Mr. Blanc's Class

Updates When students return to school on Monday, 5/2 they will have reading logs due. If your student does not have internet access they can complete the reading log on a piece of paper. There will be no vocabulary quiz on Monday. Writing Students are currently working on an opinion paper in which they make the case for their favorite read aloud book of the year. The final drafts of the paper are due on Monday, 5/2. Students will have about 45 minutes in class to work on the paper on Monday. If students don't think they can finish their paper in that amount of time, they should work on it over the weekend. Check in with your student and ask if they need to work on the paper over the weekend. Math  We will continue our study of geometry next week. Last week we focused on identifying and classifying types of lines and angles. Next week we will begin measuring angles. Students will need a protractor on these lessons. We did an inventory this week and there were around 5 studen...

Updates When students return to school on Monday, 4/25 they will have reading logs due. They will also be tested on the water vocabulary words they were given last week. There will be no school for students on Friday, 4/29 because it is a Staff Development Day. Math Students were sent home with their scored end of module 6 math test on Friday. Please go over the test with your student and let me know if you have any questions about their performance. Our study of math will now shift to geometry. The lessons this week we focus primarily on lines and angles, but we will begin measuring angles. All students will need a protractor in order to be successful in this unit. Please check with your student and make sure they have a protractor at school. Reading Each student is in a book group. Students read an assigned number of pages each week and then meet to discuss the book. Student also write answers to questions I give them about their book. Have your student tell you about their b...

Updates Students have reading logs due when they return to school on Monday, 4/18. They will also take their quiz over the ten idioms they were given to study. You can help your student prepare for their quiz by having them tell you what each of the idioms mean. Writing Students are currently working with a partner on an opinion writing piece. Last week we looked at six statements and students wrote whether they strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed, or strongly disagreed with each one. Then they wrote an explanation as to why they felt that way. Later in the week I gave them a partner and told them to pick one of the six statements, and write an opinion paper either agreeing or disagreeing with the statement. The papers are due on Friday, 4/22. Ask your student which statement they are writing about with their partner. They should have three strong reasons to support their thesis. Reading  All students are currently in book groups that meet weekly. They have a set num...

Updates When students return to school on Monday, 4/11 they will have reading logs due. They will also take their vocabulary test on the quadrilateral and triangle terms that were sent home last week. There will be a new set of vocabulary words sent home that will be tested the following Monday, 4/18. Math Our study of decimals will continue. Students will introduced to hundredths and work towards comparing a decimal written in hundredths with a decimal written in tenths. Students are expected to complete a lesson each day. If they don't finish their lesson in class, they need to bring it back completed, the next day. Please check with your student each day regarding their math homework. State Testing Last week we completed the English Language Arts (ELA) Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). We will not take any state tests during the week of 4/11-4/15. Our next state assessment will take place on Monday, 4/18 and Tuesday, 4/19. At that time we will take the ELA Performance Task (P...

Updates When students return to school on Monday, 4/4 they will have reading logs due. They will also take a vocabulary test on the geometry terms that were sent home last week. New vocabulary words, that will be tested the following Monday, 4/11 will be sent home. In addition, reading logs will be due the following Monday, 4/11. State Testing Our class will be taking the English Language Arts (ELA) Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) this week. The two days we will be testing are Monday, 4/4 and Tuesday, 4/5. Some of the students have expressed a little anxiety about the testing. We had a talk in class and I emphasized that they while they should take the tests serious and do their best, they do not determine whether they advance to 5th grade or what scores they receive on their report cards. The best way you can help your student prepare for state testing is to make sure they get plenty of rest the night before and eat a good breakfast that morning. Let me know if you have any question...

Updates When students return to school on Monday, 3/14, they will have reading logs due. They will also take their vocabulary test over the words given out last week. Because the week of 3/21-3-25 is Spring Break, there will be no new vocabulary words given out. There will also be no reading logs assigned over the break. Math Next week in math we will continue working on addition and subtraction of mixed numbers. By the end of the week we will be focusing on multiplying fractions. Our weekly fact practice will focus on improving our speed and accuracy in dividing by 11's. Inquiry Presentations  The students did a great job with their inquiry presentations. It was clear that many of them became experts on their topic of interest. Students were given their scores on their project on Thursday. Ask your student to show you their scored rubric. Spring Break Like mentioned above, there will be no assigned reading logs, vocabulary, or math homework over Spring Break. Instead st...

The students had a great time at the extra PE class they earned. Thank you to Ms. Cereda, who gave up her prep time to give our class this awesome prize!