Finally....

I wont say that the kids are back to the kids I had BEFORE break... but today was the best day we have had it two weeks...  Yesterday just about did me in... of course, I think it was a full moon, so maybe we have cosmically turned a corner...

NOW... Down to business!

• 1st period we had ELA test Prep first thing.  Kids came to the meeting area and we read the article together.  We looked at how the text was structured and how the structure helped us understand the text.   Then we looked at the constructed response question and we talked about how to use the question to answer the question.  We then went back into the text and found our "answer" and our evidence to support it.   After Test Prep - the kids broke into Book Clubs and read for 20/25 minutes.   They ended the session by filling out an 'exit' slip.  
• 2nd period - Science with Ms. Galan
• 3rd period - Today's we read pages 16-19 in our text QUAKE!  We focused on being able to recall key ideas and details.  We also worked on how the author provides information and evidence that allows the reader to understand the characters more in-depth.   Our writing also focused around pulling evidence from the text to write an opinion paragraph about the main character Jacob.  For homework they had a half page writing prompt that I gave them.
• 4th period - We started with Math Test Prep and then moved into GoMath 7.6 which focused on adding with fractions to make mixed numbers and taking a mixed number and converting it back to a fraction (improper fraction).  The kids really enjoyed that they could see it by looking at the fraction models and do the algorithm.  We will do more practice with this on Monday, but we got a lot of practice today and for homework they did the Mid-Chapter Check Up!
• 5th period - STAR ELA Test!  When they were done they were allowed to work on Waggle ELA.
• 6th - Lunch.   Table 1 had the most point this week, but sadly two of the boys at the table had to change their strips multiple times this week and today so they were not invited back to the room for the celebration.  Since the group was really small, I asked them to think of one student who really deserved something special and they decided to invite Briannie back for lunch with their winning table!

• 7th period - We had a town hall meeting with all the 4th and 5th grade students where they talked with Mrs. Landin and Mr. Hernandez about getting ready for the state tests, classwork, and portfolios.  That working hard now would mean they didn't have to partake in summer school and worrying about promotion to the next grade level.  I hope the town hall meeting got them focused, excited, and ready to learn!

Homework:

• ELA Test Prep CR Question / Math Test Prep Question
• Writing: Writing Prompt on the character Jacob
• Math:  Chapter 7 Mid-Point Check Up
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