April 17- 21
It is hard to believe that there are only 7 weeks of school left in the year. The units this term will continue much of what we began in term 3. Books clubs were incredibly popular and very successful with getting kids excited about books. In an effort to feed that excitement, we will continue with books clubs again this term. We will also continue to analyze poetry.
In writing we will use debate and essay writing to improve the structure and elaboration in argument writing. We will also continue writing poetry. Some writing will also be done during our social studies unit focused on designing a great school.
In math, our next unit will be on algebra. When this unit winds up, I plan to provide some review and /or extension based on individual need.
Remember, finding high quality literature at your child's level is critical to maintaining their interest and making them lifelong readers. I will be checking with students throughout the coming weeks to see who has downloaded the Kindle app so I can help them to find great books to read.
April 3- 7
Parent conferences are this week. Please remember that this is a celebration of learning as well as an information session. If you have any major issues that you wish to discuss, I would be glad to discuss them with you in a separate meeting. The student-led conference intended for your child to share their learning from 5th grade. Your child should have roughly 36 artifacts of learning that they will tell you about, and as they do, he or she will tell you what they learned this year. Your son/daughter should talk about the skills they have learned, so please remember, if they talk about an activity, ask them about what they learned from the activity. Reflection is a difficult but important part of learning.
This week will be dedicated to getting ready for conferences. We will finish our book clubs, write more poetry, and play some debating games. In math we will try to finish our unit on dividing decimals, the test is scheduled for Friday but I will probably decide to postpone it until after the break.
See you at the conferences!
March 27- 31
A lot of time this week will be spent preparing for parent conferences. Each student has completed his or her portfolio and should have 36 artifacts to share with you next week. Throughout the year, they have been collecting these artifacts to reflect on their learning. Next week is the moment when they will be asked to explain to their parents what they have learned this year and what they have struggled. It is a difficult but worthwhile and exciting task for children to reflect on their learning with their parents. Please remember that this event is a celebration as well as informational. If you have any big concerns that you would like to discuss, please set up a separate time. It may also be the case where your child has not collected sufficient artifacts to give you a clear understanding of their year. This is almost always a reflection of work habits and responsibility. Although these cases are rare, this would also indicate a need for a separate parent conference.
Time slots for parent conferences are 10 minutes apart but you do not have to leave after 10 minutes. Because the conferences are student-led and we are celebrating the learning, there may be as many as 4 or 5 families in the room at one time. Your son or daughter will be in charge of sharing their learning experience from 5th grade, I will monitor the classroom and stop to talk to you near the end of the portfolio, but for the rest of the time, I am just an observer. Your child will be spending time this week rehearsing what they want to highlight from their year. The students will have had much time to reflect on what they want to "teach" you about their year. The idea is that they focus on skills and concepts NOT activities. If your child talks about an activity, please feel free to ask "What did you learn from this?" This can be a difficult task so please be patient and encourage your child to talk about their learning.
Parent conferences- April 5-6
This week in 5A
Reading- We will be working on book clubs. I will meet with some groups for the end of the book discussion.
Writing- We will be writing more poetry this week. Our focus will be details, issues and emotions. We were going to do this last week but we lost a lot of writing time to portfolios and Alley Debates. We will be doing both of those activities again this week but we have an extra day and hopefully we will find some time for writing poetry.
Math- We will continue begin the unit Dividing Fractions,
March 21- 24
Parent conferences will be in a couple of weeks. These conferences will be student-led so your child will be sharing their portfolio with you and I will be spending a limited amount of time in the conference. Throughout the year we have been taking breaks to collect work samples that reflect the learning that has been taking place. At the end of each unit students have been asked to choose samples of their work that reflect what they have been learning, or trying to learn. At the conferences, your child will present their portfolio to you, explaining the artifacts that have contributed to their growth this year. This activity has three main purposes. First, it is meant to be informative as parents learn about their child's year in fifth grade, what they have learned, what their strengths are and the areas where they struggle. Second, it is an integral part of the learning process for students as they reflect on skills taught throughout the year and their level of mastery in those areas. Thirdly, this is a celebration of learning. Students should take pride in the growth that they have achieved this year and understand that areas of weakness are things to work on in the future. The focus should be on growth and any major areas of concern can be addressed individually at a separate meeting. If you have specific concerns about your child's progress, please arrange for another meeting time with me to discuss this. The overall tone of the student-led conference should be positive, with the child in charge.
This week we will be spending some time preparing for the conferences. Essentially, your child will be teaching you about their year in 5th Grade and this takes some preparation. We will be finalizing the portfolios and practicing our teaching strategies this week and next.
Reading- We will begin another round of book clubs this week. This has been an extremely popular activity and students continue to ask me when we will continue with more book clubs. We will do it this week and next.
Writing- We will be writing more poetry this week. Our focus will be details, issues and emotions.
Math- We will continue with the unit Multiplying Fractions, The test is scheduled for Friday.
We will also be doing more alley debates this week.
March 13- 17
We have now completed our literary essays as well as our Science and Social Studies unit. With parent conferences coming up in less than a month, the class will soon be practicing the presentation of their portfolios. Throughout the year students have been collecting work samples and reflecting the learning that has taken place. When you come to school for your child's conference this term, your child will walk you through their year in 5th Grade explaining what they have learned. This is a celebration of their learning through the year but it is also a good activity for them to take part in. Reflection helps students to focus on the skills they have learned instead of on the activity itself.
We will try to do one more book club before Spring Break as the class really enjoyed the activity and continue to ask for more opportunities to read in these groups. Unfortunately, our limited supply of books could prevent some students from doing this activity again. I also would like to do more poetry and debating activities during the next few weeks. Debate is a great way to improve essay writing skills as well as oral English skills. Poetry is a writing skill that strengthens skills used for all genres of writing.
This week in 5A
Reading- We will continue to build deep comprehension skills using read aloud and discussion. We will also have opportunity this week to enjoy more independent reading time.
Writing- We will be writing poetry this week. Our focus will be looking at things from different perspectives, using line breaks, and looking for small objects that hold big feelings.
Math- We will continue with the unit Multiplying Fractions, I expect the test to be written at the middle or end of next week.
There is a dodgeball tournament at Cambridge School on Friday. Some of the students from 5A will be attending.
Feb. 27- Mar. 3
It was really nice to see so many parents come to the Family Learning Night. I hope you all enjoyed the debating activity presented in the classroom.
With the Ecology presentations completed, we will now be able to dedicate much of this week to completing the publishing of our literary essays. Rough drafts should now be finished and this week will be for final revisions and publishing. With more time now available in class, we will be able to spend some time on debates (which is very valuable for essay writing skills as well as speaking and listening skills). We will also begin to move more into the exploration of poetry in reading and writing.
Here is a look at the upcoming week.
Reading- We will get started on a new read aloud this week to do some more work on character development and deep comprehension.
Writing- We will begin publishing our literary essays this week. Essays should be completed by Friday.
Math- We will write the test on Wednesday. Our next unit is Multiplying Fractions.
Science and S.S.- Students have completed their presentations and will spend some time this week working on research skills.
Feb. 20- 24
I am very excited to get back to school this week and hear the stories from Barichara. I wasn't able to go this year but it was certainly one of the highlights of my year in 2015- 16. We will get back on track this week finishing our ecology projects and presenting them at the end of the week. I am also hoping to finish our literary essays this week or early next week. That would leave us some time at the end of this term to write some poetry which is always one of my favorite writing genres to teach.
We will also be doing more debating this week. The class has really enjoyed the debating activities we have done to this point and you will have a chance to experience some of that at Family Learning Night on Wednesday.
Here is what is coming up this week.
Reading- We will take a break from book clubs to give the kids a chance to have more choice in their reading. Many have asked to continue Book Clubs because they enjoy the social aspect they provide. It is good to see them so motivated to read and share books.
Writing- We will continue to work on supporting ideas and finish the rough draft of our literary essays.
Math- We will continue with Unit 6 (adding and subtracting fractions). The test is scheduled for early next week.
Science and S.S.- Students will continue to research biomes, following the rubric as a guide.
**MAP testing continues on Monday and Tuesday this week. Please make sure your child gets to bed at a reasonable hour and eats a good breakfast in the morning.**
Feb. 13- 17
Being that there are only 2 days of class before the students go to Barichara, this is a good week to finish work on some projects that are currently going on. Books clubs are winding down and I will have my final discussion with the Wonder, Holes, and Shiloh reading clubs on Monday and Tuesday. We will also use this week to complete the biome posters that will be used to teach the class about different biomes. Notes should be finished by now. We will also aim to finish the rough drafts of our literary essays so that we can complete the published drafts upon return from Barichara. In math we will continue with adding and subtracting fractions.
I have spoken with a number of students and written to parents about incomplete assignments. Students in Fifth Grade need to be increasingly independent in their work habits. I find myself spending a lot of time chasing after students for assigned work that is not handed in or that is carelessly completed. This past week alone, only 13 out of 23 students handed in a poem assignment that they had 4 days to complete. Not only does this affect their grade, it also makes it difficult to follow through with certain class activities. If you have received an email from me about your child's effort in class, please encourage your child to complete any missing assignments. Thank you for your help in this matter.
Feb. 6- Feb. 10
The next 3 weeks will be very busy. We have MAP testing this week and during the week of Feb. 20- 24. In between is the 5th grade trip to Barrichara, so we will have interruptions in the class routine. Despite all of this, we will also be completing our Science/ S.S. project on biomes , and making presentations. The presentations will take place at the end of the week of Feb. 20. Book clubs will also wrap up before the Barrichara trip.
Here is a look at the coming week in 5A.
Reading- We will continue to work on book clubs. All assignments are due in to me the day after students have their discussion with me.
Writing- Students have chosen a book to write their essay about. This week we will write our supporting ideas and elaborate on them.
Math- We will continue with Unit 6 (adding and subtracting fractions) later this week.
Science and S.S.- Students will continue to research biomes, following the rubric as a guide.
Please make sure your child is reading every night and completing IXL assignments. I am not checking XtraMath anymore as all students should have completed all operations at this point. If they have not, they should continue to work on it as it is integral to their work on new concepts.
Jan. 30- Feb. 3
We are back into a regular routine and units for the second term have begun. We will be working fully on these throughout the term with only a brief interruption for MAP tests next week and in 3 weeks from now. This will be a very important term for reading skills in fiction as that will be a big focus. Remember to make sure that your child is reading for at least 30 minutes per night.
As a class, we struggled with the unit 5 math test. One of the main issues seems to be the lack of basic math skills, please make sure your child is working on XtraMath on a regular basis.
Here is a look at the coming week in 5A.
Reading- We will continue with book clubs for the next few weeks. Some students are reading a book per week, others will take up to 3 weeks to complete their book. To see the assignments that accompany the clubs, please ask your child to see the rubric I handed out last week.
Writing- Students have chosen a book to write their essay about. This week we will explore more ways to introduce our thesis and how to find evidence to reinforce our supporting statements.
Math- We will begin Unit 6 (adding and subtracting fractions) later this week. We will begin the week by going over last week's test and writing the Unit 6 pretest.
Science and S.S.- Students will continue to research biomes, following the rubric as a guide.
Jan. 23- 27
It felt good to be back to school and working with the kids again last week. It is always nice to have a break and come back refreshed and get started on a new round of learning. I am particularly excited about this term because we have a full term with few interruptions. I am also excited about the switch from nonfiction to fiction in literacy. We are starting book clubs this week and the students seem to be as excited as I am about this. Remember if children are going to improve their reading skills, they must be reading on a regular basis. I cannot overstate the importance of this.
Here is a look at this week in 5A.
Reading- We will start book clubs by assigning books to students and letting them decide how much they will read each day. I will also introduce the assignments that they will be doing alongside the reading.
Writing- We have looked at the basics of literary essays, now students will choose a story and write the introduction to their essay.
Math- We will begin the week by doing the Unit 5 review. Tuesday and Wednesday will be a chance for students to get help with anything they don't understand. This would leave Thursday for the test but I would prefer to leave the test until Friday. I will see where the class is at midweek and determine whether we should push the test to Friday.
Science and S.S.- We will be learning about biomes, taking notes and preparing for the beginning of class projects.
Jan. 16- 20
I hope you all have had a safe and rewarding holiday. I will be returning to class this week as I had some unavoidable business to attend to last week. This term promises to be an exciting one, as we will have significantly more time in class than last term. We will once again be incorporating reading and writing with Science with Social Studies in a unit focussing on ecosystems. This unit will look at different biomes, food webs, and specific animals including endangered species.
We will also study reading and writing skills in separate sessions. In reading we will apply previously learned reading skills to independent reading in book clubs. Writing skills will focus on essay writing, and students will write a literary essay.
Here is a look at this week in 5A.
Reading- We will take a look at the upcoming unit and model the activities we will be engaging in when book clubs begin next week.
Writing- We will look at expectations for the unit and do some lead up activities which mimic the process we will follow.
Math- We will continue working on Unit 5, Dividing Decimals.
Science and S.S.- I will introduce the upcoming unit on ecology
Before the break, I asked students to keep track of the books they read so I could check their reading habits. I will be checking those reading logs this week. I hope that all children are in the habit of reading on a regular basis.
Dec. 5- 9
The end of the term is fast approaching and in 5A we are finishing up our units of study. This past week we completed most of our presentations for the integrated unit on matter and resiources. A few students have been asked to work on their presentations again during this weekend and to present again next week. I do not normally allow for students to redo assignments but I think this will be a good learning experience for those students. The main point of this unit was to get kids to rethink how they read nonfiction text and how they represent their understanding. Understanding nonfiction text does not mean repeating what you read, it is about explaining your understanding of what you read.
Here is a look at the upcoming week.
Reading/ writing/ science- We will finish the final presentations.
Math-The test for unit 4 will be on Wednesday. We will be reviewing on Monday and Tuesday. I have asked any students having difficullties to stay for refuerzo on Tuesday.
S.S.- Continuing with he culture of S. America.
Remember Thursday is a holiday and Friday is early dismissal. We also have concert rehearsals on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Friday night is the concert. I hope to see you there!
Nov. 28- Dec. 2
This past week had some special moments from our visit to Fandic. It is always interesting to see how children behave in settings outside of the school, and how they interact with other people. I was beyond impressed with how the students of 5A represented themselves and their school this week at Fandic. Their behaviour, leadership and compassion were exemplary througout the visit and I think the students themselves benefit greatly from such experiences.
Here is a look at the upcoming week in 5A.
Reading/ writing/ science- Presentations will take place this week. It is the responsiblity of the students to teach the rest of the class about their chosen resource. Students should present information without reading information from notecards, they should refer to their notes occassionally but eye contact with the audience of very important. Their slideshow sould provide visual support and should be very limited in text (the audience should not be reading information from slides).
Math-The test for unit 4 was originally scheduled for this week but we have had some unexpected interuptions and students have struggled more than expected with the material. We will continue to work with decimal multiplication and hope to be reviewing by the end of the week.
S.S.- Continuing with he culture of S. America.
Nov. 21- 25
It is hard to believe but the term is already starting to wind down. This week we will be changing gears in our science and language arts project to prepare for presentations next week. We have two more Christmas concert rehearsals this week and an early dismissal on Friday but other than that there is nothing that will interrupt our classroom routine.
Here is a look at the upcoming week.
Reading/ writing/ science- Students should be finished or nearly finished their resource notes now. Starting next week they will be making slide presentations to support the information they have found. It is important for students to realize that the slides are a visual support for their notes. They are expected to play the role of the teacher, and teach the class about their topic.
Math- In math we will continue to work on decimal multiplication. By now, if your child is not at least in the multiplication section of XtraMath, they are probably struggling somewhat in math. They may even be getting decent grades, but if they are not able to multiply numbers quickly and accurately they are spending much of their time and effort focussing on concepts that should be mastered, and they are not able to focus on the concept covered in this unit.
S.S.- Continuing witht he culture of S. America.
Nov. 15- 18
This will be a very light week in the classroom. Monday is a holiday and Thursday will be Convivencia. That leaves us with three days of classes with two hours concert practice mixed in. With that in mind, here is a look at what is happening this week.
Reading/ writing/ science- We will continue gathering notes for our upcoming presentations on matter. I have told the class that they should be close to finishing their notes by the end of this week. They will have a bit of time the following week (Nov. 21- 28) but by then students should be spending most of their time making their PowerPoint or "Slides" show. They also need to spend focussed time practising their presentations. The Prime Objective of this unit is for students to recognize the importance of understanding what they read and to free them from the habit of copying information or simply trying to repeat what they have read. By playing the role of the expert and teaching information to others, students are forced to "put the knowledge into their own words". Simply put, they are forced to build understanding.
Math- We begin unit 4 (multipying decimals) by writing the pretest this week. The pretest gives feednack on what students already know and how we should move forward in the unit. Due to the limited amount of time, the test will probably be the only math we do this week.
Social Sudies- We continue to work on S. America geography and culture. We probably will not have time to work on any S.S. This week.
Please remember the importance of reading. Your child should be reading for 30 minutes every night. I have listed some helpful information in the Reading Units section to help with reading levels and book choice.
Nov. 8- 11
This will be another busy week at Panamericano. With Monday being a holiday and CHristmas concert practices beginning, 5A will only have 12 classes with me this week. Along with other holidays this term, Christmas reharsals each week, Convivencia next week, I will only have 70 class periods with the children this term. I had really wanted to do a writing unit with literary esays this term but I don't want to do it poorly and it is simply not possible with the limited time to do justice to the genre. Therefore, I have decided to postpone esay writing until the final term of the year. In the meantime, I hope do some debate type activities that will strengthen the students' understanding of opinion writing.
Please check the Reading Units section of this blog to learn more about reading levels and how to choose books for your child.
This week in 5A
Reading/ writing/ science - Students are researching a natural resource and reporting on its journey from extraction to processing to usage and disposal. Throughout they should consider the impact each step has on the planet. As part of the focus of the unit, students are learning how to take notes and practicing what they have learned.
Math- We have finished the unit on adding and subtracting decimals. We will do the review this week and write the test on Friday.
Social Studies- Map skills and S. American culture.
Oct. 31- Nov. 4
Everyone had a lot of fun at Panamericano Days and now it is time to get back to a more regular schedule in the class room. This week we will have a full week of classes. We will begin to get more fully into the units we will be studying this term. So far, math is the only unit with which we are fully engaged. This means that the next 5 weeks will be very important for learning and for grading, as the final 2 weeks will be filled with presentations and Christmas related activities. Here is what we will be doing this week.
Reading: Nonfiction- We will continue to practice note taking skills while learning about matter. This process involves watching a video and writing notes that will later allow you to teach others the ideas conveyed in the video.
Writing: Literary essays- This week we will look at the structure of a literary essay and write a first essay.
Math: We will continue adding and subtracting decimals.
Science: Matter- Same as reading above.
Social Studies: Mapping- We will begin learning about map skills and culture in South America.
All students should now know what their reading level is and should be reading books that are very near to that level. I have listed a few websites to help find books and a conversion chart for levels. This information is in the "Reading Units" section of this blog. Please let me know if you need any help in this area.
Oct. 24- 28
It was nice to meet with parents last week and to talk about your children's development. This will be another short week in terms of academics. Thursday and Friday will be Panamericano Days and students will be taking part in a variety of outside activities. Here is a look at what will be happening in the class.
Reading: Nonfiction- In this unit we will be spending more time practicing note taking skills. This week we will be watching videos to learn about matter and taking notes. Students will be given opportunities to teach these ideas to others.
Writing: Literary essays- We will review picture books that we have read previously to talk about theme, internal story and lessons.
Math: Adding and subtracting decimals.
Science: Matter- This unit will be connected to our reading unit and students will be learning about matter.
Social Studies: Mapping- This will begin next week
Remember: Your child should be reading every night for 30 minutes. If you need any help with accessing Kindle books or choosing the right level, let me know and I will be glad to help.
Oct. 18- 21
It's hard to believe that we are already one quarter of the way into the year. Things will move even faster in the second term as there will be a number of interruptions to the daily schedule. It begins this week with the Monday holiday and parent conferences on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday. Combine that with the fact that we will be starting to build student portfolios this week and there is very little that will be starting this week. We will start a new unit in math. and introduce new units in other areas. Here are the units we will be covering this term.
Reading; Nonfiction . Students will eventually prepare a Powerpoint presentation for the class.
Writing: Literary essays- Students will write an essay based on picture books we read in the first quarter.
Math: Adding and subtracting decimals.
Science: Matter.
Oct. 3- 7
With the end of the term just around the corner, we will spend this week finishing units and finalizing grades. Parent conferences are scheduled for October 19 and 20.
Here is a look at what is scheduled for this week in 5A
Reading- We will continue with the read aloud "The One And Only Ivan", focussing skills on character development and reading skills.
Writing- This week we will be finishing the publishing of our Social Studies project on Colombian Culture. Students will be adding text features to their projects to provide visual support of information presented.
Math- We will finish our division unit this week. The test will be on Wednesday.
Science- We will wrap up our engineering unit with a final construction project, building catapults.
Social Studies- In connection with the writing unit, students will complete the unit by publishing their Colombia Culture project.
Special Dates:
Monday- Final touches made to Colombia Culture project including text features.
Wednesday- Colombia projects due.
Wednesday- Math test
Sept. 26- 30
We are quickly approaching the end of the first term in 5th grade and we will soon be wrapping up the current units. Here is a look at what is happening this week in 5A.
Reading- We will continue to work toward better understanding of characters and story structure.
Writing- We have been practicing note taking and this will conclude with the publishing of our culture unit in social studies.
Math- We will be finishing up our division unit. The test will be early in the first week of October.
Science- We continue with the engineering unit. This week we will build bridges as well as catapults.
Social Studies- Students will begin pulling their Colombian culture notes together to publish a project on GoogleDocs.
Also this week:
Friday, Sept. 30- Vyda