By Jeff Burns on
11/24/2008
November 17 - 21
Last Thursday, we had a guest actress from the Jim Beckwourth Society share her extraordinary life. Her name is Aunt Clara Brown and she was a former slave who became a successful business woman here in Colorado.
The students have done a wonderful job with their science presentations. The experiments are organized and the science principle clearly explained.
We’re set for our field trip to the Colorado History Museum on Tuesday, December 2nd. (Reminder: It’s the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving break.)
I hope you and your families have a great break and safe travels.
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By Jeff Burns on
11/19/2008
November 10 - 14
This Thursday we’re having an assembly. People from the Jim Beckwourth Society will be here to teach us about his extraordinary life through a power point presentation and some skits. For those who aren’t familiar with Jim Beckwourth, (including me until recently), he was one of the first trapper/traders of Co
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By Jeff Burns on
11/10/2008
November 3 - 7
We are going on a field trip to the Colorado History Museum on Tuesday, December 2nd. The students will be learning about the ancient ones, fur trading, and mining. They will also be taking a tour of the museum. Please send in a sack lunch with your child that day.
On election Tuesday, we watched a video which taught us how the election process works.
In social studies, we are continuing to learn about the Ute Indians. We read a Ute legend about a “magical” bear and discussed the importance of story telling among their people. We’re finishing up our Ute flip books also. On Friday, we got in groups and created poster on what we’ve learned about the Native Americans so far.
In science, we went over the science project that is due on Wednesday, November 19th. For their project, they need to conduct an experiment to the class. They must have a write up explaining their experiment using the scientific method format.
Our next science unit is on landforms.
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By Jeff Burns on
11/3/2008
October 27 - 31
The Halloween party on Friday was a success! Thanks to the parent volunteers for organizing the party on short notice.
This week in science we watched a Magic School Bus video about the water cycle and water treatment. On Wednesday we took the water test.
We finished painting our Colorado maps. We painted the plains, mountains, parks, and plateaus different colors. (We’ll be taking them home this week.) We’re also working on our Ute books in which we draw pictures and describe family life, community life, and food, shelter, and clothing.
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By Jeff Burns on
10/27/2008
October 20 - 24
As you know, our daughter, Lauren Ann entered the world on Sunday, October 19th. Mother and child are doing well. Mrs. Painter was in for me last week and this is what they studied.
They finished the chapter on pueblo dwellers by studying the roles of the men, women, and children in the tribe. They became junior archeologists by examined the possible reasons for the Anasazis vanishing.
They learned about the landforms of Colorado such as glaciers and parks.
They watched a video about the “5 states of Colorado”. Each “state” has its own history, geography, and economy. Then they completed a summary about the video.
Our next chapter is about the Ute Indians. The students are putting together ‘Ute Books” which include a paragraph/picture about their food, clothing, shelter, family life, and community life. We’ll be finishing the books next week.
They have the water test this Wednesday.
An explanation of our costume policy went home in their weekly folder.
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By Jeff Burns on
10/21/2008
October 13 - 17
The class was very well-behaved on our field trip to the Broomfield Water Treatment Facility last week. They represented Stargate students well.
Halloween is coming up and I have a list of volunteers from “Back to School Night”. If you’d like to coordinate the party or volunteer, please contact me at your convenience.
In social studies we are studying the pueblo dwellers, the Anasazi in particular. We learned about their way of life at Mesa Verde. We identified the location of Mesa Verde and the surrounding states on a map. We also watched a video that covered not only the culture of the desert Indians in the past, but also the present.
We created relief maps of our state which included the eastern plains, mountains, the four high plateaus, and the Arkansas River. Next week we’ll be painting these regions.
In science, we went over the water study guide for the test this Wednesday, October 22nd. We created our own water...
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By Jeff Burns on
10/13/2008
October 6 - 10
I want to thank Ms. Kepler, Ms. Garrick, and all the parents who organized our baby shower. My wife and I appreciate the books, rubber ducks, decorated onesies, and the generous gift card. We had almost no baby books until now, so thanks again.
This Thursday we are going to the Broomfield Water Treatment Facility. Please send in a sack lunch with your child. Part of the tour is outside so they should dress for the weather.
Halloween is coming up and I have a list of volunteers from “Back to School Night”. If you’d like to coordinate the party or volunteer, please contact me at your convenience.
In science, we conducted an experiment where water traveled down a string without dripping. Then we recorded our results using the scientific method. This activity showed us the properties of cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension.
I read The Magic School Bus Goes to Waterworks aloud. Afterward, we reviewed the process of water...
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By Jeff Burns on
10/6/2008
September 29 – October 1
It was nice to meet with all of you during conferences. Communication is an important part of your child’s success here at Stargate. During the short week, we only met twice for theme. Here is what we covered.
In science we reviewed the properties of water. We also studied a diagram of a water treatment facility. (Our field trip to the Broomfield facility is on October 16th.)
In social studies, we continued our study on the early people and looked at actual arrowheads from that time.
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By Jeff Burns on
9/29/2008
September 22 - 26
We have an 11:30am dismissal on Wednesday to make room for conferences. Your child’s conference time is going home today. I’m looking forward to discussing you’re their progress with you.
Field trip permission slips go home today also. (We’re visiting the Broomfield Water Treatment Facility on Thursday, October 16th.) Permission slips are due back by October 10th.
This week in science we conducted an experiment that showed “capillary action”, another property of water. Using coffee filters, food coloring, and water, we were able to observe the colored water moving up the filter. We used the scientific method to record our results.
In social studies, we took a quiz over the rivers of Colorado. In our Colorado history books, we learned about the first people who came to Colorado, the Folsom. We also read about the ancient “Basketmakers” and how they lived back then. In our activity books, we brainstormed all the ways in which...
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By Jeff Burns on
9/15/2008
September 8 – 12
It was nice to meet with all of you at “Back to School Night”. I believe in having strong communication between us to ensure your child’s success. I think it’s going to be a great year. Here’s what’s been happening in our classroom.
In science, we studied the water phenomenon called surface tension. We conducted an experiment in which we predicted how many drops of water could fit on a penny. After writing our hypothesis, we ran three tests and calculated the mean. Then we recorded the mean of our peers and computed the median, mode, range, and mean of the whole class.
On Friday, we discussed the property of surface tension and watched a video on water conservation.
In social studies, we learned about the cities that make up the “urban corridor”. We located Colorado cities on a blank map and discussed the impact of the urban corridor on people, animals, and the earth.
Our field trip to Dinosaur Ridge is this...
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