2/28/17

February ended on a productive note for the members of M102. The fifth graders continued their writing. The literary essays that they are crafting a progressing nicely and I continue to get to enjoy reading the early drafts and working with the students throughout the writing process.


As a reminder, I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading.

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.

2/27/17

It was nice to see the students returning to school after the February vacation. The fifth graders began their day with sharing some memories from the completed vacation. It sounded like the students were able to take advantage of the great weather and get outside.

Later in the day, the members of M102 were able to continue to work on their European explorer projects. Many of the students have completed their research gathering and are now in the process of typing. The goal is to have these completed by this Friday.

Finally, our ELA time was spent looking at the book The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind. This story is the final one in our clean water unit. It is a great story that ties into a project that students will be working on at home these next two weeks. Students have been tasked with selecting a character from a book that they have read in the recent past. This project will require the students to identify three character traits exhibited by the character in the story. Students will do some writing to explain why their character exhibited these traits.

The fifth graders received a paper with directions for this project today, but if there are any questions please let me know. I look forward to seeing these finished projects.

Here is an example of a project from last year:

One other note pertains to sixth grade math class. I received this information from Matthew Coleman, the math director for Arlington:

"On Tuesday, March 14th, the Director of Mathematics will present about the transition to Ottoson Middle School, specific to the mathematics department. The primary audience for the event is families that have children entering 6th grade during the 2017-2018 school year.  All are welcome though.

Topics will include:

1. Bypassing Math 6 for extreme high achievers.  The structure and timeline for this opportunity will be outlined.
2. The Math Support Intervention Program for grades 6-8.
3. Digital Media and Literacy, a computer programming based class for 6th graders.
4. Pathways and courses for grades 6-12.  Basically, planning ahead and learning about 6-12 mathematics in the Arlington Public Schools.

The majority of the event will cover the first two topics as this event will have a transitional focus.  Please note that the event will be held at Ottoson Middle School from 7-8:30.  "

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading.

Character Trait Project - Students received directions for a project that will be due on Friday March 10th.

2/17/17

The students completed work on the latest multi-step word problem with their small math groups. Once again, the two fifth grades worked well together and it was great to see the thinking of the various groups explained on the posters that were created.

Later in the school day, the members of M102 continued their writing. Students have crafted some memorable leads and outlined their themes. Now the fifth graders have moved on into their body paragraphs.

I hope everyone has a great February vacation.

2/16/17

The fifth graders are hard at work in math class on the early stages of their final literary essay. It was great to walk around the room and see students marking up the original stories and constructing the outline of their piece on their graphic organizers. We will have one more writing day tomorrow before the February break.

Students are also in the early stages of working on their European explorer projects. The students were engaged and were able to accomplish much today.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading (fill out log on a nightly basis)

2/15/17

The fifth graders dealt with some comprehension questions pertaining to One Well during our ELA work. The students continue to build their working knowledge of the dire situations some countries face when it comes to having access to clean drinking water. This segued into watching a short video of how people in a small African country obtain their daily drinking water. A positive lesson.

Students also worked to annotate two short stories that will serve as fodder for upcoming literary essays. These essays will be taken through the drafting and editing process over the next few weeks. The fifth graders are doing a nice job of engaging with the text and annotating while looking for potential topics to expand upon in writing.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading (fill out log on a nightly basis)

2/14/17

It was nice to have the students back in class for a complete day after the recent run of bad weather. The kids were excited to see one another and used their share time during morning meeting to tell one another what they did over their snow days.

During math class, the fifth graders took part in a lesson that dealt with multiplying fractions by mixed numbers. This lesson can prove challenging, but I thought that the fifth graders were attentive listeners and that a nice foundation was laid for the rest of this week.

Later this week, the students will once again collaborate with members of Mrs. Leigh's class for a continuation of the recent fraction word problems that they worked so well together on last week.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading (fill out log on a nightly basis)

2/10/17

It was nice to see students back at school, even if it was for an abbreviated amount of time. Today, the members of M102 met with their second grade book buddies. The fifth graders continue to work well with their younger peers. It is great to see them taking the time to not just read, but talk about what they are reading with the second graders.

Later in the day, the students returned to their literary essays. The focus of the lesson was to connect their evidence from the text to their stated theme. A productive class.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

2/8/17

The fifth graders in M102 continued to work with Mrs. Leigh's class during our math time. The students have been collaborating on another multi-step work problems involving number lines and fractional totals of a marathon course. The students worked well together and they were eager to compile their work onto chart paper today.

Earlier in the day, the students conducted virtual experiments using their iPads during science class. The students were working with information pertaining to temperatures. This was a nice lesson to follow up our presentation by the staff from the Museum of Science.


Homework

Math - double sided worksheet due Friday the 10th

2/7/17

The fifth graders had a productive writing block during today's ELA session. Many of the students have completed their flash drafts concerning the short story Spaghetti. Our mini lesson dealt with the importance of using evidence that connects with the overall theme of the piece. I enjoyed getting to conference with students during today's work.

Later this week, we will meet with our second grade book buddies. This meeting will see the students working together on some activities centering on the 100th day of school.


Homework

Math - double sided worksheet due Friday the 10th

2/6/17

There were more than a few tired people in room M102 today, and that was alright with me. Be that as it may, the fifth graders managed to have a very nice day. We continued our look into the lives of some more key European explorers during social studies. This is all leading to a end of unit project that will begin later this week.

Later in the day, the students were lucky to have visitors from the Museum of Science come in for a states of matter program. The students were attentive listeners and were engaged throughout this hour long presentation.

Homework

Math - double sided worksheet due Friday the 10th

2/3/17

The students in M102 completed another eventful week today. I enjoyed getting to sit with students and confer over the early literary essay drafts. The students have been able to zero in on some compelling themes and have done a nice job writing about them intelligently. This work will be ongoing throughout the month of February.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Go Patriots

2/2/17

The fifth graders began working with a new anchor text in our clean water unit. This book, called One Well, widens the scope from a single river in New England to the water situation in the entire world. The students learned about the pressing water situations faced by people the world over. The fifth graders were engaged and worked well with one another during our ELA time.

A new batch of permission slips were sent home with the students. Because it is the mid point of the year, we are looking to switch both A.M. and P.M. patrols. If students are interested in filling one of these positions, they need to have an adult at home sign the paperwork and have it be returned to school next week. Students who filled a patrol spot in the first half of the year, may also fill a spot in the second half of the year. Please let me know if there are any questions pertaining to patrols. Students should try to return these forms to school as soon as possible. 

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading, fill out reader's log on a nightly basis.

Math - worksheet due Friday 2/3

2/1/17

The first day of February saw the fifth graders spend time investigating the reasons that explores ventured from the European continent to the new world during social studies today. The students built off of the knowledge that they compiled during their look into Columbus. This will lead into a closer examination of other explorers who traveled to the new world. The students were engaged in this lesson and I loved to see the students participating during all phases of the lesson.

A new batch of permission slips were sent home with the students. Because it is the mid point of the year, we are looking to switch both A.M. and P.M. patrols. If students are interested in filling one of these positions, they need to have an adult at home sign the paperwork and have it be returned to school next week. Students who filled a patrol spot in the first half of the year, may also fill a spot in the second half of the year. Please let me know if there are any questions pertaining to patrols. Students should try to return these forms to school as soon as possible. 

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading, fill out reader's log on a nightly basis.

Math - worksheet due Friday 2/3