3/31/16

As we wrapped up the month of March, it was nice to get back into the classroom with my students today.

We continued out work with the novel, Number the Stars. The fifth graders continue to do nice work in their small reading groups. The theme of bravery continues to be a focus of our reading.

I am greatly looking forward to seeing all of the students take the stage tomorrow. The fifth graders have worked very hard over the last few weeks and we are all eager to see the finished product.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Blog - If you had been alive during the Revolutionary War period, would you have sided with the patriots or the loyalists. Explain your point of view. (At least three paragraphs in length, due Friday April 1st)

Trivia

What is the Red Sox team record on opening days?

3/28/16

On this last week of march, the fifth graders continued to work with decimals during math class. The students worked with number lines and once again looked at the relationships between decimals and fractions. This work will be ongoing throughout the course of this week.

Later in the day, the students played history detective while looking at the events of the Boston Massacre. Using Paul Revere's famous engraving and various other sources, the members of room 312 looked to build a timeline of events that lead to this bloodshed.

Homework

Math - workbook page 29

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Blog - If you had been alive during the Revolutionary War period, would you have sided with the patriots or the loyalists. Explain your point of view. (At least three paragraphs in length, due Friday April 1st)

Trivia

How many colonists lost their lives during the Boston Massacre?

3/24/16

I enjoyed getting to both see and hear what my students brought in for show and tell. The fifth graders put some thought into this and they did a nice job of explaining the significance of their choices.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable long weekend.

3/23/16

We continued to move deeper into Number the Stars during out ELA time today. The students have been analyzing the text using out 3-step journals and have meaningful discussions within their reading groups. I was very happy with today's lesson.

Earlier in the day, we turned out attention to the Boston Massacre. This momentous event on the road to the Revolutionary War is one that we will spend some time on the rest of this week. We focused in on an important engraving made by Paul Revere today.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Math - workbook pages 21 and 22


Trivia

What date was the Boston Massacre?

3/22/16

The fifth graders continued their work with decimals during today's lesson. The students are building their flexibility when it comes to placing decimals on number lines and writing them as both a word and a number. Later this week, we will have a small assessment to track the progress that is being made.

Later in the day, the fifth graders continued to read Number the Stars in their small reading groups. Special attention was paid to some of the character traits that our protagonists have displayed to this point in the story.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Math - Decimal compare 3


Trivia

Which women's college basketball team has won the most division 1 championships?

3/21/16

On this delayed opening day, the fifth graders continued their work with the novel, Number the Stars. The students took a closer look at the relationship between the two main characters of the story and how that connection will serve to drive the plot. The fifth graders also were able to work with their new reading groups for the first time.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Math - finish decimal compare #2


Trivia

Which men's college basketball team has won the most division 1 championships?

3/18/16

I hope everyone has a great weekend and that all my students are able to help their parents with any potential shoveling on Sunday and Monday.

3/17/16

Number lines were used while working with decimals today. The students did a great job yesterday working with hundredths and thousandths grids and that carried over into today's lesson.

We also officially began to read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. The preparatory work and discussions over the last two days were a great table setter for the official kick off to the story.



Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading and fill our reader's log on a nightly basis

Math - workbook pages 18 and 19

Science - worksheet

Trivia

What chain of mountains became the western boarder of British controlled land in North America after the French and Indian War?

3/16/16

During our ELA block today, the fifth graders watched a short video about the Holocaust and discussed its significance in terms of the new class novel. This lead into a lesson on the importance of symbols. The students created posters with symbols that they have encountered in their lives.

Later, room 312 continued their work with informational writing. We continue to look at sample essays that show different ways to organize an informational piece. I thought that both sections of our ELA block were productive ones.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading and fill our reader's log on a nightly basis

Trivia

What year did the French and Indian War end?

3/15/16

During today's math lesson, the fifth graders began to expand our exploration of decimals to include the thousandths. The first two days of this new unit have been productive ones and the students have impressed me with their place value recollection and work. Later this week, we will be using number lines to help us organize decimals.

Later in the day, the members of room 312 continued to take a closer look at the Proclamation of 1763. This important historical document is another step on the road to the American Revolution. The fifth graders are working together to come up with compromises that would have satisfied the king of England as well as the colonists who were eager to expand. A very interesting lesson today.

Homework

Math - workbook pages 12 and 13

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading and fill our reader's log on a nightly basis

Trivia

What was the name of the Native American leader who rose to prominence during the skirmishes after the Proclamation of 1763?

3/14/16

The fifth graders continued their early exploration of decimals and representing them using different sized grids. These first two lessons in our decimal unit have been productive ones. Students are making connections between our prior work with fractions and creating a deeper knowledge base of which to draw on.

Later in the day, students were introduced to the newest novel that we will be reading together in class. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is a book that I believe the students are going to enjoy. Today, we placed in the events of the book in a historical context and previewed some of the essential questions that will guide our reading.

Homework


Math - finish workbook pages 4 - 6, if not done in class

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading and fill our reader's log on a nightly basis

Trivia

What is the smallest breed of dog?

3/11/16

The fifth graders kicked off our new unit with decimals today. I was so proud of my class for their dedication and performance throughout our long fractions unit. The results on the most recent assessment were a clear indication that students grasped core concepts and multiple strategies. I can't wait to see that carry over into our decimals unit.

Later in the day, the members of room 312 took the 'stage' to act out scenes from Bud Not Buddy. This was a fun, meaningful way to end the week as well as our work with the novel. Starting next week, we will turn our attention to our next book, Number the Stars.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

3/9/16

I was excited today to kick off the American Revolution unit with my fifth graders. The students are bringing a lot of background knowledge and interest to this topic. Today, we started to look at the events of the French and Indian War. I can't wait to really sink our teeth into this topic over the next few weeks.

Later in the day, the fifth graders had one more dress rehearsal before we begin to act out scenes from Bud Not Buddy later this week.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Science - complete packet


Trivia

What is the latest snow accumulation date in Massachusetts' history?

3/8/16

It was nice to be back with my students today after being under the weather the last few days. I was happy to get positive reports from the subs who filled in the last two school days.

Today, the fifth graders turned their attention to informational writing. The lesson began with a discussion of the different types of writing that the students take part in during the course of a normal week. This lead into a lesson concerning some different forms of informational writing. This type of writing will be our primary focus over the next few weeks.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Science - finish food chain work

Math - multiplication and division of fractions assessment tomorrow


Trivia

What year did the Patriots move into Gillette Stadium?

3/3/16

The fifth graders continued to work in their small reading groups to practice for an upcoming dramatization of key scenes from Bud Not Buddy. This and the paper that the students are currently working on are the final two pieces of work that we are looking to complete in regards to this great book. Students have been working hard over the last two days on their writing and the enthusiasm with which they are showing in regards to the play is great to see. This work will continue into early next week.


Homework

Blog - What was your favorite part of Bud Not Buddy? (Three paragraphs in length). Due Friday, March 4th

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Trivia

What is the fastest species of bird on land?

3/2/16

The fifth graders continued to divide whole numbers by fractions and fractions by whole numbers. There has been many meaningful conversations over the last few days about this subject matter. We will have an assessment tomorrow about some of the work from the past two weeks.

Later in the day, the fifth graders began their final writing assignment concerning Bud Not Buddy. This paper will be an opinion piece. Room 312 has had much experience writing opinion pieces this year. Students were working diligently as they started the writing process.

Homework

Math - Lesson 27 exit ticket

Blog - What was your favorite part of Bud Not Buddy? (Three paragraphs in length). Due Friday, March 4th

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Trivia

What year was the colony of Georgia founded?

3/1/16

As we began the month of March, the fifth graders continued to progress in their Colonial timeline project. I love what I have seen to this point from the groups and I am eager to see the finished products. Students have learned much during this unit, and the students and myself can't wait to turn out attention to the Revolutionary War.

The fifth graders also took an assessment during math to gauge where the members of room 312 are in their understanding of multiplying and dividing fractions. We will continue to work with dividing fractions throughout this week.

I would also once again like to ask families to send in tissues boxes with their children if at all possible. We are almost through the winter months and are running low on tissues. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Homework

Math - Lesson 26 Exit Ticket

Blog - What was your favorite part of Bud Not Buddy? (Three paragraphs in length). Due Friday, March 4th

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Trivia

Which actor has won the most Oscars?