Monday, September 21, 2009

Social Studies

Social Studies
In Social Studies we will learn about many historical events. We just finished a unit about the three branches of government. They are called the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The Executive branch is the President and the Vice President. They carry out the laws. The President can also veto or ratify the laws passed by Congress. He also writes the budget.
The Legislative branch is the branch that passes the laws. They are also the only branch that can declare war.
The Judicial branch interprets the laws and decides if they are unconstitutional. Supreme Court justices get appointed their job for life, unless they decide to retire.
Learning more about the three branches of government and the Constitution helped us learn more about our country.
by Devon, Regan, Troy, and Meghan

Writing

We haven’t had any real writing lessons yet. But we have already made a class constitution with rules for our classroom to follow. You can find our Constitution at the homepage of our wiki. We have also written letters to Ms.Stodden about ourselves and our summer. Another assignment was the bookgram, we each read a book over the summer and did a short book report about it. We are also going to do an auto biography project about ourselves. One other assignment we’ve had is writing about how we got our name in our writing idea notebook (WIN). We’ve had fun doing these assignments and can’t wait to start the other ones.

Written by Brian, Jessica, Tyler, and Bridget

Monday, April 27, 2009

The Stamp Act

There are many causes to the American Revolution. In fact one cause that lead to this deathly war was the stamp act. This meant that every piece of paper had to have a special stamp of England or it was considered illegal. This included all marriage licenses, written documents and everything else that had to do with paper. This made the colonists very angry because it cost money to buy the stamps. This was one of the many ways that England got money from the American Colonies.
To tell you the truth, I do not like these ways of taking money from the colonies. King George was just using the colonies to get money to pay off all of the expenses from the French and Indian war. King George can find other ways to get more money like sending English explorers to different parts across the Application Mountains to bring back goods to sell. This would really make all of the people who live in the colonies happy
By Jake

Being a loyalist

If I had a choice to be a loyalist and a patriot I would be a loyalist. I would be a loyalist because if I was a patriot, then I might not have a very long life. If I was a loyalist then I would have a longer life and I might get freedom later on in my life. Being a patriot would probably not be so fun when you have about 100 guns pointing at your head, just waiting to shoot. Just wondering if you will ever see your family ever again. There is only one thing I think be in the war would be good and that knowing if you die then you know you will die for doing something good for your country. When you’re a loyalist you know that you will have long and happy life. That is why I would be a loyalist instead of a patriot.

Should I Fight, or be Loyal?

If I had to choose between being loyal to England or fighting for my independence as a patriot, I would choose to fight for my independence as a patriot. I would fight for my independence because I think that everyone should have their independence no matter what. And you shouldn’t have to pretend being loyal to England if you really didn't want to. What if they hurt someone in your family or you don’t agree with anything that they do? You obviously wouldn’t want to be loyal to them if they were never loyal to you. So you shouldn’t have to pretend to be loyal to England if they did anything that you don’t agree with, because that would be a foolish thing to do. And the thing that I believe in as a better choice is fighting for my independence. Nobody should boss you around, you should be able to do anything that you want to do. So I think that fighting for my independence as a patriot is what I would choose because everyone should have their own independence no matter who you are or what you do.

By, Caroline

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Revolutionary War

I think the Revolutionary War is because King of England taxed the colonies too much. He taxed tea, official papers, and he made a rule that the colonies could only buy stuff from England, and that they could only sell stuff to England. Although the King did remove the tax on official papers, the colonists were still angry. They began to smuggle things to and from other countries, but England soon found out, and sent ships to attempt to stop smugglers. Smugglers, who were caught, were fined and jailed.
This angered the colonists, so they decided to dump tea into the Boston Harbor. This angered King James a lot. The colonists decided that they wanted freedom, so they decided that they would separate, and no longer belong to England. England started sending troops over, and they fought with the American Soldiers the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin went over to France to try and convince them to send soldiers to America to assist them on their fight against England, although at first hey were worried because they had just lost the French and Indian War, after much convincing, they decided to help America.
Eventually, America won, and they wrote the Declaration of Independence, and elected George Washington as our first president.

This has been a blog written by,
Jonathan

American Revolution

What caused the war was that the King of England put a lot of taxes on products. One product was tea they were especially mad that it was tax. That started the Boston Tea Party. That was when the colonists dressed up like Indians and dumped tea into the harbor. The king of England was mad about that because he paid all that money and it was just dumped into the harbor.

Something else he taxed was official papers. That was the last straw because they had to pay for this stamp on their papers like diplomas, deeds, and a lot more. So they had to pay for a stamp just to have official papers.

By,
Cate

Revolutionary War Blog

The Revolution War was fought because the colonist wanted to be a free country. Some causes of the war were that the England taxed the colonist on dumb things like stamps, TEA of course, important documents, and housing British soldiers this wasn’t directly taxing them, but the colonists were still mad, and the colonists wanted to be a free country, but England didn’t want that.
The Boston Tea Party played a big role in the Revolution War this event was when some colonists dressed as Native Americans dumped tea into the harbor, I would be a patriot because England was being unfair and the colonists don’t have to take it.


By: Lily M.

mittnight

Voicethread

One thing we just started doing in class is called voice thread. Voice thread is a web site that you can comment on, like our classroom blog. We really, really enjoy it!

One other thing we can do on voice thread is we can watch videos and comment as the movie is playing, but you can pause the movie and then comment!

One of the things we comment on was … a unit we did about slavery! We watched videos, we read poems, and we looked at pictures!

Our entire class is talking about 6th grade. On thing I learned from this was program. They can talk to kids in different countries and teach them to speak each others language! It is a great way to learn more about different places!

Our class really enjoys this program, and I think everyone will enjoy using it for the rest of there life!


By: Kelly Sullivan

Social Studies

In social studies we are learning about the American Revolution. Some of the reasons for the American Revolution are: England putting unfair taxes on things like tea and sugar. Another reason is called the stamp act. The stamp act is when England said that any official document had to have a stamp and you had to pay for that stamp.
We have just have finished our slavery unit. It was very sad to have to learn about how they kidnapped kids and forced grownups onto this ship that had rats and bugs. Plus they packed them so tightly that it was hard to move you really could only wiggle. Also a lot of people got sick and die. Some people tried to kill themselves by refusing to eat but the white men would force them by either whipping them or burning their lips. They didn’t want them to die because losing slaves meant losing money. Some jumped off the boat and tried to swim away but they were brought back and whipped. Sometime they tried to revolt but usually it didn’t wok. Some people just tried to live through it but they became slaves in the new world and were forced to work. That is what we are currently doing in social studies.

Written By: Elizabeth F
Science
In Science we are learning about the Solar System. Right now we are learning about the sun. The center of the sun, the core, is the hottest part of the sun at about 27,000,000 degrees F. It takes about a million years for the heat from the core to get tho the surface of the Earth. On the surface of the earth it is a lot cooler than the core at about 8,000 degrees F. The sun produces two things: heat and light. The way we say distances in outer space when it is too far to measure in miles is using light years. A light year is not a amount of time. It is the distance light travels in a year which is about 186,000 miles a second so in a year it is a big, big number of miles. Another measurement that is a little (well a lot actually) shorter than a light year is a AU. An Au is about 93,000,000 miles. The Earth is one AU away from the sun. This is all of the Solar Sytem that we have learned so far.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Tips to keep you going,(now more than ever).

If you want a good nights sleep stop eating a full 3 hours before you go to bed.

Always settle arguments with kind words.

Don’t stress you can do anything

Don’t stay up too late

Don’t give into peer pressure

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Pi Day (with math)

In math there is something called PI. Pi is 3.141592653589793738462643 and it keeps going forever! Instead of math class we wore our PI t-shirts that we decorated, we sang songs like 3.14159, lose yourself (in the digits), and Pi Pi mathematical Pi. We also saw a video about a guy that memorized 22,000 numbers of PI in 5 hours (wow).
Now we have to work on a circle project that has 4 sections in it. The 1st section we had to create a design of circles, using a compass. For the 2nd selection you have to write down definitions of pi, radius, circumference, diameter, and formulas for the area of a circle and circumference of a circle. In the 3rd selection you have to cut out pictures of circles that you can get from magazines, clip art, or draw. For the last selection you have to draw a perfect circle, measure it, label the radius, diameter, and circumference. Then, figure out the area and circumference of your circle.
PI is the circumference of a circle. Did you know that there is no perfect circle that is made by nature in the world! Pi was made by the Greek’s alphabet in the 1600 hundreds. Just remember that there are two different kinds of pies (PI and pie)! Just have fun with PI (pie). J

PS. Happy PI {Pie} day!!
By: Ryan
and Onofrio

Reading by: Kelly and Olivia

Reading
In room 15 we are doing some reading, like read aloud, and G.R. (guided reading). The book we are reading in read aloud is….. Tangerine. It is about a boy with an eye “problem” and he has to face soooooo many challenges. One of the challenges he faced was a death he wants to keep in his past. It is turning out to be a great story!

One thing we are doing in reading is…… Lit. Circle. (Literature Circle) It is pretty much G.R (guided reading), but there is NO teacher leading the group, it is pretty fun. The group gets to decide what they’re homework will be. It really helps kids learn to be more independent with themselves. It is a great way to learn new things. The books we are reading in Lit. Circles are: Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, Elijah of Buxton, The Liberation of Gabriel King, Leon’s Story ,The Friendship and, The Golden Cadillac.


That is that latest update in reading for room 15! By: Kelly and Olivia

Pi Day by Nick

Pi Day!!!
Friday, was pi day at Joshua Eaton. Pi day is really on March 14 because its digits 3.14. It is a fun day. Before celebrating we made pi day T-shirts in art. We watched a Brain Pop movie on pie and then we took the movie quiz. Then we listened to some pie songs like 3.14159; Lose Yourself (In the digits.) After that we drew some circles with the math compass. Then we watched a clip from an episode of the David Letterman show about a person from England who memorized the first 2 thousand digits of pi. After that we went to our homerooms and we had pizza. For the last thing, we went outside and had a long recess. Pi day was one of the funnest days I’ve had in fifth grade.


SPECIALS

p.e.

Right now we are having lots of fun in specials! In gym we are in the middle of our soccer unit. A game that we are playing is circle soccer. To play, everyone stands in a circle. Half of the kids are on one side, half are on the other side. When Mrs. Ammendolia calls two numbers, the two kids who are assigned those numbers on each team run to the center of the circle and try to take the ball to their side. If they can take the ball to their side then they can try to shoot the ball through the opposite half circle made of kids. If they shoot the ball through them, then their team gets a point.

Rules
v If you touch the ball with your hand or arm the other team gets a point.
v No hockey blocks (no trapping the ball under your knees).
v If the ball goes above the waist then the goal does not count.

art

Right now in art we are working on pointillism. This is when you make multiple dots and you put them on a picture and you don’t color them in you just make dots. This is an example made by a man named Seurat.
Music
In music we are working on a song called: Happiness runs in a circular motion. We are playing this song on our recorders and singing it.

By,
Will
Jeff
James
SPECIALS

p.e.

Right now we are having lots of fun in specials! In gym we are in the middle of our soccer unit. A game that we are playing is circle soccer. To play, everyone stands in a circle. Half of the kids are on one side, half are on the other side. When Mrs. Ammendolia calls two numbers, the two kids who are assigned those numbers on each team run to the center of the circle and try to take the ball to their side. If they can take the ball to their side then they can try to shoot the ball through the opposite half circle made of kids. If they shoot the ball through them, then their team gets a point.

Rules
v If you touch the ball with your hand or arm the other team gets a point.
v No hockey blocks (no trapping the ball under your knees).
v If the ball goes above the waist then the goal does not count.

art

Right now in art we are working on pointillism. This is when you make multiple dots and you put them on a picture and you don’t color them in you just make dots. This is an example made by a man named Seurat.
Music
In music we are working on a song called: Happiness runs in a circular motion. We are playing this song on our recorders and singing it.

By,
Will
Jeff
James

Writing

In Writing, we have been talking about commentaries. We read a story and highlighted examples of how the author wrote it. We also wrote commentaries about whatever we wanted. Some examples of those choices are: MCAS, Politics, school lunches, life skills, and fast food.
We made word books and boxes in the books we write a word that describes our day. We saw these videos that people submitted for three words that describe their day. We have just finished our second small moments 2 they came out beautifully. We wrote 5-6 color poems, made mini binder shaped books, and put the poems in them.
We read a book called Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco. It was about a 15 year-old boy who was shot in the Civil War. He was saved by a black boy about his age. They went to the black boy’s house named Pink to help the white boy named Say to get better. Once Say got better, they then went out to try to find their troops again. They got caught by the Confederate soldiers (Pink and Say were on the Union’s side). They were taken to a prison. Pink got killed, but Say survived
Say had touched Abraham Lincoln’s hand, and he told Pink that he could touch the hand that touched Abraham Lincoln’s hand. Pink wanted to touch his hand because Abraham Lincoln symbolized freedom, and that was Pink’s dream.
This story was a memoir for Pink.
We wrote down questions that we had about the book, and then Ms.S chose some of the questions we had. We had to pick 3 of them, and make inferences for what we thought the answer was. Ms.S told us we will interview our grandparents about some family stories, so we could try to write a memoir ourselves like Patricia Polacco.


By Jonathan & Lily

Current Events 2

America today is busy, busy, busy! On the popular T.V show American Idol, a singer named Michael Sarver was kicked off last week. Boo-hoo! There are nine more contestants competing to be the champion of American idol. The top two will win a car and a contract to be an actual singer! Should Michael have got kicked off? In your comment, post your opinion.
In room 15 we have been busy preparing for our annual open house. Open House is when kids and parents explore the wonderful world of learning. Kids show their latest projects to their parents. This is a way parents can figure out what their child is learning in school and find out if they are working hard. Open house is a big night for kids and adults. We hope all parents and kids can attend open house. All kids love sharing their beautiful artwork and writing to their family.
By Jake and Connor

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Currents Events

There is so much going on in the world right now! One exciting thing is American Idol. There are only 9 contestants left. Did you hear that Michael Starver got kicked off? He just couldn’t pull it off.
And on America’s Best Dance Crew, Quest Crew took it to the stage, and got the votes that they needed to win!! How exciting is that? But Beat Freaks also did very well, as they were named the finalists!! Another exciting moment!
Another exciting thing that just happened was the Kids Choice Awards! Did you hear that iCarly won best t.v. show for Nickelodeon, Twilight won best book, and Miley Cyrus won best female singer, and cried when she won it. And, did you see what the Rock looked like when he had Miley Cyrus’s dress on? That was ha ha hilarious! Did you watch Will Ferrel set a new record by going down the longest slip n’ slide, not with water, but with………. you guessed it, SLIME!!
The biggest thing in sports this time of year is the NCAA basketball tournament, which is now down to the final four! In the elite eight, 1st seeds Loui Ville aand Pitt lost. The final four leave UNC, Villanova, Michigan State, and Connecticut. Who will bring it all home? You’ll have to stay posted to find out!!
Don’t you agree that the world is so exciting at this time?!

By,
Rachel, Molly and Caroline

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Watch our slideshow of projects.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book Review

Book Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The Last Straw
This week I reviewed the third book in the hit series Diary of a Wimpy Kid has made its appearance. Greg Heffley wants to make his father proud, if only he could do something that he is capable of not the silly sports his dad wants to see from him. Frank Heffley wants Greg to be wiped into shape, but Greg is able to get out of the sports his father signs him up for then Frank tells Greg he will send him to military school! Will Greg get out of this one?
This is a witty, well thought out book with great cartoons of course! Critics rave “Move over Harry Potter there’s a new hit children’s series and there’s nothing fantasy about it.” I hope this isn’t the end of the series. Next week check to read my next review.
Recently, in science class, we have been doing sound experiments. Our latest experiment was the Horn experiment. This experiment involved taking a paper towel roll and talking into it to a partner. We covered up the end of the roll first, with a piece of felt and then, with a piece of tin foil. Our partner recorded how well he/she could hear with each item on the end of the roll. The felt muted the sound better because it was heavier and the tin foil absorbed the sound.
Another experiment we did was the Tuning Fork experiment. A tuning fork is an object that is used to tune a guitar. Each pair of partners had a tuning fork, a paper cup of water. They were allowed to use any items that were on or in their desk or anything that they were wearing. Each person recorded their type of experiment and the prediction of what would happen in the experiment on a piece of paper. The partners would take turns using the tuning fork. Some kids banged the fork on their shoe. The fork vibrated extremely fast. Some would hit it on their desk and then hold it to their ear to see what sound it would make. The fork made a low “oooh” sound.
The final experiment we did was the Water in Bottle experiment. We divided our class into groups and poured a different amount of water into each bottle. We tapped all of the bottles with the end of a pencil. All of the bottles made a different sound. We learned that the amount of water in each bottle changed the pitch. When we put more water in the bottle, the pitch was lower. When we put less water in the bottle, the pitch became higher. Learning about sound is very interesting and fun!

Jake, Connor, and Jonathan

Reading

Hello in room 15 we are reading a book called “Tangerine,” it is a story of a boy named Paul. Paul has a brother named Erik. To Paul’s parents Erik is the perfect child but is he? Through the story Paul finds out things about Erik that makes him think having Satan as a brother would be better than Erik. So far we are in the middle of the book but it’s already starting to be an amazing book filled with adventure, and mystery.
The way Edward Bloor writes creates characters’ with vivid personalities. And also the words put such an amazing image of the characters, and scenes in the readers mind. Tangerine is such an amazing book that is a great read aloud. I really am starting to love it and I bet if you read it you will too.



Sam

Thursday, March 5, 2009

MCBA and Maniac

View our latest book projects.
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Switch to Blogger

Hello Everyone,

I have had to move our blog from edublogs to blogger due to the sudden addition of advertisements to our blog pages. We just had a recent technology showcase at school and were able to discuss our options. One solution was to make a switch. So here we are. We have the same purpose, just different web space.

Sincerely,
Ms. S