NWEA MAP Testing is Just Around the Corner!

It is that time of the fall...NWEA MAP Testing.  The previously mentioned accronym means: Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measure of Academic Progress (MAP).  At Glenbrook our students take this computerized assessment three times during the school year.  Once in the fall, again in the winter, and one last time in the spring.  This assessment is used to monitor student progress and needs across both individually and across a grade level.  Today, our students will view the following "Slide Rocket" in order to learn/review their upcoming tests in both Reading and Math.

**On a side note, our testing days and times are as follows:

• Tuesday, September 18 at 9:00 AM
• Tuesday, September 25 at 9:00 AM

DIVISIBILITY RULES!

In math we are working on learning about factors of products (answer to a multiplication problem).  For example, the number 15 has four factors: 1, 3, 5, & 15.  It's factor pairs are: 1x15, 15x1, 3x5, & 5x3.  Since there are four factor pairs, there will be four factors.

Today, we also discussed that if a number has more than two factors, it is a composite number, such as 15.  However, if a number ONLY HAS TWO factors, it is prime; such as 7 (1x7 and 7x1 - factors are: 1 and 7).

Check out this fun game to practice your prime and composite numbers, called "Fruit Shoot": 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/numbers/fruit_shoot_prime.htm

All that said, we are also learning how to tell if a number is divisible by either 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, or 10.  The rules are as follows:

• Rule of 1: ALL NUMBERS ARE DIVISIBLE BY 1.
• Rule of 2: Any number which ends in an even number (2, 4, 6, 8, or 0).
• Rule of 3: Add up the digits in the number.  If those digits are divisible by 3, the original number is also divisible by 3.
• Rule of 5: Any number which ends with either 0 or 5.
• Rule of 6: If the number is divisible by both 2 and 3, it is also divisible by 6.
• Rule of 9:  Add up the digits in the number.  If those digits are divisible by 9, the original number is also divisible by 9.
• Rule of 10: Any number which ends with a 0.

To practice these rules, some students made posters to show what they understood.  ALL of the posters turned out great!  The top poster was voted our class' favorite (also happened to be HUGE).

Newest Residence of our Classroom

Check out the newest residence of our classroom:

As seen above, yesterday we built small aquariums for our guppie fish to inhabit.  Along with guppies, each aquarium also contains several snails.  Plant life in the aquarium includes: algae, elodea, and duck weed. In the near future we will be combining our terrariums with our aquariums to create an "Eco-Column."

This activity was definitely a very fun and exciting one for all of our students!  Hopefully our newest residence will survive for a good, long time.

Field Trip to Castillo de San Marcos

Today our class went on a field trip to St. Augustine, Florida and visited Castillo de San Marcos.  It was awesome!

Okay, so we actually went virtually, but with the waves roaring and our imaginations flying, our field trip was very interesting.  On our virtual field trip, we were able to visit Castillo de San Marcos, which prior to that we had only seen a small, aerial view of, in our Social Studies text book.  

The virtual field trip provided a much better example of what living in the 1500's may have been like in New Spain at one of their many presidios.  Check out the website below to re-visit Castillo de San Marcos.

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/photos/military/marco/marco.htm

Terrariums Are Alive and Well!

In Science we have recently began building our Eco-Columns.  Step one is setting up our terrariums.  Prior to our bugs arriving we have to build a suitable place for them to live.  This past Friday we poured in a layer of gravel (natural filter), some dirt, and planted the following seeds: alfalfa, grass, and mustard.  We will fill in the remaining section with various debris from outside.  In the meantime, check out the progress our plants have made since just Friday!  They are definitely alive and well!