Tom Brady: The Man, the Myth, the Legend.

The purpose of this post is to show the end result of combining voice and music in a podcast.
Link to podcast: Tom Brady article

Math Tutorial or "An Excel-lent formula to find the sum and average of numbers!"

MS Office Excel is a powerful application that can easily be tailored for 5^th grade students to use in math projects. There would have been another mini-lesson on the menu, toolbar, and functionality of the cursor prior to this lesson. This lesson would prepare students in using Excel for analysis and graphing of data.

Click on the link to check out the tutorial: 5th grade Excel Tutorial

Digital Flashcards

I think using digital flashcards is a great way for students to acquire academic language. I can already think of many uses for this tool across the curriculum that a teacher or student can create.

Louis' Tech Vocabulary Flashcards

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

I really liked the fact that e Blogger has a link with YouTube. I have always wanted to include video into my presentations but was always afraid to try. I used Wondershare to convert my American Revolution video and placed it into a PowerPoint presentation which I am so happy I was able to pull it off? I am using MS Office for Mac so I was nervous about the conversion but it worked like a charm.

I usually use animated icons in PowerPoint lessons for my students. having the capability of adding video now just opens up so many new avenues I can take in developing new or sprucing up (reboot?) old lessons.

American Revolution or "C'mon King George III, we're big kids now!"

Here is a brief introduction on the next unit of study of the American Revolution.

Let's use this as inspiration to create our own digital story or video about the American Revolution!

Math Assignment #1 or "IOW work with PPL to solve a math problem,OMG!"

E.T. Text Home!

Common Core Standards:

California Common Core 5^th Grade Math Standards: Numbers and Operations fractions.

5.NF 6. Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem.

Geometry 5.G 2. Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.

Lesson Introduction:

How can a person save money when they text?

How will you determine the price for each letter?

The phone company introduces a new pricing format. Students are responsible for collecting data to see if charging by the letter is more feasible. The phone company will set up three tiers for their pricing.

• Tier 1 no charge for 10 letters of the alphabet
• Tier 2 half price for 10 letters of the alphabet
• Tier 3 full price for the last 6 letters of the alphabet

Students are to collect data to determine which tier to place each letter. They will also determine how much to charge for letters in Tier 2 and 3.

 Students will make a presentation of their billing procedure in PowerPoint.

Task:

As a high-powered texting individual, you have been invited to join a consumer research group. Your input could determine the future costs of texting for all Americans.

Text 2 Text Connections has decided to change the way we bill consumers for texting. Rather than charge an expensive monthly fee, we have decided to charge by the letters used in texting. The alphabet will be divided into three categories:  Tier 1 will contain ten letters that will be free of charge.

Tier 2 will also contain ten letters but there will be a minimal charge for these letters.

Tier 3 will contain six letters and will be double the cost of Tier 2.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, would be to collect data to determine which category to place all letters of the alphabet and what charges should be applied to Tiers 1 and 2.

Remember, in these tough economic times all Americans are counting on you to make informed decisions and to keep their texting costs as low as possible

Students will complete the assignment by completing the following steps:

1. Collect and organize data and entered in MS Excel spreadsheet.
2. Make a prediction based on data collected written on a MS Word document.
3. Convert numbers from a fraction to decimal and percent using an Excel spreadsheet.
4. Display data in a frequency table and bar graph using an Excel spreadsheet.
5. Determine mean, mode, and median and which measure of central tendency is best suited for analyzing data presented this project.
6. Add and round decimals to the nearest hundredth using an Excel spreadsheet.    
7. Work collaboratively showing all seven “Character Traits” for the good of the group.
8. Use appropriate technology tools including a calculator, cell phone, and computer
9. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation.

Resources – List of technology resources needed to complete the task.

Microsoft Word- State your prediction based on data collected.

MS PowerPoint- This will serve to showcase your presentation.

MS Excel- Convert numbers from a fraction to decimal and percent, display data in a frequency table and bar graph, and add and round decimals to the nearest hundredth.

Internet- Research other data plans from other companies.

Cell phone- Review typical text messages sent and received in the past.

Process - Overview of how the task will be accomplished.

Students will be arranged into groups of 3 or 4 being mindful of special needs students and peer tutors. Additional assistance will be available through the use of Impact teacher, computer lab specialist, and peer tutors.

Peer tutors can also team up with EL students.

Special needs students may also have an assigned aide assist them as well.

Students will collaborate with their team to problem solve and be held accountable for their learning.

The teacher will be able to take on the role of facilitator once the project commences. Students will be encouraged to resolve their own differences before asking for assistance.

Assessment:

Oral Presentation-Interesting, well rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention.

Workload- The workload is divided and shared equally by all team members.

Content- Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent.

Organization- Content is well organized using headings or bulleted lists to group related material.

Conclusion:

Students will present their PowerPoint presentations to the class. The class will discuss and vote which group has the most viable plan to present to the phone company.

Relevant links to the lesson:

Here are some links to other text plans currently offered to consumers.

Verizon Text Messaging Plan

Cricket Text Messaging Plan

U.S. Cellular Plan

Credo Mobile Plan

Consumer Cellular Plan

Class Overview

5th Grade Syllabus 2013-2014

Mr. Martinez

Room 14

Introduction:

Welcome to 5th grade!  I am very excited to teach each and every one of you this year.  The purpose of this class is to reinforce what you’ve already learned in 4^th grade and teach you new concepts to help you succeed in 5^th grade, middle school, high school, and beyond.  We will strive to find ways to apply what we’ve learned in class to real life situations.

Classroom Rules and Expectations:

All students in this school are required to abide by the Garden Road Character Traits.  These expectations are posted throughout the school and will be reviewed constantly.

I like to keep things simple, so I am only going to give you two classroom rules to follow:

I will not interfere with my classmates’ learning.

I will not interfere with my teacher’s teaching.

As 5thgrade students, I expect you to know which behaviors would break these two rules.  If you choose to break these rules to the point where I am forced to remove you from the class, you will be expected to make up class time before or after school.  I want to create a positive learning environment where students are free to learn without risk or distraction, so please do your part!

Materials:

You should have the following materials with you every time you walk into my classroom:

Pencils, Pens, and Highlighters

A folder for each subject

Planner

No students will be allowed to go to their backpack after class has begun.

Grades:

Your grade in the class will be based on a combination of quizzes, daily practice, and tests.

Quizzes: Typically, we will have about two quizzes per unit. Sometimes I will have you take quizzes individually; other times I will let you take group or partner quizzes.

Daily Practice: Daily practice is exactly as it sounds- practice problems that we complete each day.  At the beginning of each class, I will post a warm-up activity.  Each trimester, students start with 50 points for the warm-ups.  If you do not actively participate in the warm-up on a given day, you will lose two points.  In addition to the warm-up, I frequently grade practice assignments.  Be responsible and make sure to complete your work to the best of your ability.  These points add up quickly!

Tests: Every unit concludes with a test.  These tests will have questions about what you’ve learned during the unit, and often times what you’ve learned in previous units. Tests can sometimes be intimidating to students, which is why I’ve provided a bit of a safety net- test corrections.  After I’ve graded your test, you have the opportunity to correct any questions you missed on the test and earn back half credit for each question.  Here are the requirements to earn back points:

Test corrections should be completed on a separate piece of notebook paper and stapled to the test

All work must be shown, not just the answers

Work should be neat and organized

I encourage you to work with an adult or an older sibling/relative

Assignment Completion :In this class, every student will complete every assignment, and the work that is turned in will be quality work.  I also expect that any work turned in is your own work.  Homework is not only designed to help you on the test, it is also helping you build a foundation for concepts you will be using for the rest of your life!

Absence Policy: 

If you miss class for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to ask me and/or one of your classmates for any notes, assignments, or in class activities you may have missed. Please do this before school, after school, or during study hall (NOT AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS).  You will be given two days after your absence to turn in the necessary assignments.  For example, if you were gone on Monday and returned to school on Tuesday, you would have until Wednesday to turn the assignment in. 

Here is a link to our school calendar to help keep organized:

Garden Road School Calendar

After-School Appointments: 

If you or your parent(s) have any questions, comments, or concerns that you would like to address with me, please feel free to schedule an appointment with me after school.  I try to make myself available every day but Friday (which is our district time banking day).  Below is my contact information:

Just click on my name to send a message:

lmartinez@powayusd.com

Phone:(858) 748-0230 ext.2114

I’m looking forward to an exciting, productive, and fun year with you all!