March 3-7

This week:

ISATs are this week, Tuesday-Thursday. The schedule is below in a prior post.
Fun Fair is this Saturday!

5H Math: We will only have math Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week because of ISATs. There won't be any homework assignments this week. Students will get their unit 6 tests back tomorrow. Unit 7 is a review unit that will lead into unit 8 well. Unit 7 is a review of adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. We will focus on writing and solving story problems and being able to draw a model to explain our problem solution. We will work through this unit quickly because it is a review. Unit 8 will include multiplying of fractions.

Language Arts: This week we will wrap up the two writing pieces we've been working on: the research paper and the short story. For our research piece we are working on having a well-developed introduction and conclusion. We will spend a couple days revising and editing our short stories and then start typing final drafts later in the week.

Although, we won't have any homework this week, students should make sure to read at home. Most days we won't have much time for independent reading because of ISATs.

Science: We are starting the digestive/health unit this week. Students will use texts and web sites to determine the steps in the digestive system, the parts of the body that aid in digestion and their locations. Students will be collecting information in order to create either a Power Point presentation, Prezi, or Photo Story telling what they've learned. 

February 24-28

-No School Thursday or Friday this week for students
-Thursday- Parent Teacher Conferences- if needed, have you sent back your conference slip? 
-The Scholastic Book Fair is arriving this week and will be open starting Wednesday. 

ISATs are coming up the week of March 3. The schedule is below, in a previous post. 

Thanks for the hard work with your kids at home on their inventions- they were AWESOME! The kids were proud of their products, and we had a good time viewing each others. 

This week:

5H Math: On Monday and part of Tuesday we will finish up learning about making line plots and interpreting the data. Tuesday kids will start the unit test and will finish on Wednesday. 

Skills on the test:

-converting within the metric and customary measurement systems (story problems included)-making line plots and interpreting them (using the line plot data to answer questions)-rounding decimals
I'm offering optional study sessions Monday during lunch and/or recess and after school Monday until 4:15.

Language Arts: 

This week we continue two writing projects we've been working on. 

Students will have time to work on their short stories Monday and Tuesday, and will need to finish their rough drafts Tuesday night for homework if they have not finished them during school. We have been referring to a few short stories as examples, and have focused on starting with an interesting event, having a plan for events that will unfold naturally, using dialogue to serve a purpose (move the plot along and/or help us learn more about the characters). We have also discuss and looked at examples of description of events and settings. 

For our research writing pieces, we will have a few lessons on how to write an introduction (main idea and preview the content of the paper) as well as how to organize the rest of our research into paragraphs that make sense. Kids will make outlines for how to organize their papers and then have time to type up their invention/inventor research. 

For some of our Language Arts time this week, we will also do a bit of ISAT prep. The purpose for this "prep" is to familiarize kids with the layout and types of questions on the ISAT...we are not trying to cram! :) We will talk about test taking strategies and I will review the types of problems kids can expect to see on the test: multiple choice, short answer and extended response. We will go over what is expected for each type of answer. 

Word Study: This week we're working with homophones. These homophones will have syllable types that we've learned about so far. Kids will have a quiz on Monday, March 3rd over these homophones. Kids will need to correctly spell and mark each word. 

Social Studies:

We will have a final quiz regarding the American Revolution this Wednesday. Students need to know:

-important people involved in the Revolution

-the view points of Patriots and Loyalists

-the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence

-what the beginnings of government were like in the colonies (House of Burgesses, Continental Congress, what role to Great Britain play in colonial government?)

We will review tomorrow, Monday. Kids have a notes packet they've been filling out throughout the unit to refer to. 

February 18-21

Conference notes will come home tomorrow (Tuesday). 

The Invention Convention is this Friday! Kids should bring their inventions to school Friday. Kids will have some time in school Thursday to complete the writing portion that goes along with their invention. They may complete this part at home if they choose, though. 

This week:

5H Math: 

This week we'll continue our study of converting within the standard/customary system. Last week we worked with customary length and liquid volume. This week we'll convert weight measurements. Then we'll work on word problems; kids will come up with steps they use to solve conversion story problems. 

Toward the end of the week, we'll work with line plots. Kids should have some experience with line plots from 4th grade, but this year kids will need to be able to create and interpret a line plot with fractional units. 

We will take the unit test next Tuesday (2/25). 

Language Arts:

We are currently working on a couple writing projects. For narrative writing, we are working on short stories. We've read a few examples, parts of the stories have given us ideas of what to do and parts of some have given us ideas of what not to do. Last week, most kids got their plan written for their story. We will be writing rough drafts this week, after I check in with kids on their plans. 

We will keep referring back to the short stories we've read together to focus on different writing skills. First, we'll look back and see if we can take tips from writers on how they introduce characters and the narrator of the story. In short stories, events happen quickly, but still need to have an ease of flow. Another lesson we'll do this week is determine how authors use dialogue to develop the experiences and events in their stories. 

Kids are also working on a short research project relating to inventions or inventors. Kids will have one more day to research(Tuesday) and will need to finish their research for homework Tuesday night. Kids are working on taking notes by summarizing information and writing brief notes in their own words. Kids are also required to keep track of the sources in which they find their information. Kids need to use at least three sources. 

On Wednesday, we will work together to decide how they should organize their information into a logical sequence, and begin drafting. 

Word Study: I apologize for the delay of the vowel team quiz, but it will be this Wednesday. We will review in class tomorrow. Words are listed on last week's post. 

Social Studies: We are finishing up learning about the American Revolution by reviewing the important people we've come across and what role they played in the events before and during the war. Next, we'll be learning about how our government was formed after the colonies gained independence. We'll start with the Articles of Confederation, the goals of the document and why it wasn't successful.  

ISAT schedule

 GRADE 5

TUESDAY, MARCH 4

Session I                               Reading                    45-55 minutes

Session 1                             Math                           45-55 minutes

WEDNESDAY MARCH 5

Session 2                             Reading                    45-55 minutes

Session 2                             Math                           45-55 minutes

THURSDAY, MARCH 6

Session 3                             Reading                    45-55 minutes         

Session 3                             Math                           45-55 minutes

Invention Convention!

Invention Convention details:

1. The invention should solve a problem or improve something (make something more efficient)

2. Create either a model or a diagram of the invention (it does not have to work)

3. Name the invention

4. Write a description of what problem the invention solves and how it works

5. Use household materials; kids should not go out and ask to spend a bunch of money! They need to use materials they find at home.

Our Invention Convention will be February 21st. Kids need to have their invention and description ready on this day. Kids will get to visit other classrooms, view and read about inventions. They will also get a chance to vote for the best invention in each room.