Presentations, Writing Workshop and Play-Dough

Project Road Trip - Project Road Trip is coming to a close with student teams presenting their journey through road maps and presentation slides.

Writing Workshop - Students are working on short narrative stories based on "moments" in their lives. This week includes drafting and revision groups. Check the link to the right for grade level expectations.

California! - students will be using plywood and play-dough to create physical relief maps of California. These maps will be used as a reference for learning about the different regions of California, and how these regions are a part of historical and contemporary California culture. Check the link to the right for more information and references.

Study Island - 5th graders - Plants and Animals, due Nov. 16th

Project Road Trip -- Evaluation + Assessment

Student teams are coming close to completing Project Road Trip.  This week students will be evaluating their teamwork and collaborative performance.  Please click on the following link to see the performance rubric they will use.  Each student is responsible for evaluating their own performance, as well as the work of each of their teammates.  In addition, I will provide my own assessment of each student's performance.  

Collaborative Work Skills Rubric

When students are ready to present their project, we will be using the following rubric to evaluate each project

Project Road Trip Presentation Rubric

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Creating Presentations + Writers Workshop

Project Road Trip -- students are learning how to use Presentation software (Powerpoint), Google Maps, Travelocity and other travel related websites. Teams have already researched regions, states, planned out where they will visit and the routes they will take. Next step, continue designing their presentations or websites.

P.E. -- students were not able to run the mile for their physical fitness exam due to the fires and poor air quality. This week on Thursday they will be running the mile, make sure they dressed appropriately and have a bottle of water ready.

Study Island -- new topic "Ecosystems". Check "My Class" tab to see all topics assigned so far.

Writers Workshop -- We will be starting Writers Workshop in projects class soon. Please make sure your student can bring a two-pocket folder to class with them this week. They will need this folder to store their drafts as they work through the writing process from prewriting through publication.

Road Trip Continues, Eaton Canyon and Football

Project Road Trip continues with students working in their teams and exploring their assigned region. Students will also be learning about other regions through videos and work in their Interactive Notebooks.

Eaton Canyon - This week on Thursday students will participate in viewing and interacting with "Nature in a Box - Mammals" provided by the Eaton Canyon nature center. Next week students will go on our first field trip to Eaton Canyon. Please make sure to turn in permission slips to your advisor.

Flag Football continues in P.E. every Thursday. Students are learning the positions and strategy of the game. Students should watch at least one-quarter of a football game on television to get more familiar with the game. Here are some days and times of possible games to watch. Both games are on ESPN

Monday 5:30pm - Minnesota Vikings v. New Orleans Saints
Thursday 4:30 pm - Clemson vs. Wake Forrest

Study Island - 4th and 5th graders need to complete the Science sections "Living vs. Non-Living" and "Observation vs. Inference" this week. These are review from last year but use the mini-lessons to get re-familiarized with the concepts.

Goal Setting, Road Trips and Where I Am From

Goal Setting Conferences -- this week advisors will meet with advisory students and families to review and discuss goals for the beginning of the school year.  Advisors will review assessment data and goals for literacy, math and self-efficacy.  If you have not yet signed up for a meeting, please contact your advisor as soon as possible.

Project Road Trip -- This week we will be starting the Project Road Trip.  Starting Tuesday we will establish teams, create team names and logos, and analyze goals for the project and in what order we will accomplish them.  Students will be using maps, books, travel guides, and websites to research and develop this project. Check the Project Road Trip link for more info.

Sense of Self (5th grade advisory) -- You will be working on your websites in class this week -- completing your "I Am" poem and starting a new page titled "Where I Am From".  Check the Advisory link for instructions.

Oranges, Study Island, and Advisory Update

Project students - here are some updates for this week.

• All students -- Bring an orange to class on Monday -- you need it for a geography demonstration
• 4th and 5th graders -- log into study island -- assignment "Science Pretest" due at the end of this week (4th graders, you need to click on 5th grade to get to the science section)
• 5th graders -- click on the link to your new advisory page -- you will be building a website around the theme "Sense of Self", you can start on the poem and then work on the website this week in class

In projects this week we will be finishing up our introduction to Geography and will soon be starting "Project Roadtrip". Click on the link to "Project Roadtrip" for more details.

Geography and Interactive Notebooks

GEOGRAPHY

Last week students started using internet resources to learn about countries that fit into different "top 10" categories (nationmaster.com). For example - richest, poorest, highest education spending, mathematics literacy... Once students compiled this list then they used Google Maps to find the location of each country and transfer this onto a world map in their interactive notebooks. Goals - using an internet tool, making personal connections, and becoming familiar with world geography.

This week students will continue studying geography ---

The Five Themes of Geography
Location
Place
Human and Environmental Interaction
Human Movement
Regions

and

Map Skills
Different Types of Maps
How To Use Maps

Please click on the link World Geography for more information and resource links.

INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK

Students are beginning to create an Projects Interactive Notebook. This notebook will include space for students to include work from class, as well as space for them to make connections to what they are learning. Each page is titled, numbered, and has a table of contents to keep their work accessible.  Click here for more information about how this type of notebook works.

Daily Schedule for 3-5 Cadre

A New Year Begins

I want to welcome back all the students and families I've worked with over the last year, and introduce myself to our new students and those new to the 3-5 cadre. My name is Kirk Melkonian and I'm one of the Project Specialists at Aveson Charter School. This year is going to be another great year, and I'm really looking forward to all that we'll accomplish!

This page is going to be your first resource for information on what we're doing in class throughout the year. This is where you will find descriptions of the different areas of study, assignments, and links to a variety of resources. This page will be the homepage for the computers used in C-1, and will be where students get their information - creating consistencies between school and home.

One of the first areas of study focuses on geography - including Global, National, and the state of California. Students and their families can get familiar with these themes by clicking on the links to the right to start using the tools and resources - Google maps is going to be especially useful in answering questions like, "Where exactly is the country named Malaysia?", or "Should I visit Sacramento or San Diego while visiting San Francisco?"

Another area of study will be California's history and culture. If you have the chance to visit one of the California missions over the next month, visit one, it will give them a good starting reference point.

Our focus in projects is to help your students become proficient in the skills required for the 21st Century.

Learning and Innovation Skills

Creativity and Innovation Skills
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
Communication and Collaboration Skills

Information, Media and Technology Skills

Information Literacy
Media Literacy
ICT Literacy

Life and Career Skills

Flexibility & Adaptability
Initiative & Self-Direction
Social & Cross-Cultural Skills
Productivity & Accountability
Leadership & Responsibility

from Partnership for 21st Century Skills
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/


Again, I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon.