November Book Order

The November Book Order was sent home today.  Please take a look and place your order.  If you are buying books as gifts, please send me a note or email.  I can set them aside and we can arrange for you to get them without the students knowing.  Also, I realized that I put the wrong due date.  The correct Due Date is Friday, November 4th. 

November Book It

As a reminder, the October Book It is due on Wednesday.  I will be sending home the November Book It on Wednesday too.  By the end of the week, I will be sending home the Pizza Hut Free Personal Pan Pizza slips that are earned by reading 200 minutes and passing 2 AR tests.  Can't wait to see who did all their reading!!

November Goals:  250 minutes of reading and 3 AR tests.

    

Problem of the Week

Congratulations to this weeks Problem of the Week solvers.  They were able to correctly find the number for each symbol.  There were four students who solved the problems correctly.

Great job Seth, Quinton, Lukas, and Jack!

Landform Projects - Day 2

Today, students worked long and hard on their landform projects.  All groups were able to get their plains and water put in.  Then they were very happy to build their mountains, volcanos, valleys, hills, etc. with the clay.  After, students had to label all their landforms.  They are very excited for parents to see their project when they come for Parent Conferences (even though they are not quite finished). 

Landform Projects

On Wednesday afternoon, we started our Landform Projects.  Students worked in their groups to map out and organize where to put each landform.  They had to start with the water landform. Over the next week, students will start building up with the remaining landforms.  Take a look...

Global Monster Project - Final Day

On Wednesday, we had our final day of the Global Monster Project.  Students finished their parts and we started putting together the monster.  Take a look at some of the final parts before they were assembled. 

And then, with lots of tape and hot glue, our Global Monster Project was assembled.

Make Way for Ducklings - Realism or Fantasy

Today, we read "Make Way for Ducklings" for the first time.  This story is a fantasy.  However, we discussed that in a fantasy story, there can be parts that are realistic too.  To prove this point, we made a chart of all the realistic and fantasy parts while we were reading.  Here is what we found....

Parent Conference Notes

Believe it or not, Parent/Teacher Conferences are just a week away on Tuesday, November 1st.  Tuesday (tomorrow), I will be sending home a reminder note with your child.  If you are not able to make the time, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can make other arrangements.  I look forward to seeing each of you soon.

Global Monster Projects - Extra Time

Today Mrs. Hanson gave us the opportunity to have some extra time to work on our Global Monster Projects.  Students really made some good progress today.  Most groups were able to start painting and finish construction.  They did a great job.  Take a look...

Teamwork in Gym Class

During gym today, our class really worked together and showed wonderful teamwork.  They were able to form a circle and kick soccer balls around to each other without letting the balls leave the circle and walk from one side of the gym to the other.  This sounds easy, but just try it.

Global Monster Projects - Construction Day 2

Today, we had our second day of construction on our Monster Projects.  Some of our body parts are really starting to take shape.  Take a look...

Some students even finished their parts.

Landforms STEM

Landforms STEM

In social studies, students have been reviewing landforms.  Next week, we are going to 
do a STEM activity where students will have to design a model that includes 10 landforms.  
They will work in groups and be allowed to be as creative as they wish!  Models could be 2D 
(poster) or 3D.  I will provide craft supplies (paper, modeling clay, poster board, etc.).  
However, if you happen to have a shoe box at home that we could use - please 
send it in!  Here are some examples (photos found online).

One Small Place in a Tree - Asking Questions

This week, we are reading, "One Small Place in a Tree".  One of the skills students are working on is asking questions.  Here are some of the questions that students came up with while we were reading.

Who? - Who is the main character?
          - Who lives inside?
          - Who killed the tree?

What? - What is heart rot?
           - What is bacteria?
           - What would it be like to be the timber beetle?

Where? - Where is this oak tree?
             - Where do the animals live before they come to the tree?

When? - When do the animals move out?
            - When will the tree fall down?

Why? - Why do the woodpeckers eat the bugs?
          - Why is the flying squirrel first to live in the tree?
          - Why don't the animals stay in the tree?

How? - How many animals make the tree their home?
          - How do some animals get food?

100 Squares Party

PTA Reflections - What's Your Story?

The Hooksett PTA is taking part in the Reflections program.  This years theme is "What is your story?" They want to know who the students are and how they see the world around them.  Students can demonstrate this through dance, film, literature, music, photography or visual arts.  

Mrs. White, the art teacher, has decided to take part and encourage our students at HMS to participate.  She is asking that students come to Art on Monday with an idea for "What is your story?"  For ideas and more details, check out the National PTA website at:

(click on picture below to go to site)

Veterans Day Pictures

Problem of the Week Winners

This week's "Problem of the Week" winners are:

Jack

Tobi

Jaylin

Miles

Laci

Quintin

Check out the Problem of the Week tab to see what challenge they had to solve.  Congratulations!

Best Pet Paragraph

On Friday, the students and I used our two column notes to write an argument paragraph about why dogs make better pets than cats. We worked on using correct paragraph form with a main idea sentence, details and a conclusion sentence. Take a look at what we came up with.

Mrs. Coulon                                               10/14/16

Dogs are the Best Pets!

Bark! Bark! Can you guess what the best pet to have is?  It’s a dog.  Dogs are great companions because they are good listeners and very patient.  They are wonderful friends who are curious and good conversation starters.  When you are a dog owner, you will recover from sickness much quicker.  “Man’s best friend” even barks when there is danger so they can keep you safe.  Walking and playing with your dog makes you both healthier.  Now you know why dogs are the best pets.  Maybe you should get one too.

Animal Habitat Pictures

We are wrapping up Unit 1, Friendship, in reading and moving onto Unit 2, Animals and their Habitats.  Students can bring in something related to their favorite animal in its natural habitat to add to our Concept and Question Board.  Examples could include: book, magazine, photo, drawing, venn diagram comparing/contrasting two habitats, a story about an animal in its habitat, a poem, etc.  Can't wait to see what students bring in!

Global Monster Construction

On Wednesday morning, our class met with Ms. Hanson and Ms. Tremblay to begin construction of their monster parts.  Students were reminded of the rules before they started.  Then they used the materials they collected, plus materials provided to start their projects.

Here are some great action pictures..

Destination Imagination has Started

On Wednesday, three students in our class began on their journey in Destination Imagination (DI).  These students had to create a puppy with specific directions as their first task.  Take a look at what they created...

Biomes of Our Earth

This afternoon, students worked with partners to research a biome of our earth.  Students could choose from the following biomes:

Tundra - Nathaniel, Luke, Ava               

Grassland - Seth, Alexandra, Bir               

Desert - Christopher, Miles, Lukas

Tiaga - Jaylin, Tobi, Kaylee               

Tropical Landform - Laci, Angela, Kate         

Decidious Forest - Jack, Quintin, Addison, Logan

Once students decided on their biome, they had to find out about its climate, plants, animals and locations.  Please ask your child about what they found out today!

Jackie Robinson Summary

Today the students and I finished up our work on Jackie Robinson. We used our organizer for summarizing a biography to write this paragraph. (See below) The students did a wonderful job.

10/11/16

Jackie Robinson

Do you know who Jackie Robinson is?  He was famous for being the first African American to play in the Major Leagues.  But, this was not easy because people were always yelling at him while he was playing.  Some people even threw balls at his head and kicked him with their spiked cleats.  Jackie overcame the “Great Experiment” with the help of his friend Pee-Wee Reese.  He went on to play in the Major League on the Dodgers.  

Updates on AR tests and XtraMath

Click on the picture above to go to the AR website.

Students have been doing a wonderful job of taking their AR tests.  Here is an update as to how hard some students have been working.

Tests Passed:  Tobi - 27     Angela & Miles - 12

Points Earned:  Tobi - 45.2       Miles - 14.6         Jack - 10.8

Word Count:  Tobi - 338,000    Miles 105,000

Great job!  Keep reading your books and taking your tests!!

Click on the picture above to go to the XtraMath website.

Student should continue to work on their addition facts through XtraMath.  I can see that some students have been really working hard.  Take a look at all the students who have mastered most of their facts.

Jack - 90%

Jaylin - 86%

Quintin - 76%

Tobi - 79%

Great job everyone!

Typing.com

Today we went to the computer lab and students went on the typing.com website.  They had a great time learning to type.  Students can click on the icon above and then use their username and passwords (in the front of their agenda book) to sign in.  Happy typing.

Problem of the Week - Math

** Please check out the Problem of the Week tab for now on to keep updated...

The first "Problem of the Week" was a great success.  Several students participated and were able to solve the problem.  Here is what they solved.

  

The top 3 responses had lunch with me today.  These students then made up a problem of their own.

Global Monster Project

We started our planning for the Global Monster Project today. Our class was assigned the arms for our monster part. Students had to draw their part of the arm and make a list of the materials needed. Please check with your child to see what part of the arm he/she was assigned and if he/she needs any materials. Below is a description of the project...

From the October Principals Report:

Global Monster Project

The ALPs Enrichment K-8 teachers team up with 20 classroom teachers, Grades 3-5, to participate in the Global Monster Project.  Descriptions of each part of the monster (52 parts in all) are created by each participating classroom and encompass students from around the world to include Brazil, Russia, Siberia, and Thailand. Additionally, students are asked to state how their monster would use STEM to make their school, town or world a better place. Students will discover that designing and building a monster together is a challenging task. Each student pair will be making one or two parts of the monster but will have to collaborate with other students in order to put the entire monster together. We are planning to build at least one monster per grade level but only one monster will be able to be entered in the contest. The community will be asked to help support this cause by donating recycled material. For more information, visit http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters/