Biography Project

Here are some of the 'cheat' pictures for our biography mobiles.  Each student's mobile should have the following components, as well as a photograph of the hero and a caption to match.  We will assemble the parts together in class, but some individual pieces may need to be taken home to complete.

Glossary (front and back): alphabetized, defined based on the importance of the word to the hero's life.

A front/back quote card with the quote from the hero on the front, and an explanation for why the student liked it on the back.

A timeline!  Nice and neat, with the dates on the top and the events on the bottom.

This is a "free choice" card--I used a symbol that was important to my hero's life (Clara Barton started the American Red Cross)

Have fun researching your hero!  Remember that hero biographies and projects are due Friday, March 27th (before spring break)

Field Trip to the Crocker and California Indian Museum

On February 20th, we had another fantastic field trip!

We left school at 9:30, and got to the Crocker Art Museum at 10:00.  Our tour wasn't until 11, so we spent some time in groups sketching the river...

...and then we got to eat lunch there!

Our next stop was the Crocker Art Museum, where students learned about how artists use their imagination (and I loved seeing their polite manners on this trip!  They listened to the docent, examined the art and shared their observations, and asked questions without judgment.)

After the Crocker, we got back on the bus and went to the California Indian Museum.  There, we had another half hour or so before our tour so we went on a scavenger hunt around the park.  Here is a group looking quite serious:

...and another, smiling group!

Thank you so much to everyone for your donations, for supporting our field trips, and for the chaperones who came with us and made it possible!  Two field trips down, two to go!

20 Book Challenge Evidence Examples

I apologize in advance for the wonky directions of the pictures...Blogger wouldn't let me rotate them!

For fiction evidence, your child could do a flipbook...

...a booklet...

... a puppet (character from the book)...

...a review/advertisement...

...a poster (limit 2)...

...or a commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdTm-jlWsHE 

Please reference the papers I sent home this week for more ideas and examples!

Teeny Tiny Class Valentines Party

On Valentines Day, in addition to our card/treat exchange...

...we got to eat some delicious cookies...

...try to move a cookie from our foreheads to our mouths without using our hands...

...played Minute to Win It games like "pick up the conversation hearts with chopsticks"...

..."stack the conversation hearts"...

...and "catch marshmallows in your mouth"!

What a great afternoon with friends!

When is a Whole Not a Whole?

...when it's a HOLE, of course!

We started our Fractions unit in early February, and spent a day finding like fractions of various wholes.

For example, a fourth a glass of water...

...a tenth of a glass of water will look different than a tenth of a ball of playdough!

We found fractions of amounts of water, balls of playdough, lengths of rope and paper, and more!

WOW!  We discovered that as the denominator gets bigger, the equal parts get smaller!

Native American Legends and Phases of the Moon

For our California Indians unit, we read many legends around our "fire" (and completed some projects that went with the legends, like the clay pots in progress below)

We also studied phases of the moon! (and students should be completing moon journals at home)

One fun way to study moon phases is to use oreos as representations of the different phases!

...Waning gibbous, anyone?

Pen Pals!

Did you know we have pen pals?  

We have 5th grade pen pals from Miss Raski's sister's class in Davis!  How fun!

Since we've been practicing writing friendly letters in class, it would be a good idea to practice at home, as well!

Cozy Christmas

We had a delightful cozy Christmas morning on our last day of school before Christmas break...

...and took some very silly pictures :)

,,,mm, what a delicious brunch!

...our Elf themed tables...

How fun to watch Elf...

...and give our Secret Santa gifts!

Field Trip to the Wetlands!

On January 12th, we visited the Yolo Bypass Wetlands!

Thankfully, our field trip had been rescheduled from a wildly wet and windy day to a calmer, more foggy and misty day with sunshine at the end!

We listened to a brief introduction about the importance of the wetlands and the rules for the day...

...learned about what signs and scat we might find around...

...studied soils...

...scooped up various plants and animals in the water...

...examined our scoops...

...examined paw prints to determine which animals may be around...

...participated in the Great Percolation Race to understand why clay soil is so important to the wetlands...

...and then got to venture out to the wetlands themselves to see what animals we could see!

After  a long day, we were all tired out!

What a great field trip!