Classroom science journal from the 2011-2012 School Year -
Mr. Grambo
[dates run backwards from June to September]


June 28, 2012 - I went in today to finish cleaning up my classroom and shutting down the computers.

June 27, 2012 - I collected the last textbooks and said good-by to everyone. This was the last day of school for students. Children were dismissed from school at 12:15 PM.

June 26, 2012 - Students were not in school today. We had meetings on Common Core and we cleaned out our classrooms.

June 25, 2012 - We returned from our four days of Space training at Space Camp in Montreal, Canada. We returned to school at 6:00 PM

June 22, 2012 - We are off to Space Camp in Montreal, CANADA. We will be there until Monday.

June 21, 2012 - In October every student took a Pre-Test to see what we already knew about 6th grade science. Today we too the Post-Test to see what we learned this year.

June 20, 2012 - Our reading today explained some history of  HIV and AIDS. This article tries to explain where they think the virus first started. I the morning, I was in the auditorium giving a speech at the Awards Assembly for the 8th Graders.

June 19, 2012 - Today  we worked on a reading about HIV and AIDS. This reading will go onto page 118 of our Sally notebook. We also looked at the Bug Camp projects of 6-239.

June 18, 2012 - We wanted to see if convection worked in liquids like it did in the air. We watched a video showing what happed when hot and cold liquids were slowly added together. Hot liquids rose up and cold liquids sank. I collected the Sally notebooks from 6-237. I am grading the last section of the Big Camp project.

June 15, 2012 - The second floor classes were off to see the Avengers at the Whitestone Cinema. I was out in our schoolyard running the seventh grade Carnival.

June 14, 2012 - We worked with another version of a convection box made from a fish tank. After we looked at this version, we made sure that our experiment was written out in our Bob notebook.

June 13, 2012 - I was not in school today. I took the seniors on their trip to Holiday Hill in Connecticut. I left a reading on Convection for everyone to work on.

June 12, 2012 - I worked with the students on several demonstrations to explain why hot rises and cool sinks. We began with the density tower from last weeks experiment and then went on to make an egg float in salt water. looking at a sinking Coke can in water and floating Diet Coke can in water we talked about how something like sugar could change the density of the entire can of soda so drastically that now it became less dense than the water and it floated. We performed the ball and ring experiment to show that as energy is added to something the molecules move away from each other causing the item to enlarge. We ended the period looking at the Convection Box and explaining how it worked and why the hot air, with less pieces per unit volume, rises.

June 11, 2012 - I started collecting the textbooks today and we began to talk about convection.

June 8, 2012 - In the morning students finished Investigation 5. We were working on density experiments. I left the building at 12:00 to go to the graduation practice at Colden Center in Queens College. 6-237 worked on pages for their Bug Camp project while I was gone. The project must be finished by next Wednesday. A sticker was put into everyone's planner this past week to let everyone know to finish all pages in this project. Section 3 of the project (pages 88-98) were collected and graded this past week.

June 7, 2012 - There was no school today for students. Teachers were at meetings. Science teachers were grading the 8th grade citywide science test.

June 6, 2012 - Today, students switched to the experiment they had not started working on yet. There are two experiment stations in the room. Students have been working on an experiment for two days and not switch to the other experiment. We also went over the DYO science test and the students got them back.

June 5, 2012 - It was a half day for students. I collected and looked at the Sally notebooks from 6-241 today. In class we continued with our experiments on Density. Many students were in the auditorium today at the practice for the Talent Show.

June 4, 2012 - I collected and graded the Sally notebooks from 6-246 looking at Bug Camp pages 88-98. In class we began investigation 5 0n Convection. Teams 1-3 experimented with the density of several materials, while teams 4 through 6 tried to make a tower from different strength salt water solutions that were colored with food dye.

June 1, 2012 - Everyone worked on the graph for Investigation 4 and finished the Scientific Method Write-up for this experiment. Those who finished, went to the computers to complete their work on the glossary words. It was now time to set up our Bob notebooks for Investigation 5 which covers Convection. This is the third method by which heat can move. I did a spot check on the Bob notebooks of 6-241 and collected the Sally notebooks of 6-239 to look at Bug Camp project pages 88-98.

May 31, 2012 - I was not in school today. I left a reading on Heat Transfer from the Glencoe Textbook. This reading covered Radiation and Conduction.

May 30, 2012 - We continued with our experimentation on radiation and conduction as forms of heat transfer. We looked at page 141 and wrote in the hypothesis. We then put in the materials and equipment. As we were experimenting and waiting for our time intervals to come up so we could take temperature readings, we worked on our procedures for the different experimental procedures. On page 145 we need to make a graph from the data collected about the heat absorbed by the samples of soil, sand, water and air. Our goal is to finish this write up by Friday and to also finish with the words we had to put into our glossary about this investigation.

May 29, 2012 - We began work on Investigation 4 - How heat travels. Teams 1-3 worked on an experiment on Radiation that had samples of soil, sand, water and air exposed to a sun lamp for 18 minutes. Teams 4-6 worked on conduction experiments to see if heat could travel through objects. Tomorrow the teams switch.

May 28, 2012 - School was closed today - It was Memorial Day

May 25, 2012 - We finished our Write-up of our experiment on radiation. We made a graph for the length of day work on page 133 of Bob and then set up our notebooks for Investigation 4 which is about how heat moves. Students that finished their notebook set-up went on to looking up glossary words via the internet.

May 24, 2012 - Everyone in grade 6 went to the auditorium this morning to see the Spring Concert performed by the school's orchestra, choir and band. Everyone sounded really great. In class we finished our write up for our investigation on the causes of the seasons. In the evening I went to the concert again at 7:00.

May 23, 2012 - I was not in school today. I left a reading on Cells. There were two readings on the page that you had to compare and contrast. This reading is for page 84 of your Sally notebook and is part of your Bug Camp project.

May 22, 2012 - We continued with our experiment using globes, heat lamps, flashlights, rulers and graph paper. We want to find out how incoming light from the sun causes seasons. Is it the tilt of the earth? Is it the distance from the sun? During all prep periods I was helping to set up the 8th grade practical test in room 248 and 448. The test begins for the 8th graders tomorrow.

May 21, 2012 - It was a half day for students, but we began an experiment today to gather proof about the angle of incoming light and the amount of heat that is available to warm the earth. We need to prove that the tilt of the earth causes the seasons. We received a sticker for our planner telling that the next ten pages of the Big Camp project are due on May 30. These pages include page 88 through 98. In the afternoon, Mr. Melhado, Mr. Blum and i began to grade the DYO science exams.

May 18, 2012 - We walked back from the New York Hall of Science at 9:00. Students at school were working puzzle given to them by the substitute teacher. In the afternoon we had the Black and White dance during periods 7 & 8.

May 17, 2012 - We finished working on the Science DYO Test today. When school ended all students going on the Overnight Trip to the New York Hall of Science met in the auditorium. We left for our walk to the museum at 4:30. It took us an hour to get there and were escorted by a police car from the 115 pct. At the museum we went to the playground for an hour and then ate dinner. After we ate, we went on a scavenger hunt through the museum answering questions in our science log books. We also worked on an experiment in the science lab, went to a dissection of a cow's eye at the demonstration area and saw a 3-D movie called Nomeo and Juliet.

May 16, 2012 - Well, everyone took the DYO science exam for the sixth grade today. I seemed too long and most students did not finish it. While everyone was working on their test, I was marking the Bog Camp project pages (76-86) in the Sally notebook. We had our second Comic Book Trade in the school library today during lunch periods. The Art show was this evening in the school cafeteria at 6:00 PM.

May 15, 2012 - We went outside today for our May site visit to Veteran's Plaza. Our goal was to draw  pictures of two natural items found in the park and to collect one item to attach to the page in our Sally notebook. It was raining lightly throughout the day, but we were able to get our work done. We used two new weather data collection tools today. One was a sling psychrometer. this instrument uses two thermometers. One is wet and one is dry. The difference in temperatures between these thermometers helps us determine the humidity. We also used some new electronic wind speed meters. Today I collected and graded the Sally notebooks from 6-246. I was looking for Bug Camp project pages 76-86. I sent out an e-mail with photos from today's park work.

May 14, 2012 - We were off today to the Planetarium in Manhattan to see the Sky Show on the Sun. We left at 9:15 and arrived back at school at 1:30.The show was terrific explaining about dark matter and the beginning of our universe. Woopie Goldberg was the narrator and talked about the energy from our sun coming from the fusion of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. things were great and then there was the Gift Shop. When we arrived back at school, 6-241 helped me make the tags for the upcoming trip to the Hall of Science.

May 11, 2012 - We finished working with the microscopes today and also set up our notebooks for our next Investigation on Seasons.

May 10, 2012 - We were back at school and working with the microscopes again. We had both optical and computer microscopes at each workstation. We were looking and making sketches of the insect parts we observed under the microscopes. The computer microscopes allowed us to print our views. We were also comparing our insect slides to the 1cm grid slide to estimate their size. Today was also the first day of our Mother's Day Plant Sale.

May 9, 2012 - We woke up and packed our bags. After breakfast we messed with animal skulls and skins. We then wrote in our log book journals. We left to come back to school at 2:00 PM and arrived at school at 4:30 PM. Students in school worked on a reading about microscopes.

May 8, 2012 - Students in school worked on a reading about Seasons. On the trip we started the day with Project Adventure. This is a team building activity that had us climbing walls and squeezing through hanging tires. Throughout the day we had workshops at the pond and hikes in the forest. In the evening, Bill Robinson brought large birds of prey for an animal demonstration.

May 7, 2012 - Students in school went to see the movie the Hunger Games. Mr. Melhado and Mr. Grambo went on the Sixth Grade Overnight Trip to Taconic Outdoor Education Center. We arrived at Stoney Kill Farm at 10 AM going into the barn to learn about sheep, cows and chickens. At the farm we talked about our food, how it is grown and about the water we drink. we left the farm at 2 pm and arrived at Taconic around 3. We soon started hikes and animal programs that led us through the evening.

May 4, 2012 - Out came the Microscopes today. In order to complete the pages I requested from my students on the Bug Camp unit, they need to use a microscope. We want to find out how far across we can see inside the microscope. This is called our Field Of View. We did this by looking at a one centimeter grid broken into millimeter sections. How many millimeters across (boxes from the grid) could you see? The next question is, could you compare this grid RULER to other objects to estimate their size? We will use the microscopes again next week.

May 3, 2012 - We finished our writ-up for our experiment with the syringe to prove that air occupies space and has pressure.

May 2, 2102 - Everyone was busy trying to prove that air could take up space and have pressure using a syringe and hose. We then put a small balloon inside the syringe to see what would happen. When we forced air into the tube the balloon compressed. When we pulled back on the plunger the balloon seemed to get larger. Our data today consisted of things we saw, felt and heard. We did not get numbers like past data charts brought us.

May 1, 2012 - We started an experiment today on page 128 of our Bob notebook that uses two 60ml syringes, a 8 inch piece of tubing and a fork to prove again that air has pressure and takes up space. Friday we will be using microscopes in class to help with our Bug Camp project.

April 30, 2012 - It was a half day for students while the teachers went to meetings about the Common Core programs and the assessment tests. In class we were finishing the air pressure/ Can Crush experiment. I put a sticker in everyone's planner explaining that the next ten pages of the Bug Camp project (pages 77-87) needs to be completed by May 10.

April 27, 2012 - We continued with our Air Pressure experiment. Students that brought in an aluminum can got to implode their can by heating it to remove the air. As they touched the can to the surface of a tank of water to seal the top of the can, air outside the can crushed the empty can. The Space Shuttle Enterprise was flown to New York today to become part of the Intrepid Air And Space Museum. At about 11:15 AM it flew over our school on the back of a Boeing 747 on it's way to land at Kennedy Airport.

April 26, 2012 - It was day two of the state math exam. In class today we reviewed the two experiments we have already completed showing that air has mass and that air takes up space. Today's experiment has us heating and crushing a can to show that air has pressure. Today was Poem In Your Pocket Day.

April 25, 2012 - The day started with the first part of the State Math Exam. Afterwards we worked on experiments to prove that air has mass and that air takes up space. We worked on two experiments today and had the children move to the experiments that were set up at different stations in the classroom. I collected the Sally books from the last class, 6-246. The first section of the Bug Camp project has been graded for all classes.

April 24, 2012 - We worked on our park project today for Veteran's Plaza. Today we collected weather data and wrote a poem. The poem had to begin with one of two lines that was pre-determined and written on our worksheet. Students had a share out at the end and read their poems to each other. I collected and looked at the Bug Camp work in the Sally Books from 6-241. for the next. three days we will be taking our State Math Test.

April 23, 2012 - We continued with our charts of the Atmosphere on page 124 of Bob. We also answered three questions on page 123 about the atmosphere. One of those questions was about where space begins which is 100Km above the surface of the earth. I collected the Sally notebooks from 6-237 and looked at their Bug Camp work.

April 20, 2012 - On page 121 of Bob we wrote down what a Meteorologist is and what they do. For Homework this weekend we need to write out a weather report and pot it onto page 120. We then had a discussion About the atmosphere. Our goal is to make a chart of the atmosphere. We can gather information from a weather chart book on out desk, from an atmosphere chart on the hallway wall and from the internet.

April 19, 2012 - Everyone set up their notebooks for Investigation 2 in Weather Watch. We finished with the third and final part of this years ELA exam. In the evening our school hosted Science Night. All the science teachers presented workshops to students and their parents. We brought in a live animal program with large birds like hawks and owls. Mr. Blum set up an inflatable theater in the gym. Teachers made thumb pianos, slime and rocket cars. Everyone had a fun time learning with their parents and parents loved to work with their children. It was great to watch the teachers working with both adults and children.

April 18, 2012 - We finished with our plot of Hurricane Dean. This was the second day of our State ELA exam. We will start to collect and grade the Bug Camp work that was done on pages 69-76 of the Sally notebook.

April 17, 2012 - Everyone took the first part of their State ELA test today. Students that came to science today worked on their plot of Hurricane Dean. We watched a short video of a meteorologist talking about the hurricane and giving warning to the people that lived on the island of Jamaica.

April 16, 2012 - We started the period by going over the Ecosystem quiz we took before we went on vacation. I collected the permission slips for Veterans Plaza and we talked for a few minutes about the sinking of the Titanic.

April 9-13, 2012 - School is closed for Spring Recess. Homework is to work in the Sally notebook on pages 69 - 76

April 6, 2012 - School was closed today. It was the first day of Spring Recess.

April 5, 2012 - There was a Quiz today on the work we did in Sally on the Ecosystem. After the quiz students worked on missing readings and then worked on their Bug Camp Project pages.

April 4, 2012 - Students spent time making their plot of the path of Hurricane Dean. I sent everyone two e-mails today. One was a color coding chart for hurricanes. The other was an article on a photograph of the iceberg that the Titanic hit. We had the Comic Book Trade today. The next two are on May 16 and June 6.

April 3, 2012 - We gave out an Interest Form for Science Night. Then we put two stickers in the planner to remind us that we have an Ecosystem Quiz on Thursday and we have to start our project on Bug Camp over the Spring Recess. We discussed Hurricanes and the started to plot the progress of Hurricane Dean on a North Atlantic Hurricane Tracking Map.

April 2, 2012 - We watched two videos today on weather. One was on Hurricanes and the other was called Things That Fall From The Sky. We wrote about the videos onto a booklet on page 118 of our Bob notebook. We had a discussion on hail. I sent everyone pictures this afternoon of a hailstorm we had on August 1, 2011. This hailstorm smashed cars in my neighborhood. A reading on Hurricanes was given for homework tonight. Tomorrow we will learn to plot the path of a hurricane and really need to know what a hurricane is.

March 30, 2012 - We filled in the KWL chart on page 113 of Bob and then went on to writing our definition of the word Weather. This work went onto page 113 and was also put into our Glossary. Some classes began to watch the video Things That Fall From The Sky.

March 29, 2012 - We worked on a reading today about Weather. There were actually two readings that we had to compare and contrast. Information then had to be put onto a Venn Diagram. We also had out Hawaiian Dance this afternoon after school from 3:30 to 6:30.

March 28, 2012 - It was time to go to Veterans plaza to work on a Haiku Poem and to gather weather Data for March. Mr. Blum planted Daffodil and Bluebell bulbs, which were flowering. The Red Maple trees had seed pods all over them and the grass was growing. It was 63 degrees F today. During my free periods, I ran over to BJs wholesale Club store to get supplies for tomorrows dance.

March 27, 2012 - We went over the test on Simple Machines. We then set up our Bob notebooks for our new unit of study on Weather. Our first Investigation will be on Things that fall from the sky. We will be plotting the path of a hurricane and will find out about hurricanes in this weather investigation.

March 26, 2012 - We received Progress Report number 6 today. The Third Marking Period ends this Friday. This will give our students a few days to see what they are missing and hand in work. The test from Friday was handed back to everyone. We spend time today taking the School Survey. I went over the questions and the students filled in their grids and then sealed the grids in the envelopes that were provided for them. Students seemed to have concerns about many questions on the survey.

March 23, 2012 - We worked on the Simple Machines test during class today. When we were finished, we picked up the worksheets needed to set up our Sally notebook for our upcoming project called Bug Camp. We then put a sticker in our planner to tell us that we had to glue these papers into our Sally notebook this weekend. Tickets went on sale for next weeks Hawaiian theme dance.

March 22, 2012 - We reviewed all the work we have done with Simple Machines. We are having a test tomorrow.

March 21, 2012 - We started by talking about Rube Goldberg and his artistic inventions. Our students then went about their experimentation building contraptions to lift their loads. Today was the last day of this experimentation.

March 20, 2012 - We started on a two day project that has us lifting the 240 gram load to a height of 12 inches with the least amount of effort in the class. We can use the ramp, pulley, lever or a combination of anything we have learned. For homework we received a reading on Rube Goldberg.

March 19, 2012 - It was a backward half day. 6-239 handed in their Sally notebooks today. All classes have now finished their ecosystem project and have had their notebooks graded. In class we finished up the pages on the Inclined Plane experiment and began to talk about Energy. During lunch, students came up to class to experiment with Roller Coasters.

March 16, 2012 - We wrote what we learned about Inclined planes onto page 102 of Bob and attached paged about Energy into our notebook. For homework we received a reading on the Screw and Wedge. I collected the Sally notebooks of 6-237 and 6-246 today and graded the Ecosystem Project.

March 15, 2012 - When experimenting on Inclined Planes, we noticed that from the side of the things we built, you could see a big triangle. We measured sides, heights and angles. Last week we read an article on Pythagoras. He had ideas about triangles and their relationships to other geometric shapes. In class today, we worked on the math behind the Pythagorean Theorem. We wrote about this math onto pages 98 and 99 of Bob. I collected and graded the Ecosystem work of 6-239 today.

March 14, 2012 - We finished our experimentation with inclined planes. We went over what is needed on pages 93 through 97 of our Bob notebooks. Any unfinished pages were assigned to be finished for homework. Today was the Chorus Pop Concert at 7:00 PM; 6-239 was part of the concert,

March 13, 2012 - We started the period with a journal entry that included a review of the method we use to write out our math work in science. We wrote this Journal Entry onto page 104 of Bob. We then continued with our experimentation on the Inclined Plane. We should be finished with our experiment tomorrow.

March 12, 2012 - A letter was given out today to be brought home to parents about AIDS/HIV lessons we would teach this year. We then went on to work with our experimentation on the Inclined Plane. Our job is to figure out how to lift a wheelchair up three steps and into a door using an inclined plane. During period two, I went up to Dr. Wu's class on the fourth floor, where they were dissecting fetal pigs.

March 9, 2012 - We reviewed the math homework again and then opened our Bob notebooks to page 93 where we filled out the KWL chart for Inclined Planes. We discussed at the SmartBoard moving someone up four steps and into a house using an inclined plane. We set up the experiment and everyone began. We now have a protractor and measuring tape to include with our equipment.

March 8, 2012 - Everyone worked on a paper today to explain what they were good at, what they could use help in and what could be done to help move they up just a bit with their grades. we then put page 67 into Sally and put a sticker into our planner letting us know that we need to have pages 60 through 67 of the Ecosystem project finished by next Wednesday. Mrs. DelValle came in when 60239 was in the room. She helped team teach the lesson on Math. We started handing out the permission slips for the Taconic overnight trip in May.

March 7, 2012 - Students had the day off from school, while Teachers and staff went to meetings and planning sessions. Mr.Melhado, Mr.Blum and I started to put together your next big sixth grade test. We then compared student notebooks to see how we each do things in our classrooms. We want to see what works great for each of us so we can do better with our students for next year. In the afternoon, I went to a team meeting where we talked about who is doing well and who looks like they might need some help. We made up a sheet that we will give out on Thursday, where you can indicate what you do well in and what you might need help in. These sheets will help us to help you.

March 6, 2012 - We continued working on Math problems today. The math included Power, Efficiency and Mechanical Advantage. These examples were done on pages 82 and 83 of Bob. For Homework there was a worksheet with more examples of all this math work. After being looked at, it will be glued into Bob on page 84. During periods 1 and 2 today we went to the auditorium to see the school play Seussical Jr.

March 5, 2012 - Everyone received their work on the Pythagoras article and a Progress Reports was given out to each student today. These Progress Reports must be brought back signed by tomorrow. In class we were working on page 82, 83 and 84 in our Bob notebooks with Math problems that have to do with simple machines experiments. Our  Math examples today were about work.

March 2, 2012 - we went over the reading on Pythagoras from yesterday and then set up our notebook for our upcoming experimentation on the Inclined Plane or Ramp. I then collected any work that students may have before I made up the Progress Reports.

March 1, 2012 - I was out sick today. Since we are going to start on Inclined Planes, I left a reading with Ms. Filakouris on Pythagoras. This Greek mathematician had many ideas and theories about the nature of triangles. When you build a ramp and look at it from the side you see a triangle. His ideas tell us about the ramp and inclined plane.

February 29, 2012 - On page 92 of Bob we wrote down everything that we have learned about pulleys and then we cleaned up our experiment pages. We are ready to move on to the Inclined Plane. The Sally notebooks in all classes have been collected and graded.

February 28, 2012 - We talked about the Sally journals that were turned in and the lack of work that was done in them. We then went on to Team charts showing what they learned and discovered about pulleys. Progress Reports will be handed out this Friday.

February 27, 2012 - It was such a beautiful day here at Veterans Plaza. We were collecting a tree bud and looking at new plant growth today. It was 50 degrees F today with a 5 mph wind from the NE. there was not a cloud in the sky. Daffodils that Mr. Blums classes planted were beginning to come up. I collected the Sally notebooks from 6-241 and 6-237 today. During period 5 we went to the auditorium for a Candy Sale Assembly.

February 20-24, 2012 - School was closed for Mid Winter Recess or Presidents Week.

February 17, 2012 - We talked about Bullying today. It was Respect  week and the Science Department decided to talk about Bullying on Friday. I also gave a reading on bullying. For Homework over the vacation I wan everyone to work on pages in Sally for the Ecosystem Project. These pages include page 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59.

February 16, 2012 - We worked on a reading about pulleys today. Everyone thinks a pulley is a wheel, however, there is a grove in this special wheel that holds a rope. This rope is used to lift an object. In this reading we also found out how to make a pulley system from recycled sewing materials.

February 15, 2012 - Today we were finishing up our experimentation with double pulleys. In some cases the effort became less than the 240g mass that we were trying to lift. in other cases the effort became far greater than the 240g. In the afternoon, all sixth grade classes went to see the African American History Show. This show was presented to us during periods 7 and 8.

February 14, 2012 - I gave back the notebook snapshots and we continued experimenting with the double pulleys. As students cane up with new ideas, they drew them onto our Smart Board and then onto page 86 and 87 of their Bob notebook.

February 13, 2012 - I wanted to see what everyone was doing and thinking, so I needed to take a snapshot of their notebook. I asked for a journal entry and a comparison of pulley systems that they have built. This information was given to me on a worksheet that I looked at, copied for myself and gave back to the students to attach to page 88 of their Bob notebooks. Students need to look carefully at their drawings to make sure everyone can understand what they are trying to explain.

February 10, 2012 - Everyone was really working, trying to figure out the many ways to use two pulleys together to lift the 240g load with the least amount of force. Some students were even figuring out specific controlled variables to help keep their experiment from being "messed up". In the late afternoon, we held our Valentine Dance in the student Cafeteria. More than 300 students attended this event. We were collecting paper for our paper drive as admission to the dance.

February 9, 2012 - We set up our notebooks for an experiment that involves using two pulleys. We want to see if lifting the load will be made easier (will the effort become less). We wrote out our Hypothesis and began experimentation.

February 8, 2012 - We finished with the Single Pulley. We found that we may have pulled in one direction and moved the load in a different direction, but the effort required to lift the load was the dame as the mass of the load. It did not seam that the single pulley made it any easier to lift this load. The students that finished earlier continued working on the ecosystem pages in the Sally notebook. 6-246 appeared to have completed their work, so I spot checked their Sally books. They need to spend more time on their books this weekend. In the evening I e-mailed everyone some history on Veterans Plaza along with a map of the area, more photographs and the longitude and latitude of our site study park.

February 7, 2012 - We continued working on our Single Pulley Experiment. It was Open School or Parent Conferences today. I met with over 60 of your parents in both the afternoon and evening conferences.

February 6, 2012 - We started the class with a Journal Write on page 74 of our Bob notebook. We then looked at what we have written about the single fixed pulley before starting experimentation with the Free pulley. This experimentation spans pages 78 through 81 of Bob. Our Homework today was to make sure we have completed all written work in Sally on pages 3 through 24 (My Piece of the Neighborhood) and for our Ecosystem Project up to page 49. Everyone received their Report Cards today.

February 3, 2012 - We finished viewing projects today. We were given homework pages from our Sally notebook on our Ecosystem project. If our class finished viewing projects early, we started working on the pages assigned for homework in our Sally notebook.

February 2, 2012 - We are finishing up looking at project in these next two days. Some classes did not present their projects because of the practice math and ELA tests. Mrs. Filakouris came in to observe during period 2 when 6-239 was presenting and Mrs. DelValle cam in to observe when 6-241 was presenting.

February 1, 2012 - We went to Veteran's Plaza today to work on our study site project. We wanted to see if the soil was hard and frozen. We pushed a stuck with ruler measurements into the soil to see how far into the soil it could be pushed. We also collected a soil sample and collected weather data. It was 62 degrees F today. We were able to go to the park without our jackets on. We received a homework reading on Ground Hog Day which we will discuss tomorrow in class.

January 31, 2012 - It was now Team 5s turn to present their projects to their classmates. Could everyone see the Independent Variables in each project presented?

January 30, 2012 - This was a half day, so team 3 only showed some of their projects to the class. Projects that were not seen today, will be seen on Thursday. We have one more full day to view projects.

January 27, 2012 - Team 6 brought in some amazing projects today. For the past wee we have been grading both projects and Jake notebooks. We will continue to look at projects on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Today was also Crazy Hair Day. My hair was blue today.

January 26, 2012 - Projects from team 1 were shown to everyone today. The practice math exam was not given this morning. It was moved to next Thursday. We still do not have all the permission slips we need to go to Veteran's Plaza for February 1. Tomorrow is Crazy Hair Day

January 25, 2012 - We continued Viewing Science Fair Projects. Today we looked at projects from Team 2. There was a practice ELA exam this morning. 6-239 did not get to show their projects, so they will show them on February 2.

January 24, 2012 - This was our first day of viewing Science Fair Projects. Today we looked at the projects from team four. Students presented their projects to the class and also handed in their completed Jake notebook for grading.

January 23, 2012 - We were not able to go to Veteran's Plaza today, as not all students brought in their permission slips. We will use our rain date of February 1. We received our dates for Science Fair Project presentation. Then, mr.Grambo presented a project to the class sp that everyone understood what they were to to for the next few days as students in the class presented projects. Our job is to hear the presentations, view the display boards ask questions and then grade the projects based on the rubric given to us on page 8 of our Jake notebook.

January 20, 2012 - Everyone worked in their Sally notebooks on the new Ecosystem Project. Today we worked on pages 42, 43, 44 and 45. We used different rooms because Mr.Kapella was using room 246. Mr. Kapella was working with artifacts on an ancient Egypt project. During period 2 we all went to the auditorium to see a presentation on Lucielle Armstrong. This presentation was given by Mrs. Kennedy. The PTA  had a bake sale today and it was the end of the second marking period.

January 19, 2012 - We looked at the Sally book and talked about our upcoming Ecosystem project. We signed the contract and filled in our KWL Chart. We then worked on our Pulley experiment. Since tomorrow is the final day of the second marking period, many students are trying to make up missing work.

January 18, 2012 - We began our work on the pulley Experiment. We wrote out a hypothesis added pulley and added rope to our equipment list. Most students started with the pulley fixed to a bar attached to the ringstand.  We started to put data onto the chart on page 80 of Bob.

January 17, 2012 - Students were given back their tests from Friday on Levers. We also received Progress Report number 4. We then set up our Bob notebook for our next experiment which is on the single fixed and free Pulley. We finished the period by filling out the KWL chart no pulleys which is on page 77 of Bob.

January 16, 2012 - School Closed - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 13, 2012 - Students took a test today on the Lever. While everyone was working on their test I was grading pages 63 to 70 in each Bob notebook. These pages were the experiment we worked on for the Class 2 and 3 Lever System. For Homework we received a reading on the Wheel.

January 12, 2012 - Everyone set up their Sally notebook for our upcoming Ecosystem project and then finished up the work in their Bob notebook on pages 63-70. Tomorrow there will be a test on levers. We received a reading for homework on Class 3 lever systems.

January 11, 2012 - the class talked about the differences between the three types of lever systems. I brought in sports equipment and as a class we examined the equipment and decided what type of lever systems they would be when they were being used. We received a reading on Class 2 levers for homework.

January 10, 2012 - We looked at actual science fair displays today. Projects were set up around the room and everyone had time to go a look at the projects. then discussed what we looked at. Students went home with a reading on Second Class levers.

January 9, 2012 - We watched a video today called Science Shack. This video explained how to work on a science fair project and put together the display. We wrote about the video in our Jake notebooks on page 10.

January 6, 2012 - We worked today to finish the write up for this experiment which spans pages 63 through 70 of Bob. Work not finished is homework.

January 5, 2012 - We worked on the graph today for our experiment. We also too a look to see what type of levers in some sports equipment. This evening our school held it's second Open House for next years incoming students. Many children from our classes stayed to help as tour guides. I began to collect and go through the Jake notebooks.

January 4, 2012 - We wrote a journal entry into our Bob notebook onto page 53. I gave out papers showing the students missing work. We then worked together to make sure we had gathered data for our experiment on second and third class levers. We found that the closer the effort is to the fulcrum in a Third Class Lever, the more effort is needed to lift the load. The Third Class Lever is not a very efficient lever system.This data was put onto page 65 of Bob. Today is Dr. Broders Birthday

January 3, 2012 - We just came back from Winter Break. Everyone received their reading on levers and their Mid Term Assessment back. We glued them into our Bob notebook and talked about both papers. It is important that everyone answers a question that is asked of them instead of any old question. We have to spend some time making sure everyone understands variables. This week I will begin to look at the Jake notebook to make sure everyone has begun work on their Science Fair Projects.

January 2, 2012 - School closed for Winter Break

December 26-30, 2011 - School closed for Winter Break

December 23, 2011 - We spoke about using our Jake notebook for our Science Fair Projects which must be finished in one month. We are to write up our experiment in our Jake notebook as we work on our experiment. In class we continued working with our second and third class lever experiment. Today was Crazy Hat Day.

December 22, 2011 - I was not in school today. Today is the first day of winter. Winter began at 12:30 a.m. I sent everyone an e-mail about Winter.

December 21, 2011 - It was time for our third site visit to Veterans Plaza. Today we made sketches of three items at our study site. We then took several weather readings using various instruments. It was raining today, so we could not stay outside for an extended period of time. This weather data was put up onto the Smart board and onto page 22 and 23 of our Sally notebook along with today's sketches.

December 20, 2011 - Today was our Community Concert. Mr. Grambo was all over the place in the morning. In class we worked on a reading about Archimedes. Our Chancellor, Dennis Walcott came to our school today to see the concert. Seniors from our school community as well as students prom PS 228, PS 148 and PS 149 were at our concert today.

December 19, 2011 - Class 6-241 worked on the Class 2 and 3 lever experiment before everyone went off to the movie house to see Hugo. In the afternoon I set up room 129 for our Senior visitors for tomorrows Community Concert.

December 16, 2011 - We continued working on our experimentation with Class 2 and 3 levers. I collected Progress Reports. After School we held our Holiday Dance. Over 400 students went to the dance today.

December 15, 2011 - We know we have a First Class Lever system if the fulcrum is in the middle. Now we have to figure out what a second and third class lever system look like and do. We started this experiment today. Mr. Fahey walked in and worked with us while 6-237 was in class. In the morning we were watching the Winter concert. All classes received their progress Reports today.

December 14, 2011 - With our First Class Lever experiment finished we moved on and set up our bob notebook for our next experiment on Second and Third Class Lever Systems. We talked more about line graphs and how to interpret information off of them. I looked over the ideas that students wrote into their Jake notebook for possible Science Fair projects. They wrote their ideas onto page 7 of Jake. During our lunch period several students worked on Holiday Cards for their families.

December 13, 2011 - We worked on the writing portion of the experiment for pages 54 through 58 of Bob. The homework reading on Creating a Winning Display was collected and we reviewed graphs. We need to have page 7 of Jake filled in for tomorrow. This page explains our choice for Science Fair Project.

December 12, 2011 - Today was a half day for students and the day ran backwards. We worked on writing the procedure for our experiment on levers. We started selling tickets today for our upcoming Holiday Dance. In the afternoon we started grading the Mid-Term assessment tests.

December 9, 2011 - Before having our Festival, we went to the auditorium, where we put together our Jake notebook and then watched a video. Our Jake notebook is a book that will allow us to write notes about our upcoming Science Fair Project. Ideas for the project must come from page 6 of Jake. For homework we were given a reading called Creating A Winning Display. It is time to get started on our projects.

December 8, 2011 - The entire Second Floor Sixth Grade went to Queens Borough College to see a show called Caribbean Holiday Dance Program. When we arrived back to school we finished our Mid Term assessment.

December 7, 2011 - Everyone worked on the Mid Term Assessment test today. We will finish the test tomorrow during period 7 after we come back from our trip to the theater. On Friday we will set up the Science Fair section in our Jake notebook. This is Pearl Harbor Day. This morning we played FDR's speech over the loudspeaker during homeroom.

December 6, 2011 - Our practice test was returned and we then worked on our first class lever experiment. Most students finished gathering their experimental data this period. We proved that the further you were from the fulcrum the easier it was to lift the load.

December 5, 2011 - We finished up our practice test and then spent time working on our notebooks. I started setting up the papers for the Science Fair section of the Jake notebook. We will set up Jake on Friday of this week.

December 2, 2011 - we worked on a practice copy of our mid-term assessment. We found that the test took toooooo long and we will have to finish it on Monday. The real test will take place next Wednesday. The sixth grade teachers have to figure out a plan to shorten the test, or divide it across two days. Good thing we took the practice test.

December 1, 2011 - We started on our experimentation with First class levers today. This experiment begins on page 56 of our Bob Notebook and asks what will happen as we move the effort to different locations on the lever while keeping the load in one place. I also introduced a new piece of equipment to the students called a Torpedo Level. Ms. Delvalle came in during period 2 to watch 6-241 in action. Tomorrow there will be a practice test on the Scientific Method.

November 30, 2011 - We continued with the work on page 52 trying to figure out how to manage this variable we have pulling downward on the spring scale. Everyone voted today for Student Council President and  Vice President. Tomorrow we start on an experiment on First Class Levers.

November 29, 2011 - Today we discovered that if we use the spring scale to pull downward, we will get an error. The spring scale has a mass of 50g and that will add to the force registering on the scale as we pull downward. We have to figure out what to do with this. There are questions we must answer on page 52 of Bob. It was a half day today as it was Parent Teacher Conference afternoon and evening. I saw more than 90 parents of my students today.

November 28, 2011 - 6-246 went with me on a field trip to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. We went there to compare and contrast two environments, a wetland and a forest. We worked in our Sally notebook on pages 34 through 39. All students in class worked on a background reading on First Class Levers. As part of this reading students had to explain how a claw hammer was a first class lever.

November 25, 2011 - School was closed today for Thanksgiving Break.

November 24, 2011 - School was closed today for Thanksgiving. I sent out an e-mail today about the meaning of Thanksgiving.

November 23, 2011 - After finding that pushing at point A was more difficult than pushing at point C, we had to find a better way to prove that the force required to lift the load from point A was different from that of points B and C. The subjective, oh it felt more difficult method was no longer good enough and not quite scientific either. We experimenter today to show how a rubber band could be used as a measuring tool along with a ruler, but this method was not very accurate either. A spring scale was a better alternative. The spring did not stretch out of shape. We documented today's work onto page 51 in our Bob notebook. During period 2 today, all sixth graders went to the auditorium to hear speeches from the students that were running for sixth grade SO Vice President.

November 22, 2011 - Students worked at their desks today to build levers. The fulcrum was in the middle making it a First class lever. The load was at 15 cm from the fulcrum. Students then pushed down at three different points that they called A, B and C. A was closest to the fulcrum. They had to explain which point was easier to push at and explain why. Pushing with a finger, however, is subjective, and we need to find a more scientific way to prove our point. We will get to this in a few days.

November 21, 2011 - Classes went outside to Veterans Plaza today to visit their study site. It was 52 degrees F and mostly cloudy all day. we collected leaves and made leaf rubbings to put onto page 21 of Sally. Our goal outside today was to see how our study site had changed since we visited it on October 25. Throughout the day I hosted three auditorium programs for our upcoming Student Organization Elections.

November 18, 2011 - We made sure that everyone had their definition for simple machines and then went on to the lever. We set up the KWL chart and talked about Amusement Park rides that are based on the lever. The next step was to use a lever system to lift me up. Could a student do this, and with only one hand? We experimented and found that there were two ways. Move me closer to the fulcrum or balancing point on the lever. The other was to move the board, so that the side I was standing on was closer to the fulcrum. In any case, the closer I was to the fulcrum, the easier it was to lift me up.

November 17, 2011 - We continued with our set up of the lever experiment section of our Bob notebook. When we finished we talked about Simple Machines. We filled in the KWL chart on page 30 of Bob and worked on a definition for page 31.

November 16, 2011 - We finished our on-line search of Energy terms. We then set up our Bob notebook for our upcoming experimentation on Levers.

November 15, 2011 -  Out teams went on-line to find out about energy. We had a discussion about how to search for information on line and how to tell the world where we found stuff - Oh I mean document things.

November 14, 2011 - We received a Progress Report today that explained all the work from Marking Period 1. Everyone looked over the progress report, then we wrote what we learned about Force onto page 44 of our Bob notebook. We set up pages 46-47 for a scavenger hunt on Energy. Our homework tonight was a reading on energy. I started setting up a bulletin board in the hallway for our work in Veterans Plaza.

November 11, 2011 - School was closed today for everyone in observance of Veterans Day.

November 10, 2011 - We went to Mr. Blum's classroom today to find out about the ancient force game of Tug-of-War. We played the game in class with teams of four people on each side of the rope. For Homework there was a reading on the history of the game of tug-of-war.

November 9, 2011 - Everyone took a test today on Force and Motion.

November 8, 2011 - Students were off from school for Election Day. Teachers and other Staff were in school at meetings all day.

November 7, 2011 - 6-246 and 6-241 came to class today. We went over the homework on Unbalanced Forces from Friday. All other classes went on a trip to Queens College to see a presentation called African Acrobats. This show was all about FORCES and the pushes and pulls we use to move things in our world. These acrobats used the forces we have in our everyday world to keep us walking and moving about and brought them to a whole new level. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time.

November 4, 2011 - It was time to draw forces as Force Diagrams on page 37 of Bob and talk about what a Resultant Force was. When forces acting on an object move in the same direction they add together and help each other. When forces acting on an object move in opposite directions they hurt each other and subtract from each other. Everyone received a reading for homework today on unbalanced forces.

November 3, 2011 - We tested out the uneven forces and found that the object moved. We need to show this as a diagram so that we ca explain what is happening to others in our scientific community. We talked about how we show force with arrows. We received a Reading for Homework on Balanced Forces.

November 2, 2011 - We tested out the possibilities of moving the bucket and found that all required a PUSH or PULL to move it. We then moved on to test to see what would happen if opposing forces that were equal acted upon each other. We used a POE chart (Predict, Observe, Explain) to write about today's experimentation. We used scaled to make sure the pressure or force was as we wanted. Tomorrow we will test opposing unequal forces.

November 1, 2011 - After filling out the Building Big Things contract on page 24 of Bob, we began to talk about FORCE. We came up with a definition for force and a list of possible ways to move a person that is sitting in a large bucket. Tomorrow we will test out some of these possibilities. Some students came up from lunch today to finish their pre-test. This is the second day of the Book Swap in the library.

October 31, 2011 - We set up our Bob notebooks to begin our science unit on Force / Motion and Simple Machines. We spoke for a while about force and that a force is a push or pull acting on an object trying to make the object move. We then handed out candy bags for Halloween. Today was the first day of our school Book Swap.

October 28, 2011 - Everyone took the Pre-Test today. This test is like the K in a KWL chart. It shows the knowledge we already know about the Science STUFF we will learn this year. At the end of the year we will take another test just like this one. We will compare the two to tee if we learned anything this school year.

October 27, 2011 - We worked today on a reading about the history of maps and map making. This reading is for our Sally notebook. We worked in groups of two on this reading. As part of our upcoming project we will be creating a map of Veterans Plaza. This afternoon was our Halloween Dance from 3:30 to 6:30.

October 26, 2011 - We began the period by writing the definitions for the various types of variables into our Glossary. We talked about the format for the scientific method and that we would have a test on it soon. We then worked in Sally. We set up our Table of contents, filled out the contract for the My Piece of the Neighborhood Project on page 5 and then worked on pages 10 and 11. Here we were comparing and contrasting famous scientists notebooks to see what they put into their books that we might find useful to put into our own.

October 25, 2011 - All teams went over to Veterans Plaza to begin work on our My Piece of the Neighborhood Project. Our Goal today was to pick a spot that we would come to each month to see or observe changes that occur from month to month. How does our area change over time? While out at the park we collected leaves to attach to our sally notebook to show plants native to our study site. About half way into the class period, we went back into school and taped our finds into our books. Today was the last day to purchase tickets for the Halloween Dance.

October 24, 2011 - It was a Professional Day today, which meant it was a half day for students. In class we put together our Sally notebooks. Ms Gardner checked the Bob notebooks to see that the Variable and conclusion questions from the Penny Experiment were finished for homework over this past weekend. We will be going outside tomorrow to Veterans Plaza to begin work on our park project in our Sally Notebook.

October 21, 2011 - Today we talked about types of variables (independent Variables, dependent variables, controlled variables and uncontrolled variables). We then worked on a sample graph for the Penny Experiment at the Smart Board. Everyone then went back to their teams to finish work on their graph. Homework was the conclusion questions for our experiment.

October 20, 2011 - We watched videos of water being placed onto pennies from droppers and saw the mound of water form. We then went into the hallway to demonstrate the idea of cohesion. After this we went back into the room and together we wrote up the procedure for our penny experimentation. We received a permission slip for our park project and we will be starting to work with our Sally notebook on Monday.

October 19, 2011 - We added words to out glossary (equipment, materials, procedure) and then continued with our Penny Experiment. Our goal today was to finish gathering all of our data. On the Smart Board we went over page 26 of Bob.

October 18, 2011 - We began work on our experimentation on the Scientific Method. Our experiment was on how much water a penny can hold with drops of water coming from a dropper. In this experiment, the dropper is being held at different heights. We will collect data from three trials, make averages and construct a graph.

October 17, 2011 - We looked at the written work from the Group Games Project band went over the Lab Safety reading homework from last Thursday. We then collected last Friday's Progress Reports. It was time to set up our notebook for our new work on the Scientific Method (Bob pages 26-28). We looked at the new equipment and Materials, listed them onto page 26 of Bob and talked about the Scientific Method. We will begin the experiment tomorrow.

October 14, 2011 - The student teams today were set at a task to Flip The Mat. The entire team needed to start on the brown side of a 2foot by 3 foot mat. The students could touch the mat, however, they could not touch the floor or leave the mat at any time. The task ended when the mat had been flipped over and everyone on the team was standing on the white side of the mat. Progress Reports were given out today.

October 13, 2011 - I was not in school today. I went to a meeting. I left a reading from Glencoe textbook on Lab Safety.

October 12, 2011 - In class we work in teams. Working as a team member, however, is not easy. How do we learn to listen to each other? Who talks first? How do we work TOGETHER? In class we began a two day activity called Group Games. This activity has the students working together to accomplish tasks and answer questions which will help them figure out how to be a good team member. These questions are on pages 16 and 17 of Bob.

October 11, 2011 - All students received a textbook today to take home. A signature will be required for the textbook on Friday's progress Report. Students also filled out a card with a book number. Mr. Grambo collected these cards so he can keep track of which book was given to which student.

October 10, 2011 - School was closed - Columbus Day

October 7, 2011 - We continued working with the scavenger hunt of our textbook. I collected and graded the Bob notebooks from 6-239 today.

October 6, 2011 - We began to look at our textbook and went over it's parts. There is a scavenger hunt of our textbook called Textbook Tour on pages 18 and 19 of Bob. We will spend a few days on this worksheet and with our textbook before we take it home. I began collecting and grading the Bob notebook. Today I collected books from 6-237

October 5, 2011 - We collected yesterday's homework and went over all parts of the procedure experiment (tomato Sauce) that went onto pages 12 through 15 of the Bob notebook. Some classes went to a play in the Gym during periods 7 and 8.

October 4, 2011 - In Mr. Blums room today, all classes found out about writing detailed procedures and that the more specific we are, the easier it is to follow your set of directions. In class we made tomato sauce and wrote directions on how we made the sauce. For homework, we had to write a set of directions for doing something like making a sandwich or riding a bike. We worked today on pages 12, 13 and 14 of our Bob notebook.

October 3, 2011 - We finished up page 10 and 11 of Bob. The class came up with a definition for the word Inference using the Think-Pair-Share method. We then wrote the definition onto page 11 and then into our Glossary. We moved on to begin our tour of the textbook we will use this year called New York Science - Grade 6. This tour is a scavenger hunt of the textbook. The tour is located in Bob on pages 18 and 19. We will work on it again this week before textbooks are handed out and taken home. Our new Student Teacher from Queens College came in starting today. She will be in from Monday to Thursday mornings.

September 29 and 30, 2011 - School was closed - Rosh Hashanah

September 28, 2011 - Today we learned about making an Inference. Our job was to draw in the missing frame of a cartoon strip. We used the other two frames as context clues to help us make decisions as to what might be included in the missing frame. These clues make our guess into a hypothesis or inference.

September 27, 2011 - We went over the hidden parts on a dollar bill today. Students came up to the Interactive White Board a circled parts the found. We added the word Observe to out glossary and index. We also finished up page 7 of Bob.

September 26, 2011 - I was not in school today. I went with Mr. Blum to plan our overnight trip to Taconic Outdoor Education Center for OPEX. The trip will be scheduled for May 7, 8 and 9, 2012. I left an assignment called Reading A Science Article. The substitute teacher was to have you work on this reading and then collect the work. After I look at it, your parents will sign it and it will then be glued to page 196 of Bob. You were then to write a journal entry for Friday's and Monday's work onto page 24a or 24b of Bob.

September 23, 2011 - Fall Begins today at 5:04 AM - We worked on an experiment today to see how well you really observe your world. You see things all the time like coins, but what do you know about them? Do you ever take the time to notice them? Our experiment is with a dollar bill, an object you have had in your hand hundreds of times. In this experiment we must figure out where all the parts of a dollar bill belong from memory. We use a KWL Chart, we cheat and still have a difficult time. We look, but never observed a dollar. Our next step was to help us remember details be doing a scavenger hunt on the bill to look for details. At last it was time to go home and torment our parents to find the pieces we had difficulty with.

September 22, 2011 - Today we wrote more Journal Entries about what we have done in science class since last Thursday. We then attached this sheet that we have been writing on between pages 24 and 25 of Bob. We went on to adding some information about the public library to our planner and also added some information to our planner and our Bob notebook about the UFTs program called Homework Helper. Our Bob Notebook is set and we are ready to begin our science work.

September 21, 2011 - We finished the internet safety contract and then talked about how to get a wonderful grade in science class. We attached the grading rubric to pages 192 and 193. On these pages we then wrote a paragraph explaining how to get a great grade.

September 20, 2011 - We went over the Lab Safety Contract today. This document tells about the safety features of our science lab and the dos and dont's of our classroom procedures. There was still time left, so we started the Internet Safety contract.

September 19, 2011 - We went over the papers we attached to the pages of our Bob notebook and labeled the tops of all the pages. In the afternoon, Mr. Grambo had to do two auditorium programs during periods 7 and 8.

September 16, 2011 - We made a copy of page 197 for Mr. Grambo and then started to set up our Bob notebook. There was a buffet table full of papers for us to attach to the pages of our notebook. We had to glue each page in and then title the top of the page. Mr. Grambo set up a place on his web page with information to help us set up our book:
http://www.armstrong227q.com/grambo/pages/bob_notebook.htm

What ever work we did not finish in class was to be finished over the weekend for homework.

September 15, 2011 - We have been in school now for one week. Today we took time to write a journal entry and reflect on what we have learned or done the past week in science. Scientists always write in journals and we will be writing in our bob notebook every day. We then looked at this blog on the Promethean board. Students that are having difficulties obtaining a library card were given a form today to take home and fill out. Next week I will plan a trip to the library with these children to help them obtain their card.

September 14, 2011 - Some students have been coming up from lunch to make e-mail addresses. In class We went over the class Grading Policy. All work is graded from 1 to 10. !0 is terrific and wonderful; It is 100%. a one is really bad. a 5 is 50% and a 7 is 70%. We can do work over again for a better grade. We will look at samples of work to see what good and bad work looks like.

September 13, 2011 - We finished our class rules today and needed to sign them and then show them to our parents. We need to get them signed by our parents too. Our HOMEWORK is to numbers the pages in our Bob notebook from 1-200. We will be putting our Bob notebook together on Friday. After finishing our rules, we started to collect the names and phone numbers of the members of the people at our table. This information was placed onto a yellow phone card. We also put two stickers onto this card . One contained information about the school, the other had information about Mr. Grambo.

September 12, 2011 - We checked over some of the items that we were supposed to have collected so far. We needed signatures on our supply list, we needed to make an e-mail address and needed to make sure we had a public library card. We then went on to cover more of our class rules.

September 9, 2011 - We started the period with a raffle. We learn to graciously accept the items given to us, we say thank you. We learn not to make hurtful faces and to make other feel bad. We looked at the items that are available to help us organize our lockers and began working on our class rules.

September 8, 2011 - This was the FIRST day of school for students. We made a folder in class for our science papers. We received our supply list, a paper about securing our library card and another about making a new e-Mail address. We will use this e-mail address throughout the year to receive newsletters. We were also given a raffle ticket. We want to work this year on concepts of helping out each other and being good to teach other.

September 7, 2011 - This was another day where the adults were in the building without the children. There were a lot more meetings today.

September 6, 2011 - The teachers and staff reported to school. We had meetings during the day and there was also time given to us to work on setting up the classrooms.

August 31, 2011 - We held the orientation for incoming students today. Twelve of our AV monitors came in to help out and gave students and parents tours of our school. Students went to classes held by teachers in our building. The fifth graders came in the morning session and the sixth graders came in the afternoon.

August 26, 2011 - I went into school to finish work on the classroom and to set up the computers and Promethean Board.

August 24, 2011 - I went into school today to begin to set up the classroom. Many items were removed from the room at the end of the year so that the floor could be waxed.

 

ENTRIES for 2011-2012 School Year begin on August 24, 2011