I Love to Read

            Kenna, Mr. Husmann, and Aydin all celebrated dress as your favorite character day dressed as
                                                             The Cat in the Hat. 

WaterFest 2012 Feb. 15, 2012

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Introducing...

 Belle as Helen Keller

 Matt as Carl Ripkin Jr.

 Emma as Betsy Ross

 Luc as Michael Jordan

 Jaden as Helen Keller

Sydney as Abraham Lincoln

The students shared their biographies with the class on Friday.  Many of them dressed the part or brought in props to share about their famous person.  It was interesting to learn about so many people who have made such an impact on our country.  Their papers were well written and can be viewed in the hallway by the computer lab.  Stop by and check them out!

Recommended Reading List

If your child is stuck or in a rut when it comes to selecting books, here is a list of  past winners of the Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Contest:

2009 Hiaasen, Carl. Flush (Division I)
2009 Riordan, Rick. Lightning Thief (Division II)
2008 Creech, Sharon. Ruby Holler (Division I)
2008 Sonnenblick, Jordan. Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie (Division II)
2007 Kehret, Peg. Escaping the Giant Wave (Division I)
2007 Clements, Andrew. Things Not Seen (Division II)
2006 Bauer, Marion Dane. Runt (Division I)
2006 Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot (Division II)
2005 Martin, Ann M. and Laura Godwin. Doll People (Division I)
2005 Smith, Roland. Zach’s Lie (Division II)
2004 Kimmel, Elizabeth. In the Stone Circle (Division I)
2004 Mikaelson, Ben. Touching Spirit Bear (Division II)
2003 DeFelice, Cynthia. The Ghost of Fossil Glen (Division I)
2003 Dowell, Frances O'Roark. Dovey Coe (Division II)
2002 Oppel, Kenneth. Silverwing (Division I)
2002 Whitmore, Arvella. Trapped Between the Lash and the Gun (Division II)
2001 Gutman, Dan. The Million Dollar Shot (Division I)
2001 Haddix, Margaret. Among the Hidden (Division II)
2000 Fields, Terri. Danger in the Desert (Division I)
2000 Bloor, Edward. Tangerine (Division II)
1999 Clements, Andrew. Frindle (Division I)
1999 Spinelli, Jerry. Crash (Division II)
1998 Park, Barbara. Mick Harte was Here (Divisions I and II)
1997 Woodruff, Elvira. The Summer I Shrank My Grandmother (Division I)
1997 Yolen, Jane. The Devil's Arithmetic (Division II)
1996 Kehret, Peg. Cages
1995 Kehret, Peg. Nightmare Mountain
1994 Kerby, Mona. 38 Weeks Til Summer Vacation
1993 Hahn, Mary Downing. Dead Man in Indian Creek
1992 Greer, Gery, and Bob Ruddick. This Island Isn't Big Enough for the Four of Us
1991 Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet
1990 Hahn, Mary Downing. Wait Til Helen Comes
1989 Green, Phyllis. Eating Ice Cream with a Werewolf
1988 Ruckman, Ivy. Night of the Twisters
1987 Gardiner, John. Stone Fox
1986 Dana, Barbara. Zucchini
1985 Park, Barbara. Skinnybones
1984 DeClements, Barthe. Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade
1983 Singer, Marilyn. It Can't Hurt Forever
1982 Robinson, Barbara. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
1981 Byars, Betsy. Pinballs
1980 Rawls, Wilson. The Summer of the Monkeys
These books should all have AR quizes available too!  Copy, paste, and print for future library trips or for summer reading! :) I am also very proud of the 27 reading who joined me for lunch today.  Great discussion and reading recommendations were made among them! Keep it up...we will be voting next month for this year's Maud Hart winner!

Characters w/ Character

Cat in the Hat Strikes Back
Sydney, Annette, and Aydin as Thing 1, Thing 2, and the Cat

Harry Potter Fans
Robes, lightning scars, glasses, magic wands...
Luc, Taelor, Aidan, and Tom have a bit of magic up their sleeves!

Junie B. Jones
Fun-loving Belle as Junie herself!

The hallways of ORE were filled with many well known book characters on Wednesday.  Another fun activity to show how much we all LOVE to READ!!!

Learning w/ Legos

Tom really took an interest in one of our health lessons this week. He created a mini skit with his Legos to demonstrate how pathogens enter our bodies and what the body does to fight off those germs.  The white men represented the white blood cells that fight off these diseases.  He had half men, the antibodies, that sometimes need to come in when the white blood cells aren't strong enough...aka antibiotics.  The Lego man at the computer showed how we sometimes get viruses- similar to a computer virus.  These types of diseases can't be killed by the antibodies.  They need to run their course, but should disappear in 7-10 days. (Goodbye cold and runny nose!) The reenactment really showed how much he learned and the class enjoyed seeing the lesson in action.

Journal Writing Rocks!

The students look forward to journal writing each Friday.  During this time, they can write about whatever they choose. I have enjoyed reading intising advertisements, creative comics, imaginative stories, personal diaries, and jammin' songs...the list is endless. Many students love to come up to the front of the room to share their original works with us. It is truly a time for their personalities to shine! Here is a rap song that was written and performed by a few very talented classmates after we learned about being safe from gangs and bullies... enjoy!

Polar Bear Crossing!

Congratulations Nathan! 

We are so proud of you and how hard you've

worked to earn your 300 AR point this week!

What an amazing accomplishment!

Sweet Stories

The students had a lot of fun with this writing project. After learning about similies and metaphors, the students created their own "sweet" stories using candy wrappers.  Very creatively, they put their figurative language skills to the test.  You can view these sweet stories on the wall by the art room. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Friendship Celebration

Happy Valentine's Day

from all your friends in

Mrs. Houghton's class!

"Friend: (noun) a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty."
- Collins English Dictionary

"Friends are like pillars on your porch.

Sometimes they hold you up and sometimes they lean on you."
 

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be

and you help them to become what they are capable of being."
-Goethe

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me."
- Henry Ford

"The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow on him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this?"
- Henry David Thoreau

 "A good friend is hard to find, hard to lose, and impossible to forget..."

 "Sometimes you pick your friends, sometimes they pick you."

"Money might make you wealthy, but friends makes you rich."

"You don't make friends, you earn them."

"The happiest moments my heart knows are those in which it is pouring forth its affections to a few esteemed characters."
- Thomas Jefferson

The students really enjoyed their time together...and of course, the treats!

Saftey Basics

The students completed the Safety chapter in Health this past week.  They each made a safety flip chart to help them remember the important rules.  Our unit discussed fire, water, weather, wheel (car, bus, & bike), Internet, gangs, weapons, and emergency safety.  Nurse Ed came in to share a lesson on how to give proper first aid.  Your child is learning to become more independent and many of them are spending some time alone at home, so I encourage you (if you haven't already) to discuss your family's procedures with them.  Hearing it and practicing it will give them confidence if a situation that required safety skills arose. Community education also offers an excellent "Home Alone" and "Babysitting" course.

Polar Bear Winner!

When is comes to reading, Luc is a star!

He earned his 300th AR point this week and was awarded

a polar bear.  Very impressive work~ we're proud of you!

Math

In Unit 7, students have developed the concept of division of larger numbers, with and without remainders. Students have gained a practical understanding of methods of division and the role of estimation in determining quotients. Students have also consolidated their learning of expressions, equations, and inequalities as they use algebraic notation and properties to evaluate and simplify expressions and to solve one and two step equations.

It has shown to be very important in this unit to know the basic facts. We continue to work on them and test knowledge weekly.

This year the MCA math test will be given on-line. The students will first take the test the week of March 19th. This is earlier than planned and given as a date on the school calendar. Students will be given up to three chances to pass the test if they do not meet the standards the first time. Our goal is to have as many of our students as possible pass this assessment. The data from the initial assessment will be used to further support student success in meeting expectations.

Social Studies

We are currently studying The South Region of the United States. This region includes 14 states. We have talked about the land and climate, the resources and economy, and the people of the south. The students have had great discussions on their point of view of slavery and Civil Rights. Next we will break down the south into the Upper South and the Lower South and learn more in depth about each. Each student will design a flag for their project to culminate this region. The test on the states and capitals and their address will be on Wednesday, Feb. 23rd.

We LOVE to Read!

"Reading, like no other medium, can transform your life in a flash, and you never know which book, at which time in your life, might be the one that rocks your world and inspires you to grow in ways you never thought possible."
---Burke Hedges.

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Thesaurus Time

To expand our repertoire of words, the students used the thesaurus this week while writing.  Check out the great word choices in their newest version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:

Twinkle, sparkle, tiny ball of fire,
How I marvel what you are.
Up beyond the earth so lofty,
Like a diamond in the atmosphere.
Twinkle, flicker, petite star,
How I ponder what you are.

Super synonyms class!