October 3, 2010

First and foremost, I could like to say congratulations to our classroom's very first student of the month, Sami Christensen! She was not only high on my list, but when the students were given a chance to nominate, she was nomitated by several of her peers. She is a fantastic student who always gets her work in on time, and always has model student behavior! Congratulations Sami!!!

In math this week, we finished up the September lessons in our curriculum map. This lead us to a review on Wednesday and a test on Thursday. As a whole, I'm happy with how the class did. Remember though, anyone below 80% has the required assignment of fixing their test. Now, they're not only supposed to go and circle the correct answer, but they either need to show the work for it, or explain why that would be the correct answer. Doing this will earn them half the credit they missed back.

In science this week they have been diving further and further into microorganisms. This week, they specifically looked at the three different kinds of protists: plantlike protists, animal-like protists and fungus-like protists, as well as the the traits that classify into the different categories.

In the reading rotation this week, they did take the Theme 1 test. After that, they read through an exert of Number the Stars. If this is a book they've never read all the way through, believe me, it comes highly recommended. It is a powerful story about the happenings in Denmark during World War II.

In Arts and Technology this week, they began learning how to use the cameras and tripods. They also began discussing their first whole-class newscast. Our class has decided to do a newscast on Halloween Safety. Whether we trick-or-treat or not, this is a high traffic night, and it never hurts anybody to learn how to be safe during it.

In social studies this week, they have continued learning about the different types of maps. This week focused specifically on time zone maps and precipitation maps.

Finally, in grammar and writing this week, we learned how to write Haikus. We also learned about complex sentences and how they are the combination of a dependent and an independent clause.

Now, this month is a big month in my household. For the entire month, the students will see their teacher wearing either a pink tie or a pink shirt. That's right, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Did you know that about 190,000 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer and around 40,000 a year die from it? Kids are never too young to start being aware. With that, I am planning a few activities this month based around it. One thing I would like to do, but I will need parent help with, is finish the unit with a visit from a survivor. I know a few survivors, but am not certain they would have time to come in. Also, I think it would be a lot more powerful if it came from a family member of one of our students. I will be sending out an e-mail asking this same thing, but if you happen to know anybody who is a cancer survivor and would be willing to come in and age appropriately share their experience, please contact me. I think it would have a powerful affect on the students.

If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or fight like (no other). ~Lance Armstrong