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)

Week of October 7-11

 Husky Hustle
The Husky Hustle is this Friday! We will be participating as a class during our Related Arts time from 8:00-8:45am. So far, we have only had one person turn in money for the Hustle, making our total earnings $55. Please help your child to raise money for this fun event and for our fabulous school! Any amount is fine. All money is due by Friday.

Harmony Harvest
Our annual Harmony Harvest is also this Friday! Please come join us from 6:00-8:30pm for games, jumpies, food, and fun!! Don't forget to check out our 5th grade auction items. All funds donated by our students signing up for the auctions go directly toward our class!

This Wednesday is another Early Release Day...dimissal at 12:20pm.

Bullying Awareness Day
This Wednesday is also Bullying Awareness. On Wednesday, I am asking each child to wear orange as we stand up against bullying!

Math Test!
This Thursday, we will have a math test over place value of whole numbers and decimals. Please feel free to go over the review sheets I'm sending home today and tomorrow to help your child prepare. There are also several websites your child can use to prepare for the test under the Links section of our class blog. I've also copied them below.

http://www.funbrain.com/tens/index.html
http://www.math-play.com/place-value-games.html
http://www.gamequarium.com/placevalue.html

Finally, here is what we'll be doing this week in class!

Math: In math, we are wrapping up and reviewing whole number and decimal place value skills. On Friday, we will begin adding with decimals.

Social Studies: During social studies this week, we will begin "diving" for artifacts on a sunken ship. The kids will simulate diving and studying artifacts that may have been found on a ship that sunk during the age of exploration to learn about motives for exploration.

Word Study: During word study this week, we will do different activities to review some of the words that have been added to our word wall over the past couple of months.

Reading & Writing: We will continue our Clues to a Culture ELA unit. Today the kids began developing their own trickster tales after examining Native American trickster tales. We will also learn how to collect clues through a culture by examining photographs and reading materials to try to understand different perspectives.

Reading Fluency Practice

Over the past week we have spent a lot of time workiing on reading fluency with a focus on 4 major components:  articulation, pace, expression, and accuracy.  I assigned the kids poems to read that were written a little differently than how we usually speak to help them work on building their fluency.  They practiced for a few days and then had to perform a choral reading.  This assignment was a little tougher than you might expect because most kids had to choral read with a partner and doing that while adding expression can be tricky!  They did a great job practicing and preparing though, and you can click on the names below to hear your child's reading his/her assigned poem.  Enjoy!  :o)

My Shadow - read by Colin R and Andrew

My Shadow - read by Haley & Nichole

My Shadow - read by Addie & Emily

My Shadow - read by Isaac & Jake

Here Comes - read by James

Here Comes - read by Colin B

Little Red Riding Hood & the Wolf - read by Lauren & Savannah

Little Red Riding Hood & the Wolf - read by Henry & Marshall

Little Red Riding Hood & the Wolf - read by Audrey & Meredith

Little Red Riding Hood & the Wolf - read by Colyn & Mitchell

Little Red Riding Hood & the Wolf - read by Alex & Sammy

Week of September 23-27

Happy Monday!!

Husky Hustle Fund Raising
The Husky Hustle is just around the corner on October 11th! Please encourage your child to ask friends and family to sponsor him/her in the Husky Hustle. Our goal is 100% participation regardless of how much each child is able to collect. These donations willl go toward purchasing more iPads for classroom use. Last year's Husky Hustle funds aided in the purchase of 30 new iPads and an iPad charging cart to be shared by the classrooms! These iPads are so useful and the kids love utilizing them in class!

Harmony Harvest
Also coming up soon is our annual Harmony Harvest! Save the date for Friday, October 11th from 6:00-8:30. This is such a fun event with games, food, and jumpies! There will also be a teacher auction! The 5th grade teachers will be hosting a Boys' Night Out and a Girls' Night Out in November! It's going to be a lot of fun, so please come to the Harvest and sign up for the auction!

MAP Testing
We will complete MAP testing in the area of Language on Tuesday afternoon.

Kelso Lessons with Mrs. Hammons
Mrs. Hammons will come our classroom on Fridayd to teach classroom guidance.

Word Study List
This week, your child has a word study list taped into their agenda to begin studying. Our focus in word study for the next 2 weeks will be on homophones which are commonly misused such as their, there, and they're. Please help your child to study the correct use of these words at home. There are a number of websites listed under "Links" on my blog for the kids to get extra practice using homophones.

XtraMath
Please continue to encourage your child to continue using XtraMath each night! The kids get recognized at morning meeting as they are awarded certificates when they progress through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You can also monitor your own child's progress through the site to see how they are doing as they earn a colored dot at the end of each session!
Less than 10% wrong.
Over 10% wrong or too few answers.
Over 25% wrong or very few answers.
Session incomplete.

Math: This week in math we will review whole number place value and begin studying place value of decimals.

Social Studies: We are wrapping up our unit on the first Native Americans with an extended response question tomorrow. Beginning Wednesday we will study the various Native American culture regions that existed as the Native Americans settled throughout North America. Our focus will be on how these people used their natural resources to adapt to the environment.

Word Study: We will identify the correct homophone to be used in various situations each day and even learn tricks to help remember which ones are used when!

Writing & Reading: Our English Language Arts unit on Playing with Words is coming to a close. The kids will practice reading fluency skills of articulation, pace, expression, and accuracy this week through choral reading. They will also explore proverbs, write a humorous narrative using idiioms and figurative language, and finally complete a transfer task to demonstrate their knowledge of word play on Friday.