Mrs. Ranney's Classroom Blog

CyberSmart Week: Woogi World Login!

2012-02-06T07:36:00.000-08:00

CyberSmart week for the school district is February 6-10, 2012!

Many activities are planned.

To kick off the week, we will join Woogi World!

The district has enrolled every elementary school student in this online education community. Here is a link to their About Us page. Each child will be given a temporary password on Monday.

For homework, log in with your parents and create a new USERNAME and PASSWORD. Together with your parents, follow the instructions on the paper I'll give you on Monday. Here are some things to think about when generating a USERNAME and PASSWORD:

1. USERNAMES and PASSWORDS are private. Never share them with your friends.

2. Have your parents write your USERNAME and PASSWORD on a piece of paper. Keep all USERNAMES and PASSWORDS in a private place.

3. We use several online sites in our classroom. (Spelling City, vMath Live, Woogi World) Consider using the same USERNAME and PASSWORD for each. Perhaps modify the password to reflect the site. End the password for Spelling City with SC. End the password for vMath Live with VML. End the password for Woogi World with WW.

4. Although you will be choosing a private USERNAME and PASSWORD, your teacher is the administrator of the program and will have access to your information.

Cyber experts recommended mixing letters, numbers, and symbols when creating a safe password.

Do you have any other tips for creating safe passwords?

What did you do in Woogi World?

Beautiful Birds!

2012-02-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

Because Mrs. Ranney's class recently read the story
"Nights of the Pufflings,"

we have become interested in the birds around us!

Below is a slide show of photos Mrs. Ranney has taken of birds she has observed

in a variety of places, including her own backyard!

Feathered Friends! on PhotoPeach

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Here is a video taken by Mrs. Ranney of two kites flying!
A kite is a raptor.
Do you know what kind of bird a raptor is?
Can you find and share some facts about kites?

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What birds have you observed?

What bird facts can you share?

A great site for identifying birds and learning more about them is

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology!

You might also use

World Book Online.

Just remember to:

Take notes on the facts.
Put your notes into sentences of your own creation.
Add an opinion of your own!

No plagiarism!

Perfectly Pleasant Puffins!

2012-02-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

This week Mrs. Ranney's class is reading a wonderful story called "Nights of the Pufflings"

by Bruce McMillan.

The story tells about young Halla (HATT-lah) and her friends

of Heimaey (HAY-mah-ay) Island, Iceland who

rescue stranded pufflings

and launch them out over the ocean.

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The Common Atlantic Puffin spends part of its life in Iceland. Iceland is an island nation in the North Atlantic Ocean. Only a little part of Iceland is covered with ice. Iceland has all four seasons of year. In June, the sun is out almost all day and night!

In winter, there are only about 6 hours of sunshine a day!

Did you know that Iceland has both geysers and volcanoes?

If you find out more facts about these natural wonders of Iceland, please leave us comment!

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We worked together in teams and researched some facts about puffins. Then we put our facts into sentences we created ourselves without plagiarizing!

We grouped our facts into three categories: what adult puffins look like, what puffins eat, and how pufflings are tended.
Finally, we sequenced our facts!

What Adult Puffins Look Like

Adult puffins are black with white bellies and faces. Puffins have waterproof feathers, so they won't get cold! They have large yellow, orange, black, and blue striped beaks. Every spring during nesting season, adults' bills get larger and more colorful.
After nesting, their bills return to their normal color.

What Puffins Eat

Most adult puffins spend most their lives at seat, so they can catch fish.

Puffins catch fish by diving and scooping it up in their bills. They devour

sardines, herring, smelt, and capelin.

How Pufflings Are Tended

Pufflings stay safely in burrows until parents come back from bringing fish to eat. Sometimes
puffins have to feed pufflings ten times a day! The parents feed the pufflings for six whole weeks!

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We hope you enjoyed learning about puffins as much as we did!

Please do some research and add some facts in your comments.

Remember to put facts into your own words.

No plagiarism!

It's also fine to add some opinions as well!

Amazing Angles!

2012-01-30T15:23:00.000-08:00

In geometry, we are learning about angles!

An angle is a figure formed when two rays share the same endpoint.

Below is a special angle called a right angle.
It is also called a 90˚ angle.

Any angle less than a right is called an acute angle.

Any angle greater than a right is called an obtuse angle.

Below is a quiz. Can you guess each kind of angle?

Angle Quiz! on PhotoPeach

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Do you see any acute, right, or obtuse angles in your house?

Tell us about them!

Classy Clauses!

2012-01-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Ranney's students have learned that one clever way to add class to your writing is to use a
variety of sentence types!

One type that we have learned to write is a sentence that starts with a dependent clause.

Dependent clauses start with special words:

After, Before, Since, While, When, If, During.

A dependent clause ends with a comma and cannot stand alone as a sentence. It must be followed by an independent clause,
which is a sentence that can stand alone!

Here are some excellent examples of sentences with dependent clauses,
written by students in our class:

If mischievous Badger Claws had not gone into the
hot sweat house, he would not have been caught!
(by Aviv and Gregory)

After the Shaman left the brave Badger Claws in the high mountains, Badger Claws took a nap.
(by Maya and Nicole)

If Badger Claws shoots the fluffy, furry rabbit, he will have to skin it, clean it, and cook it before he eats it.
(by Hayley and Melissa)

Since Badger Claws couldn't shoot a furry rabbit, he practiced shooting down the bumpy trail.
(by Arielle and Eve)

After Badger Claws shot a furry, little rabbit, he needed to skin the rabbit's soft fur.
(by Adam and Michael)

When Badger Claws woke up in the freezing night,
he saw monstrous "grizzly bears!"
(by Bella and Vanessa)

Since brave Badger Claws found out the tracks were
little raccoon tracks, he was laughing like crazy!
(by Jace and Nate)

After Badger Claws saw tiny raccoon tracks, he laughed
super hard at himself!
(by Andrew, Josh, and Oliver)

When Badger Claws saw the scary coyotes, he
was terribly frightened!
(by Grace and Sydney)

When Badger Claws saw the scary coyotes, he stood still like a frozen statue.
(by Adar and Dylan)

If Badger Claws had thought of the hard rain first,
he would have collected dry wood earlier.
(By Francesca and Quynh-Anh)

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How did you like our classy clauses!

If you have a sentence with a dependent clause that you'd like to share, we'd love to read it!

(Hey, that was a dependent clause sentence!)

It can be about any subject!

Mrs. Ranney's students:

Remember that you may submit you spelling

homework this week here rather than on paper!

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Chumash Adventures with Badger Claws!

2012-01-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Ranney's Class has been reading Badger Claws of Ojai, the story of
a Chumash Indian boy.

In the story, Badger Claws encounters a grizzly bear
named Old Silver Tip!
We learned about the Alaskan relatives of the grizzly,
the Kodiak bear, from Mr. Yollis!
If you'd like to see more about what we learned,
check out the exciting post on
Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog called
Mr. Yollis Shares About Kodiak Grizzly Bears!

Recently Mrs. Ranney spent a beautiful Saturday morning

hiking at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa

on the western edge of the Santa Monica Mountains

National Recreation Area.

Within the park is the Satwiwa
Native American

Indian Cutural Center which includes some interesting exhibits about the Chumash Indians.

Mrs. Ranney thought the class would enjoy some photographs and information.

Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center on PhotoPeach

*****

What fact did you find the most interesting?

What other facts do you know about the Chumash tribe?

What have you enjoyed most about the Badger Claws story so far?

Our Exciting Expedition to South America!

2012-01-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Ranney's class was so excited when the National Geographic Giant Traveling Map

of South America came to our school!

We love to learn about geography!

We used the COUNTRY cards to locate all the COUNTRIES in South America.

How many countries were there?

Within each country's borders, we found the capital city. We noticed that the capital cities
were marked by a special symbol, a star inside a circle.

Do you know which countries match to these capital cities?

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Since Brazil is the largest country in South America,

we were all able to fit inside its borders!

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We found that the Isthmus of Panama, which is actually part of North America,

connects North and South America.

At the southernmost point, we discovered Cape Horn,
which is only 600 miles from the continent of Antarctica!

*******

We visited the equator where it is very hot!

Then it was off to the Atlantic Ocean to cool off!

In the Pacific, some of us took a voyage to the Galapagos Islands!
Do you know about the amazing animals there?

Later, we trekked to the top of the longest mountain range in the world, the Andes!

Some energetic Andean explorers climbed to the top of Mt. Aconcagua,
the highest point in South America!

Another summit in the Andes is Mount Chimborazo!

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We even took a journey along the Amazon River!

Do you know in what direction it flows and where its mouth is?

Look what we found lurking in the waters of the Amazon!
Do you know what it is?

Speaking of amazing bodies of water, we also located the
tallest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls!

Still other explorers discovered Iguazu Falls, which are huge

and beautiful waterfalls in South America!

Do you know in what country Angel Falls and Iguazu Falls are located?

*****

It was obvious to all of us that South America is almost surrounded by ocean

and has many miles of coastline. Only two countries are landlocked.

These travelers were able to locate the landlocked countries.

Do you know which ones they are?

These explorers noticed that only the narrow country of Chile separates Argentina from the Pacific Ocean!

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As we explored South America, some of us were surprised to discover cities with the

same names as cities in the United States!

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One explorer found the country and city where her mother was born!

Our newest classmate showed us where

he is from!

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Next, we decided to create a human ClustrMap!

We studied the South American ClustrMap from our blog and

noticed that most of our visitors are located on the west coast or in Brazil.

We scouted out those locations and placed our red dots!

Check out our human ClustrMap!

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Have you ever visited a country in South America?

If so, tell us about it!

Research and share some interesting facts about South America.

You can use World Book Online!

Remember, do not plagiarize!

(To plagiarize mean you copied someone else's work and are passing it off as your own.)

Wonderful Winter Solstice, 2011!

2011-12-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

In the Northern Hemisphere, winter is the coldest season of the year.

It begins about December 21 and lasts until about March 21. Around December 21 or 22,

the sun's rays fall directly over the farthest point south of the equator - marking the first day of winter.

Winter days have fewer hours of daylight because of the path the earth takes as it revolves around the sun. The earth completely revolves around the sun during 365 days. The earth's axis always tips about 23 1/2 degrees from a line perpendicular to its path.

In the Southern Hemisphere, winter begins in June.

Different regions have longer winters than others. For example, in the polar regions, winter takes up half the year. In the Temperate Zones winter takes up about one quarter of the year.

In regions where there is cold weather, it causes many changes in the environment. Water may freeze and become ice, snow, sleet or icicles. Most plants and animals become dormant and rest.

Some animals hibernate. The only plants that grow and remain green are evergreens.

People protect themselves from the cold climate with winter clothing when they go outdoors. They enjoy a variety of indoor activities or outdoor winter sports such as skiing, skating, or sledding.

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We started off our winter break with a wonderful party where we decorated delicious cookies, crafted genuine gingerbread men, tried our luck at the dreidel game,
and even dressed each other up as snowmen!

A Little Holiday Magic! on PhotoPeach

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What do you enjoy most about winter?

How will you be celebrating the holidays?

What activities will you be participating in this winter break?

Geographical Comparisons!

2011-12-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

Recently while studying comparative suffixes (-er and -est),

Mrs. Ranney's students had the opportunity

to combine this skill with their studies of

landforms and bodies of water!

*******

Some super researchers used internet search engines

and found out the following:

Francesca discovered that the Nile River is the

longest river in the world!

Nicole learned that it is colder at the South Pole

than at the North Pole!

Gregory and Vanessa found out that the

tallest mountain

in the world is Mt. Everest!

Eve read that the Pacific Ocean is bigger than the Atlantic!

*******

What geographical comparisons can you make?

Use the Online World Book Encyclopedia to research some facts about

landforms or bodies of water.

Share those facts in your comments!

Goldie, the Garibaldi, our research mascot, says, "Be sure that you put the facts you find in your own words! Do not just copy from the encyclopedia. That is called plagiarism, and it is not allowed!"

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15,000 Visitors!

2011-12-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, it happened!

Our Blog reached...

Study the six ClustrMaps below.
What do you notice about our visitors?


North America

South America

Africa

Europe


Asia

Australia (Oceania)

*****

Please share some of your observations about our visitors!

Do we have more coastal visitors or are they more inland?Are any of our visitors from urban centers?

Check out the Current Country Totals in the
Clustrmap feature in our sidebar!

What states of the U. S. A. or countries of the world

have visited the most? the least?

Which are most interesting to you?

What do you ♥ about blogging?

Frogger, the Blogger, says, "Be sure to write at least 3 sentences, and
try to include at least one compound sentence!
How about trying out some html code too?"

Happy Thanksgiving, 2011!

2011-11-19T21:58:00.000-08:00

This week we had a wonderful time measuring and mixing up the ingredients

for our own loaf of pumpkin bread!

Busy Bakers! on PhotoPeach

In addition to creatively wrapping our bread to look like a turkey, we read a clever Thanksgiving fable this week about Thomas T. Turkey.
He had quite a dilemma to solve!

In the story, Thomas was invited to not one, not two, but three Thanksgiving dinners. Benjamin Bobcat, Fanny Fox, and Henry Hawk all told him they wanted to have him for Thanksgiving dinner and that it just wouldn't be the same without him!

In the end, Thomas decided he did not want to hurt anyone's feelings,
so he declined all the invitations! He ended up staying home alone
for Thanksgiving dinner.

We learned that it is better to eat alone than to be eaten!

After listening to the story, we created our own invitations for Thomas T. Turkey. He must have been overwhelmed by his sudden popularity this year!

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

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Please leave a comment and share your thoughts about our projects.

Tell us what you will be doing to celebrate Thanksgiving this year!

Most of all, tell us what you're thankful for!

Learn to Write a Compound Sentence!

2011-11-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Ranney's students are always trying to improve their writing skills.

* * * * *

A compound sentence:

Combines two shorter sentences (so has TWO subjects)
Joins the two sentences with a conjunction (and, or, but, so)

* * * * *

Here are some sample compound sentences, and they are all about Thanksgiving!

(Hey, that's a compound sentence!)

***

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, and many families gather for a traditional feast.

In 1620, the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, but they had really

planned a trip to Virginia.

The Massachusetts winter was extremely cold and harsh, so everyone
had to work together to survive!

The Wampanoag Indians helped the struggling Pilgrims, so they were able to harvest crops for their first feast!

Modern Americans dine on turkey and stuffing at home, or they make a
reservation at a local restaurant.

* * * * *

Comment Challenge!

In the comment section, tell about your plans for Thanksgiving. Be sure to include at least two COMPOUND SENTENCES!

Uniting for Unicef!

2011-11-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

UNICEF is the United Nations Children's Fund.

It was founded in 1946 to help children after World War II.
It now operates in over 150 countries all over the world and has saved
many lives!

The tradition of "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" began in 1950

in the United States.

This year our school carried on that tradition!

In Mrs. Ranney's class many students participated and brought in their boxes of money
right after Halloween.

We all emptied our boxes and put our money together!

Once we had separated out the paper currency, we sorted the coins.

Please enjoy watching this slide show
which shows how we counted all of our donations!

Our UNICEF Donations! on PhotoPeach

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Did you trick-or-treat for UNICEF?

How did you feel about this experience?

What did you learn from counting the money together in class?

Do you have any facts about UNICEF to share?

November is Family Blogging Month!

2011-11-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ranney and her students ♥ to share what they are
learning and experiencing.

In an effort to include more family members in our online community, we are proclaiming:

November is Family Blogging Month!

Each student made a list of their family members. After looking through the archive, students selected specific posts tailored to the interest of a particular relative.

We're inviting everyone to comment: moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

We welcome friends, too!

Students will be inviting their family and friends to participate in a conversation!

Frogger, the Blogger, says:

"Maybe we'll get some 2-point comments! Follow the chart below for some tips!"

Here is the key we will use for Family Blogging Month~

*****

What do you think of our idea?

Who are you inviting to be a part of our online community?

Please leave a comment and introduce yourself!

Have a Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our great room parents,

we had some wonderful

Halloween

fun today!

Happy Halloween! on PhotoPeach

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What did you enjoy most about our party?

Did you have a Happy Halloween?

Tell us what costume you wore!

Don't forget to trick-or-treat for UNICEF!

Don't forget we have homework tonight,
even though it's Halloween!

Colossal, Creative Collections!

2011-10-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

Recently we read a story in class called "The Talking Cloth." In the story a special character, Aunt Phoebe, was called a "collector of life."

Many of us have collections too.
Please enjoy reading about them.

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Adam's Rare American Money Collection

I have a collection of rare American dollar bills and coins. I began collecting them four years ago. In my collection, I have four two dollar bills, one Eisenhower dollar coin, eight presidential dollar coins, four half dollars, and four copper pennies.The Eisenhower dollar is most special to me because it was given to me by my papa. Definitely, I will keep collecting until I die!

*****

Hayley's American Girl Doll Collection

This is my amazing American Girl dolls collection. I started collecting when I was four. I now have six dolls, and I'm looking forward to getting more. I collect these dolls because they are so much fun to play with! They have so many accessories and pets! My favorite dolls are the 2011 girl of the year, Kanani and the 2010 girl of the year, Lanie. Kanani's Hawaiian and Lanie is Californian. Most of all, I think American Girl dolls are the best!

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Andrew's Baseball Helmet Collection

I have a lot of baseball helmets. I have red ones, blue one, dark blue ones, and ones that have two colors. I like them because they reminds me of my 7th birthday. That's when I started the collection. My favorite baseball helmet is an Angels one. It's my favorite because they are my favorite team. I will keep collecting different types of helmets forever!

*****

Bella's Littlest Pet Shop Collection

My collection is a Littlest Pet Shop collection. One of my favorites is the polar bear whose name is Snowflake. Another one of my favorites is the octopus whose name is Darla. I got my first few for Christmas when I was little. Another thing I love about my collection is that they're all animals. I also have some of the houses. I like to collect them because it's fun to open up the package and find out which ones you have. I wonder what collections other people have?

*****

Eve's Smurf Collection

My collection is an amazing smurf collection. When I went to the arcade, my mom got a smurf for her prize. When my mom got it, I decided that I wanted to collect them. Then my cousin got one, and she said I could have it. I was so excited that I got my second smurf. Then I got another one and another one. That's how I got my collection.

*****


Grace's Rock Collection

My rock collection is a very special to me. I got it when I went to my grandpa's house. We were at the beach when I got the collection. I found the rocks at a very sandy place near the shore. Then I found a very cool rock that had holes in it. That is my favorite rock. Then I asked my mom if I could make a rock collection. My mom said yes! I was so happy I could have a collection. Now I am looking forward to collecting more rocks and getting to show people my collection.

*****


Josh's Sports Card Collection

My collection of sports cards is a valuable collection with many great players. I collect these cards because I really like sports and athletes. I started when I was very young. I have many favorites like: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Kobe Bryant, Clay Mathews, and many other favorites. I keep this awesome collection in my room where I have millions of cards.

*****

Michael's Trophy Collection

My collection is a trophy collection. I love my trophies because I like to admire them in my room. I received all of my trophies by participating in sports, especially basketball. When I look at them, I pretend that I am a famous allstar basketball player. I hope you can have a trophy collection too.

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Sydney's Japanese Eraser Collection

I have many Japanese erasers in my unique Japanese eraser collection. I have animals, balls, foods, clothes, and things that you can travel in. I collect Japanese erasers because they are fun to play with and to trade. I started to collect Japanese erasers when I was four. I get my Japanese erasers in China Town, from toy stores, and from Card Sharks. I like the panda and the hamster the best. I think my Japanese erasers are awesome!

*****

Nate's Pokemon Collection

My collection is a Pokemon collection. I collect these cards and other knickknacks because I like to play and battle with other people. My rarest card is my Deoxes and Raqayza legend. I got all of the items in my collection from the comic book shop. I started collecting when I was four years old. I really like Pokemon!

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Maya's Glass Elephant Collection

My collection is glass elephants. My first one was white and light brown. My second was a light pink and purple elephant. I have a light green elephant too. I started when I was young. My favorite is a light pink elephant, and it is special because my great grandma gave it to me. I hope I can share my collection with you soon in person!

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Nicole's Japanese Eraser Collection

I have many kinds of collections. This is my Japanese eraser collection. My four erasers that are in a little box are smelly. I also have three little couches and a table. My other Japanese erasers are different kinds of food. I have a piece of pie, a tomato, milk, and bread. There's even a knife to slice the bread! I have three more erasers and those are a cat, ghost, and a spider. I hope you like it.

*****

Quynh-Anh's Rock Collection

My favorite collection is my rock collection. All of my shiny, rocks have different patterns and came from Lone Pine. I got my first rock when I first learned how to ski. My favorite rock is a light purple crystal because it was the first rock I ever picked out. When I look at my collection, I feel proud because I think about the first time I went skiing and how much better I have gotten. I really like my collection and hope I can expand it soon.

*****

Gregory's Trophy Collection

My amazing collection is my trophies. I treasure my trophies in my closet. When I see my collection I remember about all my track and field games and my basketball games. My favorite trophy is the silver one with gold stripes on the border. My first medal was golden and said on it, "Best Boys Basketball team." One of medals was made from real gold and has silver on the border. Absolutely, I love my trophy collection.

*****

Oliver's Game Collection

My awesome collection is an amazing game collection. I treasure my games because they are very fun to play. I keep my awesome game collection in a game box. My favorite game is TDU Raceway. I like TDU Raceway the most because I love driving my little car in my garage. My first game was called MLB 2K9. It is a baseball game. The last game I bought was called Super Sluggers. One of my most precious games is a football game. It reminds me of my grandma because she got it for me on my birthday. Obviously, I love to play my games.

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Mrs. Ranney's Marvelous Mass of Magnets!

My collection of magnets represents travel experiences I have had over the last sixteen years. I began my collection during a train trip that I took with my daughters and Mrs. Yollis’ in 1995. For this reason, the Amtrak and Great Northern Railway magnets mean a great deal to me. Since magnets are rather inexpensive and because I can see them everyday on my refrigerator, they seemed like a great souvenir item to collect! It is very difficult to select an absolute favorite. Two groups of magnets that are particularly precious to me are the ones from New York and Germany. The magnets from New York represent my daughter, Sarah, who lives there. I have visited her many times and have enjoyed all the sites, particularly the Statue of Liberty. Symbols of my daughter Kari, the magnets from Germany, are from places I visited with her when our whole family joined her for Christmas there in 2009. Definitely, I plan to continue collecting magnets everywhere I go for the rest of my life!

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Please leave a comment about our

Colossal, Creative Collections.

Tell us which collection is the most

interesting to you and why.

You can also include a bit of information about your own collection, if you have one!

Let's Get Creative!

2011-10-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

As part of the Student Blogging Challenge,

we have received some wonderful links

giving students an opportunity to be

creative!

We have many creative students in our class!

Why not give one of these links a try?

Are you artistic?

Try Getty Art or Artpad!

Is science your thing? Are you inventive?

Try Science Toymaker!

Are you an amateur animator?

Then you might like Kerpoof!

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Which activities did you try?

What were you able to create?

Leave us a comment and tells us

about your experience!

Hip Hip Array!

2011-10-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

We have been exploring arrays!

Row x Column = Product

The multiplication for the array above is

3 x 4 = 12

because it has 3 rows of 4.

When the factors are different digits,
the arrays are in the shape of a rectangle.
When the factors are the same digit,
the array are a square!

We practice making arrays ourselves!
First, we worked with tiles and created arrays like these:

Afterward, we looked for

materials in our classroom that we could
use to create some more arrays!

Check these out!


2 rows of 2 atlases

3 rows of 6 pieces of clay

2 rows of 5 clocks

4 rows of 4 pieces of clay


4 rows of 4 balls of clay


4 rows of 4 pieces of clay

Did you notice the the 4 x 4 square array was very popular?

4 rows of 3 clay birds

4 rows of 5 connecting cubes

3 rows of 6 glue bottles

6 rows of 6 dice

4 rows of 3 dictionaries

2 rows of 3 pencil sharpeners

3 rows of 3 clocks

3 rows of 2 thesauruses

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Here is a quiz about arrays!
Rows x Columns on PhotoPeach

Which array is your favorite?

Do you know more factors that will make square arrays?

Do you see any arrays in your home?

Tell us about it in your comments!

Are You An Expert?

2011-10-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

The second story in our Celebrating Traditions Unit is called
"Anthony Reynoso, Born to Rope."

This is a story of a family's tradition of Mexican rodeo roping and riding. Anthony and his family work hard and practice their skills for their exhibitions. Because of their hours of practice, they are now expert performers!

* * * * * * * * * *

Please share about a skill you have worked hard to learn.

What steps did you take to master this skill?

Was it difficult at first?

Did anyone help you to achieve this goal?

Celebrating Traditions!

2011-10-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

This week Mrs. Ranney's class is starting a new unit in Language Arts
called Celebrating Traditions!

A tradition is something that family, friends,
or another group of people has done for many years and continues to do on a regular basis.

* * * * *

The story for this week is "The Keeping Quilt".

In the first story, "The Keeping Quilt," by Patricia Polacco, the author retells the story of her family's handmade quilt. In the story, a Russian immigrant mother and family arrive in the United States. She plans to make a quilt from a basket of old clothes, telling her daughter, "It will be like having the family in backhome Russia dance around us at night." The quilt is passed along from mother to daughter for four generations. It becomes a Sabbath tablecloth and a wedding canopy. It even becomes a blanket for new generations of children. "The Keeping Quilt" is a heart-warming story about one family's tradition.

* * * * *

In the comment section, please

share a tradition your family celebrates.

It can be an annual party, a holiday, or any traditional event.

Please include details about: special foods, decorations, songs, and/or activities.

Your comment should be 4 to 6 sentences long.

Super Subjects and Perfect Predicates!

2011-09-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ranney's class has been working on learning about

what it takes to create a

SENTENCE!

We have learned that it takes two parts:

a SUBJECT

and

a PREDICATE.

The subject tells the person or thing the sentence is about.
The predicate tells what the subject is or does.
The predicate always includes a verb!

Here are some sentences we created by matching up
subjects and predicates!

Here are some more spectacular sentences we created with
super subjects and perfect predicates!
(Hint: Click on the picture to make it larger!)

********

Why don't you try creating a special sentence of your own?
It can be about any topic you like.

After creating your sentence and typing it into your comment, tell us what the subject is and what the predicate is, or
if you want to give us a challeng...
Ask us to tell you what the subject and predicate are!

Fabulous Fall, 2011!

2011-09-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Did you know that this year, September 23, is the first day of autumn?

In Southern California, we do not experience autumn, or fall,
the same way some places do.

However, we do feel a change in our weather, and even
the leaves of our trees sometimes change color!

Have you ever wondered why leaves change color in the fall?
If you'd like to find out the answer
or learn some other fabulous fall facts,
click on this link called Awesome Autumn!

************

Leave a comment to tell us what you learned about autumn.
You can also include the answers to these questions:

What are your favorite fall sports and activities?

What do you like most about fall?

Hi, I'm Frogger, the Blogger! Here's my tip for today:

When you write a comment, try to include some great action words!

I think you humans call them verbs! I'll be reading your comments

to look for the most vivid verbs I can find!

Remarkable Round Numbers!

2011-09-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

This week, Mrs. Ranney's class has been working very hard at learning to round numbers!

Here are some basic rules to help you remember what to do:

How to Round Numbers

Decide which two round numbers the number you are working with is between
Choose the lower number if the digit next door to the place you are rounding is less than 5
If the digit next door is 5 or more, round up!

Example: Round 74 to the nearest 10

74 is between 70 and 80
The digit next door to the tens place is 4, so round down to 70

Answer: 70
(74 gets "rounded down")

Example: Round 86 to the nearest 10

86 is between 80 and 90
The digit next door to the tens place is 6, so round up to 90

Answer: 90
(86 gets "rounded up")

*******

Watch the slide show and try the quiz to practice
your rounding skills!

Rounding Numbers! on PhotoPeach

************

How did you do on the rounding quiz?

How about asking a rounding question in your comment?

Once others write comments, look for question you can answer!

Lucky Hat Day, 2011!

2011-09-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Recently, Mrs. Ranney's class read "The Lost and Found", a story
in our anthology by Mark Teague.

The story is about three friends who get lost in the Lost and Found bin!
Their lucky hats bring them good luck at the end of the story.

* * * * *

For fun, we wore our lucky hats today!

There were so many creative and very lucky hats!

Some hats were frilly, some were shiny!

Some hats were decorated with buttons and glitter!

Some hats were beaded, and some were feathered!

Here's one that was cleverly created out of a plastic cup!

Dragonflies, butterflies, even googly eyes adorned some hats!

Here's a hat that was decorated by its owner in 3-D!

Some hats were special because they reminded us of a happy place to visit!

Hats of all shapes, sizes, and colors were present for Lucky Hat Day!

Even glamorous hats were worn!

Here's hat that had two special good luck symbols!

There sure was a lot of luck in our class on Lucky Hat Day!

*****

Which hat was the most interesting to you?

Did your hat bring you any good luck?

What lucky items did you have on your hat?

*****

Hi, I'm Frogger, the Blogger! Here's my tip for today:

When you write a comment, try to include some descriptive words!

I think you humans call them adjectives! I'll be reading your comments

to look for the best adjectives I can find!

Happy Birthday Pictogram!

2011-09-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Today Mrs. Ranney showed us a terrific graphing site.

We looked at the birthdays in the classroom using a birthday pictogram.

(Click the picture to make it larger.)

(We took a screen shot by pressing COMMAND + SHIFT + 4)

Then we made up questions!

How many girls are there?
How many boys are there?

What month has the most birthdays?

The answers are 13 girls, 13 boys, and July!

* * * * *

Please use the data to ask a question in your comment.

Hopefully a reader will answer correctly!

Fun!

**********

Hi, I'm Frogger, the Blogger! Here's my tip for today:

You can type your comment in Word on your computer.

Then proofread it for spelling, grammar, and punctuation before

pasting in the comment box and publishing!

Nonstop Number Fun!

2011-08-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ranney's new class has been exploring number sense!

The symbols 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are digits.

The even digits are 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8.

The odd digits are 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.

Standard form: A way of writing numbers using digits

Expanded form: A way to write numbers by showing the VALUE of each digit

Word form: A way to write numbers using words

To practice with forms of a number, we found that we could use the Clustr Map on our Blog!

We have had 12,155 visitors to the blog since October 2009.
We showed that number in all three forms!

*****************

We have reviewed skills with the hundred chart and odd and even digits by playing some games!

To practice with the hundred chart, several students played

Digital Dog Bone!

Other students played manual Dog Bone!

Many students played Odd and Even with a partner.

The object of this game of strategy is to get 5 in a row,
vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

A player who rolls an even number on the number cube
must cover any even number on the board.

A player who rolls an odd number on the number cube
must cover any odd number on the board.

*****************

Have you played Dog Bone? If so, how many bones could you place in one minute?

Which numbers are easy to place and why?

What are some strategies you use to place your number quickly?

Do you have some special strategies for Odd and Even to share?

Welcome to Third Grade in Room 9!

2011-08-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to a new school year!

I'm looking forward to a terrific year with my new students in third grade!

I hope that all my former third graders have a wonderful fourth grade experience and come visit me soon!

***********

Please leave a comment here to let us know what adventures and experiences
you had over the summer!

Remember to proofread with a parent

before you publish.

Sizzling Summer Solstice!

2011-06-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

In the Northern Hemisphere, summer begins on June 21, 2011.

This first day of summer is called Summer Solstice.

Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning "sun" + "to stand still." As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky.

As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in

the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their

longest summer day in December.

*************

It is hard to believe that our year together is over!

Our last day of school was June 16th.

We ended with a Country Concert on the Green...

and a great class party!

************

Many of us have reflected about the year by visiting our very first post

Welcome to Third Grade in Room 9!

Let's keep the conversation going this summer!

What did you enjoy most about third grade?

What travels and activities are you enjoying
and participating in this summer?

June 14 is Flag Day!

2011-06-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

Today is the day we honor the America flag. Mrs. Ranney's class joined Mrs. Yollis', and together they learned how to formally fold our nation's Star Spangled Banner!

First, hold the flag parallel to the floor.

Fold the flag in half and then half again. Make sure the stars face up.

Starting at the striped end, begin folding a triangle.

Continue folding the triangles...

...until all you have left is one star spangled triangle.


Tuck in the end, and you have folded the American flag in a respectful manner.

Last Fourth of July, Mrs. Yollis and her family retired three American flags. Click here to watch the ceremony.

Please share some facts you learned about the flag.

Use World Book Online to add new information.

Wonderful, Wild, and Amazing Animals - Our Final Experience!

2011-06-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

Today was our last visit with Beverly from Wildlife Experience!

They are a non-profit wildlife education organization that brings native and exotic animals to schools and teaches children about the importance of our natural world.

Today, Beverly taught us about canine mammals, called foxes.

The kit fox is the smallest in California

The fennec fox from Asia and Africa is the smallest in the world!

Since Wildlife Experience does not have a kit fox, Beverly brought a fennec fox!

Meet Moose, the fennec fox!

When three-year-old Moose arrived, he was very noisy and had to be taken out of his crate right away.

Beverly had to hold him up on her shoulder, so that he would not feel intimidated by all of us!

Do you see his big ears? They not only help Moose hear insects and other prey, they also

help him cool off in the heat of the desert, his natural habitat.

Do you know how his ears keep him cool?

Look at Moose's beautiful creamy-colored coat!

A fennec fox's fur color camouflages with the desert sand.

Speaking of the desert.....

Meet Mojave, the California desert tortoise!

The California desert tortoise is an endangered species.

Mojave, a reptile, is 9 years old and will triple in size by the time she is full grown!

Beverly allowed each of us to gently touch the top part of Mojave's shell, called the carapace. It is actually part of her back bone!

A tortoise is a land animal and has a short tail, as you can see! That way it can be tucked into its shell for protection. Turtles that live in water have long tails to help them swim.

Tortoises, like Mojave, are herbivores, but other turtles are omnivores.

Here you can see the underside of Mojave's shell, called the plastron. Notice the part of the plastron that is right below Mojave's head. Beverly told us that on a male tortoise, that part of the plastron is much larger. Do you remember what the male's use it for?

*********

What did you enjoy learning during today's Wildlife Experience?

Do you have any additional facts to share about the fennec fox and California desert tortoise?

Read more about these two animals on World Book Web!

Wonderful, Wild, and Amazing Animals - Days 3

2011-06-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

We were so fortunate to have Beverly from Wildlife Experience

visited our class for a third time

with animals that are native to North America!

They are a non-profit wildlife education organization that brings native and exotic animals to schools and teaches children about the importance of our natural world.

We started today's lesson examining animal tracks!
Check out these tracks and guess what animals left them! At the bottom of the post, you will find the answers!

First, we looked at the tracks of a nocturnal animal that climbs trees. It is the only marsupial native to North America. Can you guess what animal left these tracks?

Second, we studied the tracks of another nocturnal tree-climber trees that often washes its food!
That's a good thing because sometimes it will even eat trash! Do you know who left these tracks?

Third, Ms. C. showed us the tracks of still another nocturnal animal. She said that it is one we rarely see it, but we usually know when it's been around!
Can you guess what animal left these "sweet" tracks?

The fourth animal's track were either from the dog family or the cat family. Ms. C explained that a dog's claws are always out, so they would leave a mark on the ground. She told us that a cat's claws are retractable claws and are not out when they walk. This means they would not leave a mark.

Are these tracks from cat or dog famly?
This animal is found in the Santa Monica mountains, is endangered, and mostly comes out at night.
What animal is it?

Lastly, we checked out these special tracks! The mammal that left them is found in and near mountains, is very large, sports antlers if it's a male, and has extra fur around its neck!
Do you know what it is?

(Remember: see the bottom of this post for the animals that left all five sets of footprints!)

**************

We again had live visitors to our classroom!

Meet Punk, the Skunk!

Punk is a striped skunk. Skunks are mammals with a special "scented" adaptation!
Punk, however, has had her scent glands removed. That was a very good thing for us!
See how her tail is up? That means she's feeling a bit uncomfortable and is thinking about spraying!

Skunks are omnivores, who especially enjoy insects, bugs, and spiders in the wild.

However, they like fruits and vegetables too!
You can see that Punk is really enjoying that apple. Look at her claws and teeth, special adaptations

that help her grasp and devour her meal!

This closeup of a skunk's skull allows you to really get a good look at its sharp teeth!

Here is a picture of Punk when she was just a little skunk.
When she first opened her eyes, she saw Ms. C., so she thought that Ms. C was her mom!
She has depended on Ms. C. to show her all about being a skunk!

When an animal recognizes another animal or person as its parent, it is called imprinting.

*********************

Meet Sally, the Salamander!

Salamanders are amphibians, along with frogs, toads, newts, and caecilians. Amphibians are adapted to living and breathing on land, as well as in water.
Salamanders, like all amphibians, must stay close to water, like a pond,
a river, a stream, must stay in moist soil.

Sally is a tiger salamander.

****************

What did you enjoy most about our third Wildlife experience?

What facts did you learn?

Do you have any additional facts about these animals to share?

(Answers to animal tracks quiz: opossum, raccoon, skunk, mountain lion, elk)

Wonderful, Wild, and Amazing Animals - Days 2

2011-06-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Beverly from Wildlife Experience

visited our class again

with animals that are native to North America!

They are a non-profit wildlife education organization that brings native and exotic animals to schools and teaches children about the importance of our natural world.

The subject of this lesson was super senses.

Humans have five senses: hearing smelling, feeling, seeing, and tasting. Animals do too.

Some have super senses!

A bush baby's super sense is sight. If an animal has huge eyes, it tells you that it can see well at night.

Here is a picture of a naked mole rat. It has no hair, and like a mole, it spends all of its time underground. Since it is underground, this rat doesn't use sight. I just has skin where there should be eyes. It has a strong sense of smell, touch, and can hear really well.

Below is a picture of a fly taken under a microscope and with added color. Notice the mouth part and the big red eye sockets. Each tiny dot sees an image, so a fly sees many images at the same time.

A fly can see all around!

Our first live visitor was Ocho, the tarantula!

Ocho is a female, rose-haired tarantula. These spiders are found in Mexico, so Wildlife Experience gave her a Spanish name! Ocho means eight!

Spiders are arachnids, so they have two body parts, eight legs and live on land. They have an incredible sense of sight. In fact, this tarantula has eight eyes! It also has two spinnerets on the abdomen. Tarantulas have a tiny gland on the abdomen, which when touched and mixed with oxygen, makes silk. Like raptors, female tarantulas are larger than the males.

Arachnids give birth to about 250 eggs!

Here is a shed from Ocho. Notice the fangs!

This is a shed from a red-kneed tarantula.

Next, we were visited by Ripper, the turkey vulture!

Vultures have a great sense of smell. In fact, they can smell something dead that is two miles away! Most birds do NOT have a good sense of smell.

If you look closely, you will see Ripper's nostrils.

Unlike the owl, a turkey vulture's talons are not that strong.

They use their beaks to rip and tear at their meals. Vultures eat dead things, called carrion. When they find something dead, the devour it. Beverly said that a vulture fills a part of its throat called a crop, and if a car comes by, it vomits the meal so it's light and can fly away.

When the car passes, the vulture comes back to eat the vomit. Yuck!

**********

What did you think of our two newest local animals?

How are tarantula, turkey vulture, gopher snake,

and barred owl alike?

How are they different?

Wonderful, Wild, and Amazing Animals!

2011-06-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

As part of our animal adaptation science unit, Beverly Critcher

from Wildlife Experience will bring wild animals
that are native to North America
to Mrs. Ranney's class for careful
scientific observation.

They are a non-profit wildlife education organization that brings native and exotic animals to schools and teaches children about the importance of our natural world.

During our first lesson, the class talked about animals

that come out at night (nocturnal)

as well as day dwellers (diurnal).

Diurnal animals: lizards, squirrels, crows and ravens, snakes, hawks, and vultures

Many California animals are nocturnal: coyotes, owls, raccoons, bats, bobcats, mountain lions, and opossums

Beverly said that wildlife is all around, even if we don't see it. We can look at what the animals have left behind and know that they have been around: bones, fur, owl pellets (if you open the pellets, you'll find undigested bones!), feathers, tracks, dung or scat.

*********

Our first wild visitors were....

an eight-year-old gopher snake and...

Hoot, a barred owl!

**************

Enjoy the slide show about these two incredible critters!

Native Neighbors on PhotoPeach

************

What did you learn from Beverly during her first Wildlife Experience visit to our class?

Have you done any additional research about these animals?
Do you have some fascinating facts to add?

Family Month Blogging Winners Announced!

2011-06-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

Custom Glitter Text

On April 1, Mrs. Ranney announced that it would again be

Family Blogging Month!

The project generated lots of enthusiasm and family participation!

In fact,

over 200 comments

were published during the month of April!

And the winner is...

Aidan, with 26 incredible comments!

Our top three commenters were...

Aidan with 26 terrific comments, and Ella with 17, and Mikayla with 11 wonderful comments.

Each student received a certificate, won a free meal

at Marmalade Cafe!

Congratulations to our top bloggers!

Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends for your participation!

We hope you will continue to participate in our learning community!

♕ ♕ ♕

What did you like most about Family Blogging Month?

Which family members left comments, and

how did that make you feel?

How did your family enjoy the month?

Welcome to Open House in Room 9!

2011-05-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight we are so excited to share all of our

exceptional work with friends and family members!
Enjoy your tour of our room!

**********

Take a walk through history on our biography time line.

To keep many of our 3rd grade memories, we created
binders. Enjoy reading them!

Enjoy visiting our ocean, which has an abundance of fish with coloration adaptations!

Take a look at our dry desert animals and their physical and behavioral adaptations
that help them survive in the scorching desert heat!

Say hello to our blog mascot, Peggy the penguin, and head on over to
our astonishing blog to leave a comment.

Brrrrr......when you visit, you will see our delicious Frozen Fraction projects!

Here are some examples of our Step-Up-to-Writing lessons,
and we hope you enjoy reading about
admirable people and our holiday traditions.

Hear ye! Hear ye! Take a peek at these wonderful,
patriotic Presidential Paragraphs!

Please enjoy the world of 3-D shapes by reading our stunning shape paragraphs!
They're even in cursive!

Enjoy shopping in our splendid stores!

Last, but not least, examine our volume models!

************************

Please leave us a comment to let us know what you most enjoyed during your tour of our classroom!

Pleasurable Packages!

2011-05-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ranney's Class was so excited today to

receive three mysterious packages!

Who could they be from?

Why, our Quad Blogging Buddies, of course!

**************

We received two terrific Tashi books

from Mrs. deVries Class in Australia!

Journey Around Boston From A to Z was the wonderful gift

from Mr. Avery's Class in Massachusetts!

Loonies and Toonies, A Canadian Number Book was the

delightful choice of Mrs. Watson's Class

in British Columbia, Canada.

***********

We can't wait to read them all!

How did you feel about receiving surprise packages today?

Which book are you interested in reading first and why?

Remember:

For your comment, write at least 4 sentences, one with a clause.

Include at least one adverb in your comment,

and be sure to use

html code to make it bold!

10,000+ Visitors!

2011-05-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of our fabulous family members, friends, and visitors from around the world!

Custom Glitter Text

We appreciate that you follow us and leave wonderful comments!

* * * * *

What is one of your favorite posts in our archive and why?

Click on our Flag Counter or Clustrmap.

Which countries, besides the U.S.A., visit us the most?

Are there countries listed that are new to you? Use your atlas and tell us where they are located!

Classy Clauses!

2011-04-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ranney's students have learned that one clever way to add class to your writing is to use a
variety of sentence types!

One type that we have learned to write is a sentence that starts with a dependent clause.

Dependent clauses start with special words:

After, Before, Since, While, When, If, During.

A dependent clause ends with a comma and cannot stand alone as a sentence. It must be followed by an independent clause, which is a sentence that can stand alone!

Here are some excellent examples of sentences with dependent clauses, written by students in our class:

When Ramona and Beezus were cross at their parents for making tongue for dinner, their parents told them that they had to make dinner for the family the next night. (by Carly)

When Molly paid scant attention to her mother's directions, she was very cross. (by Leah)

Since my black lab, Hopscotch, is still a mischievous puppy, she is always causing terrible calamities like jumping on strange, new people! (by Jamie)

After Hurricane Katrina was over, scientists figured out that fixing the ruins caused by the calamity would cost 81 billion dollars.

(by Justin)

If we succeeded in building a toy car, we would win

an outstanding prize.

(by Shawn)

*************

Since we are working on sentences with dependent clauses, please submit a comment that includes

two sentences with dependent clauses.

(Use html code to bold your spelling words and any other high level words that you'd like to give special attention to.)

Today you may choose two of the following words: echoed, nuisance, quarrel, or stunned for your paperless homework today!

Flaunt Your Funny, Frivolous, Fabulous Fads!

2011-04-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Currently, Mrs. Ranney's Class is reading

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

the wonderful, well-known author, Beverly Cleary.

We have just finished reading hilarious Chapter 3, "The Hard-Boiled Egg Fad!"

In this chapter, Ramona and all her third grade buddies are having fun with the latest fad: packing a hard-boiled egg in their lunches each day. The fad isn't just about eating a hard-boiled egg, however! It's really all about cracking it on your head before you peel it!

Some of the kids use the timid "rap-rap-rap" method. Others, like Ramona,

like to show-off with one big "whack" to the head!

The fad is not so much fun anymore for Ramona, when she finds that the egg

she thought was hard-boiled was really raw! Boy, how humiliating!

******************

A fad is something that is very popular for a short time,

and fads can be a lot of fun! Fads often involve fashion, an activity, or some kind of toy or trinket.

In your comment, tell us about a fad that you know about.

What is popular right now? What has been popular in the past?

Family members and friends, this is a great post for you to get involved in! Tell us about fads that were popular

when you were young!

April 12: National Drop Everything and Read Day!

2011-04-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

Happy 95th Birthday, Beverly Cleary!

Different covers...same story!

In class, we started reading one of Beverly Cleary's books called Ramona Quimby, Age 8 . In chapter two, Ramona's teacher, Mrs. Whaley, introduces D.E.A.R time to her third graders. During this daily thirty minute period, students are allowed to read anything they like.

To honor Beverly Cleary's birthday, April 12 is officially called National

Drop Everything And Read
Day!

Throughout the day in Mrs. Ranney's class, students will be dropping everything and reading. Many students are bringing special books to read during our D.E.A.R. time!

Here is an interview of the incredible Mrs. Cleary. She explains how she became a writer and where she gets ideas about her characters.

Here is a trivia game about Ramona and her friends on Klickitat Street!

Which books have you read by Beverly Cleary? Please share a favorite part!

Who is your favorite character and why?

Please share some facts you learned about Beverly Cleary from the hyperlinks!

Biographical Bonanza!

2011-04-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

A biography is a true story about a person's life.

Mrs. Ranney's Class is currently reading biographies about

people who have made significant contributions to our world!

Artists, inventors, statesman, composers, doctors,

aviators, astronauts, and pioneers in many fields

are among the amazing historical figures about whom we are reading!

We are each reading a library book, as well as doing research using
World Book Online.

********************
After reading about your biography subject,
please leave a comment as if you are that person!

Be sure to include a few facts you learned from your library book or the online encyclopedia.

DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! (Use your own words!)

Watch the comments to see if you can converse with another biography subject you may know!

(Family members: You may want to choose your own biography subject and join in the conversation!)

The Flute Puts the Fun in Fun Friday!

2011-04-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

Recently Mrs. Ranney's Class had a special treat for Fun Friday:

A flute recital by Mikayla!

Not only did we enjoy listening to the music she played for us,
we learned a little about the flute as well!

Mikayla showed us how to hold the flute.


She told us she has been playing for 8 months and practices about 4 times a week.

We looked at the music to the tunes she played for us.

Please enjoy the music as much as we did by watching the video below!

When she was all finished, she showed how to clean the flute...


and pack it up!

Thanks so much, Mikayla!

************

What did you enjoy most about Mikayla's flute recital?

If you play a musical instrument too,

share something about it with us!

Poppa's New Pants!

2011-04-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

This week Mrs. Ranney's class is reading Poppa's New Pants by Angela Shelf Medearis.

This humorous story has many similes and tons of hyperbole. (hi • per • bo •lee)

Hyperbole is when a writer exaggerates to make a point.

The story is part of the Smart Solutions Unit. In the story, Poppa buys a brand new pair of pants. Unfortunately, they are too long and need to be hemmed. He asks his relatives who are staying at the house to mend them, but they are all too tired for the task.

The problem gets solved in a way that will leave you laughing like a hyena!

Listen to the story here!

We cut a pair of pants out of paper to recreate the story.

The pants were as long as a table cloth!

In the story, some strange things happened during the night. George, Pappa's grandson, is sleeping in the kitchen because the relatives are using his bed. Throughout the night, George hears strange noises and sees ghostly shapes in the dark kitchen. He balls up like an armadillo he is so frightened!

By morning, it is revealed that Poppa's new pants got shortened!

Below, we recreated the story!

A "ghost" came and measured six inches, drew a line...

and snip, snip, snip!

Then the pants were perfectly hemmed!

A second "ghost" took the pants, measured off six inches...

and Snip! Snip! Snip!

Then added a hem!

The final helpful "ghost" took the pants, measured off six inches,

Snip! Snip! Snip!

And, again, added a hem!

In the end, the pants were too short for Poppa!

However, they were just right for George!

*************

Can you explain what happened?

Who were those "ghosts" during the night?

What was your favorite simile or hyperbole from the story?

A Landmark Day: Learning with Laptops!

2011-04-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

This week Mrs. Ranney's class is very fortunate!

The fifth graders are at Outdoor Education.

Now, why is that lucky for Mrs. Ranney and her students?

They were able to use the fourth/fifth grade laptops!

Here's how we used them:

First, we each composed a blog comment in word.

That way we were able to use the spelling and grammar check tools!

After proofreading, we copied and pasted our comments into the comment box on a blog.

Some of us commented to our Quad Blogging Buddies in Mrs. Watson's Class.

Others commented on our Skyping with Mr. Avery or Family Blogging Month posts.

After blogging, we practiced this week's vocabulary by playing the "Poppa's New Pants" eword game.

Then it was on to IXL to work on new skills with decimals!

If we completed our work on IXL, we were able to choose other links to explore.

Some of us chose Grammar Ninja!

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What did you think about this experience?

What did you enjoy most about using the laptops?

What useful sites or applications could we use if we can get them again?

Let's Meet Our Blogging Buddies: Mrs. Watson's Class in Canada!

2011-04-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ranney's class enjoys sharing and learning

with other classes around the world.

This year, they are QUAD buddies with three other classes!

Mrs. Ranney's Classroom Blog 3rd Grade California, USA

(March 7th-13th)

Mr. Avery’s Classroom Blog 4th Grade Massachusetts, USA

(March 14-20th)

3DD Classroom Blog Grade 3 Australia (March 28th-April 3rd)

Mrs. Watson's 2/3 Class British Columbia, Canada (April 4-10)

The concept is four blogging classes come together and learn about one another one week at a time.

This alliance will help each class increase learning more about the wonderful world we live in.

****************

This week, let's meet Mrs. Watson's 2/3 class in British Columbia, Canada!

Head on over to Mrs. Watson's Class to learn about them

and leave a comment!

To leave a comment, look for the comment count
at the top of any post.
Click on it, and you can leave a comment of your own.

Be sure to say that you are from Mrs. Ranney's Class!

Join Us for Family Blogging Month!

2011-04-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ranney and her students ♥ to share what they are

learning and experiencing.

In an effort to include more family members in our online community, we are proclaiming:

April is Family Blogging Month!

Make a list of your family members. After looking through the archive, select posts that you think each relative will be especially interested in.

Let's invite everyone to comment: moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandmas,

grandpas, uncles, aunts, and cousins. We welcome friends, too!

Students will be inviting their family and friends to participate in a conversation!
Maybe we'll get some 2-point comments!

We'll be looking for:

Great content: specific details, compliments, connections, and questions
Proper format: greeting, closing, topic sentence, conclusion
Correct use of conventions: spelling, punctuation, capitalization

What do you think of our idea?

Who have you invited to be a part of our online community?

Please leave a comment and introduce yourself!

Skyping With Our Quad Blogging Buddies: Mr. Avery's Class in Massachusetts!

2011-03-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time today, Skyping with our
Quad Blogging Buddies in Mr. Avery's class in
Plympton, Massachusetts!

They called us at 11:00 A. M., which was

2:00 P. M. Eastern Standard Time.

By the time we were finished talking, Mr. Avery's class was being dismissed to go home, and we were on our way to music with Mr. B!

The students in each class took turns sharing facts about

their states, communities, and schools.

It was interesting to make comparisons and contrasts!

For example, California is the third largest state in area with 158,633 square miles, and

Massachusetts is the sixth smallest state with an area of only 8,263 square miles!

In addition, California is the number one most populated state in the USA with

37,253,956 people! Massachusetts has a population of 6,547,629,

which is a large number for such a small state!

We noticed that we have something special in common, the ocean!

Of course, ours is the Pacific and theirs is the Atlantic!

***************

Each of us prepared a fact to share with Mr. Avery's class.

Some of the facts we shared were about our state symbols.

Watch the slide show to see some of the symbols of California!

California State Symbols on PhotoPeach

**************

What did you enjoy most about our Skyping experience?

What California facts did you find most interesting?

What facts did you learn from Mr. Avery's class?

What Massachusetts state symbols do you remember?

Learn Spanish! ¡Aprender Español!

2011-03-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Recently Mrs. Ranney's class read "Pepita Talks Twice!"

Pepita, who can speak both English and Spanish, decides that she doesn't want to "speak twice" anymore. When her decision creates problems she hadn't thought of, Pepita realizes that sometimes it can be a good thing to understand two languages.

The story was even written in both English and Spanish,

so we began learning some Spanish words ourselves.

* * * * *

The video below, made by students in both Mrs. Ranney's and Mrs. Yollis' class, demonstrates many Spanish words we learned!

Translations:

¡Bueños días! Good day!

¡Bueñas tardes! Good afternoon!

¡Bueñas noches! Good night!

¿Cómo estas? How are you?

¡Muy bien! Very well!

¡No muy bien! Not very well!

¡Que lástima! What a pity!

¡Gracias! Thank you!

De nada. You're welcome.

¡Hasta mañana! See you tomorrow!

¡Hasta luego! See you later!

Los Días de la Semana The Days of the Week

lunes Monday

martes Tuesday

miércoles Wednesday

jueves Thursday

viernes Friday

sábado Saturday

domingo Sunday

Me gusta...I like...

el pan bread

los tacos tacos

escuela school

matemáticas math

¡Que divertido! What fun!

¡Que buena idea! What a great idea!

¿Vamos a aprender Español? We're going to learn Spanish?

***************

What Spanish words or phrases have you enjoyed learning?

Can you teach us some new Spanish words or phrases?

Let's Meet Our Blogging Buddies: Mrs. de Vries' Class in Australia!

2011-03-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Ranney's class enjoys sharing and learning

with other classes around the world.

This year, they are QUAD buddies with three other classes!

Mrs. Ranney's Classroom Blog 3rd Grade California, USA

(March 7th-13th)

Mr. Avery’s Classroom Blog 4th Grade Massachusetts, USA

(March 14-20th)

3DD Classroom Blog Grade 3 Australia (March 28th-April 3rd)

Mrs. Watson's 2/3 Class British Columbia, Canada (April 4-10)

The concept is four blogging classes come together and learn about one another one week at a time.

This alliance will help each class increase learning more about the wonderful world we live in.

****************

This week, let's meet Mrs. de Vries' Grade 3 in Australia!
Since they are located in the Eastern Hemisphere, they are18 hours ahead of us!
If it is 12 o'clock noon on March 28th, here in California,
it is 6 A. M. on March 29th in Australia!

Head on over to 3DD Class Blog (Leopold, Australia) to learn about them

and leave a comment!

To leave a comment, look for the comment count
at the top of any post.
Click on it, and you can leave a comment of your own.

Be sure to say that you are from Mrs. Ranney's Class!