Mr. Hummer’s Class Page

Welcome to my class page! (Updated 05/11/12)

Scroll to the bottom of the page to see some excellent student work!

I hope you find the following information to be helpful. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at mlh8193@lausd.net. I thank you for being a responsible partner in educating students at Micheltorena Street School!

CULMINATION ACTIVITY CALENDAR

As of today, all of the activities for culmination are officially scheduled. They are as follows:

DODGER GAME (Sixth Grade): Wednesday, May 30th at 5:30 pm. We will load the bus to head for Dodger Stadium and leave no later than 6:00 pm. Return time has yet to be determined.

USC TOUR (Fifth & Sixth Grade): Thursday, June 07th, leaving the school at 9:00 am and returning at 2:00 pm.

KICKBALL GAME (Sixth Grade): Thursday, June 14th at 8:30 am.

PICNIC AT BELLEVUE PARK (Fifth & Sixth Grade): Friday, June 15th, leaving the school at 10:00 am and returning at 2:00 pm.

LUNCHEON/DANCE (Sixth Grade): Monday, June 18th at 12:00 noon until 2:19 pm.

THE CULMINATION CEREMONY/RECEPTION (Fifth & Sixth Grade): Tuesday, June 19th at 9:00 am. (Parents are invited to ask for early dismissal in order to leave with their child immediately after the reception.)

Please be on the lookout for an important letter regarding culmination activities, including the final parent meeting, to be sent home early next week. Thank you!

State Testing!

Most students in room 14 worked quite diligently on their CST! I was impressed with how many went back to review their answers and perhaps improved their scores. Thank you, parents, for your help making testing a success.

Congratulations!

We would like to recognize the following students who are able to complete a 12×12 multiplication table with randomly assigned factors in less than five minutes:

Nayelli Morales (4:40)
Brenda Amezcua (4:46)
Silk Graves (3:56)
Carol Corona-Sanchez (4:39)
Gavin Garza (3:59)
Matthew Bohn-Montes (3:56)

Thank you parents for your help in teaching your child(ren) multiplication!

An Unprecedented Problem:

(As of 05/11/12, this problem has shown , some, but not adequate improvement.)

Please Do Your Part as a Responsible Parent to Help!

Never before in my teaching career has such a thing happened in my classroom! We have entered the fifth month of school and NOT ONCE has every student been in class, on time, ready to learn!!! Of course sometimes something happens where someone is late or is unable to come to school, but these occurrences are supposed to be rare. Last year every student was in class, on time, and maybe only once or twice a week, one or two people would be absent or tardy. This year, I have one or more kids absent everyday and sometimes as many as six students coming late into class up to twenty-thirty minutes or more. This is very disruptive. (Every time someone comes in late, I have to stop instruction, log into the attendance web page, and mark the student tardy.) This makes it extremely unfair to those who are on time. As parents, it is up to you to make sure your child meets their responsibility of being on time, everyday, to learn. Please help. Thank you.

Thank you & Good Work! (03/12/12)

The students of room 14 showed some dramatic improvement this week when they doubled the number of students who completed and turned in on time the Unit Three six week writing assignment. I’d like to give a shout out to: Brenda Amezcua, Robyn Babilonia, Matthew Bohn-Montes, Neida Cabrera, Andy Campos, Jacqueline Corona, Carol Corona-Sanchez, Yehilyn Diaz-Godinez, Justin Flores, Norma Garcia-Mendoza, Silk Graves, Jessica Gutierrez, Christopher Juarez, Melanie Lindo, Nayelli Morales, Gizsel Ramirez, Antonia Ramirez-Rodriguez, & Luisa Rodas.

(PARENTS: if you child is not on the list above, please speak to them about being more responsible in completing and turning in their homework assignments.)

A Few Words About Homework:

All students have homework everyday. . . . even if I don’t assign any specific homework, there are things that you can be helping with at home, things they should be doing EVERY DAY:

Math:

Addition and Subtraction Facts–Ask your child an addition or subtraction fact. (Example: What is thirteen minus six?) If they don’t answer by the count of three, THEY DON’T KNOW IT! Have them work on learning them. It goes without saying that by the time a child is in the sixth grade, they should be able to add and subtract without counting on their fingers, but the truth is, many students still need to work on this.
Multiplication Facts–As with addition and subtraction, you can ask your child multiplication facts. (What is nine times seven?) Again, if they don’t answer by the count of three, or they use their fingers, THEY DO NOT KNOW IT! Learning multiplication to automaticity is a third grade standard. There is little to no time to be teaching this in the sixth grade. I apologize if it sounds callous, but if your child does not know this material, it is imperative that you make certain they learn it at home.
Vocabulary–Many times, a student may possess the math skills and understand the math concepts, but have trouble with math testing because they don’t know the vocabulary associated with the math. I am including a list of essential math terms, and if your child tells -you he or she has no homework, start asking them to explain the meaning of these vocabulary words to you. If they can’t do it, THERE IS THEIR HOMEWORK!!! (The list will grow throughout the year, so keep checking back!)

Math Vocabulary:

An addend + an addend = a sum (total)
A minuend – a subtrahend = a difference
A factor x a factor = a product
A dividend ÷ a divisor = a quotient
digits-(0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) the ten symbols used to write numbers
value-the number a digit represents is determined by the “place” where that digit is found. (Example: In the number 143, the value of the 4 is 40 because it is in the “tens” place.)
period-a group of three digits that consists of a “ones,” a “tens,” and a “hundreds” place. The periods are the “ones,” “thousands,” “millions,” “billions,” “trillions,” etc.
standard form-when a number is written using digits–143
expanded form-when a number is separated into it’s places–100 + 40 + 3
word form-when a number is written as words–one hundred forty three
identity property of addition-When a zero is added to a number, that number stays the same. 143 + 0 = 143
identity property of multiplication-When a number is multiplied by one, the product is that number. 143 x 1 = 143
commutative property of addition/multiplication-Addends and factors can be moved around and the sum or product will be the same. 100 + 40 + 3 = 3 + 100 + 40
associative property of addition/multiplication-in a series, addends/factors can be grouped differently and the sum/product will be the same. (100 + 40) + 3 = 100 + (40 + 3)
zero property of multiplication-when a factor is multiplied by zero, the product is zero.
distributive property of multiplication-when a number or expression is multiplied by a factor, the number or the expression can be “broken up” and the parts can be multiplied separately by the factor and the products can be added together to get the final product. Example 1: 5 x 143 = (5 x 100) + (5 x 40) + (5 x 3) Example 2: 5(9 + n) = (5 x 9) + (5 x n)
variable-a quantity that can vary, or change, and is often represented with a letter
algebraic expression-a mathematical phrase that has at least on variable and one operation
evaluate-to find the value of an expression
substitution-to replace a variable with a number
acute angle-an angle whose measurement is less than 90º
right angle-an angle whose measurement is exactly 90º
obtuse angle-an angle whose measurement is greater than 90º
straight angle-an angle whose measurement is exactly 180º
point-a specific location in space
line-a figure that goes forever in two opposite directions
ray-a figure with an end point on one end that goes forever in one direction
line segment-a part of a line with an end point on each end
congruent lines-lines that are the same length
midpoint-a point that divides a line segment into two equal halves
intersecting lines-two lines that pass through the same point
plane-a flat (2-dimensional) surface that extends forever in all directions
parallel lines-two lines in a plane that never intersect
perpendicular lines-are intersecting lines that form four right angles
vertical angles-the angles opposite each other formed by two intersecting lines
congruent angles-angles that measure the same number of degrees
adjacent angles-two angles that share a common vertex and one common side
complimentary angles-two angles whose measures add up to 90º
supplementary angles-two angles whose measures add up to 180º

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

A letter was sent home with your child informing you of the user name and password your child can use to get on line to pearsonsuccessnet.com. (Click on the link to go there.) On this site, your child can review lessons and take quizzes on lessons completed in class.

Language Arts:

YOUR CHILD SHOULD BE READING 20-30 MINUTES EVERY DAY, PREFERABLY OUT LOUD! (If the all caps make it seem like I’m shouting, it’s because I am!!!)

Language Arts Vocabulary:

independent clause-same as a simple sentence with a subject and predicate, able to stand on its own (Example: I went to the store.)
dependent clause-an independent clause with a subordinate conjunction that makes it unable to stand on its own (Example: When I went to the store . . . )
simple sentence-a sentence with one or more subjects and a predicate with one or more verbs (Examples: I went to the store. My mom and I went to the store. I went to the store and bought a hippopotamus. My mom and I went to the store and bought a hippopotamus.)
subject-the part of the sentence (usually nouns or pronouns) that tells who, what, or where “is” or is performing an action, can be a single or multiple subject (Examples: The stately hippopotamus danced an amusing minuet. My lizard and I like to play chess. The swimming pool is filled with magenta slime.)
predicate-the verb(s) and every other part of a sentence that is not the subject. (Examples:The stately hippopotamus danced an amusing minuet. My lizard and I like to play chess. The swimming pool is filled with magenta slime.)
compound sentence-a sentence with two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction (Example: I went to the store, and I bought a hippopotamus.)
complex sentence-a sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (Example: When I went to the store, I bought a hippopotamus.)
parts of speech-categories under which words are classified
nouns-persons, places, and things (Examples: mom, store, hippopotamus)
pronouns-words that can be substituted for a noun (Examples: I, you, he, she, it)
verbs-words that show action or state of being-”to be” (Examples: Action-went, bought; Being-as, is, are, was, were)
adjectives-words that modify, or describe, nouns (Examples: big, loud, gray)
adverbs-words that modify, or describe, verbs (Examples: quickly, neatly, fast)
prepositions-words that show relationship (Examples: over, around, between, with, for)
conjunctions-words that join other words, phrases, or clauses (Examples: and, but, or)
interjections-words that convey strong emotion and are not grammatically connected to the rest of the sentence (Examples: Egad! Ouch! Hey!)
appositive-a word or group of words following a noun that identifies, defines, or explains the noun. Appositives are set apart from the rest of the sentences by commas.

PERSUASIVE COMIC LIFE PROJECTS

THESE WERE CREATED AS AN ENRICHMENT EXTENSION FOR THE “TREASURES” UNIT THREE WRITING ASSIGNMENT.

School Site Council

You can now access the new School Site Council page by going to the “Committees” page and clicking the link. There you can find the latest info regarding the SSC. Please check it out.