Tuesday News

Today was quite a busy day for the kiddos and myself.  We did a great deal, but still found time for "indoor" recess.   Let's get started recapping this day!

• 1st period - The kids were supposed to have dance, but for some reason they had a sub for Mr. Nunez.
• 2nd period - Our focus in reading today was "characters and characterization".  We read chapter 5 of "The Boxcar Children" and did a lot of discussion.  We finished the chapter and then the students picked one of the four main characters to complete a character map.  They had to look at the character in different views (Behavior, Description, Personality, and Feelings).  We then had a U-Shape sharing session where they talked about their findings and the other students agreed or disagreed or added more information.   My goal was for the students to realize that good readers use the text to build understandings about characters by what the author writes about them.  I think it went over pretty well.
• 3rd period - ReadyGen Lesson 4A.17 - The focus was comparing characters and text structure across multiple texts.  We talked about two character from two different books and the kids discussed how they were alike and how they were different.  Then the students were given a 4 column chart and they had to compare text structure across the four texts we are using - "Lunch Money", "Max Malone", "Coyote School News" and our new novel "The Boxcar Children".   They were given three criteria and they had to go from text to text to make comparisons about the structure of the text. 
• During this period we were actually quite busy!  Mrs. Nelson wanted to come see our class in action.  A bit later, Ms. Mendoza came in to do a student survey.  I had to leave the room during that time so they would answer freely.  I went to Mrs. Nelson's office and we talked about what she saw.   I was very excited to hear that not only did she enjoy the lesson, but was impressed with the progress our kids are making.   
• 4th period -  A few students were having issued with the elapsed time concept, so we spent a bit of time reviewing the process of using a timeline to add or subtract time from either the starting time or the ending time to figure out elapsed time.  I had students come up to the board to work the problems and explain them in "kid speak" to see if that would help the students who had misunderstandings.   Then we did "rotation" math.   I put a different skill sheet at each table (all working with the standards we have been studying, just in different ways).  The kids have between 10-15 minutes to work on the skills.  If they are confused they can ask anyone in their group or me for help.   They have the answers at each table too so they can check their progress or understanding at any time.  It is my hope that with this much practice and group coaching that they will do really well on the upcoming Chapter 12 test and Performance Task!
• 5th period - GoMath 12.10 - Mixed Measures - The students now had to use all the skills they have learned about converting different measures to add and subtract mixed measures.  They had to convert, borrow, regroup with these measures... so they had to know if they ended up with 18" it was really 1 foot and six inches...  If they borrowed a foot, it was really 12 inches they were adding... and so forth.. It was the higher level of blooms (analysis and application of knowledge).  We did the practice together, they worked several problems alone, and then I sent them off to do their Practice Book section 12.10.
• 6th period - Lunch/Inside Recess
• 7th period - Social Studies - We went over their homework and talked about each vocabulary word and its meaning.  Then we did an activity looking at a painting to see what we could figure out without reading a text.   This painting was of George Washington's swearing in ceremony.  I wanted them to really look at each part.  What was the "story" in the portrait.  We had a great discussion and the kids were actually very observant.   I taught them a few tricks and they seemed to enjoy the activity.   We then started reading and discussing section 1 in Chapter 6.  We got about 1/2 way in before it was time to pack up, pass out homework, and head home.  

Homework:

Reading:  Character Trait Multiple Choice Worksheet

Math: GoMath 12.9 (either ReTeach or Enrich)