Idioms and Stuff

I hope that a weekly post from me is helping you to see some of what your child is doing at school.  Last week was busy and this holiday weekend has been just as busy.  I'm trying to get this post done before I get ready to tackle a trip to Cruces, yard work, sewing some gifts, and preparing for a Professional Development Conference tomorrow.

That being said.  The kids will have subs for 3 days this week.  I will be out Tuesday and Wednesday for a Professional Development Conference for MCEC (Military Child Education Coalition).  I will be back on Thursday, but then I will be out on Friday for a Spouse function in support of my husband.  There will be a few of these between now and the end of the school year.  Expect some review lessons on topics that still need some work for mastery.

Language Arts - 6
Idioms
In lieu of Valentines Day last week, we studied idioms with a focus on those that pertain to our hearts.  An idiom is statement that by itself doesn't make a whole lot of sense or is not possible.  However, our language has given meaning to these statements and we use them often.  Sometimes we don't even realize it.  After completing a worksheet to help us understand how idioms work,  we made our own.

We are also learning the parts of speech with a focus on Verbs right now.  There are so many aspects of verbs, but they're doing great.

Math 6 and Math 7

Though we did this on different days, we have been working with conversions in our Customary System.  We spent some time on Capacity this week.  Here is the visual the kids use to help them remember equivalencies.

Praise Band - Practice hard!  Hope to be there Wednesday morning.  This week's line up: 

1.  Until the Whole World Hears - Casting Crowns

2.  Let It Go - Tenth Avenue North

3.  Give Me Your Eyes - Brandon Heath

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! 

I can't believe February is half over.  The kids did a great job on the Paper Bag Book Reports that they completed.  I can never just send projects home after they have spent so much time working on them so here they are displayed in the room.  The important objects inside the bags have gone home, so if you're missing something - check to see if it's still in the bag.

We're having a busy week this week.  In the next couple of days I'll get another post up about our Valentine's lessons and working with idioms and fractions.

Have a great day!

What a Week!

Well, this has been one of those weeks.  It is half over and my lesson plans have changed at least 3 times in 3 different classes.  I've kept them updated on the assignments link on this blog but RenWeb has not been updated yet.  To keep you updated with what we're doing:

In Language Arts 6, we finished presenting our Brown Bag Book Reports.  It took 3 days!  The brief summaries turned into 10 min. retellings of the entire book.  Hmmm... we'll work on summaries.  We are also finishing up our Comma unit.  They will be testing this Friday (2/3) on Capitalization and Commas.  We will review in class tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Thursday, that means Spelling City, 3 times each, and those with sentences need to have those complete.  Test #15 will be Friday with the Language Test. :)  

Math 7:  We have been working hard on fractions but we also took a few days to study circles and circumference.  How did Mathematicians come up with Pi anyways?  The kids did a little work to figure that out.  

We've also started learning the different properties in Mathematics.  We need to be able to identify them by simply looking at equations we are given.  Since it's "heart" month.  We made examples for our classroom bulletin board.  I know they just love properties.

(Hmmm... I think we have a heart that needs to have the calculations checked :) )

Math 6:  Well ....  where do I start.  We will be going back and spending some more time on fractions - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  It's amazing how different these operations are when you apply them to fractions and mixed numbers.  The assignments page has been updated so you can see what we are doing.

Band:  We are just plugging along.  Counting Quiz #3 on Friday!  GET THOSE PRACTICE CARDS IN!!!

Have a great end of your week.

Change of Plans For Tomorrow

Please check the assignments page.  I will be out tomorrow for 3rd and 4th periods so there will be a substitute.  My lesson plans have changed for the 2 math classes.

2nd Period: You will still be taking your Lesson 14 Spelling Test and presenting your book reports tomorrow.  It will be a full class.  Come ready to work.  Study tonight for your test.  I hope your paper bags are complete and filled with creativity.

I will be back for 6th and 7th periods so the 2 band classes will not change.  If you have any questions or comments, you can comment below or email me at ag95kmb@gmail.com.

Have a great evening.

Book Report Reminder

Language Arts 6: 

Just a reminder that the Paper Bag book report is due on Friday.  We ARE NOT doing this together in class.  It must be done at home.  The kids have been given the criteria, the rubric by which they will be graded, and the brown paper bag to complete the report.  There is an oral presentation as well as the written report on and in the bag.  Here is an example of one that has already been started.  The directions are very clear on what goes on each side.  Please don't wait until Thursday night.

                            If you need another copy of the book report format, please let me know.  

Band:

Please make sure that you are practicing through line #94.  We have covered a few new music elements and rhythms that you need to be working on.  When you practice at home, we can move faster in class. :)  

Writing This Week

What a great short week this has been.  I think teachers like days off just as much as the kids.  I am enjoying teaching Language Arts so much.  After a few years of just Math, it's nice to shake things up a bit.

Language Arts 6:

We are getting some creative writing, or descriptive paragraphs, ready to submit for publication in the next few weeks.  To prepare for this, we took an in depth look at the characteristics of creative people.

(digital graphics courtesy of KPM Doodles)

We focused on Awareness and Imagination this week.  We went outside and spent 10 minutes in silence to pay attention to what each of our senses experienced.  We recorded this information on our log sheet.

The next day, we began writing and editing statements and supporting details for each of our senses.  Whether the 10 minutes were a miserable experience or an enjoyable experience, it is fun to see how each student is putting their paragraph together.  

I think the introductory sentence was the most difficult for them to come up with.

Remember:  Tomorrow is a Spelling Test.  I hope everyone has completed their Spelling City.

Math 6:  Tomorrow is our Ch. 6 Test.  Wow - we should call it Tests with Mrs. Burke day.  Next week we will begin multiplying and dividing fractions/mixed numbers.

Math 7:  We will continue working with fractions/mixed numbers and begin some geometry studies.  Hmmm... what will we do with jars, string, and rulers????

Band:  Chair Tests tomorrow and Counting Quiz!!  Be ready.  

Have a great Friday!!!

The Liebster Award

Well, I've had an active blog for about 5 days now and I really didn't think anyone knew I existed.  However, Jena, over at Caught in the Middle, must have actually paid attention when I let her know that I grabbed her button for my blog.  I love her site.  She has so much creative information to use in middle school classrooms. Thank you very much for this and for welcoming me to the blog world.  I still don't even have a button, nor do I know how to make or get one; so if anyone has any wisdom to pass on my way, I'd love it.  I just need to take the time to research it.  

The rules are you have to thank the person who nominated you, nominate 5 blogs with less than 200 followers and post it on your blog.  Check out these 4 blogs.  I'm sorry I don't have all 5.  Most people already have more than 200.

The Polka Dot Owl

It's Always A Picnic in 4th Grade

Chocolate Air

History is Elementary

Thanks again.  We get back in the swing of things tomorrow morning.  Hope everyone had a great MLK Jr. Day.