Early January ‘10: Topics-of-Study

Language Arts: Synonyms/Antonyms, Main Ideas, Commas/Quotation Marks/Apostrophes + Review of Prefixes/Root Words/Suffixes and Step Up to Writing Paragraphs

• Synonyms and Antonyms (movie), Synonyms, Squanky the Tooth Taker: Quiet Quest for Opposites, Squanky the Tooth Taker: Tooth Tally, Same Difference
• Main Idea (movie), Main Ideas, Summarize As You Read, Reading Nonfiction (movie)
• Power Proofreading, Punctuation Paintball, Comma Confusion
• Wordworks, Root Words, Short Circuit, Prefixes Say Plenty, Spelling with Suffixes, Fish Tanks, Spelling Prefixes, Rooting Out Words (review practice)
• Step Up to Writing, Step Up to Writing #2 (notes + examples)

Mathematics: Double-Digit Multiplication, Long Division, Fractions/Decimals, Prime Numbers + Review of Line Types, Radius & Diameter, Area

• Two Digit Multiplication Steps (review practice)
• Snork’s Long Division, Math Baseball
• Study Jams! (video), Basic Parts of a Whole (movie), What’s a Fraction?, Death to Decimals, Fishy Fractions: Fraction and Decimal Match, Comparing Fractions and Decimals, Fishy Fractions: Equivalent Fractions, Fresh Baked Fractions, The Decifractator, Saloon Snap, Tony Fraction (challenging fractions)
• Prime Factoring, Grid Game
• Lines (review practice), Matho (review of all geometry terms), Area and Perimeter, Everyday Area, Find the Area
• Trimester Two Math Helper (front), Trimester Two Math Helper (back)

Social Studies: Chapter Three –Exploration and Early Settlements

• Explorers/Newcomers, Settlements/Missions (vocabulary practice)
• Early California Explorers (Cabrillo, Cortes, Drake, Vizcaino; Cermeno here)
• Chapter Three Guideline Notes

Science: Chapter Six –Electricity

• Chapter Six Resources
• The Blobz Guide to Electric Circuits, Conductors and Insulators, Series and Parallel Circuits, Building Circuits, Heat (movie), Light (movie), Electricity and Magnetism

Mid November ‘09: Topics-of-Study

Language Arts: Prefixes/Root Words/Suffixes + Review of Parts of Speech, Capitalization, Finding Information in Books, Step Up to Writing Format

• Wordworks, Root Words, Short Circuit, Prefixes Say Plenty, Spelling with Suffixes, Fish Tanks, Spelling Prefixes, Rooting Out Words (review practice)
• Rocket Word Tag, Alien Word Mine, Grammar Gorillas, Supernova Sentence Puzzles, Irregular Verbs, Wacky Web Tales (Mad Libs), Adjective and Adverb Trail, Parts of Speech (review practice)
• Capitalization Rules (notes), Capitalization, Capitalization #2 (review practice)
• Parts of a Book (notes), Reading Nonfiction (video), Parts of a Book, How to Locate Parts of a Book (review practice), Using a Dictionary (review practice and notes), It’s Non-Fiction (song)
• Step Up to Writing, Step Up to Writing #2 (notes + examples)

Mathematics: Line Types, Radius & Diameter, Double-Digit Multiplication, Congruency + Review of Estimating, Multiplication Equals

• Lines (review practice)
• Matho (review of all geometry terms)
• Two Digit Steps (review practice)
• Congruent Concentration (review practice)
• Estimating = Rounding all numbers before adding, subtracting, or multiplying [Rounding (notes), Rounding, Rounding #2, Rounders Rounding (review practice)]
• Trimester Two Math Helper (front), Trimester Two Math Helper (back)

Social Studies: Chapter Two — California’s Indians

• First CA’s/North Coast Region, S. Coast/Cent. Valley/Desert Tribes (vocabulary practice)
• Chapter Two Guideline Notes (essential concepts)

Science: Chapter One — Living Things Need Energy

• Chapter One Resources (vocabulary practice, videos, and more)
• Dirt Made My Lunch, Producers, Consumers, Decomposers (songs from class)
• Parts of a Plant, Photosynthesis, Plant Life Cycle (videos)
• Illuminating Photosynthesis, Root Factory, Life Cycle of Plants (review practice)
• Food Chain (video), Food Chains Science Desk (review practice)
• Fun With Food Webs, Eat or Be Eaten, Diversity of Life on Earth

Early October ‘09: Topics-of-Study

Language Arts: Facts & Opinions, Cause & Effect, Multiple Meaning Words, Six Traits of Writing: Ideas, Review of Finding Information in Books + Step Up to Writing Format + Capitalizing/Underlining Titles

• Fact or Opinion, Fact or Opinion #2 (review practice)
• Cause and Effect (notes), Cause/Effect, Cause and Effect (review practice)
• Words in Context, Multiple Meaning Words (review practice)
• 6 Traits Writing: Ideas (notes)
• Parts of a Book (notes), Reading Nonfiction (video), Parts of a Book, How to Locate Parts of a Book (review practice), Using a Dictionary (review practice and notes), It’s Non-Fiction (song)
• Step Up to Writing, Step Up to Writing #2 (notes + examples)
• Capitalization Rules (notes), Capitalization, Capitalization #2 (review practice)

Mathematics: Estimating, Rounding, Review of Comparing and Ordering Numbers + Place Value

• Estimating = Rounding all numbers before adding, subtracting, or multiplying
• Rounding (notes), Rounding, Rounding #2, Rounders Rounding (review practice)
• Comparing and Ordering Numbers (notes), One False Move (review practice)
• Place Value and Number Forms (notes), Place Value Pirates, Everything in Its Place, Place Value Puzzler (review practice)
• Multiplication Chart (notes), Fact Families, Save the Clown Fish, Around the World in 80 Seconds, Dude’s Dilemma (review practice)
• Trimester One Math Helper (front), Trimester One Math Helper (back)

Social Studies: Chapter One — California’s Geography

• California Geography (notes)
• CA’s Location/Regions of CA, Climate/Vegetation, etc. (vocabulary practice)
• Chapter One Guideline Notes (essential concepts)

Science: Chapter One — Living Things Need Energy

• Chapter One Resources (vocabulary practice, videos, and more)
• Dirt Made My Lunch, Producers, Consumers, Decomposers (songs from class)
• Parts of a Plant, Photosynthesis, Plant Life Cycle (videos)
• Illuminating Photosynthesis, Root Factory, Life Cycle of Plants (review practice)
• Food Chain (video), Food Chains Science Desk (review practice)
• Fun With Food Webs, Eat or Be Eaten, Diversity of Life on Earth

Late September ‘09: Topics-of-Study

Practice, practice, practice! This is time well-spent!

Language Arts: Step Up to Writing Introduction, Six Traits of Writing: Ideas, Capitalizing/Underlining Titles, Review of Finding Information in Books + Complete Sentences

• Step Up to Writing, Step Up to Writing #2 (notes + examples)
• 6 Traits Writing: Ideas (notes)
• Capitalization Rules (notes)
• Parts of a Book (notes), Reading Nonfiction (video), Parts of a Book, How to Locate Parts of a Book (review practice), Using a Dictionary (review practice and notes), It’s Non-Fiction (song)
• Complete Sentences: Subjects and Predicates (notes), Complete, Subject, or Predicate? (review practice)

Mathematics: Comparing and Ordering Numbers, Rounding, Review of Place Value + Multiplication Facts

• Comparing and Ordering Numbers (notes), One False Move (review practice)
• Rounding (notes), Rounding, Rounding #2, Rounders Rounding (review practice)
• Place Value and Number Forms (notes), Place Value Pirates, Everything in Its Place, Place Value Puzzler (review practice)
• Multiplication Chart (notes), Fact Families, Save the Clown Fish, Around the World in 80 Seconds, Dude’s Dilemma (review practice)
• Trimester One Math Helper (front), Trimester One Math Helper (back)

Social Studies: Chapter One: California’s Geography, Review of General Global Geography

• California Geography (notes), CA’s Location/Regions of CA, Climate/Vegetation, etc. (vocabulary practice)
• The Continents and Oceans, Name the Continents, World Continents Quizzes, Test Your Geography Knowledge (review practice)
• Water and Land (song we’ll practice in class)

Science: Chapter One — Living Things Need Energy

• Chapter One Resources (vocabulary practice, videos, and more)
• Dirt Made My Lunch (song from class)
• Parts of a Plant, Photosynthesis, Plant Life Cycle (videos)
• Illuminating Photosynthesis, Root Factory, Life Cycle of Plants (review practice)
• Food Chain (video), Food Chains Science Desk (review practice)

Early September ‘09: Topics-of-Study

Thanks for staying up to date with Room 36! Please use the following videos, notes, and review exercises for regular at-home practice. By mid-September, students should be able to understand and internalize the majority of the following information. If you can’t find the login information for BrainPopJr (the site with all the “video” tags below), please send me a quick e-mail or note, and I can give you the details. The videos are well worth watching!

Language Arts: Sentence Types, Complete Sentences, Expanding Sentences, Finding Information in Books

• Types of Sentences (video), Four Types of Sentences (notes), Four Types of Sentences, Sentence Clubhouse (review practice)
• Complete Sentences: Subjects and Predicates (notes), Complete, Subject, or Predicate? (review practice), Expanding Sentences (practice page that is similar to, but not exactly what we’re doing in class)
• Parts of a Book (notes), Reading Nonfiction (video), Parts of a Book, How to Locate Parts of a Book (review practice), Using a Dictionary (review practice and notes)

Mathematics: Place Value, Standard/Written/Expanded Forms of Numbers, Multiplication Facts

• Place Value and Number Forms (notes), Place Value Pirates, Everything in Its Place, Place Value Puzzler (review practice)
• What’s Your Name?, Mystery Picture, Really Big Numbers, Cookie Dough (review practice)
• Multiplication Chart (notes), Fact Families, Save the Clown Fish, Around the World in 80 Seconds, Dude’s Dilemma (review practice)
• Trimester One Math Helper (front), Trimester One Math Helper (back)

Social Studies: General Global Geography; Begin Chapter One — California’s Geography

• The Continents and Oceans, Name the Continents, World Continents Quizzes, Test Your Geography Knowledge
• Latitude and Longitude (video), Latitude and Longitude Game, Basic Geography: The Equator and the Prime Meridian
• Water and Land (song we’ll practice in class)
• California Geography (notes), CA’s Location/Regions of CA (vocabulary practice)

Mid April ‘09: Topics-of-Study

Language Arts and Mathematics: Yearly Review!!!

• Please use ALL of our math and language arts games as current review. State testing will take place next week and all practice is helpful.

Social Studies: Chapter Four – Mexican Rule in California

• Study Guideline Notes — Chapter Four
• Mex Freedom/Econ/Rancho Life (vocabulary practice)

Science: Chapter Six – Electricity

• Chapter 6 Resources (vocabulary practice, movies, etc.)
• Magnetism and Electricity

Mid March ‘09: Topics-of-Study

I’ll try to find a few more language arts sites to practice with during the third trimester, but there don’t seem to be many. Let me know if you find anything useful!

Language Arts: Comparing/Contrasting Characters, Using Reference Materials, Summary Writing + Review of Making Predictions, Main Ideas

• Compare/Contrast Guide (notes), Compare/Contrast Essay Helper
• Using a Dictionary, Dictionary Practice
• Step Up to Writing (notes)
• Guess What Comes Next, Making Predictions
• Main Idea, Reading Nonfiction (movies), Summarize As You Read (review practice)

Mathematics: Order of Operations (PEMDAS), Area and Perimeter + Review of Degrees/Turns, Length of Line Segments, and Long Division

• What is PEMDAS? (video), Operation Order (PEMDAS), Order of Operations (PEMDAS)
• Shape Surveyor, Perimeter and Area, Bucky’s Blueprints, Area: Fitting In, Area in Odd Shapes and Places (challenging area)
• Degrees and Turns Slideshow (notes), Angles (degrees), Banana Hunt, Degrees to Turns Converter
• What’s the Point?, Billy Bug #2, Finding the Length of Line Segments (notes)
• Long Division Lesson (sample problems), Snork’s Long Division (review practice), Math Baseball, Sum Sense (division fact games)

Social Studies: Chapter Three – Exploration and Early Settlements

• Study Guideline Notes — Chapter Three
• Ready, Set, … Watch! (European Explorers Lapbook Video Just for Us!)
• The California Missions, California Missions Foundation, My Mission
• Explorers/Newcomers, Settlements/Missions (all vocabulary practice)

Science: Chapter Six – Electricity

• Chapter 6 Resources (vocabulary practice, movies, etc.)
• Magnetism and Electricity

Mid February ‘09: Topics-of-Study

Language Arts: Summary Writing, Making Predictions + Review of Compare and Contrast, Main Ideas

• Step Up to Writing (notes)
• Guess What Comes Next, Making Predictions
• Compare/Contrast Guide (notes), Compare/Contrast Essay Helper
• Main Idea, Reading Nonfiction (movies), Summarize As You Read (review practice)

Mathematics: Degrees and Turns, Plotting Coordinate Points/Length of Line Segments, Area and Perimeter + Review of Prime Numbers, Long Division, and Quadrilaterals

• Degrees and Turns Slideshow (notes), Angles (degrees), Degrees to Turns Converter
• What’s the Point?, Billy Bug (easy), Billy Bug #2, Finding the Length of Line Segments (notes)
• Area and Perimeter, Measuring the Area and Perimeter (review practice), Shape Surveyor, Bucky’s Blueprints, Area: Fitting In (games)
• Long Division Lesson (sample problems), Snork’s Long Division (review practice), Math Baseball, Sum Sense (division fact games)
• Prime Numbers (notes), Prime Numbers, Prime Factorization (notes), Prime Factorization (notes/review practice), Grid Game (game)
• Quadrilaterals (notes), Meet the Quadrilateral Family, Quadrilateral Quest, Quadrilaterals Memory Game

Social Studies: Chapter Three – Exploration and Early Settlements

• Study Guideline Notes — Chapter Three
• Ready, Set, … Watch! (European Explorers Lapbook Video Just for Us!)
• Explorers/Newcomers, Settlements/Missions (all vocabulary practice)

Science: Chapter Six – Electricity

• Chapter 6 Resources (vocabulary practice, movies, etc.)
• Magnetism and Electricity

One Week Left: Trimester Two Testing ‘09!

Please look over the following essential standards and review each with your child! I have chosen one online review for each standard. If you have any questions about the content of the test, send a note via the contact form. Remember, benchmark tests are used to “take a snapshot in time”. They are done in accordance with trimesters up to the point of state testing, not necessarily the end of the school year. For this reason, please keep in mind that if your student is low in a particular area, it is simply a reminder that this is an area to focus on before fourth grade is over. Standards need to be met in order to be prepared for fifth grade and beyond, not used as a micromanaging of specific months. Standards are consistently reviewed and practiced. Okay, off my soapbox!

English/Language Arts – Second Trimester

• I am able to figure out the meaning of words or phrases by using word origins, synonyms, and antonyms. Wordworks
• I am able to use root words to define unknown words in my reading. Short Circuit
• I can compare and contrast information on a topic after I have read several articles on the topic. Compare and Contrast (click on Skip Intro, then Number 42)
• I can identify the main events of a story and tell how each affected the future action in the story. Summarize As You Read
• I can combine short sentences into more interesting sentences using adjectives, adverbs, and phrases to describe. Combining Sentences
• I can use commas, quotations marks, and parentheses correctly. I can use apostrophes in contractions and to show ownership. Punctuation Paintball
• I can correctly spell root words, with prefixes and suffixes, and use this skill to spell longer words. Spelling with Suffixes

Mathematics – Second Trimester

• I can write decimals in tenths and hundredths and show that common fractions have equivalent decimals. [Four to memorize: 1/4=0.25, 1/2=0.50, 3/4=0.75, 4/4=1.0. For the remainder, read the number aloud, and it will be easy to write its equal. For example, 1 2/10=1.2, 34 5/100=34.05, 16 3/10=16.3] Comparing Fractions and Decimals
  
• I can solve a division problem dividing a multi-digit number by a one-digit number. [DMSBR - Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring Down, Remainder] Snork’s Long Division
• I can understand and identify prime numbers. [Prime Number: A number with only two factors, one and itself. For example, 13 is prime because the only factors that make up 13 are 13x1. 15 is not prime because it has more than two factors - 15x1 and 5x3. 2 is the only even prime number. 0 and 1 are not considered prime.] Prime Numbers
• I can measure rectangles using the correct units (area). [Area = Length x Width] Area and Perimeter
• I can identify parallel and perpendicular lines. [Parallel: Never touching, always the same distance apart. Intersecting: Touching. Perpendicular: Intersecting/Touching at 90* exactly.] Lines
• I can identify the radius and diameter of a circle. [Diameter: A line that extends from one end of a circle to the other, while passing through the center of the circle. D=Rx2. Radius: A line that extends form the center of a circle to its outer edge. R=D/2.] Matho (all geometry terms)
• I can tell when figures are congruent. [Congruent = Same size, same shape.] Congruent Concentration
• I can identify the different types of triangles and can tell how they are different. [Triangles are identified by sides and by angles. Angles: Acute (All angles are less than 90*), Obtuse (One angle is greater than 90*), Right (One angle is 90* exactly). Sides: Scalene (no sides are the same length), Isosceles (two sides are the same length), Equilateral (all sides are the same length).] Identifying Triangles Based on Their Sides/Identifying Types of Triangles by Angles
• I can identify the different types of quadrilaterals and can tell how they are different. [Quadrilateral: A shape with four (and only four) straight sides. There are five types of quadrilaterals to review. Square: Four congruent sides, four right angles. Rectangle: Two pairs of congruent sides, four right angles. Rhombus: Four congruent sides, no right angles. Parallelogram: Two pairs of congruent sides, no right angles. Trapezoid: Only one pair of parallel sides, no right angles.] Quadrilateral Quest

Mid January ‘09: Topics-of-Study

Language Arts: Paragraph Writing, Apostrophes and Parentheses, Compare and Contrast, Main Ideas, Review of Synonyms/Antonyms + Prefixes/Root Words/Suffixes

• Step Up to Writing (notes)
• Punctuation Marks (notes), Power Proofreading, Punctuation Paintball (games)
• Compare/Contrast Guide (notes), Compare/Contrast Essay Helper
• Main Idea, Reading Nonfiction (movies), Summarize As You Read (review practice)
• Same Difference, Synonyms, Squanky the Tooth Taker: Quiet Quest for Opposites, Squanky the Tooth Taker: Tooth Tally (all games), Synonyms and Antonyms (movie)
• Root Words, Word Parts (all notes), Root Words, Prefixes Say Plenty (review practice), Rooting Out Words (game)

Mathematics: Long Division, Prime Numbers, Quadrilaterals, Triangles, Review of Two-Digit Multiplication + Area

• Long Division Lesson (sample problems), Snork’s Long Division (review practice), Math Baseball, Sum Sense (division fact games) [Divide (Dad), Multiply (Mom), Subtract (Sister), Bring Down (Brother), Remainder (Rover)]
• Prime Numbers (notes), Prime Numbers, Prime Factorization [use factor trees] (notes/review practice), Grid Game (game)
• Quadrilaterals (notes), Quadrilateral Quest, Quadrilaterals Memory Game
• Matho* (review of all geometry terms)
• Triangles (notes), Identifying Triangles Based on Their Sides, Identifying Types of Triangles by Angles (review practice)
• Two-Digit Multiplication (notes), Two Digit Steps (review practice)
• Area and Perimeter, Measuring the Area and Perimeter (review practice), CyberChase, Everyday Area, Find the Area (games)

Social Studies: Chapter Two – California’s Indians (Native Americans) [ending soon]

• Study Guideline Notes — Chapter Two, Textbook Enrichment
• First CA’s/North Coast Region, S. Coast/Cent. Valley/Desert Tribes (all vocabulary practice)
• The First Californians, Native Californian Cultures

Science: Chapter Three – Rocks and Minerals

• Chapter Three Resources (vocabulary practice, movies, etc.)
• If Rocks Could Talk, What is a Mineral?, Minerals in Your House, Mohs’ Drill, Who Am I? (rock types), Rock Cycle + Game