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‘Snowball’ Fight!

Yeah-yeah…I know it doesn’t snow in the Cayman Islands, but that shouldn’t stop us from having a snowball fight, should it? So, needless to say, once I decided on doing this winter activity, I was then left with the problem of how in the world would I get snow to Cayman? Hmmm…ehhh…forget the snow, we could use paper instead! AND! To make this an educational experience, on the paper, each student would be required to write 3 things about themselves. They had to use as many descriptive words as possible, without being ‘too’ obvious. You see, the object was to not only practice our adjectives, but to also learn a little something more about each other. So, after they described themselves, they had to crush up their paper into a ball, add it into our sorting tub and then choose a random ‘snowball’.The scene was set. With a handful of snow…errr…paper, they aimed and THREW their snowballs at each other. After about 3 minutes, they had to cease fire, find a ball, take their seats and read out loud the clues that they held in their hands. Then it was time to see if they could correctly guess who these clues were written by. Needless to say, we had loads of fun, with many requests to have more ‘snowball’ fights and even relate it to other subjects. (For example, one student suggested we write clues about Central America (that’s what we’re covering now in Social Studies) and see if we can guess which country is described on the paper). Don’t you just love it when your children become super excited about school? 🙂

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Multiplying by 2-Digit Numbers

Dear Parents,Yesterday, we began Chapter 7 in math. This chapter deals with multiplying by 2-digit numbers. Since this is a very new concept for most of the class, we also reviewed it today. Please take the time with your child this week just to discuss this concept and get him/her to review the steps that we learnt in class on how to solve these multiplication questions.The steps that we learnt are:1. Multiply the 1’s side.2. Add your Life Saver or Place Saver ‘0’.3. Multiply the 10’s side.4. Add.The more practice that all of them receive, the easier it will become. I also found an extremely helpful multiplication video that they kids enjoyed watching. Please log on to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8m0NalQtEk and watch this with your child.Thanks for your continued support. If you have any questions or concerns, please email or see me.Sincerely,Ms. Suckoo

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Stone Fox Book Report

‘Stone Fox’

1.      Review ‘Stone Fox’ and any notes, quizzes or journal entries that you have completed.

2.      Create a ‘book jacket’ book report. Fold a large sheet of white paper so that it looks like a book jacket. Create a cover for your book jacket that illustrates the novel. On the inside flap, write a description of the main character. On the inside back flap, write 3 journal entries as the character. Then, on the back cover, write a detailed summary of the story.

3.      Be sure to create your own pictures, and not use the same picture that is on the front of the book.

4.      Write your own summary of ‘Stone Fox’.

·         In the first paragraph, state the title and author of the book.

·         Look for main ideas. What big, important events happened during the story?

·         Talk about the main characters. Who were they? Why did they do what they did? How did they change through the course of the book? What made you like or dislike them as you read?

·         Talk about turning points and the climax of the book.

·         Describe other important details. When and where (in what setting) did the story take place?

·         Give your opinion of the book. Was it good? What about the book made it good or bad, powerful or dull? You can and should use examples from the book to back up your claims.

5.      Have fun making your book report!

 

You will be graded on content, creativity and presentation. See the rubric for what to include. Please see me if you have any additional questions.

 

The book report is due on Friday, January 27, 2012.

 

Sincerely,

Ms. Suckoo

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Objectives and Homework for January 16-20, 2012

Stone Fox: – We will be finishing up Stone Fox this week. Continue to ask your child questions about what we have read each day and get them to summarize it.Homework: Book Report DUE January 27. (We will be working on the summary draft in class on Friday.)

Spelling Homework – Study spelling words for test on Friday. 
– Please note that I’m not sending home any spelling homework this week since everyone is busy finalizing their science fair projects. However, they will get time in class to complete their spelling pages. Please check with your child to ensure that they are studying their spelling words. 

Math – Multiply a whole number by a multiple of 10. (Example 22 x 40) – Estimate products by rounding. (Example 22 x 36 will round to 20 x 40)– Solve problems by using the act it out’ strategy.– Students will be given additional time to practice using Mathletics and http://www.quia.com/mathjourney.html. We will also be playing various math games to increase students fluency and speed in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.Homework – Study for 4x Tables quiz on Friday. – Tuesday: Page 120 Wingo 1-5, Francesco 1-10, Lightning 1-15– Thursday: Page 121 Wingo: 1-5, Francesco: 1-7, Lightning: 1-12Science: – Science Fair on Friday, January 20.Social Studies – Identify at least 3 facts about Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica.– Discuss the links between Central America and the Cayman Islands.– Identify at least 3 of our neighbors to the north,– Recognize that Cuba is our neighbor and discover our links with them.Homework: – Short research paper on the effects of Hurricane Mitch. Due Thursday, January 19. (See handout.)Bible – Understand that the Holy Spirit convicts. .Homework: – Study Bible Verse for Friday. (Parents, please encourage your child to study and memorize his/her Bible verse. This counts towards their end of quarter Bible grade.)– Though he was in the form of God…he but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Phil. 2:6-7 (shortened)

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Objectives and Homework for January 9 – 13, 2012

English – Recognize the different forms of the verb ‘be’.– Form contractions using verbs and the word ‘not’.Homework: Monday – Page 54– Wednesday- Page 56Stone Fox: – We began a new class novel last week so we will continue our reading. The class will have weekly chapter quizzes to ensure they are comprehending what we are reading, so be sure to check up on your child. Ask you child who the main characters are and to summarize what we read each week.

Spelling Homework – Study spelling words for test on Friday.
– Tuesday: Page 88
– Thursday: Page 89 

Math – Choose the best strategy to solve problems.– Multiply a multi-digit number by a 1-digit number.– Multiply 2-digit numbers with 0 by a 1-digit number.– Prepare for a Chapter 6 Test for Monday, 16th January.

– Students will be given additional time to practice using Mathletics and http://www.quia.com/mathjourney.html. We will also be playing various math games to increase students fluency and speed in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Homework – Study for 4x Tables quiz on Friday. – Tuesday: Page 113– Wednesday: Page 115 – All and Wingo: Page 116 1-6, Francesco: Page 116 1-10, Lightning: Page 116 1-15– Thursday: Wingo: Page 117, Francesco: Page 118 1-10, Lightning: Page 118 1-17Science: – Science Test on Chapter 6 on Monday, 9th January.Social Studies – Discover who are Central American Neighbors are.– Identify 5 facts about Honduras.– Identify at least 3 facts about Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador.Homework: – Short research paper on the effects of Hurricane Mitch. Due Monday, 16th January. (See handout.)Bible – Explain the Holy Spirit’s workings using an illustration of the wind. – Listen critically and communicate.– Discover the power of the Holy Spirit.Homework: – Study Bible Verse for Friday. (Parents, please encourage your child to study and memorize his/her Bible verse. This counts towards their end of quarter Bible grade.)– The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

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Reach for the Stars!

In order to commemorate the New Year, we Reached for the Stars in art class today. By using water colors, Popsicle sticks, wax crays and glue, the kids all drew themselves climbing a ladder to reach the stars.

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.Harriet Tubman
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Hot Chocolate on a Chilly, Windy Day!

Ahhh…there’s nothing like a cup of hot chocolate to warm your toes and get those gears spinning in you head. Yesterday, we decided that we all needed some warming up after a nice lunch, so we enjoyed some hot chocolate while we read. This certainly hit the spot and helped to put us back in the Christmas spirit! 🙂

While his hot chocolate cooled, Donjae took an Accerelated Reader test.

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Objectives and Homework for January 3 – 6, 2012

English – Identify and write past tense verbs with helping verbs.– Write past tense forms of irregular verbs.Homework: Wednesday – Page 50– Thursday- Page 52Spelling Homework – There will be no spelling test this week. Spelling homework and tests will resume next week.Math – Multiply multiples of 10, 100 and 1,000 using basic facts and patterns.– Decide if an answer to a problem is reasonable.

– Estimate products by rounding.
 
– Multiply a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number.
 
– Students will be given additional time to practice using Mathletics and http://www.quia.com/mathjourney.html. We will also be playing various math games to increase students fluency and speed in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Homework – Tuesday: Wingo – Page 101 and 102 (questions 1-14), Francesco – Page 101 and 102 (questions 1-17) and Lightning Pages 101-102– Wednesday: Page 105– Thursday: Page 107Science: – Review Chapter 6 and discuss the Science Fair.Bible – Know that the Holy Spirit Empowers.– Discover ways that the Holy Spirit empowered different people in the Bible.Homework: – Study Bible Verse for Friday. (Parents, please encourage your child to study and memorize his/her Bible verse. This counts towards their end of quarter Bible grade.)– For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given…He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (shortened)

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Science Fair

Dear Students and Parents,It’s time to start work on our school’s Science Fair! The science fair will be held on January 20, 2012, so ample time has been scheduled so that students can complete the work at a comfortable pace.This is a major project and will represent a significant portion of your child’s grade for the next grading period(s). The primary objective of this project is to have students approach a problem scientifically. This includes: 

  1. Asking questions and forming hypotheses
  2. Creating experiments to test those hypotheses
  3. Organizing data and drawing conclusions
  4. Writing about scientific research

Students have selected their project topics and have been given handouts outlining the abstract and objectives.Students will be working in small groups of two or three. Each group member will be responsible for contributing equally to the project and keep up with the research. To encourage all group members to share equally in the work, grades will be given individually based on the amount of work they have contributed. Here are some ideas on how to divide up project tasks equally so everyone has something to add: 

1. Observations: This person is in charge of entering data on a regular basis.2. Scientific Paper: The Scientific Paper chronicles how the project evolved, how the research was done, the results, and conclusion. This paper must be typed or word processed.3. Display: This person will be responsible for organizing the display. This includes taking pictures or making sketches of the experimental process, gathering materials, building, and setting up the display for presentation and judging.

 

In order to do well on these individual tasks, all group members must be engaged in the project from the beginning and not wait until the last minute.

 

Project guidelines state that all work must be done by the students; however, assistance may be provided by teachers, parents, etc. It is very difficult to work alone without the exchange of ideas, so we encourage you to brainstorm with your child on different ideas your child may want to pursue.This is a school science fair, so prizes will be awarded to the group/groups with the best presentations.I am looking forward to working with you to make this a valuable learning experience for your child. I appreciate your support on this important project. As acknowledgement and part of your child’s homework, please sign, date, and return the bottom portion of this letter by January 6, 2012.Sincerely,Ms. Suckoo 

Here are some display board ideas to get you thinking:

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