Week of November 18-22

Check out our...Act It Outs!!

Roanoke Act It Out

Jamestown Act It Out

Plymouth Act It Out

News to Know for This Week

 

BOB!!! 

Battle of the Books is starting up this week!  If you aren’t familiar with BOB, it’s a reading competition where kids are put in teams and they select books from 10 possible titles to read and comprehend.  Come February there will be a competition where the teams are asked questions about the books and they have to identify the correct book title and author for each question.  We will have a lesson with Mrs. Clark tomorrow afternoon where she will introduce the 10 book titles available to 5^th graders.  I am encouraging everyone to read as many of the books as they can before the BOB competition in February.  Perhaps you are wondering, How can I help my child succeed in the BOB competition?  Well, here are few tips!

ü  Encourage your child to finish the chapter book they are currently reading by this Friday.  We’ve already discussed this in class.

ü  Encourage your child to read only ONE BOB book at a time.  It can go back and forth each day in their backpack so they can also read at school.

ü  Ask your child about the book he/she is reading.

ü  Check out the books and read along with them!

ü  Remind your child to write comprehension questions for each book they finish. (These may be used in the competition!)

ü  Quiz your child on the book titles and authors as the competition nears.

Everyone participates in the school competition and those who read at least 7 titles can take the test to possibly compete in the district competition in the spring!

 

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences will be held again tomorrow evening from 2:40-6:00pm.  If you have signed up for a conference tomorrow, please do your best to be on time, so we will have the full 20 minutes to chat about your kiddo and so that I can be sure to answer any questions you have.

Squanto Movie

Next Tuesday, we will be showing the movie, “Squanto” to the entire 5^th grade in the library at 9:00am.  Kids are encouraged to bring water, a snack, and a pillow to curl up with during the movie.  This movie fits perfectly with Thanksgiving and our study of colonization! 

 Boys’ Night Out/Girls’ Night Out

If you still have signed up for Boys’ Night Out or Girls’ Night Out and you are interested, please let me know no later than this Friday.  In order to participate, please send in at $20 donation.  This money goes directly to our classroom.  :o)

Thanksgiving Break

It’s right around the corner!  Next Wednesday-Friday is Thanksgiving Break! 

Here’s what we’re learning this week!

Math:  We will continue learning to divide expanding into division with 2-digit divisors and even decimals!

Social Studies:  We will continue learning about colonization as we study the 3 major colonial regions, their geography, and their economy.

Word Study:  Our study of correct sentences structure will continue as we explore the use of conjunctions.

Writing:  The kids will begin researching a creative thinker in order to compose a feature article.

Reading:  We will be studying story elements as the children read a fiction story called “Leonardo’s Wings.”

 Have a wonderful week!  :o)

 

Learning about Renaissance Thinkers

To kick off our new ELA unit on Renaissance Thinkers, the kids learned about Michelangelo and how he was hired by the pope to paint the Sistine Chapel.  They then had the opportunity to see just how difficult that task must've been as they were given the opportunity to paint upside down on paper glued to the bottom of their desks!  The activity was a big hit, but I think everyone agrees that Michelangelo did not have an easy task!

Making Cells

Last week, the kids were so enthusiastic as they learned about cells, we took some time out to make Play Doh models of plant and animal cells in small groups.  The kids had to create the cells and label their parts. Then they had to be prepared to present their cells and describe the functions of each part to another group.  They did a great job with this and they had a blast!  Their cells turned out nicely too!  Check it out!

Week of November 4-8

Important Information of the Week of November 4th-8th

Math Test

This Wednesday, we will have a math test over addition, subtraction, and multiplication of whole numbers and decimals.  Students will also be asked to estimate and to recall what they know about place value on this test.  A study guide came home today to help prepare students and we will continue reviewing tomorrow.  

Comma Quiz

In Word Study over the past couple of weeks, we have been learning about comma usage.  We will have a quiz this Friday where students will be asked to apply their understandings of comma usage to correctly place the missing commas in a letter.

Conferences

It's not too late to sign up for conferences!  I still have spots available on both nights.  If you are having difficulty signing up, please let me know and I will be happy to help.  

Here's what we'll be learning this week...

Math:  This week we will wrap up our unit on adding, subtracting and multiplying whole numbers and decimals with a test, an extended response question, and a transfer task.  The kids will be given many opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge.

Social Studies:  We will begin a new unit learning about the first British colonies in America, their successes, and their hardships.

Word Study:  This week we are wrapping up our unit on commas.  I've already seen the kids making a valiant effort to apply their learning in their own writing!

Writing:  Our focus in writing will be on how to respond to On Demand Writing prompts that ask for students to give an opinion.

Reading: Students will be reviewing metacognition and the thinking strategies that are so effective at helping to build better readers.  

**On another note, I want you all to know that I am enjoying your kids so very much!  They are a fantastic group and they have received compliment after compliment on their behavior.  The substitute who covered for me Friday afternoon when my kids were sick left a glowing report and the related arts teachers have also said wonderful things about this crew!  I'm very proud of them!  They are a kind and enthusiastic bunch!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me via email or phone.

Have a great week! :o)