First HOT Day in Room 401

What it feels like in Room 401

Wow... It didn't take long to go from COLD to HOT in Room 401.  Without the benefit of the AC on...we had to rely on the the open windows for air.  Once it hits about 11 AM, the sun hits us head on from 11 - dismissal, so our room, with all it's windows, gets a lot of sunlight and heat.

I made it very clear to the students on Friday that anyone who didn't finish reading their independent reading book they picked out on Monday by THIS MONDAY... take their AR Test and PASS IT.. would be sitting out of recess until they did.  Several of them have gotten lazy and don't want to read.  Well... RECESS DEPENDS ON IT!

• 1st - Students took their AR Test and then checked out new books.  15 students said they didn't finish (so 15 students sat out of recess!).  Well 14, one had an extra day because they were absent on Monday.  
• 2nd - Dance
• 3rd - Chapter 10 - Freedom of the Press in Frindle.   After collecting their Frindle homework (half of them didn't do it), we read Chapter 10 and discussed it.  We made predictions about the upcoming chapters and how it would be solved.
• 4th - Mini-Lesson on expectations of the PBA.  We read the PBA, talked about the rubric, and looked at how the template they completed would make the PBA super easy.  I then did a mini lesson showing how to start a "news" report and hook the reader.  I showed them that when you prepare, writing a paragraph with support and artistry can take as little as three minutes.   I then gave them an entire 45 minutes to work on their draft after modeling how it should look:  Intro like they were a news reporter, title of book used, and what they would be discussing on the topic.   Each topic would have a heading before they started the paragraph.  Each paragraph must (MUST) have two details from the text to support it.  Each paragraph should end with a concluding statement or linking statement.  After the introduction and five body paragraphs, they should have a concluding paragraph that sums it up and shows that it was a news report.
• 5th - First we watched a Discovery Education video on the Middle Colonies.   Students working on those colonies took notes while the others watched.   At the end of the video we did the 10 true or false question quiz.   Then we moved into Chapter 11 GoMath - Show What You Know and then 11.1 lesson.  We are looking at circles in terms of fractions... each 12th is 30 degrees, so a half a circle (6/12th) is 180 degrees, 3/12th is 90... and so on.    They have to complete the practice book 11.1 for homework.
• 6th - Lunch and Recess (It was sad to see only 7-10 students playing at a time due to missed minutes for missing assignments, uniforms, behavior in dance, or not doing their independent reading.  Oh well, they will learn the hard way!
• 7th - Science Lesson 4.7 - The Hubble Telescope Nonfiction Article and questions.   After reading the article together the students answered questions about the text.   We then cleaned up the room, talked about expectations and homework, and ended the day with a fun game of Heads Up 7 Up.  

Homework:

1. Students who didn't read or finish their Independent Reading Book - Finish tonight.  Everyone else start reading new one for testing next Monday.  RECESS DEPENDS ON READING AND PASSING YOUR IR BOOK!
2. Drafting Unit 3B PBA - you had 45 minutes in class, tonight continue to finish it.   Intro, 5 body paragraphs, conclusion.  Each body paragraph needs two details from the text to support it.  Looking for linking sentences and words.  If not done tomorrow - NO RECESS!
3. Math - Practice 11.1