I also asked students to interview someone who is older than them--their parents' age or older. It can be a family member or a family friend. The questions have to do with how things have changed over that person's lifetime.

The final draft, typed questions and answers (or a sets of paragraphs) is due Monday, October 14.

​You can see the directions here:

We had a great talk today about how hard this class is and about how it's easier to "hit the wall" in elementary school instead of high school or college.

I told the kids if they feel like they are in the deep end of the pool, that makes sense. My job is to teach them how to swim. To encourage them--to "put courage in."

We ran into a few technical difficulties in the computer labs this week, so I told the kids I would give them more time next week to work on their job applications and the writing prompt about their place or adventure (or both). No homework over the weekend!

The image shows the notes from our first grammar lesson. We talked about how writing might be important for a variety of reasons. One boy said you might need to be able to write to do your job. I told about a class I took on computer programming for gaming. I asked the instructor what classes students should take to get into the filed. He said (wait for it) grammar and creative writing! Wow, were my students surprised! See if your child can tell you why those classes would be important for that kind of job.

FIRST
Tuesday, Sept 3, 12-1:30, is the Suquamish Elementary Back to School Round-up. Bring the kids to see the classroom--and me! In case you can't make it, here is the main information I've already posted on the board:

First of all, here is the SUPPLY LIST for the 2019-2020 school year!

Second, you will want to notice the CALENDAR button on the right (under my picture). As I make plans for the school year this summer, I will continue to update the school calendar for the year.

Parents, you will want to check that calendar at least every week for updates on due dates.

​Students, as we agree on due dates in class, you will want to remind me to add them to the calendar!

We finished our last poetry readings. We read a different poem nearly every day in April for National Poetry Month. Now students are writing their own poems: cinquain, diamonte, haiku, autobiography poems, and more.

Ask to read the poems in your child's 3-ring binder--the ones from our literature unit and the ones they wrote.

Monday  is PJ Day. Come to school in your pajamas!
Tuesday is College and Career Day. Do you have a shirt or sweatshirt from a college or university you hope to attend someday? Or you could come to school dressed up like the career you hope to have.
​Wednesday is Crazy Socks Day. 
Thursday is Suquamish Spirit Day. Wear your Suquamish shirt or sweatshirt. (A field day shirt works.) Thursday is also the Earth Day and online check-in evening extravaganza. 
Friday is Freaky Friday. We said we would all try to come dressed like Mr. B. (Don't tell!)

​Meanwhile we will continue to read poems for Poetry Month. I hope your children are sharing the poems we are reading together every day.

Today we talked about how to write high-quality conclusions for science experiments. I told the class, "When you are asked to write a conclusion, you will write several sentences." Here are the notes from today's lesson:

• The first sentence will go back to the hypothesis and tell if it was true or not. (The hypothesis was correct.)
• The second and third sentences reference the low and high data points. (The plants with three hours of light a day grew three inches. The plants with 12 hours of light a day grew nine inches.)
• The fourth sentence starts with the word "overall" and shows the relationship between the low and high data, preferably with a multiplier. (Overall, the plants with 12 hours of light a day grew three times taller than the plants with three hours of light.)
• The last sentence answers the question "why." (Obviously, plants need light to grow.)

We've hit the ground running this new year!

Everyone has their copy of The Secret Garden and the worksheet to go with it. We all agreed that reading a chapter a night would be a reasonable expectation. (That includes reading seven days a week--weekends too.)

Mrs. Jennings spent the first week introducing the Great Thinkers projects to ALL our fourth grade students. I spent the first week introducing the Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) in social studies to ALL our fifth grade students. The fourth graders have paperwork in their 3-ring binders. The fifth graders have paperwork and study aids in the student resources.

Here are the topics the children have chosen so far.

We spent a long time one morning filling in due dates for the trimester into the student planners in the students' 3-ring binders. Now you have due dates on the calendar and in the planner. 

​In the computer lab we've done two of the district-mandated SBA interim tests. Think of them as short versions of sections of the SBA, useful for practice.

Mrs. Jennings plan to start our Earth and Sun science unit any day now. It helps, of course, to have some sun!

The most fun part of the week, probably, was the work we did on the colonial simulation. We sailed to the New World. Every group has landed. We've played a round or two. Ask you child how their colonists have fared!

Any work that's left from the first trimester is homework. I'm not giving anymore class time to "finish your work" or "get your name off the board."

I graded the novel worksheets over the weekend and handed them back for corrections, which are due by Wednesday, Dec. 5.

This is the last week to get first trimester work to me so I can get it all graded. This weekend I will be working on report cards!

We finished our Mixtures and Solutions unit and all the physical science chapters in Science: A Closer Look.

This week we start work on our Colonies unit.
​
Meanwhile, we started our second trimester poetry readings, which we will get done in December. Plus everyone got their next choice novel and the worksheet to go with it. Ready, set, second trimester!