Click the picture above to go to the Study Jams website.It would be a good idea to review the worksheet before you view the video...

Click "play video" to watch the video. (Pay attention!)
Click "sing" to hear the song.

Now click the picture below to review Physical and Chemical Changes:


Reviewing this interactive program will help you answer questions on the seat work for today as well.

Today, we had a lot of fun. There was an extra long convo due to the last Hat ceremony, (Yay, Griffin!) so afterward, we barely had time to complete the Caught Ya and math boxes (page 234) before we went to keyboarding.

After Spanish, I gave the class a multiplication quiz. It is the same test you took in the fall: 90 problems in five minutes. We are going to see how much more efficient we are now. My guess is that you'll be surprised at how many more you could answer today!


We played with Oobleck this morning, too, which is a colloidal suspension. (Only a TEENY bit messy, I promise!) See the posts below that show you how it works. We also learned that Oobleck is a polymer and talked about the difference between polymers and monomers...good stuff. :)

After giving a resounding cheer to the graduating seniors and an exhausting PE, we held rotation. This included reviewing our literature circle questions from yesterday and making progress on our National Park studies.

We have missed you today and look forward to your return on Monday!
:)Mrs. Neal

After we met in our Discovery Groups today, we finalized all of our Mother's Day projects. I sent home your book to you so you could work on it. Just don't let Mom get a peek!

I shared with the students the rubrics for our National Parks today. You can find the rubric specific to note-taking here and the rubric for your blog entries here. I also talked to them about the importance of writing articles that are interesting, but not hokey...full of information, but not list-like...and I mentioned that we must figure out how to connect ideas. See below for a little help:

After we spent time with Mr. Shane in the lab, we completed a math lesson. I'd post the power point below, but all the animations wouldn't work that way. We basically talked about how to share lots and lots of money. It involved breaking $100 bills into $20 bills...and $20 bills into $10 bills...and $10 bills into fives...you get the point. We completed page 222 in our math journals using fake bills. The children loved the Benjamins!

During rotation today, we had fun baking cookies for our Mother's Day tea tomorrow. Seatwork included finishing the advertisement for the Roald Dahl invention you started (Wonka Candy). I sent home the rubric and directions with your brother.

I hope you feel better soon! We miss you!
:)Mrs. Neal

Or another...
One more?

It's Cinco de Mayo, but we've been busy thinking ahead to Mother's Day!

So, we've been work, work, working on our books...

And creating cards for our moms...

And finishing our gifts.

This morning, we also talked about factors in math. You might not be aware that you already know about factors. We've played Factor Capture a few times. Do you remember how? You need to find numbers for the opposing team that have very few factors. 21, for instance, has the factors of 7,3,1, and 21. Hmmm...that's a lot of factors. A number like 31 only has two factors: 1 and 31. We'll play a few more rounds this week.

Please complete page 220 in your math journal as well.

This afternoon, during rotation, we will read in our Matter Splatter books (pages: 20-27 ) and write our advertisement for the Roald Dahl art project. I'll send home the rubric for you.

The last part of the day will be spent in the lab, reading and taking notes on your National Park project.

We can't wait for you to get back!
:)Mrs. Neal

This morning, we diligently worked on finishing our Mother's Day projects. Not everyone is finished, but we will need to be done by Thursday, for sure.

I also reviewed the Wordly Wise words for lesson 15. There is homework (parts A and B) tonight, so please review the power point in one of the previous posts or play the Kubbu crossword to refresh your memory.

During Math today, we reviewed how to multiply larger numbers using the Partial Products Algorithm. Go ahead....say that again...Partial Products Algorithm...sounds fascinating doesn't it?! (We talked about what that meant exactly: Partial (portion) Product (answer to a multiplication problem) Algorithm (formula). I love using big words...you should, too!)
Please look at the power point below for a review and complete page 217 in your math journal, using page 217 in your Student Reference Book- which is where the menu is located.

This afternoon, we will talk about Roald Dahl and his hilarious books. The class is starting an art project in his honor. Everyone will invent a new product, based on the book read in class. See below:

Matilda: Create a new itching powder to use against your enemies. (Much like the one Hortensia used on the Trunchbull.)
James and the Giant Peach: Create a new artistic label for Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker's latest Get-Rich-Quick-Scheme- GIANT PEACH SEEDS!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Create a new and improved chocolate bar. Yours can do ANYTHING, much like the gum Violet Beauregarde chewed or the Square Candies that Look Round.

During Seatwork today, the students will design and color their newest creation. Not only will your invention have a creative name but a slogan as well. Tomorrow, we'll discuss how to write an advertisement for your newest invention so that they will sell like hotcakes. For now, all we'll do is design and color the labels.

In small groups, we will be reading in our Matter Splatter books, pages 4-7. My intent is to help the students identify what important information we should highlight as we read.

This afternoon, we will discuss the National Park trip. Teams will decide which research job each person will have. I also intend to share with them the "menu" of items you have to choose from in your research. I will have your menu ready once you let me know which research job you prefer (Biologist, Tour Guide, Park Ranger, Historian). Any teams who have not finished their "roadtrip" must try to do so this afternoon. I believe your team is missing some information on the purple ledger...and your travel log needs to be returned to me once everything is up to date.

We miss you and are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!
:)Mrs. Neal

The latter part of this week was both challenging and fun! We finished the ERBs (I hear a resounding cheer from the rest of the class.) and we participated in our final All School Convo for the year. In between that, we did try to complete some work.

Science: We reviewed the difference between Physical and Chemical Changes. (Please review the power point below. The hyperlinks should still work.)

Afterward, I demonstrated a chemical change in the classroom. I placed a small candle in the bottom of a glass bowl and sprinkled baking soda around the edges of it. I lit the candle and then poured a small amount of vinegar around the candle so that it could mix with the baking soda. What do you think happened? Everyone made a prediction and wrote it down on an experiment form.

This is essentially what took place:



I tried to relight the candle several times. Do you think it worked? What do you think happened to the flame?

Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Zukoski visited and held some super, secret meeting I'm not supposed to know anything about. You'll have to ask Jared for clarification when you return. We also were able to preview the books at the Book Fair. Don't worry, we get to go back next week!

Friday, we continued working on our own super, secret Mother's Day project. :)

We also were introduced to the new Wordly Wise words for Lesson 15 (see post) and held the final spelling bee. It was a tough one!

Believe it or not, between keyboarding class, fine arts, and the All School Convo, Friday just zipped by. Be sure to check out the blog Monday afternoon for a recap of our day as well.

See you soon! We miss you!
Mrs. Neal