Week of September 28 - October 2

Happy Friday, parents!  It’s been another busy week full of fun activities in class!  The kids have been so enthusiastic about the Zombie Apocalypse project in class this week!  They’ve done a great job analyzing their 2 possible cities for settling during the Zombie Apocalypse through the use of the 5 themes of geography and this project culminated today when they wrote their final reflection.  Ask your child about where he/she chose to settle during the apocalypse and why.

 

And our newest Leader of the Week is...

Xander!!!

 

            Xander is a proactive student with who is bubbling with jolly energy every day!  He puts first things first each week as he completes his assignments prior to having fun.  He also does a great job of synergizing with his classmates to complete group tasks. Xander enjoys sharpening the saw through video games and enjoying any and all things related to his favorite movie, “Star Wars.”  Keep using the 7 habits, Xander!

 

 

Harmony Harvest Auction Item

Attached to this email I’ve included a picture of the artwork that the kids worked together to make for our Harmony Harvest auction item, themed “It takes a village to raise a child.”  Funds used to purchase this item at the Harvest will go back to our classroom.  If you were unable to contribute to the purchase of materials used to make our art project, you can still help out.  We need a frame.  If you would like to help us purchase a frame for our project, please send in a few dollars in an envelope marked Jona Cox and she will get a frame for our project.  The kids did a great job, so check it out!

Message from Our Room Mom

Our room mom this year is Jona Cox and she would love to gather parent contact info. so that she can communicate with the families of each student in our class.  Her communication with you will be related to our 5^th grade classroom such as information about classroom celebrations, etc.  If you would like to share your contact information with her (phone and email address), please send that to her at jonacox20@yahoo.com.  I am not permitted to simply share my contact list with her. Jona is awesome and she will make a fabulous room mom this year!
 

Upcoming Events:

October 10^th ~ Harmony Harvest
October 14^th ~ Early Release Day
October 19^th – 23^rd ~ Fall Break
October 28^th ~ BizTown Field Trip

*Please return your child’s field trip form and money for BizTown at your earliest convenience.

Here’s what we’re learning next week…

Science:  How do I analyze and debate a scientific topic?  The kids will read and analyze a scientific article, then form and opinion and debate about their ideas.

Social Studies:  How did the first people come to the Americas?  We will investigate major migration theories and learn about how Native Americans, particularly the Inuit, adapted to their environment.

Math:  How do we order, compare, and round decimals?  We will continue working with decimals to place them in order, to compare them, and to learn how to round with decimals.

ELA:  During ELA this coming week, students will research and develop an essay on Native American culture.  They will also learn to compare and contrast 2 cultures.  Our word study focus will be on homophones, as the kids will learn to differentiate between these words which sound the same but have very different meanings.

September 21-25

Dates to Remember

September 23^rd ~ Hands-On Science

September 25^th ~ Husky Hustle during Related Arts

Message from Our Room Mom

Our room mom this year is Jona Cox and she would love to gather parent contact info. so that she can communicate with the families of each student in our class.  Her communication with you will be related to our 5^th grade classroom such as information about classroom celebrations, etc.  If you would like to share your contact information with her (phone and email address), please send that to her at jonacox20@yahoo.com.  I am not permitted to simply share my contact list with her.  Jona is awesome and she will make a fabulous room mom this year!

Husky Hustle

Please encourage your children to collect donations from family and friends for the Husky Hustle.  For each $50 donation your child collects, he/she will be entered into a drawing to win either a bicycle or a $25 Target gift card!  Donations are due by Friday, September 25^th.

This Week’s Learning Plan

7 Habits:  We will begin making use of our data notebooks this week.  These notebooks will allow the kids to track their educational progress and set personal and academic goals.  Thank you to the PTA for donating pronged folders to the entire 5^th grade for this purpose!!

Science:  This week kicks off our first science unit, Building a Scientific Community.  We will explore what it means to have a hands on vs. minds on approach to science, investigate the scientific method, and learn about what it means to do science through inquiry.

Social Studies:  In a fun, new twist on social studies, the kids will do a one week unit on the Zombie Apocalypse!  They will work in pairs to make decisions about where to settle during a hypothetical Zombie Apocalypse and they will have to support those decisions based on what they know about the different U.S. regions.

Math:  We will begin our student of decimal place value this week with a focus on how to write decimals through the thousandths.

ELA:  Our focus for ELA will be to wrap up our Playing with Words as we learn to apply figurative language to our own writing.  We will also learn about what it means to be a fluent reader and practice our reading fluency through group readings of poems and reader’s theater scripts.

Scientists

Click on the links below in order to help you learn and draw conclusions about scientists!

 

http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/scientists/

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-104122.html

http://www.scilogs.com/communication_breakdown/liz-heinecke/

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/video/chat/

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/explorers/interview-with-luke-dollar/

Zombie Apocalypse!!

Here are a few links to help you get started on your Zombie Apocalypse project.

 

 
Main Resource for Zombie Apocalypse Survival

Average Temperature by State

Average Rainfall by State

Profiles of the 50 Largest U.S. Cities

U.S. City Data

State Info

Find out more information about the state in which your city is located.

Crime vs. Safety Index

U.S. Atlas

Click here to read more about your state and city.


 

Region Study

We are learning about all the different regions! We are using Pic Collage and ChatterKid to talk about the different features of each region.

7 Habits

We are making Haiku Decks for the 7 habits! We teamed up into groups of 3 and took pictures of all the habits.  For example, number 1, be proactive number 2, Begin with the end in mind. Afterwards, we will get a chance to share what we have made. I can tell everyone's working hard!

Week of September 14-18

Our newest Leader of the Week is...

Alley!!!

      Alley does an awesome job of using the 7 habits!  She is particularly good at being proactive and seeking first to understand, then to be understood.  Alley is a hard worker with a "can-do" attitude.  She is also a leader amongst her peers when it comes to being an active listener.  She listens to others and engages in all lessons during class!  Keep it up, Alley!!

Dates to Remember

Monday, September 14^th ~ Beginning of our PE rotation (Please have your child where tennis shoes.)

Tuesday, September 15^th ~ Picture Day & MAP Testing

Friday, September 18^th ~ Classroom Guidance with Mrs. Murphy

Wednesday, September 23^rd ~ Hands On Science

Friday, September 25^th ~ Husky Hustle

Upcoming Tests:

Math Test over Order of Operations and Mathematical Expressions on Thursday, 9/17

This Past Week in Pictures!

Below you will see 3 pictures of the kids working on math during station teaching.  On this particular day, the stations included an order of operations activity, an expressions activity, and a game called Factor Captor.  The kids really enjoy station teaching during math!

The Knot Game!  This is a fun brain break competition that we do from time to time.  The boys' are featured below trying to undo their knot!

The girls' knot was even bigger because we have more girls!

The following 4 pictures feature our sweet 5th graders reading with the Kinderpups in Mrs. Rankin's class!  We try to work with them each Friday.

Curriculum Plans for Next Week

7 Habits:  Our focus this week will be on habits 6 and 7, synergize and sharpen the saw.  On Wednesday, the kids will then create a Haiku Deck presentation on the iPads to showcase the 7 habits.

Social Studies:  We will begin a one week unit on U.S. regions Monday.  This unit will allow the kids to learn about and explore the various characteristics of the 5 major regions of the United States.

Math:  This week we will wrap up our unit on Order of Operations and Mathematical Expressions.  We will review, complete a transfer task, and test on Thursday.

Reading:  The focus of writing will be to explore idioms, proverbs, synonyms and antonyms to learn how writers play with words.

Writing:  During reading this coming week, the kids will use the research they’ve gathered and “play with words” to create a biopoem and a short report on a scientist or inventor of their choice.  

Links for Research

Use the links below to help you gather research on scientists and inventors.
 

http://www.ducksters.com/biography/scientists/scientists_and_inventors.php
 

http://easyscienceforkids.com/biographies/
 

http://gardenofpraise.com/leaders.htm  <--On this one, be sure to only research inventors or scientists on this website, not presidents or other leaders.
 

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/scientists/index.html
 

http://peer.tamu.edu/curriculum_modules/storytime/
 

Week of September 7-11

This week's Leader of the Week is...

Connor!!!

           Connor is our being honored this week for his ability to use all 4 of the habits we've studied thus far!  He puts first things first by always completing assignments and homework.  He is proactive by coming in each day with a wonderful attitude, and an excitement for learning!  He is good at beginning with the end in mind because as he is writing, he's always thinking about the end product and what is expected of him.  Finally, he thinks win-win because he is regularly kind to others and works well with his peers!  Great job, Connor!

Upcoming Tests
Social Studies test over geography on Friday, September 11^th.  A study guide will come home on Tuesday of next week and it will be due on Thursday, the 10^th.  Please help your child to prepare for this test.  Below I’ve also provided several links for helping them to learn the continents and oceans.  This is part of their homework this weekend.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/World_Continents.htm
http://www.quia.com/rr/35895.html
http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/findContinent/default.htm

Important Upcoming Dates

Monday, September 7^th ~ Labor Day (No School)

Tuesday, September 8^th ~ MAP Testing

Wednesday, September 9^th ~ Early Release @ 12:20 *Please send a transportation note if your child will travel home differently on this date.

Thursday, September 10^th ~ Parent Orientation @ 7:00

Tuesday, September 15^th ~ MAP Testing

Tuesday, September 22^nd ~ MAP Testing

Wednesday, September 23^rd ~ Hooked on Science In-House Field Trip

Friday, September 25^th ~ Husky Hustle

Have you joined the PTA yet?  Our PTA here at Harmony is phenomenal!  They do so much for our kids!  If you haven’t joined yet, please do so.  The money for your membership will help to support so many fun and exciting events for our kids.  Not only that, but active involvement in your child’s school has been shown to boost a child’s success and confidence!  Please join by September 30^th.  The class with the highest percentage of members will also be awarded an indoor recess basket full of equipment.

Here’s what we’ll be learning next week!

7 Habits:  We will focus on habit 5, seek first to understand, then to be understood, and habit 6, synergize (work together).

Social Studies:  We will learn about climate zones and physical features of the U.S.  Then we will spend some time reviewing on Thursday.

Math:  During math next week, we will continue to study the order of operations and we will learn how to write and understand verbal expressions in math (e.g., 2 less than 7).

Reading:  Our focus in reading will be learning how to gather information and to determine importance.  The kids will be researching famous scientists and inventors.

Writing:  We will finish our study of the 6 traits of effective writing and we will learn how to write a strong lead and conclusion.

Enjoy your long weekend!  :o)