Today we took a break from our Lessons to complete the online Star assessment. The Star is just another informal formative assessment tool we use to discover where students’ skills are in order to best plan for using their strengths and supporting them in where there might be room for growth. Unfortunately we had a few Wifi glitches, but the students were SUPER patient and handled the hiccup well! Tomorrow we will do a quick review of the homework from Lessons 1 & 2 and then begin Lesson 3: Model Fractions and Decimals.
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Hi all! Lots of mixed reviews about the homework assignment given on manipulated, responding and controlled variables. That's okay! This is tough stuff! Many students had questions during W.I.N. so in advance of anyone coming home expressing frustration about their Science homework, please read below for a copy of the email that I sent to all Newton/Arbour/Ely families. Trust me, it is more important that my students spend their evenings enjoying time with their families or participating in extracurriculars than struggling through Science homework. :)
"Hello Parents! Just a quick email to allay any anxieties your kiddo may have about their Science homework tonight as I got many questions from them during W.I.N. time. To be clear, today was the first of a series of lessons about variables and the role they play in experimental methods. We started an exercise in class where they were to analyze certain experimental conditions to determine the manipulated (independent) variable, responding (dependent) variable and the controlled variable. (The worksheet is called Three Kinds of Variables) This is a TOUGH assignment! I asked students to do their best to complete the rest of the worksheet for homework tonight but if they couldn't finish it all that was fine and we will review it all in class tomorrow as a group. I was very clear with them that it is OKAY if they cannot finish it and there will be NO penalty if it is not done before class tomorrow. (in case you hear otherwise :) If you have a moment tonight to look at the worksheet with your child that would be great, but it is not necessary. Rest assured I will be revisiting it with them during tomorrow's lesson and beyond if need be. Cheers! Lindsay" Today we continued to practice the skill of comparing and ordering whole numbers through the millions whereby students had to use their place value knowledge to solve a riddle. I then incorporated a little music in to the lesson to accommodate all those musical/rhythmic intelligences! (I think these songs might haunt them for the next few days!) Lastly, we reviewed and corrected both homework assignments from Lesson 1 and Lesson 2. Great job!! That's Taylor Swift making a cameo in the video ha ha! Hmmm... Maybe someday I'll make a rap of my own for the students! Today students took a pop quiz (ungraded!) on the steps of the Scientific Method. This was just a skill check and we corrected it in class together. Great job Scientists! Then students spent the remainder of class honing their note-taking skills! These vocabulary words are the words we will be frequently using in our upcoming lessons on variables and conducting experiments. Current vocabulary: observe, infer, hypothesis, quantitative, qualitative, variable, manipulated variable, responding variable.
Today we completed Lesson 2: Comparing and Ordering Whole Numbers through Millions. Students shared their strategies for using the correct symbols (<, >, =) when expressing the relationship between the value of two numbers. Students then practiced using the greatest place value as the appropriate place to begin when comparing numbers. Also, students have been set up with their IXL accounts (for LA & Math) and Ms. Newton will be sending home a parent letter with pertinent details. https://www.IXL.com/signin/capeelizabeth Homework: Workbook pages 21-22 due Tuesday Today students spent the class period with Bill Nye investigating the difference between “Science” and “Pseudoscience”. The goal of this lesson was to help students understand that scientific investigations require thoughtful and critical analysis and must be repeatable and based on factual evidence. There are many so-called legitimate claims out there, but only Science has the science to back it up! ;)
Next week we begin discussing variables! Have a great weekend! https://www.schooltube.com/video/fa8c6fe1347b43899cf1/Bill%20Nye%20Pseudoscience Today we finished Chapter 1, Lesson 1: Place Value Through Millions. Students again completed whole class and small group exercises where they practiced reading and writing the place values of whole numbers between the ones place all the way through the hundred millions place. Students also practiced writing place value in both standard and expanded form. On Monday we will begin Chapter 1, Lesson 2: Compare and Order Whole Numbers Through Millions
Homework: Workbook pg. 15-16 Due Tuesday Today we started Chapter 1, Lesson 1: Place Value Through Millions. The Essential Question for this Chapter is: How does the position of a digit in a number relate to its value? The learning target for this Lesson is: Students will be able to read and write whole numbers through the millions.
Students completed whole class and small group exercises where they practiced comparing and contrasting the values of digits between the ones place and the hundred millions place. Students also practiced writing place value in both standard and expanded form. Standard form is the usual or common way to write a number using digits. Expanded form is a way of writing a number as the sum of the values of its digits. For example, 5,500,000 written in expanded form is: 5 x 1,000,000 + 5 x 100,000. Using the expanded form helps reinforce the concept that in a multi digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left. Homework: Workbook pg. 12 Today students continued to increase their familiarity with the steps of the Scientific Method by completing a sorting activity and putting a graphic organizer in their Science journals. Students also shared with the whole class the experimental design proposals they created in the previous lesson. These exercises are designed to scaffold student learning in preparation for a series of experiments we will be conducting this Fall where they will use all aspects of the Scientific Method.
Vocabulary: Scientific inquiry, observation, hypothesis, quantitative, qualitative, variable Today, we continued our study of the Scientific Method by watching a BrainPop video and taking a whole class quiz, as well as completing a graphic organizer. Students then practiced analyzing problem statements, making observations and developing appropriate hypotheses and experiments. https://www.brainpop.com/science/scientificinquiry/scientificmethod/ |
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