First footage from the upcoming Coraline movie!

Anyone who has read Coraline by Neil Gaiman has probably been wondering when someone would make a movie version. Well, I just read on Mr. Gaiman's site that the movie should be coming to theaters in about a year. Click on the link below to see a short clip.

http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Cool_Stuff/Video_Clips/Coraline_Sneak_Preview

For a review of the book, click here.

Alliteration - by Graham

Great Graham

gets great grapes

from Gary Grape,

who gets grapes

from the

Great Grape Farm.

by Great Graham

Alliteration - by Katie

Betty

Beaver

bakes

better

burgers than

Billy Bob!!

Haiku - by Alexis

That dog is so cute.

I just wish I could take it.

Yeah I got a dog!

By: Alexis

Sarah's Tongue-Twister Haiku

I love you so much


From your super-cool sister


Try this three times fast!

Courtney's Haiku

Super duper cool


Never gets into schooling


Always gets to rule

Acrostic Haiku - By Sarah

D ad, wait don't sit down!

O h no you sat down on it!

G ee, that's got to hurt!

5th Grade Newbery Voicethread Project (under construction)

The kids have been working on putting together a Voicethread presentation to celebrate the Newbery books they read over Thanksgiving break. Each student was responsible for reading a different Newbery Award winner and doing some research on the author. In addition, kids were instructed to keep a log of powerful language (similes and metaphors) that helped "paint a picture" in their minds as they read. Using this figurative language as inspiration, the kids are now working on creating an illustration that represents a chosen simile or metaphor.

To view the project under construction, click here. Check back often, as the presentation will continue to be updated as more kids complete their pages.

Tessellations All Around Us!

Tiled Hex Tessellation, folded by Danilo
Originally uploaded by EricGjerde.

In math class last week we explored tessellations. A tessellation is an arrangement of repeated, closed shapes that cover a surface so no shapes overlap and no gaps exist between shapes (we even wrote a song about it - ask your child to sing it to you!).

For homework, the kids were asked to look for 'real-world' examples of tessellating patterns. Here are a few they came up with:

kitchen cabinets/kitchen windows
wood floors/tile floors
pattern on tablecloth
chess board
herringbone sweater
screen door
piano keys
pattern on couch
calendar
patio tile pattern
grillwork on fireplace
pattern on blanket

Nice work, 5th graders! Next week we'll be doing a cool project where you will learn how to make interesting pieces of art using tessellations of ordinary (regular) polygons. For a sneak peek, check out this link on M.C. Escher - http://www.mcescher.com

What Reading Is!

lightbulb
Originally uploaded by Pedrick.

Good job, class! I knew I couldn't trick you with a question like "What is Reading?" In any event, read on for more of my thoughts on what reading is...

We read for many reasons: escape from reality, enjoy the sound of interesting/playful language, explore important issues, get information, learn something, etc.

What is reading? Is reading knowing the letters, and what sounds they make? Is reading figuring out the words on the page? Both of these are important skills that help us learn to read, but reading is about more than “decoding” words. Reading is thinking. You have to figure out what the words mean, sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it’s hard.

Our four major goals for you for the rest of this year (and beyond) are:
1. to get better at understanding what you read (not just knowing what the words say)
2. to use reading to gain knowledge about the world around you and your relation to it (and to use that knowledge to get the message of a piece of writing, form an opinion, or gain a deeper understanding of an issue)
3. to think more deeply about what you read (to gain insight, which makes you a more interesting person!)

Teacher responsibilities: To help you reach these goals, we will teach you several strategies that good readers use. We will try our best to show you how to use these strategies, not just tell you what to do. We are readers, too! We use these strategies everyday.

Student responsibilities: To help yourself reach these goals, we expect you to listen to and watch us carefully, and also to make every effort to use and practice these strategies in class and at home.

If we each take care of our responsibilities, all of us will be successful!

What is Reading?

Read our students' responses, then tell us what you think reading is by leaving a comment....

"Reading is thinking." SS

"Reading is thinking." NL

"Reading is thinking." CL

"Reading is thinking." GC

"Reading is thinking." EP

"Reading is thinking." AH

"Reading is thinking." LN

"Reading is thinking." AL

"Reading is thinking." JE

"Reading is thinking." ES

"Reading is thinking." GC

"Reading is thinking." KH

"Reading is thinking." LN

"Reading is thinking." KN

"Reading is thinking." JL

"Reading is thinking." Anonymous

"Reading is thinking." Anonymous

Kapeesh?!

Early Results of Class Survey on 'Good Listening'

Thanks to those of you who have left your comments on the "Good Listening in Class" post from last week. As promised, here are your comments (names deleted). Look for a follow-up post with my thoughts as well as those of Mrs. C.

1. I rate our class a 6 because we have a bad time during transition and we do that a lot.
I rate myself an 8 because I listen most of the time, but I have to admit that I can stare off into space.

2. I would rate the class a 4.5 for good listening and paying attention!
I would rate myself a 8 for good listening and attention!

3. I think that the class behavior would be about a 5.
Again I think I am not doing so well either, So I rate myself a 4.

4. I rate the class 4.
Me a 4.

5. I rate the class a 6 and myself a 5.

6. My rating of our class would be a 4.5. I is loud alot of the time and it is hard to consatrste.
My rating of my self would be 7.5. I try to listen all of the time but I get distracted and some times I half to talk.

7. I rate the class a 3 because the class talks to much and we hardly ever lisen and Mr.C. has to repeat to much.
I rate me as a 3.5 because i talk to much to my friends but i still do my homework and i always get distrected.

8. There is to much talking around the classroom and nobodys not talking.I rate are classroom a 5 on talk,but it goes down to a three at the end of the day.

9. I would rate our class a 5.
I would rate myself a 6.

10. My rating for the class was 4.5 .
My rating for me was 5.5 or 6.

11. I rate myself a 8 because usually I'm listening, but sometimes I get a little off track. When I do listen, I listen with my eyes and ears.
I rate the class about a 4 because of a lot of interrupting, blurting out and chatting by a few people who are being disrespectful.

12. I'd rate the class a 4 on listening.
I'd rate myself a 5.

13. I think I would give our class a 4 1/2 .
I think I would rate myself a 6 1/2 (I don't know it's hard to rate myself!)

Banana Hunt Challenge

Today in class I showed you all how to play Banana Hunt. You can find the link if you scroll down and look on the right hand side of the page, or you can click on this link:

http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/bananahunt/bhunt.html

Give it a try and see if you can set a high score. Remember to use what you know about angles (straight angles, right angles, reflex angles, etc.) and their measurements so you can get the best possible score. If you've turned in your signed Blogging Terms and Conditions sheet and had it signed by a parent, go ahead and leave a comment on this post to let me know your score! Good luck!

Good Listening

We've talked a lot this year about how important it is to listen in class. Below are some things to remember so you can be a good listener and full participant in class:

• Come to school ready to listen. Complete all homework and/or review work done the previous school day, and think about what might be covered in school each day.


• Attitude is everything! Everyone has their favorite subjects, as well as those that don’t interest them as much. Be committed to learning something new each day. You’d be surprised what you can accomplish if you just let yourself!


• Be attentive. Focus on the lesson being taught or the class discussion. Resist the temptation to talk, or to become distracted by your surroundings. Maintain eye contact with your teacher – often we forget to ‘listen with our eyes’ as well as our ears (also, it is respectful to look at someone who is speaking to you).


• Be an active listener. You can think faster than your teacher can talk. Always be evaluating what is being said and try to anticipate what will be said next.


• But don’t be too active! Not everyone may be thinking as fast as you are. Resist the temptation to blurt out answers or comment on what is said without being called on. You can show your teacher (and classmates) that you are connecting with what is being said by raising your hand (or by linking your fingers together like Mrs. C showed you). Accept the fact you won’t always get to share your ideas and be willing to listen to other points of view.


• Challenge yourself. Don’t ‘tune out’ when the material being presented seems too hard to understand. Listen even more closely and work hard to understand. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – no one expects you to know it all!


• Adapt to the environment. At times you may find the classroom too loud, too quiet, too hot, too cold, too bright, or too dark. You may be seated near someone you don’t get along with, or you may wish you were seated near a friend. Don’t let that affect your real goal – learning. Life is seldom perfect – the ability to overcome inconvenience will serve you well in life!

Letter to Parents

Dear Families,Beginning after MEA break, we will introduce our students to their very own class weblog. A weblog, or blog as they are commonly called, is a special type of web page that can be created and easily updated using a web browser. Each new entry has its own date stamp. Each entry has a comments section where visitors to the blog may leave comments to the author.The idea is to allow the students an opportunity to utilize this technology to read, write and respond to questions, comments or links, while at the same time sharing their thoughts with a real audience, you!HOW IT WORKSA few times a week (sometimes more frequently, sometimes less), Mrs. C. or I may post a comment, problem or a link to a website, and invite the students to share their responses via email from home. Alternatively, we may give kids time in the computer lab to word process a piece of their own writing which can then be uploaded onto the blog. These assignments will not be assessed, rather they are meant to familiarize students with a form of communication which has already transformed many fields within our society (journalism, politics, business), and will soon transform education as well.Having a real audience is the key component to this experience. In addition to receiving comments from Mrs. C. and me, we are trying to arrange for other fourth or fifth grade classes who visit our blog to post comments as well. Parents, grandparents, other family, and friends are also invited to visit the blog and respond. Potentially, anyone on the internet could respond to our blog, however, it is not likely that the world at large will stumble across it. Additionally, as the blog administrator, Mr. C. must approve any comments left on the blog before being published on the site.This blogging experience is designed to minimize risk to your child. The only personally identifying information included in the blog will be their first name. The will be no mention of our school name or our location. Students will not be allowed to post their age, email address, photographs of themselves, or other sensitive information. More directions for working from home will be provided.
ConCav
Mr. Con(verse). and Mrs. Cav(anaugh).
Resources:Blogs created by fifth grade students in the USA
http://wuestreaders.blogspot.com/
http://writersworkshopessays.blogspot.com/http://itc.blogs.com/macros/
BBC News article about blogging in a school in the UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3804773.stm

Welcome to a New School Year!

Welcome students and families! We're excited for a brand new school year.

We're looking forward to partnering with you in the education of your child. We've set up this classroom blog for students to express their thoughts, opinions and ideas on an array of topics. Look for information to come home early in the school year on how to access the blog, as well as guidelines for acceptable use and privacy safeguards. We hope this will become a means to keep you connected to what goes on in our classroom. We feel this affords kids a unique opportunity to extend the walls of their classroom to the greater community abroad. Your kids will have many great ideas to share and, we're sure, would appreciate your personal feedback. Please feel free to share this site with friends and family as well.

Mr. Converse and Mrs. Cavanaugh (ConCav)

Former Student Book Recommendation

Here's a recommendation of a book, sent by Will, a former 5th grader. Thanks, Will!

Book Recommendation
By: Will H

Magyk

Septimus Heap, the seventh son of a seventh son, disappears the night he his born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby’s father, Silas Heap, comes across an abandoned child in the snow- a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take her into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what happened to their beloved son Septimus.

Former Student Suggestion for 50 States Help!

From Valya, a former 5th grader, a couple of great websites to help you prepare for your States test! Thanks, Valya!

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/usa_map.htm

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm

Anne - History Site

I found this website when I was looking for dates of the Great Depression for my Me Book it has some cool things on the colonial times and history dates like that, check it out! On my birthday in 1492 Columbus saw land in the morning, and I was born in the morning!!!

Anne D.

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb

Prediction

At the end of chapter 11, Sam tells Tim and mother that he will stay and fight with the rebels until the British are defeated. Do you think Sam will keep his word to his friends, or do you think he will return home to help his family?

242 years ago today...

On May 29, 1765, Patrick Henry bitterly denounced the Stamp Act in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Thanks Patrick!

Learn more about Patrick Henry here.

Learn more about the Stamp Act here.

Thanks to Will for originally posting this site:

http://www.factmonster.com/onthisday

How Cool Would This Be?

Kyle uses simple machines
Originally uploaded by sfgamchick.

I don't know if I'd be able to pull it off, but I'd love to be able to set something like this up as a demonstration of the concept of advantages pulleys can give us!

Look carefully at the picture. Can anyone tell how much of a mechanical advantage this set up gives? To figure it out, count the number of rope segments are supporting the load.

Cody - Famous American report on Gary Paulsen

By Cody J.

One of America’s most famous writers wrote 175 books, 200 articles and 40 books for kids and young adults. He had a passion for reading and writing magazines and articles for people that needed help with smoking and drinking. He wrote a lot of books for young readers, as he had a strong belief in kids. His books appear on the best book lists in many libraries. That is Gary Paulsen.
Gary Paulsen’s childhood had a big impact on his adulthood. For one, he was shy, a poor student and a misfit. His parents were alcoholics, did not pay for his clothes and did not care for him like they should have. He ran away at the age of 14 and found a warm shelter in a library. He warmed up there and the librarian gave him a library card and that is when he started to loved reading books. He ended up travelling with a carnival and liked the adventures. He worked many different jobs by the age of 15. He learned to appreciate the hard-work and applied it to his writing. He then entered the military and it changed his bad attitude. He there became an electronic engineer.
He spent a year living in Hollywood, California to be able to edit magazine articles. He left there after that year and moved to Minnesota to complete his first novel. It was when he lived in Minnesota that he became known for his dog sled racing as well. He was forced to give up his dog sled race after becoming ill, but was still known for his novel writing.
A lot of Gary Paulsen’s writing includes things about nature. Also he gives his readers a different opinion on many different things that they may have had before they started reading his articles.
Gary Paulsen would sit in his basement and read book after book after book to try and help him deal with how he was treated as a child. He still struggles with this everyday and remains alone a lot of the time because of it. He has a strong belief in kids and writes many books for them to read. He feels good about this because he never had this as a child. Gary Paulsen was a famous writer and has had many accomplishments with his books and articles that he wrote. He did dog sled races as well, which got people to know him more. Gary Paulsen was a very respected person but was an alcoholic and struggled with that everyday.

Sophia and Sophie - Jack and Ginger chapter 1

Chapter one

(1 year later, 1764) Jack and Ginger were walking on Lynn Street to see what the dockworkers were unloading from the ships from Britain. When they arrived one of the dockworkers threw some meat into the water, and Jack and Ginger jumped into the sparkling ocean. “I do say this water is bloody cold.” Jack exclaimed. “What blood?” Ginger looked worried and confused. Jack sighed “Oh Ginger after two years you still haven’t gotten used to the English phrases.” “Uh hello I’m from the alley way!” Ginger’s rough meow managed not to be hoarse, but it was rough and tough. “Ah, but you’re English now.” “Uh, I don’t think so cause were in America.” “I can’t beat that.” “Uh, hello are we going o float here until the fish eat the meat.” Ginger didn’t wait for Jack to respond. She dived into the water and chased after the meat. Jack shook his head “She’s a cat, she’s supposed to hate water.” Once they ate their treats they went over to the pub, because Lumiere, the chef, was cooking chicken. Suddenly they heard a scream “This is an outrage, this sugar act!” “Sugar? I drink sugar with tea and it’s quite nice actually.” Jack replied. “And sugar’s what keeps awake so I can scare you all night.” “You’re Mr.Googly-Monster? That scares me under the bed?” “Yah!” Ginger purred. “I’ll get you later, but now I want to hear the commotion.” Suddenly Rufus, Ginger’s family dog, was trotting up to them. “You silly little fur balls! The sugar act is that King George III put taxes on molasses.’ Rufus retorted. “Oh! That’s bad!” the pets exclaimed. “It is indeed, now they have custom officials to check our businesses to check for smuggled molasses.” “Sorry Rufus, we had no idea.” They said. “It’s okay, but think before you speak next time.” Rufus retorted once more. The Black Labradors gleamed in the sun light as he turned around and left. They decided to go to Jack’s house (after eating Lumiere’s specialty chicken) the Grocer’s and Fabrics, but found a most unpleasant sight. There were custom officials snooping around the molasses shelf, stuffing it into their trousers. “My golly this stuff has to be smuggled since there’s so much of it” one of them said. “I know what you mean, this stuff should be confiscated, and after all we’re working under the color of law.” The other objected. Jack snarled, his smooth silky like accent turning in to a coat tangled with thorns. “Those brutes are stealing from my family!” “You is loco.” Ginger meowed. “I’m going in.” Jack howled. “Hold on let’s do this the smart way, we both bite their bottoms, then we shred their underwear to pieces, and take all the molasses back…” Ginger kept going. Jack then interrupted. “I like the idea senorita but let’s make it mas rapido.” “You speak Spanish?” “Yah, I got it from the pub, but I don’t know what it means.” “All right you count.” “1.., 2.., 3…!” They stormed off into the shop like torpedoes. They bit the custom officials bottoms, ripped open their pants, and the molasses fell all over floor like a huge wave! The officials ran screaming out the door with their polk-a-dot underpants. “Okay that is just wrong!” Ginger said wide-eyed. “Let’s go upstairs.” Jack replied. After the huge flight of stairs (which was really 10) they saw Jack’s huge family. They licked the scared family, but also shocked by the sight of the officials screaming in their underpants out the door.

************************************************************************
The following morning Jack and Ginger decided to stop by the Landover’s Printing shop, to find out the daily news. They heard muffled voices, so in order to hear they got closer to the door and they made out what they were saying. “But this is headline news, you could make a fortune.” One of them argued. “I could care less about headline news, I’m a loyalist. That story about the British troops stealing molasses makes Britain look bad!” Then Ginger whispered to Jack in a sing-song meow. “I’ve got an idea, let’s go inside and type our own story from our point of view and then publish it.” “Oooh, Jack like!” Jack said excitedly. “Follow my lead.” Ginger sang happily. “You’ve had to much sugar this morning, haven’t you?” Jack objected. “All the better to drive you crazy with.” Jack sighed. “You have weird ways young one.” “But I’m just as old as you are.” Ginger complained. “Yes but I’m more mature.” Jack said making mature sound like my tour. “You joined a tour?” “It’s my accent problems.” “Aaah you’re ‘accent’ problems.” “That’s the lamest comeback ever!” “Right back at you.” “Let’s just get in there!” jack replied. SO the two Bostonian pets slipped quietly in, to the printing press (Jack had to arrange the ink block letters because Ginger had terrible grammar!) They quietly pushed the block letters down onto the paper so many times, it was hard to count (mostly because Ginger lost count at 3, when Jack already printed 10) then they slithered out the door with carrying all the papers and Ginger sitting on the top delivering the papers by biting them and flinging them to the side (The Bostonians couldn’t figure out why there were 2 little puncture holes in their paper) Once they finished, Jack was panting while Ginger trotted happily when suddenly they saw one of the custom officials hiding behind a water barrel, aiming his musket to shoot at a dockworker unloading smuggled molasses. Jack and Ginger ran their paws, pounding the earth with their claws gleaming in the sun, and then disappearing into the earth. Ginger let out a roar like a brave lion, when Jack let out a howl like a mighty wolf. The diversion worked, the dockworker twisted around and ducked down as if to dodge a wolf and lion. The bullet shining like silver water, barely missing his head, slammed into the barrel of smuggled tea. When the dockworker saw Jack and Ginger, he laughed “You little mutts saved my life!” “For the last time we’re not mutts!” the Bostonian pets objected. By then a mob of Bostonians robbed the British man of his gun, and dragged him back to the British camp. By then that evening the event had been forgotten as another minor incident since the arrival of the British soldiers. They went to the Green Dragon Tavern pub to collect the scraps that were thrown behind the kitchen. “Mmmm I got tuna.” Jack exclaimed. “I found steak!” Ginger said licking her lips. “Where did you get that?” Jack demanded, noticing the steak was bigger than her body, and was being dragged behind her. “Some vegetarian did, the cook gave steak to him when he ordered a salad!” Ginger answered between mouthfuls of steak. They ate quickly and strolled to evening mass at Faneuil Hall, the church Jack and Ginger got bored until it was time to sing ‘Halleluiah’ (They ended up stopping whenever the Bostonians would stare at them, when they turned around the pets started singing again, This process was repeated until they finally decided to move to the back of the pews when the priest scolded them.) Suddenly the music stopped, the sound of marching boots grew steadily louder when an army of custom officials, their coats as red as blood, they burst through the door, staring at the panicking faces. The leader’s voice rang through the church like a hungry panther. “You fools, you thought we wouldn’t catch up to you smuggling molasses. Now you must pay, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
……To be continued check every one or two weeks for more!

Sophia - Levers Game

Here's a game Sophia found that uses the principle of levers we've been learning about in class.

http://addictinggames.com/levers.html

Anne and Christine - Fun Math Game

Here is a cool math website we recommend the banana hunt in the geometry and measurement section. Can you beat 34 bananas?

http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/ekowalcz/math/elementary_web_sites.htm

Anne and Christine

Dominic - Sudoku Site

Here's a cool sudoku site I found - check it out!

http://www.uclick.com/client/sto/sudoc/2007/05/18/index.html

Loyalist or Patriot?

Which side are you on?

Click on the comments to state your case!

Will - Principle of the Lever

Here is a website that has the principle of the lever:

http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/sci/A0859254.html

Will

Nick - Novel

Blazing Valleys
By: Nicholas S.

The air was filled with the stench of many disembodied carcasses of the scorched, stabbed, and slaughtered. The villagers slowly emerged from their huts. All of them in the same stance, ready for anything that attacked. In this crowd was a boy at the age of 11 cycles, stuck in the middle like a bulls-eye on an archery target, his name was Nicholas Roman. His eyes were bloodshot, for he had been up all night. His pants were tattered, his shirt bloodstained. Though he had gotten no sleep, he was extremely alert. None forgot what happened that precedent night and neither would Nicholas.
As the congregation of village people arose out of their cottages, they held wooden shields and scythes battle-ready.

Geometry is All Around Us!

mosaic snowball ball
Originally uploaded by rick13dee9.

Recently the fifth graders have been reviewing the names and properties of various 2 and 3 - dimensional shapes, including circles, polygons, quadrilaterals, prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones and spheres. This morning we took a stroll around our school to see just how common geometric shapes are in our everyday lives. Click on the comments to see what the students discovered. While you're at it, how many geometric shapes can you find in this image?

Andrew - Book Summary

The Twenty-One Balloons Summary
By : Andrew B.

The book I read for my Newberry award was the Twenty-One Balloons. The author is William Pene du Bois. The Twenty-One Balloons is a story about Professor William Waterman Sherman, a college professor that is tired of teaching for 40 years, sets out on a balloon-house adventure for pleasure. While he is flying, a seagull rips a miniscule hole in his immense balloon so he slowly descends. Sharks are snapping at his feet while he throws things overboard to make the balloon ascend. His balloon gets stuck in a palm tree. What he doesn’t realize until he meets civilization is that the land is Krakatoa, a mysterious volcanic island. There he meets Mr. F. a citizen of the Krakatoan government. He then shows around the island where he discovers many things he wouldn’t expect. The volcano erupts so everyone had to flee including Professor Sherman who doesn’t have a parachute so he lands in the Atlantic which is where the story started. That is my summary of The Twenty-One Balloons.

Andrew - Book Recommendation

The Kingdom Keepers is a book about a boy named Finn Whitman who has a “dream” in Disney World where he meets Wayne, an employee who knows about the Overtakers, Disney villains who are led by Maleficent or so it seems. During his second dream he meets two other DHI’s who are called Philby and Charlene. With them, he encounters robotic pirates and their leader, Blackbeard, who seems almost too real. When the pirates see them, they jump in to cars from the Buzz Lightyear ride and he realizes – too late – that the lasers are real and he gets zapped and Wayne immediately shows them a red button. When they push it they go back to the real world and wake up.


* * * *

In an Indian tepee . . . . . .
It started to feel cold in the tent and we heard someone circling it. Someone cackled “I know you’re in there Finn Whitman”. Maleficent looked in the tent and said “Where are you, sweetie?” We were invisible! Suddenly Charlene bolted from the tent and then Philby too. Then I said “Run”. Maleficent started to chase us and then she yelled “Finn, I am one of the weakest in the Overtakers. I am just one of the errand runners. There are many more powerful than me . . . . . . .

Room 206 Rocks!

(Image created with Spell with Flickr)

You guys are doing a great job of reading, responding and posting to our blog! I'm very proud of you all for your contributions and the support you are giving each other. Keep it up!

Mr. C.

Max - Digital Photo of the Day

Max found a site with very cool digital photos!

http://www.steves-digicams.com/daily_dpotd.html

Devon - Optical Illusion

Don't get too dizzy!

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/illusion/illusions22.htm

Lauren - Unscrambler Challenge

UNSCRAMBLERS!
INSTRUCTIONS: Unscramble the scrambled words, and type your response as 1:_____, 2:_____, and so on. Every so often there may be a new UNSCRAMBLER.
THYME: School

1: taerhce 2: okbo 3: rrlue 4: lpape 5: erlan 6: lpecni 7: tsduetn 8: mstrare

Dominic - Book Recommendation

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman
Book by Brian Jacques
Review by Dominic F.

In this exciting book, an orphaned boy, Neb, washes up on a ship and is forced to work in the gallery for the cook. On the ship he finds the captain and the rest of the crew to be horrible. When the captain curses the heavens an angel comes and the captain and crew are forced to sail the ship forever and not age.

Years later the boy has not aged and comes across a town. The boy has a serious problem -- the town is going to be destroyed for limestone. In this stunning adventure there is adventure around every corner.

Matt - Website Recommendations

Here is a cool math website called zoopz:

http://www.zoopz.com/

Another one is cool math .com:

http://www.coolmath.com/

Matt H.

Cody - Website Recommendation

This link will take you to a site full of word wuzzles.

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/braintpics.htm

Cody

Roman - Book Recommendation

Gregor the Overlander
Book by: Suzanne Collins- Review by: Roman G.


I would highly recommend this book. I read this series a year ago so I do not remember it very well, but I know that I liked this book very much.

What I can remember about it is that it’s about a person named Gregor and his baby sister, Boots, whose father mysteriously disappeared years ago and still isn’t with them. They live in a New York apartment and Gregor and Boots gets sucked into an air vent in the laundry. They end up in a whole different world and learn about different creatures and have many adventures.

Carolyn - Book Summary

The Adventures of Hugo Cabret

This book is about a boy named Hugo. His father died in a fire and his uncle came to take Hugo away. His father left a mechanical man and Hugo was trying to figure out how to get it to work. Then he met a girl named Isabella. Her godfather made the mechanical man. If you want to know what happens you have to read the book!!

Carolyn

Carolyn - Word Wuzzle

Carolyn - Word Wuzzle

Here's another one from Carolyn.

Carolyn - Word Wuzzle

Can you solve this word wuzzle?

Carolyn R.

Sophie and Sophia - Story

The American Revolutionary War:
From the eyes of Jack and Ginger, Bostonian pets

By: Sophia and Sophie

Prologue:

The shoreline was nearing. People were shouting, and so were the pets. “Yippee!” yowled Ginger, “We’re almost there.” Jack howled. “Be quiet you mutts!” the Captain shouted. Ginger said “I’m not a mutt, I’m a cat!” “And I’m a pure bred smooth fox terrier.” Jack’s British accent was smooth as his coat, while Ginger had a rough meow from her days in the alleyway before Jeanne found her. Can you guess where they are? They’re on a ship from Britain to the colonies. Finally the ship came to a stop. Ginger jumped into the arm’s of her owner, Jeanne’s arms. Eliza, Jack’s owner, scooped him up. “We’re here!” both the pets shouted in unison.

….To be continued check every one or two weeks for more!

Student Levers and Pulleys Responses

Parents,

Please look at the comments for this post to read some of your student's work!

Dominic - Analogy website

Dominic asks if I could post the address for the daily analogy quiz we sometimes look at in class. Here it is! Thanks for the suggestion, Dominic!

http://www.infoplease.com/analogies

Will - What Happened on this day...?

I would like to post a What Happend on this Day Thing. Here is the website:


http://www.factmonster.com/onthisday

Christine

Here is the web site I was telling you about in class for our blog.

Christine

Click here: Astronomy Picture of the Day

Dominic

This is a closing page on a mock trial in which a few students and I participated in. I was an attorney and made the closing statement and helped brainstorm ideas. The other defending attorney, which was my position in the trial, did the rest of the defendants work. Close to the trial another student entered our group. He became the reporter and made a few beautiful papers. I made this snazzy and it was just for the trial. That’s a little about this paper.

Big Bad Wolf: Closing (by Dominic)

There is not enough evidence that Big Bad has destroyed two houses and murdered two pigs. You should reach the verdict that Big Bad is guilty because he is guilty. None of the prosecuting side had evidence or saw Big Bad blowing down the houses or eating the pigs.

In the sheriffs case he took a story from a prosecuting witness. In fact if the sheriff would probably be defending right now if he had talked to a prosecuting witness and the same thing goes with the deputy.

Quarter heard a scary voice but for all she knows it could have been a buffalo blowing down Bob and Ann’s houses. Fluff could have seen a wolf from the other side of the universe and thinks all wolves should be in prison if they don’t stay in the woods so she would accuse any wolf that was blamed for the crime.

As for quack the goose who doesn’t know how she knows that the wolf she saw was Big Bad and didn’t see him blowing down any houses (optional) and didn’t see the house being blown down. Moo does not know Big Bad, Ann, or Bob. Slither does not know if bob’s house was put together with tape, glue, or nails.

According to Beaver though it was made of tape which works horribly to put houses together and Ann’s house made of straw works WORSE than sticks with tape for houses, according to Beaver and also according to Beaver both of the houses could have been knocked down by water, wind, and someone could have bumped in to the houses and knocked them down.

Little good wolf does not think Big Bad would have done such a crime. He also saw Big Bad that morning, he was in a good mood and hunting had been great the past few weeks! Little Good wolf also thinks that wolves get blamed for lots of the trouble that happens, and he even has proof.

Dr. Bear says that Big Bad was not even close to starving. Snack saw with her very own eyes a wolf that had different face markings than Big Bad. Big Green is like little good except he had seen Ann repairing her house probably after Ann and Bob’s soccer games. These are the reasons why Big Bad is not guilty.

Word of the Day site

Dictionary
Originally uploaded by Valley Library (Oregon State University).

Here is a word of the day website:

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/

Will

Will

leverage
Originally uploaded by kaY:).

The picture shows that by using leverage people can lift things that are many times our own weight.

Blogging Terms and Conditions

Blogging Terms and Conditions

1. Students using blogs are expected to act safely by keeping personal information out of their posts and/or comments. You agree to not post or give out your family name, password, user name, email address, home address, school name, city, country or other information that could help someone locate or contact you in person. You may share your interests, ideas and preferences.

2. Students using blogs agree not to share their user name or password with anyone besides their teachers and parents. You agree to never log in as another student.

3. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for your blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.

4. Student blogs are to be a forum for student expression. However, they are first and foremost a tool for learning, and as such will sometimes be constrained by the various requirements and rules of classroom teachers. Students are welcome to post on any school-appropriate subject.

5. Students blogs are to be a vehicle for sharing student thinking and writing with real audiences. Most visitors to your blog who leave comments will leave respectful, helpful messages. If you receive a comment that makes you feel uncomfortable or is not respectful, tell your teacher right away. Do not respond to the comment. *As site Administrator, Mr. C. must approve any post/comment before it can be published.

6. Students accessing blogs from school must take good care of the computers by not downloading or installing any software without permission, and not clicking on ads or competitions.

7. Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lose their opportunity to take part in this experience.

Letter to Parents

Dear Families,

From now until the end of the year, our class will be taking part in a pilot experience designed to introduce them to weblogs. A weblog, or blog as they are commonly called, is a special type of web page that can be created and easily updated using a web browser. Each new entry has its own date stamp. Each entry has a comments section where visitors to the blog may leave comments to the author.

The idea is to allow the students an opportunity to utilize this technology to read, write and respond to questions, comments or links, while at the same time sharing their thoughts with a real audience, you!

HOW IT WORKS

A few times a week, Mrs. C. or I may post a comment, problem or a link to a website, and invite the students to share their responses via email from home (see the previous post, Leverage, on this page, as an example). Alternatively, we may give kids time in the computer lab to word process a piece of their own writing which can then be uploaded onto the blog. These assignments will not be assessed, rather they are meant to familiarize students with a form of communication which has already transformed many fields within our society (journalism, politics, business), and will soon transform education as well.

Having a real audience is the key component to this experience. In addition to receiving comments from Mrs. C. and myself, we are trying to arrange for other fourth or fifth grade classes who visit our blog to post comments as well. Parents, grandparents, other family, and friends are also invited to visit the blog and respond. Potentially, anyone on the internet could respond to our blog, however, it is not likely that the world at large will stumble across it. Additionally, as the blog administrator, Mr. C. must approve any comments left on the blog before being published on the site.

This blogging experience is designed to minimize risk to your child. The only personally identifying information included in the blog will be their first name. The will be no mention of our school name or our location. Students will not be allowed to post their age, email address, photographs of themselves, or other sensitive information. More directions for working from home will be provided.

Mr. C. and Mrs. C.
ConCav

Resources:
Blogs created by fifth grade students in the USA
http://writersworkshopessays.blogspot.com/
http://itc.blogs.com/macros/

BBC News article about blogging in a school in the UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3804773.stm

Leverage

leverage
Originally uploaded by kaY:).

What does this picture tell you about how we can use levers to gain a mechanical advantage? What is the relationship between the effort, the load and the fulcrum which allows the load to be lifted?

Calling All Bloggers!

Well, here it is - our very own class blog! I'm sure I don't need to tell you (but I will anyway) that we are the first class at our school to have its own blog. We rule! Next week you will learn how you can access this page so that you can begin responding to some posts I'll be writing, as well as publishing your own for others to respond to. I'm very excited to get started. I hope you are, too!