Harry Potter Times

Hello,

The quidditch match is set!  The Harry Potter Club has the gym on Friday June 8th until 5:00.  We will stay after school tomorrow (Wed) to make brooms (out of swimming pool noodles) and discuss the rules.  We will have a full scale practice this Friday from 3:30 til 5:00.  Any donations of duct tape, especially brown, will be gladly accepted.  Now I have to figure out setting up the hoops and the field of play in that gym.  Look for permission slips tomorrow.

In social studies today, students started getting their information together to do mini newscasts on their chosen country.  Ask your child what country that their group chose.  I am hoping to start videotaping by the end of the week. 

I heard from more than a couple of parents that there are rumors going around that we will not be allowed to group for math next year.  I don't know if that is true or not. 



Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

book swap

Hello,

With over 450 books to choose from, the book swap was definitely a success.  We had many great books brought in.  It felt like Christmas around here.  No one went home empty handed because everyone got to take home one more book than they brought in.  Hardy Boys, Harry Potter, Lightning Thief, Little House on the Prairie books, picture books, Bone books, Boxcar Children, Babysitters Club, Warriors, Choose Your Own Adventures... a ridiculous amount of series were represented.  Take a look at what your child brought home.

My classroom clock slowed way down again.  It is my third clock and it doesn't look like this one is going to be a keeper either.  It really messed me up today, when I had twenty math students waiting to come in fifteen minutes before expected.  We had pulley projects and supplies all over the room.  I took the math class outside and we did a lot of sidewalk chalk math.  I hope I can get another new clock.  If it's the batteries they really should last longer than a month.  We'll see. 

I'm still trying to track down the elusive gym schedule.  I found out today that I need a log in user name and password to have access to see the gym schedule.  I'll make another call tomorrow and see how far I can get.  Almost there I hope.  Quidditch awaits.

Have a good night,

Mr. Shea 

pulleys, pulleys, pulleys

Hello,

We did a lot of work with pulleys today.  We changed the direction of the force, the angle of the pulleys, and the size of the pulleys.  We created fixed and movable pulleys.  We made pulleys that could increase or decrease the amount of force needed to do the same job.  Much of this was done with the Lego kits that I just acquired from Ebay.  Lego used to make these great kits for schools devoted to one simple machine.  I got ten of the pulley kits and my early feedback on them is that they are awesome.  I think the kids will understand pulleys more fully this year.  I have another day to show some of the mechanical advantage set-ups, but their basic understanding is already ahead of what I've been able to teach in the past. 

Spelling words went home tonight.  We really had the have and the have-nots on the last test.  Only 2 kids got between a 70 and a 90.  Most aced it or flunked it.  There were the usual amount of top grades, but an unordinarily high amount of low grades.  I think some kids might have gone on vacation early.  Back up the bus. 

We have a ton to accomplish these last few weeks.  I will be cramming more social studies and science into our reading/writing times.  That doesn't mean that we will be doing much less of those, only that they will be highly content related. 

We will be headed over to Crimmins Field on Friday to witness "Pickett's Charge."  Please fill in a permission slip.  These are necessary because we will be walking off of school grounds.   It looks like a regular field trip permission slip, but you can write a separate note if you haven't seen it come out of the backpack.

Have a good night,

Mr. Shea

Ridiculous speed

The month of May is going by at warp speed.  Thank you for keeping your children grounded and keeping their noses to the grindstone on their at-home reading and their other homework.  I'm sure that there are as many distractions at home as there now are at school.  Tomorrow we start our Arts are Elementary drumming classes.  Please ask your child about it after school tomorrow.  I don't know what to expect, but the people of AAE usually do a great job bringing in very creative and talented people. 

Your child used a hammer today in our study of wedges.  They will surely use a screwdriver tomorrow in our study of screws.  I'm hoping to get to pulleys too, but with a spelling test, math class and drumming, I doubt that will happen.  We are once again short on masking tape.  Thank you if you already donated some.  I'll get some more this weekend. 

We had a report card meeting tonight after school.  I think some of the changes that we decided to make will make the report card more readable. 

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Building stuff

Hello,

If your child isn't having fun learning about simple machines and building stuff then I don't think I can interest them in school.  It is my favorite unit and it is only going to get better.  Today they were challenged to create a vehicle and an inclined plane where the vehicle would go as far as possible.  We will finish up and tweak these creations tomorrow morning. 

There was a little more talk about our upcoming invention fair.  I don't like the name, "Invention Fair" for what we are doing.  I'm not even using the word invention in class during this unit.  We are learning about simple machines: what they are, how they work and how they can be put together.  Everyone will be making a machine that uses all six simple machines.  My hope is that we can then connect some of these machines together.  The creations will show off our knowledge of simple machines.  We should be able to explain them using words like inertia, gravity, friction and acceleration in a proper way.  I'm not worried about whether or not the creations do anything useful or can be sold in stores.

Parents will be invited in to see what we have accomplished, but this is being done very differently than the other four classes that have already finished the unit this year.  I'm hoping that noone has a stand alone project.  I want them to have the challenge of connecting their creation with another.  We'll see how that goes.

I've got to run.  Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Levers and wheels

We finished our wheel and axle creations this morning.  Your child should be able to tell you how they make work easier or faster.  They should also be able to tell you what a force is, what friction is, what work is, and what a simple machine is by now.

We moved onto levers in the afternoon.  We focused on first class levers like see-saws, scales, and catapults.  We'll get into some of the second and third class levers tomorrow as I raid my tool box and steal most of the utensils out of my kitchen.  (My wife always knows what unit I'm teaching when her lemon squeezer disappears.)  Ask your child what a fulcrum is.  They should know because their homework is to list five household levers and explain how they work.

I have more info on our Arts are Elementary sessions that start on Friday.  Here is some information on our presenter this year:

Michael Wingfield is a performer with over 20 years of experience in the songs and rhythms of the African New World.  Through instruments such as conga, bata, shekere, and other percussive arts, Michael imparts the spirit and history of the African Diaspora in a way that speaks to the complexities of a diverse culture.  In a series of hands-on workshops, students will be ushered through the rudiments of the African musical idiom, learning about the ways in which to communicate a language, understand history, and expand perspective and self-awareness within any given community.

We're looking forward to it.

Have a good night. 

Mr. Shea

simple machine needs

Hello,

Real quickly: we need masking tape for our simple machines unit.  The school stuff has very little adhesive.  I bought some, but the kids are going through it fast.  Any that you can scrounge up or purchase would be greatly appreciated.

We started building today.  Wheel and axle inventions.  Fixed axles too.  More tomorrow, including levers!

Gotta run.  Have a good night.

Mr. Shea