Note: Students took home a stack of important papers today.  Please take a look at the APTT information, and note that our second APTT meeting is next Thursday, December 10th from 5:30 – 6:30 pm.  I know everyone has a very busy schedule, but I hope that you can attend.  I really appreciate you sacrificing your time to take an active role in your child’s education.  You have a tremendous impact on your student’s success.

 

I hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving!  I got to hear a lot of great stories today about everyone’s break.

 

We are almost out of time this quarter already!  There are only THREE weeks left until track-out, and only TEN DAYS until Case 21 testing begins!

IMPORTANT DATES:

Thurs, Dec 10th: Language Arts Case 21

Thurs, Dec 10th: APTT meeting # 2 5:30 – 6:30 PM

Fri, Dec 11th: Math Case 21

 

Tues, Dec 15th: Field Trip to North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

Wed, Dec 16th: Science Case 21

Friday, Dec 18th: Last day of 2nd quarter

We then have a LONG track-out, and don’t come back in until January 25th!

 

So, we are in crunch mode:

Today we spent some time looking at our writing and ensuring that tomorrow we have our best effort at a persuasive essay draft ready.

 

We have set these guidelines for our final draft (due tomorrow)

1.  One paragraph per page
2. Skip lines
3. Fix any problems your editing partner found
4. Due tomorrow!
5. Written in your writing journal

Tonight students should focus on getting that finished and ready for tomorrow!  I was very impressed with some students that even finished this over the holiday break.

 

We then spent a great deal of time talking about multiplying fractions.  In order to understand how multiplying fractions works, you need to understand how multiplication works, and what multiplication really means.

So something like 2 x 5 can mean:

2 groups of 5   ( two 5s) 5 + 5

or

5 groups of 2    (five 2s) 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2

 

Well multiplying fractions is no different.  Something like 1/3 x 1/3 means 1/3 of a group of 1/3.

Or more simply:

1/3 OF 1/3

 

We took some notes on this and then did a fair amount of examples together in their math journals.  Tonight students have four problems to do.  They should have brought their math journals home as reference, and I expect the students to utilize them!

For each problem I would like them to solve it two ways, essentially stressing how multiplication is commutative.  For example 2/3 x 1/4 can be thought of as 2/3 OF 1/4, or it could be thought of as 1/4 OF 2/3.  Both will give me equivalent answers.  Students should solve each of these problems both ways.

 

Here are the notes, and the problems:

MultiplyingFractionsNotesAndProblems

 

 

so, tl;dr

Finish your persuasive essay draft as best as you can!

 

And do these four problems!

MultiplyingFractionsNotesAndProblems

 

And read!!!!!

 

Try not to eat too many leftovers.

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

 

What a weird ‘week’

 

We are spending this week trying to fill in some gaps.  It’s hard to get much accomplished with just two days, so we are focusing on little things that often slip through the cracks.

 

For instance, this morning we started talking about how different pairs of numbers make ten.  This is extremely important as students can make good decisions about how to break numbers up to make them easier to work with.

For example something like 15 + 7 is really easy if you think about it as:

15 + (5 + 2)

15 + 5 = 20

20 + 2 = 22

We did a fun little game where we did these in rhythm.  We’ll probably be doing this every morning for a few minutes.

 

Next we spent a LOT of time working on our rough drafts.  I was fairly disappointed with how many students did not get these done over the weekend, as it was their homework.  Of 23 students, only 8 finished these and had them ready to edit.  Those that were finished got some free time, while those that did not do their homework worked on this.  Even given that time, however, many students did not finish.

Tonight students MUST get this rough draft finished.  We need to do peer editing tomorrow.  So tonight’s homework is simply this:

FINISH

YOUR

ROUGH

DRAFT

 

Those that did what they were supposed to (as in, did their rough draft over the weekend) only have to read tonight.

 

so, tl;dr

ROUGH DRAFT OF PERSUASIVE ESSAY

and read!

 

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

 

Woohoo another productive day!

We did have one unfortunate incident today but it wasn’t anyone in our class.  A third grader at the school went into a group’s garden and picked a tomato off of the vine that was not ripe.  I was on my way to pick up the students from specials when I saw this occur.  I took the student with me and had them explain to the class what they had done.  I will also be contacting the third grader’s parents.  The class was understandably upset.  All we can do is hope that it doesn’t happen again.

 

We spent our morning talking about writing persuasive pieces.  We went over our graphic organizer from yesterday, and talked about how our reasons should answer a question.  Specifically they should answer “Why should schools ban flavored milk?” or “Why shouldn’t schools ban flavored milk?”.  If they don’t do that, they’re not good reasons!  Our details then support that reason, explaining why it is a GOOD reason.

Students looked over their charts and decided whether they had good reasons or not, and we did some individual conferences.  Some students were told to go ahead and begin their rough drafts, but others still need to take a second look at their organizer.  The rough draft is due Monday.  That means students may work on it tonight if they would like, but the rough draft is not due until Monday.

 

Next we looked at our science questions and notes again.  Many of the students were able to answer the questions strictly from their notes.  I felt that it especially helped students to identify the main idea of the passage, which was also very encouraging.  We will continue to come up with notes and questions about the science passages that we read throughout the year.

 

In math today we talked really quick about the place value system, and students took some notes on how the value of a number is determined by its place in relationship to the decimal.  As you move to the left, we are increasing by a factor of ten.  It takes ten ones to make a ten.  It takes ten tens to make a hundred.  It takes ten hundreds to make a thousand, etc etc.

 

Next we did some subtraction problems using our play money again.  We did two very solid examples together, and students wrote them down.  Tonight students have two more problems to do, using the play money.  I have tasked them with wrangling a parent or guardian and forcing them to assist them with this homework.  They are supposed to get your signature on the homework as well.  Thank you for helping them!

 

When doing the problems, the parent/guardian will be the banker.  The student will be doing the work.  The banker will provide them with their starting value, and then provide them with change throughout the problem.  As the student works through the problem, they document what they are doing in short sentences.  There are two examples students have copied down and we did in class, and it should be fairly straightforward.  The examples are given with the homework (below) as well!

SubtractingWithAnAdult

If for some reason you do not have time tonight to help your student with this (it should take about 10 minutes) please simply write that on their paper and sign it.  I then ask that you please find 10 minutes this weekend and do the two problems with them, and they can turn it in on Monday.

 

 

so, tl;dr

Ensure your graphic organizer for your flavored milk persuasive essay is filled out well.  Feel free to begin writing your rough draft.  Rough draft is due Monday.

PersuasiveOrganizerAndExample

MilkArticles

 

Do these two problems (just as the examples) WITH A PARENT OR GUARDIAN.  Please parent or guardian, sign the paper, or simply sign saying you didn’t have time, and please do them this weekend.

SubtractingWithAnAdult

 

And read!

 

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

 

 

P.S.  Tomorrow night is movie night, and the PTA will be showing Inside Out in the Gym from 6:30 to 8:30.  Feel free to come out and watch what I hear is a great movie!

 

Three days where we got a lot done! yay!

 

This morning our morning math problem lead us on a long discussion of place value.  Many students are still not completely clear on place value, so we talked about if there is a difference in value between 0.3 and 0.30.  The answer is no.  Students still need to understand that a number’s value is based solely on it’s distance from the decimal point, and not how many zeroes appear in the number.

 

Many students become confused when they see things like 0.0400 and 0.04.  We are trying to focus on the fact that the numbers PLACE in relation to the decimal determines its VALUE.  Hence the term place value.

 

Next we talked about persuasive essays, and how good arguments are backed up by good facts and solid reasoning.  We looked at some examples and students began filling out a graphic organizer from which they will eventually write a persuasive essay focused on our chocolate milk debate.

There is an example essay on the back that they can use for ideas for structure and what reasons/details look like.  We also talked about how our details should explain WHY a point is a good reason to either eliminate or keep flavored milk.

PersuasiveOrganizerAndExample

 

Next we looked at our science notes again.  I am totally impressed with how quickly the students really took to this.  Students were given a sheet of questions for the passage on microbes they read and took notes on Monday, and tonight they should use their notes and see if they can use them to answer these.  Of course they may use the passage as well, but I’m hopeful that the notes should be sufficient.

MicrobeQuestions

 

Finally today we spent a good amount of time playing at banker.  We used play money in order to do a LOT of subtraction problems.  I was still not quite sure about how well some students are understanding this, so I did not feel comfortable giving them tonight’s math homework by the time we were finished.  Some students still need a bit more practice in the classroom.

Because of this, students will get math homework tomorrow.  It will likely involve me asking them to do today’s activity with a parent, so please indulge me in this tomorrow night if possible.

 

so, tl;dr

fill out this graphic organizer for a persuasive essay about flavored milk.  Use our articles for evidence as well as the chart you have already made.

PersuasiveOrganizerAndExample

 

Answer some questions (hopefully using the notes you took)

MicrobeQuestions

 

And read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

 

 

What a great day!

 

We got quite a bit done.  We started the day talking about the notes we took yesterday.  Overall, the students did a fantastic job with these last night.  Students had good notes about our passage, as well as questions that were answered by the notes they took.  We shared what we came up with as far as questions go, and the students were perfectly capable of answering the questions with the notes they took. Success!

Tonight students have another short passage to read, and then take notes in their science journal just as they did last night.  Once they have taken the notes, they should come up with questions for the left-hand side of the page, just like last night.

HumanLung

 

Next we revisited our discussion from last week about Chocolate Milk in school cafeterias.

We read two new articles about the debate, and then students were tasked with re-reading the articles, and adding to their chart of evidence/reasoning for or against banning chocolate milk.

Tonight if they have not finished, they should ensure they have at least five reasons for, and five reasons against banning chocolate milk.  Last week they needed to come up with 3 for each, so tonight should be pretty easy to find two more for each side of the argument.

ChocMilk2

 

This week we will be starting a persuasive essay, using the reasons and evidence we have found so far.  We will also begin talking about reasoning and logic.

 

At the end of the day we busted out our play money, and did a lot of work with subtraction, using manipulatives.  Our goal here is to understand what is going on with the standard algorithm.

Some of the students are perfectly capable of doing something like 1.00 – 0.72, but then asking them to explain why they crossed out numbers and wrote tens in certain places and such can be challenging.  Our goal is to give meaning to the process.

 

Tonight students have 2 problems to do USING THE PLAY MONEY.  They have been told expressly that they are forbidden from using the standard algorithm with these two problems.

They should use the play money to first deal themselves the starting value.  They then must exchange money with the bank (their math kit) in order to get their starting cash into a form that allows them to subtract the target amount.  Each time they perform an exchange, they must also write this down.

 

As always, there are examples!

SubtractionWithManipulatives

 

 

so, tl;dr

Read this passage, take notes!

HumanLung

Find two more points for each side of the flavored milk debate:

ChocMilk2

Do these two problems (USING THE MANIPULATIVES PLEAAASE)

SubtractionWithManipulatives

 

And read!

 

 

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

 

Today we talked a good bit about taking notes!

We discussed that the purpose of taking notes is to help us engage with the material and think about our own learning, what we are learning, and whether we truly understand it or not.

Personally I am a fan of the Cornell method for taking notes.  Essentially you break your paper into two columns.  You take notes on one column on your paper.  On the other column you come up with questions, that are answered by the notes you took.  This let’s students explicitly think about what they are learning and what kinds of questions their new-found knowledge can answer.

 

Together we read the first half of a passage about microorganisms together, and took notes in this manner.  This will serve as a good example to students and let them finish their homework tonight, which is to finish taking notes on the rest of the passage.  They should do this in their science journal just as we started the notes.  First they take notes on each section (in their own words, and focusing on just the ‘big ideas’) and then come up with questions in the left-hand column.  There is also a summary row at the bottom but they should *not* fill this out.

MicrobeNotes

MeetTheMicrobes

 

We then spent some time talking about our new vocabulary list!  The introduction of the list was met with many groans, boos, jeers, and general disdain.  I may or may not have laughed in a decidedly evil manner.  Tonight students should write a sentence using each word, and do their best to use each word correctly!

MissMitVocabList

 

For the second half of the day I had a 5th grade meeting, and the students spent some time with a substitute teacher, Ms. Petite.  Overall I got a pretty good report from Ms. Petite when I got back just now, so that was a good feeling 🙂

 

so, tl;dr

A lite night!

Take notes on the second half of our microbe passage (just as we did in class today) and come up with questions that go with your notes:

MicrobeNotes

MeetTheMicrobes

Write 10 sentences, one for each vocab word:

MissMitVocabList

 

And as always, read!  (we have had some issues with reading logs lately.  I simply can’t emphasize just how important it is that students read daily)

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

What a great day back!

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Please remember that tomorrow is the deadline to turn in the permission forms and money for the field trip to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.  Students who had not yet turned this in were given fresh copies today in case they were lost.

 

Also, tomorrow is electronics day!  For our jewel celebration, students may bring in a device to play on for the last 20 minutes of our day tomorrow.  Please be careful when bringing these in, as the school can not be held responsible for loss or damage.  I will have some small handheld games and laptops as well for students who chose not to bring in a device of their own.

 

 

 

We started off our day talking chocolate milk……

The students were asked if they would support the removal of chocolate milk from the cafeteria.  We had some VERY heated ‘discussion’ about this.  We then had a good conversation about how shouting our opinion over and over with no actual facts or reasoning to back it up……is not exactly conducive to a discussion.  😉

We watched some short videos talking about the chocolate milk debate, and the students got some more information:

sugar overload

No Chocolate Milk

Raise Your Hand

Tonight students have two articles to read concerning this debate.  They should then create a T-chart in their writing journal, and give me three points from each side of the debate.  These reasons should be facts taken straight from the articles, and *not* simply their own opinion.

MilkArticles

 

We then talked about the different organelles inside of a cell, and we came up with our own definitions for some of the organelles found in animal cells.

 

Finally, we talked about decimals, and addition and subtraction involving decimals.  We took out a LOT of play money, and sorted it as a class.  We came to the conclusion that if we are talking about decimals and decimal problems and using the money as something to help us visualize problems, we only need the 10s, 1s, dimes (tenths) and pennies (hundredths).

Finally we did a few problems together as practice.  We talked again about how when we break down a one, we get ten tenths.  If we break down a tenth, we get 10 hundredths.

 

Tonight students have a set of addition and subtraction problems to do, involving decimals.

AddSubtractDecimals3

 

 

so, tl;dr

Give me three points from both sides of the chocolate milk argument

MilkArticles

 

Do some addition and subtraction problems

AddSubtractDecimals3

 

Bring an electronic device if you are so inclined

And please turn in permission slips and field trip money

 

And read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

 

 

 

 

 

So today was another strange day.

 

I don’t know if everyone is excited about the day off tomorrow or what, but wow was everyone just out of it today!

This morning we talked briefly about the original 13 colonies, and nobody seemed to remember that they were English colonies.   We harped on this a bunch before we talked about how to read a legend and a key on a map.  Tonight students have some questions regarding the 13 colonies and a map for them to reference.

13Colonies

 

Next we talked about cells again.  We really focused on the fact that ALL living things on Earth are made of cells.  ALL pieces of those things, and ALL living things.

I was a bit disappointed in the homework that was turned in today.  As such we spent essentially the entirety of the day going over what constitutes good reasoning, and how we can go through a passage or text in order to find quotes or proof in order to support our answers.

We then took time and made sure that we really understood that organelles inside of cells play a similar role to the organs in our own body.  Our organs all perform different functions in order to keep us alive and kicking.  Cells are full of organelles that perform similar functions and keep the cells alive.

I would very much like students to re-do their homework from yesterday.  We discussed how something like “because that makes sense” is not solid reasoning.  Why doesn’t it make sense?  Or why does it make sense?  There is a REASON you picked the answer you picked or wrote down what you wrote down.  Why is that?  THAT is what I want to see when I see reasoning.

 

 

so, tl;dr

 

Finish this sheet about the 13 colonies:

13Colonies

Fix yesterday’s homework.  ENSURE your answers are correct and your reasoning is sound.  These will be turned in Friday for a grade….

TheCellsThatMakeUs

WhatsInYourCells

And read!

 

Have a good one, and a good day off!

 

-Mr. Potter

Monday of a very strange week.

 

And we had a very strange day!

 

We spent the great majority of our morning talking about cells, microscopic organisms, and all sorts of neat stuff.  We learned that cells are the smallest structural parts of living things.  We also discussed the difference between living and non-living things.  We had quite a few misconceptions about what was living and non-living.  Many students believed that stars, the Earth, and other non-living things were alive.

We watched a lot of interesting videos, having to do with looking at plant and animal slides.  We also watched a video that totally disgusted the students and told them about all the bacteria and microscopic animals that live on their bodies!

Tonight students have two short passages to read and some questions to answer about cells:

WhatsInYourCells

TheCellsThatMakeUs

As always I expect some reasoning!

 

We then talked very briefly about subtraction and subtraction with decimals.  We discussed the difference between 3.4 – 21.57 and 21.57 – 3.4, and how the order matters in a subtraction problem.  We didn’t get nearly as far as I would have liked with this, so unfortunately we didn’t get to the homework part of this.  Monday schedules are so weird!

 

so, tl;dr

A lite day today

 

Simply read these two passages and answer the questions with reasoning:

WhatsInYourCells

TheCellsThatMakeUs

and read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Today was a bit better!  We only ended up having to practice working quietly for 4 minutes, which was much better than yesterday’s 7.

This morning we watched two neat videos about the three little pigs.  We talked about how point of view can completely change the story, and if we should believe someone who was there, or someone who just wrote about it.  This extends to our discussions about history.  Who can we believe when we read letters, newspapers, and other primary sources?  Can we really trust everything as truth?  Do we have to understand that there are many ‘truths’ and we may have to sift through them to see the story?

 

Tonight students should compare and contrast the two stories of the three little pigs.  I expect to see at least 5 things in each box!

Compare and Contrast

Three Little Pigs

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

 

Next we came up together with the steps that a red blood cell might go through and checked our work from last night.  I was very impressed with how well many students did on this.  Nowhere in the two passages did it give these steps.  The students needed to read both passages and synthesize the information themselves in order to come up with what happens to a red blood cell.

Tonight students should pretend that THEY are a red blood cell.  They should tell me about their day, in the first person.

A Day in the Life of a Red blood cell

RedBloodCellSteps

Lastly we talked about subtracting with decimal numbers.  This again is nothing too ground-breaking, and we used some play money and did some examples, showing how we break down larger numbers in order to perform subtraction.

Tonight students need to finish the worksheet from yesterday, doing the subtraction problems.

AddingSubtractingDecimals1

 

We also talked briefly at the end of the day about multiplication and division and what they truly MEAN.  Multiplying is all about repeated equal groups.  Something like 4 x 6 asks how much is 4 groups of 6, or how much is 6 groups of 4.

We then applied this understanding to multiplying and dividing by fractions.  Something like 6 x 1/2 asks how much is HALF of a group of 6?  Or how much is six groups of 1/2?

This was something brand new to pretty much everyone, and while some students caught on, others still need some more explanation.  We’ll continue working on this throughout the 2nd quarter.

 

 

so, tl;dr

Compare and contrast Three Little Pigs with the True Story of the Three Little Pigs.

Compare and Contrast

 

Write about your day as a blood cell

A Day in the Life of a Red blood cell

RedBloodCellSteps

Finish the subtraction problems from yesterday

AddingSubtractingDecimals1

 

And read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter