10/31/18

Work continued with literary essay writing during ELA. Many students spent time today looking to critically edit their pieces. Others met with me to go over their writing before they moved onto the next stage of the drafting process.

During social studies time, the fifth graders used a graphic organizer to start collecting information about the three distinct regions of the British colonies in North America. This work will eventually lead to a group timeline project.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, fill out log on nightly basis. Due Friday November 2nd

Math - workbook page 62, due Friday 11/2

10/30/18

The students finished working on division cluster problems during our math lesson. I applaud the perseverance of the fifth graders, as they made steady progress the last two days with those groups of problems. Tomorrow's math lesson will include a brief quiz to gauge students' understanding of recent lessons.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, fill out log on nightly basis. Due Friday November 2nd

Math - workbook page 62, due Friday 11/2

10/29/18

The students matched the 2018 Boston Red Sox, with a championship performance today. The students continued to work with Bud, Not Buddy. Today's lesson ended with a written response to a focus question. This question lead to some interesting discussion points.

Later in the school day, the members of A303 worked on division cluster problems in math class.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, fill out log on nightly basis. Due Friday November 2nd

There will also be some math homework at some point this week.

10/26/18

The fifth graders did a great job working through the various parts of the iReady assessments these last three days. Testing days are never the most enjoyable experiences, but the members of A303 rose to the occasion. The data gleaned from these tests will better inform our lessons going forward.

The students also had a productive writing sessions today. A few students have progressed to the point where they are starting to type their literary essays.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and that when we return to school next week, we will have reason to celebrate another Red Sox World Series victory.

10/25/18

The students worked on the reading portion of their iReady assessment during the early stages of today's work. I compliment the fifth graders for putting their best foot forward with this important early assessment.

Later in the school day, we spent math time looking at different strategies for solving division problems.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Math - page 53 and 54 due Friday October 26th

10/24/18

The fifth graders undertook the first session of their iReady assessment today. This portion, which saw the students answering math questions, will give teachers valuable feedback to drive instruction as we move deeper into the curriculum. Tomorrow, the students will work on the reading portion of the exam.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Math - page 53 and 54 due Friday October 26th

10/22/18

The fifth graders returned to the classroom after their week down at science camp. During morning meeting, the students spent some time sharing their favorite memories from their time down in Rhode Island.

Later in the school day, we returned to our literary essay writing. I was able to hold writer's conferences with a number of students today.

Finally, we continued to work with division during math class.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Math - page 53 and 54 due Friday October 26th

10/12/18

The students wrapped up the final week before science camp by continuing their work with Bud, Not Buddy. They also began to create division posters that served as a nice springboard for our initial dive into the subject matter.

As a reminder, the students are leaving for science camp next Tuesday the 16th.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Go Red Sox and Patriots.

10/11/18

The students devoted a mini-writing lesson to focusing on odd or interesting details from their literary essays that would better inform them to author's intent. The students were engaged in the task and continued to make enviable progress in their writing.

In math class, the students officially kicked off their work in division. Today we focused on the relationship between division and multiplication. This segued into creating a story with a visual component that tied into the solution of a division problem.



Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Writing - Students should select a character from Wonder to write about. Students should compose at least a 3 paragraph essay in which they select two character traits that this character exhibits. They should use evidence from the text to support their view point. This is due Friday October 12th and it should be done on the paper provided.

10/10/18

Today's reading of Bud, Not Buddy focused on character traits that the author is revealing to us about the main character. This mini lesson tied in nicely with the writing homework assignment due at the conclusion of the week.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Writing - Students should select a character from Wonder to write about. Students should compose at least a 3 paragraph essay in which they select two character traits that this character exhibits. They should use evidence from the text to support their view point. This is due Friday October 12th and it should be done on the paper provided.

10/9/18

The students returned to school after the long weekend and also returned to their work with literary essay. The fifth graders are hard at work on their early drafts of their literary essays. I was able to check in with many of the writers today.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Writing - Students should select a character from Wonder to write about. Students should compose at least a 3 paragraph essay in which they select two character traits that this character exhibits. They should use evidence from the text to support their view point. This is due Friday October 12th and it should be done on the paper provided.

10/5/18

The students wrapped up a great week on many different fronts. They continued to progress deeper into Bud, Not Buddy. Today's lesson was spent focused on an excerpt from chapter 5. This close reading mini lesson segued into a piece of writing.

Later in the day. The students broke down the steps in solving a multiplication problem.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and let's go Red Sox.

10/4/18

Today was a significant writing day for the students in A303. Each fifth grader selected their literary essay that they will be working with over the next few weeks as we craft essays about the deeper meaning of each text.


Homework

Math - workbook pages 37 and 38. Due Friday October 5th

Read - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

10/3/18

The students continued their work with cluster problems in math class. It was encouraging to see the progress students made in this area just from yesterday.

We also concluded our look at the similarities and differences between Jamestown and Plymouth during social studies class.

Today the fifth graders found out their patrol jobs for the first half of the year. Patrols will start tomorrow morning.


Homework

Math - workbook pages 37 and 38. Due Friday October 5th

Read - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

10/2/18

The students were fortunate to have a guest teacher for social studies today. Bill Hayner led a lesson that concerned the three branches of government. The students were engaged and learned a lot. Thank you to Mr. Hayner.

Later in the school day, the fifth graders returned to the world of Flint, Michigan while reading Bud, Not Buddy.



Homework

Math - workbook pages 37 and 38. Due Friday October 5th

Read - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

10/1/18

The month of October began with a positive day for the members of A303. The students continued to move deeper into our literary essay writing unit. The goal today, was for the students to expose themselves to a number of short stories that they will eventually select one to write about.

During math class, the fifth graders continued to work on different strategies to compare the products of different multiplication problems.

Fifth grade patrols will start on Wednesday October 3rd.

Also, picture day will be Wednesday October 24th.

Homework

Math - workbook pages 37 and 38. Due Friday October 5th

Read - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night