4-26-11

MATH: Check out the percentage/fraction/decimal table on p.670. I had students copy it into their Math Journals. (Of course there were a few who just didn't want to do that, so they won't be able to use it on test day. As your child to see his/her Math Journal to see if s/he copied it. No Math Journals are left at school, so they should have them.) We practiced finding percentages of numbers to get ready for today's homework assignment. It was a difficult lesson for many. We practiced the whole math time and I didn't give any time for working on the actual homework assignment. Therefore, I reduced the homework assignment: p.671 #1-5, 7-10. We'll see how many understood it and go from there.

LANGUAGE ARTS: Yesterday we created lists of memories: pre-school years (0-5 years old) and school years (Kindergarten - 5th grade). Today we used those lists to write several paragraphs of these memories. They must write a minimum of one paragraph each for those two time eras. Most students wrote several paragraphs for each time era. Each paragraph should highlight one memory.

Tomorrow we start creating futures! Students will look ahead through crystal balls and see what great things they will accomplish in junior and high schools. Will they excel in a sport? Will they be known for how friendly they are? Will they take classes that help them graduate early and hit college at 16? It's their stories They can create futures that will hopefully turn into reality.

GRAMMAR: I assigned a worksheet "Using the Right Word" pages 3 & 4. I went over all the words (except "aloud" and "allowed"). Most kids got done with 75% of the questions. It's due tomorrow.

SOCIAL STUDIES: PLEASE GET YOUR CHILD A POSTER BOARD FOR THE GREAT AMERICAN HERO PROJECT. (Just the normal size, NOT the three-sided science fair type.) Don't work on the posters at home - there's a special way to put pictures, facts, and captions on. We'll be doing this at school. (Gotta love that, right?)

Students were assigned to find a picture of their Great American Hero and to print it. Please help them find one tonight if they didn't get one printed at school. They will be using a grid system to hand-draw their heroes. Hopefully we can start it on Thursday. Students have also been busy researching their heroes to find 10 interesting or unknown facts. They will be typing them up in about 24 point font size for the facts and the captions.

COMMUNITY CIRCLE: We took time to talk about bullying at Cedar Ridge (again). Most students said they had been bullied here at least once, and many said it happens regularly. We talked about what bullying is, what phrases could be interpreted as bullying, and why this isn't good. I also mentioned that joking around can be considered bullying when it hurts feelings. On the other hand, I told kids that sometimes they just need to stop being so sensitive (get a thicker skin) and not let others have so much control over their emotions.

We also talked about physical violence, even gently shoving. At the end we discussed strategies to use when being bullied: ignore, walk away, tell an adult, say something humorous i.e. Bully: "Your ugly!" Response: "Have you ever looked in a mirror?" or simply saying, "So what's your point?" It was a good discussion and I hope it helps with those who have been calling names, etc.