February 2-6

Good afternoon, parents!  I hope you've had a nice week!  I was out for a couple of days this week with a sick child, and let me tell you, these kids got excellent reports from BOTH substitutes!!  We have such a great community of learners in here and they are so responsible and hard working even when I'm out.  I'm very proud of the kids and all their efforts.  They've earned several stars this week for great behavior and hard work!

Social Studies Test
This afternoon I sent home the graded social studies test and extended response.  I was so impressed with the kids' efforts on the extended response question!  Many of them wrote 2 full pages!  Wow!  Please look over this test, sign it, and return it on Monday.

Math Test
Since I was out Tuesday and Wednesday, I was not able to review with the class or be there the day they took the math test.  When I graded the test, I noticed some mistakes and felt that a little more review and another opportunity to demonstrate their understanding would be a good idea.  To be fair, I gave a math test supplement after reviewing with the kids on Thursday.  When you receive their math tests on Monday afternoon, please look at the grade assigned to the first page of the test.  I took the highest grade between the original test and the supplement as their final test grade.

BOB Competition
Our class BOB competition will take place on Monday, February 9th!  That means we have 1 week left to read and prepare!  Please encourage your child to read extra at home in preparation for the competition.  Each child was asked to read at least 2 books for the competition, but many students have read far more.  The winning team from our class competition will have the opportunity to compete against the winning teams from the other 5th grade classes on Tuesday, February 10th.  Also, any child who has successfully read at least 7 BOB books this year will have an opportunity to try out for the district competition which will take place in early March.

Bullying Lesson
As a culmination to Mrs. Hammons' lessons, our campus police officer, Richard Whittaker, will be coming by to talk with the kids about bullying on Friday, February 6th.

Overdrive
Have you hear of Overdrive?  It's a cool new way for kids to check out e-books!  Mrs. Clark will be coming into the classroom on Monday to explain it to the kids.  This will be a great tool for those who love to read on personal devices.

Here's what's coming up in our curriculum next week!
ELA:  The students will use their ELA block next week to draft, edit, and revise a Civil War essay about a famous person or battle's impact on the Civil War.
Word Study:  During word study, we will be exploring root words and prefixes to help the kids expand their vocabulary and decode unfamiliar words.
Math:  In math next week, we will be adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions and mixed numbers.  Today's initial lesson on adding went very well and most of the kiddos caught on quickly!
Social Studies:  Next week's social studies topic will be the U.S. Constitution.  We will break down the meaning of the Preamble and beginning studying the powers and purposes of each branch of government. 

Fraction Study Links

Math Fraction Study Links

Reducing Fractions

Mixed Numbers & Improper Fractions

Mixed Numbers & Improper Fractions 2

Calculating Fraction of a Whole

Equivalent Fractions

Links for Civil War Research

Brief Bio of Key People

http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/biographies/barton.html

 http://www.uni.edu/icss/timeline/6people.html

 http://mrkash.com/activities/civilwar.html

 http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/people.htm

 Robert E Lee
http://www.biography.com/people/robert-e-lee-9377163

 http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/robert-e-lee.html

 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/robert-e-lee

 Ulysses S Grant
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/ulysses-s-grant

 http://www.biography.com/people/ulysses-s-grant-9318285

 Abraham Lincoln
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/abraham-lincoln

 http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/abraham-lincoln.html

Links for Civil War Research- Battles

List of Famous Civil War Battles
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/death/

 Information on Key Civil War Battles

http://www.clemson.edu/agcom/dale/aged480/jennifer/keybat.htm

 Battle of Gettysburg
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-gettysburg

 Battle of Fort Sumter
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/fort-sumter.html

 Battle of Philippi
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-philippi

 Battle of Bull Run

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/bullrun.html

 http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bullrun.htm

 Battle of Ball's Bluff
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-balls-bluff

 http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/ballsbluff.html

 Battle of Belmont
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-belmont-missouri

 Battle of Mill Springs

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/mill-springs.html

 Battle of Fort Henry
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-fort-henry

 Second Battle of Bull Run

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/second-manassas.html

 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/second-battle-of-bull-run

 

 

Week of January 26-30

Many, many thanks to all those who donated to and participated in Carnival Night!  It was so much fun!  The kids had a blast and so did the teachers!  Thank you to the many who took part in this special fundraiser for our classes!

Upcoming Tests

Social Studies~Revolutionary War test on Tuesday~Please encourage your child to take the History Alive tutorial at http://www.tutorial.historyalive.com until he/she can consistently score 100%.  The kids were also instructed to bring home their notebooks on Friday to help them prepare for the test.

Math~Fractions Test on Wednesday~A study guide will come home Monday.

Classroom Guidance

Mrs. Hammons will be visiting our classroom again this week to teach the kids about bullying.

Writing Contests

Just a reminder...we have two exciting opportunities upon us to compete in writing contests this spring!  The first contest is a poetry writing contest   These kiddos are excellent poets!  Here is the link for that contest.  Submissions are due March 9th.  http://www.ket.org/writerscontest/

KET Young Writers Contest | KET Kids and Families instructions on how to enter the 2014 KET Young Writers Contest Read more...

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The second contest is a story writing contest. On the link, there is a mistake that makes it look like an old 2014 contest, but if you check the entry form, this contest is for 2015.  Here is the link for the story writing contest.  Submissions are due April 11th.  http://www.ket.org/writerscontest/

KET Young Writers Contest | KET Kids and Families instructions on how to enter the 2014 KET Young Writers Contest Read more...

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Please encourage your child to take part in at least one of these contests! 

What are we learning this week?

ELA:  During ELA this week, we will look over the on demand writing the kids did last week and they will have an opportunity to review their piece and set goals.  From here on out, we will be giving one on demand task per month to help the kids improve this skill and work on the goals they set each time.

Also, during ELA, the kids will begin gathering research on famous people and battles from the Civil War.  Late in the week, the will begin planning and developing a writing piece about how a specific person or battle impacted the Civil War.

Math:  We will wrap up the current fraction unit Wednesday and move on to adding and subtracting fraction at the end of the week.

Social Studies:  This week we will finish studying the Revolutionary War and move on to studying the history of the U.S. Constitution.

Have a great week!  :o)

Week of January 19-23

Our newest Leader of the Week is...

 

 

Chelsey!!!

Chelsey is an excellent model for habit 5, seek first to understand, then to be understood.  She is a good listener who follows directions well and waits patiently to add in her two cents.  Chelsey realizes the importance of understanding before asking that others hear her point of view, which also makes her excellent at debating!

Classroom Guidance
Mrs. Hammons will be visiting our classroom two times this week to teach the kids about bullying.

Homework
This week's reading assignments will be on Edmodo.  There will be no reading log.  However, please encourage your child to continue reading BOB books in their spare time.  The BOB competition between classes is coming up in mid-February!

Writing Contests
We have two exciting opportunities upon us to compete in writing contests this spring!  The first contest is a poetry writing contest, and let me tell you, parents, your kids are excellent poets!  We spent a couple of days writing poetry last week and their word choice and use of poetic devices was phenomenal!  Some of their poems actually gave me chills!  Here is the link for that contest.  Submissions are due March 9th.  http://www.ket.org/writerscontest/

The second contest is a story writing contest.  Here is the link for it.  Submissions are due April 11th.  http://www.ket.org/writerscontest/


Please encourage your child to take part in at least one of these contests! 

What are we learning this week?

 

Reading:  During ELA this week we will build background on the Civil War including the causes and major events people of the Civil War such as Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation.
Writing:  In writing this week, we will explore passage-based On Demand Writing.  This is a type of On Demand Writing that requires the children to read a passage and respond to a prompt while using evidence from the passage.  Responses could take many forms from a letter to an article to an essay.  We will look at examples, practice lifting lines, and a complete a practice passage-based prompt (for which they will be given 90 minutes) on Thursday.
Math:  Our focus in math this week will continue to be on fractions.  The kids will learn how to find a fraction of a whole, how to order fractions, whole numbers, and decimals, and we will review how to simplify fractions.
Social Studies:  This week's focus will be on the Revolutionary War as we explore why the Continentals (who originally seemed like an inferior army) were able to succeed against the powerful British Army.

It's Too Late to Apologize Video

Click the link to watch the music video for the colonial rendition of "It's Too Late to Apologize."
Music Video for the Declaration of Independence:
http://viewpure.com/uZfRaWAtBVg

Week of January 12-16

And our current Leader of the Week is…

Karie!!!

Synergy is one of Karie’s strengths as a learner!  She knows how to be a friendly, positive leader when working groups with her peers!  This past week, she has been a role model for synergy in our class as she brought her group together during social studies to create an excellent act-it-out!  She is also a good, supportive friend to others when they need a little pick me up or if help for any reason!  Karie is a strong leader with a wonderful attitude!

 

Reminders

5^th Grade Carnival Night~Friday, January 23  2:30-4:00pm

Haven’t signed up yet?  Still interested?  Please return your child’s permission form and a donation of at least $10 no later than Friday, January 17, so we’ll know how many to plan for!

Cold Weather

Just another reminder to send those jackets, hats, and gloves!  We will go outside if the temperature is 32 degrees or above.

 

What are we learning about this week?

ELA:  During ELA, we will continue our new unit called Conflict in America.  The kids will wrap up their slave journals where they’ve been writing about life a slave and we will begin writing poetry about slavery as we learn about how slaves escaped and build background on the Civil War.

Word Study:  We will continue to practice proper verb tense, especially with irregular past tense verbs.

Math:  During math, we will continue our study of fractions with a focus simplifying, ordering, and comparing, and learning how to convert fractions to decimals and percentages.

Social Studies:  We will review the colonial tensions which led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence.  We will talk about loyalists, patriots, and neutralists.  Then we will begin studying and analyzing the Declaration.

Winter Party

Below you will find some pictures from our winter party!  Mrs. Sandman, Mrs. Kuzmicky, and Mrs. Lutgen did an amazing job planning and putting it on!  The kids got to paint a craft, play a fun holiday version of hot potato, and they even got little treat bags!  Many thanks to our awesome room moms!  We all had a blast!

January 5-9

I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and our long break!  Welcome back!  Below you will find a few reminders.

Snack and Water
Please be sure to send your child with a healthy snack and a clean water bottle each day. 

Cold Weather
We will be going outside any day that the temperature during recess is 32 degrees or above, so please send your child to school with a warm hat and gloves.

Homework
For Christmas, I have the kids a set of coupons, one of which is a homework pass.  A homework pass can be used any night except when studying for a test.  Your child will simply tape or glue the pass onto their reading log for the night they use it. 
That said, please remember to sign your child's agenda and their reading log each night.  I also want to stress the importance of XtraMath.  I've seen a huge improvement in my students' abilities to recall their math facts since I began using the program last year.  It's so important to know those math facts as we delve deeper and deeper into more complex math concepts throughout the year.

Carnival Night
Don't forget--5th Grade Carnival Night is coming up on Friday, January 23rd!  Be sure to sign up for a donation of just $10 or more!

Here's what's coming up this week:
ELA:  We are starting a new ELA unit entitled "Conflict in America."  Throughout the ELA unit, the kids will be reading and writing about slavery and the Civil War.  We begin this week by reading about slavery, how it came to be, and what life was like for those who were enslaved.  The kids will be writing in "slave journals" using different points of view to analyze what life was like for enslaved Africans.
Word Study:   We will explore the different verb tenses and their uses.
Math:  During math we will be studying fractions including how to convert from a fraction to a mixed number and vice versa, as well as how to compare and order fractions.  We will also explore the concepts of equivalence and how/why we simplify fractions.
Social Studies:  We will continue studying the events that led to the Revolutionary War and the kids will have the opportunity to act out many of these in class.