Updates and Other Points of Interest

This week we will be studying:

In Math: Finishing up our division unit and moving on to fractions
Click HERE for an EXCELLENT overview of fractions the COMMON CORE way

In ELA: Continuing Who Was Steve Jobs, along with informative writing and text structure

In Science: Mrs. Dant continues instruction in Earth Science

In Social Studies: Finishing up Explorers and moving on to California Missions. There will be a quiz on Explorers this Wednesday. Use the link in the upper right hand corner to log on to your  Pearson OLE Social Studies  page (using the same username and password as Pearson Realize-Math) for assignments to help you study

In Art: Continue our study on creating texture using lines to create Power Hands!

Thank you for contributing to our Donors Choose project. 

We have secured 4 Chromebooks and 6 iPearl covers!

You are the best!

We are SO grateful and appreciative!

The 3rd and final phase will include 2 more Chromebook and a storage center! That will be coming soon!

GLOBAL THINKING

Ethiopian Pen Pals

We are in the process of writing back our Ethiopian Pen Pals and creating a video to show our life in West Hills. We are even learning how to write some Amharic phrases in Fidel! Pretty impressive!

Students are brainstorming ideas and we may need your help in capturing photos and very short videos of your child engaged in their everyday activities like dance and sports.

A video they shared with us of their Wolitic traditional dance

We are in need of tissues, paper towels, and white copy paper in the classroom

Thank You!

Setting The Stage For Science

Mystery Bag Observations

In Science, it is important to be observant and use our senses to notice and record details. Using the lesson, Mystery Bags to Develop Observation and Inference Skills, we learned that scientists must always investigate further to check their findings and that inferences and predictions are not the same. Ask us. Photos from the Mystery Bag Observation Experiment are also on the PHOTO page, but below are a few, and also two short videos explaining some findings.

This Week In Room 20

We are entering the last week of February!

It is amazing how quickly time is going!

This week we will be starting a new unit in Language Arts. The theme is THE POWER OF WORDS! Our readings will address this theme for approximately the next 6 weeks.

This week we will focus on making inferences.

This week in Math, we will continue to focus on fractions. We are delving in deep and understanding how to explain what fractions are, how they relate to each other, and where they fall on a number line. Any practice students can get at home is very beneficial.

In Science we are finishing up open and closed circuits and will begin the Physical Science Unit very soon!

In Social Studies, we are focusing on the missions, taking into consideration the opposing point of views of the Spanish and the Indians. 

OUR CLASS PLAY, 

GEOLOGY ROCKS

will be presented on

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9th

7:00 PM

(Students need to arrive by 6:30)

We need 100% commitment! Please let me know by email that your child, and hopefully your family, can be there!

It is an event you don't want to miss!

Also let me know if you would like to help with the costumes or the backdrop.

This week is Peace Corps Week 2014. As I am sure you know, my daughter, Hailey is serving in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia. She was presented with a challenge to create a video about what she wishes Americans knew about her country! Of course, Room 20 students are SUPER EXCITED about this!

Please take 2 minutes to let her share the beautiful culture with you. The more views, the better her chances to win prizes and recognition for her work in the Peace Corps, so watch it twice and share it with your friends! 

Thanks!

Our field trip to the California Science Center is this Wednesday, February 26th!

Please bring a sack lunch and a drink. 

Leave money, electronics, cell phones, and backpacks at home!

What's Happening

This week we are continuing to work on fractions. We are learning them in a very conceptual way. PLEASE ask your children about the games they are playing in class and take a few minutes to play them with your child! It really makes a difference. If you need pieces or more explanation, feel free to email me. 

THANK YOU!

In Language Arts, we are reading the story, Who Was Steve Jobs? and answering questions about the text. The student are really enjoying it and are using the text to make amazing inferences, and at the same time learning what passion and a food work ethic can get you! We are working on persuasive letter writing and using those skills to write to companies requesting donations to ship more books.

In Science, we are working on what makes a motor run! Today was the last day on the computer lab to finish the SCIENCE Photostory, but those who need to finish have until Friday to do so. I have the program on all of the laptops in the class, or they can also visit the computer lab at lunch or recess. We can't wait to share them with you!

In Social Studies, we are learning about life on the missions. I know many of you are wondering if you, I mean the students, will be building missions at home. The answer is no. A project will be assigned with options to chose from, but will be completed mostly in class!

We have a student teacher in our class until May. She is fitting right in and we are happy to welcome Miss Smith to our Room 20 team!

If your child had Mrs. Hauser for iPad rotation, she has made an amazing website for you to watch their movies. If their movie is not there, and they were in the second rotation, they are encouraged to go finish it at recess or lunch! Students who have not yet had the iPad rotation will be making movies soon, so check back later. The link is 

Welby Way iPads Website

Thanks Mrs. Hauser!!!! We love it!!

As most of you know, we sent 11 boxes of books to Ethiopia. The students were so proud. As a treat I brought injera, the spongy bread popular in Ethiopia, for them to try today! Most of them liked it and might have even brought some home to share!

The students are encouraged to read Hailey's blog posts answering the questions they sent to her! It is actually very informative for adults as well, so feel free to read away! The links are below.

Room 20 Asks, I Answer Part 1

Room 20 Asks, I Answer Part 2

REMINDERS

Wednesday will be the class Spelling Bee test!

Friday is Valentine's Day. We will be handing out Valentines and doing some other class activities throughout the day. Please be sure to bring a Valentine for EVERY child, if you chose to bring them. Thanks!

Valentine Grams are available for sale at school until Thursday.

New photos have been uploaded to the PHOTO page!

If you haven't sent in your trip slip and/or donation money for the buses and entrance to the Science Center, please do so as soon as possible. If you need another form, just ask! Chaperones will be chosen soon. Sorry for the delay. Parents who have not attended the other trips will be given first chance, as long as they have a volunteer form in the office and a TB clearance. Thank you for understanding!

February 11th is a fundraiser at Menchies!

February 17th is President's Day- NO SCHOOL

February 19th and 20th is a fundraiser at West Hills Pizza

February 21st is the Father/Daughter Dance

Busy Week Ahead!

Focuses of the Week

In Language Arts:

This week we will read and discuss Because of Winn-Dixie chapters 11-20. We will focus on character traits of the main characters. We will look for specific evidence from the text to support why we choose these traits to describe each character. Ask your children about Opal, Winn-Dixie, Gloria Dump, Miss Franny, Otis, the preacher, and Amanda. Use the chart below to guide your discussion.

Click HERE for the vocabulary words for Chapters 11-20. Vocabulary Wheel sections with word, definition and illustration are due Thursday!

In Writing:

We will continue to focus on narrative writing, building strong sentences and paragraphs, and moving on to multi paragraph essays!

In Math:

This week we will continue to focus on multiplication by 2 digit numbers. Although it may seem different than the way we learned, please know we are focusing on a deeper understanding of the concepts, rather than simply memorizing the algorithm/steps. This may prove frustrating, at first, but in the long run students will develop a deeper understanding and develop persistence in solving difficult problems! Thank you for your support!

In Science:

This week we will complete our investigation on the force of magnetism. There will be a test on Friday! Please encourage your child to share their Science Notebook with you. By teaching you the properties of magnets and the interesting discoveries they made, they will be studying for the test! Click on the FOSS website on the left side for more information.

In Social Studies:

We will complete our studies of Map Skills and California Regions, moving on to California Native American tribes, focusing on customs and culture. If you know a member of a California Native American tribe who would like to speak our 4th graders, to give them a first hand account and a deeper understanding, please let me know.

Ethiopia Update 

My daughter, Hailey has arrived in her permanent placement in Bele, Ethiopia. Bele is a small rural town of about 7,000 people. They have found her a room for a model classroom, cleaned out the harvested corn, painted the walls, and are even going to cut her out another window!

She is beyond excited and is now ready for us to send the books we have collected! Hailey told me last night that the children have NO books to read for pleasure, and that our donation would make a remarkable difference in the school AND the lives of many children!

Our next step is to write letters to companies, soliciting donations for shipping of these items. The expense will, most likely, be upwards from $700, so we have our work cut out for us! Please let us know if you have any connections with people in companies, who might be willing to participate and the students of Room 20 will send them a letter!

Thank you for your support, as always!

Click below to read Hailey's blog, if you would like.

Embracing Ethiopia

Thank you to those who have turned in permission slips and donations for the Olivas Adobe Field Trip on November 4th and also the slip for the Halloween party!

We had 13 people turn in the form to chaperone on the Olivas Adobe trip! We were allowed 4 chaperones, but I was able to increase that number to 6. We will put the slips in a hat on Monday morning and randomly chose 6. All chaperones MUST have a current LAUSD volunteer application and TB test on file in the office, in order to accompany us! 

Conferences are coming up soon. (November 9-19) 

These will be STUDENT, PARENT, TEACHER Conferences.

A preference sheet will come home this week. I will assign times on a first come, first assigned basis. Please choose a time that is convenient for BOTH you and your child. THANK YOU!

Our Fall Festival is Sunday, October 27th! It's a terrific event! Thank you for your donations to our class theme basket and volunteering to work at our booth! I can't wait to see everyone there!

What's Ahead For The Week

In Language Arts...

We will be focusing on the long i and its spelling patterns for phonics. Our vocabulary words are: endless, realistic, sensible, protested, paralyzed, and display. Vocabulary books are due every Friday, first thing in the morning.

Sample of a Vocabulary Book correctly completed!
The 4th square is "teacher's choice" and was supposed to be empty last week. 
This week the 4th square should contain one antonym and one synonym for each word.

We will be focusing on character traits, distinguishing between implicit and explicit characteristics. Determining what is directly stated and what is inferred. Please practice this at home, too.

In Math...

We will continue focusing on mental math, properties of addition, rounding, adding and subtracting. 

In Science...

We have learned so many interesting things about magnets. Ask us about the forces of attraction and repulsion! We will continue on our quest for magnetic knowledge.

In Social Studies...

We remain focused on latitude and longitude, hemispheres, and the regions of California. As you know, your student picked an exact location in the state of California. They will be researching information specific to their unique location, as they are exposed to to concepts in class. Toward the end of the week, look for criteria for a California Region project to come home. This project will be completed in class, however, students are asked to bring in items of their choice to develop this creative representation!

September 19th from 11am-10pm is Restaurant Night at Pizza Rev! Look for the flier in your child's backpack on Monday!

How To Access Textbooks Online

The following sites can ALWAYS be accessed using the links to the left.

MATH

Pearson Success Net

https://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/

From the main menu, you can click on OPEN BOOK. You can also check out the video animations of each Topic by clicking on the "TO DO LIST." You can take quizzes and print worksheets as well. This is great to use as a review or as pre-teaching tool.

READING

Treasures Program at ConnectEd 

http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/login.do

You can read the book and use the Glossary to complete the Vocabuary Book. You can also check out the "TO DO LIST" and find fun videos and lessons on comprehension and phonics.

SCIENCE

If you have an iTunes account on your PC or Mac, iPhone, or iPad, you can download the Science book through iTunes University. Download the iTunes University App first. From the store search the keyword "FOSS" and you will find many resources. Add them to your course manager to listen to the audio of the textbook.

• You can also access the FOSS Website and do fun activities, listen to the audio version of the textbook, see the vocabulary words, view recommended books, and much more! Go to http://www.fossweb.com/home and use the Username ScienceRoom20 and the password Science4

SOCIAL STUDIES

At this point, there is no online access to the Oh, California textbook/workbook.

STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE AN UPDATED PASSWORD CARD THIS WEEK! THEY WILL BE GLUING IT IN THEIR PLANNER AND BRINGING ANOTHER ONE TO KEEP IN A SAFE PLACE AT HOME.

Welcome September!

A PEEK AT OUR WEEK

In Language Arts...

We will continue to focus on Plot Elements. Ask us to explain the Exposition, Inciting Incident (not pictured, but we know it,) Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action , and Resolution! Read a story with us and we will impress you with our knowledge!

We will be working on responding to a nonfiction article and comparing and contrasting famous speeches.

We will also be focusing on summarizing fictional literature. The above tool makes it so easy to develop a clear and concise summary.

We will also continue the process of writing a Personal Narrative. Narrative writing tells a story about a personal or fictional experience. We will work on the process of this skill using brainstorming, graphic organizers and more to help make it less overwhelming.

In Math...

We will finish up learning place value through the millions period. Please take a few minutes to make up BIG numbers, practice them in word form, standard form, expanded form, and by creating an illustration or model. We will, most likely, have a test on Tuesday.

We will then begin focusing on Number Sense, including rounding, addition, and subtraction.

In Science...

We will continue our focus on magnets and magnetism. Last week we discovered that magnets do NOT "stick" to all metals, only those that are iron. We learned that sometimes iron is mixed with other metals to make steel. Magnets stick to steel because it is mostly iron. We even discovered a rock that is magnetic. Ask us about it.

This week we will explore magnet interactions.

In Social Studies... 

We will be learning about exact location, longitude and latitude. The most popular destination to determine was Gimbo, Ethiopia. It is very difficult to find Gimbo because it is SO small, so try to look for Bonga, Ethiopia, which is about an hour away. If you find it and turn it in by Friday, you will receive 10 points.

Click on the following links for fun videos and practice

BrainPop Latitude and Longitude

Kids Geo Latitude and Longitude map game

We will begin studying the four regions of California, focusing on 

California Region Map

We set AR goals on Friday and students should be reading 30 minutes each day to meet their individual goal.

Child ID pictures will betaken on Tuesday, September 10th. Please look for order form to go home on Monday!

Wednesday is September 11th, Patriot Day. Please wear red, white and blue to school. We will have a special assembly and sing American Patriotic songs!

SLEZINGER AWARDS THIS MONDAY

The time has come to find out who will be awarded the 

SLEZINGER AWARD 

for

BEST SYSTEM IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

at

The GALA PRESENTATION

Monday, February 11th

12:15 PM (Room 27)

1:15 PM (Room 28)

Be sure you:

• have reviewed the entire web quest by clicking HERE!
• have a completed group diagram poster with at least 8 labeled parts
• have a completed group project (on a flash drive, if necessary) 
• have printed proof that EACH member has completed an online quiz from the web quest 
• have a completed interview question worksheet for EACH member filled out with detailed, descriptive responses 
• are prepared to demonstrate that EACH member has prepared for the interview
• have a completed group acceptance speech
• have a rubric labeled with all three member names and your assigned body system name

Body System Webquest

Working mostly in class, your team of three will research and complete ALL steps of this quest. Please pay careful attention to the GALA EVENT DATE of
Monday, February 11, 2013
(Due date for all portions of the project, including diagram poster, individual quiz completion, project, interview question completion, preparation for oral presentation with interview, and acceptance speech)

Body Systems Webquest by

Happy New Year

I am looking forward to a terrific new year and hope everyone is ready to start 2013 strong. I know I am.

We will be looking at the goals we set for ourselves during conference time, assessing our progress, and making any necessary changes, kind of like New Year's resolutions.

We will be getting back to weekly vocabulary words and Language Arts Rotations. We will be focusing, this week, on EVALUATING and AUTHOR'S PURPOSE, while reviewing CHARACTER, PLOT, and SETTING. Refer to the picture above for a "Quick Peek at the Week."

I know you will all be excited to hear that we will be continuing Math Rotations, with a few slight changes. We will be working hard to master ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION OF FRACTIONS, while reviewing concepts from Topics 1-10. Please look for the assessment we completed in December (Topics 1-10) to come home, and work together on the assigned ixl topics to refresh and master the previously taught skills that need practice.

For those students who are required, or others who wish to take advantage, ANIMATION LESSONS have been assigned on enVision Math (Pearson) so you can preview the math lessons before they are taught in class. Remember to log in, look at your "TO DO LIST" and view the skill being taught the next day in class. For Monday, you may watch 11-0 and 11-1.

I hope you read the last post and are checking out the cool website about body systems because we will be beginning our new LIFE SCIENCE unit, focusing on BODY SYSTEMS.

Click here to see the post.

You will continue to focus on COLONIZATION in Social Studies and finish up working on your Colony Brochures in the computer lab. Make sure you have excellent, educational, and appropriate information. Remember your flash drives.

We will be signing up for Roving Reporter duties using our fun, new calendar so be ready to pick a date that works for you.

We would appreciate donations of glue sticks and paper towel rolls for the classroom.

THANK YOU!

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

How Your Body Works!

Want To Get a Head Start on Our Next Science Unit?

Of course you do.

Our studies will focus on body structures. We will be learning about the body systems for respiration, excretion, digestion and transport or circulation. We will study the exchange process for oxygen and carbon dioxide; and also examine how blood moves through the body. We will study the steps in the digestive system and the role various body parts and organs play in it. In addition, we will also examine the transport system of plants and the process of photosynthesis.

Visit the website below. Click on the body parts to watch movies, take quizzes, read articles, solve word finds, and do activities.

CLICK HERE

KidsHealth- How The Body Works

Air Pressure...

Wyatt and Keane experiment with air pressure.

 Why does this happen?

Water Density!

Ask Us!

Which is more dense, room temperature water or ice cold water?

What happens when cold water (blue so we can observe it) is put into room temperature water?

What happens if that cold water is then heated up?