Homework - 10/30/2006

• Reading - Finish From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• Spelling - PB 89/90
• Grammar - PB 88
• Science (for Room 25) - WB 105

Homework - 10/27/2006

• Reading - From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - up to page 160
• Reading - Quiz Time - Section 2
• Science - WB 101

Homework - 10/26/2006

• Reading - From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - up to page 112
• Reading - Review/complete Quiz Time for section 1 (Chapters 1 & 2)
• Vocabulary - study for Michelle Kwan vocab test
• Math - study for Chapter 6 test
• Spelling - study for spelling test
• Science - read lesson 2 (Unit B, Chapter 3)

(Due to scheduled maintainence of this website, I was not able to post this Thursday after school.)

Homework - 10/25/2005

• Reading - From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - up to page 96
• Math - 94: 4-25
• Health - Case Studies 3&4

(Note: this is the updated homework for Wednesday; I was absent that day, but this is the homework that was assigned by the substitute teacher.)

Homework - 10/24/2006

• Reading - From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - up to page 80
• Grammar - PB 73 - Common and Proper Nouns

Homework - 10/23/2006

• Reading - From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - up to page 64
• Spelling - PB 81/82
• Science - Define Chapter 3 vocabulary words and Read Lesson 1
• Math - 89: 1-4 & 93: 14-25

(My apologies for not posting this on time. Our faculty meeting ran long, and many of the teachers were helping Mrs. Brown decide where to place our California Distinguished School and Title I logos.)

Homework - 10/20/2006

• Reading - Michelle Kwan test
• Math - 91: 5-18
• Reading - From the Mixed-ed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
• Science - Study for test

Vocab - "Michelle Kwan"

Here are the ten vocabulary words for Michelle Kwan:

• artistic/artistry
• elements
• elegant/elegance
• discipline
• interpreting
• eligible
• wisdom
• agony
• momentum
• qualities

Homework - 10/19/2006

• Grammar - PB 68
• Science - (1) WB 95; (2) B62-B63: 1-22; extra credit: WB 83
• Math - 87: 7-15

Reminders: (1) Five Best are due tomorrow - no exceptions (except illness). (2) Any Math Reteach sheets must be turned in tomorrow to count towards the first quarter's report card. They will not be accepted next week, and will not be considered for the second report card period. (3) There is no spelling test this week; we just never got it this week.

Here we are at Audubon Canyon Ranch! 

Homework - 10/18/2006

No homework today, due to our extended day field trip to Audubon Canyon Ranch.

Reminder: all Math Reteach sheets are due by this Friday to be counted for the first report card period.

Homework - 10/17/2006

• Five Best - Students are choosing five of their best writing journal responses to Revise, Proofread, and then Publish (i.e., copy neatly onto separate binder paper for me to grade). I gave them the grading rubric for the Five Best on Monday; they are due on Friday. There are no exceptions for the Friday due date except absence; that is the cut-off date for the first report card period.

I assigned it as homework tonight because with our all-day field trip tomorrow, the students will not have any class time to work on their Five Best.

Reminder: Our field trip to Audubon Canyon Ranch is scheduled for tomorrow. Have your children wear long pants and comfortable shoes. They should dress in layers; it could be warm or cool and foggy. They should bring a small backpack to carry their bag lunch and any extra clothes. Bottled water is highly recommended. We're leaving as close to 8:00 as we can, and we are scheduled to return to Lafayette at 3:30.

Homework - 10/16/2006

• Reading - Read Michelle Kwan; and Suggest ten vocabulary words on the Stoplight Vocabulary worksheet with the page number(s) where the word appears
• Grammar - Study for Theme One Grammar Test
• Math - Problem Solving 4 due tomorrow

Curriculum Update - 10/13/2006

• Math - We have completed Chapter 5 and the students will take the test on Monday. Some students will be taking the pre-test on Chapter 6 that same day.
• Grammar - We have completed the last lessons, on Singular and Plural Nouns, for Theme One. We'll review those assignments on Monday, and the first grammar test will be on Tuesday. The post from Friday, September 15 shows all the grammar lessons that will be included on the first grammar test.
• Writing - Next week the students will be working on the Five Best. They'll be selecting five of their best writing journal entries from the first quarter, revising them (making them better), proofreading them (correcting grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes), and then publishing them - rewriting them neatly for me to grade. These count as 25% of their writing grade for the first quarter, with the narrative counting for the other 75%.

Homework - 10/13/2006

Science - Answer the Review Questions on Page B49: 1-3, 5 and Complete WB 91

Field Trips

• We had to reschedule the Exploratorium field trip again. For some arcane reason that doesn't make any sense to Ms Arios and me, the Laidlaw free schoolbuses are not available for field trips during short weeks. Since Monday was Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day/Dia de la Raza, we don't have a free bus for Friday. We will send home another field trip permission slip when we have it rescheduled.
• Our field trip to Audubon Canyon Ranch is still on for next Wednesday. Look for the permission slip for that field trip soon. Reminder: we also need $5 for that field trip to cover the cost of the bus; the field trip itself is free, but the transportation there and back is not. We will reschedule our fundraiser for another time to benefit our promotion field trip and ceremony at the end of the year.

Homework - 10/12/2006

• Spelling - Study for tomorrow's test
• Math - 79: 8-20 and 81: 1-4

Homework - 10/11/2006

• Vocabulary - Study for La Bamba test
• Math - 73: 4-9 and 76: 18-50 (even)

Note: I was not able to post this yesterday as there was no Internet access in the afternoon. I'm not sure what the outage was caused by, but it did affect other teachers here as well.

Curriculum Update - 10/10/2006

• Writing - The narrative, the major writing assignment of the first quarter, was due last Friday. I will still accept them late through this Friday. We'll be spending more time talking about the daily writing journal, what makes a good paragraph, and how I'll be grading them for the report card.
• Reading - We're working on the La Bamba vocabulary. We'll also start reading Michelle Kwan this week.
• Spelling - Compound Words
• Grammar - Word Roots: -struct- and -rupt- and later this week: Singular and Plural Nouns
• Math - We have finished Unit One, which is place value and adding and subtracting with whole numbers and decimals. We have begun Unit Two, which is Algebra with addition and multiplication, which means subtraction and division by default. We'll review some basic concepts, including averages: mean, median, and mode, in chapters 7 and 8, but we won't study every lesson or take the tests for those two chapters.
• Science - We have finished Chapter 1 in Unit B and have begun Chapter 2, on weather. The students will get their Chapter 1 tests back tomorrow.
• Health - We are starting with some lessons on bullying. The first lesson was last Tuesday when I was absent. We had some good discussion today, so we didn't finish the lesson I had planned, but it was time well spent. We'll probably continue our discussion next week.
• P.E. - Mr. T is giving the students a taste of the fitness test they'll be taking in the spring. So, don't be surprised if I start giving some push-ups and sit-ups for homework.

Homework - 10/10/2006

• Spelling - PB 69/70
• Grammar - PB 43
• Math - 70: 8-24
• Health - Home Workout

Vocabulary - "La Bamba"

Here are the vocabulary words the students need to study for the La Bamba vocabulary test, which will be next week:

• commotion
• mingled
• functional
• maneuvered
• dramatically
• fortunately
• assured
• confident
• energetically
• intently

Newsletter - Issue 5

Homework Policy

I routinely assign homework five times a week. The homework I assign reinforces what I am teaching, and gives the students an opportunity to practice what they are learning in the classroom. Students should be able to complete their homework independently. Of course, it is always helpful if you check your child's homework to support and encourage their good work and study habits.

The Student and Parent/Guardian Handbook states that homework should not exceed “30 minutes per day at grades 4 – 5.” I try to keep the amount of homework reasonable and a good use of student time. Students should also regularly set aside time to study and review what they are learning.

I thoroughly explain all homework assignments. Students are responsible for asking me questions about the homework before they leave school. They must pay attention in class and understand how to do the assignment once they get home.

Audubon Canyon Ranch

Thank you to the families that have made donations to our fund raiser. Unfortunately, we have run out of time to raise money for our field trip to Audubon Canyon Ranch on Wednesday, October 18, 2006.

Ms Arios and I are asking each family to donate $5 to offset the cost of this extended day field trip that requires us to rent a bus.

We will reschedule our fundraiser and put those proceeds towards the fifth-grade promotion ceremony and field trip.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

This is just to remind you that Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, October 30 through Friday, November 3, 2006. I will be sending a form home in the Wednesday envelope for October 18, 2006. I schedule appointments on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure your child returns the form to me promptly. I have a very tight schedule to fit in 35 conferences, but I will do my best to give you one of your three choices.

Student and Parent/Guardian Handbook

In a recent Wednesday envelope, you received the Student and Parent/Guardian Handbook for this year. Please return page i (Parent/Guardian/Caregiver Agreement Form) and page v and vi (Acceptable Use Agreement). Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the information included, notably the Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities on pages 53 to 55.

Homework 10/6/2006

Science - Read Lesson 2 of Chapter 2 (Unit B)

Homework 10/5/2006

• Narrative - final draft due tomorrow (I will accept it late through next Friday, but I will have to automatically grade down any late papers)
• Spelling - study for tomorrow's test
• Science - finish work not completed in class: 1) Define vocab for chapter 2 on page B36; 2) Read lesson 1 pages B40-B43; 3) Answer red check questions; 4) Answer Review questions on page B43: 1-3, 5; and 5) Complete WB 87

I have not assigned a great deal of homework, because I really want the narratives turned in on time tomorrow.

Mr. Walker Update

As I'm sure you've heard, I've been out sick for a couple of days, and I'm still on the mend; I estimate I'm only at 70%. And I was out one day last week when my elder son was sick. My younger son got sick over the weekend, and then I finally succumbed to it. The students have weathered this inconsistency well, and it's really just been a couple of bumps in the road.

However, I am a little behind in getting things graded, but I'm working quickly to get caught up. I took many things home with me yesterday, and did finish quite a bit of grading. So please be patient with me as I get caught up.

Today, I passed back the Earthquake Terror reading test. Most students did relatively well or are where I'd expect them to be at the beginning of fifth grade.

I have finished grading their Earthquake Terror vocabulary test, and they'll probably get that back tomorrow. I want to give them further feedback on the sentences they're writing on the vocabulary tests.

I have also graded the Chapter 4 math test, and I will be giving many students the Chapter 5 pre-test tomorrow. I have not passed this back yet as I have to prepare some Reteach Requests for a handful of students who did not do so well on this test.

All of the fifth-grade students took their first science test on Wednesday, and I am almost halfway through grading those tests. Expect to get those back early next week, probably Monday.

Also, I have begun the Success Board in the classroom. Each student has prepared an index card with his or her name. They are to select some schoolwork (test, homework, classwork) that they feel they have been successful at, give it to me, and then I display it under their index card on the bulletin board. I ask the students to always have something on display. I understand that many parents want to see the results of tests, and I encourage and support you in that. I am always telling the students that it's okay to take a test home to show you first, and then bring it back in to class to display on the Success Board.

Homework - 10/2/2006

• Reading - Study for La Bamba reading test; Complete PB 84-85
• Math - Study for Chapter 4 test

Reminder: The narrative writing assignment is due this Friday, October 6, 2006.