Thursday, January 5, 2012

Bowling Trip

December By: Charlene

Math: we just started unit 5 and it is SUPER easy! To me right now it is like a review unit. But Mr.Finn said that those are just our basic facts. I still think this unit is going to be a breeze. Oh, I know this is off topic but, we got our new math books today. Maybe it wasn’t off topic after all!

Science: in science we are working on atoms, molecules, elements, mixtures and compounds. My favorite way to picture gas, liquid and compounds is a movie theater. Outside the movie theater there is barely any people and they are moving quickly. That would be the gas. The liquid would be the people buying snacks, movie tickets, etc. because they move around but they are closer together and move slower. And the people watching the movie inside are the solid because you can still move around in your seat but you don’t just get up and walk around. I know its weird but every solid does move!

Language arts: in language arts we did book club groups. My group was Janie, Elly and Jennifer. The name of our book was Found. We were supposed to finish our books by break but we never got far enough so we got to read it over break too. I haven’t said anything about this yet but we are making a book out of 7 writing prompts. I am done with 5 of them and we need all of them done by Thursday the 12th I think.

Social studies: we have finished up our India unit. My favorite part about that unit was when the book said that there was this canyon and if you dropped a penny it would take about a minute and a half. When you dropped a penny in Americas Grand Canyon it would take about thirty seconds! Now we just started our china unit. I really love social studies a lot more than last year!

Allied class: in Tech Ed we are in the middle of making our tic tac toe boards. We are going to make a keychain too!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

December By: Carlos & Jack

Math: In Math Carlos is learning about algebraic equations and how to identify variables in certain expressions and equations. Jack is learning quadratic equations and has 11 topics left in Aleks math. Jack and Carlos think math is useful but it isn’t exactly fun or easy.

Language Arts: In L.A. we had book groups and we got to choose them. Our book was completely true. It was about the government and how they had too much control. They literally read people’s mail. An old woman named Ms. Moore knows a secret and tells Rachel and Vivian. We aren’t telling you, you have to read the book. We are also writing a book but we are not telling you much because it’s classified.

Science: In science we have been learning about matter and energy. Jack and Carlos did a project. We both got A’s. We are smart kids. We just literally took a pre-quiz on chapter 2. Matter and Energy are not the only things we learned about in science. We also learned about atoms and molecules. Everything is made up of atoms except for light and sound. The last thing we learned about was mixtures and compounds.

S.S: In social studies we learned about Indian culture and religion. Two main religions in India are Buddhism and Hinduism. We also learned about monks. Monks are people who devote their life to their religion. It takes a lot of sacrifice.

Extra Curricular: Jack and Carlos are still on the basketball team and getting ready to take on the team that we lost to. We should not have lost to them and now we are going absolutely own them.

December By: Emily & Kathryn

Language Arts- For Reader’s Workshop, we made our own Book Club’s and got to choose the book we were going to be reading. Me and Kathryn’s group chose Woodsong. It sounded interesting, but it turned out pretty boring.

In Writer’s Workshop we have been working on our books. We have to write 7 prompts in all. 5 of them are chosen for us, and we get to choose the other 2 off of a list.

Social Studies- We just finished the Ancient India unit. We spent a lot of time on religion. The 2 major religions are Hinduism and Buddhism. We took a test too right before break we think.

Science- Matter and Energy is the section we are learning about right now. The class created multimedia projects on molecules, atoms, compounds, mixtures and elements. I worked with Emma, and Kathryn worked with Cali.

Math- In Mrs. O’Hern’s math class, we worked on dividing, multiplying, adding and subtracting fractions. That’s pretty much it, yupp. :)
In Mrs. Fulfer’s class we can do whatever topic we want in our non- edible pie.

December By: Alex

Science: in science we learned about atoms, molecules, and other forms of matter. This was my favorite unit because one, I’m good at it and two I was really excited to learn about matter. The project we did was fun and I got an A! So this was definitely a good unit.
Math: In math we just finished our unit in complex figures. I was really happy because our teacher told us we didn’t have to do the test. At some points it was hard but I’m pretty good at it now. Even though we didn’t do the test that unit stressed me out a bit.
Social studies: we learned about Indian and its culture. We didn’t spend that much time on its geography, we mostly learned about its civilization. We only did one project to draw a city. The test was pretty challenging but I think I did okay.
Writing/readers workshop: first in writers workshop where’re currently working on our book. We also did one personal narrative, mine was about a school memory. In readers workshop we started a reading group. My book was phantom in the snow. My group members consisted of Jacob, Zach, Ben, and me.

December By: Alex

Science: in science we learned about atoms, molecules, and other forms of matter. This was my favorite unit because one, I’m good at it and two I was really excited to learn about matter. The project we did was fun and I got an A! So this was definitely a good unit.
Math: In math we just finished our unit in complex figures. I was really happy because our teacher told us we didn’t have to do the test. At some points it was hard but I’m pretty good at it now. Even though we didn’t do the test that unit stressed me out a bit.
Social studies: we learned about Indian and its culture. We didn’t spend that much time on its geography, we mostly learned about its civilization. We only did one project to draw a city. The test was pretty challenging but I think I did okay.
Writing/readers workshop: first in writers workshop where’re currently working on our book. We also did one personal narrative, mine was about a school memory. In readers workshop we started a reading group. My book was phantom in the snow. My group members consisted of Jacob, Zach, Ben, and me.

December By: Jenni & Ally

Math- In math Ally is working on word problems on proportion. Before break Ally was working on word problems on percentage; Type 3. And in math Jenni was working on finding the area of a 3D figure. Now Jenni is working on pre algebra. We both think that math is fun and challenging.

Social Studies- In social studies Ally and Jenni were working on drawing a map for Mohenjo-Daro and reading about Buddhism. In social studies Jenni was working on Hinduism and Buddhism. Ally doesn’t really like social studies, but Jenni does. We hope that we don’t get much homework this month.

Writers workshop- We were and still are working on writing our books, Ally’s book is mostly fantasy and mystery. Jenni’s book is all about her favorite places, trips and people that we want to meet. We both kind of like writing and want to keep on writing about what we want to write about. Jenni’s favorite story that she wrote so far is about her favorite family trip. Ally’s favorite story that she wrote so far is her mystery story.

Readers workshop- Ally is reading a non-fiction book called Hoot. And Jenni was in a reading group with Elly, Janie and Charlene, they were reading Found. Jenni doesn’t really like reading but Ally does. Ally hopes to read more. Jenni likes to do reading groups.

Science- Ally was working on a skit about cooperation and learning about resources that we use every day. Jenni was doing a prezi with Elly on matter and energy and liquids and solids and atoms and molecules. Jenni hopes to do experiments in the next lesson.

December By: Emma & Celina

Math: In math we learned about how to find the area of geometrical shapes and how to find the surface area. Also we are learning about P.E.M.D.A.S (prentices, exponents, multiplication, divide, add and subtract.

Social studies: In social studies we learned about ancient India. The two main subjects we learned about are Hinduism and Buddhism. Also we made a map about Mohenjo-Daro in Ancient India.

Science: In science we learned about matter mass, liquid and solid. After learning about matter we made posters, animotos, etc. We really think we should learn the fun way.

Writers Workshop: In writers workshop we are making a 7 page book. Some of the topics are what I want to be when I grow up, who I want to meet, if I could go anywhere in the world it would be etc. Readers Workshop: We are in book clubs and we get to pick our own groups and books. Celina is reading Trapped and Emma is reading Wood Song. We both think our books are pretty good.

That is what we did in December

December By: Jacob

In math I am working on lots of topics. I recently did finding the area and circumference of a cercal given its radius or diameter it is quite easy if you know how to do it. Aleks is a good because it makes sure you know the topic and you learn faster it is not like terdishanal class rooms were you learn 1 topic a day and if you get stuck you stop.

In language arts we read a book we got to pick we had to finish the book by the end of break it was a good book. We are writing a book it is half done and we are still working on it, we have to incorate figurative language in our writing it is fun writing a book.

In science we just finished chapter 1 molecules and atoms. It was fun and I had a great time learning about atoms and molecules and what makes up everything in the world.

In social studies we are learning about Hinduism and babuism and how the caste system works. They believe in reincarnation, karma, and drama. I now know what a monk is and who an outcast is.

December By: Drew & Ben

Because of break, the month was here for three weeks and we were home the other one! But this didn’t come close to stopping us from learning a whole lot more.

In Social Studies we wrapped up a unit and started a different unit. After our maps of Mohenjo-Daro, we started learning about religions in ancient India. We did worksheets on Buddhism and Hinduism. We just started our new unit on Ancient China. There isn’t much to say about it, because our first day of it is on 1/3/12!

In science we learned about matter and energy like this for example h2o. The science project on comparing compounds and mixtures, compounds and elements, and molecules and atoms.

In language arts we read a book called phantoms in the snow, and Drew read the son of Neptune, and we both did response logs on our books. Then we discussed our next reading assignments. Also we typed up our very own books about were we would go anywhere in the world I would go, if I could meet anyone dead or alive I would meet, etc.

What I did in math is finding the surface of any figure that’s what Ben remembers he did in math this month, and this is what Drew did : Drew learned how to graph a parabola in two different ways, and how to multiply and add square roots. He completed his geometry and trigonometry slice and has 60 topics left in Algebra 1.

We had a great month and the start of 2012 is going to bring a great January!

December By: J.B.

In math we have finished decimals and fractions and took the test. We have finished complex figures and area of complex figures. Now we are starting P.E.M.D.A.S which is parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, adding, and subtracting. We are also starting algebra.

In spelling we are learning about the importance of an apostrophe. We got 10 more new and old words. Now if we want to try the enrichment spellings test. Last we have still been doing fix-it and add-it.

In reader’s workshop we got to choose our books to do groups and my group was me, Joey, and Colin, and we picked The Always War. It was a book about a war and how everything got burned. It was a good book, but the ending was the best which you will have to read to find out.

In writers workshop it is now 7 prompts and still one prompt per page. I have just finished my 5th one and now we get to choose the last to which I think I am going to choose my favorite holiday and my top 10 favorite things.

In science we have finished matter, mass lesson one and we had to make a project and had to tell the differences of matter, mass and mixture, compound and compound, element. And we are going to start physical and chemical change.

In social studies we have finished our map on mohenjo daro and took our test on it and we did a thing on geography of the world and our team came in 3rd place. And now we are starting China.

December By: Seth

December was a pretty short month because of Christmas Break, but it was certainly really fun. We did a lot of holiday activities which was fun. I personally think it was a kind of easy month because of the shortened month and the breaks we took to do holiday activities.
In Math this month, I started Algebra 2 with Trigonometry. So far, I have really struggled through it, but I’m starting to understand some of the new concepts. We also have started playing different types of 24 games, which is where you’re given a set of numbers and you try to make 24 with them. My goal is to finish Algebra 2 before the end of 3rd quarter.
In Science, we have finished the first chapter of Matter and Energy, which I have really liked. We have learned all about mass, matter, volume, and weight. For the end of the chapter project, we did a compare and contrast multimedia project on different parts of Matter and Energy.
In Social Studies, we learned about India and took our final test. We got to learn about the differences and similarities of Buddhism and Hinduism. We also learned did a lot on the set up of Mohenjo- Daro and city in Ancient India, and how the Indus River helped the civilization to survive. We will now start learning about Ancient China.
In Writer’s Workshop we have been working on our books and the 7 prompts for them. Our deadline to finish is Thursday, January 12. In Reader’s Workshop we did book clubs at the end of the month. I read The Son of Neptune with Drew. Overall, December was probably my favorite month overall.

December By: Janie & Elly

In Math, we are still working on ALEKS, playing 24, and occasionally having Math Chats. One thing new, though, is that we were introduced to a different type of 24, where you have to have a variable to get 24 on two unlike problems. Another thing new is that we’re going to have Boot Camp on Integers. That is starting tomorrow.

In Social Studies, we just finished up the Ancient India unit and we are about to start the Ancient China unit. We both got 100% on the Ancient India test =) Also, because there isn’t much information on Ancient India, this was our shortest unit.

In Science, we finished Chapter 1 with a short project called Matter Expert. We used Prezi and Animoto to create a short presentation on compounds, mixtures, elements, atoms, and molecules, complete with music and pictures. We already took a quick pre-quiz on Chapter 2. We think Chapter 2 is going to be about chemical and physical changes.

In Reading we just finished our reading books, in our reading groups. We were in the same group together with Jenni and Char. We chose the book Found, by: Margaret Peterson Haddix. Both of us enjoyed reading the book. There were also other books, like The Line, Always War, The Angel Experiment, Tangerine, and other good books. A lot of them are by the same author.

In Writer’s Workshop we are by putting 7 writing prompts together to make a book. By the end of the year we will get a hardcover book that was made by us. Some of our prompts are Our favorite memory with our family, or What is your favorite school memory. We are supposed to be on our 5th prompts, but some of us are slacking behind and can’t finish it before the time runs out. (Elly is almost done.)

December By: Matt & Joey

This month in science we learned about mass and weight. We also learned about compounds and mixture we did a project in science these things it was hard project but I finished it. It was really fun in science

Math in math Matt and Joey are learning about algebra and this is what our teacher is teaching us. We also learned about geometry it was really hard but fun. In geometry it was hard piecing the shapes together.

Social studies we are learning about Buddhism and Hinduism. These are religions we have currently learned. You may see Buddha statue in china or in a Chinese restaurant. It is really fun learning all these new things.

In L.A. and in writers workshop we are typing a book about different things like favorite school memory and what you want to be when you grown those are two of the seven we have to write about. In LA we are just finishing our group books and we also got pick our book how cool. It is really cool reading our book we are group and typing our book.

December By: Maggie & Cali

This month in Language Arts we continued working on our writing prompts for our book and we are almost ready to send our books in to get published. We had 5 prompts that were picked for us and we got to pick the 2 last prompts that we’re going to write about. We also had reading groups that we already finished. We both read The Angel Experiment and it was a really good book about a girl who is 2% bird.

Cali- In math we are continuing working on ALEKS still and have now added breaks into the schedule. During these breaks we have math chat where we can ask friends about topics. We also have 24 where we have to make 24 out of 4 numbers that we’re giving.
Maggie- In math we are learning about area and perimeter and all of the formulas of how to find area and perimeter of pentagon, hexagons, and octagons. We also learned how to find area and perimeter of pentagonal prisms, hexagonal prisms, and octagonal prisms.

In social studies we just finished learning about Ancient India. We learned about the two main religions of India which are Hinduism and Buddhism. Also, we learned about what the main cities what have looked like which include Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Another thing is we learned about how India is also known as the Indian sub-continent because the Himalayan Mountains separate India from Asia. Now, we are moving on to our next ancient civilization unit called “Ancient China”.

In science we learned about atoms and molecules. We learned about how molecules are made of atoms. And we learned about mixtures and compounds. We learned how mixtures are made of several substances and how compounds are made of only one substance. Then we had to put together projects with the knowledge we knew on the subject. We put together an animoto on animoto.com

December By: Mikayla

Math in December: December in math we were multiplying fractions also dividing them. We also were multiplying and dividing decimals. December had tricky units/lessons. In the beginning of December we learned how to find the surface area in pyramids. Then we learned how to find the volume.

Reader’s workshop: In readers workshop we got to pick a group. Then we picked a book. With our group we have to decide how many pages we have to complete by a certain day. Then we would have to pick a page out of our reader’s response log. And then the next day we would predict what would happen next in our book. Also we would share our reader’s response log with our group.


Writer’s workshop: In writers workshop we are typing writing prompts. The writing prompts we are writing about are pretty interesting. One is “if I could meet anyone in the world, I would meet…” We are writing 7 final copies then they are going to be put into a book.

Science: In science we learned about matter, volume, weight, and mass. We also learned about what molecules are. Then we learned what water molecules are.
Also we learned about mixtures, compounds, and elements. We had to figure out what you can separate and what you can’t.

Social studies: In social studies we made a map of mohenjo- daro. We had to have certain things like the citadel. We had a partner and you had to tell them what you had on your map and then they would grade you.

December By: Colin Stein

In math this quarter I have learned how the prisms are. There are a lot of different kinds like rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, octagonal, and pentagonal. Also we are learning about PEMDAS. The PEMDAS are parentheses, exponents, multiplication, divide, add, and then you subtract.

In science this month we have learned about mass, matter, and compounds and mixtures. We had to do a project on these things. This was really fun because you could experience on how to work alone for once if you wanted to. We had to write a paragraph on these things and get a picture.

In Social Studies we have been learning about religions. The two major ones were Buddhism and Hinduism. The people in India in my opinion are very crazy because to be a monk they have to shave their heads and wear robes.

In L.A. we had to read a whole book in a week in a half. Also we had to write a bunch of responses. In writers workshop we are typing a book of seven prompts. This is very fun because we have a chance to be an author.

December By: Greg & Noah

Math - In Mrs. Fulfer’s math class, which is aleks, most of the people are done or almost done with pre-algebra. There are some topics that are hard but for the most part it’s really easy. In Mr. Finn’s math class we are working on variables with order of operations.

Language arts - In reading class, we finished our book from our reading groups. We got to pick the book we wanted, and the group of people we wanted. Our group chose the book: The Line. It takes place in the future when the government has too much power and controls one side of the world. In writers workshop we are writing a book. With 7 pages with a different topic for each page.

Science - In science class we finished chapter 1 in the matter and atoms book. Next we are going to work on physical and chemical change. The first chapter was pretty easy. The pre-test to chapter 2 was pretty easy too, so I think chapter 2 will be easy too

Social studies – In social studies, we completed the India unit. It went very fast because we don’t know a lot about ancient India. We don’t know a lot about ancient India because we can’t decipher their writing system. We think the next unit we are doing is China, but we’re not sure.

December By: Megan and Annika

Math- In math, we are doing ALEKS, a computerized program based so that we can work at our own pace. We are both in it, and it is a lot of fun. We also play a game called 24, when you are given 4 numbers. Then, using any operation and any order, you try to make 24 out of it. Also, we do it in a venn-diagram. There are 3 numbers in the outside circles, and then you try to find the variable that would fit in the middle. It has to be the same for both, otherwise it ruins the point of the game.

L.A. - We are set in a torture class, where we must use our brains to understand the symbols on the page! This disease is life-threatening, and we ask all parents to donate to this horrid cause… Just Kidding! In this lovely class, we get to choose our own groups, and choose the book we read. There is a homework assignment to go along with the reading that we do that night. In Writer's workshop, we are working on our 7 writing prompts. We have to do subjects like: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? And, If you could meet anyone in the world, (Dead or alive), who would you meet?

Science – In this class we recently took a test on matter, atoms, and molecules. To learn this subject, we were put into groups, and then each group got to go to different centers, which were placed throughout the room.

S.S. – In this evil and dark class, we must read out of a textbook! How terrible! But, at least we get to do a project. We made a map of Mohenjo-Daro and tried to include as many details as possible such as; Citadel, Paved Roads, Around 40,000 People, Manholes, etc. It was a lot of fun.