Week in Review and Looking Ahead

As we moved towards the holiday weekend the class went into presentation mode as we wrapped up our Radio Ad and Pool Chair projects. On Tuesday and Wednesday we got to display our creative side as we presented radio ads that we had been working on for the past week. Outstanding slogans and jingles were the rules of the day as the kids really stepped up and took some risks during their presentations. I was so proud of them.

On Thursday and Friday we presented the pool chairs that we have been working on for the past two weeks in our groups. What a great job collaborating and designing and then putting these outstanding projects together. All groups worked with limited supplies and strict guidelines. For some, the project got off to a slow start but perseverance paid off in some outstanding projects.

Looking ahead, we have a four day week this week. We will start work on The Bill of Rights in Social Studies while wrapping up work on Circles in Math with a quick assessment on Wednesday. In Reading we will start work on Myths as we head towards the end of the year. Hopefully. egg drop projects are well into the production stage. I'm looking forward to observing the Egg Drop on Friday.

Be sure to get those tomato plants in the ground.

Remember that there will be no after school hours for the remainder of the year.

Week of 5/21 - 5/25

Hard to believe but Memorial Day weekend is staring us in the face as time continues to fly by. We are still in the middle of several projects in class that we will be wrapping up this week before the long weekend.

• Radio ads will be wrapped and presented to the class.
• Lego chairs will be completed and presented to the class.
• On Monday and Tuesday we will be viewing the movie Bridge to Terabithia, based on the book by the same title. We will then write a compare and contrast esssay comparing the book and the movie.
• Assessment on The Constitution will be administered on Wednesday, May 23rd.
• We will be continuing our investigations involving circles in Math.

I will be available for after-school hours on only Tuesday this week from 3:15-4:00. As the year winds down the need for after-school hours has diminished so the this Tuesday will be the last session offered this year.

Pirates of Penzance

On Wednesday evening I had the pleasure of experiencing the Proctor School Chorus presentation of The Pirates of Penzance. It was so obvious that the students, grades 4-6, all put in a lot of time and effort into this production but, most of all, it was clear how much they enjoyed themselves as they entertained the audience with comedy and song. "Great job" to all associated with this production and I look forward with great anticipation to more presentations down the road.

One MCAS week down, another week ago

Last week saw the class spend two sessions with Mathematics MCAS. They put forth a really strong effort  and put a lot of thought into their responses, which was really nice to see. Coming up this week will be the final two sessions of MCAS. They will  have to contend with Science/Engineering and Technology testing on Tuesday, May 15 and Friday, May 18.

Last week the class got a taste of what it would be like to be an ad executive on Madison Avenue and also what it is like to be an engineer as we are designing a pool chair for Barbie. In Language Arts we will be writing an advertisement for a product of the student's choice that would be appropriate for radio. The ad will last 30 seconds and will be presented to the class,  Our primary focus will be word choice and how we can grab the attention of potential customers for whichever product they choose to focus on.  This should be a fun activity and one that gives them a taste for the importance of word choice and slogans that certain companies might use that are catchy .

In Science we are taking a look at the Engineering Process and how to use this process as we design and build a pool chair for a Barbie doll. Like real-life engineers, we have certain constraints the students will have to follow such as, the chair must have wheels to make it mobile, the back must have three different fixed positions, and  the leg stand must have at least two positions that will stay if weight is applied to them.  The students are working in groups of 3 to 4 and each group has a Legos kit and there are a few boxes of spare Lego pieces that they may use.  The engineering process must be used to help develop this chair from planning to creating to improving and then taking a further look at different ideas that may, in fact, improve the chair even further. They will then present the chairs to the class and we will have photos displayed later on this blog as we reach completion of this particular project .

Because of MCAS next week as last week I will be unavailable for after school hours as homework is at a bare minimum during this testing period.

Update for the first week of May

April has flown on by as we enter the home stretch of  the 2011-2012 school year. It is hard to believe we have fewer than 30 days left in the year.

Last week saw the 4th and 5th graders put on an outstanding concert Thursday evening. For those who attended from 5W, it was a job well done and it appeared as though all who attended were glad that they did and they put forth an outstanding effort. Well done.

MCAS is the focal point for the next couple weeks. This week on Tuesday and Thursday we will be administering the two sessions of the Math MCAS. Sessions will start at promptly 9AM so please try your best to be on time  to school, get a good night's rest, and a hearty breakfast.

In Science we will be starting our Technology and Engineering unit where the class will work in small groups to design and build a pool chair out of Legos. We will be studying and implementing the Engineering Process during this unit and it gives the students a great opportunity to demonstrate their imagination.

Due to MCAS this week, I will not be offering after-school hours on Tuesday and Thursday. This will also be the case the following week.