We had a great first 2 days, and now I'm excited for our first full week to get into our 5th grade curriculum. Just a reminder, it will be rather hot this week, so I hope kids will bring a water bottle (with ice is a good idea) every day this week. Also, the ice cream social is this Tuesday from 6:30-8:00. I'll be there, and I hope to see all of you!
We will not be starting spelling this week, and actually "spelling" will look a little different this year. The district has given us a new word study program to replace our spelling lists from previous years. I'm actually really excited about it, because I think it will better help the kids understand word parts/patterns, decode new words, and help them to be better spellers. I will be explaining word study to the class and will explain the program to you as well at curriculum night.
Language Arts: We have a lot going on in language arts this week. Last week, kids started writing a short piece about their summers that we will finish early this week. I will present my "Me: in a bag," tomorrow as a model for students who will present on Wednesday.
This week we will spend some time talking about the importance of reading and students will choose their first independent reading book. There will be many nights that students' only homework is to read their independent reading book. Did you know that independent reading helps improve students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary growth, spelling facility, understanding of grammar, and knowledge of the world? Oh, and it's fun!
We will also get their reading response journals set up; which they will use to log their books as well as record written responses to the books they read this year. We will have independent reading time everyday as well as time to reflect on our reading, practice reading strategies and discuss with classmates. I will meet with students individually and in small groups to target the instruction they need as a reader.
We began our first novel read aloud last week, Because of Mr. Terupt. This is a really great book that kids can relate to because it is written from the point of view of several 5th grade students. We will be discussing and taking notes on the kids' character traits, as well as thinking about our own personal character traits.
Math: Math will start on Tuesday. Mr. Schumann and I teach 5th grade math and Mrs. Bennick and Mr. Vaid teach accelerated math; students will find out their math teacher tomorrow. In my 5th grade math class, we will begin by reviewing place value. Some of the standards included in this unit are: rounding decimals, comparing decimals, reading and writing decimals, and showing numbers in expanded form.
Social Studies: We alternate between science and social studies units in our district, and will be starting the year with a social studies unit, before moving on to science in about 4 weeks. Our first unit is about the exploration of North America. Students will learn about who explored the region and what their impact was on the native people, as well as what the benefits of exploration were. We will incorporate videos and reading of various texts to build our knowledge of this time period.
We will not be starting spelling this week, and actually "spelling" will look a little different this year. The district has given us a new word study program to replace our spelling lists from previous years. I'm actually really excited about it, because I think it will better help the kids understand word parts/patterns, decode new words, and help them to be better spellers. I will be explaining word study to the class and will explain the program to you as well at curriculum night.
Language Arts: We have a lot going on in language arts this week. Last week, kids started writing a short piece about their summers that we will finish early this week. I will present my "Me: in a bag," tomorrow as a model for students who will present on Wednesday.
This week we will spend some time talking about the importance of reading and students will choose their first independent reading book. There will be many nights that students' only homework is to read their independent reading book. Did you know that independent reading helps improve students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary growth, spelling facility, understanding of grammar, and knowledge of the world? Oh, and it's fun!
We will also get their reading response journals set up; which they will use to log their books as well as record written responses to the books they read this year. We will have independent reading time everyday as well as time to reflect on our reading, practice reading strategies and discuss with classmates. I will meet with students individually and in small groups to target the instruction they need as a reader.
We began our first novel read aloud last week, Because of Mr. Terupt. This is a really great book that kids can relate to because it is written from the point of view of several 5th grade students. We will be discussing and taking notes on the kids' character traits, as well as thinking about our own personal character traits.
Math: Math will start on Tuesday. Mr. Schumann and I teach 5th grade math and Mrs. Bennick and Mr. Vaid teach accelerated math; students will find out their math teacher tomorrow. In my 5th grade math class, we will begin by reviewing place value. Some of the standards included in this unit are: rounding decimals, comparing decimals, reading and writing decimals, and showing numbers in expanded form.
Social Studies: We alternate between science and social studies units in our district, and will be starting the year with a social studies unit, before moving on to science in about 4 weeks. Our first unit is about the exploration of North America. Students will learn about who explored the region and what their impact was on the native people, as well as what the benefits of exploration were. We will incorporate videos and reading of various texts to build our knowledge of this time period.
