account (check k-mail for our class code).
• Watch this R.A.C.E. Strategy presentation on Prezi. Read through the information and enlarge the text as needed (the zoom icon is on the right). Answer the questions thoroughly in your ELA Notebook. 

In Honor of Our Veterans

This Veterans Day, Mrs. Sol's Class would like to honor the brave soldiers in our lives...

Mr. Sol

Lacie's cousin Tyler

Willis Cutler, U.S. Navy

"Andrew wanted to send in a picture of his Great-Grandpa Bill for Veteran's Day. Willis Cutler (Bill) served in the Navy during World War II. His stories are amazing and we are grateful that he is still with us today."

Ed Philips, U.S. Navy

J.C., U.S. Marine Corps

"Here is a picture of Olivia and her cousin J.C. He is an active Marine currently stationed in Hawaii. He has been sent on tour to Iraq once and Afghanistan three times. His last trip to Afghanistan some of his platoon stepped on a IED. He luckily wasn't hurt badly and was honored for his bravery and helping his platoon. He is our family hero."

On Veteran’s Day we honor

Soldiers who protect our nation.

For their service as our warriors,

They deserve our admiration.

Some of them were drafted;

Some were volunteers;

For some it was just yesterday;

For some it’s been many years;

We owe so much to them,

Who keep us safe from terror,

So when you see a uniform,

Please say "thank you" to the wearer.

 If you would like to salute a military veteran in your family, send his or her name and photo to me via k-mail or e-mail this week and I will add them to our honor page!

Thank you for your service.

Math Dojo: Multiplication of Fractions with Scaling

Here is another look at Multiplication of Fractions with Scaling. Enjoy!

Math Dojo: 5.NF.5 from Mrs. Sol

Would you rather have 4 Oreos, or 4 x 1/4 Oreos?

This week in math we are learning how to predict the outcome of a multiplication problem by looking at the factors. When fractions are involved it's easy to decide if the product will be greater than or less than the original number.

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If you would like to watch a very helpful video about this concept, go to Learn Zillion and type the code below into the search box.

Code: LZ3401

Here is another look at my notebook pages from this lesson. Check your work to make sure your answers are correct and your notebook is complete. You can click on the images to enlarge them.

If you were not able to finish your Quick Check in class, please k-mail your answers to me. I need a completed 5.NF.5 Quick Check from every student by Friday!

Many of your answers for the last question made me giggle. Here are a few of my favorites (click on the images to enlarge)...

What about Oreo cookies? 

Would you rather have 4 Oreos or 4 x 1/4 Oreos? 

(milk included)

Mmmmm... Orrrreeeeeeos...