Week of August 29-September 2nd

             First of all, I would like to extend a great big thank you to all of the parents who attended Parent Orientation last Thursday!  We had a great showing and I appreciate you sacrificing your evening to come and listen to my talk about our 5^th grade classroom.  You were a lovely audience!  Thank you also to each parent who volunteered to help out in our classroom!  This is a very supportive group and I think we are going to have a fantastic school year!

Coming up this week…

Book Fair!  This week marks our first book fair of the year!  If your child would like to make a purchase we will be shopping as a class on Friday.  However, if the kids want to shop earlier, I will be happy to send them down to library in the morning after their morning work is complete.

Upcoming Tests

Social Studies Test over Geography on Thursday, September 21

~Please encourage your child to prepare by taking the chapter 1 tutorial at www.tutorial.historyalive.com.  The kids will also need to be able to correctly label and spell all of last week’s word study words on a map.  I will be sending home another blank map this week as a study guide.  Please look over it with your child and remind him/her to use correct capitalization and spelling because this will also count as a word study grade.

Check out what we’re learning this week!

Social Studies:  On Monday and Tuesday the kids will have the opportunity to complete a transfer task where they have to show me how they can apply what they’ve learned about geography.  They will pretend to be pilots on special assignment to travel from one point to another identifying geographic landmarks along the way, latitude and longitude for starting and ending points, general climate for the areas they will be taking off and landing in, etc.  It should be pretty exciting!  Then we will spend some time reviewing and taking the test before we start our next venture into the United States regions.

Math:  On Monday we will review and I will allow kids to make corrections.  Then we will practice answering a math open response question together to get in the routine.  An open response will be included with each math test.  Then, beginning Tuesday we will jump into a fantastic unit on number theory.

Word Study:  This week we will study the capitalization rules, learn their importance, and practice implementing them in our writing.

Writing:  We will continue our study of the 6 traits of writing and the kids will practice using these traits as they collect ideas in their writer’s notebooks.

Reading:  This week will begin an in-depth study of the use of metacognition (thinking about our thinking) while reading.  We will explore each of the thinking strategies and discuss their importance in reading.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  Thank you and have a great week!

Week of August 22-26

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Many thanks to all of the parents who have written comments on the video I showed about never giving up.  I love having the ability to communicate with you and to share your thoughts with the students through our blog.

Dates to Remember
Wednesday, 8/25 Early Release @ 12:25pm
*If your child's transportation will change this day, please send a note.

Thursday, 8/26 Parent Orientation @ 7pm

*Please try to attend.  I give out lots of great information on this night, I have volunteer sign up sheets, and I will show you how to navigate some important websites for our classroom.

Upcoming Tests

ü  Math Test over Whole Number and Decimal Place Value on Friday

ü  Please help your child work on spelling the words on his/her word study list (taped into the agenda) in preparation for a test next week.  This will be a social studies test over geography, but I will be looking for correct spelling and capitalization as they label the oceans, continents, and important lines of reference on the globe (e.g., Equator).

Social Studies:  This week we will continue to learn about the geography of our world by learning important geographic terms for land and water as well as identifying important physical features of the U.S.  The kids will even have the opportunity to design their own island by drawing and naming geographic features.

Math:  We are wrapping up our unit on place value this week with a test on Friday.   A study guide will come home Wednesday night.  Please feel free to help your child with his/her math homework in preparation for this test.

Word Study:  We will practice the word study terms by breaking them into syllables and quizzing one another in class.

Writing:  We are starting a unit over the six traits of effective writing.  This week the kids will learn the importance of organizing their writing effectively and of using voice.

Reading:  As we continue to finish DRA’s, we will also be talking about how to build stamina as reader so that we can read more complex books, read for longer periods of time, and deepen our comprehension.

Question for Parents:

Please leave a comment below if there is anything you have burning questions or concerns over that you would like me to address at Parent Orientation.  Thank you!

Don't ever give up! "Success is not just coming to you; you must come to it"

Good afternoon!  Please check out this amazing video below.  I showed it to the kids today during our morning meeting in order to better help them understand our class motto this year, which is:  "Success is not coming to you; you must come to it."  The man in this video has no arms or legs and he talks about the importance of not giving up and trying "100 times if you have to."  It really seemed to have an impact on the students and today after viewing and discussing the video I saw a change in their work ethic.
I would greatly appreciate it, if you would please leave a comment to further motivate the kids to try their best.  I will share these comments in class to allow the kids a chance to see their parents' take on never giving up.  Thanks for your support!

Week of August 15-19

Well, our first few days getting to know each other were a huge success!  I think everyone had fun and it seems we are going to have a great class!  This week we are going to get a bit more into academics.  Some light homework will be assigned as well.  Please checkout the Homework page for this week's assignments.  These will also be in your child's agenda.

A few bits of important parent info...

• Please read and sign your child's agenda each night even when they don't have homework.  This is one of the ways we can easily communicate.  I will check agendas every morning, so feel free to write me a note in the agenda anytime.
• Our first Early Release Day is Wednesday, August 24th at 12:25pm.  Please send a note if your child's transportation will change that day.
• Parent Orientation is coming up on Thursday, August 25th at 7pm.  Please make plans to attend so I can explain how our 5th grade class works and answer any questions you may have about this year.
• Finally, welcome to our class blog!  I will update at least once a week with important dates and to tell you about what we are learning.  From time to time, I will also pose questions for students and/or parents to invite 2 way communication and to expand our learning outside the classroom.

Coming up this week...

Math:  We will begin learning about place value.

Social Studies:  We will begin a study of geography.

Writing:  We will begin collecting ideas and students will also be given a writing invitation each day.

Reading:  We will begin DRA's so I can learn about your child as a reader as well as some important mini-lessons abotu choosing books.

Word Study:  We will play some word study games including Scrabble to get a feel for the kids' spelling abilities.

Science:  We will begin rotate science in and out with social studies or reading throughout the year.  We have some great units planned to make it fun and hands-on!

So, that's what's going on this week in Mrs. Whitley's room.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call or shoot me an e-mail at jennifer.whitley@oldham.kyschools.us.

Welcome New 5th Graders!!

Welcome to 5^th grade!  By now you’ve probably found out that I am your teacher!  You are either excited, curious, or concerned.  Hopefully, you are excited and curious!  If you are concerned, don’t be.  We are going to learn a lot and have fun doing so.  I can’t wait to meet everyone!  I love teaching 5^th grade and I know we’re going to have an awesome school year together!

This webpage is a blog.  Please become a follower so you can catch all of my updates.  If you have questions or comments, please write them on here under the “Comments” section.  I want to encourage two way communication between parents, students, and myself. 

Important dates to keep in mind as the start of school rapidly approaches:

Monday, August 8:  Open House 5-7pm 

Please bring your school supplies and the questionnaires I sent home with my letter to you.

Wednesday, August 10:  First Day of School!!

Wednesday, August 24:  Early Release @ 12:25pm

Thursday, August 25:  Parent Orientation

Enjoy your last weekend of the summer!  I hope to see everyone Monday night at Open House!