Congratulations on your first pieces of writing. They were very enjoyable and many clearly achieved the objectives set. Condos to Janna, Aiden, Thor, and Patrick for their Sammy Snakes
Bring in a camera for Monday's science lesson: ASK permission from your parents first. You are responsible for the camera if you bring it in. You may not use the camera on the bus to or from school. It is needed for a Science investigation Monthly Message: At the end of every month I add a special video on the blog that I call the Monthly Message - There is always a 'life lesson' in the video. Enjoy the first one below.
Contains: Strong descriptions of the object, the setting, an emotion, and a message
Use a variety of advanced sentence openers
Correct presentation: Comic Sans, Font 12, 1.5 line spacing
Optional - inserted picture of your object
Final Draft will be due on Thursday GRAMMAR REVIEWWe covered these complicated words today:
Independent Cause
Coordinating Conjunction
Advanced students might be able to include a few compound sentences in their narratives?
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
H/W
Bring a PRINTED first draft of your describing an object piece. It MUST be printed!
Did you write a powerful message and a powerful emotion in your piece?
WILF
Seed idea
Contains: Strong descriptions of the object, the setting, an emotion, and a message
Use a variety of advanced sentence openers
Correct presentation: Comic Sans, Font 12, 1.5 line spacing
Final Draft will be due on Thursday after some in class editing.
Men Don't Play with Dolls on PhotoPeach --- Or do they?
When you choose an object that has special meaning to you, your stories write themselves!
These events were the inspiration for: What is the story
‘really’ about? – The Message/The Realization?
Being a father is so much more than the title, “daddy”. The realization that the most important gift
a parent can give is 'time' suddenly became so clear. The bond a parent builds with a child is
formed through thousands of tiny moments spent together. Moments build memories
and those memories build a connection and that connection lasts a lifetime.
Remember: Your message is COMPLETELY different to the actual event in your story.
H/W - Finish writing down your ideas in the different sections. Remember - You will shuffle around these sections for your finished draft.
Math : Study Link
1.6
Math Unit 1 Assessment will now take place this FRIDAY!
Any topics you are not sure about, make sure you see me before Friday!
Important H/W over the w/end Do NOT forget to BRING an object into school on Monday that is important to you. This should be something small that will fit into your back pack. The object should be associated with a special memory. If everybody remembers to do this we will get our first step on the ladder to laughter.
You can practice others by navigating further links on this site.
ONLY for those interested in going deeper into the topic... This is how you check to see if a number is divisible by 7 http://www.aaamath.com/fra72_x8.htm
For next Monday. - Bring in an item that has an important personal significance to you. The item should be something small enough to fit in your back pack. You will use this item to inspire your writing. Make sure you have a special memory attached to the item. Keep your reading log up to do Swimming Field Trip FRIDAY - Do not forget a change of dry clothes, suncream, snacks and your lunch. You will not need any money.
Homework
Finish the Appostives worksheets. Consolidate your understanding by practicing with these exercises below before tackling the worksheet. http://www.eslbee.com/appositives.htm
What characteristics does it take to do something with Agency? - We'll discuss tomorrow how we can apply this to making improvements in our own reading skills
Friday, August 17, 2012
Congratulations to Sammy Snake winners: Talia, Janna, Patrick, Sam for their creative and engaging Where I Am From = poems presentation. Think very carefully about the feedback I gave today. What were the specific points I tried to make? What do you think you need to do differently to win a Sammy Snake? Congratulations to Student of the Week: JANNA
Your enthusaism, attention to detail, mature attitude and excellence were evident all week! Keep it up!
Watch below a recap of today's video on our Team Building exercise. When you receive your first team assignment, will you be able to apply the strategies we discussed on collaboartion today to produce an effective end product?
Reading
Make sure you are reading between 20-30 minutes each evening. A least 1 sticky per 15 minutes of reading. Keep your reading log up to date.
Writing
Final draft of poem (Due: Thur)
W.I.L.F.
In addition to the guidelines that are on your sheet, think about:
Does your poem have effective format and structure?
Does your peom contain at least 10-15 proper nouns or adjectives?
Are any lines of your poem so 'sticky' they literally jump off the page?
If you read your poem out loud, would people know almost instantly who it was about?
By Friday - Copy between 10-20 book covers that are special for you in some way. It can be from
If you are reading this, you have already accomplished the first task - Check the blog every evening!
H/W Where I'm From Poem - (Draft due Wed) Don't forget your draft for your poem for class tomorrow. Look at the sample in yesterday's post. Number of lines are a guideline. You should do at least 16, but you may do more. Avoid doing more than 30 lines. Do not worry about this poem. It is only a draft. If you are not 100% sure what you need to do, just do what you think you need to do, and I'll help you tomorrow. Remember today's class was about organization. For those ready for a challenge... Remember, today's writing session focused on organization. How can you put your ideas together in a logical way? Think about the story your poem will tell. Is it the past, present, future you... or... the hobbies and interests you or something else? Can you write your poem in stanzas that show purposeful organization Reid- you can have more time on this as you missed today's session H/W 2 For Friday you will need printed pages of book covers that you have read that made an impact on your life so far. You should collect a minimum of 10 printed book covers. Remember to use 'size' to show the difference of how important a story was to you. The sheet of paper you bring in with your covers should look like this link here Grammar Class Reflection What did you learn today about the different ways to start sentences? Will you use these techniques the next time you start writing?
Congratulations everybody on your first day. It felt like a whirlwind, but I know that we have planted many seeds that will flourish as the year unfolds. A few topics that you might want to discuss with your parents when they ask how the first day of school went:
Code of Conduct: What are my rules and why?
Can you now make T.O.A.S.T.?
Why do you need to go and tidy your room?
Who is your biggest enemy and how can you defeat that person?
The Socratic Method - Why won't Mr. Buxton answer all your questions?
How can you make your writing truly unique and specific?
H/W Guidelines
Read the WILF on the poem sheet I gave out in class today. Remember you only need a draft of your ideas by tomorrow. If you are unsure on this assignment, bring questions in for me to answer tomorrow.
Don't forget a sock for Math
Begin tidying your room!
See this example below of a poem from one of my superb students from last year:
Please feel free to add comments and share your thoughts and feelings of your first day in 5th Grade.
Being prepared and organized will be one of your most important responsibilities in 5th Grade. To help you achieve this you are always given the 'Week at a Glance' sheet. This gives you a detailed breakdown of all of the activities and some of the H/W assignments that are coming up for the new week. The 'Week at a Glance' sheet should always be printed out and brought into school on Mondays. You might also want to have a copy of the sheet on your desk at home. Use the link below to access the 'week at a glance' sheet.
What a pleasure it was to meet so many of you this morning. I think we are going to have a fantastic year. Feel free to add your first blog comment and introduce yourself to the class.
What is it like to be in Mr. Buxton's class? Listen to what last years students had to stay at the end of the year. (The videos were also created by the students unsolicited)
