Thursday, February 28, 2013
Tall Tale skits
The students did a nice job on the skits today. I videoed them and posted them on the class blog. We had to fill in for a couple students who were absent today, but the "understudies" did a great job, too! Watch the videos for John Henry and Paul Bunyan below.
John Henry Skit
John Henry
John Henry: Aiden
Foreman: Hayden
Worker: Quinn
Worker: Logan
Little Willy: Davin
Saleman: JD
Captain Walters: Emily
Narrator: Emily/Chloe
Paul Bunyan Skit
Paul Bunyan Skit
Paul: Max
Babe: Jordon
Niagara: Olivia
Cook: Jasmine
Lumberjack: Evan
Lumberjack: Chloe
Lumberjack: Andrew
Narrators: Jordon, Olivia, and Jasmine
How to log-in to your class dojo and change your avatar
Parents,
We are trying out a new behavior management system in the classroom called class dojo. Part of the fun of class dojo is that the students are allowed to create their own character or avatar. In order for students to do this, they will need to follow the directions below and use the "secret code" that was sent home from school today. If it works well, I may start sending reports home to you so you can see how your child is participating, working, and behaving in class. The website/app is free so I am sure it is in its "beta testing" stages so I thought we'd use it while we can.
-Mr. Pransky
Here's how students can use their secret codes:
If the student does NOT already have a ClassDojo account:
1. Student will visit http://student.classdojo.com
2. Student will click the yellow "Create Account" button under "I'm new here"
3. Student will create a username, password, enter their birthday, gender, and enter their email address or their parent's email address (depending on their age). It's crucial that students enter a real email address.
4. Students are prompted to write down their username. If they do not write down their username and forget it, they will not be able to login again.
5. Student will land in their new account and be able to add their secret code to check their progress and create their own avatar :)
If the student does already have a ClassDojo account:
1. Student will visit http://student.classdojo.com
2. Student will click the yellow "Login" button under "I Have an Account"
3. Student will enter their username and password to login.
4. Once in their account, student will be able to add their secret code to check their progress and create their own avatar :)
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
2-28-13 Daily Update
Parents,
Water. In Science today we had a great discussion about water ethics. If you want a fun conversation with your child at dinner, ask them their thoughts about who owns the water. For example, who should have the rights to use the water in Lake Erie? Should we be able to sell water in other.
Tall Tale skits. We will be performing these tomorrow for the third graders. Have your child bring in any costumes or props that would add to the skit. I recorded 2 of the 3 skits today and will post them on the class blog tonight if I have time and if my technology cooperates. :0)
- We could use snack or mint donations
- rescheduled February Movie Night is tomorrow
- Tuesday, March 5 is Teacher Inservice Day (No school)
- "Like" the WPC on Facebook to get up to date on Parents Club events
-Mr. Pransky
Language:
None.
Reading:
Read Scholastic News and complete the back page
Read your AR book for 15-20 minutes each night
AR Goal for Friday, February 15 is 54%
None
Social Studies:
Begin working on culture box project.
Science:
Math:
None.
Spelling:
Unit 4 Review Test - Thursday, March 7
SpellingCity - quiz and play games using each week's list words
Quick Links:
Class Blog- frequently used links and daily updates.
Home Connect - check AR reading and Accelerated Math, or practice with Math Facts in a Flash
AR Book Find - Do you have a book at home or from another library that you are wondering if it is AR? Look it up here.
Infohio - Awesome resource for web research with online encyclopedias for kids among other things (un: infohio pw:power)
Scholastic Book Order - Class Activation Code: F8273
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
2-27-13 Daily Update
Parents,
Snacks. Once again, we are just about out of our classroom supply of snacks. If anyone would like to donate an easy to share snack like goldfish or crackers, that would be appreciated. I could also use a donation on mints. We use these to improve concentration while we are taking tests in math. We also use them occasionally when a student has a sore throat or a cough.
Conferences. I would like to try to reschedule our conferences on the inservice day (Tuesday, March 5). I will e-mail individual families with requested times.
Onomatopoeia. Today we learned about onomatopoeia in Reading. As an example, we watched and listened to a youtube video that had lots of examples of this technique. They are linked below
Then we generated a big list of onomatopoetic words and created and word art image of our ideas. The image is attached.
- Tuesday, March 5 is Teacher Inservice Day (No school)
-Mr. Pransky
Language:
None.
Reading:
Read your AR book for 15-20 minutes each night
AR Goal for Friday, February 15 is 54%
Lesson 1.3 questions
Social Studies:
Begin working on culture box project.
Science:
Math:
Symmetry coloring picture (extra credit)
Spelling:
Lesson 20 Test - Thursday, February 28
SpellingCity - quiz and play games using each week's list words
Quick Links:
Class Blog- frequently used links and daily updates.
Home Connect - check AR reading and Accelerated Math, or practice with Math Facts in a Flash
AR Book Find - Do you have a book at home or from another library that you are wondering if it is AR? Look it up here.
Infohio - Awesome resource for web research with online encyclopedias for kids among other things (un: infohio pw:power)
Scholastic Book Order - Class Activation Code: F8273
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
At home science experiments - Great cure for snow day boredom! :0)
Parents,
Many students have told me that they have enjoyed doing the at home science experiments. I thought I would suggest a couple others related to our studies than can be done for extra credit at home. To receive extra credit, all I need is for the student to show me in some way what was done at home - pictures are great as I like to put them on the class website. An e-mail or handwritten paper describing what happened is also great.
-Mr. Pransky
Here are several options:
1. Difficulty:Easy. Many students enjoyed floating the paper clip in water. Here's a simple variation of that activity. Do it again, but this time put a drop of dish soap in the water. This will bind with the water molecules, interfering with the surface tension. The paper clip will sink. You can try floating other things on top of the water also - pepper floats well until you add dish soap. Can you find any other light items that will float? Take pictures or write an e-mail me of your results.
2. Difficulty:Easy. Penny drop #2.
Remember the penny drop experiment? Try testing, how many drops of water one penny can hold. Record your results. Then add detergent or soap to the water and try it again. Does hold more, less, or the same with the soapy water
3.
Difficulty:Easy. Penny drop #3.Remember the penny drop experiment? Try comparing how many drops of water one penny can hold on either the heads or the tails side. Do three tests on each side. Does one hold more water than the other?
4. Difficulty:Easy. Make a boat from a margarine tub. Predict how many pennies it will hold before it sinks. Test and record your data and prediction!
5. Difficulty: Medium
Can water move uphill? Cut a strip of coffee filter paper or a paper towel. Hold the strip so the bottom barely touches the surface of the water. What happens? Build a tower of sugar cubes in a shallow dish, then add a little colored water in the bottom. Watch the result.6. Difficulty:Medium Have you ever wondered why rivers and lakes freeze in the winter, but oceans do not? In this experiment we will see that it is the presence of salt in the ocean that makes it less likely to freeze.
Materials:
- 1-gallon freezer bag
- 1-quart freezer bag
- crushed ice
- salt
- thermometer
What To Do:
1. Fill the gallon freezer bag half full with crushed ice. Add one cup of salt and seal the bag. Put on some gloves and knead the ice and salt until the ice has completely melted.
2. Use the thermometer to record the temperature of the saltwater mixture. Even though the ice has melted, the temperature should be less than 32°F (0°C).
3. Now put about an ounce of water in the quart freezer bag. Seal the quart bag and then put it in the saltwater mixture in the larger bag. Seal the larger bag also and leave it until the water inside the quart bag freezes.
How did the water freeze when surrounded only by saltwater? The salt broke apart the bonds between the water molecules in the ice, causing it to melt, but the temperature remained below the freezing point for pure water. Salt (and other substances dissolved in water) will always lower the freezing point. This is why water in the ocean rarely freezes.
7. Difficulty: Hard
Design an experiment to test this question: "Can hot water freeze faster than cold water?" You may be surprised at the results. For an explanation of why this occurs, search online for the "Mpemba Effect."--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
2-26-13 Daily Update
Parents,
Whitehouse Parents Club on Facebook. Are you "friends" with the Whitehouse Parent's Club on Facebook? Click here and "like" them so you can be.
Conferences. Because of the power outage, we will need to reschedule conferences either another day after school or over the phone.
Personification. Today we learned about personification in Reading. As an example, we watched and listen to a couple youtube videos that have modern songs that use this technique. They are linked below
Story Builder. I challenged students to create a simile rhyme poem with a partner today. They did a great job on these! To spice these poems up, I them asked the students to create a google story builder as an extra credit challenge. Use this link to do this. The link below is an example done by Hayden and Chloe. I modified it slightly.
-Mr. Pransky
Language:
Editing Activity
Reading:
Read your AR book for 15-20 minutes each night
AR Goal for Friday, February 15 is 54%
None.
Social Studies:
A few students need to finish a Social Studies paper
Begin working on culture box project.
Science:
Math:
Symmetry coloring picture (extra credit)
Spelling:
Lesson 20 Test - Thursday, February 28
SpellingCity - quiz and play games using each week's list words
Quick Links:
Class Blog- frequently used links and daily updates.
Home Connect - check AR reading and Accelerated Math, or practice with Math Facts in a Flash
AR Book Find - Do you have a book at home or from another library that you are wondering if it is AR? Look it up here.
Infohio - Awesome resource for web research with online encyclopedias for kids among other things (un: infohio pw:power)
Scholastic Book Order - Class Activation Code: F8273
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
Monday, February 25, 2013
2-25-13 daily Update
Parents,
Midterms. These went home today. Please sign and return tomorrow if possible. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Conferences. I am holding conferences for a few students tomorrow. There is a possibility that the weather may cause these to need to rescheduled. If this is the case, either I or the secretary will contact you and let you know.
Similes. We learned about simile in Reading today. as an example, we listened to a song title "Everything at Once" by Lenka. The kids really liked it, so I told them I would send them the youtube video for the song. It can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj1YuTYxvLQ
Culture Boxes. Be sure your child is starting work on this project. This week, they will need to turn in their country choice. Consider choosing a country which your child can bring in artifacts to share.
Reminders:
-Mr. Pransky
Language:
None
Reading:
Read your AR book for 15-20 minutes each night
AR Goal for Friday, February 15 is 54%
None.
Social Studies:
Begin working on culture box project.
Science:
Math:
AM Practice
Spelling:
Lesson 20 Test - Thursday, February 28
SpellingCity - quiz and play games using each week's list words
Quick Links:
Class Blog- frequently used links and daily updates.
Home Connect - check AR reading and Accelerated Math, or practice with Math Facts in a Flash
AR Book Find - Do you have a book at home or from another library that you are wondering if it is AR? Look it up here.
Infohio - Awesome resource for web research with online encyclopedias for kids among other things (un: infohio pw:power)
Scholastic Book Order - Class Activation Code: F8273
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Tall Tale skits
Parents,
--
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
There was something I forgot to add to our daily e-mail. We are performing tall tale skits tomorrow for some of the third grade classes. We have a good stockpile of costumes and props for the skits, but we could always use more. Here's the skits we are performing and items that might add to the realism.
Pecos Bill
cowboy hats
bandanas
flannel "cowboy" type shirts or clothing
play horse on a stick
John Henry
Railroad worker clothing
pioneer-type clothing (Button up shirts//hat)
Paul Bunyan
Lumberjack-type clothing (Flannel shirts, Ski hats, Suspenders, etc..)
"animal hat" that looks like a dog or other dog costume
Thanks for your help with this project. If I can, I'll try to video some of the skits and post them on the class website so you can see their performances.
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
2-21-13 Daily Update
Parents,
Science experiment. Wow! My e-mail was dinging all night with submissions of the paper clip surface tension challenge. (14 students so far) See all of the pictures I received posted at the class website. (Some early submissions are now on another page. Click "older" at the bottom to see those, too.)
http://mrpdailyupdate.blogspot.com/
Culture Boxes. Today, Mr. Manos handed out directions for the culture box project your child will be completing in Social Studies . This is a terrific project in which students will research a country of their heritage, create a "culture box" of artifacts related to this country, and present on this to the class. Like all big projects, the key is to break it down into smaller parts and to start early. A copy of the letter that went home today is attached. It has a sign and return portion at the bottom.
Reminders:
- Movie night is Friday.
-Mr. Pransky
Language:
None
Reading:
Read Scholastic News and complete Quiz Whiz
Read your AR book for 15-20 minutes each night
AR Goal for Friday, February 15 is 54%
None.
Social Studies:
None.
Science:
Math:
None.
Spelling:
Lesson 20 Test - Thursday, February 28
SpellingCity - quiz and play games using each week's list words
Quick Links:
Class Blog- frequently used links and daily updates.
Home Connect - check AR reading and Accelerated Math, or practice with Math Facts in a Flash
AR Book Find - Do you have a book at home or from another library that you are wondering if it is AR? Look it up here.
Infohio - Awesome resource for web research with online encyclopedias for kids among other things (un: infohio pw:power)
Scholastic Book Order - Class Activation Code: F8273
Shane Pransky
Whitehouse Primary
4th Grade
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