5-2 Updates 9/29

Hello 5-2 Parents ~

I hope you've been enjoying this beautiful fall weather!!  What a beautiful weekend we had...I hope you founds lots of time to get outside and enjoy this weather with your families before the cold sets in :)

Important Dates

Picture Day ~ Wednesday, October 2nd - SMILE!  If you have not returned the picture form, please do so ASAP.  Our pictures are scheduled for the morning - please send your child in the clothes you would like for them to wear for pictures.  If they would like to change, they will be given some time during lunch recess to change.

International Walk to School Day ~ Wednesday, October 9th - Encourage your child to walk to school on Wednesday in celebration of International Walk to School Day!  Our staff will be at a number of pick-up points throughout the neighborhoods, looking forward to walking to school with your children :)  See the Olive Blog for pick-up points, and join us for the walk!

Columbus Day (No School) ~ Monday, October 14th

SIP Day (No School) ~ Tuesday, October 15th

Re-enactment ~ Friday, October 11th - watch for permission slips to come home, please sign and return as soon as possible.  The Re-enactment is an interactive demonstration of life during colonial times set up in our field.  It is conveniently scheduled near the beginning of our Revolutionary War unit, and serves as an excellent introduction to the unit.  Students will have the opportunity to interact with pioneers living on the frontier during this time period to gain a unique perspective of what life was like during the Revolutionary War.  Always a favorite for the 5th graders!  

Sci-tech Museum in Aurora ~ What a great time we had visiting this museum on Thursday!  A great big THANK YOU to Mrs. Knauss and Mrs. Johnson for chaperoning the trip!!  Scroll down to the bottom of this blog to find lots of pictures from our day!

Math

My math class continued to work on computation in unit 2 this week, as well as making magnitude estimate.   We will finish up the unit this week, and start our review for the Unit 2 Assessment next Monday.  I will let the students know the acutal date of the test as we get closer, but it will most likely be on the 8th or the 9th.  Please continue to encourage the students to practice their facts as well as play unit 2 games online as a way to prepare for the assessment.

Science

We had a busy week in science this week!  Students continued their study of the nervous system early in the week as they learned more about reflexes, such as the blink reflex and pupil dialation.  Ask your child how they discovered these reflexes work without even thinking about them, then ask them if they can tell you the difference between a reflex and a reaction.  With a reflex, our nervous system takes information in through one of our senses, sends it to the spinal cord, then immediately back to the muscles - it does not have to travel to the brain to make a decision.  With a reaction, our nervous system takes information in through one of our senses, sends it to the spinal cord, which takes it to the brain to make a decision.  The brain makes a decision about what to do, then sends that message down through the spinal cord, out through the nerves and to the muscles.  

Later in the week, we spent more time in the skeletal system as they were allowed to explore cow bones.  They discovered bones are made up of compact bone, spongy bone, and bone marrow.  Students were excited as they were allowed to explore these bones in more detail with proscopes.  They also discovered how important calcium in our bones and we discussed the importance of eating a calcium-rich diet and exercising regularly to keep our bones healthy.

We are midway through the Human Body unit, and will be taking a mid-unit assessment on Wednesday this week.  We will review for the quiz on Tuesday, and I will post the completed graphic organizers for students to study this weekend.  They can also log on to Spelling City to practice the vocabulary from this unit.

Reading

This week we focused on the strategy of summarizing as we read non-fiction stories about space.  Students learned to identify the main idea in each section or chapter, and bring those main ideas together to form a summary.   They were asked to apply these skills to their Clements novel, and write a summary this weekend of the portion of their novel they have read thus far.  Summarizing is a challenging skill for 5th graders to master, and we will work on this consistently throughout the year.  Your child should also continue reading their Clements novel - the final due date for the novel is Friday, October 4th.

Students also read more complex text as they began work on Respiratoration & Circulation.  As with Bones & Muscles, we will spend a few lessons with this advanced reading before they will be asked to complete another prompt comparing the two systems of the body.  It's exciting to watch how engaged the students are when reading such complex text!!

Writing

We continued to focus in our writing - this week we focused on setting and sound.  We took a walk to the corner of Arlington Heights Road and Olive to enjoy a beautiful day, while listening to the many sounds in our community.  They recorded as many sounds as they could, then took their lists in to create an entry detailing what they heard and saw.  I've posted some pictures of this activity below.  One of the most important skills to develop in young writers is observation - the more they notice, the more developed their writing will become!  You can help your child develop their sense of observation by pointing out sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes as you experience life with them. 

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.  Have a fantastic weekend ~

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.  ~Stacia Tauscher

5-2 Updates ~ 09/22

Hello 5-2 Parents ~

Another beautiful weekend and another busy week in 5-2 this week! 

Important Dates

Smile ~ School Picture Day is this Tuesday, October 22nd!  Picture order forms will go home this week.  It would be best if you sent in the order form ASAP, but they can be sent in as late as Tuesday.  If you do not receive the order form, please let me know.  Some students have asked me if they can arrive in their comfortable clothes, then change into their "picture outfits" before pictures are taken.  Your child will NOT have time to change before pictures are taken, so please have your child arrive to school in their "picture outfits".  If they want to bring a change of clothes for after pictures are taken, they will be allowed to change before they go out to recess.

Field Trip!  We will be traveling to the Sci-tech Museum in Aurora on Thursday, September 26th.  Sci-tech is an engaging hands-on children's science museum that is always a popular field trip with our 5th graders :)  They will have the opportunity to participate in experiments in all of the science topics we study this year - human body, water, and energy; as well as watch entertaining demonstrations specifically designed for our human body unit.  It will be an exciting day!  If you did not order a sack lunch, please be sure to pack your child a lunch.

Math

Unit 1 Assessments went home this week to be signed and returned, and we started Unit 2 - Addition/Subtraction/Multiplication Algorithms.  Many of the students performed exceptionally well on the Unit 2 pre-test, so we've started Math Stations this week to accomodate the large number of kids that need to be enriched.  Math Stations are an engaging way to structure the classroom, and they allow me time to differentiate instruction for those learners who need additional time in instruction, as well as those who need an additional challenge.  Students have been quite excited about the change of format, and have been begging to keep it that way :) We'll continue with the station format as long as possible since they seem to be enjoying it so much!

Science

We continued our studies of the Human Body this week, as we learned how the skeletal system and muscular system work together to move the body.  We spent a few hours in complex text this week on this topic, and students brought home Bones and Muscles to aid them in writing a written response.  We also did started experiments in the nervous system in which they tested their reaction time to different senses - sight, hearing, and touch.  Ask your child how they discovered which sense has the shortest and longest reaction times.  Next week we'll continue to learn about the nervous system as they test different reflexes.  Your children are quite engaged in these science lessons!  Their enthusiasm is contagious :)

Reading

On the 3rd week of every unit in Treasures we shift our focus to non-fiction text strategies.  We learned how to compare and contrast in Time for Kids articles under the theme of forest biomes.  Comparing and contrasting can be an easier strategy to master when reading simpler text, but now that your child is in 5th grade, they have been pushed to identify relationships in much more complex text.  Many of them struggled to master this strategy, but most of them were able to challenge themselves to find relationships in more difficult text.  

Writing

The students continued to work on the skill of focus this week in writing, shifting from focusing on the moment to focusing on an object.  They had a chance to really focus in on a small portion of their backpack, and were asked to draw it in great detail.  Then they were asked to imagine they were one inch tall and climbing over that portion of their backpack.  They had so much fun with this assignment!  They were also asked to describe an item that means the most to them - can you guess what they chose??  Ask them!

Visitors

We also had a couple of visitors this week in 5th grade.  The first was author Steve Colter, who wrote the Cheesie Mack series.  The kids really enjoyed his stories from when he was a camp counselor - ask them to share his stories with you!

We also met a man from Nigeria who is wheel-chair bound as a result of childhood polio.  He is visiting the United States and came to our school with Mary Stitt to share his inspirational story.  We were so impressed with our well-behaved and engaged students!!  

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  Enjoy the cooler temperatures this weekend!

 While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. ~ Unknown

5-2 Updates 9/15

Hello 5-2 families ~

It looks like fall is finally upon us!  I hope you have enjoyed the quieter, indoor activities a rainy day brings :)

Reminders

With the beautiful fall weather upon us :), please remember we can have sudden drops in temperature.  Please help your child to be prepared by having a jacket on hand.  Your child is to wear a jacket during recess if the temperature is below 70 degrees.

If your child brings a cell phone to school, please have them turn it off before they come to school.  Several of the students have phones going off during the day in their backpacks.  Our policy insists they do not bring cell phones to school.  As a parent, I understand the necessity of giving your child a phone at times, so I simply ask they have them turned off and keep them in their backpacks.  

Room Moms

Our room moms this year are:  Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Tader, and Mrs. Orzechowski.  A great big thank you to these wonderful ladies for giving of their time and energies to helping us out in 5-2 ~ I so appreciate you!!  The room moms would like to be able to get in touch with all of you via email.  I plan to forward distribution list on to them this week ~ if you have any objections at all to me passing on your email information on to the room moms, please let me know ASAP.  

Picture Day - Picture Day was originally on the calendar for September 24th, but it is now scheduled for October 2nd...you have two more weeks to get your smiles on :)

Math

Our Unit 1 Assessment is Monday.  All of your children have a review packet they completed this week - please have them pull this out to study for the test.  They can also study for the test by playing any of the Unit 1 games on Everyday Mathematics.  Your child should have their username and password on the front page of their assignment notebook. If you would like me to send you their login information, please just let me know.  

Science

Thank you for your prompt response to my request for permission for your child to participate in the physical activity that began our Human Body Unit.  We asked them to run a few laps around our field, then immediately sit down and observe the physical changes in their bodies.  Throughout this unit, we will be defining how those changes are responses of the different systems in our bodies to physical activity.  For the rest of the week, we learned more about the skeletal and muscular system, and spent a couple of days on joints.  On Friday, they chose different supplies to design and build a joint model.  They recorded a short presentation with their groups and their models, then posted them on Edmodo - ask them to share their videos with you!

Reading

This week, we focused on plot and setting in tall tales.  They students heard and read some fun stories about legends, such as Davy Crockett, Paul Bunyan, and Johnny Appleseed.  They took their Weekly Assessment today, and their scores will be coming home on Monday.  As I said before, if you would like to see a detailed, electronic copy of this test, please let me know.  If your child did not pass a portion of the weekly assessments, they will be receiving a Re-do Contract with some additional practice on the skill they missed.  This contract needs to be signed by you and returned to school with the work completed by the due date.  They will be given another opportunity to take the test later in the week.  If you have any questions at all, please let me know.  

Writing

We spent the later part of this week extending our reading unit by writing tall tales of our own.  The students had fun playing with figurative language, such as hyperboles and similes, while creating entertaining stories and sharing them with their classmates.  A final copy of the tall tale and an illustration is due on Monday, though most students did complete these in class on Friday.  They will be mounted and hanging on the wall for you to come in and read during Open House :)

Have a spectacular week!

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”  
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

5-2 Updates 9/8

Hello 5-2 parents ~

I hope you all found plenty of time to relax and enjoy the sunshine this weekend :)

Math

We were full swing into curriculum this week in 5-2.  Those students in my math class are about halfway through the first unit.  We will do a mid-unit review quiz tomorrow to identify understanding of content.    The Unit 1 Assessment is scheduled for Monday, September 16th.  As a reminder, please be sure your child is practicing their multiplication and division facts with your students.  The automaticity of their facts becomes increasingly important as they move through the 5th grade curriculum.  They can review their facts by playing Facts Dash or Facts Workshop using their Everydaymathonline.com login.  I would also strongly suggest your child reviews the concepts taught in this unit by playing the Unit 1 games on the same site.  

Homework Policy

As I explained on Curriculum Night, we do not grade homework in 5th grade as we consider it practice of skills taught during the day.  We do, however, check homework together every day.  If a student doesn't meet expectations when completing their homework, we do ask them to re-do the assignment to ensure an understanding of concepts taught.  We feel it is more beneficial for students to have a mastery of concepts than it is for them to receive a poor grade on an assignment.  You may have seen some work coming home a second time for completion.  Sometimes, they will just be asked to correct the problems they got wrong, and sometimes they will be asked to re-do the entire assignment.  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Science

In science last week, we began our science exploration in the Human Body Unit by running a couple of laps around our field, then sat down to make observations about how our bodies changed as a result of exercise.  They were also expected to record why they think these changes occurred - we will be learning the reasons our bodies respond the way they do to exercise throughout this unit.  We also took our pre-test for the upcoming unit.  Most of the students were able to demonstrate some of the foundational understandings of this unit.  I am impressed with the background knowledge your children bring to this unit!  It will be exciting to have the opportunity to enrich this unit with additional information.

As I mentioned on Curriculum Night, 5-2 is participating in a Common Core Pilot.  With this pilot, your child will be exposed to several complex non-fiction text throughout the year that will all be related to our science curriculum.  They will learn to critically read non-fiction text, and analyze it for deeper understanding of content.  This week, they read The Human Machine, and they learned how to identify organizational structure and summarize this complex text.

Reading

We started week one of our Treasures curriculum this week.  Students learned to identify character traits in a variety of texts and find evidence from the text to support their claims.  We took the Weekly Assessment on Friday, testing the vocabulary, comprehension strategies, grammar and spelling from the week.  In 5th grade, students take their tests on MimioVote, a responder system that enters their scores using remote devices.  This is a paperless system, so we do not send home paper copies of the test.  They do write their written responses on an answer sheet, and I record their final test scores on this sheet (Weekly Literacy Assessment Report).  These scores are broken down into the components of the test so we have a better understanding of how your child performed on the test.  I also record the scores from their spelling, grammar, and vocabualry tests on the Literacy Report.  Your child will bring this report home for a signature on Mondays - please be sure to sign and return.  If you should ever want to see a detailed copy of your child's performance on the test, I can email you an electronic copy - simply email me a request.

As I mentioned on Curriculum Night, your child has the option to Re-take/Re-do any project or assessment if they are not pleased with their grade.  If they do not pass the assignment or project, I will ask them to re-take or re-do it.  They will complete a Re-take/Re-do Contract with me which will require additional work for the unit, then they will have the another opportunity to complete it.  If your child is ever discouraged by their assessment scores, please encourage them to see me about a re-do.

Writing 

We will start Book 1 of WEX this week - Personal Narratives.  Students will be writing daily in their journals (Word documents), and weekly submitting an entry of their choice to me for review and grade.  We will be working on focus in our writing for the first few lessons, and will continue to add rich, sensory details to our narratives as we focus on the moment.  

Students upload their writing to Edmodo, where I will comment and return their writing for a Revision Assignment.  The Revision Assignments are generally completed on Friday, and returned with a grade.  Your child submits most of their daily work on Edmodo.  Please feel free to use your child's login to view their work.  Have them show you around, particularly where they find their grades and comments from me on assignments.  

Edmodo

As you are aware, much of our daily work is completed on Edmodo.  You may have logged on to see some of the work they are involved in, and perhaps noticed some late assignments.  Please know that many of their assignments are completed in small groups, so one member will submit the work, leaving the other members appearing as if they did not submit the assignment.  I do grade those group assignments and post them on each of their accounts, but in the interim it may look as if your child did not submit an assignment.  Many of these assignments are also classwork only, and do not go home as homework.  If a student doesn't finish the assignment in class, I will give them time to complete the assignment the next day in class.  Again, it may appear as if their assignment is late.

The assignment notebook is where homework assignments are recorded.  If your child has a late assignment, you will receive notification with a late slip and strike sheet.  If you have NOT received one of these sheets, assume that your child does not have a late assignment, even though Edmodo may show a late assignment.

Hope that clears up any miscommunication!  Please ask if you have any further questions about how our paperless classroom works!

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” – Pablo Casals

Enjoy your week!