5/31/17

The students had a great time visiting some important Revolutionary War sites in and around Boston today.

5/30/17

Members of M102 spent time exploring regular and irregular polygons during our math session today. The students were using correct terminology and did a great job sorting the polygons that they were presented with.

Tomorrow, the fifth grade will be traveling into Boston for a field trip. The students will be visiting the Old South Meeting House and Faneuil Hall. There, the classes will be undertaking some interactive lessons pertaining to the Revolutionary War. We can't wait.

5/26/17

Today was a big reading and writing day for the members of M102. The fifth graders continue to craft their final drafts of their informational essays. While in reading, the students once again had the chance to meet in their reading groups and progress deeper into their fantasy books.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Students also received a permission slip for next week's field trip. Slips should be signed and returned by next Tuesday, May 30th.

5/25/17

I wanted to congratulate the fifth graders for completing their MCAS testing. The final portion was held today and the members of M102 felt a sense of accomplishment after it was complete. It is nice to know that the final twenty school days will be back to normal in terms of our learning.

Today, students also received a permission slip for next week's field trip. Slips should be signed and returned by next Tuesday, May 30th.

5/24/17

Today, was a productive day for all students. The fifth graders were able to meet with their fantasy groups and progress deeper into their novels. The discussions the groups have been having concerning some of our focus questions have been enlightening and meaningful.

The students also spent some time learning about the second Continental Congress.  The students put themselves in the shoes of John Adams and began constructing a persuasive letter in which they will attempt to convince George Washington to accept the leadership position of the Continental Army.

As a reminder, on Thursday, the fifth grade are taking the second portion of the science MCAS exam. Students should get a good's nights sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and come to school on time. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

Today, students also received a permission slip for next week's field trip. Slips should be signed and returned by next Tuesday, May 30th.

5/23/17

Members of M102 had another productive day in writing today. The fifth graders are hard a work to complete the first drafts of their informational pieces. I have enjoyed reading the early stages of the pieces.

As a reminder, on Thursday, the fifth grade are taking the second portion of the science MCAS exam. Students should get a good's nights sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and come to school on time. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

5/22/17

The members of M102 completed the first half of their science MCAS exam today. One more round of testing on Thursday and the fifth graders will have completed their testing schedule.

Tomorrow we will return to a normal schedule.

As a reminder, on Thursday, the fifth grade are taking the second portion of the science MCAS exam. Students should get a good's nights sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and come to school on time. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

5/19/17

I hope everyone has a great weekend and is able to enjoy the nice weather. As a reminder, on Monday and Thursday of next week, the fifth grade are taking the two portions of the science MCAS exam. Students should get a good's nights sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and come to school on time. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

5/18/19

The momentum continued into another writing session today. We are in the middle of peer editing and conferencing. The students are working extremely hard and I have enjoyed getting to read these early drafts of the papers.

The members of M102 were also able to enjoy one last yoga session in the library right before the lunch break.

Homework

Science - practice MCAS question due Friday 5/19

Blog - Write about a connection that can be made between the book that you are reading in your fantasy groups and another work of fantasy that you have read in the past. This should be at least three paragraphs in length and is due on Friday 5/19

5/17/17

Time was spent looking at animal adaptations during our science lesson today. Students discussed helpful adaptations from a number of species. They then looked to liken these to tools that humans use in their day-to-day lives.

The second part of this Wednesday saw the fifth graders return to their early drafts of their informational writing pieces. Some nice progress was made today.

Tomorrow, the members of M102 will have one final yoga session. Anyone who has a yoga mat at home is encouraged to bring it with them to school



Homework

Science - practice MCAS question due Friday 5/19

Blog - Write about a connection that can be made between the book that you are reading in your fantasy groups and another work of fantasy that you have read in the past. This should be at least three paragraphs in length and is due on Friday 5/19

5/16/17

The students had their final lesson in the decimal unit today. On Thursday, the fifth graders will take their end of unit assessment. Tomorrow will serve as a review day for some of the concepts that will be encountered on the assessment. The fifth graders are eager to shift their attention to geometry.


Homework

Science - practice MCAS question due Friday 5/19

Blog - Write about a connection that can be made between the book that you are reading in your fantasy groups and another work of fantasy that you have read in the past. This should be at least three paragraphs in length and is due on Friday 5/19

5/15/17

Members of M102 were able to return to a normal schedule today. The students spent time continuing to learn about the First Continental Congress. Fifth graders worked with some articles and online resources to gain a further understanding about this important meeting of the minds.

Later in the school day, the students returned to their work with converting units of metric and standard measurements. You could see the progress that the students made since they began this work last week.

Homework

Science - practice MCAS question due Friday 5/19

Blog - Write about a connection that can be made between the book that you are reading in your fantasy groups and another work of fantasy that you have read in the past. This should be at least three paragraphs in length and is due on Friday 5/19

5/12/17

The fifth graders completed their math MCAS testing today. I am proud of the effort displayed by the students. They came to school prepared and I am sure that will be reflected in the results. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

5/11/17

The students completed the first portion of their math MCAS exam today. It was great to see students arriving on time this morning in good spirits.

As a reminder, tomorrow the fifth grade are taking the final portion of the math MCAS exam. Students should get a good's nights sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and come to school on time. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

5/10/17

Another very productive writing day for the fifth graders in M102. There are many students who have begun their first draft on their informational pieces. I was able to touch base with two groups of writers today and I look forward to checking in with the other groups later this week.

During math class today, the students worked on converting units of measurement. This was a meaningful lesson and I thought that the students were involved in a positive manner throughout.

As a reminder, Thursday and Friday the fifth grade are taking the two portions of the math MCAS exam. Students should get a good's nights sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and come to school on time. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

5/8/17

The fifth graders continued to work on compiling information for their Revolutionary War papers. Many of the students have moved on to their first draft of the piece. I have enjoyed getting to see the early stages of progress being made by the fifth graders. We will return to the writing on Wednesday afternoon.

Time was also spent today looking at some geometry concepts in preparation for the MCAS exam on Thursday and Friday of this week. Members of M102 were engaged and showed that they were understanding the key concepts of today's work.,

As a reminder, Thursday and Friday the fifth grade are taking the two portions of the math MCAS exam. Students should get a good's nights sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and come to school on time. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

5/5/17

I felt that this week was, on the whole, one of the best that we have had, across the board. The students in M102 were invested in their learning and put their best effort into their work. Today, the fifth graders were able to read deeper into their fantasy novels. Using certain focus questions, the groups continue to have interesting conversations with one another. I look forward to seeing the students move deeper into the stories.

Earlier in the school day, the students voted on the design and message that they wanted to have put onto their t-shirts that they will receive at the end of the school year. Here is the winner:


I hope everyone has a great weekend.

As a reminder, next Thursday and Friday the fifth grade are taking the two portions of the math MCAS exam.

5/4/17

The members of M102 spent their math time looking at some practice word problems for next week's MCAS sessions. The students are revisiting concepts from earlier in the school year. I thought today's work was beneficial and I am confidant that the fifth graders will do very well next week.

Later in the school day, the students were once again lucky enough to have another session of yoga in the school library.


Homework

Science - Practice MCAS question due on Friday May 5th

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Blog - Write about a problem that the main character in your fantasy book has faced in the early stages of the novel. Make a prediction as to how the character will overcome the problem. This post should be at least four paragraphs in length and is due Friday May 5th.

5/3/17

The fifth graders had some time to share their lead paragraphs for their informational essays with their peers today. The passion and energy that the students infused in these leads was awesome to hear. The later stages of the writing session were directed towards continuing their research. The progress being made on a daily basis in encouraging.

Time was also spent today in examining in great detail the Boston Massacre. The students were presented with an engraving done by Paul Revere, watched a short video and completed a time line of events activity.

Homework

Science - Practice MCAS question due on Friday May 5th

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Blog - Write about a problem that the main character in your fantasy book has faced in the early stages of the novel. Make a prediction as to how the character will overcome the problem. This post should be at least four paragraphs in length and is due Friday May 5th.

5/2/17

The members of M102 work to craft introductory paragraphs for their Revolutionary War informational essays. The students are looking to hook their readers from the start of the piece by catching their attention. I thought that the students were heavily invested in their writing today and it was reflected in those students who shared their intros.


Homework

Science - Practice MCAS question due on Friday May 5th

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Blog - Write about a problem that the main character in your fantasy book has faced in the early stages of the novel. Make a prediction as to how the character will overcome the problem. This post should be at least four paragraphs in length and is due Friday May 5th.

5/1/17

The ELA time was spent once again meeting with reading groups. The fifth graders are making solid progress into their novels and I am eager to read their blog posts this week. The discussions that I have been hearing amongst the groups have been positive ones.

Time was spent in math class looking at some practice MCAS questions. Next week, the fifth graders will have their math MCAS exam sessions.



Homework

Science - Practice MCAS question due on Friday May 5th

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Blog - Write about a problem that the main character in your fantasy book has faced in the early stages of the novel. Make a prediction as to how the character will overcome the problem. This post should be at least four paragraphs in length and is due Friday May 5th.