Mr. Gulian’s Class Web Page

You can reach me by e-mail by clicking here (steve.gulian@gpschools.org).

visitors as of January 12, 2005    Last Updated 03/03/2009 by Steve Gulian.

We've moved!  Please click here to visit our new site.

In the meantime, enjoy a little Rosetta Pebble music...

Links:

Tonight's Homework:

(If you are spending more than an hour on homework, then you're doing something wrong. Put in an "honest hour" (no television, no goofing around) and then give yourself a break. Tell me tomorrow.)

All documents below are in PDF format.  You may download Adobe Reader for free by clicking the "Get Adobe Reader" button.

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FYI:

Mr. Gulian's Voicemail-   432-4932  (but e-mail is much quicker.)

Snack Policy:

Healthy snacks and water are allowed in class, and may be consumed at any time, as long as they don't interfere with learning or ruin one's appetite for lunch.  Please make sure veggies/fruits are neat, pre-peeled, and sliced into bite sized pieces.  GOOD: Crackers and pretzels. BAD:  Chips and Cookies

Snacks should be as inconspicuous and as healthy as possible.  Bottled water (with no added sugars) is the preferred beverage.

"SPECIALS" Schedule: 

We will have Music, Art, P.E. or Library from 1:55-2:40 everyday.

Instrumental Music: Richard’s schedule:  Tue. and Thurs. from 11:00 to 11:45.

Choir:  The Richard 4-5 choir meets on Tuesdays for girls, and Wednesdays for boys.  Choir begins at 11:25 and ends at 11:50.   The Richard Choir is open to all 4th and 5th graders and is FREE!  It is also tons of fun!!!!

Recess Schedule:

Gr. 5: 10:45-11:00 AM

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Taste Test Tuesdays!

Every week or so, students are given the opportunity to taste something they may have never tried before. They can look, smell, and even touch it before deciding whether or not to try it.  They guess and guess, but I never reveal the true identity of the sample until after everyone (who wants to) has had a chance to taste it. Less adventurous eaters have the option of participating in Taste Test Tues. through activities describing the mystery food with senses other than taste.

Sept 16- Fresh Figs	Sept 23- Star fruit	Oct 10- Sauerkraut on sausage w/ brown mustard.	Oct 13- Baby Corn
October 28- Blue Cherries	November 11- Edamame (Thanks Mac!)	Nov 18th	Dec 2- Aloe Vera.

"Rosetta Pebble", Mr. Gulian's band, has 2 CDs out and they make great gifts. If you'd like one today, you don't need to order on-line. Stop by school, send an e-mail, or give a call. They're only $12. You can hear them on iTunes too!

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  Individualized Spelling-

Pretests are given on Mondays.  The first 15 misspelled words from the 60 word pretest become each student's individualized spelling list for that week.  (If less than 15 words are missed, the student rounds out their list by choosing from a challenging "BONUS CLUB" list of tricky words.)  These words come home on Monday, and should be reviewed for 10-15 minutes each night as homework.

Students will also take dictation of two sentences, each containing a few high-frequency spelling words in context.

Mondays- Write each word 3 times in your best cursive.

Tuesdays-  Alphabetize your spelling list (15 words).

Wednesdays-  10 Definition Sentences (or a "spelling story")

Thursdays-  Study for test

Fridays- Test and Dictation Sentence

[lather, rinse, repeat]

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Other Links:

Mrs. Swartz's Web Page

Mr. Havern's Web Page

Tangrams.

EXTREME ZOOM IN.

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Why?  Why?  Why?

Why is the sky blue?
Why do things fall to the ground?
How do seeds grow?
What makes sound and music?
Where do mountains come from?

Young children ask their parents hundreds of questions like these. In search of answers, we use science to both enlighten and delight.

As parents, you must prepare your children for a world vastly different from the one in which we grew up. In the next century, this country will need citizens with more training in science and technology than most of us had in school.

Even children who don't want to be scientists, engineers, or com- puter technicians will need science to cope with their rapidly changing environment. But without our help, our children will not be prepared for these changes.

 

How You Can Help

As parents, we don't have to have a strong background in science to help our children learn science. What's far more important than knowing what sound is or how a telescope works, is having a positive attitude about science.

Every day is filled with opportunities to learn science--without expensive chemistry sets or books. Children can easily be introduced to the natural world and encouraged to observe what goes on around them.

Together, parents and children can--

• See how long it takes for a dandelion or a rose to burst into full bloom; or

   

• Watch the moon as it appears to change shape over the course of a month, and record the changes; or

   

• Watch a kitten grow into a cat.

   

• Bake a cake;

   

• Guess why one of your plants is drooping; or

   

• Figure out how the spin cycle of the washing machine gets the water out of the clothes.

   

Learning to observe objects carefully is an important step leading to scientific explanations. Experiencing the world together and exchanging information about what we see are important, too.

A nasty head cold can even be turned into a chance to learn science. We can point out that there is no known cure for a cold, but that we do know how diseases are passed from person to person. Or we can teach some ways to stay healthy--such as washing our hands, not sharing forks, spoons, or glasses, and covering our nose and mouth when we sneeze or cough.

clue 4-   -EL taco es bueno.  Now click here.

Questioning and Listening

We should encourage our children to ask questions. A friend once asked Isidor I. Rabi, a Nobel prize winner in physics, "Why did you become a scientist, rather than a doctor or lawyer or businessman, like the other immigrant kids in your neighborhood?" Rabi responded:

 

My mother made me a scientist without ever intending it. Every other Jewish mother in Brooklyn would ask her child after school: "So? Did you learn anything today?" But not my mother. She always asked me a different question. "Izzy," she would say, "did you ask a good question today?" That difference--asking good questions-- made me become a scientist!

If we can't answer all of our children's questions, that's all right-- no one has all the answers, even scientists. And children don't need lengthy, detailed answers to all of their questions. We can propose answers, test them out, and check them with someone else. The library, or even the dictionary, can help answer questions.

We can also encourage our children to tell us their ideas and listen to their explanations. Being listened to will help them to gain confidence in their thinking and to develop their skills and interest in science. Listening helps us to determine just what children know and don't know. (It also helps the child figure out what he or she knows.)

Simple activities can help to demystify science--and we will suggest some of these later. But children also need to learn some basic information about science and about how to think scientifically. The following section contains information for parents that can point our children toward this goal.

Source: 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT

PROGRAMS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF PRACTICE

HELPING YOUR CHILD LEARN SCIENCE

Margaret Scott is an award-winning illustrator and designer who contributes to several national magazines, including Science and Children and Smithsonian. Her artwork is also seen on the editorial pages of the Washington Post, the Kansas City Star, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and other newspapers. She has illustrated eight books in the past four years for groups such as the American Psychological Association, Reading is Fundamental, and B'nai B'rith Women. She earned a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University and attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore

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Are You Doing Too Much Homework, Mom and Dad?

The BEST homework plan will include:

• Setting aside a time and place for your child to learn.
• Telling your child that they can either do their work or learn by thinking about it .
• Saying that you will help them only as long as there's no arguing involved.
• Telling children that you'll would help only as long as THEY work harder than YOU do.
• Allowing the child to take total responsibility for the homework .

The very best parents care deeply about how their kids do in school. However, some become over-involved in their children’s homework.  When parents hover right over their kids every night…and make sure that they do each and every scrap of homework correctly…they can inadvertently create kids who never learn how to think and learn for themselves. Don't be that parent. Listed below are some tips for avoiding this trap:

• Provide a consistent time and place for your child to learn and do homework.

• Remember that it is far better that a child learn the consequences of getting poor grades when they are younger.  Grades become much more important in high school and college.  Getting that first C out of the way in elementary school isn't as bad as you might think.

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 9 Steps to Reading Comprehension

1. When you read with your child, ask them questions as they move through the book: Why did Mr. Smith do that? How do you think Suzy feels?
2. Help your child make text-to-self connections. Ask them how they feel about a situation in the book or what they would do if they were the character in the book.
3. Help them make text-to-text connections. Ask them: What other stories have you read that talk about going on a trip?
4. Make sure they are reading at their level. A book that is too hard frustrates a child. A book that’s too easy doesn’t challenge him.
5. Set aside at least 20 minutes to read every day.
6. Help your child find books that they enjoy. This keeps them motivated.
7. Make reading more important than TV.
8. Model reading yourself. Children need to see parents read for fun.
9. Encourage writing. Have children write about what they have read or keep a daily journal.