This morning we went to East Wake Middle School!

The students were led around the school by 7th and 8th graders.  The East Wake students showed them around the school and gave them an idea of what their day will look like next year.  Our students did a really fantastic job.  They represented their school well by being quiet and respectful when others were talking, they raised their hands when they had questions, and they waited on our bus patiently.  Just wonderful.

 

We got back in the afternoon, and had just enough time to do a round of math centers.  Tonight students have some math centers to finish up.  They *must* do this one:

Equivalent Fractions Level 1

 

They then must pick *TWO* from the following list.  I encourage them to do the ones they feel they need the most work on:

Division Level 1

DpomoaLevel1

OOPS level 1

PricesLevel1

Shopping station level 1

 

Also a reminder that field trip forms for our Durham Bulls expedition as well as the $15.00 are due this Friday.  Please get them in at your earliest convenience.  Also if you are interested in being a chaperone on the field trip, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail.  I’ll be sending home another reminder letter about all of this tomorrow.

Another reminder: Friday is early release!  School will end at 12:30.

 

 

so, tl;dr

Do this station:

Equivalent Fractions Level 1

Pick TWO of the following to do:

Division Level 1

DpomoaLevel1

OOPS level 1

PricesLevel1

Shopping station level 1

 

And read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Tomorrow is our field trip to East Wake Middle School!  We will get a tour of the school and students will be able to see what a day in their lives will look like next year.  I’m looking forward to seeing what they learn from their trip, and what their thoughts will be afterwards.

 

 

Long time no update!

I apologize for my lack of updates last week.  I was away at a training sponsored by the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.  I went to create an update my first night, and realized that I had left all of my files with the substitute.  Pretty embarrassing.

 

This morning I came in and read an absolutely glowing review from the substitute.  Aside from a bit of talking (this is a VERY talkative group), she had great things to say about students doing what they were supposed to and staying on task.

This morning we spent a good amount of time talking about fractions, and especially about equivalent fractions.  We discussed the multiplicative identity property, which states that we can multiply anything by 1, and still have our original value.  We can use this property to our advantage for finding equivalent fractions.

For example I can take any fraction, and multiply it by a form of one.  The answer must be an equivalent fraction:

 

1/2 * 2/2 = 2/4

1/2 = 2/4

3/5 * 4/4 = 12/20

3/5 = 12/20

 

We took some notes on this as well:

Fraction_Notes_March14

 

We then finished up our center rotations from last week that we didn’t get to.  The students are doing a much better job working independently at centers.  I was quite impressed.  Tonight students have a deceptively large amount of work, but if they were on task last week during center times, they should just be putting the finishing touches on last week’s work:

First, fill in this map with the names of the 13 original colonies.  Part of this assignment is finding a map in their social studies book or finding this information in another reference.

All of these colonies eventually became states.  Each state has an abbreviation.  For example, North Carolina is NC.  They should put the abbreviation for each state on this map as well.

Map_of_Thirteen_Colonies

 

Next, students have some reading to do and a worksheet on clouds to finish:

Cloud_Worksheet

 

They also have two worksheets on idioms, as well as nouns and proper nouns, to finish:

idiom-test-1

common-and-proper-nouns-and-capitalization-worksheet

 

Finally, they have some writing prompts.  They should pick *one* of these, and respond:

Writing_Prompts

 

At the end of the day we had some time in the computer lab to finish up our visual poems.  These are starting to look quite good.  Students did a great job while I was gone figuring out how to use some of the tools in a word processor, and their poems have obviously taken them some time.

 

so, tl;dr

Finish these 5 centers from last week:

Cloud worksheet

Cloud_Worksheet

Label this map with the names of the colonies, and the state abbreviations:

Map_of_Thirteen_Colonies

Figurative Language – Idioms:

idiom-test-1

Grammar – capitalization:

common-and-proper-nouns-and-capitalization-worksheet

Write!

Writing_Prompts

 

And of course, read read read

 

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Please remember tomorrow is an early release day.  School will end at 12:30.  

 

Picture day!

We took our pictures today after a quick recess.  Nobody fell in the mud or messed up their hair *too* much, so we will call it a success.

 

This morning we began practicing our center rotations.  We did this by practicing with different centers in our groups and rotating the centers around the room instead of the students.

We had a talk about centers, and that centers are an opportunity to figure things out.  Students should always work together at centers, and their goal should be to come away from centers understanding each concept better than when they first got there.  They are not racing to finish a center, or trying to do work by themselves.  We talked about how helping others to understand in our group will actually help us to understand concepts better.

Things went quite well, and I only had to give a few gentle reminders to some students to stay on task.  Many students did a wonderful job assigning roles and jobs to themselves and others in their groups, and working together to accomplish things.

We also learned and played a lot of the 24 game today.  The 24 game is a game in which you are given 4 numbers, and you must use all 4 numbers in an equation of your own design that equals 24.

For example, if I gave you the numbers:

2      4      2        6

One possible answer might be: 2 ÷ 2 x 4 x 6 = 24

 

Tonight in math students have 2 division problems to do (again showing me what is happening on each line), and also 6 riddle-type order of operations problems.  They should look at each of 6 equations, and determine where they would need to put parenthesis in order to get the given answer.

For example if I were to say something like:

6 – 3 x 2 = 6

If I were to normally evaluate this equation, I would do the most powerful operation first (multiplication) and end up with 6 – 6 = 6

This is obviously incorrect.  I need to look at the problem and think about where I might put parenthesis so that the answer to my equation will be 6 instead of 0.  One way to do this is to simply try different operations first, and see what you get.  Another way is to work backwards along the equation.  If I know I want an answer of 6, and I see that I multiply by 2, can I make what comes before that into a 3?  In this case I can, because 6-3 = 3.  Therefore, I want to do that first.   This way my equation will evaluate into a simple 3 x 2.   I put my parenthesis around 6-3 in order to get that:

(6 – 3) x 2 = 6

MathHomeworkMarch3

We also talked briefly about the two pictures of the Boston Massacre.  Tonight students should write me a paragraph detailing which picture they think to be more true to the events that happened that day.  Does A tell the better story, or does B?  And why do you believe this?  There is no right or wrong answer here, as long as the student’s reasoning holds up.

A

B

We ended our day with some time in the computer lab working on Lexia and IXL.  IXL is especially interesting, as any time the students gets a question incorrect, it gives the student an explanation for why their answer was incorrect, and how to do the problem correctly.  Some students read these explanations carefully, and they quickly figure things out.  Other students simply skip the explanations and continue making the same mistakes.

We will have to have a talk about this.  Some students need it stressed how important it is to learn from our mistakes.  We should be doing our best to figure things out, and not working to simply get things ‘done’ as quickly as possible.

 

 

so, tl;dr

Figure out where some parenthesis should go to make given answers.  Also do two division problems.

MathHomeworkMarch3

Tell me whether you think Picture A or Picture B on page 286-287 of your social studies textbook is more likely to represent what really happened.  WHY do you think that?  (about a paragraph!)

 

And read!

 

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Tomorrow is Class Picture day!!

Our class picture time is right after our recess time tomorrow…

I foresee our class picture being…interesting.

 

This morning we looked at two different depictions of the Boston Massacre.  We looked at Paul Revere’s famous engraving, and we also looked at a painting done by a professional painter based on testimony given at the trial of the soldiers involved.  The two depictions are quite different.  We talked about how this shows two contrasting points of view over the same event.

 

Tonight students should look at these two depictions, and come up with 3 similarities, and 4 differences between them.  Tomorrow we’ll look at these similarities and differences, and talk about what they might tell us about points of view surrounding the boston massacre.  The pictures are on pages 286-287 of their social studies textbook.

As part of our small groups this morning, we also read some actual testimony from one of the troops from that day.  His story was quite different from that depicted in Paul Revere’s engraving.  Which of them is correct?   Which of them shows the least bias?  These are questions we will be exploring tomorrow.

Recount Boston Massacre

Tonight students should also finish the last 4 vocab squares for the last 4 words in our vocab list!

 

 

In Math today we started talking about the Order of Operations.  We talked about how the order in which we perform operations is guided by one main idea:  We do the most powerful operations first, followed by the least powerful, unless we are explicitly told otherwise.  The way we would be explicitly told otherwise is if parts of an equation were put into parenthesis.

We took some notes on this, and did quite a few examples.  Tonight students have 4 division problems to solve using the standard algorithm as well as 4 problems to answer using their new-found knowledge of order of operations.

OrderOfOperationsNotes_Examples

Math_HomeworkMarch2

 

 

 

so, tl;dr

Look at the two pictures of the Boston massacre in your social studies textbook (p 286-287) and come up with 3 similarities and 4 differences between them.  Write these down.

 

Do the last 4 vocab squares from our vocab list

TractVocabList

 

Answer these math problems.  Each division problem should state what is going on for each line and should be checked with multiplication.

OrderOfOperationsNotes_Examples

Math_HomeworkMarch2

 

 

And read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Today we finally finished the Night Gardener!

It was a truly fantastic book, with an interesting story, lots of great cliff-hangers, and a satisfying ending.  Ask your student about it!

 

This morning we got a good amount done, and finished a full round of rotations.

We read some more about the events leading up to the revolutionary war, and how the U.S. and Great Britain were not exactly getting along.  Tonight students have some questions to answer about yesterday’s reading.

Declaration_Of_Independence_Questions

 

We talked about the standard algorithm for division in small groups, and the majority of students are really starting to understand how this algorithm works, and relate it to all of our work with the play money.

Tonight students have four problems to do.  Just like yesterday, they should explain what is going on for each line.  I know this may seem a bit much to some, but our goal is for students to UNDERSTAND what they are doing.  Simply saying first do this, then this, then this, without any actual underlying understanding, is a waste of their time.

37.4 ÷ 2

1.41 ÷ 3

41.6 ÷ 5

310.4 ÷  2

And in case you need them, here are yesterday’s notes for this:

Stand_Alg_Notes_Feb29

 

 

Students should also do the next three words on their vocab list:

TractVocabList

 

Today many students had to re-do their vocab squares.  Many had used the definition of contract as an agreement between parties, or the document that is signed.  On our vocab list we are using contract as a verb, meaning to become smaller/shorter/narrower, etc.  They should pay close attention tonight to ensure they are using the word in the correct way as indicated by the vocab list!

 

so, tl;dr

Answer questions about the events leading up to the revolutionary war:

Declaration_Of_Independence_Questions

Do some division problems, stating what is going on for each line:

37.4 ÷ 2

1.41 ÷ 3

41.6 ÷ 5

310.4 ÷  2

Finish the next 3 vocab squares:

TractVocabList

 

and read!

 

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

Happy Leap Day!

So today we played a bunch of catch-up.  Having to catch-up from the previous week is not exactly where I would like to be, but that’s what happens when you have an ice-cream party on Friday!

We started our morning talking about our upcoming visual poems.  Students will be creating a poem that they form into the shape of something.  We looked at quite a few examples, and students got some time to start on theirs.  We are going to start with writing these out ourselves on paper, and then finally we are going to type these up.

Rough drafts (on paper) are due Wednesday.

We also got a new vocab list, and the first 3 vocab squares are due tomorrow.

abstract (as an adjective)

attract (as a verb)

contract (also as a verb)

Next we talked just a bit about the revolutionary war and the reasons leading up to it.  Tonight students have a short text to read and summarize, talking about this topic.  They should summarize the selection and answer this question:

What events prompted Jefferson to write the declaration of independence?

Declaration_Of_Independence

In Math today we took some very detailed notes on what exactly is going on when we are performing the standard algorithm for division.  Tonight students should follow these notes EXACTLY and write down what is going on for each line of the standard algorithm for these 4 problems:

64 ÷ 4 =

75 ÷ 2 =

1.5 ÷ 3 =

9.6 ÷ 4 =

They should notice we follow a pattern as we divide:

1.  divide up (hand out parts to each group)

2.  see what we have left

3.  break what we have left into smaller parts

And repeat from 1!

Here are the notes in case they need a reminder (Although this should be in their math journal)

Stand_Alg_Notes_Feb29

Students also received a folder chock-full of pamphlets, information, and order forms.  We have our class pictures this Thursday, the 3rd.  We also received our permission form for our field trip to East Wake Middle School on the 15th.  Please take a look at these, and return the permission form at your earliest convenience.

so, tl;dr

First three vocab squares:

abstract (as an adjective)

attract (as a verb)

contract (also as a verb)

Write a summary and answer what events prompted Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence

Declaration_Of_Independence

Answer these 4 questions using the standard algorithm, using the example from their notes to state what is happening at each step of the process:

64 ÷ 4 =

75 ÷ 2 =

1.5 ÷ 3 =

9.6 ÷ 4 =

Stand_Alg_Notes_Feb29

And as always, read!

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

Very sorry about no update yesterday.  I had a wonderful day dealing with a kidney stone.  Every trip to the bathroom is going to be an adventure for a little bit.

 

Tomorrow is Friday!  This means quizzes!  it also means we have our multiplication/jewel celebration.  Students will get to have some goodies based on how well they have done on their multiplication fact quizzes.

 

This morning we started talking about the revolutionary war and the colonies’ road to independence.  This will bring us back eventually to talking about government and how the U.S. came by its current system.

We had to have quite a few side-conversations where we talked about how taxes are used and why governments need to tax their citizens in order to provide public services.  Most students didn’t know how schools, or roads, or the government was paid for.  It’s paid for by everybody!

Tonight students have a short reading about the causes leading up to the revolutionary war and some questions to answer about them. As always, I expect reasoning.

Revolutionary_War_Beginnings

 

In science we introduced the idea of wind patterns and how they can drive our understanding of how weather functions.  Tomorrow our quiz is on this, mixed with review from last week’s talk about clouds.  Make sure you know this stuff!

Tonight students have another reading on air patterns and some questions to answer.  Again – REASONING!

Air Patterns

 

Finally we did a little bit of review of the standard algorithm for division.  Students have another short set of problems to do tonight using the standard algorithm.  They should also check each problem using multiplication.  Tomorrow’s quiz is on this…

8 ÷ 5 =

6 ÷ 4 =

26 ÷ 5 =

79 ÷ 4 =

 

Finally we had students form Ms. Sweet’s 3rd grade class visit us.  They had been working on inferencing and made little poems that were quite similar to our kennings.  We got into pairs and shared our poems and tried to guess each other’s topics.  It was a lot of fun, and there was a good bit of head-scratching going on.

 

so, tl;dr

Revolutionary war questions

Revolutionary_War_Beginnings

Air pattern questions

Air Patterns

division using standard algorithm and CHECKED WITH MULTIPLICATION

8 ÷ 5 =

6 ÷ 4 =

26 ÷ 5 =

79 ÷ 4 =

and as always, read!

 

Quizzes tomorrow, so make sure you know your stuff, including your vocab.

Also jewel/multiplication celebration tomorrow, so make sure all of your homework is done so you can participate!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

I am very sorry about no update yesterday.  The FTP server for the website went down and I couldn’t actually upload anything.

 

So today we had this FANTASTIC discussion about government.  We talked about the different types of government, and who is ‘in charge’ in the different types.

This led us to a discussion of laws, and who really makes the laws in our country.  We also did a neat little thought experiment where we talked about whether it is ever ok to break a rule, or break a law.  We imagined we were young adults with kids of our own, and what we would do for them.  Ask your student about it!

 

Tonight students have a small passage to re-read, and a few questions to answer.  Yes, I expect reasoning!

Types_Of_Government

 

Students should also do vocabulary squares for the next 3 words on our vocabulary list.  Our list so far is:

accessible

accessory

concede

exceed

intercede

precede

 

 

In math today we took a good amount of notes, and talked again about the standard algorithm for dividing.

Stand_Alg_Notes

It is extremely important that students are thinking about what they are doing in their heads as they perform this algorithm.  Not only will this deepen their understanding of the process and  division in general, it will also help them avoid simple mistakes.  If they are saying in their head “Next I divide my 20 tenths into 4 equal groups” they aren’t going to put your answer into the hundredths place.

We also talked about how every division problem is just a fraction waiting to happen.  For instance…

2 ÷10  =  2/10

3 ÷ 10 = 3/10

9 ÷ 10 = 9/10

We then proved this with some of the standard algorithm.

Tonight students have 4 division problems to do.  They should attempt these using the standard algorithm.  However if they feel more comfortable doing them with money, that is a fine place to start.

19 ÷ 5 =

31 ÷ 4 =

3 ÷ 4 =

9 ÷ 10 =

No remainders here!  We know how to work with decimals!

 

so, tl;dr

Types of government:

Types_Of_Government

Next 3 words on vocab list

Four division problems using the standard algorithm

19 ÷ 5 =

31 ÷ 4 =

3 ÷ 4 =

9 ÷ 10 =

And read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

 

 

 

Tomorrow is the last day to turn in pictures or picture money.  (The multi-year pictures that were sent home two weeks ago)

 

Today was a bit of an odd day.  We were extremely talkative.  This isn’t too out of the ordinary, but no amount of reminders seemed to get us back down to Earth.  We just couldn’t be trusted to follow directions.  It was pretty bizarre honestly!

 

In Language Arts today we finished up work on our Kenning poems and also took a look at our vocab squares.  Tonight students should FINISH their Kenning, and also finish the last five vocab squares.

They should be getting the definition, synonym, antonym, and sentences from a book, dictionary, thesaurus, the internet, or from parents.  They should not be coming up with these on their own.  The only thing that is their original thought is the picture they draw depicting the vocabulary word.

The next five words are:

disruption

erupt

interrupt

interruption

rupture

 

In Science we talked a good deal about clouds, and how clouds are named.  We discovered there are three ‘main’ types of clouds:

stratus clouds: low clouds that form long layers

cumulus clouds: puffy, cartoon-like clouds that are also low

cirrus clouds: wispy, thin clouds that usually occur much higher in the atmosphere

 

We took some cotton balls and made our own clouds on paper today.  We also somehow got into a discussion about how the sky is or is not blue.  Yeah, that discussion was just as confusing as it sounds.

 

In Math we began discussing the standard algorithm for performing long division.  Essentially the standard algorithm is simply a short cut for everything we have been doing with the banker and boss game.  It isn’t Earth-shattering, but it will take a bit of practice for students to get down exactly what is going on without using the manipulatives.

Students got a print-out and they took some notes on it as well.

DIV_Stand_Alg_Notes

Tonight students have a single division problem to do.  They should do this with their play money (with an adult!) and then also do it using the standard algorithm.

The problem they should do is:

56 ÷ 4

Again, they should do this two different ways – with play money, and then using the standard algorithm.  Students should have their helper adult sign the bottom of their math page.

 

 

so, tl;dr

Tomorrow is quiz day, so be ready for them!

Finish vocab squares for entire vocab list

Finish Kenning poem

Do a single division problem TWO ways – with play money with an adult helper, and then also using the standard algorithm.  Get adult to sign the paper please

 

And as always, read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

I have an appointment, so I’m sorry but this is going to be rather rushed….

 

This morning we talked about how we will be doing vocabulary four squares with our vocab lists.  Basically they are going to fill a page for each word.  They should split each page into 4 equal parts and fill them as follows:

Top left: The word, it’s definition, a synonym, and an antonym

Top right: Three sentences using the word.  These must be taken from a dictionary/book/internet/parents, etc.  This is because we want them to be used correctly

Bottom Left: nothing yet!

Bottom right: a simple picture that helps define the word

 

Here’s the first example we did of abrupt: Vocab Square Example

Tonight students should do the next 4 words in our list…..

Vocab list:

abrupt

bankrupt

corrupt

corruptible

disrupt

 

In Mathematics we did a good amount of review and took some more multiplication quizzes.

Tonight students have 3 more problems to do just like last night.  They should get these done with a parent/guardian/older brother/sister, etc.  And they should use their play  money!  Also if you would, please sign the bottom of the page saying you did them.

$10 paid to 4 employees

$12 paid to 5 employees

$3 paid to 6 employees

 

 

So, tl;dr

vocab squares for first 5 words on the vocab list

3 problems to be done with play money with an adult:

$10 paid to 4 employees

$12 paid to 5 employees

$3 paid to 6 employees

and read!!

 

Sorry to be so rushed today,

-Mr. Potter