9/29/14

Math
Multiplying Decimals
p.89 13-20 - due tomorrow

Language arts
Lesson 7 packet - due Friday
Parts of speech packet - due tomorrow
Writing - opinion writing from the story

Social studies
Ch 3 notes
Study guide for test Friday

Science

9/25/14

Math
none

Language arts
Lesson 6 packet - due tomorrow

Spelling
TEST TOMORROW!!   LOOK AT THE LIST!!!!\

Social Studies
Read Ch. 3

9/23/14

Math
Dividing mixed  numbers
p.74  9-20 - due tomorrow!\

Language arts
Lesson 6 packet - due Friday
Writing assessment - Thursday!

Spelling
Test Friday

Social Studies
Neolithic villages

Science

9/22/14

Math
p.67, 11-26 - due tomorrow
Dividing Fractions

Language arts
Lesson 6 packet - due Friday
Writing assessment - Wed. or Thurs.

Spelling
Pretest - New Groups
Final test - Friday

Social Studies
Work on the Neolithic houses/village

Science
Reflective assessment

9/19/14

Math
Dividing fractions
no HW

Language arts
Weekly test
Bring a notebook for journal if needed

Spelling 
Test

Social studies

Science
Finished heat measurements

9/18/14 - "I woke up" assignment

I woke up.  I ate breakfast.  I went outside.  There was a dog.  I followed him.  We were at the park. It showed me something.

Great story?  I think not.  Students were challenged to take this story and spiff it up a bit.

Here's what each class did (with a little help from me) with the following sentence:

I went to the store.

Mr. Balke's class:

Dave was sitting around his apartment one afternoon.  he thought, "I could really go for a cinnamon churro."  So he hopped on his Harley, and recklessly sped off to Costco in Coralville.

Mrs. Hall's class (I added more to this one):

Dave realized it was his one month anniversary with Sally.  He snuck away from the tailgater and jogged quickly ot Wal-Mart on Highway 6.  Dave burst in and looked frantically around for the floral section.  All that was left there were some wilted white roses, overprioced at $2.50 each.  He was desperate, bought them, and returned to the tailgater.

9/18/14

Math
p.60  26-41 - due tomorrow
Multiplying mixed numbers

Language arts
"I woke up" writing - due tomorrow!!
Lesson 5 packets - due tomorrow!

Spelling
TEST Tomorrow!!  Those homophones are TRICKY!!!

Science
Heat experiments

Social studies
Building Neolithic Houses

9/17/14

Math
p. 59 , 4-19  - due tomorrow
Multiplying fractions

Language arts
"I woke up" writing: 1 page AT THE MINIMUM!! Due Friday!
Lesson 5 packet 5 ODD
Lesson 5 packet 5 EVEN
Both due Friday!
DRAs - only in class!!!


Science

Social Studies
Neolithic house
Unit 2 test

Spelling
Test Friday!!

9/16/14

Math
Simplest form, improper fractions
Worksheet - due tomorrow

Language arts
Read "The Myers Family"
Lesson packet 5 - due Friday
DRAs

Science

Social Studies
Ch. 2 notes
Caveman comic book

Spelling 
Test Friday

Back to School - 7:30 Mr. Balke's room!

9/15/14

Math
Returned test
Ch 2 pretest
Mult Fractions
no HW

Language arts
Lesson Packet 5 - due Friday
Read "The Myers Family"

Science
Measuring heat

Social Studies
Ch. 2 notes
Ch. 3 start project

Spelling
Pretest, final test Friday

9/11/14

Math
REVIEW!
p.45-48
Pages from R & P Journal are ok too!
TEST TOMORROW!!\

Language arts
Groups
Lesson Packet 4 - due tomorrow

Spelling
TEST Tomorrow!!  LOOK at the list!  With your eyeballs!!

Science
Forecast

Social Studies
Caveman Newscast
Study guide
TEST TOMORROW!!

Monday PICTURE DAY!!
Tuesday Back to school night! 7:30

9/10/14

Math
Test Friday
Review pages: 45, 46, 47
Practice Test: p. 48, 49

Language arts
Lesson Packet 4 - due Friday

Science
Forecast

Social Studies
Presented Caveman Newscasts
Study guide - test Friday

Spelling
Test Friday

ONE MORE DAY - book order
Green Patrol Forms - fill out and return ASAP

9/9/14

Math
Review - in class

Language Arts
Lesson Packet 4 - due Friday
Writing assignment: due tomorrow
Choice - 5-7 sentence paragraph
1. Your choice
2. Science fiction
3. Finding and unusual object

Science
Forecast

Social studies
Quiz
Caveman Newscast Scripts
Study guide - test Friday

Spelling
Test Friday

9/5/14

Math
p. 40, 12-17 - due Monday
Links on blog!

Language arts
Weekly test
Reading aloud
Autobiography - due TUESDAY
20 Words - due TUESDAY
Check the blog for more info!

Spelling
Final test

Science
Weather measurements
Quiz #6,7
Study 8

Social Studies
Caveman Newscast Script

Other
Book orders Tuesday!!

9/5/14 - Least Common Multiple and Prime Factorization

LCM and PF

Check out the links to the right.  The Big Ideas text does not do a good job of explaining getting the LCM using Prime Factorization.  Neither do I!!

9/5/14 - Writing Assignments - DUE TUESDAY

20 Words assignment
If you are an old-time Iowa Citian, think back to 1976 on First Avenue, where the mega Hy-Vee is now.  The following is a story I wrote for the students:

The Cool Car
7-11.  Soda.  Gary.  Walk.  Car.  Point.  Yell.  Screech.  Reverse.  Run.  Culvert.  Breathless.  Listening.  Conversation.  Quiet.  Peer.  Run.  Home.  Relief.

From this, try to imagine a possible scenario.  Then ask your student what actually happened!  It is a true story!

The students have an assignment called "20 Words".  They are to write a story using 20 or more words.  Each word is a "sentence".  We talked about words that work  Words that have meaning by themselves or in context.  "The" would be a poor choice because by itself it does not conjure up too many images!  The word "screech", on the other hand, is quite descriptive!

I also mentioned 20 words minimum.  If it is a well-done 19, then good!

Autobiography
In class, we read an excerpt from Jerry Spinelli's autobiography Knots in my Yo-yo String.  We discussed what would be in an autobiography.

• Your life!  I'm not going to do any fact-checking, but it should be non-fiction!
• Include events that are interesting, important, and entertaining!
• Hand-written this time. 2 pages, No GIGANTIC penmanship!
• Write NEATLY!  Your first draft can be however, but what you turn in needs to easy on the eyes!

9/5/14 - Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

Assessments
As you may have heard, we have been doing DIBELS testing this week.  DIBELS is a clever acronym for Dynamic Indicators of Basic and Early Literacy Skills.  As a district we have been administering them for about 5 years or so.  We will be administering them 3 times a year.  I should have them wrapped up by the end of next week.

https://dibels.org/dibels.html

DRAs (Developmental Reading Assessment) will be administered the week of the 15th.  They will also be administered 3 times in a year.

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/book-selection-tips/assess-dra-reading-levels

http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZw6f

The ICCSD Math Screener is different this year.  There is a computation component (similar to before) and an application component (new for us).  They are both short tests: the computation is 4 minutes and the application is 7 minutes.  I will be administering it next week.  Like the others, they will be administered 3 times a year.

The ICCSD Writing Assessment is from the Houghton/Mifflin/Harcourt language arts materials we are using.  It has a prompt and and rubric scoring procedure.  It is also given 3 times a year.  The first one will be around the end of September.

The Iowa Assessments are given the third week of October.  Just once a year!!  I usually take about an hour and a half each day.  If a student misses a day, they can make it up later in the week or the next week.

If you have any questions about these tests, let me know!  And if I don't know, I'll try to find someone who does!

9/4/14

Math
p.40, 6-11 - due tomorrow

Language Arts
Lesson Packet 3 - due tomorrow
Autobiography - due Tuesday
20 words - due Tuesday

Science
Temperature forecast
Weather instruments
Study 6, 7

Social Studies
Caveman Newscast
Finished Garbage archaeology

Spelling
Test tomorrow!  LOOK AT THE LIST!!

9/3/14

Math
LCM (LCD)
List of Multiples, Prime Factorization
no HW

Language Arts
"The Fruit Bowl Project"
Lesson 3 Packet - due Friday
Autobiography - start now details tomorrow
20 words - start now details tomorrow

Science
Weather vanes
Quiz first half
Study questions 4,5

Social Studies
Ch. 1 news
Hominids newscast
Study guide quiz

Spelling
Test Friday

9/2/14

Math
p. 34-35, 4-25 - due tomorrow

Language arts
Lesson 3 packet - due Friday

Science
Weather forecasting
Windvanes
Study guide
Test tomorrow

Social Studies
Study guide
Test tomorrow

Spelling
Pretest
Final test Friday