Week 3 - Sept 27

Kindergarten classes come to the lab this week. Rooms 1 and 3 will do phonics activities in Starfall. Room 2 will do counting games in Harcourt Math. (Note to parents: kindergarten activities are sometimes dictated by whether or not we want to use headphones. We are VERY careful about headphone use, especially if there are any classes in the school with lice issues.)

First graders will do reading activities in Starfall.
Ms. Link's class will start typing their fall poems.
Ms. Hilton's and Ms. Billings' classes will do math practice in FactMonster flashcards.
Ms. Shastri's class will learn how to log in to the tablets.
Third grade classes will continue working in Typing Web.
Ms. Malone's class will work in Typing Web.
Fifth grade classes will work on their writing projects.

Sept 19 - Week 2

No kindergarten classes this week.

First grade classes will do the STAR reading tests. Students will complete any unfinished literacy assessments.
Second grade classes will complete the STAR reading tests. Students who have completed the assessments will do math fact practice in Sheppard Math.
Fifth grade classes will do word processing.

All other classes will begin Typing Web and will complete any unfinished reading assessments.

Sept 12 - Week 1

Kindergarten classes come to the lab this week. They will practice mouse skills in Sheppard Math:

Find and Count Jungle

All other classes will start the STAR reading assessments.

Welcome Back!

Computer lab will be starting in a couple of weeks. We're looking forward to another great year!

May 31 - last week of computer lab

No kindergarten classes this week.

Third graders will enter their district math benchmarks answers and practice in Typing Web.
First graders will complete the phonics and math assessments in Let's Go Learn.
Ms. Link's class will do research on the California Chaparral ecosystem.
Ms. Billings' and Ms. Hilton's classes will research animals at the San Diego zoo site.
Fourth through sixth graders will finish presenting their power points.

May 23 - special post for room 12

Science Scavenger Hunt

Name_________________Teacher_______________

1. Look at the food chain on this page by scrolling down. Fill in the missing pieces:

trees and shrubs ________________ _______________

2. According to this chart, which ecosystem process have humans changed by cutting forests, which leads to increased erosion and flooding?

3. Read The Importance of Plants and explain why plants are the primary producers that sustain all other life forms on Earth.

4. In the Give Me a Little Air section of this website, it states that the atmosphere is part of the water cycle. Name the two important things that the atmosphere provides for the plants and animals in an ecosystem.

5. After reading about the White-tailed Deer, complete this sentence: _____________________ and ____________________ used to be predators of the white-tailed deer, but now _________________ and _____________ are the deer’s main predators.

6. Click on the map on this website to enlarge it. Write the four different ecosystems or biomes found on the continent of Australia.

7. Write the two types of rainforests and where they are found by clicking here.

8. Describe one physical adaptation of an elephant that allows it to survive during the intense dry season in the Tropical Savannah ecosystem.

9. Use this chart to fill in the blanks:

In the __________________biome, the temperature is always warm. The most common type of plant in the Taiga is ______________.

The cold, dry conditions in the ______________ will only support migrating animals.

10. Read the Getting Along section on this page. Write the three types of consumers in an ecosystem and what they eat.

11. What is a river’s contribution to the water cycle?

12. What is an estuary? What is the largest estuary in the United States?

13. Erosion is the process that breaks things down. Look at the photos to fill in these blanks: ____________ _______________ over thousands of years created Yosemite Valley and ___________ _______________ created the Grand Canyon as rocks were taken away.

14. Name the two types of “weathering” that break rocks down during erosion?

15. Once a rock has been broken down, what important force of nature actually helps move it along?

16. Look at the photos and read the captions in this erosion article. What caused the erosion at Venus Bay, South Australia ?

17. A floodplain is land that is close to a river bank and is covered with water when the river floods. How does flooding affect the land in a floodplain?

18. Erosion by rivers can result in the formation of valleys. Look at the photographs of three valleys. Read the paragraph around the bottom photo. What are the two factors that determine how quickly a river creates a valley?

19. Wind erosion is a problem for many farmers in the United States. Explain what wind erosion does to their fields.

20. Deltas form wherever rivers flow into a standing body of water such as a lake or ocean. What does a river deposit (or drop) at the mouth of the river to form a delta?

21. If you pour a glass of cold water on a hot day and water forms on the outside of the glass, this is an example of which step in the water cycle?

22. Read the paragraph about the jet stream. The jet stream steers masses of warm and cold air generally from ________ to ____________ across the United States. The jet stream is about _____ miles wide and _____ miles above the ground.

23. Scroll down and read the section called High and Low Air Pressure. It is more likely to rain if which type of air pressure system is moving to your area? ________________________________ How is air pressure measured? ______________________

24. Put your cursor on the word precipitation. What is precipitation? List 7 examples of precipitation.

25. Click on the word Cloud at the bottom of this menu. List three main types of clouds with a short description of each one.

26. Click on the words Wind Force on the menu. Watch the short videos of kids trying to fly a kite in different types of wind. Which two types of wind are best for kite flying?

27. Temperature is a degree of hotness or coldness that can be measured with a thermometer. Temperature can be measured in degrees on the ______________, ______________, and _____________ scales.

28. Using the temperature conversion calculator, 76 degrees Fahrenheit is __________ degrees Celcius?

29. The wind chill index is how cold the air feels to your skin when the air temperature is combined with the wind speed. Using the wind chill calculator, if the temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is 23 MPH, it feels like _________ degrees Fahrenheit.

30. Read the first three paragraphs about thunderstorms and fill in the blanks: Thunderstorms are most likely to happen in the ________ and ____________ months and during the _______________ and ______________ hours. The 3 key elements needed to form a thunderstorm are ___________, ____________, and ________. Thunderstorms usually produce ____________, ________ and ____________________.

31. List two things that happen to an object if the forces on it are unbalanced.

32. List three ways that friction can be useful.

33. Scroll down the page and read The Car and the Wall . Fill in the blanks: The law of ___________ is most commonly experienced when riding in cars and trucks. Upon contact with the wall, an _________________ force acts upon the car to abruptly __________________ it to rest.

34. Scientists calculate momentum by multiplying the mass of the object by the velocity of the object. Read the section called Momentum Basics. What example is given of an object that has a very small mass and a very high velocity?

35. Gravity is very important on Earth. It is what keeps you on the ground. Read the three sections on this webpage. If you drop a piano and an acorn, which will fall faster? ________________________. Why does a feather fall so slowly?

36. Read about Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. Write which law (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd) applies to the following statements: A cannon rolls back when a cannonball is fired ________ . A book is placed on a picnic table and three weeks later it is still there ________. Your Mom presses down on the accelerator while driving and the car speeds up ________ .

37. What happens to an object as it moves through air? ___________________________ Why are motorsport vehicles shaped a certain way?

38. Read these two paragraphs about simple machines. When you use a simple machine to move something, it seems ____________ because a simple machine reduces the amount of ___________ needed to accomplish the task.

39. Look at the chart on this website. List each simple machine and give one example (hint: to see examples, click on the word in the 3^rd column, proper terms for the examples are in a table under the photos)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

40. Read the second paragraph on this page. A wheelbarrow is an example of a compound machine made up by combining which 2 simple machines?

Week 34 - May 23

Kindergarteners come to the lab this week. They will finish the reading assessments and do phonics games.

First grade classes will complete the reading assessments and the Let's Go Learn math assessments.
Third grade classes will do typing practice.
Fourth through sixth grade classes will complete any unfinished assessments and finish presenting their powerpoints.