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.