Mr. Blanc's Class

State Testing On Monday we will start the math portion of state testing. Students will complete a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) and a Performance Task (PT). The testing will change our schedule for the week, so if you are a weekly volunteer, please join us again the following week 5/8-5/12. The best way you can help your child prepare for the test is to make sure they are well rested and well fed. Math  We will continue our study of geometry next week. Students will learn how to identify symmetry and classify quadrilaterals and triangles based on their angles and side lengths. Because we are state testing, students will not be sent home with math homework during the week. Inquiry  Next week we will proceed in our science inquiry unit with the central idea of people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth. Students have learned about a few ways the Earth can change rapidly. We will learn about a few more and then each student will select one way the Ear...

State Testing The students gave tremendous effort on their English Language Arts state tests. We will take a break from testing next week and then do the Math testing the week of 5/1-5/5. Classroom volunteers are welcome to join us again next week! Math We completed our first week of geometry. So far students have worked on identifying acute, right, and obtuse angles. They also identified perpendicular and parallel angles. Next week they will begin finding angle measurements with protractors. Reading  Last week we focused on prefixes and how they can help determine meanings of words. Ask your student to tell you some of the prefixes we looked at this week. Next week we will look at some common suffixes.  Idiom of the week: get cold feet Inquiry Next week we will jump into our new inquiry unit. This will be a science unit with the central idea of people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth. We learned about Rachel Carson as a brief introduction...

State Testing Students will be taking the English Language Arts (ELA) state tests next week. Because we will be state testing, I'm asking weekly math and reading volunteers to not visit us next week. We look forward to seeing you again the following week! The best way you can help your student prepare for the tests is to make sure they sleep well the night before and eat a good breakfast. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding the tests. Headphones Students will need headphones for a portion of the state test. They all were given school provided headphones, but many of those are in rough shape at this point in the year. Please check with your student and ask if they need to bring headphones from home.   Math  Next week we will be moving on to geometry. In an attempt to front load the students with some of the vocabulary they will learn, their vocabulary words from last week were geometry terms. Our early lessons will involve identifying li...

  Math Our metric conversion unit was short and sweet. Since I'll be at a training on Monday and Tuesday of next week, students will get their scored tests back when I returned on Wednesday. Next week they will begin learning about decimals. The main focus in our study of decimals will be understanding equivalence between decimals and fractions up to the hundredths.  Writing In writing we have been working on writing persuasive papers. Last week we analyzed multiple perspectives on whether or not people should eat insects. Students created a pro and con list to help them decide where they fall on the issue. Next week they will begin writing a persuasive paper convincing others to come around to their way of thinking.  Reading Last week we worked on making inferences in our texts. Ask your student how they used the sentence starters of the text says... I know... so I think... Next week we will integrate some of our persuasive writing into our reading. Students wi...

Report Cards Second trimester report cards were sent home with students on Friday, 3/24. Please sign the envelope and send it back with your student when they return to school after spring break. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns after looking at the report card of your student.  Spring Break Reading Log Students came home with an optional spring break reading log. The student who reads the most over the break will get on the wall of fame. Front Row Math Challenge The student who completes the most minutes on the Front Row math will also get on the wall of fame. Have a great spring break!  

Inquiry We finished the voting on our classroom bills. Two of the five bills passed both the Senate and House of Representatives and have now become classroom laws. The culminating activity in our study of values and their affect on leadership, will involve the students researching a historical bills and telling the story of the bill through a cartoon. This was modeled to the students as we studied the Oregon Bottle Bill together. Now they get to choose a bill that interests them and tell its story. Ask your student which historical bill they want to research.   Math Students will be coming home on Monday with their end of fractions module assessment. There was an email sent out last week explaining why this assessment looks different than previous math assessments. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns after looking over the test of your student. Our next math unit will cover metric units. This is a short unit that only covers 5 lessons. In order to prepar...

Inquiry Students have been working hard in their committees to write a bill that solves a problem in our classroom. They are attempting to consider the values of the community in their solutions. We will be voting on the bills on Monday, 3/13. In order for a bill to pass it will have to receive a majority yes vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. If a bill passes both legislative groups, it will then have to be approved by Governor Blanc.      Reading Our class has taken on the yearlong task of determining which idiom of the week is most commonly used in literature and everyday life. Anytime a student encounters one of the idioms of the week they will document it and add it to our class tally. Ask your student which idiom they predict will end up being the most common.  Idiom of the week: Let the cat out of the bag Math   We will start next week on lesson 37 in our study of fractions. Our end of unit test will be taking place on F...