LouAnn's Gold/Green Book: May 3 - 7, 2010

Welcome Back!
I hope that you enjoyed your trip!

As we discussed, there will not be any math homework due on Monday.
However, if you feel ambitious please feel free to work in your math book!

As a reminder, all Mathathon books and donations are due now!

Before class begins: please visit the restroom, see Betsy if you need her and come to class prepared.

The following list will be helpful in your successful math production:

• A math notebook with graph paper or a math binder/folder
• 2 pencils- sharpened
• Water bottle
• Assignment Notebook
• A ruler
• A great attitude!

Thanks and see you Monday!

Group 2: May 3 - 7, 2010

What a fun-filled, exciting and successful week!

This is how our wonderful week unfolded:

• Writing: We described a " friend" in our Writing Journals utilizing strong descriptive words, good organization, proper sentence structure and neat handwriting!
• Reading: We are progressing in our SSR books. The following books are being read: Grace: Wild Girl, Taylor: Lucy Rose, Elodie: Summer According to Humphrey, Zoe: Wimpy Kid, Dog Days, Sam: 39 Clues, Ben: The Missing Tooth, Joseph: Jake Drake Know-It-All.
• Geography: Zoe gave a presentation on her trip to Venice. She read excerpts from her travel journal which were very informative and entertaining. We learned about Zoe's adventures, places visited and
  yummy dining experiences. Thank you Zoe!
• Historical Figures: We successfully took a quiz on Abraham Lincoln and learned about the amazing life of Helen Keller!
• In celebration of "Earth Day" we viewed the Disney production, "Oceans", at the Liberty Tree Mall cinema with Group1. We learned a great deal about the wonders of the ocean and its innumerable and incredibly diverse creatures. We were introduced to fascinating and unusual sea life, their habitats and the ongoing life cycle. The ocean is a beautiful place but, unfortunately, human indifference is its biggest threat. We all need to be conscious that the ocean is a major source of life and we need to preserve its integrity by eliminating pollution and demonstrating respect for this incredible wonder!
• Science: These brilliant students were challenged with a Science quiz on the Group 2 Science Fair projects!
• Science: We visited Endicott Park in Danvers for playground activity and a picnic. Since we are starting our studies on invertebrates, we brought our bug catchers and caught some very interesting creatures!
• "Snow Day": We visited "Monkey Joe's" and jumped around for about an hour and a half! We made ice cream sundaes and watched a fun and entertaining movie, "Big Fat Liar"! Thank you Jeff for a great "Snow Day"!

Monday 5/3/10

• "21" more days of school!
• WW: List 26- aide, arbor, bouquet, dread, eager, hose, plow, plump, quell, stalk, tunnel, urban
• Spelling Word Families:, -ine and REVIEW of -ice, ide, ime, ite families

Tuesday 5/4/10

• Reading: Book report conferences!

Wednesday 5/5/10

• 1/2 Day!! Dismissal at 12Noon.
• Spring Performance: 5 - 9PM
• "LIBRARY Day": please bring in your books and fines if applicable!
• Reading Comprehension- next section.

Thursday 5/6/10

• WW: List 26- Exercises A,C,D
• WW: Pre-test

Friday 5/7/10

• WW: Test, List 26

Group 2: April 26 - 30, 2010

We wish the Clark School Spring Trip attendees a wonderful week as they visit Chicago and Washington, D.C.!

Monday 4/26/10

• Reading: Continue in your SSR book and book reports!
• WW: List 25- aid, beggar, chord, creak, ornate, peak, pray, rapid, slender, talon, tend, urn.
• Spelling Word Families: -ice, -ide
• Spelling Word worksheet is due.

Tuesday 4/27/10

• Earth Day: To acknowledge and celebrate Earth Day (April 22, 2010) Groups 1 & 2 are attending Disney's special feature, "Oceans" at the Woburn Showcase Cinema at 10:00A.M. We will be transporting the students in the Clark School van. Following the movie, the students will have a picnic lunch at Endicott Park in Danvers, play in the playground and take a nature walk! Please pack a "picnic" appropriate snack and lunch! (We will not have access to a microwave!) We will be providing a small snack for munching during the movie. Jeanne Argento (Sam Kirby's mom) will donate waters for our excursion- THANK YOU Jeanne!


• Historic Figures: Quiz on Abraham Lincoln - please review your study guide on one of the greatest presidents of all time!

Wednesday 4/28/10

• Science: Please use the study guide for a quiz on the Group 2 Science Fair Projects. We will be quizzed on Germs, Mold, Barometers, Robots, Coqui Frogs, The Life Cycle of Frogs and The Human Skeleton!
• Reading Comprehension: Next section is due.

Thursday 4/29/10

• WW: List 25, Exercises A, C, D and Pre-test

Friday 4/30/10

• "SNOW DAY": Today is a" Snow Day" for Group 2! Since Mother Nature did not cooperate with us this year, Jeff has graciously offered to provide Group 2 with our own "virtual snow day"! Our day will include: Monkey Joe's , recess, "Make-Your-Own-Sundaes" and a movie (TBD)!
• WW: Test- List 25

Group 2: April 19 - April 23, 2010

Happy Patriot's Day!

Good luck to all of you who are running the Boston Marathon!

The Clark School Auction was not only a wonderful success but an enjoyable and fun evening.
The Silent Auction was very competitive not to mention the mind-boggling trivia contest!
Congratulations to all the winners!

Welcome Back Zoe! We missed you during your stay in Venice! Zoe is finalizing her travel journal and will share her experiences and adventures with us this week. What a great geography lesson this will be!

Another great week:

• Alicia Quintano, the storyteller, visited with Groups 1 & 2 on Wednesday morning. She and her sidekick Koala puppet, Pierre, entertained the students with great folklore stories and humorous songs. The students were challenged as they participated in Alicia's writing workshop which involved responding to a writing prompt to create an imaginative story and illustration. Upon completion, students were encouraged to present their stories to the class. What great writers we have!
• Group 2 completed wonderful writing pieces on their science projects in their journals. We are becoming more conscientious about our organization, word usage, capitalization, punctuation and handwriting.
• We are thoroughly enjoying our Group Book, Stuart Little, and Stuart's many challenges and adventures!
• In geography, we learned that there are six time zones in the United States and 24 time zones in the world! Do you know that there is a one hour difference between each time zone? California is the only state that has five time zones!
• In Social Studies, we discussed how communities change and the causes and effects of this process.
• In science, we discussed animal habitats and how they build their homes to meet their needs.
• In Historical Figures, we completed our readings on our favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, and an art project.
• In Math, students are very busy completing their Mathathon books. The completed booklets and the pledge sheets and money are due this week to Denise. Thank you for your participation for this great cause!

Monday 4/19/10

• NO School- Happy Patriot's Day!

Tuesday 4/20/10

• Reading: Please continue in your SSR books and work in your book reports. We will conference on your progress!
• Wordly Wise, List 24: aroma, await, banish, bloom, disguise, dwelling, hasty, overcome, puff, pursue, sly, tumble.
• Spelling Word Families: -ee, -eed.
• Spelling Word Family worksheet is due!

Wednesday 4/21/10

• Library Day!
• Reading Comprehension- next section.

Thursday 4/22/10

• WW: Exercises A, C, D
• WW: Pre-test

Friday 4/23/10

• WW: Test- please know definitions!

April 12 - 16, 2010

SCIENCE is the word of the week!

On Tuesday, we spent quality time taping our Science Fair presentations. On Thursday, we continued to practice our presentation format and role played with the class to fine-tune our discussions.

On Friday, Group 2 was very professional as they presented their Science Fair projects. The students chose very interesting and educational topics. Their creativity was very impressive. The Group 2 classroom was abound with a plethora of information as family, friends, teachers and peers visited the intriguing exhibits and expanded their scientific knowledge base. As an additional benefit, we enjoyed munching on creative topic-related snacks. Move over Einstein!

The following topics were presented:

1. Taylor: "Germs". We learned that the four types of germs are bacteria, virus, protozoa and fungi. Did you know that there are more germs on a keyboard than a toilet seat?! An assortment of the 4 kinds of germs were offered in the form of colorful candy nerds...
2. Gracie: "Coqui Frogs". Coqui frogs are found only in South America, Central America, Caribbean and Hawaii and grow to the size of a quarter. "Gummy" frogs tasted sweet and chewy!
3. Elodie: "Barometers". Barometers predict weather but not the temperature. The homemade barometer was very creative and proved the accuracy of Elodie's prediction. The Poland Spring bottles and marshmallow treats, which represented the water and clouds, were key elements of the experiment.
4. Sam: "Bones". The human skeleton has 420 bones as an infant and an adult has 260 bones. The bones are not lost but fused as the infant grows. Bones are made up of three matters: spongy bone, bone marrow and the shell. It was nice to have an opportunity to munch on some bones as Sam provided us with "bone" shaped cookies.
5. Joseph: "Life Cycle of a Frog". Frogs are classified as amphibians, one of the categories of the invertebrates. Our classroom tadpoles, Annakin and Padme, demonstrated one of the phases of the frog life cycle. It will take 12 weeks before our little friends become adult frogs with a developed pulmonary system, ready to face life on land.
6. Ben: "Mold". There are good and bad forms of mold. "Good" mold was discovered as a medicinal cure in the form of penicillin. "Bad" mold develops on moist surfaces and unattended food as airborne mold spores find a home. We witnessed the formation of mold on several different food products. Not a pretty sight! However, the fresh strawberry shortcake was a nice alternative!
7. Zoe: "Robots". Robots originated back in the 1920's and have developed into quite sophisticated and popular parts of society. From Hollywood to the manufacturing world, famous robots such as C3P0, Rosie from the Jetsons and R2D2 have proven that these wonders are highly capable of many tasks. Zoe's personal robot creation, Athena 2, is voice activated and made her debut at the Fair. Necco candy wafers were a hit since they are made by robots at the Necco Candy factory in Revere, MA!

Monday 4/12/10

• Reading: Please bring is a copy of Stuart Little for our Group Read! Continue to read your SSR books and work in your Book Reports. As a reminder, the following students and their prospective SSR books are below: Elodie: Mrs. Yonkers is Bonkers, Sam Kirby: Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story Ben Armour: Little Prince Know-It-All, Taylor: How Tia Lola Came to Stay, Joseph: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Grace: Wild Girl
• Wordly Wise, List 23: armor, bind, column, discover, gradual, groove, helm, ominous, peek, recover, voyage, wealthy, yearn.
• Spelling Word Families: -eam, -eat

Tuesday 4/13/10

• Write-on-Track: Please complete pages 58 - 60. (This was part of our AM work last week!)
• Book reports: We will conference on your completed pages!

Wednesday 4/14/10

• "Look- Alike" Day: This is a day to dress like your "hero" or someone special to you!
• Storyteller Visit: PAC has arranged for a storyteller to visit with Groups 1 & 2 as an enrichment program for English Language Arts. Alicia Quintano will meet with the students from 9 - 11:00AM. Thank you very much to PAC!
• Reading: Reading Comprehension books, next section. Please remember to highlight the sections that include your answers. Also, for students with a "Write About" section, please attach lined paper to your books and write at least 4 - 5 sentences, utilizing proper writing techniques to write your responses!

Thursday 4/15/10

• WW: List 23 Exercises A, C, D
• WW: Pre-test

Friday 4/16/10

• WW: List 23, Test- Please KNOW your definitions!