DISCOVERY DECEMBER

December is a great month all around.  We have 3 weeks of focus and hard work and then a well deserved break.  Students are already enjoying the work we have for this month.  Most of our work is centered around our Discovery theme, based in learning about European explorers and the Age of Exploration.  Already we have talked about explorers from Marco Polo to Da Gama and Dias.  This week we will look at Columbus, Magellan, and some Spanish Conquistadors.  There will also be a Decimal Division quiz this week and another science experiment on water and evaporation.  We will find time in the next couple of weeks to enjoy our Pre School buddies and celebrate Winter Break with our school community.  Please read the snapshot of this upcoming week below and enjoy the pictures of Powwow projects, Astrolabes, and science work.  And know we have weekly assignments due each week in most subjects.

Reading: I will continue reading short stories of characters who go on journeys while students read their Journey chapter books.  In our Lit Journal, we will be comparing our characters' journeys to the real journeys of European explorers.

SS/Writing:  We will continue to take notes on explorers from our text book and get ready for our Discovery game.  Already students are working together in colonies on mapping assignments.  It is likely we will set sail this Friday after we prepare our ships and gather supplies.

Science:  Last week, we worked together on setting up an experiment about evaporation.  This week we will study a new variable of evaporation.  These mini experiments are covering the scientific method, the hydrological cycle, and hopefully give us more inspiration for our community project (which we haven't decided yet!).

Math:  Last week, we had a quiz on decimal multiplication.  This week, we will wrap up decimal division and take a quiz on that topic.  Next up will be a look into algebra.

Have a great week!

 

 

 

 

POTLATCH PARTY!!!

Our Potlatch Friday was fantastic!!! We are so thankful for volunteers and presenters who made the day go smoothly.  Thanks, families! Below you can see some pictures of artifacts we saw in our presentations. Monday and Tuesday is booked with student presentations of their Native American topics. We will be looking at displays, models, media presentations, and Native American arts and crafts made by students.  This is a great way to end our Native American learning.  Since this is our focus for this short 2 day week, there will be almost no math work today and tomorrow.  However, students know they can use extra time at home and over break to work on having 3 book shares completed by next Monday.  Book Shares will also be our in class focus if we have time between presentations.

I enjoyed talking to everyone at conferences.  Over break, I will be looking over my notes and making any changes or plans that came out of our talks.  Below are the topics we will focus on during the 17 school days between Thanksgiving and Winter Break.  Take care and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!

SOCIAL STUDIES: We will be kicking off our DISCOVERY theme, which focuses on the Age of Exploration and mostly European Explorers.  During this theme, we learn about explorations, mostly focusing between 1200-1700 AD.  However, we do discuss modern explorers and some ancient African/Asian kingdoms.  In class, we will also be forming "colonies" to play a role playing game highlighting the struggles of explorers, natives, and colonization of the New World.  In the game, students will forma colony and try to successfully settle in the New World on a journey from Europe.

READING: We will be in book clubs again using books that focus on characters who go on a journey. There will be weekly Literature Journal Assignments each week in December.

WRITING: Our writing focus will shift from Nonfiction to Narrative.  We will be using inspirations from our explorer studies to write narratives taking place during this time period.

SCIENCE: In December, we will begin weekly mini experiments to support our Community Project theme.  Our exact theme hasn't been decided yet but it seems it will focus on stream habitats/ecosystems.  So our experiments will be a lot about the Hydrological Cycle and weather patterns.

MATH:   We have finished lessons on multiplying decimals.  After Thanksgiving, we will have a day of practice and quiz on multiplying decimals before covering division of decimals.  After that unit, the focus will be on algebra and variables until Winter Break.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIME TO CELEBRATE!

Not only did we have a great time celebrating fall/Halloween last Friday, we also are celebrating our hard work this 1st Trimester.  Today (Friday) we are wrapping up our division math unit and other assignments.  This weekend I will be working on Progress Reports and preparing for conferences.  Therefore, there will not be comments in the Friday Folder since I will be writing on the Progress Report which will go home next Wednesday.  Next week, we will take a break from a lot of our learning to reflect on our progress so far.  Every student will be making a portfolio of their best work from each subject and setting goals for Trimester 2.  We will look at these portfolios during conference time.  In 5th grade, we strongly encourage students to attend conferences and share their portfolios.  This is not a requirement of any sort, just encouraged.  Of course, if a family feels the need to have a private conference, that is understandable. Thank you so much to all who helped make the Halloween party go so well. You can see from the pictures below, a lot of fun was had by all.

Focus for next week:
Student Portfolios
Finish Book Club book/Book Shares
Native American rough draft

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HARD WORKERS

With the start of some new routines, we had plenty to focus on this week.  Our class of All Stars responded well with great work on their Native American studies, division, and our reading book clubs.  This dynamic will continue the couple weeks as we delve deeper into each of these topics.  In science, we are sharing our awesome CPBL wordles as inspired by our work in the field through the beginning of the year.  Be sure to check out the wordles with the link to the 2016-2017 CPBL page to the right. Below is the weekly plan for each subject.  Please be sure to check the Powwow theme calendar and packet in the Friday Folder.

READING:  This week our literature journal focus was on summaries.  Next week, we will look closer at another reading comprehension strategy while we read the second section of our Native American themed books.  Students are also making their book share plans to try and have 3 completed before the trimester ends.

SS/WRITING: This week, students worked in groups planning to present on various Native American regions.  We will share this work next week and choose our topic for our Native American museum project.

MATH: Division, division, division!  Next week, the numbers get larger as we get into dividing 3 digit by 2 digit numbers.  Student finished a nice math poster of a multiplication/division problem this week.  Check out some past posters below.

SCIENCE:  In science we are sharing our Wordle inspirations from our field experiences. We will use our discussions to choose our year long science study and community project.

NICE WEEK

Last week was a productive week with a few celebrations.  We had a couple birthdays, time with preschool buddies, and a successful Grandparent's Day.  Also, our field trip to Capen Park Thursday went very well. This was our last planned community field trip for the season.  This week, the most notable date is Early Release Day on Wednesday.  School dismisses at 12:45 this Wednesday.

Book Shares:
Readers should have at least 1 book share completed already this year.  I will be conferencing with all students this week in book clubs and I will also have them make a book share plan.  Students are expected to make a book report for 10 award winning books by April 30.  I have published a link to the right for book shares with links to many possible books to read.  Students have a reading log to record their books and also a sheet with book share choices.  There are many examples in our classroom also.  I will email a copy of these sheets home.  Students may use read aloud books and book club books for their book shares too.

Here is current focus for this week:

READING: Native American book clubs start this week and so do weekly literature journal assignments.  Students have a weekly reading assignment due on Friday for the next month.  Each book club has a Native American theme to support our social studies learning.

WRITING/SS:  Students are learning about Native American culture using our textbook, other books, and websites.  Students are researching a NA minitopic to help introduce each region to the class.  We will be focusing on nonfiction writing strategies as students do research on NA topics and being to create their museum exhibits.  There will be a packet sent home this week with due dates and information on this Powwow Theme.

SCIENCE:  This week we are sharing our inspirations from our community experiences through Wordles we made based on our observations.  Each student will present and share an idea for our community science project.  This work will guide our science focus throughout the year.

MATH: Division Division Division!  We will be expanding our division application for a while now.  We will look at a variety of efficient strategies as we practice up to 3 digit divided by 2 digit division.  Students will also be bringing home their multiplication test Monday.  Some students can benefit a lot from practicing their facts at home to be more efficient.  My experience is many students need support with homework during our division topics.

WE DID IT!!!

The Travel Show this week was a success!!  All of our geographers had very creative, well planned projects.  Thanks to everyone who made it.  What a great way to kick off the week.  Other special events this week included a field experience at Stewart Park, a fire week assembly, a visit from the Columbia Police Department color guard, and an extra recess for homework completion!

Please check the Friday Folder for important notices - it's pretty full this week!  Look for the Grandparent's Day Invitation for next Friday, October 14.  Also, there is a letter about our Capen Park field experience next Thursday, October 13.  Finally, there will be a multiplication math test on Tuesday so look out for the Monday night study guide.  Below is the general outline for each subject and a picture of the Color Guard presentation with a few photos students took with their ipads at Stewart Park.

READING: We focused on personal connections this week.  Next week the focus will be on book share progress before we start our Native American book clubs the following week.

WRITING:  Students completed their I AM poems this week.  We may share this work at Grandparents Day as a mini writing celebration.   Students are also working on a mini writing project for science, getting ready to share their inspirations from our field experiences.

MATH:  MULTIPLICATION TEST ON TUESDAY!!!  Our mathemagicians are ready to demonstrate their best work with their multiplication skills.  The following unit will be on division. I've noticed many students may benefit from fact practice at home or in the car or anywhere really. I've been very impressed with the efficient strategies students are using.

SCIENCE:  We are beginning to reflect on our field experiences and toward the end of October we will have chosen a 5th grade community science project based on our work so far.

SOCIAL STUDIES:  Next week we will begin our learning about Native American culture.  Students will be using various resources for research to become experts on a region and develop a small presentation to teach others.

WE DID IT (almost!)

What a wonderful week of great work and celebration!  Students worked extremely hard at their travel brochures, getting ready for the Travel Show on Monday.  We finished the week feeling accomplished - after a few tweaks tomorrow morning in Media, we will print and be ready for the Travel Show at 11:00!  Come see our islands before or after lunch. Students are welcome to bring island

We also celebrated Arts n Blues week with our special musician guest, TJ Wheeler.  I enjoyed watching the Grant School Blues Corps perform at the Roots n Blues Music Festival.  Great job, kids!  Grant School is a community full of creative talents.

Speaking of Grant School talent, I was very impressed with our MAP Scores and you may have read about Grant's success in the newspaper.  Specifically, the students in our class were very successful and that is encouraging as we plan for the year.  In 5th grade, we do our best to support creative, high quality projects from our learners and you will see that with the island project tomorrow.  The students are also creating impressive math posters applying their skills to multi-step word problems.  Below is the focus for the upcoming weeks in each subject.

SOCIAL STUDIES:  After finishing our geography unit with the Travel Show, we will spend a bit of time reflecting on our work and then getting ready to start our next thematic unit, Powwow, focusing on Native American culture.  A packet describing our work in this theme will be sent home in an upcoming Friday Folder.

READING: I have completed beginning of the year reading assessments with the whole class.  The time spent listening to readers and having them talk and write about their reading has given me a chance to know more about each reader.  We have practiced asking and answering questions and making personal connections.  Students will complete a personal connection table this week and we will also take the monthly STAR computerized math assessment.  I will be sending home results of this test with information about book choices for book shares in an upcoming Friday Folder.  When the Powwow theme begins, all students will be in book clubs, reading award winning novels with Native American backgrounds.

WRITING:  The Travel Brochure and other island writing took up most of our writing time of late.  In making the brochure, students got first hand experience using nonfiction writing features on the computer.  During the Powwow theme, students will focus on using nonfiction features to make a museum exhibit about Native American culture.  IN between the Travel Show and beginning Powwow, we will take time to finish our I AM poems, which are turning out great! 

MATH: Students are deep into practicing multiplication.  We are practicing 2 by 2 digit and this week 3 by 2 digit multiplication.  We practice using estimates to check our work and our class discussions are covering many mental math strategies and multiplication properties.  Everyone created a math poster last week using ratios and multiplication to answer word problems.  I'll post some here this week.  These posters we will continue to make to improve our math communication and problem solving of multi step problems.

SCIENCE:  After the Travel Show, we will spend more focus on science this week.  There will finally be our observation of Stewart Park.  We are planning one more field trip this fall to Capen Park for our last community field experience.  I will let you know the date as soon as possible.  Students will start gathering their observations and making word posters reflecting their most inspirational observations.  We will use these posters to decide on our year long community science project.