Ms. Bustamantes Blog

Mrs. Bustamante July 18

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Soon school will be starting up in August. I am looking forward to a great school year! I am especially fond of this curriculum rotation as we study Colordo and have some great science units.

I am beginning my 31st year of teaching and just as excited as I was the first year I taught!

You know you are from Colorado when it snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be canceled.

See everyone soon!!

Mrs. B.

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom June2

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:42:26 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom

The State Fair was a great success! The projects were all very good and we appreciate all the parents, staff, and 1/2s for coming to see it.
We will be wrapping up with the student evaluation today.
We are finishing up working on our planet books and should be finished today with the cover.
Field Day is scheduled for Wednesday, June 4 starting at 8:15 in the gym with the opening ceremony. Sack Lunch for Wednesday as we will be eating outside.
Thursday will be clean up and the current 4^th graders will be visiting with the 5^th graders. The current third graders will be answering questions from the visiting 2^nd graders. Please send a backpack or bag for the end of the year desk cleaning.
On a lighter note I am very proud of the homeroom class for all their hard work this year and I am looking forward to a super next year. We will rotate curriculum and be studying Colorado. This is my favorite rotation and there will be many “unusual” and exciting things related to it.

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom-May 26

Tue, 27 May 2008 12:11:27 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom

We have finished the astronomers ending with Kepler.
We have completed our planet book to Jupiter.
The class calculated their weight on all the planets and graphed it.
The assignment on astronomical units was finished and we will do a large scale model of the distance of the planets outside.
In conjunction with our overnight to the zoo, we saw a video of the rainforests, talked about animals on the endangered list, and did a puzzle on endangered animals.
Our last reflection before our presentation of the states project was completed.
I believe that our overnight was a success!! Thanks to all the parents who helped our with packing the bus to helping deliver pizza and drinks to the classroom.
State Fair Project due on Wednesday, May 28 with food for this day only. Parents may come to our presentations on Thursday, May 29. We are also inviting the 1/2s.

Mrs Bustamante Homeroom May 19

Mon, 19 May 2008 13:07:51 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom

We completed our experiment called On the Move.
We added Mars to our planet book we are creating.
The astronomers Galileo and Kepler were added to our knowledge of astronomers.
The field trip to the Denver Mint and the Denver Art Museum was a success.
The class used their calculators to figure out astronomical units between comets in the Oort cloud and the sun. We also figured out astronomical units with the planets. They also weighed themselves and found out how much they would weigh on other planets.
We will map out the distances of the planets outside this next week using astronomical units. This was a great comparison to the one we created on paper and the one view on the video Bill Nye Science Guy: The Planets.
Overnight is Friday-Saturday May 23 and 24. I will be going over what will be needed for our overnight this week. There is also a note being sent home today.
Work on the State Fair Project which is due on May 28.

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom Newsletter-May 12

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:41:24 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom

· On Monday we had a guest speaker, Jim Paradise, from Lockheed Martin to speak about the planets. He was very good and had a great power point presentation. Super pictures of planets, the surface of Mars, asteroids, and space vehicles.

· We finished our representation of the planetary distances from the sun and learned about Tycho Brahe, the astronomer. We will continue with Galileo, Kepler, and Newton this week.

· We finished up our states of the North Middle Region with the test on Friday. We just have a timeline and a grid map to do to wrap up the booklet we have been working on.

· We will concentrate on the Solar System, astronomical units, light years, experiments, and astronomers this next week.

· Our field trip to see Slim Goodbody was very good. He presented information about the body in a fun way. Ask your child about the Up, Down song!

· Field Trip to the Mint and Art Museum on Thursday, May 15—sack lunch needed.

· A great big thank you to the parents for making Teacher Appreciation Week so wonderful!!

· Work on the State Fair Project—Due Wednesday, May 28.

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom Newsletter-May 5

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:35:59 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom

Completed an experiment that shows why a planet stayed in the plane in which it is spinning.
Will continue with other experiments/demonstrations this next week.
Read and discuss the astronomers Hipparchus, Ptolemy, and Copernicus. Discussed how astronomy has changed and how some theories come and go.
Added Earth to our planet book we are creating.
Learned about the rivers and the Great Lakes in the North Middle States.
TEST on the North Middle States on Wednesday. Field Trip on Thursday, May 8—a sack lunch is needed.

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom April 28

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:10:39 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom

· We completed our experiment on the orbital rate of planets close to the sun and those farther away.

· They finished up questions on the Solar System after reading an article on it. They will be work on the planets and creating a planet book.

· They learned about the concentric circles theory of planetary rotation, geocentric theory of Eudoxus, the elliptical theory of planetary rotation of Aristotle, and how Eratosthenes figured out the circumference of the Earth. I trying to get them to see that these were gifted astronomers, thinkers, and did not have the benefit of modern telescopes. ( Also the progression of knowledge on the Solar System.)

· We will continue this week with more knowledge on the solar system, experiments, and astronomers.

· For the states we are finishing the geography on this region, coloring a map of the geographic regions, and doing an assignment of the landforms. We will learn the major rivers of this region and the agriculture regions.

· On Earth Day they read about Lonesome George the last tortoise of his kind and his search for a mate. They created a cartoon about him.

· Projects will come home on Monday, April 28, along with a copy of the grade.

· Test on the states and capitals on May 9. PLEASE be working on the State Fair Project.

Mrs. Bustamante-Homeroom

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:52:17 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom

Completed our human body projects on Tuesday and they will be displayed on table in the Area of Refuge for others to see.
Watched the video The Magic School Bus in Space.
Labeled and colored a picture of the planets in the solar system.
Answered questions based on an article on the planets.
Started the North Middle States—Test on states, capitals, and location of the state on May 9
Handed out the project requirements for the State Fair project on May 28 and May 29.

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom-april 14

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:20:14 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante Homeroom

Completed two assignments on the introduction to space-"What Are Astronomers?" and "How Big is Big? The Universe," “Where Am I in the Universe,” and read “What is the Solar System?”
Did an experiment on the various forces that planets experience in their orbit.
Learned about Pythagoras and his theory of the solar system.
Started our presentations for our human body models on Wednesday, April 9. Excellent job!!!
We will finish the presentations on Tuesday, April 15. I had them scheduled for today, but I have a committee meeting at that time, and I want to be there for their presentations.
We will be learning more about the early astronomers—Eudoxus of Cnidus and Aristotle.
We will begin the study of the North Middle States with me this week. There will be no at home project for them, it will be an in class project.
On Wednesday I will be sending home the requirements for the end of the year study of the states. We call it our “State Fair”. I will go over it with the students, assign their state, and we will have our calendar for working on the project.
Read to Feed netted us $3,300 and we will vote today on what to spend it on.

Mrs. Bustamante's Homroom-April 7

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:10:28 GMT

Mrs. Bustamante’s Homeroom

Completed the experiment digestion of starches.
Did two papers about the process of digestion.
Will finish digestion this week—test will be an open note test.
Began the study of the planets with “What is Astronomy?”
Will begin studying the planets, space, theories of the ancient/modern astronomers, and do several simple experiments that demonstrate facts about the concepts we will be studying.
Project will be due April 9 with presentations to small groups of students on that day. Any projects that don’t get shared will be presented on Monday, April 14.
Read to Feed collection from our classroom was $570.00! Thanks to all who participated.