Body Systems and Mixed Numbers

Today we met in reading groups in the morning, practiced some throwing and catching in P.E., worked on vocabulary packets and then did some multiplication of mixed numbers in Math.  Wednesdays always rush by, and I can’t believe it when it is lunch and my time for the day with the students is up.  In Science the students were reviewing the different systems of the body.  The students will have a test on Monday, so in the mean time, here are a few online resources that they can check out that I think are both educational and entertaining.

kidshealth.org has some fun little movies about different organs and body parts.  Some of the videos may even induce some chuckles and silliness. Don’t worry, if they are laughing, they are probably learning too.  After all, who doesn’t giggle a bit when it comes to systems of the body.

All Systems Go is a quick Flash game that involves identifying particular parts of different body systems and placing them onto the body of a cartoon man who sounds suspiciously like our Governor.

Here is one more link to a page that is full of links organized by system.  If your child is interested in learning more about a particular system or needs a bit of extra review, browse through the links.

Tonight for homework, students will be doing some multiplication with fractions and mixed numbers.  I made up a quick page with a detailed explanation of the strategy we used in class and sent copies home with the homework.  A similar walkthrough of the strategy can be found here.

Homework:

1. Language Arts: Lit Circle Reading and Job sheet.  (The group reading The Library Card and the group reading Wringer both have final summary sheets to complete.)
2. Mathematics: Mixed number multiplication practice.
3. Vocabulary: Continue to work on vocabulary packet.
4. Reading: Read for 20 minutes and fill out pink reading log.

Mr. Weis

Puppets and P.E.

Today in class we began work on our puppets that will be at the center of our playwriting unit.  Students worked with a simple foam ball and sculpted facial features using sculpey clay.  We had a real wide variety of characters created including a rooster, giraffes, a young Medusa, cats, snakes, mohawked and spiky haired boys, and pigs.  Tomorrow we will work to paper mache over the clay, and then we will let the paper mache dry a bit before painting and working on costumes and accessories next week.  The puppets will be used in conjunction with a wide variety of writing tasks focusing on dramatic elements and conventions.  It should be a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see more of the creativity that I got a taste of when I read the character sheets the students already wrote.  Also, we are going to be collaborating with the Art teacher to work on landscapes and paint background scenery.

Yesterday we had our second art class.  The students created a pattern quilt out of paper, and did a great job of inventively using paper scraps and saving them from the recycling bin.  We will continue to have art for the following 10 weeks every Tuesday.  I need to go get a new card reader for my computer to upload some of the pictures I have been taking, but I hope to put some pictures up each week of what the students are working on.

In P.E. news, we will shortly be starting Physical Fitness Testing.  We did a mile today, but may do another to allow students a chance to better their times.  I will be working with Miss Klein and Coach Danielle to organize the testing, but we could use the help of a few parent volunteers to help run a testing station.  If you are available on Wednesday’s and are interested in helping out, let me know.  Also, I found out today that B.A.M. is not currently set up to receive awards through the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program.  I will be working to get the school registered so our physically active students who are consistently doing their best can get some recognition for their efforts.

In Mathematics we have been working on subtracting with mixed numbers.  The process of “renaming mixed numbers” to allow subtraction of the fraction parts has been difficult for many of the students.  Please make sure they are carefully and correctly doing their homework.  I sent home a pink quiz yesterday in the Tuesday folder in which students had to provide reasoning to back up the process that they used to find a common denominator and solve a mixed number addition problem.  As you are working with your child, ask them to explain their reasoning using equations, words, or pictures.  This will help them greatly to develop their conceptual understanding as well as to hone their communication skills in mathematics.

Here is a video on working with mixed number fractions and a video on adding and subtracting fractions brought to you by the wonderful Khan Academy (I’ll be mentioning it more in a later blog post, but feel free to check out the plethora of videos linked on his website for all kinds of mathematics tutorials.  It also might be a handy resource to bookmark if you have older children in junior high, high school or even college studying advanced mathematics.)

Mixed Numbers

Adding and Subtracting Fractions

Homework:

1. Language Arts: Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle.  You can find it and the answer key here.
2. Mathematics: Renaming Mixed Numbers and Fractions Practice Sheet.
3. Reading: Read for 20 minutes and fill out pink reading log.
4. Permission Slips:  Sign and return permission slips for the field trip on Friday to Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and for next week Tuesday at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

Mr.Weis

Consorting with Punxatawny Phil, Wiarton Willie, and Shubenacadie Sam

Happy Groundhog Day everyone. Across North America some very famous shadows were seen by some furry little prognosticators. (Follow the link for a guess-the-word game that stresses using context clues to make predictions about word choice in current news articles.) Unfortunately it looks as if we are due for another 6 weeks of winter, but I guess in Berkeley that doesn’t mean a whole lot if we get more winter like today!

We finally have a 5 day week, and we will be jamming as much regularity into it as possible as we unfortunately look ahead to 2 more short ones. As we are now doing more consistently, we spent Monday’s reading block on current events. Starting next week we will have the newspaper every Monday, and students will read and respond to articles on their first day back from the weekend. Today we spent some time familiarizing ourselves with a graphic organizer to use with newspaper articles. The organizer sets up an outline for the 5 W questions (Who, What, Where, When, and Why), and also includes a map to use to identify important locations in the article.

We worked on collaboratively reading an article about Groundhog Day this morning. Here is the link to the article we read. Up until today I had no idea that there was not one, nor two, but three famous groundhogs that predict the weather in Pennsilvania, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. Did you know that Groundhog Day can be traced back to a German tradition that in turn came from a European Holiday known as Candlemas day? To read more about the history of Groundhog Day, check out the official site of the Punxatawny Groundhog Club.

In Writing, the students qualitatively evaluated Response to Literature essays through identifying Mechanical/ Conventional and Content based writing goals. Tomorrow they will apply a similar level of analysis on their own essay and set goals for the remainder of the Response to Literature Unit.

In mathematics we spent some time going over converting Improper Fractions to Mixed Numbers. This was an area that many students had difficulty with on the quiz last week. Quizzes were sent home today, and for homework students are expected to correct problems they missed and bring back the quizzes and the corrections tomorrow.

We also spent a little bit of time today checking out President Obama’s weekly address and identifying what he is proposing to do with the current state of the economy. If you haven’t checked out the new Whitehouse website, I strongly recommend it. There is a great deal of information on his policy objectives, and every week he posts a video of a Weekly Address sort of reminiscent of FDR’s fireside chats. For the many people that voted him, and for those that did not, it’s a great idea to try to keep up with what policies and objectives he proposes and what he actually pursues. I’m trying to help the students to understand early on in their lives that they live in a participatory democracy that requires them to stay interested and educated about what their government is saying and doing.

Homework:

1. Language Arts: Lit Circle Groups – Read and do jobs to prepare for discussions or work on your final projects. Final projects are due tomorrow for the Witch of Blackbird Pond and 13th Floor groups.
2. Mathematics: Redo any problems that were missed on Friday’s quiz (focus especially on 1-17). Do Improper Fraction to Mixed Numbers worksheet. Make sure to do the back too.
3. Reading: Read for 20 minutes and fill out pink reading log.

Mr. Weis

Fractio, Uncia, and the History of Fractions

Today in class we spent some time in math working on gathering journals. A gathering journal is a journal made with paper folded so that it makes a book with little pockets on each page. Students worked on completing little study notecards on topics including: anatomy of a fraction, fraction equalities, improper and proper fractions, simplifying fractions, adding fractions, and converting fractions to decimals. Some students may be completing their journal pages tonight for homework. Make sure that they have a completed explanation on one side of the card and an example on the other side.

I told the students that tonight I would be updating the blog with some interesting information on the history of fractions. Did you know that the mathematical concepts and representations we use today draw from work done by the Ancient Egyptians, Romans, Babylonians, Indians, and Arabs? Follow this link to read a very interesting summary of the mathematical work that led up to modern fraction concepts and representation methods. Take special note of the ways that people represented different types of quantities. Tomorrow in class we will briefly go over the article and students who have read the information on the website will be able to help with some explanations and problem solving.

Several literature circle groups will soon be finishing their books. They will work on final projects for a few days and then will pick new books. If you are interested in reading a book along with your child and possibly coming in to sit with their group once a week, keep your eyes open for a volunteer handout this week. Reading groups most often meet on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in the morning from around 10:05 to 10:30.

In Social Studies today we began a current events study on the Economic Crisis in the United States. Students began working with some basic vocabulary that will help them to better understand future newspaper articles that we will be reading.

In other news, don’t forget that Longfellow Middle School is having a special event for potential students for next year. If you’d like to go check out Longfellow and all they have to offer, head on over to the Longfellow campus tonight at 7 pm.

Homework:

1. Language Arts: Lit. Circle groups – read and fill out job sheet
2. Mathematics: Finish Gathering Journal first 6 pages.
3. Reading: Read for 20 minutes and fill out pink reading log.

Mr. Weis

Decifractation?

Have you ever decifractated a fraction?  You probably have, but most likely you didn’t use that word to describe the process.  The Decifractator is a little web application that converts fractions into decimals.  It can be useful for playing with equivalent fractions and looking for links between fractions and decimals.  I found it along with a number of other really neat Flash based math apps on a website for a school called Ambleside across the Atlantic over in Cambria in the UK.  I’ll forgive them for referring to Mathematics as “maths” and for spelling colour with that superfluous U because they have an absolutely amazing website.  It looks like the school has a strong focus on computer work and programming, and there are many examples of both student and teacher created applications.  Take a look at their Math page here. If you have children of other ages, take a look and see what else they have to offer, it’s all pretty fun stuff.

In other news today, we elected our class representatives.  Thanks to all those that ran.  It was a very close race and all of the candidates were highly qualified.  However, there was only space for 3, so our classroom representatives will be Sachi, Shay, and Maria.  Congratulations to the three of you.  Don’t forget about the special Thursday meeting tomorrow after school from 3:30 to 4:30.

I had a parent come in this morning and ask about Middle School preference forms.  I’m still learning the ropes about the process, but I investigated the matter and found that the forms are to be submitted to the Admissions Office at 1835 Allston Way by Friday, February 6th.  If you have any questions, you can ring them at 644-6504.  Also, some students and faculty from Longfellow will be visiting BAM on Friday from 9:30 to 10:10 to present to the fifth graders at BAM.  If you’d like to come and listen parents are welcome, although the presentation will be geared towards the kids.

Homework today:

1. Mathematics: study link 103 – decimals to mixed number fractions.  For an added component, create a corresponding column for a simplified fraction and an improper fraction to the table.
2. Reading: read for 20 minutes and fill out pink reading log.
3. Other: (Some students who had been absent – finish rough draft of resolution essay)

Mr. Weis

Tuesday, January 13

Today we reviewed the four roots for the vocabulary this week, found their definitions and associated them with some of the words.  In reading students worked in their small reading groups.  Please make sure that your child is doing their reading each night to be prepared for their group discussion.  Yesterday several students did not complete their reading and were not able to fully participate in their group discussions.

In math we discussed different types of fractions and worked on strategies for finding equivalent fractions.  We also did some review on addition with fractions.  Follow the link to a site with a virtual manipulative that visually shows equivalent fractions in squares and circles with their corresponding values on a number line.

Homework:

1. Language Arts: Lit Circle Groups – Read the assigned section for today and fill out job sheet.
2. Mathematics: 2 sided worksheet – Fraction Stick Chart and Equivalent Fractions pages.
3. Reading: Read for 20 minutes and fill out pink reading log.

Mr. Weis

Welcome to the week

Today in class we started out with our new vocabulary of the week.  This week’s words highlight the use of the Greek roots phono, tele, graph, and photo. As the students wrote out their words today, they discovered that some of the words had 2 different roots in them (telegraph, phonograph, telephone, etc.)  We got into a brief conversation about the difference between the terms prefix and root as the students identified the placement and use of some of the roots.

In Reading we did a Current Events activity (I think this is going to be a regular thing to do on Monday since reading groups do not read over the weekends.)  We read an article from today’s Chronicle about the weekend meetings held by BART regarding the New Year’s shooting.  We had a serious and positive discussion last week about the shooting itself, the aftermath, the protests, and student feelings about the whole matter.  It seemed helpful for students to have an outlet to express some of their feelings on the matter and ask questions about some important issues.  I was proud of how mature they all were in our discussion and of the sensitivity and respect they showed each other.  The article today helped give an update of what is going on, and we also used our reading to focus on the Literary Luminary reading comprehension job task.  As we read, students pulled out lines in the article that seemed important and inspired some kind of emotional response, whether it be confusion, anger, fear, joy, frustration, or something else.  Tonight, the students in Lit. Circle groups will fill out a Literary Luminary page on their reading.

In Math we continued our work on fractions and spent some time identifying equivalent fractions and fraction measurements and magnitudes on a ruler.  On another note, over the weekend I located a set of online activities like the one I was looking for last week.  On the web page, students are given different shapes that represent different whole values of 1.  They are then given a secondary shape and are directed to find the value of the area of that shape in relation to the given whole.  Follow this link to the main webpage, and follow the links at the top of the page to activities that get progressively more difficult.  Also, follow this link to open up a java applet with virtual pattern block manipulatives.

We continued to work on our Age of Exploration raps and some students began syncing up their lyrics to record onto an audio track using the computer.  A special thank you goes out to Tate and Carina for helping to explain some of the components and processes used for making musical tracks and recording them in the program Garageband.

Homework:

1. Language Arts: Vivid Vocabulary Worksheet, Lit Circle Groups – read the next section of your group books and fill out the Literary Luminary page.
2. Mathematics: Fractions – Study Link Page 97
3. Reading: Read for 20 minutes and fill out pink reading log. (This can be Lit. Circle reading)
4. Other: Finish rough draft of New Years Resolutions writing.
5. Other: Bring back signed copy of the Unit 4 Math test if you did not bring it back today.  (All students were given their Unit 4 test to take home on Friday and have signed by a parent or guardian.  On each test there is a notecard highlighting concept areas that were performed well and areas needing review.  Please look over the test and card and send it back signed.  Thanks!)

Mr. Weis

What fraction of the day do you spend using fractions?

Today we spent about 1/5 of our day working with the first part of our fractions unit.  When working with fractions, it is always important to identify what in the problem represents the whole.  Think about if you were asked the question: “If I gave you 1/3 of my money, how much would you have?”  The answer can change depending on how much money is included in the whole.  The difference between fractions as specific values on a number line and fractions as ratios of different sized sets can often be a difficult one to distinguish for students.  As we work through the fraction unit, please spend some time going over the homework with your children to make sure they are interpreting the questions correctly and distinguishing what the fraction represents.

In writing today we continued to develop our New Year’s Resolution Extended Metaphors.  In reading, students shared the information they got from skimming their books and created collaborative time-lines.  Tonight  students in Lit. Circle groups will be doing the illustrator job.

Vocabulary words this week are a collection of words with Greek and Latin Numeric prefixes of uni-, mono-, bi-, and tri. We will spend some time going over our six focus words tomorrow.

Homework:

1. Language Arts:  Literature Circle Groups – Read tonight’s section and do the Illustrator job page.
2. Mathematics:Parts and Whole Fraction Practice page 91
3. Other: Finish New Year’s Resolution Extended Metaphor Part 2, Finish Vivid Vocabulary list.
4. Reading: Read for 20 minutes and fill out pink reading log.

Mr. Weis