February 20th, 2013

This is a long posting.  Please read the whole thing!  Sorry I didn't post yesterday...but I am feeling better and am happy to be back at school. 

This morning we collected all final reading slips and turned them over to Mrs. Warnick.

We then located and labeled the following cities:
 San Jose, CA Pop 908,870
Indianapolis, IN Pop 789,250
Jacksonville, FL Pop 786,938
San Francisco, CA Pop 777,660
THERE WILL BE A TEST ON THE TOP 20 MOST POPULATED CITIES ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH.

Grammar solidified sentence patterns.  Our Spelling activity is creating other words out of letters from our original words.  We read out of a Dr. Offel book, a fantasy science fair theme.  Students worked on their 3-point essays.

New vocabulary words follow:

1. mundane
   
   found in the ordinary course of events
2. nonchalant
   marked by blithe unconcern
3. opulent
   rich and superior in quality
4. orator
   a person who delivers a speech or oration
5. ostentatious
   intended to attract notice and impress others

STUDENTS SHOULD BE PREPARING A BOOK REPORT ON A BOOK READ DURING FEBRUARY.  THEY ARE DUE NEXT WEEK.  The reports should be different from others they have done so far this year.  When we discussed it with the children, I gave them copies of the following chart, which is sometimes helpful for ideas:

Book Report Menu: Products for Multiple Intelligences

Verbal-Linguistic

Visual-Spatial Kinesthetic-Auditory 1. Character Diary : Imagine you are one of the characters in the book. Write a few diary entries expressing your perspective and feelings. 　
2. Character Sketch: Make a poster illustrating a main character. Include quotes from the book that give clues to the character. 　
3. Character Impersonation: Dress up like a character from the book. Bring props, and use them to introduce yourself to us. 　
4. Setting Research : Write a description of the setting (time and place). If it is a real place, find out historical information that helps us understand the story. 　
5. Setting Map: Draw a detailed map showing the locations of the main events. Label the places and their events. 　
6. 3-D Map Model: Construct a model out of clay, foam, or other material. Show the scenery or interior where an important event takes place. 　
7. Plot : Outline a plot summary or a mountain diagram of the plot. Include: protagonist, antagonist, goal, conflict, rising action, climax (turning point), and resolution. 　
8. Story Board: Retell the story in a series of 8 to 12 cartoon sketches with captions. Mount this on a poster. 　
9. Museum Exhibit: Make a display of pictures and real objects that bring the story to life. Label and arrange these on and in front of a folding display board. 　
10. Found Poem : Look for vivid, expressive words, phrases, and sentences in the book. Select and arrange some as a poem. 　
11. Travel Brochure: Illustrate and advertise the world of your book in a brochure or a poster. 　
12. Archeology: Create a model of a significant object in the book using any material. Make a label identifying the object, how it was used, and why it is important to the story.

Verbal-Linguistic

Visual-Spatial Kinesthetic-Auditory 13. Parody : Write a parody of the book or one scene. A parody uses similar action but replaces the original characters with exaggerated, humorous ones. 　
14. Children’s Book: Retell the story in simplified form for a younger reader, with an illustration and one to three sentences on each page. 　
15. Video of a scene: Get some friends to help dramatize a scene from the book. Show the 2 to 5 minute video in class. 　
16. Character "Facebook" Page : www.myfakewall.com Create a profile of the character, with info, friends, pictures, posts, and comments. Minimum 15 items. 17. Slide Show: Make a PowerPoint slide show of the entire story or a significant scene. Include text and pictures. Consider using sounds and animations. 　
18. TV Commercial: Imagine that the book is being made into a movie or TV series. Make a video commercial introducing the highlights of the story and getting the viewers interested. 　
19. Reader’s Theater : Select a scene and read it dramatically. Practice so you can read smoothly and with expression. 　
20. Puppets: Design cardboard or sewn puppets, or make costumes for dolls of the main characters. Identify who they are. 　
21. You Are There News: Create an on-scene news report about an event in the book. Interview witnesses. Perform this live or on video. 　
22. Newspaper : Write a short news story describing the major event in the book. Include an attention grabbing headline, ads, and teasers for the rest of the front page. 　
23. Time Line: Arrange the events of the story on a time line. Make the time line to scale. Include at least one illustration. 　
24. Song: Compose a song about the book, or take an existing song and rewrite the lyrics to fit your book. Perform the song live
MATH HOMEWORK IS EXERCISE 3&4.  We had fun making tessalation patterns on the computer, on paper, and using cutout models.  Flips, rotations and slides of congruent shapes was our focus today. 

After lunch we had SIR and MMC.  Next, we worked on Clue #2 for our mysteries in Writer's Workshop.

SCIENCE FAIR IS MARCH 1ST.  STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE THEIR EXPERIMENTS DONE AND BE WORKING ON THEIR RESEARCH FOR THEIR SCIENCE FAIR JOURNAL.  All students received science fair packets a couple of weeks ago.  Please be sure that all signatures have been obtained.

After P.E. today, students gathered for an all-school assembly.  We celebrated the big number 163,000.  That is how many minutes we read as a school.  Those students who participated were rewarded accordingly.  Our class won a class party by having the most average minutes in the school.  Congratulate your child!