I hope everyone had a great weekend!  We have another full and busy week ahead of us!  Now that we have completed Library Orientation, everyone is free to check out library books and I encourage you all to do so. 

 Reminders

Please remember that Parent Orientation will take place this Thursday evening at 7pm.  Please return the RSVP form sent home in last week’s Wednesday folder at your earliest convenience.

 Facts!

Please help your child to practice his/her multiplication facts!  Knowing these well makes a huge difference in 5^th grade!

Helpful Tool

In math right now we have been talking about factors, finding factors of numbers, and learning about prime and composite numbers.  Below is a list of divisibility rules to help your child succeed when determining factors for any number.

2	If the last digit is even, the number is divisible by 2.
3	If the sum of the digits is divisible by 3, the number is also.
4	If the last two digits form a number divisible by 4, the number is also.
5	If the last digit is a 5 or a 0, the number is divisible by 5.
6	If the number is divisible by both 3 and 2, it is also divisible by 6.
9	If the sum of the digits is divisible by 9, the number is also.
10	If the number ends in 0, it is divisible by 10.

Here’s what’s coming up this week in class…

Social Studies  We will continue learning about geography as we begin talking about geographic terms and physical features of the United States.  The kids will also have an opportunity to design their own island with all sorts of geographic features on it.

Math  We will continue practicing the skills of finding factors and testing for divisibility as we also introduce exponents, square numbers, and square roots.

Word Study  To support all the learning occurring in math our word study this week will continue to focus on math terminology.

Writing  One of the most important skills in writing is learning to collect lots of ideas, so this week I will be reading lots of meaningful picture books aloud to help students spark ideas for their writer’s notebooks.

Reading  Students will continue developing their reading stamina this week as we learn about what to do when a book isn’t making sense, how to use metacognition, and as we set short and long-term reading goals.

Welcome to the first full week of school!  We had a great first 3 days and I’m looking forward to many, many more!  Please check this blog regularly to see what’s coming up each week!

Parent E-mail Addresses

I still need e-mail addresses for several families so I can finish putting together a group listserv to send out weekly updates.  If you have not given me your e-mail address, please write it in your child’s agenda.

Time for Kids

You probably noticed a letter in the Wednesday folder regarding Time for Kids magazine.  We are requesting the every 5^th grade parent send in $4 so we can buy each child a subscription.  This magazine will support our teaching of current events, reading, and social studies skills.  I will often assign it for homework and use it for in-class activities as well.  Please return your $4 at your earliest convenience.

Parent Orientation

If at all possible I’d love for to have at least one parent from each family attend Parent Orientation next Thursday, August 30^th at 7pm.  It is a great opportunity to ask me questions and to find out just what’s coming up in 5^th grade.

Read below to find out what we’re learning about this week…

Social Studies:  We will begin studying geography and learning about how to use latitude and longitude.

Math:  The plan is to kick off the year by reviewing multiplication and division as we look at factors, arrays, and prime and composite numbers.

Word Study:  I plan to begin a Math Word Wall in the classroom this week as we work on various strategies for learning math vocabulary!

Writing:  The writer’s notebook is a phenomenal tool for collecting ideas and sharing one’s thoughts through written expression.  This week we will begin by gathering lots of entries in our writer’s notebooks.

Reading:  It is important as a 5^th grader to develop a reading stamina and to make good choices when selecting books.  Through our lessons this week we will begin developing our reading stamina.  On Friday, we will go to Library Orientation and students may begin checking out books!

*It’s going to be a busy week!  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me:  jennifer.whitley@oldham.kyschools.us or feel free to call me at school.

Welcome to 5th Grade

        Welcome 5th graders!  It was great to meet so many of you at Open House the other night!  I know we are going to have an awesome year together!  You might notice that this classroom webpage is a blog.  I use this blog for 2-way communication.  Feel free to leave comments or ask questions.  You can also send me an e-mail anytime.  Throughout the year, I will use this blog to keep parents and students updated on what's happening in our classroom each week, upcoming events as well as homework, pictures and videos of things we do in class, and I even like to use it for homework.  Last year my students really enjoyed having blog debates over articles they'd read!  Please become a follower of my blog so you can catch all my updates right away.

         In other news, welcome to the first days of 5th grade!  There is one important date coming up which I'd like you to make note of.  Parent Orientation will take place on Thursday, August 30th.  I'd love to have as many parents as possible attend this because it's a great opportunity to gain an understanding of how I run my class and to ask any questions you might have.

       Finally, I'd like to share with you my classroom mottos which are quotes I've stumbled upon in recent years that truly capture my beliefs about education.  I believe that it does take hard work, but I am here to support all students in their endeavors.  The quotes are:  "Success is not coming to you; you must come to it;"  and  "Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."  In this classroom, I hope that each student will face reasonable challenges and work hard to overcome them.  I want to help each child reach his/her highest potential as a learner and that will come with hard work from all of us.  Let's enjoy the challenges we face together and refuse to give up!  The video below is a moving video that will truly show that with hard work and a refusal to give up, you can overcome any challenge.