February 25-28

Reminders: No school Friday and ISATs are next week: Tuesday-Thursday! 

Spelling: Unit 20 test is this Thursday. The words and homework assignment are uploaded under the Spelling Tab. 

5H Math: Thank you for reviewing the unit 6 test with your child! I appreciate your support in your child's learning!  
Today we reviewed multiplying whole numbers and decimals by powers of 10. Students worked to determine a pattern when multiplying by powers of 10. On Tuesday, I will ask students to determine what happens to a number when divided by a power of 10. This week we will also practice the types of problems students will see on the ISAT: multiple choice, short answer, and extended response. 

Reading/Writing: We continue to read Wonder aloud in class. The book allows for connections to the kids' lives as well as to our theme of courage. As in our read aloud Because of Mr. Terupt, the book is written from several characters' points of view. What a great reminder that different people can take different experiences away from the same event. We will be completing an extended response based on a question from the read aloud; students will answer a question using evidence from the text, explain their evidence, as well as incorporate their own thoughts. 

We will be discussing theme in literature in greater detail this week. I hope students will be able to describe what exactly literary theme means. We will be determining the theme in different pieces and move to comparing themes among pieces. 

Of course we always have time for independent reading! The kids are doing a great job trying different genres of books- keep up the reading at home and remember to log your minutes on maywattsreads.com

I'm also hoping to get the kids on Edline at some point this week. Some kids are familiar with this, while others are not...more information to come. 

Grammar: This week we'll finish up using the correct tense of verbs and we'll also review adjectives (what they do and how to identify them in sentences). Many kids had a difficult time identifying adjectives. 

Social Studies: Students did a wonderful job creating an organizer using Microsoft Word to gather important facts about key people in the Revolutionary War. We continue to read from our text and discuss the events of the war. It's great how our discussion of the war ties into our theme of courage. We will compare and contrast the views of Loyalists and Patriots this week.  

February 20-22

We filled our marble jar! The kids have voted to have a pajama/gum/electronic day. We will have our celebration this Friday. If your child brings in an electronic, please write a note showing me they have permission to have the device at school; if you already signed an e-reader form and they are bringing in that device, you do not need to write a note.

 

Spelling: No spelling this week.

 

5H Math: This week students will get back their unit 6 math tests. We will take some time to review interpreting line plots before students will get their tests back. Students will also complete another "transfer task" which requires them to apply several skills from the unit. We will begin unit 7 by reviewing powers of ten.

 

Reading/Writing: Last week students read about whether pennies should be retired through reading in their Time for Kids and on several web sites. This week students will use this information to write an opinion piece using their gathered facts as evidence for their opinion.

 

Students will be responding to questions about our read aloud Wonder this week. Students will be asked to analyze and compare the courage of different characters in the book.

 

Grammar: This week, we will review the parts of speech we have learned about so far this year: nouns, pronouns, adjectives and articles, and the different types of verbs. We started learning a song last week to memorize the helping verbs. See if your child can tell you what each of these parts of speech does in a sentence...

Social Studies: Last week students read and watched a video about the growing tensions between Great Britain and the colonies. This week we will begin to learn more about the important events and people during the Revolutionary War. Soon students will be asked to write about whether learning about the Revolutionary War was easier through reading and discussion or through watching the video.

February 11-15

We will have an assembly Tuesday with a poet as a presenter. Thank you PTA! 

Thursday is Valentine's Day! I sent home a class list a while ago, if your child needs a new one, have them ask me. If your child chooses to make valentines for friends, please make sure they make one for everyone; no candy please. 

Spelling: Unit 19 test will be this Friday.  The spelling list will be uploaded Monday after school. 

5H Math:  The students did a did a wonderful job on their frog jump line plots! They've finished, and they're hanging up in the classroom. Before the test this week, we will review simplifying fractions and continue adding and subtracting mixed numbers. The unit 6 test will be Wednesday and Thursday this week. Students will have homework Monday and Tuesday night that will help them prepare. 

Study Sessions: Tuesday during lunch and/or recess as well as Tuesday after school 3:35-4:10. Students should come with what they want to work on in mind. I have reminded the kids to visit the blog and the links in the math tab. This is another great way to study. Adding and subtracting fractions in word problems should be the main area of focus! 
Reading/Writing: Students' writers workshop pieces are due the end of the day Wednesday. Many students will need to work on their piece at home Monday and Tuesday to make sure to complete their piece on time. 

We started reading a Time for Kids last week, but did not have enough time to discuss and complete activities. The feature article is about whether we should phase out the use of pennies in our country. This week students will give their opinion on this and use the information from the article to back up their opinion. 

We are beginning a several week focus on the idea of courage. Earlier this year, students identified courage as a common theme in many of the books we read. This week we will begin to discuss courage in other aspects of our lives and the world around us.  Students will journal, make connections, debate on whether an action was courageous, decide whether not acting be courageous, find connections to historical people and events...it will be a lot of fun and a common thread throughout every subject. 

Grammar: Last week we learned about action verbs and linking verbs; this week we will begin learning about helping verbs. The kids learned last week that a linking verb is like an = sign, e.g. "Ms. Happy is happy". "Is" links Ms. Happy and happy, Ms. Happy = happy. :) 

Social Studies: We will pick up where we left off in history: growing tensions between the colonists and Great Britain. Students should learn what events caused colonists to break away from Great Britain and how did patriots' point of view differ from loyalists' point of view. 

February 4-8

We have several special things happening this week! 

The Fifth Grade Program is this Tuesday. Students should arrive at the school at 6:45 PM and report to our classroom. The program begins at 7 PM and should last about 30 minutes. Students will report back to our classroom, and can be picked up from the room. They've been practicing hard; it should be great!

Wednesday we will go to Metea for a presentation by the author of Wonder, R.J. Palacio. It's important that students arrive on time, because we will need to leave almost immediately. Students do not have to bring a cold lunch for this field trip; we will eat when we return and the hot lunch service will still be provided.

Thursday is the Science Fair from 6 to 8 PM. Can't wait to see everyone's projects! 


Spelling: Unit 18 test will be this Friday.  The spelling list will be uploaded Monday after school. 

5H Math:  The kids will finish their frog jump line plots on Monday, and we will use some of the data to add and subtract fractions as well as convert their measurements. We will spend the rest of the week adding and subtracting fractions/mixed numbers in word problems. Students are doing well adding fractions; but the comprehension of word problems can at times trip some students up. We will also spend time simplifying fractions. The unit 6 test will be the week of February 11th. 

Reading/Writing: We will be working on Reading Extended Responses this week. This involves students reading and then answering a question about what they've read. Students have to find evidence from the text to support their answer as well as explain how their evidence supports their answer. Students have also been working on a Writer's Workshop piece of their choice. 

Grammar: This week we begin to learn about verbs and their job in a sentence. We will learn the difference between action verbs and linking verbs, and later we will practice using the correct verb tense in our writing. 

Science: We have a few final electricity experiments to take part in before we finish up the electricity unit. Students will experiment with circuits and take part in a conductor or insulator experiment. Students will take a atom/magnet/electricity test on Friday.