November 7, 2015

Important Dates:

Sunday, November 8th- Music Program at 4:45 in the gym

Wednesday, November 11th- Veterans Day Assembly at 9:00 in the gym

Wednesday, November 18th- Early release at 1:40

Wednesday, November 25th- Friday, November 27th- NO SCHOOL

We are well into the second quarter, and I am proud with how hard everyone is working!

In writing, we recently learned about paraphrasing and note taking.  We will apply these skills when working on an informational piece.  Our curriculum has students develop an informational piece on the topic of Native Americans.  Students have chosen 3-5 subtopics related to Native Americans and have done some research to explore.

In reading, we are learning about the different ways nonfiction texts are organized.  We are exploring five common text structures: cause and effect, problem and solution, chronological order, description, and compare and contrast.  We are also starting to explore nonfiction passages in guided reading groups.  Each group is also participating in an independent book club where they meet twice a week with a small group to discuss a book of their choice.  The book clubs are going well so far, and the kids are very excited to talk about their books!

The current chapter in math covers division by a single digit divisor.  We will have a quiz over chapter 3 on Wednesday, and a study guide should come home on Monday.  There will a combined chapter 3 and 4 test after we finish chapter 4.  Chapter 4 covers dividing by double digit divisors, and we will begin this chapter next week.

We have been learning about the water cycle in science.  Students have done experiments on evaporation and condensation, and we even made it rain in the classroom using a hot plate, a pot of water, and an aluminum pan with ice!  Soon we will start learning about weather tools.

Students have also been planning their own experiments and conducting them on Mondays.  They are having a lot of fun doing this!

Here are a few pictures from Ability Awareness Day.

Here are some from our Halloween party!

October 9th

October is here and the kids are getting excited about Halloween!  We have been keeping busy, and here are some upcoming dates to keep in mind:

Wednesday, October 14th

• Science test over the scientific method (study guides came home Friday, October 9th)

Thursday, October 15th 

• Math test over Chapter 2 (study guides will come home soon)

Friday, October 16th

• Half day for students with dismissal at 11:50/End of first quarter

Monday (October 26th)  and Wednesday (October 28th)

• Parent teacher conferences- Please sign up for a conference if you haven't done so

In math, we have been studying exponents, prime factorization, estimation, and multiplication.  Keep in mind that your child can access the math book online.  There are instructions in the blog under Online Textbooks.  Also, reviewing your child's nightly math homework can allow you to see the different topics we are learning and how well your child understands the concepts.  Students are enjoying math centers.  Each week they participate in four different centers.  One is the hands on center where they play games and activities that go with current or previous topics.  Another is the problem solving center where they solve real life math problems with a partner.  ALEKS, which is a computer based program that goes with our math curriculum, is the third center.  The last center is a variety of independent activities that reinforce the current topics we are studying.  While students are in their centers, I provide small group instruction for the students based on their needs for the lesson.

Below is an example of one type of problem solving activity we have done.

Theme has been our focus in reading.  We are examining how the character's problems help us discover the main theme of books.  Also, the students have started keeping a reading notebook to record notes about the books they are reading as well as to record how many pages they read each day.  After learning a skill or strategy in a mini lesson, students have time to read independently while I meet with groups of students for guided reading.  Please encourage your child to bring home the book they are reading in the classroom to read for their homework reading.  This way they are finishing more books and not trying to keep up with so many different books.  It can become hard for them to manage.

We have come to the conclusion of our personal narrative unit in writing.  Students will be having a writing celebration on Tuesday where they can wear their pajamas and bring flashlights.  We will read each other's stories by flashlight to make it more exciting!  Our next unit is informational writing.  If your child has a device that connects to wi-fi and you are comfortable with him or her bringing it to school, this would help since they will all need to be researching.  We have access to quite a few laptops and i-pads, but it helps if some students use their personal devices so we can get more kids on at one time.

In science, we are wrapping up our unit on the scientific method.  As this is something we use constantly in science, we will be revisiting it throughout each of our upcoming units.  Our test over the scientific method will be Wednesday, October 15th.  The students have a study guide that is very similar to the test, so please review this with your child.  Below are some pictures from our Oreo investigation that we did last week.  Sorry they are so blurry!  We found that double stuff and regular Oreos sink faster than the golden Oreos!

Thank you all for the support you provide at home!  I really enjoy working with each of your children!  

September 20

A Few Things to Remember:

• Tuesday, Sep. 22- Math test over Ch. 1 (please review the study guide with your child)
• Friday, Sep. 25- NO SCHOOL due to teacher professional development
• Wednesday, Sep. 30- Picture day
• Friday, Oct. 2- Long's Cultural Dinner from 6:30-8:00: Bring a food dish to celebrate your culture. There will be cultural entertainment from all over the world.  This is a family fun event.  Contact mwigger@lindberghschools.ws with any questions or concerns.  A flyer went home in the Tuesday mail with more information.

In math, we have been reviewing for our upcoming test on chapter one.  This chapter covers place value of whole numbers and decimals, as well as comparing and ordering numbers.  A study guide went home on Tuesday, and the test will be very similar to the study guide.  Chapter two will involve a lot of multiplication, so please have your child practice their facts for a few minutes each night.

Students have been working hard on their personal narratives in writing.  Ask your child what they have been writing about.  We talked about writing leads that will captivate and hold the reader's attention.  We learned that narrative writing needs to include rising action, a climax, and falling action.  Students are revising their work to include each of these components in their stories.   Also, the students and their writing partners scored a sample piece of writing using the rubric with which their personal narratives will be graded.

In reading, we have been focusing on story elements.  This is going right along with what we are studying in writing, too.  Reading groups are going well, and students seem to be enjoying their books.  While I meet with reading groups each day, the other students are reading their books independently.  In order for children to improve their reading and move along in their reading levels, it is extremely important that they are reading books on their level for a sustained period of time.  Please make sure your child completes their 30 minutes of nightly reading as this is just as important as the reading that they do at school.

We are continuing to learn about the scientific method.  Students are writing testable questions and hypotheses for different types of investigations.  This coming week will learn how to write a procedure for an investigation, as well as learn about the different types of variables in an investigation.  Students are getting very excited about applying the different parts of the scientific method to our Oreo experiment soon!

September 4, 2015

We have been busy these last couple of weeks, and I have enjoyed getting to know your children.  The first week of school the kids brainstormed about what a good classmate/friends says and does.  We used their ideas to write our mission statement below:

REMINDERS:

• Don't forget that our first early release day will be Wednesday, September 16th.  We will dismiss at 1:40.  Please make sure your child knows how he or she is getting home.  
• Also, please be checking the Class Dojo each week.  If you can't find your paper that tells you how to log in, let me know and I will send home another one.

In math, we are learning about whole number and decimal place value.   So far,we have talked about writing whole numbers in three different ways: standard form, word form, and expanded form.  We have also been writing fractions in word form and as decimals.  This week was our first week of math centers, too!  Students meet with me in a small group daily, as well as participate in a variety of problem solving and hands on math activities.  Please keep practicing multiplication facts at home so they can become automatic.

In reading, we have been talking about the type of thinking we do when we read.  We also have been thinking about the types of connections we make as we read.  I have been conferencing with the students individually, and reading groups will start next week.  Please make sure your child is completing his or her 30 minutes of nightly reading.  The more your child reads the better!

Our first writing unit is personal narrative, so we have been trying to brainstorm special times in our lives.  Focusing in on one particular small moment can be difficult for 5th graders, so we are reading lots of examples to illustrate this.  The students have come up with some interesting ideas so far.  Ask your child about what they have been writing about!

Exploring the different science tools has been fun!  We did some activities using the tools, and we went outside one day to make some qualitative and quantitative observations.  We will begin learning about the scientific method next week.

Below are some pictures from our team building activities we did the first week of school.

Welcome Back!

We had a great first few days back!  It was fun learning about one another and getting back into the swing of things.  The students developed our class mission statement together, and this will be the basis for how our classroom looks and feels.  I am excited about all of the team building activities we have planned for next week!  Here are a few pictures from our first two days.