Fractions With The Principal & Vice Principal

This morning Mr. Miller and Mrs. Grondin came into our room to talk about fractions with us. They told us how they used fractions. They use fractions at school and also at home. Mrs. Grondin uses fractions when orders paper for the teachers. She knows that the teachers usually use a half a box in one week. She would need to order 15 boxes of paper if we have thirty weeks of school left. Mr. Miller gave us this example: He knows he has one hour and wants to visit four classes. He has to divide the hour into fourths so he can visit for equal amounts of time. Mr. Miller used Eliza's Silly Bands to show how fractions can be used with just about anything. We told them how we use fractions. We use fractions for pies, pizzas, basically any sort of food, and for time.

Making Films

We made a little movie about Philippe Petit today. He was a street performer who saw the Twin Towers being built. He thought he should secure a rope between the two towers so he could walk between the Twin Towers. He disguised himself as a construction worker so he could trespass into the towers and secure the rope at night. He walked across the rope and even laid down on the rope. He was on there for about one hour. He got arrested and had to go to court. The judge told him he had to perform in New York City for the kids and the grown ups. A couple kids hung on the rope during the performance. Philippe fell, but caught himself.


We made a theater production about him using the Flip camera paper, markers, pencils, and pencil puppets. Everyone wrote a script. A few people got to film the movies.

The Secret Olivia Told Me

We learned that it's important to keep secrets because we wouldn't want to embarrass our friends if the secret was embarrassing. Your friend would feel sad and upset if your secret was told. They would feel mad, sad, and worried all at the same time if you told their secret. They would also feel disappointed that you told.

However, there are times when it's okay to share a secret. If you  hear a secret where someone is going to get hurt you should tell an adult (your family, teacher, or principal). It's important because that person could get hurt or seriously injured. It's important to keep people safe because we're a community!

We Did...

• we published our I Am poem
• we brainstormed ideas for our I Can poem
• we wrote in our reading journals, "Describe Yourself As A Reader"
• we did expanded form (notation), standard form, and word form in math
• we wrote in glitter text on our Wiki page
• "shopped" at Lowes and found items that involved place vlaue
• we watched CNN Student News and learned about Hurricane Earl
• we did the morning announcements for the whole school
• we listened to the PTO to learn about the school fundraiser
• we played Free Rice on the Smart Board
• we listened to Mr. Miller read The Spy Glass
• we read Because Of Winn Dixie
• we talked about our hopes and dreams
• wrote what we think will happen in the book, Crow Boy
• finished describing ourselves as reader
• we met Mrs. Thoman's class using Skype

I Am Pre-Writing Activity

Today we used sticky notes to brainstorm ideas. We wrote ideas that describe us to give us ideas to write a poem just like Ben Shaffer. We wrote some ideas from his poem since they were really good and things that came from our head. Tomorrow we are going to write our own poem!

I Am...

We are going to be reading an "I Am" poem and write our own. Before doing so, scroll down to bottom of this blog. There is a box that says, "I Am." Write a word or phrase that describes who you are. We will look at the posts to compare responses.

Blog Purpose

The purpose of this blog is to give families up-to-date information about classroom activities and happenings. Students and family members can interact with the posts by adding comments. Please comment often as home/school communication has a positive impact upon student achievement. Look forward to communicating!