Go Fourth! With Mrs. Chappell's Class

Newsflash......

Plans have changed!  Goodbye 2nd grade...Hello 4th grade!

Try our video maker at Animoto.

If you're queasy, look away! Inside the eggs that died early.

Early Quitter (blood ring) --Was a white silkie

Review Irregular Verbs

Have

and has tell about an action that is happening now.

Use

have with I, you, we, they and plural nouns.

Use
has with he, she, it and singular nouns.

Use
had with all pronouns and nouns to tell about the past.

How to Post a Comment by Sierra

Jazmine's Oral Reading

This is a video of Jazmine reading our fluency passage this week. Listen to that wonderful expression in her voice. Her fluency is awesome! Keep practicing and you can sound like her. To be a fluent reader you need to have expression, accuracy, appropriate rate and smoothness.

Candling eggs on April 17, 2012

This is a video of when I candled our eggs on day 8.  It is very hard to see but if you look closely, you can tell that the chick is swimming about inside the egg.  If you look VERY closely you might even see it's beak or it's foot.  By day 8, a chick has started growing it's feathers and wings.  

Think Win-Win!

This week, we are going to refocus on Habit 4 from the 7 Habits for Kids.  I want each of you to make it a goal to work hard on your reading log.  Each of you have a charge to read 2 AR books each night at home.  I really want you to focus on accomplishing this goal.  It will help you in several ways.  It will strengthen your reading ability.  It will increase your comprehension ability.  It will boost your AR points.  It will increase our class accuracy rate.  It really is a "win-win".  It helps you, it helps ME, it helps your class.  

Habit 4 — Think Win-Win

Everyone Can Win

I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want. I make deposits in others’ Emotional Bank Accounts. When conflicts arise, I look for third alternatives.

Two of the eggs come out

These are two of the eggs that I had to take out of the incubator.  The one on the left is a bantam (small) egg and the one on the right is a large fowl egg (Coronation Sussex).  Can you look at the pictures and tell why you think they might have died in the shell?  Both of these had blood rings which means they were developing but died for some reason.  Can you guess why?

Chick Hatch Update

I just candled the eggs left in the incubator.  They all look really good!  I will try and take a video of the candling tonight when it gets really dark.  I want all of you to be able to see the chick embryos swimming around in their shells.  Very cool :-)

Hi fellow hatchers!  I just thinned out the incubator.  We are down to 5 Seramas, 6 "mutts", 6 Coronation Sussex, 4 blue silkies and 4 white silkies.  Sadly, 13 eggs came out.  They all had blood rings.  Sometimes, the trip in the mail is just more than an egg can take. 

Going on a Nature Walk

We have found a new app for our ipad that will identify different trees by their leaves.  We are about to go outside to take a nature walk and collect leaves from trees around our school.  Then, when we come back, we are going to identify them and make a book.

Helping Verbs

Use has in a sentence that tells about one.

Use have in a sentence that tells about more than one.

Use have in a sentence with the word I.

Use had in a sentence that tells about one or more than one.

Chick Hatch Round 2 is LIVE

I've gotten the first of the eggs loaded into the incubator.  They are the Coronation Sussex.  The rest of the eggs came today and they are resting for now.  I'll load them into the incubator tomorrow!  The serama eggs are tiny!!!

Studying Shapes in Math

The Rectangle

The Rectangle: A rectangle is a quadrilateral that has four right angles.  The opposite sides are parallel.

The Rhombus

A rhombus is a four-sided shape where all sides have equal length.
Also opposite sides are parallel and opposite angles are equal.
Another interesting thing is that the diagonals (dashed lines in second figure) of a rhombus bisect each other at right angles.

The Square

A square has equal sides and every angle is a right angle (90°)
Also opposite sides are parallel.

The Parallelogram

Opposite sides are parallel and equal in length, and opposite angles are equal (angles "a" are the same, and angles "b" are the same)

The Trapezoid

Trapezoid	Isosceles Trapezoid

A trapezoid (called a trapezium in the UK) has one pair of opposite sides parallel.
It is called an Isosceles trapezoid if the sides that aren't parallel are equal in length and both angles coming from a parallel side are equal, as shown.

Language Note: In the US a "trapezium" is a quadrilateral with NO parallel sides!

Sycamore Chick Hatch 2012

Live broadcast by Ustream

In our incubator, we have: 9 Coronation Sussex, white silkies, blue silkies and malaysian seramas.

Past and Present Verbs

A Chart to Help Us Practice

Now	Past
come	came
run	ran
give	gave
go	went
do	did
see	saw

Decorah Eagle on Live Webcam

Stream videos at Ustream

Bailey the Sea Turtle

We were watching Winter the dolphin and we found Bailey the sea turtle in another webcam at the same marine aquarium.  Very cool!

More Irregular Verbs

Can you identify the verbs?

Today, I go to the library.

Today, Paula goes to her friend's house.

Yesterday, Marcus went to the playground.

Today, the children do their homework.

Chris does the dishes.

Yesterday, they did a crossword puzzle.

The boys see the coach.

Today, Jessica sees a runner.

Yesterday, Ben saw a soccer player.

Calendar Poem to Remember the Days in a Month

Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one,
Save February, with twenty-eight clear,
And twenty-nine each leap year.

Still studying Irregular Verbs

Verbs that tell about NOW	Verbs that tell about the PAST
Come, comes	Came
Run, runs	Ran
Give, gives	Gave

Malaysian Seramas, Coronation Sussex, Blue Silkies, White Silkies

We have ordered new eggs to hatch in our incubator.  This time, we will be hatching white silkies, blue silkies (bantam), Coronation Sussex and the world's smallest chicken which is called the Malaysian Serama.  Here are some pictures of the Seramas to show what they should look like. 

Serama roosters should weigh less than 19oz. That's 1 pound and 3 ounces.  That is like a pound of butter, a bag of coffee beans, a shoe, a book, or a bag of candy. 

*These are not our pictures, we saved them off the internet for explaination.

Chick Hatch 2012 Update

Some of you have been having trouble viewing the live webcam.  Here is another link to the ustream channel.  We'll be candling eggs again today around 9:00.  Hopefully, we'll be able to see a little more than yesterday.  It's still very early so all we'll be able to see is some faint blood vessels if they are developing.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sycamore-chick-hatch-2011

During Incubation:

First day

16 hours - first sign of resemblance to a chick embryo
20 hours - appearance of vertebral column
21 hours - beginning of nervous system
22 hours - beginning of head
24 hours - beginning of eye

Second day

25 hours - beginning of heart
35 hours - beginning of ear
42 hours - heart beats

Third day

60 hours - beginning of nose
62 hours - beginning of legs
64 hours - beginning of wings

Fourth day - beginning of tongue
Sixth day - beginning of beak
Eighth day - beginning of feathers
Tenth day - beginning of hardening of beak
Thirteenth day - appearance of scales and claws
Fourteenth day - embryo gets into position suitable for breaking shell
Sixteenth day - scales, claws and beak becoming harder.
Seventeenth day - beak turns toward air cell
Nineteenth day - yolk sac begins to enter body cavity
Twentieth day - yolk sac completely drawn into body cavity; embryo occupies practically all the space within the egg except the air cell
Twenty-first day - hatching of chick

This picture below is an example of what we should be able to see by days 4,5 and 6.

Candling attempt #1

Sorry folks, it's too early.  Maybe tomorrow or Friday.  Check back with us again!

Language Skill this Week: Irregular Verbs

The verbs has and have tell about the present, or now.

Use have with I, you, we, they and plural nouns to tell about now.

Use has with he, she, it and singular nouns to tell about now.

The verb had tells about the past.

Use had with all pronouns and nouns to tell about the past.

The Eggs Have Names!

The eggs have been named.  They are:

Lucky
Fletcher
Kate
Charlie
Abby
Victoria
Olivia
Snowball
Popcorn
Annie
Spike
Elvis
Izzy

Chick Hatch 2012

Chick Hatch Live on Ustream
http://www.ustream.tv/broadcaster/7130781

Day ONE of Chick Hatch

Day One of Chick Hatch 2012!  We are underway with our hatching project.  You will be able to watch the hatch live on ustream.  The camera will be set up by the end of the week.

This is a picture of us setting up the incubator.

All 13 eggs have been placed on an automatic turner so we do not have to worry with flipping the eggs 3 times a day.  This automatic turner will do all the work for us. :-)

This is a picture of how the eggs came shipped to us.  They were wrapped in bubble wrap to keep them from breaking.

Jazmine listens to see if she can hear the egg turner moving.  It is really quiet because it turns really slowly.

Fundraiser Update!!!

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Healthy Snack---Yummm!

We have learned that we should choose healthy snacks like fruit every day. This is a picture of Carli S. Her mom fixes healthy snacks for her every single day.

Prayer Child Foundation Spare Change Collection--UPDATE

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Prayer Child Foundation Fundraiser Update!

----PRAYER CHILD FOUNDATION FUNDRAISER UPDATE-----
As of today, March 14th, we have raised $54.78 which exceeds our original goal of $50! We've reset our goal (which you sometimes have to do!) for $75.00. We hope to exceed that goal too!

Provided byFundraising Ideas Center

Chick Hatch 2012 Is Underway!!!

The eggs have been purchased and are on their way. We all liked the chickens that were white in color. The chickens with fancy feathers really made us smile! What did we get? White Silkies! They are a bantam breed which means they will be smaller than the average chicken. They are also the silkie breed which means they will have fancy hairdos and fluffy feathers. Here is a picture of the chickens we will be hatching.

Watch Diamond as she uses the smartboard to practice arranging letters to correctly spell our spelling words. We LOVE this anagram game on the smartboard.

Show me spelling lesson 25

Review about present-tense action verbs.

Add the ending -s to most present tense action verbs that tell about one.

Add the ending -es when a present-tense verb ends in s, x, sh, ch, or tch and tells about one.

Do not add -s or -es to a verb when a sentence is about I, you or more than one.

Getting a Dolphin Tan

While we were watching the Winter webcam today, we snapped this picture of either Panama or Nicholas as they were rolled over on their back tanning.  So cute!

Prayer Child Foundation Spare Change Collection

We have been collecting spare change for two days.  Our goal is to raise $50.00 to donate to the Prayer Child Foundation.  You can read more about this foundation at http://www.prayerchild.org .  On our second day of collecting change, we have raised $10.47. 

Provided byFundraising Ideas Center

"Show Me" Spelling

Watch our video that we made using the "show me" app on our iPad. You can practice your spelling words for lesson 24. Enjoy!

Our New Sign!

We are so proud of our new sign facing highway 21!

Comprehension: Using graphic aids

We have been learning that we can use graphic aids such as diagrams to help us understand nonfiction texts.  This diagram is of a leaf-cutter bee's cell. We have also been learning about bees this week. 

This picture shows the leaves that a leaf-cutter bee has visited.

Mrs. Kornegay Reads Harry Potter

We have been enjoying Mrs. Kornegay's read aloud of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Author's Purpose

Today, we discussed author's purpose in writing. We know different kinds of writing. We know fiction, nonfiction, realstic fiction, fantasy, biography, autobiography, poetry, folktales, and plays. There are many different reasons why authors write what they do. For example, an author would write fiction and fantasy to entertain their audience. If an author wanted to tell us facts and information about a topic, they would write nonfiction. If an author wanted to express their feelings in writing that sounds like a song, they would write poetry. If an author wanted you to learn about a person's life, they would write a biography. If the author writes a books about his or her own life, we call that autobiography.

Grammar: Present-Tense Action Verbs

I see Ryan. 

He stands on his tiptoes.

Ryan reaches up to the jar.

Mom and I both watch him.

S, x, ch, sh, tch  “es”

If the naming part tells about “I” “You” or is plural you do not add “es” or “s”.

You      push         the wagon. (push, pushes)

One wheel    falls      off.  (fall ,falls)

Dad   fixes   the wheel.  (fix, fixes)

Online Judy-Clock

You can visit this website to practice telling time using an interactive Judy-Clock.  Click Here!

Riddles to Practice Inferencing

Inference Riddles

Barnes and Noble Online Storytime

Barnes and Noble Online Storytime

ASL Fingerspelling Practice

Practice Fingerspelling Spelling Words

Practice signing in ASL

Vocabulary Practice for Lesson 18 "Ah, Music" by Aliki

Link to read "Ah, Music" by Aliki from our Storytown book online

CLICK HERE

Updated Accelerated Reader Website

We have a new web address for our Accelerated Reader Program.  The new site can be found at:


https://hosted164.renlearn.com/74241/


If you are using the AR app for iphone or ipod touch, you will need to type this address into the domain name box on your device.  

Take Quizzes Online

Spelling Practice for Lesson 17
Short vowel /e/ spelled /ea/

Annie's Gift Vocabulary Powerpoint

Vocabulary Practice for "Annie's Gift" Lesson 17

ThinkCentral

Click Here to go to Think Central for taking tests and reading our story each week.

Mr. Putter and Tabby Vocabulary Practice

Flashcards for Rocket Math

Rocket Math Flashcards to print and study-- Click Here

A Dolphin Tale

We have been talking about a movie many of us have watched called "A Dolphin Tale".  It is an inspiring story about a dolphin who was rescued by a boy and taken to the Clearwater Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida.  Here is a link where you can go to read about Winter the dolphin.

Click Here

Give Chance a chance!

I saw this on my Facebook page tonight and I just had to share.  Neglected animals show up too often at animal shelters.  I want to help give Chance a chance.  :-)  

This guy has apparently been hanging around an area in Sylacauga for several weeks now. I was made aware of it yesterday when someone posted a pic on fb. My friend Carrie and I picked him up this morning and he is now at Chelsea Animal Hospital. His prognosis isn't good but we have put a deposit down for medical expenses if he makes it. If anyone wants to help, please contact me. He deserves a chance to know what love and comfort is all about! We have named him "Chance" — with Carrie Wallace Evans.