Vocabulary/ Spelling List for Nov 5 - Nov 9

Rascal Vocabulary and Spelling List for week of Nov 5th - Nov 9th
Spelling Test: Thursday, November 8^th
Vocabulary Definitions (written in vocabulary notebook)
Due: (1-12) Wednesday November 7^th
(13-25) Friday November 9^th

1) Alphabetize the list.
2) Write the appropriate definition for each word.

(Hint: Following the directions as written makes the assignment much easier)

Final Vocabulary list from Rascal

1. sentimental
2. protested
3. corona
4. spontaneously
5. extravagant
6. baubles
7. unceremoniously
8. interval
9. lath
10. equilibrium
11. ensilage
12. enshroud
13. tremolo
14. amorous
15. distinct
16. unduly
17. dismaying
18. unoccupied
19. cleat
20. exhilarated
21. domesticated
22. peril
23. crooning
24. plaintive
25. entrancing

Spelling Words from Wordly Wise Vocabulary Lesson 7

1. colony
2. compensate
3. deposit
4. fascinate
5. feeble
6. formal
7. frigid
8. harsh
9. huddle
10. remote
11. resemble
12. rigid
13. solitary
14. substantial
15. waddle

Vocabulary Spelling List for Wk Oct 29-Nov2

Rascal Vocabulary and Spelling List for week of Oct 29th to November 2nd
Spelling Test: Thursday November 1st
Vocabulary Definitions (written in vocabulary notebook)
Due: (1-12) Wednesday, October 31st
(13-25) Friday, November 2nd

1) Alphabetize the list
2) Write the appropriate definition for each word
(do not write definitions for the words from Wordly Wise - we have other vocabulary lessons about those words.)

1. ornate
2. vociferous
3. balefully
4. acquainted
5. solicited
6. acrid
7. calliope
8. bough
9. intrigue
10. cantankerous
11. crock
12. lofty
13. reconnaissance
14. jaunt
15. ambled
16. demobilized
17. armistice
18. earthenware
19. avid
20. gravitate
21. flanks
22. justify
23. gracious
24. centrifugal
25. reluctance

Wordly Wise words for the rest of the spelling test:

• abolish
• agony
• catapult
• character
• denounce
• escalate
• grim
• harbor
• inflict
• loathe
• meddle
• monstrous
• rouse
• steadfast
• translate

Vocabulary and Spelling List for Oct 22-26

Rascal Vocabulary and Spelling List for week of October 22-26th

Spelling Test: Thursday Oct. 25

Vocabulary Definitions (written in vocabulary notebook)
Due: Wednesday October 24th - (#s 1-12) (in response to some stuents having a lot of homework on Thursday evening)
Friday October 26th (#s 13-25)

1) Alphabetize the list.
2) Write the appropriate definition for each word. (corresponding list of defintions provided)


tremendous
competent
precipitously
radiant
transfix
autumn
surge
adept
exquisite
veranda
tactic
amber
tattoo
replenish
cathedral
subtlety
inclined
intimation
navigable
manipulate
primitive
divert
reprieve
dutiful
indefinite



avalanche
blizzard
challenge
conquer
crevice
foolhardy
lure
makeshift
optimist
previous
route
summit
terse
thwart
vertical

'Writing Just So' Due Friday October 19

We have now read several of Rudyard Kipling's 'Just So' stories in class. The students are taking this familiarity with a type of story of how something began and will be writing their own. This assignment is a History assignment and should reflect and communicate knowledge from chapter 2 of their history/geography text.

Here is the summary the class received in writing:

Writing Just So
Who: choose your ‘who’ from chapter 2 of your history book. (One of the civilizations) – make sure you make it clear in the story who you chose.

Invention: choose an invention from chapter 2 of your history text

Repeated Phrase: invent a repeated phrase to use through your story. (You cannot use ‘O Best Beloved or ‘Great Grey Green Greasy Limpopo River all set about with fever trees’, or any other that Kipling invented.)

Illustration: You may make a beautiful, meaningful illustration to go with your story - the more beautiful and meaningful, the better. Your illustration should be on a separate, white sheet of paper from your text. If you do not want to do a full sheet illustration, you can do as many beautiful, meaningful small illustrations until they all equal a full sheet size. It is hoped that you will have a full sheet of beautiful, meaningful illustration to share with the world, and hang on the bulletin board.

“All good stories have a beginning, middle, and an end.” This is the first line of chapter 2 in your textbook. Your story should be a ‘good story’. (Your story is about the invention you chose and how it came to be invented.)

The class added this:
a beginning - describes the setting, and introduces the characters and the problem
a middle - builds up the problem and begins a solution
an end - solves the problem and concludes the story

Dialogue: Your story needs to have talking in it. This makes it even more interesting to read.

The grading rubric/ point break-down is designed from these components.

Spelling List for Test Oct 18

There was one student in the class this week who completed enough bonus points prior to the test that the test became optional. The class is now very aware of the fact that this is a possibility. They may not, however, choose the shortest word in the list and write it 300x's. While I am impressed with the critical thinking involved in this solution to a grade, I have decided, rather arbitrarily, that it won't work.

1. complacency
2. trundle
3. rhubarb
4. berserk
5. delicacy
6. ambrosia
7. binge
8. subsequent
9. intemperate
10. respective
11. civic
12. vengeance
13. ponder
14. skirt (v) : to skirt
15. ascend
16. excursion
17. aster
18. maniacal
19. intrusion
20. oblivious
21. pinion
22. surmise
23. dappled
24. agate
25. promontory
26. accurate
27. approximate
28. course
29. depart
30. despair
31. destination
32. deteriorate
33. gale
34. horizon
35. jubilation
36. navigate
37. nostalgia
38. revive
39. sever
40. voyage

We found 1-25 from Rascal. 26-40 came from their vocabulary book. They are writing definitions for 1-25 OR a sentence including each word. They have used 26-40 in vocabulary lessons in their workbooks. They will have 5 bonus words on the test next Thursday. The point for a correct bonus word cancels the point loss for another word. Now that the ball is rolling a bit I can use words from past tests as bonus words.

Before the test they get 1 point for each 10xs of a word - so writing each of the words on the whole list 10xs would be 40 points, which would mean they wouldn't even have to take the test. (but they have been working hard and studying). After a test they get half a point for each 10xs that they right a word, this would be applicable for past tests as well.

Spelling Test Mon Oct 8

1. tassel
2. plucky
3. murmur
4. bleakly
5. lanky
6. isolate
7. bleachers
8. nutritionist
9. meticulous
10. gullible
11. technically
12. perceptive
13. sweltering
14. magnificent
15. undaunted
16. clique
17. banister
18. whimsy
19. auburn
20. has been deleted - can't find it in a normal dictionary
21. mystical
22. myriad
23. bizarre
24. chameleon
25. sporadic
26. oasis
27. porous
28. pygmy

29. ancestor
30. carnivore
31. comprehend
32. duration
33. evident
34. extinct
35. ferocious
36. gigantic
37. obscure
38. option
39. premature
40. preserve
41. prey
42. puny
43. survive

We found 1-28 from books the kids are reading on their own. 29-43 came from their vocabulary book. They are writing definitions for 1-28 OR a sentence including each word. They have used 29-43 in vocabulary lessons in their workbooks. This is a long spelling list, so I gave them more than a week to study as well as the fact that we will have 8 bonus words. The point for a correct bonus word cancels the point loss for another word.
Before the test they get 1 point for each 10xs of a word - so writing each of the words on the whole list 10xs would be 43 points, which would mean they wouldn't even have to take the test. (I just realized that - maybe I won't point that out to the class.)
After a test they get half a point for each 10xs that they right a word, this would be applicable for past tests as well.

Zoo Pic's

no small task is watching kids watching animals


fun in the tropics


Emma and Aaron watching and enjoying the gibbons


coral reef from above (from right to left, Susanna, Jordyn, Mrs. Gauger)


inquisitive porcupine fish


watching the feeding of the fishes in the coral reef


We had toads in the classroom, this is definitely a frog.
He looks like he sat out in the sun and began to melt.


Evidence of Mikayla


so many reasons to visit the zoo


Painted reflections


Korbyn pointing out a bowfin


Jordyn and Bri at the wolves


watching the wolverine (rather upset wolverine)


Emma checking the map


Keeping up appearances











We got to watch the dolphin show. It was amazing that the dolphin didn't pop that ball with his teeth. He would even swim underwater holding it in his teeth.













Tide pool exhibit (left to right and in focus, Aaron, Korbyn, Nolan)


We separated into different groups while at the zoo. I found out going through the pictures that I didn't have many images with Mikayla and Andrew - but they were there.


capturing the movements of the day (and one more shot of Andrew)


Another shark touching attempt (another wet t-shirt sleeve) (from the left, Michela, Susanna)


Touching sharks, or playing in the water - either was fun. (Michaela)

Terrarium drama

This week, due to the generosity of a student, toads were introduced to our classroom terrarium. Overnight we discovered that toads are efficient predators. They reduced the population of bugs in their new environment to the large katydid the first day. The class continued to supply bugs as they were able, but I am quite certain that the toads need to be out and about getting ready for hibernating. They were released today down near the lake. Upon return to the classroom there was a significant reduction in interest in the now ravaged terrarium.
I underestimated the amount of ongoing interest there would be in the bugs in the corner. When there is any lull in the classroom activity or an perceivable movement amongst the bugs, at least four people will rush to the corner to see just what it is that is going on. Due to their careful watch, they have been able to witness the demise of a couple of the bugs. This is, of course, 'the point' of the whole project. It is good for them to be curious and observant and interested. It is probably even good for them to move across the room periodically as long as they return to their seats just as quickly.
We are looking to evacuate the terrarium for the winter however. I suppose a few bugs could stay, but I wouldn't expect them to live long. We would appreciate a caterpillar choosing to spin up its cocoon for us to observe, but as of yet, the caterpillars have merely disappeared (consumed by crickets?) and have been quartered in separate containers.If the kids continue to memorize their verses, the 'memory tank' will continue to gain components and we will, soon enough, have a whole new world to observe.

Collecting Specimens

We went to collect specimens to bring back to the classroom to practice our observation skills. Each student was assigned to collect one leaf, one critter (they were hoping for frogs), one flower, and one seed. We had read some of the important tools a scientist uses are his/her senses. We would be writing sentences about the smells, sights, touches, and sounds that we encountered while gathering our specimens. These sentences may refer directly to the specimen, or to the environment (specifically smell) in which we found it. This practice stems from the field notes that would be necessary for a scientist's collections.
The class as a whole was optimistic that they would find a critter more interesting than the 'moth in hand', and they were determined to gather their necessary specimens as close to the time that we would be leaving as possible. An unfortunate encounter with a bee shortened our time in the park and we returned to the school in a bit of rush without each person's quota. We were able to complete the assignment by sharing critters and heading out to the playground to bring in dandelion leaves. The class continued to impress as they wrote their observations down and demonstrated continued enthusiasm. Our critters are now housed in a fish-tank terrarium in the classroom. With the addition of a substantial wolf spider to the cricket/grasshopper population, there has been much classroom interest (concern?) regarding the whereabouts and actions of all of the tank's inhabitants. If I could only be as interesting as a spider I would have no worries regarding maintaining interesting lessons throughout the day.All ready to go. (left to right: Nolan, Korbyn, Andrew, Aaron, Emma, Mikayla, Jordyn, Michaela, Susanna)

We ate snack when we arrived at the park. It was a little early, but I figured that once wrist-deep in mud, we wouldn't want to be eating with our hands. The kids said that walking out on the dock felt like sailing. They didn't even mention that it would have been sailing though something that had died last month. (the bay was putrid)

looking for frogs (Nolan, Aaron)

Decisions being made regarding whether everyone should be looking in precisely the same spot.

The girls found mud as they walked along this lakeside path.

After damselflies (Nolan, Korbyn)

Such teamwork!

Checking to see what they've got.

and then - a bee ended it all. (The victim handled her first bee sting quite bravely - the bee did not survive the encounter.)

Classroom Environment: The Beginning

As mentioned, our classroom is starting with a bit of a clean slate for us to decorate, or make 'our own'. This is what the room looks like now. We'll keep you updated on how we decide to decorate it. Perhaps we'll be so busy that we won't have time to decorate, but a bit of color might be nice.

Parent Orientation

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