Ms. Keys Blog

EASTLAKE THIS WEEK!

Mon, 12 May 2008 15:11:28 GMT

Hello again! Let me start by pleading for chaperones for our Eastlake trip this Thursday. We will be walking over to Eastlake around 9:30, and returning to the school at approximately 2:00. We are in need of three chaperones for what promises to be a wonderful, fun experience. If you are interested, please e-mail me and let me know. Thanks so much!

Well, that leads us into our next topic - the field trip permission forms. I apologize for the delay in getting these out, but technology can be as much of a hinderance as it is a help at times. Forms were e-mail blasted last Wednesday, and paper copies were distributed in class last Thursday. If you have not already signed this and returned it, please make sure you do this as soon as possible.

With that out of the way, we can now turn our attention to academics in the Theme class. This week, our Theme class will again divide our attention between social studies and science. In social studies, we will begin examining the early development of the country, looking at the presidencies of Washington, Adams and Jefferson, as well as the role each played in the expansion of the country. In science, we will continue to focus on plants and nature. Students should be keeping up their nature journals, which are officially due on Friday, May 30. Topics that have been assigned previously include the life around you (both daylight and dusk), a tree, a leaf, a flower, an animal (not a pet), life around a body of water and two entries that are the individual student's choice. This week, assignments will include a bird at rest or in flight, and two student choice entries. Homework will be kept light this week. As always, please check the calendar for specific updates.

Have a great week!

Focusing on Nature

Sun, 04 May 2008 20:49:50 GMT

Hello again, and welcome to another week. This week, science will dominate our focus, as we end our study of the nervous system and begin to examine plants. Our original plan of sending home the nervous system assessment on Thursday was derailed by the students' natural curiosity. As a result, we will spend some time on Monday discussing more brain related material, with the assessment to be sent home on Tuesday. Upon the conclusion of this unit, we will begin our unit on plants, beginning with a look at the different ecosystems that exist on Earth, and how factors such as location and climate impact the development of those systems. This week also brings a very special treat, as a special guest speaker will discuss nature journalling and her own experiences. Information regarding this extraordinary woman, and how to obtain her work, has been sent home in an earlier Monday folder.

Please check the calendar for updates regarding any associated homework. As always, have a wonderful week!

One Field Trip Gone, Another One Ahead

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:26:26 GMT

Here we are, another week filled with fun and excitement. Last week's field trip to the Quilt and Pioneer Museum was a success. A special thank you to Ms. Burnett, Mrs. Lundgren, and Mr. Roper for volunterring their time as our chaperones! Speaking of chaperones, we are in need of chaperones for this week's field trip, Math in the Mall. As it is scheduled for this Friday, please make sure to contact your student's math teacher as soon as possibleif you are interested in chaperoning. Permission forms were distributed to students in class on Friday; copies were also e-mailed to parents through the starmail system. If you did not receive one, please contact me as soon as you can!

While we lose Friday to our Math in the Mall adventure, the remainder of the week is, as always, quite busy. As half of the class was absent Thursday as a result of Take Your Child to Work Day, the test scheduled for that day is being rescheduled for this Wednesday. We will spend some time reviewing for this in class on Monday and Tuesday. We also will spend these days concluding our study of the brain and the nervous system. Thursday will bring us a review of this information, and an assessment activity will be sent home with students on Thursday, to be completed and returned next Monday, May 5. As always, please check the calendar for daily updates regarding homework.

Have a fantastic week!

Off to the Museum We Go!

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:31:40 GMT

Here we are, about to embark upon our next field trip! Please make sure that you have signed and returned the permission form, as the Quilt and Pioneer Museum promises to offer much learning and fun! Thanks to all who volunteered to chaperone, it is greatly appreciated! To enure maximum enjoyment of the trip, please make sure your student wears comfortable clothing and most especially, comfortable walking shoes! Also, please make sure that your student brings his or her own lunch, as lunch is not provided, nor available! Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Although our field trip will alter our weekly schedule a bit, we will still have another full week of learning in Theme! Monday will bring about an introduction to our trimester project, the Nature Journal. Nature Journals are being provided to the students; as there are only enough journals for each student, please help us to reinforce the importance of not losing this journal! Losing this journal may be cause for the student to receive a zero on this project. While project information will be distributed and discussed in class, and available on the website later in the week, the project will be on-going throughout the remainder of the trimester. The foundation of our nature journals will be the observations and learnings of Lewis and Clark on their journey westward through the United States, and will also assist us in our own learnings of the journeys of Lewis and Clark, which will begin in earnest in May.

As for the rest of the week, we will continue our study of the brain and the nervous system, taking a quick glance at how our senses are inherently related to the workings of this system. The nervous system test will occur early next week, so students should begin to prepare. Finally, we will conclude our study of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights this week, reviewing the 10 amendments and then looking at the ratification process. Our test on this information is scheduled for this Thursday.

As always, please check the calendar for information and updates regarding homework and projects. Have a great week!

Excitement Ahead

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:09:29 GMT

Another hello, as we begin another exciting, jam-packed week in our Theme class. First, though, a quick note - please look for your child's permission slip for our Quilt and Pioneer Museum permission forms in this week's Monday folder. We are still looking for one more chaperone, so if you are interested, please let me know as soon as you can!

Our theme class continues to be as busy as ever. This week, we will conclude our study of the three branches of government, finishing up with a study of how a bill becomes law. After this, we will move on into the Bill of Rights, and look to finish up this unit some time next week. Please look for updates as to when the test will be scheduled. On the science side of things, we will continue to look at the nervous system, with a specific focus on the senses, and the role they play. A quiz on the nervous system will be occurirng later in the week, most likely on Thursday. (Please check the calendar for further updates.) Our next unit for science will center around nature. As a part of this unit, students will be given nature journals to keep up. Further information regarding the nature journal will be upcoming, but please be aware that it is a long-term project that will continue throughout the trimester!

As always, thanks for all that you do. Until next week!

Busy Week Ahead

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:45:56 GMT

Hello to all once again. With the end of the school year fast approaching, we have many events and activities on which to update you! First on the upcoming agenda is "The Talk" for our 6th graders. This activity will occur this Thursday (4/10), so please make sure to send in all necessary permission forms. Next up is our field trip to the Pioneer and Quilt Museums in Golden, which will take place on Friday, April 25. Permission slips for this trip will be out soon, and our class is still looking for parents to assist us in chaperoning the classes. If you are interested, please contact me at your earliest convenience. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch!

Well, on to another busy week in Theme class, where the best-laid plans sometimes go a bit awry! As it turns out, we became quite wrapped up in a discussion of the upcoming presidential election, as well as a comparison of presidential and parliamentary democracies and so fell behind a bit in our plans. So much of this week reflects the lessons we did not get to last week! We will be experimenting a bit with our schedule this week by splitting class time daily between social studies and science lessons, giving us a chance to really accelerate the pace of our lessons. For social studies, we will continue with our concentration on the Constitution, focusing specifically on the duties and responsibilities of each of the three branches of government. A quiz on this topic will be given in class Tuesday. In relation to this concentration, our Constitution Game project fact cards are due in class this Monday (4/7), with the completed game due the next Monday (4/14)! On the science side of things, we will begin to focus on the nervous system, examining specifically the parts of the brain, as well as other organs associated with this system. Please make sure to check the calendar for any specific homework assigned during the course of the week!

As you can see, we have quite a bit of excitement! Enjoy your week!

Welcome Back!

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:31:07 GMT

Welcome back all! I hope that everyone had a wonderful, relaxing break. Now, it's time to enter the home stretch. Now that CSAPS are complete, we can get back to some real learning! This week, our Theme class will split our focus between two topics. First, we will continue with our study of our Constitution, concentrating on the creation of the three branches of government, and how our founding fathers intended for a system of checks and balances to occur based upon the separation of powers amongst the three. Students should be working on their Constitution game projects, which was distributed and discussed in class on the Thursday before break began. More information about this can be found in the documents section of my blog.

Our second area of concentration this week will be the introduction of the nervous system, and its tie to adolescence. We will begin with an introduction of the organs of this system. As a part of this unit, both 5th and 6th graders will attend special presentations, with the 5th graders up this week. If you are a parent of a fifth grader, and you have not yet signed and sent back the "Our Changing Bodies" permission form, please do so as soon as possible; and sixth grade parents, be on the lookout this week for your associated permission form for the sixth grade presentation, occurring Thursday, April 10. Homework will be given toward the later portion of the week and will be related to the nervous system.

There are many other exciting events coming in these last few months. Permission forms to the quilt museum and the Pioneer Museum are soon to be sent home. We are, as always, on the look out for parent volunteers. If you can generously donate your time, it'd be greatly appreciated! This field trip will be followed up with our Math in the Mall trip in early May, and our Nature Walk to East Lake soon after that!

Well, that's quite a bit of catching up there! Hopefully, I haven't forgotten anything, but if I have, I'll update at another time! Have, as always, a wonderful week!

One Week Down, Spring Break Ahead!

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:09:31 GMT

Hello again! Well, we're set to begin our second week of CSAP testing. With CSAPs again taking up the majority of our time this week, theme time will be limited. The limited amount of time we do have will be spent continuing our study of the Constitution. Last week, we had time to begin an analysis of the goals of the Preamble. This week, we will complete this task and introduce the Articles of the Constitution. Any work to be completed will be done in class, so as to lessen any stress students may feel as a result of CSAP testing. Students will also be assigned an independent project before the break. This project - The Three Branches of Government Game Project - may be started over the break; however, there will be time to do work after the break, as the games will not be due until Monday, April 14. Please see the documents section of my website later in the week for further information.

Wishing you, as always, a wonderful week, as well as a healthy and happy Spring Break!

CSAPS Begin

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:59:45 GMT

Hello to all once again! This week sees the beginnings of CSAP. In order to help ensure your student's success, please make sure that each student receives plenty of rest and that each is eating a good, hearty breakfast - a grumbling stomach can prove to be a real distraction (something I know from my own experiences!) With CSAP on the schedule, our Theme class will be looking at a very light workload, which will focus on our study of the Constitution. However, in light of the CSAP, and in the interest of not adding stress to an already tense situation, there will be no homework assigned during the next two weeks, and even the in-class workload will be kept light. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch. Otherwise, have a fantastic week!

Another trimester begins

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:59:36 GMT

Well, here we are entering the homestretch. It's amazing how the year has flown by so quickly! As always, we have a busy week ahead. Unfortunately, circumstances will cause me to be out Monday and Tuesday. On these days, we will begin our readings for our Building A New Nation unit. Monday, two text packets will be distributed in class to provide the necessary background information for this unit, one that provides an overview of the era called Creating a New Government and one that provides more detailed information regarding the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Each packet will also have corresponding activities - a reading guide for Creating a New Government, and two graphic organizers that go along with the Articles of Confederation and Constitutional Convention text. Students will be given the full class period on Monday to complete these activities. Any work not completed must be finished at home and will be due Wednesday, 3/5. On Tuesday, students will have time in the computer lab to complete a state constitution research activity. The independent aspect of this activity will be completed in class, and with an hour and a half of time to work, should easily be finished in class. Upon my return on Wednesday, we will conduct a quick review of the Circulatory and Respiratory Systems, with a test occurring in class on Thursday, 3/6. Friday will see us return to the Building a New Nation unit, as we begin to study how and why the Articles of Confederation failed.

As always, I wish you all a great week!