Math
Today, we worked on multiplying mixed numbers and fractions. If you have 5½x⅝, you can do 5x⅝ and ⅝x½ to get 37/16 . It gets a little complicated but when I kept doing more and more of these problems, I started getting them quicker. There was a method called the F.O.I.L. Methood but it's hard to explain. As always, we completed a couple pages of this in our math journal. We also took our quiz on Unit 8. I believe I got a 100% a.k.a. An A.
Language Arts
Today, Ms. Donahue came in for a Bully Prevention presentation. We learned four things to try if you're being bullied. Here's a list of the four strategies.
1)Try to walk away
2)Try to talk out of it
3)Be loud and proud
4)Tell an adult
Walking away and telling an adult are pretty self-explanatory. You can figure it out. To talk out of it, try a sense of humor or change the subject. Slowly but surely, the bully might forget what he was doing in the first place. In being loud and proud, try to get attention by yelling and standing up for yourself. You'll never know when you need your voice most. These strategies are helpful, or at least tey're supposed to be. If you can manage to use these successfully, bullies won't be able to mess with you.
Social Studies
Today, we watched a thirty minute video about a girl who settles in Plymouth. Along the way, she meets Squanto and the rest of his family. She becomes friends with a girl named Naomi. The girl brings Squanto and the family to her family and they shake hands to show peace between them. Squanto teaches the settlers how to plant stuff and grow crops. It's basically a video to show your average day in Plymouth around that time.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, 02/19/09
Math
Today, we continued working on multiplying fractions. If you have 1/5x2/7, you would multiply the denominators and the numerators so the answer would be 2/35. If you ever see a problem like 5x1/3, you can make five a fraction by making it 5/1, which is equivalent to five. Once you do that, you can multiply 5/1x1/3 to get 5/3. We did a couple pages of this lesson in our math journal. We've only had our 2nd math journal for a couple weeks and we are already pretty far.
Language Arts
Today, we went over to the computer lab to fill out a work sheet about a man named James Forten. There was a section for a timeline of special events in his life. He did a lot of very important things in his life. He was a black man who tried to make a difference. There was another section for a picture of James Forten. One last box was for the definition of a word. In the computer lab, we got to use the earphones but for some reason, mine weren't working.
Social Studies
Today, we filled out the chart and writing prompt for Plymouth & Massachusetts Bay. In the chart, there were questions that compared Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. The questions were on arrival, the people who lived there, the weather conditions, and more. The writing prompt was the same as before, but this time, you had to choose between Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. I chose Plymouth because it has the help of Squanto who has many skills for planting.
Today, we continued working on multiplying fractions. If you have 1/5x2/7, you would multiply the denominators and the numerators so the answer would be 2/35. If you ever see a problem like 5x1/3, you can make five a fraction by making it 5/1, which is equivalent to five. Once you do that, you can multiply 5/1x1/3 to get 5/3. We did a couple pages of this lesson in our math journal. We've only had our 2nd math journal for a couple weeks and we are already pretty far.
Language Arts
Today, we went over to the computer lab to fill out a work sheet about a man named James Forten. There was a section for a timeline of special events in his life. He did a lot of very important things in his life. He was a black man who tried to make a difference. There was another section for a picture of James Forten. One last box was for the definition of a word. In the computer lab, we got to use the earphones but for some reason, mine weren't working.
Social Studies
Today, we filled out the chart and writing prompt for Plymouth & Massachusetts Bay. In the chart, there were questions that compared Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. The questions were on arrival, the people who lived there, the weather conditions, and more. The writing prompt was the same as before, but this time, you had to choose between Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. I chose Plymouth because it has the help of Squanto who has many skills for planting.
Wednesday, 02/18/09
Math
Today, we took a piece of paper, and folded it into four squares. We shaded the top and bottom left corner boxes one way and the bottom half of the piece of paper in the opposite way. Then the fraction of the paper that has the cross shading is ¼. Easy, huh? Not quite. Some people didn't like the activity at all. We also completed a page where we had to draw the fraction shading in the boxes provided. When drawing it, it was a little complicated. Multiplying the fractions instead of using the drawing method was much, much easier to me and most of the rest of the class.
Language Arts
Today, we worked on our centers. There were the Homophones center, the Point of View center, the Literature Game center, and the Side Dishes center. In the homophones center, we had to complete two pages in our homophones book. There was one page where they have a book title but use the wrong word. You have to find the right homophone for the book title and rewrite it correctly. In the point of view center, we read a short poem about the point of view of a baseball at a baseball game. We decided which type of point of view it is and who is the narrator. It was easy. In the Literature Game, when it was your turn, you flipped up a red card and a green card. The red card was the topic. For example Setting, point of view, resolutions, etc. The green card was the challenge card. For example, you may get discussion, questioning, opinion, prediction, etc. In the Side Dishes center, we worked on side dishes. We only needed two of them. I did Vocabulary Scramble and Interview With a Character. There was also Mini Thesaurus but I didn't want to do it. In Vocab Scramble, you needed to take a word and scramble the letters into boxes. Then you needed to give a clue. In Interview With a Character, you asked any character two questions and next to them, you write how they might answer. It was pretty easy.
Social Studies
Today, we filled out the chart for Jamestown and Roanoke. Some questions on there were what country arrived in what year, what kinds of people lived in the colony, what was the climate like, and much more. After everyone got around the end of the chart, we reviewed it as a class. Jamestown had way more good stuff than Roanoke. Well, that's my opinion. After that, we answered the writing prompt based on the answers we got. It asked us to choose between Jamestown and Roanoke. I chose Jamestown. It just had better conditions than Roanoke to me.
Today, we took a piece of paper, and folded it into four squares. We shaded the top and bottom left corner boxes one way and the bottom half of the piece of paper in the opposite way. Then the fraction of the paper that has the cross shading is ¼. Easy, huh? Not quite. Some people didn't like the activity at all. We also completed a page where we had to draw the fraction shading in the boxes provided. When drawing it, it was a little complicated. Multiplying the fractions instead of using the drawing method was much, much easier to me and most of the rest of the class.
Language Arts
Today, we worked on our centers. There were the Homophones center, the Point of View center, the Literature Game center, and the Side Dishes center. In the homophones center, we had to complete two pages in our homophones book. There was one page where they have a book title but use the wrong word. You have to find the right homophone for the book title and rewrite it correctly. In the point of view center, we read a short poem about the point of view of a baseball at a baseball game. We decided which type of point of view it is and who is the narrator. It was easy. In the Literature Game, when it was your turn, you flipped up a red card and a green card. The red card was the topic. For example Setting, point of view, resolutions, etc. The green card was the challenge card. For example, you may get discussion, questioning, opinion, prediction, etc. In the Side Dishes center, we worked on side dishes. We only needed two of them. I did Vocabulary Scramble and Interview With a Character. There was also Mini Thesaurus but I didn't want to do it. In Vocab Scramble, you needed to take a word and scramble the letters into boxes. Then you needed to give a clue. In Interview With a Character, you asked any character two questions and next to them, you write how they might answer. It was pretty easy.
Social Studies
Today, we filled out the chart for Jamestown and Roanoke. Some questions on there were what country arrived in what year, what kinds of people lived in the colony, what was the climate like, and much more. After everyone got around the end of the chart, we reviewed it as a class. Jamestown had way more good stuff than Roanoke. Well, that's my opinion. After that, we answered the writing prompt based on the answers we got. It asked us to choose between Jamestown and Roanoke. I chose Jamestown. It just had better conditions than Roanoke to me.
Tuesday, 02/17/09
Math
Today was all about fractions. We compared fractions by taking two of them and putting a symbol in between them. If you had ¼ and ½, You would put a symbol in that looks like this: <.That sign means less than. Put it together and you have:
¼ < ½
Easy, huh? If the fraction on the left is bigger than the fraction on the right, the symbol you use looks like this: >. That sign means greater than. Put that together and you have:
½ > ¼
We also needed to prepare for the quiz. We needed to add/subtract mixed numbers, compare fractions, and make equivalent fractions.
Language Arts
Today, we finished reading section 3 of The Mixed Up Files. Claudia and Jamie take their first shower since a long time. One major difference is that this time, their shower is in a fountain! Lucky for them though, they found over $2 at the bottom of the fountain. They couldn't get anymore but their amount was sufficient. They now have income and Claudia can ride the bus or a cab anytime she wants. Jamie, on the other hand, can receive more money without gambling with people. Although they're getting money they need, it's technically stealing.
Social Studies
Today, we started a new lesson on Settlements. Roanoke, Jamestown, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, New France, and New Netherlands are the places we're studying about. Tomorrow's pair places is Roanoke & Jamestown. The cool thing about this is that I've never heard of not one of these places. They're all new to me. We must fill out a chart and answer a short writing prompt.
Today was all about fractions. We compared fractions by taking two of them and putting a symbol in between them. If you had ¼ and ½, You would put a symbol in that looks like this: <.That sign means less than. Put it together and you have:
¼ < ½
Easy, huh? If the fraction on the left is bigger than the fraction on the right, the symbol you use looks like this: >. That sign means greater than. Put that together and you have:
½ > ¼
We also needed to prepare for the quiz. We needed to add/subtract mixed numbers, compare fractions, and make equivalent fractions.
Language Arts
Today, we finished reading section 3 of The Mixed Up Files. Claudia and Jamie take their first shower since a long time. One major difference is that this time, their shower is in a fountain! Lucky for them though, they found over $2 at the bottom of the fountain. They couldn't get anymore but their amount was sufficient. They now have income and Claudia can ride the bus or a cab anytime she wants. Jamie, on the other hand, can receive more money without gambling with people. Although they're getting money they need, it's technically stealing.
Social Studies
Today, we started a new lesson on Settlements. Roanoke, Jamestown, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, New France, and New Netherlands are the places we're studying about. Tomorrow's pair places is Roanoke & Jamestown. The cool thing about this is that I've never heard of not one of these places. They're all new to me. We must fill out a chart and answer a short writing prompt.
Thursday, 02/12/09
Math
Today, we took a quiz. The quiz contained problems requiring us to write a number story for a problem or a problem for a number story. It was pretty easy, but one thing that could make you lose points was the parenthesis placement. After you completed the quiz, you were supposed to complete pages in Math Journal 2. They were on subtracting mixed numbers. On one of those, we needed to borrow from the whole number and add it to the fraction. Then we could figure out the rest of the problem. I knew how to do it without borrowing but it was easier to borrow.
Language Arts
Today, we began reading section three in the Mixed Up Files book. Jamie and Claudia are worrying about how they will survive without any money or help. With only about $25, they need to keep buying food and clean their clothes. They also need a place to shower for them to keep themselves clean! The teacher was planning on getting through a whole list of things but we didn't have much time to do so. We're probably finishing next week.
Science
Today, we highlighted everything we needed to know for our upcoming test on fossils. There were questions on the chart, Pangea, fossil formation, and some of the inquiry questions. Not much to study for and we get plenty of time to study—four days. After finishing the highlighting, we had nothing else to do so we improvised. We played four corners. Hehehehehehehe! One person sits down with her/his eyes closed while the others stood in the corners of the room. If she/he says the name of your corner, you are out and you have to sit down. As always, I didn't win once.
Today, we took a quiz. The quiz contained problems requiring us to write a number story for a problem or a problem for a number story. It was pretty easy, but one thing that could make you lose points was the parenthesis placement. After you completed the quiz, you were supposed to complete pages in Math Journal 2. They were on subtracting mixed numbers. On one of those, we needed to borrow from the whole number and add it to the fraction. Then we could figure out the rest of the problem. I knew how to do it without borrowing but it was easier to borrow.
Language Arts
Today, we began reading section three in the Mixed Up Files book. Jamie and Claudia are worrying about how they will survive without any money or help. With only about $25, they need to keep buying food and clean their clothes. They also need a place to shower for them to keep themselves clean! The teacher was planning on getting through a whole list of things but we didn't have much time to do so. We're probably finishing next week.
Science
Today, we highlighted everything we needed to know for our upcoming test on fossils. There were questions on the chart, Pangea, fossil formation, and some of the inquiry questions. Not much to study for and we get plenty of time to study—four days. After finishing the highlighting, we had nothing else to do so we improvised. We played four corners. Hehehehehehehe! One person sits down with her/his eyes closed while the others stood in the corners of the room. If she/he says the name of your corner, you are out and you have to sit down. As always, I didn't win once.
Wednesday, 02/10/09
Math
Today, we worked on finding common denominators. If you have 3/15 and 1/3, you can multiply 1/3 by 5/5 to get 5/15 which has the same denominator as 3/15. It was challenging to me but pretty fun to figure out. If you're dealing with fractions that have different denominators, you can always try this skill. It's helpful to use most of the time. Some numbers were hard to figure out but I eventually got them. We worked on a couple pages of this lesson in our math journal and had a worksheet of this skill for homework... odd numbered problems only so we can sleep for the PSSA test.
Language Arts
Today, we worked on homographs, homonyms, and homophones. We watched a Brain Pop video on the three of them. Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently. For example, bass is type of guitar and base means a spot in baseball. We took a quiz that is worth 10 points and on the back, we had to list and draw a pair of homophones. I did red and read. Red for the color and read for don reading a book. It was pretty easy.
Science
Today, we did our lab on how to make a model of a fossil. We took three pieces of clay and mushed them to the bottom of a cup flatly. We made three layers of this then grabbed a plastic thing. There were fake teeth, ammonites, and other things. We used the plastic thing to make a mold by pressing it on the clay layers. After that, we filled in the lab questions. The lab isn't quite done though. The teacher will fill the cup with plaster to make our fossil a cast. I'm excited to see how it turns out.
Today, we worked on finding common denominators. If you have 3/15 and 1/3, you can multiply 1/3 by 5/5 to get 5/15 which has the same denominator as 3/15. It was challenging to me but pretty fun to figure out. If you're dealing with fractions that have different denominators, you can always try this skill. It's helpful to use most of the time. Some numbers were hard to figure out but I eventually got them. We worked on a couple pages of this lesson in our math journal and had a worksheet of this skill for homework... odd numbered problems only so we can sleep for the PSSA test.
Language Arts
Today, we worked on homographs, homonyms, and homophones. We watched a Brain Pop video on the three of them. Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently. For example, bass is type of guitar and base means a spot in baseball. We took a quiz that is worth 10 points and on the back, we had to list and draw a pair of homophones. I did red and read. Red for the color and read for don reading a book. It was pretty easy.
Science
Today, we did our lab on how to make a model of a fossil. We took three pieces of clay and mushed them to the bottom of a cup flatly. We made three layers of this then grabbed a plastic thing. There were fake teeth, ammonites, and other things. We used the plastic thing to make a mold by pressing it on the clay layers. After that, we filled in the lab questions. The lab isn't quite done though. The teacher will fill the cup with plaster to make our fossil a cast. I'm excited to see how it turns out.
Monday, 02/09/09
Math
Today, we worked on negative and positive numbers. If you had a number line and zero was in the middle, the numbers to the left would be negative numbers and the ones to the right would be positive. Negative is less than zero and positive is more than zero. The problems we used to practice this were comparing both negative and positive numbers. Take this example.
-14<14=negative fourteen is less than fourteen
We did a couple examples of this in our math journal. It was easy and surprisingly fun. The more I did it, the faster I became at it and more fun the lesson became!
Language Arts
Today, we worked on our showcase and collection portfolios. In our collection portfolios, we gathered all our 2nd marking period stuff and clipped them together, but we took out the special ones we wanted to showcase in our showcase portfolio, we put in all our showcase work, put in our logs, and filled out goal met and goal not yet met sheets. We also made our reading graph for the logs where for every book you finish reading, you color in one square with the matching genre.
Science
Today, we filled in the rest of the inquiry questions for the unit on fossils. There were questions on how fossils were made, how old the oldest layer is and many more. It was pretty easy. Like what we did with the chart, the teacher assigned each table group one or two questions to answer. Our question was the process of an ammonite forming into a fossil. I was the illustrator and introduction giver.
Today, we worked on negative and positive numbers. If you had a number line and zero was in the middle, the numbers to the left would be negative numbers and the ones to the right would be positive. Negative is less than zero and positive is more than zero. The problems we used to practice this were comparing both negative and positive numbers. Take this example.
-14<14=negative fourteen is less than fourteen
We did a couple examples of this in our math journal. It was easy and surprisingly fun. The more I did it, the faster I became at it and more fun the lesson became!
Language Arts
Today, we worked on our showcase and collection portfolios. In our collection portfolios, we gathered all our 2nd marking period stuff and clipped them together, but we took out the special ones we wanted to showcase in our showcase portfolio, we put in all our showcase work, put in our logs, and filled out goal met and goal not yet met sheets. We also made our reading graph for the logs where for every book you finish reading, you color in one square with the matching genre.
Science
Today, we filled in the rest of the inquiry questions for the unit on fossils. There were questions on how fossils were made, how old the oldest layer is and many more. It was pretty easy. Like what we did with the chart, the teacher assigned each table group one or two questions to answer. Our question was the process of an ammonite forming into a fossil. I was the illustrator and introduction giver.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Friday, 02/06/2009
Math
Today, we worked on line graphs. Let's say we were checking to see how many library books were checked out every day in a week. On Monday, there would be a dot in a certain spot. On Tuesday, there would be a spot under it. Then a line connected the two dots. This graph is used to show a trend. An easier way to know what I mean is to look at a picture. It's kind of hard to explain so check this picture out.
Remember to label everything and you have yourself the perfect line graph. The class completed a couple pages in their Math Journal 2 that was targeting practice on line graphs.
Language Arts
Today, we took our Mixed Up Files Section 2 test. There were questions on figurative language, main idea, supporting detail, and much more. I got about four questions wrong. The way the answers were worded made a lot of possibilities but the correct answers made the most sense. I was upset but the thing that got my smile back was the fact that I got the common nouns & proper nouns and antonyms/synonyms part correct. It was pretty cool.
Science
Today, we went through the answers to our study outline together. For the fill in the blanks section, she blurted out the words in order as we wrote them down. It was pretty quick and easy. We also did the fossils chart. Each table was assigned a type of fossil and they told us the info we needed to write down. Mrs. Colden covered #7. My table did the petrified fossil. It was fun sharing with the rest of the class. We almost got through all of the inquiry questions. We have a couple more questions to go. I just wonder what it's like to have one gigantic fossil right at your face. I bet it would be really exciting.
Today, we worked on line graphs. Let's say we were checking to see how many library books were checked out every day in a week. On Monday, there would be a dot in a certain spot. On Tuesday, there would be a spot under it. Then a line connected the two dots. This graph is used to show a trend. An easier way to know what I mean is to look at a picture. It's kind of hard to explain so check this picture out.
Remember to label everything and you have yourself the perfect line graph. The class completed a couple pages in their Math Journal 2 that was targeting practice on line graphs.
Language Arts
Today, we took our Mixed Up Files Section 2 test. There were questions on figurative language, main idea, supporting detail, and much more. I got about four questions wrong. The way the answers were worded made a lot of possibilities but the correct answers made the most sense. I was upset but the thing that got my smile back was the fact that I got the common nouns & proper nouns and antonyms/synonyms part correct. It was pretty cool.
Science
Today, we went through the answers to our study outline together. For the fill in the blanks section, she blurted out the words in order as we wrote them down. It was pretty quick and easy. We also did the fossils chart. Each table was assigned a type of fossil and they told us the info we needed to write down. Mrs. Colden covered #7. My table did the petrified fossil. It was fun sharing with the rest of the class. We almost got through all of the inquiry questions. We have a couple more questions to go. I just wonder what it's like to have one gigantic fossil right at your face. I bet it would be really exciting.
Thursday, 02/05/2009
Math
Today, we practiced the order of operations. Multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, you can't do them in any order you feel like doing. You must follow the order. First, do anything in parenthesis. That's a very important thing to remember. Then, you do any problem with exponents. For example, take this problem:
((6x32)x2)+7
You do 3x3 for 32 which you then get 9. Then do 6x9 which equals 54. Then you multiply 54 by 2 to get 108. Then 108+7 which equals 7. That's the order of operation!. We worked on a couple pages in Math Journal 2 about the order of operations. A scary thing that happened today is that when we were getting our math journals out, mine was missing. Thankfully, someone found it in their desk. That person was all the way across the room from where I sat. It was making me nervous.
Language Arts
Today, we took an advanced look at our writing prompt for the 4sight test. I got a 3, just like everyone else. The teacher talked to us about how the advanced score was removed from the writing prompt. She also talked to us about how our writing was good, but getting more detail down would make it perfect—even with no advanced grades.We practiced writing a prompt together showing the steps we could take to perfect the prompt. I like the way we practiced better than my way. I just wrote down an intro, a body with three subtopics, and a conclusion then I was done. Next time, I want to add more detail. I'll try to not get lazy on the PSSA test.
Science
Today, we tried something new with filling in our studying outline. The teacher let us pick a partner and fill it in without her help. It was quicker and easier to me. There was a chart to fill in about different types of fossils. There were Trace Fossils, Index Fossils, Carbon Film, Mold, Cast, and some more. We had to match it's name, the way it forms, and a picture of it into one column. It was easy. There was also some questions on Pangea, the super continent that connected the whole land. After years and years, the places spread apart creating the world we live on today being separated from the others. I would love to see Pangea one day but I'll never get to experience it. About every year, the places only move a centimeter. It'll take billions of years for them to come back together. There would be no need for cruises and your feet will get plenty of exercise. Hahaha!
Today, we practiced the order of operations. Multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, you can't do them in any order you feel like doing. You must follow the order. First, do anything in parenthesis. That's a very important thing to remember. Then, you do any problem with exponents. For example, take this problem:
((6x32)x2)+7
You do 3x3 for 32 which you then get 9. Then do 6x9 which equals 54. Then you multiply 54 by 2 to get 108. Then 108+7 which equals 7. That's the order of operation!. We worked on a couple pages in Math Journal 2 about the order of operations. A scary thing that happened today is that when we were getting our math journals out, mine was missing. Thankfully, someone found it in their desk. That person was all the way across the room from where I sat. It was making me nervous.
Language Arts
Today, we took an advanced look at our writing prompt for the 4sight test. I got a 3, just like everyone else. The teacher talked to us about how the advanced score was removed from the writing prompt. She also talked to us about how our writing was good, but getting more detail down would make it perfect—even with no advanced grades.We practiced writing a prompt together showing the steps we could take to perfect the prompt. I like the way we practiced better than my way. I just wrote down an intro, a body with three subtopics, and a conclusion then I was done. Next time, I want to add more detail. I'll try to not get lazy on the PSSA test.
Science
Today, we tried something new with filling in our studying outline. The teacher let us pick a partner and fill it in without her help. It was quicker and easier to me. There was a chart to fill in about different types of fossils. There were Trace Fossils, Index Fossils, Carbon Film, Mold, Cast, and some more. We had to match it's name, the way it forms, and a picture of it into one column. It was easy. There was also some questions on Pangea, the super continent that connected the whole land. After years and years, the places spread apart creating the world we live on today being separated from the others. I would love to see Pangea one day but I'll never get to experience it. About every year, the places only move a centimeter. It'll take billions of years for them to come back together. There would be no need for cruises and your feet will get plenty of exercise. Hahaha!
Wednesday, 02/04/2009
Math
Today, we learned how to write numbers in expanded notation. Not just the addition way though. We also did the multiplication version and the power of 10's multiplication version. In addition mode, you just add the digit of whatever place value to the others. For example:
2,784=2,000+700+80+4
The multiplication version is a little more complicated. Whatever place value it's in, you do that value times the digit in it's place. For example:
2,784=(2x1,000)+(7x100)+(8x10)+(4x1)
The power of 10's multiplication version is a lot tougher. It's tough to explain so let me draw it out for you. Here's an example:
2,784=(2x103)+(7x102)+(8x101)+(4x100)
It was pretty complicated but once you get the hang of it, it comes to you a lot quicker. For me, it was fun yet challenging. They can trick you so you must be careful. We completed about two pages in our Math Journal 2 which had these problems. We also did a two pages of math boxes in our math journal but they didn't have these kinds of problems.
Language Arts
Today, we continued checking over our 4sight test. We finished problems 15-28, including the writing prompt. At the end, I got about eight wrong. Yikes!!! Luckily, I got 3 on the writing prompt. It was perfect and I was relieved. I was so scared about my score. I got proficient—just like everyone else. Well, at least that's what I heard the teacher said. I was pretty bummed about my eight incorrect problems. Well, those are now goals and I need to work on it—a lot.
Science
Today, we started our unit on fossils. We first answered some questions about the Earth as it was a looooooong time ago. There were a lot of plants, a lot of dinosaurs, and one big continent. Now, that's changed. We're all spread apart. After answering those questions, we had to write down the definitions of vocab words for this unit. There was fossil, organism, and many more. It was easy to do and now we have to study the definitions. You never know when a pop quiz comes. It can come on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, or the two days in between. After the vocab words, we watched a video on fossils. It showed how fossils are made, fossil imprint information, how they display fossils in museums and much more. It was pretty cool. The characters in the video were weird though. There was a robot named Geo and a talking computer!!!
Today, we learned how to write numbers in expanded notation. Not just the addition way though. We also did the multiplication version and the power of 10's multiplication version. In addition mode, you just add the digit of whatever place value to the others. For example:
2,784=2,000+700+80+4
The multiplication version is a little more complicated. Whatever place value it's in, you do that value times the digit in it's place. For example:
2,784=(2x1,000)+(7x100)+(8x10)+(4x1)
The power of 10's multiplication version is a lot tougher. It's tough to explain so let me draw it out for you. Here's an example:
2,784=(2x103)+(7x102)+(8x101)+(4x100)
It was pretty complicated but once you get the hang of it, it comes to you a lot quicker. For me, it was fun yet challenging. They can trick you so you must be careful. We completed about two pages in our Math Journal 2 which had these problems. We also did a two pages of math boxes in our math journal but they didn't have these kinds of problems.
Language Arts
Today, we continued checking over our 4sight test. We finished problems 15-28, including the writing prompt. At the end, I got about eight wrong. Yikes!!! Luckily, I got 3 on the writing prompt. It was perfect and I was relieved. I was so scared about my score. I got proficient—just like everyone else. Well, at least that's what I heard the teacher said. I was pretty bummed about my eight incorrect problems. Well, those are now goals and I need to work on it—a lot.
Science
Today, we started our unit on fossils. We first answered some questions about the Earth as it was a looooooong time ago. There were a lot of plants, a lot of dinosaurs, and one big continent. Now, that's changed. We're all spread apart. After answering those questions, we had to write down the definitions of vocab words for this unit. There was fossil, organism, and many more. It was easy to do and now we have to study the definitions. You never know when a pop quiz comes. It can come on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, or the two days in between. After the vocab words, we watched a video on fossils. It showed how fossils are made, fossil imprint information, how they display fossils in museums and much more. It was pretty cool. The characters in the video were weird though. There was a robot named Geo and a talking computer!!!
Tuesday, 02/03/2009
Math
Today, we practiced exponents. If there is a 6 with a small 4 next to it, that means you do 6x6x6x6 and that's the answer. If there is a small 2 next to the 6, you do 6x6. 6+2 and 2+2+2+2+2+2 are examples of how exponents can confuse you. They're tricky so you have to stay focused. Remember that the small number next to the 6 represents how many times you repeat 6 in the multiplication. We worked on our first four pages in our new Math Journal 2. I'm so happy. I now have a cover. My first journal's cover got ripped off. I don't know how. We also got prepared for the quiz. There are 4 things to practice that are on the quiz. I probably have it all down now. It's pretty easy as long as I focus hard.
Language Arts
Today, we went over our 2nd 4sight test. While going over it, I got three wrong! We only got to question 14 though. We're probably going to finish it tomorrow. Some topics were main idea, inference, fact/opinion, and supporting details. I want to see what I got on the writing prompt about a girl named Polly who is going to have a party but is worried that she has to invite a girl her friends might not like. I hope I get a 3, which is the best. We just have 13 more questions to check until the writing prompt. I'm so anxious!!!
Social Studies
Today, we watched a couple more explorer presentations. One of them talked about the guy who found Philippines. After all the presentations were done, the teacher read us a book called “Encounter.” It's about natives and explorers. When the story was finished, we had to answer the question asking about how the natives felt about the explorers coming. It was your opinion. There was also a debate sort of question. Would you rather have native peace but no communication with others or native suffering and world trade and communication? I picked world trade and communication with native suffering because if there wasn't any, we wouldn't be able to talk and trade with the others in the world. It was pretty fun.
Today, we practiced exponents. If there is a 6 with a small 4 next to it, that means you do 6x6x6x6 and that's the answer. If there is a small 2 next to the 6, you do 6x6. 6+2 and 2+2+2+2+2+2 are examples of how exponents can confuse you. They're tricky so you have to stay focused. Remember that the small number next to the 6 represents how many times you repeat 6 in the multiplication. We worked on our first four pages in our new Math Journal 2. I'm so happy. I now have a cover. My first journal's cover got ripped off. I don't know how. We also got prepared for the quiz. There are 4 things to practice that are on the quiz. I probably have it all down now. It's pretty easy as long as I focus hard.
Language Arts
Today, we went over our 2nd 4sight test. While going over it, I got three wrong! We only got to question 14 though. We're probably going to finish it tomorrow. Some topics were main idea, inference, fact/opinion, and supporting details. I want to see what I got on the writing prompt about a girl named Polly who is going to have a party but is worried that she has to invite a girl her friends might not like. I hope I get a 3, which is the best. We just have 13 more questions to check until the writing prompt. I'm so anxious!!!
Social Studies
Today, we watched a couple more explorer presentations. One of them talked about the guy who found Philippines. After all the presentations were done, the teacher read us a book called “Encounter.” It's about natives and explorers. When the story was finished, we had to answer the question asking about how the natives felt about the explorers coming. It was your opinion. There was also a debate sort of question. Would you rather have native peace but no communication with others or native suffering and world trade and communication? I picked world trade and communication with native suffering because if there wasn't any, we wouldn't be able to talk and trade with the others in the world. It was pretty fun.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Friday, 01/30/2009
Math
Today, we took a Unit 6 quiz. It was on converting fractions into decimals, decimals into fractions and more problems like that. It was pretty challenging. I really wonder what my grade is. I always get curious about my grade. I hope it's a 100%. I studied hard and I focused hard as well. After the quiz, we worked on pages 202 and 203 in our math journal. Page 202 was about fractions and adding them. Page 203 was a page of math boxes. Six boxes, one in each, you answer them, and you're done. We also made an anonymous postcard listing what we like and don't like about Everyday Mathematics. I listed about three things for what I like and one thing for what I don't like. It's odd because I thought I would have a mile long list of what I don't like and one thing for what I like. The complete opposite happened and I was shocked.
Language Arts
Today, we went over to the library's computer lab to take a look at a new website about books. There's an advanced book search, a “book bucket” to put your favorite books in, and many more features that makes the second version of search a whole lot better. You can even change the theme to make it fit your personality. The advanced search works a lot better than the first one. The first step is to search a topic. Then you can narrow the search down by the author, the genre, and many more choices. It's so close to perfection. The book bucket is cool too. If you see a book on the site that you like, you can drag the picture of the cover into the box and it automatically comes on to your list. When you've gotten all of the books you want on your list, you can remove some and print the list out. Once you have the list, you can find the books in the library.
Social Studies
Today, we continued our Explorer project. Everyone paired up with someone and they had to make a poster on an explorer. My explorer was John Cabot. He traveled for King Henry VII. My partner and I almost finished our poster. We completed the center box that has the explorer's name and picture, and we also finished labeling each of the four boxes. They are Personal Life, Voyage 1, Voyage 2, and Accomplishments & Death. The only thing we have to do is write down our facts. Unfortunately, we have to write the facts at home. I decided that I'll bring the poster home. I just need to write the facts down and we are done.
Today, we took a Unit 6 quiz. It was on converting fractions into decimals, decimals into fractions and more problems like that. It was pretty challenging. I really wonder what my grade is. I always get curious about my grade. I hope it's a 100%. I studied hard and I focused hard as well. After the quiz, we worked on pages 202 and 203 in our math journal. Page 202 was about fractions and adding them. Page 203 was a page of math boxes. Six boxes, one in each, you answer them, and you're done. We also made an anonymous postcard listing what we like and don't like about Everyday Mathematics. I listed about three things for what I like and one thing for what I don't like. It's odd because I thought I would have a mile long list of what I don't like and one thing for what I like. The complete opposite happened and I was shocked.
Language Arts
Today, we went over to the library's computer lab to take a look at a new website about books. There's an advanced book search, a “book bucket” to put your favorite books in, and many more features that makes the second version of search a whole lot better. You can even change the theme to make it fit your personality. The advanced search works a lot better than the first one. The first step is to search a topic. Then you can narrow the search down by the author, the genre, and many more choices. It's so close to perfection. The book bucket is cool too. If you see a book on the site that you like, you can drag the picture of the cover into the box and it automatically comes on to your list. When you've gotten all of the books you want on your list, you can remove some and print the list out. Once you have the list, you can find the books in the library.
Social Studies
Today, we continued our Explorer project. Everyone paired up with someone and they had to make a poster on an explorer. My explorer was John Cabot. He traveled for King Henry VII. My partner and I almost finished our poster. We completed the center box that has the explorer's name and picture, and we also finished labeling each of the four boxes. They are Personal Life, Voyage 1, Voyage 2, and Accomplishments & Death. The only thing we have to do is write down our facts. Unfortunately, we have to write the facts at home. I decided that I'll bring the poster home. I just need to write the facts down and we are done.
Monday, 02/02/2009
Math
Today, we took our Unit 6 test. In the test were questions about adding and subtracting fractions and finding modes, medians, maximums, minimums, means, and averages. We also matched those words with their correct definition. It was easy though I may have gotten one wrong. The open ended question was to find the ages of the family. There are many answers but as long as it's correct, you're fine. You just needed to keep the ages real. Your mom can't be 10 years old. She has to be from 30-40 years old. You can make it older or younger just as long as it makes sense! It's very important to not get silly. After the test, we finished our last page in Math Journal 1. It was a math boxes page. It was easy but I was curious to see why we finished it. When all the tests were handed in and everyone finished that last page, it was the moment we've all been waiting for. Math Journal 2 has arrived! We took a look at the pages and saw what was coming up. There were lots of surprises. I spotted some stuff I new and stuff I was eager to learn about. Also, another great thing is that math boxes aren't for homework anymore! Everyone didn't like it so the teacher made a change. Woohoo!
Language Arts
Today, we were supposed to type our good drafts but thanks to the upper house, we have it for homework! Instead, we worked on practicing how to write writing prompts for the PSSA Test. We had to write a letter to someone who gets on our nerves—a lot. I'm writing to people who take looooooong in the bathroom. I mean, come on, do you like bathroom hogs? Didn't think so. I'm trying to persuade them to start hurrying up in the bathroom and giving others their fair share of time in the B.R.
The way we did this was we first brainstormed, wrote down stuff for something we have the most to say about, picked one of those topics, then started making a chart of the topic. There was a box for topics, “yes” reasons, “no” reasons, and conclusions. Yes reasons are things that back up your argument and no reasons are things that are against your argument and you just can't beat that. I still need to finish making that chart but it's cool. I'm almost done the chart.
Social Studies
Today, we took our test on Explorers. You had to write down the name of your explorer, what country he was born in, and three interesting facts. There was one other question asking about what your explorer is most popular for. For that question, I wrote down his discovery of Cape Breton which people now know as Nova Scotia. After the test, presentations for the explorer poster began. When my partner and I showed our poster, I felt like I blacked out. My heart was pounding and I went to the bathroom to get things straight. After a while it was perfectly fine and I had fun. I am really wondering what our presentation scored. I thought we did really good. The other pairs had really great posters. Lots of brilliant color combos and rich facts to make it look fantastic. I enjoyed watching the others.
Today, we took our Unit 6 test. In the test were questions about adding and subtracting fractions and finding modes, medians, maximums, minimums, means, and averages. We also matched those words with their correct definition. It was easy though I may have gotten one wrong. The open ended question was to find the ages of the family. There are many answers but as long as it's correct, you're fine. You just needed to keep the ages real. Your mom can't be 10 years old. She has to be from 30-40 years old. You can make it older or younger just as long as it makes sense! It's very important to not get silly. After the test, we finished our last page in Math Journal 1. It was a math boxes page. It was easy but I was curious to see why we finished it. When all the tests were handed in and everyone finished that last page, it was the moment we've all been waiting for. Math Journal 2 has arrived! We took a look at the pages and saw what was coming up. There were lots of surprises. I spotted some stuff I new and stuff I was eager to learn about. Also, another great thing is that math boxes aren't for homework anymore! Everyone didn't like it so the teacher made a change. Woohoo!
Language Arts
Today, we were supposed to type our good drafts but thanks to the upper house, we have it for homework! Instead, we worked on practicing how to write writing prompts for the PSSA Test. We had to write a letter to someone who gets on our nerves—a lot. I'm writing to people who take looooooong in the bathroom. I mean, come on, do you like bathroom hogs? Didn't think so. I'm trying to persuade them to start hurrying up in the bathroom and giving others their fair share of time in the B.R.
The way we did this was we first brainstormed, wrote down stuff for something we have the most to say about, picked one of those topics, then started making a chart of the topic. There was a box for topics, “yes” reasons, “no” reasons, and conclusions. Yes reasons are things that back up your argument and no reasons are things that are against your argument and you just can't beat that. I still need to finish making that chart but it's cool. I'm almost done the chart.
Social Studies
Today, we took our test on Explorers. You had to write down the name of your explorer, what country he was born in, and three interesting facts. There was one other question asking about what your explorer is most popular for. For that question, I wrote down his discovery of Cape Breton which people now know as Nova Scotia. After the test, presentations for the explorer poster began. When my partner and I showed our poster, I felt like I blacked out. My heart was pounding and I went to the bathroom to get things straight. After a while it was perfectly fine and I had fun. I am really wondering what our presentation scored. I thought we did really good. The other pairs had really great posters. Lots of brilliant color combos and rich facts to make it look fantastic. I enjoyed watching the others.
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