Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Guest Bloggler: George - Fun Social Studies

File:US flag 13 stars – Betsy Ross.svg - Wikimedia Commons Free illustration: Globe, Earth, World, Transparency - Free Image ...Fun Social StudiesFree illustration: Globe, Earth, World, Transparency - Free Image ...American, Flag - Free pictures on Pixabay

Guest Blogger, George



   This week we have been doing fun things in social studies.  We have been doing stations about the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party,Townshend Acts, Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress.  We make T-Charts about these events with British Point Of View and American Point Of View. We learned by watching videos and reading textbooks like History Alive, America’s Past, and other resources for the T-Charts.These T-charts will help us with understanding these events of history. This week of social studies is so fun and exciting to learn about. I love it!

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Guest Student Blogger - Genevieve: Mindful Popcorn!

Mindful Popcorn
~ Guest Blogger, Genevieve

It was our writing period and Mrs. Malki had told us to get out a pencil, and our writing notebook and come to the rug. We all gathered to one side where we all saw a desk with a microwave on it, but we didn’t know what was going on. She then had came to the rug, too. She explained that we were going to be mindful and use our senses, and right down what we hear, taste, see, feel, and smell.

First Mrs. Malki took out a bag of popcorn and slowly opened the plastic bag so we could hear what was going on. I then started to understand how this was helping. Since later on when we write our story we could add in details, dialogue, setting, and more because we always can make things better. Not just writing, you can get better at sports, reading, math, and science. We also could add more to our writing.

After she opened the plastic bag, she took the paper bag, which had kernels in it, and put it in the microwave, the door closed. It had gotten stuck a couple times so Mrs. Malki adjusted the bag. While the class was waiting we were all moving to see what was going on. I was wondering are we actually going to get to eat this?

After Mrs. Malki adjusted the bag we heard the bag popping like a balloon, I also saw the bag blowing up like a balloon. I heard people saying they smelt the butter already, but from where I was I couldn’t smell a thing. I jotted everything I sensed down.

The bag was taken out from the microwave, and Mrs. Malki was holding it from the tip of her two fingers, since it was hot. The bag seemed full. I noticed it was sizzling like a frying pan. Mrs. Malki teared the bag open, and gave us a whiff of what it smelt like, to me it smelt like potato chips combined with butter and salt, but much stronger.

She went to the other side of the room with the bag of popcorn and took out a couple, and down it went into her stomach. Now I was really wondering are we going to get to get to eat the popcorn? I guessed everyone else was jealous too, I couldn’t blame them.

Something got me smiling again though, and my question got answered. So we went back to our seats with a paper towel and popcorn on it. I was peeking at others’ desks to see if they got more then me, but I couldn’t tell, so I decided to forget about it since it really didn’t matter. I couldn’t tell if others were doing that too. I tried eating it slow so I could really taste it.

I really didn’t expect this day where we got to eat popcorn in the classroom, but I was glad it happened.  Being mindful helped me use my senses to write a good story.  I wouldn’t want to miss a day in 5th grade, because you never know what can happen!






Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Guest Student Blogger: Rachel: Wacky Science!

Wacky Science
Guest Blogger, Rachel
Hi, I’m Rachel with a guest blog post. I’m here to keep you informed on our life in school. We’ve recently been doing many science experiments. This really surprised me because it seems really soon for science experiments, but I’m glad we are doing these experiments.
Here are some examples, one time Mrs. Malki told us all to wear safety goggles because she was putting a glass test tube on a hot plate with room temp water.  She also had a balloon on top of the rim. When the water heated up you might have guessed the balloon rose, but we first weighed it and it weighed 363.2g. After she put it on the hot plate, there was a problem… the balloon had a hole in it. Not to worry, a hero came in her name was… Mrs.Malki, she saved the day with her side kick Mrs.P. Thanks to them our science experiment was saved, YAY! We finally found out that the expanded balloon weighed the same as the deflated one!
Here is another experiment that we did with Mrs.Malki as our guide. Oh no, there was a volcano made of baking soda and vinegar and it was exploding it’s up to us to fix this  perfect example that shows how air takes up space. A related project is when we combined baking soda and vinegar to make a gas and make a glove rise!  

From all these science events we learned about the fact that all matter, even gas, takes up space. This is my report on our lives at school. Write To You Soon!!!

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Guest Student Blogger: Sienna: Book Fair Water Balloon Toss!

Book Fair Water Balloon Toss!


This year we crushed our goal of the amount of books we should buy at the book fair. Every year Mr.Roth surprises us with a crazy event for meeting our goal, like spraying his hair red and sleeping on the roof.  Since we sold more books than 2,100 books, this year there will be a water balloon toss between Mr.Roth and Mr. Burke, the Superintendent. The loser gets a pie in the face! The whole school is invited to see this amazing event happen. I can’t wait! Who do you think will win?
*Take the poll on this page to vote!

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Spookley the Square Pumpkin

Last night I was watching "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" for what felt like the 100th time.  This has become a standard in my household now.  It's like eating a potato chip--you can't have just one.  Well, The Malkis can't watch things just once.  However, as my students know, I have become obsessed with the movie Moana because I've watched it so many times that I keep noticing new things as I watch.  As I notice these things, I become so aware of the beauty that comes along with story-telling.  With the excitement of the Halloween season, Spookley is now airing several times a day, and my kids want to watch it every time.  Of course, I am noticing new things about this story each time we watch.  I openly admit, we watch a lot of TV in my house, but I am starting to use this TV time in a new way.

Since I have to watch Spookley so much, I've decided that my children and I need to discuss some of the things happening in this story, just like I would if I was reading with my students in the classroom.  I think people forget that shows and movies are stories too.  We can use our comprehension skills as we view, just like we would as we read.  You can infer, predict, question, connect, and do anything a reader would do, but as a viewer.  Last night, I tried this out with my son and daughter.

My daughter Lilly is already using her inference skills when she cried to me, "Spookley is sad, mommy."  Now since she is only two, I can't really dig deeper with her, but I asked Jacob, "why do you think he is sad?"  Jacob thought for a minute and said, "The other pumpkins are not nice."  I asked him to tell me more about what they are doing that isn't nice.  He proceeded to tell me that they won't let him join their contest because he's square.  This is exactly the conversation I would have with any of my fifth graders if I was talking to them about something they read.  I would ask them for an idea, and then to back it up with evidence from the story.

As parents and teachers, we can do this with anything--movies, books, articles, science experiments, the list is endless.  I finished by asking my almost five-year-old son to always let other kids play with him; to never treat anyone the way the round pumpkins were treating Spookley.  The beauty of this is that he got it.  He understood how Spookley felt, and how he could use the message in his life.  Even though I didn't read with my children last night, we still practiced comprehension skills and had important conversations.  So, next time you are watching something instead of reading (which is totally okay!), try out some of our reading strategies and see how it goes.  I would love to hear about it!

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Welcome Back!

As we have begun a new school year, there has been a lot of change.  5M thought about change recently when I brought up to them that I have had some struggles adjusting to my new morning routine.  Last year, my son stayed home in the morning with my husband, but this year I have to bring him along with me to work.  It has been different getting ready for my morning as a teacher having my child alongside me in the classroom, waiting to go to his preschool downstairs.  I know with time, I will get used to this new routine, but it is taking a few weeks to really feel good and be productive with it.

After sharing this with my students at our Morning Meeting, some of them reflected upon change and how it affects them.  We discussed all their summer travels and how some of them went halfway across the world, having to adjust to the time change.  One student mentioned her transition on her trip to Korea.  She said it was daytime there, but nighttime here, and she had to eat when she wasn't hungry, be awake when she was tired, and it was really hard.  It took several days for her to get back to normal, and then it started all over again when she returned back to Cresskill. Many students connected to this, and we had a great discussion about it.  We all felt good hearing that others struggle with change.

On the other hand, change is also really exciting!  Although we can feel stressed or worried, it is okay to feel more than one way about the same thing.  All of us are happy to be back at school; excited to be learning new things; and eager to get to know one another.  Despite the adjustment I've had to my mornings, I am thrilled to be back at Bryan School, doing what I love.  I also appreciate the time we spend at Morning Meeting able to share how we are feeling, good or bad.  I encourage you to think about how you are feeling and share with us!  Welcome back to school... It's going to be an awesome year!


Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Guest Student Bloggers: Chris, John, & Gabe

Things to Look Forward to at the End of the
Year

By: Chris, John, and Gabe


Towards the end of the school year we do a lot of stuff like a pool party, an arcade, and the 5th grade graduation. At the middle school orientation we take a tour of the middle school. We learned about the classes we have to take, how to open a lock, and how to read our schedule.


The 5th grade graduation is basically telling our favorite memories of all our years from K-5. At the graduation we sing songs. But we got to choose them.

When it says we go to SPACE, we don’t actually go to space, we go to an arcade place called SPACE. There is a bowling alley and laser tag.
 
Field day is when the whole school gathers at the field to do all sorts of activities like tug of war and horse shoes. The white team won!  
  
At the pool party, we are going with Merritt School 5th graders to the Cresskill pool, and enjoy the day. If you don’t want to swim you can play volleyball, basketball, tether ball, and an open field to do anything you want!  You can hang at the snackbar or just hang at in the pool. There is a lot of space there so you can do man hunt tag or anything you can think of.
Some things to rent are:
  • Basketballs
  • Volleyballs
  • Kickball
  • Hockey table
  • Beach ball

In conclusion these are the things to look forward to at the end of the school year at Bryan School as a 5th grader!

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Curiosity Counts!

This week 5M started an independent research project.  In order to build interest in researching, we had to think about what makes us curious.  Students started this process by listing all their current interests, followed by questions they have about each interest.  In small teams, students gathered all their questions on a big piece of poster paper.  They had to cover as much space as they possibly could with their questions.  From there, students chose a few questions that made them very curious, and wrote up a KWL chart.  Now, we will use our deeper curiosities to research and find out more about those topics.  Over the next couple of weeks students will be researching their independent topics and preparing a presentation to teach the class what they learned.  5M has gotten very curious...  get ready to find some answers, kiddos!

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Guest Bloggers: Bori, Katelyn, & Amy

PARCC TESTING WARNING!
ARE YOU READY FOR PARCC TESTING?
Helpful things you can do to get ready for PARCC:
  1. SLEEP WELL! (get your zzz’s on)
  2. Eat a good breakfast! (it’s the most important meal of the day!)
  3. Study! (Try Measuring Up Live and remember not to rush!)
  4. RELAX!!! (Life needs some stops, rests, and red lights!)
Helpful things to do while you are taking the PARCC test:
  1. Take a DEEP breath! (still breathe!)
  2. Don’t panic! (You have time!)
  3. Read CAREFULLY! (Make sure you know the directions!)
  4. Don’t think negatively! (You could guess correctly!)
  5. Check you work! (Mistakes will occur)



We hope you get a great score on your test!!!
Remember failing is learning!

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Snow Learning?

Today I spent my snow day with my kids.  We played in the snow for a little bit, cleaned off the cars, and spent most of the day inside playing with toys, baking yummy treats, and watching movies.  My daughter is loving this movie, The Good Dinosaur.  I've had to watch it so many times now that I've started really thinking about the movie with a closer view.  Although I didn't get much time to read today, I still applied some of the strategies I use as a reader while I watched The Good Dinosaur for the 10th time this week.  So, here are my thoughts on my close read, or close "watch," on the movie:

SPOILER ALERT! I am about to discuss the ending, so if you want to see the movie, stop reading!

At the end of the film, the little "critter" moves on with a family of new "critters".  At first I assumed this was his family, but as I've watched the movie several times, I have started to rethink this theory. I have to infer here because the critters don't talk in the movie.  The critter has brown hair, and all the members of the family have this grey-ish, white-ish hair.  So, I think that this may just be another family of "critters" that are taking Spot in as their own.  However, I wonder if they know of him somehow because they seem so excited to take him in and love him.  It seems like they know him.  But, that excitement could just be that they are happy to see one of their "kind;" maybe it's been awhile since they've found other "critters." Also, earlier in the film, Spot kind of explained that his parents were dead when he and the dinosaur were showing figures of their family members.  Below I linked to the videos of these scenes for your reference.  What do you think about the new critters?  Did they know each other or were they just happy to find more of their "kind?"

So, this is some learning that I did on my snow day.  Did you do any snow learning today?  And, by the way, the above is a good example of an "elaboration" for your reference.

Video:  Spot shows that his family died
Video:  Spot meets new family

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Announcement: Student-Teacher Basketball Game!

Hey Kids!  Get your practice on... the date has been set for the Student-Teacher Basketball Game!  Spread the word, and ask your old teachers to play!  This is the best 5th Grade Fundraiser of the year.  All 5th graders are asked to play or just attend to watch.  You don't want to miss this awesome event.  

When:  Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 7pm

Where:  CHS gymnasium

Whether you are playing or not, all 5th graders receive a shirt for FREE!  Please send in those orders by Friday, March 17th.


Mrs. Malki is taking suggestions for her nickname.  Write down your idea on a piece of paper and submit that to her by Friday, March 17th.  She will pick the name she likes best, and you could be the winner!

This Week in Writing... Preparing Your Argumentative Essay!

Last week we had live debates on all your awesome topics!  So, what's next?  You need to design and prepare for your essay by building your main ideas:
  1. Look over your evidence.
  2. Jot the details and evidence you plan to use on sticky notes.
  3. Sort your sticky notes into your main ideas.
  4. Choose key words to describe those main ideas (Remember, for my sample topic, I chose "exercise" and "inclusion" and "my counterargument".)
  5. Turn those main ideas into topic sentences and begin creating your folders:
    • Big Folder:  Thesis Statement
    • 2-3 Small Folders: Topic sentences (main ideas)
    • Sticky notes go inside the small folders

Example:

Big Folder/Thesis:  All schools should have structured recess.

  1. Small Folder/Main Idea:  All schools should have structured recess because it encourages more exercise.
  2. Small Folder/Main Idea:  All schools should have structured recess because it allows everyone to be included.
  3. Small Folder/Main Idea/Counterargument:  While some people think it kids should make their own choices, schools should still offer structured recess because kids can still have input on the offerings. 


Un-Homework?

I recently read about a teacher who gives choices for homework assignments and calls it #TakeAwayHmk.  Instead of giving everyone the same homework assignment, students are given a choice of assignments and pick from them.  (See below for more information about "unhomework" and #takeawayhmk).  I think this is a very interesting idea, and wonder how my students would feel about this?  Sometimes, when given choices in the classroom, I see some kids struggle with that.  I also see other kids who love it.  What sort of assignments would you want to do for homework?  My biggest complaint about homework is dealing with the kids who don't do it.  Then, it becomes MY homework because I have to go to the parents next.  So, my question is, if I decided to try this out, what sort of homework assignments interest you?  What do you want to do for  #takeawayHW or "unhomework"?  Keep in mind, no homework, is not an option.  You HAVE to choose something!



Read more about #TakeAwayHmk: http://www.teachertoolkit.me/2014/01/28/takeawayhmk/