3/29/19

We wrapped up the month of March by working in small groups to solve a math word problem and then to show our thinking on poster paper. This week has been a meaningful one in our math investigations. The students made great progress in working with decimals.

Later in the school day the students did some work in crafting a practice informational piece of writing in response to a science article concerning bats.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

3/28/19

The fifth graders worked on some adding fraction problems during math class. The core of today's lesson was using a partner game called filled two. This activity saw the students using visual representations to add decimals. It was a productive lesson.

During science class, the circulatory system was the topic of discussion. After a short video, the fifth graders read and article that help inform them as they answered some focus questions.



Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Math - finish workbook pages 384 and 385 due Friday March 29th

Workbook pages 387 and 388 due friday March 29th

3/27/19

Today, the students took a short assessment to gauge their progress with the first half of our current decimal investigation. Students worked to represent decimal value on arrays and rounded decimals. I believe that fifth graders are in a nice place with their math work.

We also continued to work in social studies on comparing and contrasting the Continental Army with the British army both at the start of the Revolutionary War and as time progressed.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Math - finish workbook pages 384 and 385 due Friday March 29th

Workbook pages 387 and 388 due friday March 29th

3/26/19

The fifth graders began to look at informational writing pieces in preparation for their own pieces. Today, the students worked in pairs to read an informational article and then answer some focus questions pertaining to the piece. Later this week, the fifth graders will begin the early stages of their final unit of writing.

All four fifth grades also joined together to rehearse for the spring concert.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Math - workbook pages 384 and 385 due Friday March 29th

3/25/19

The fifth graders took an online MCAS practice exam during the first half of the day. Students practiced logging into the exam site and worked through some math problems in the allotted time.

Later in the school day, our math lesson centered on rounding decimals to the nearest tenth, hundredth and thousandth. Tomorrow, students will receive some math homework.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Math - students will receive math homework tomorrow

3/22/19

The members of A303 wrapped up the week by finishing up some poetry work with an ORQ. The question asked the students to compare and contrast two different poems. Fifth graders did a nice job of finishing this task on a high note.

We also had a visit from Kristen DeFrancisco, the principal of the Gibbs School. She spoke to the students about the their upcoming transition and was able to answer some questions that the fifth graders had.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

3/21/19

Progress continued to be made in both ELA and math today. The fifth graders are progressing deeper into their fantasy novels. Reading groups are doing a nice job of using their 3-step journals to guide their reading and to probe into some of the deeper themes in the stories.

Math class saw the students work to place decimals on number lines with partners. This work will continue into tomorrow.


Homework

Math - workbook pages 359 through 364 due Friday March 22nd

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

3/20/19

The students spent time working on an open response questions as part of our MCAS preparation during ELA time. The fifth graders were tasked with comparing the speaker's attitude in two poems. I thought that the kids did a nice job of analyzing these two pieces and that was reflected in the written responses.

We also continued to make steady progress in our decimal unit. Today's focus was on comparing the value of decimals using hundredths grids.

Homework

Math - workbook pages 359 through 364 due Friday March 22nd

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

3/19/19

The students worked with decimals in the thousandths place during our math lesson. They worked to represent decimals as part of an area and later identified decimal and fraction equivalents to help them solve some challenging problems.

The fifth graders also had another day to work together in fantasy book clubs.

Homework

Math - workbook pages 359 through 364 due Friday March 22nd

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

3/18/19

The fifth graders began unit 6 during math class. This unit focuses on decimals and making a meaningful connection between fractions and decimals. The students worked on some problems involving tenths and hundredths today.

During our ELA time, the students in A303 spent time reading some poetry and answering some focus questions that linked two poems. The kids worked well on this material.

Homework

Math - workbook pages 353 and 354 due Friday March 22nd

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

3/15/19

The fifth graders presented their character trait posters to their peers today. The posters themselves turned out great and I was terribly impressed with the student's oral presentations. They spoke knowledgeably about the characters that they selected. A really nice ELA block today.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. 

3/14/19

The students met with their fantasy book clubs for the first time today. The focus of today's lesson was the setting of each story. I was impressed with the level of discourse as well as the enjoyment that each group had working with their respective stories. A solid first day with this new unit of study.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, logs due Friday March 15th

Reading project due in class on Friday March 15th

3/13/19

The fifth graders spent some time reading each other's final writing pieces during our last workshop centered around zoos in 2019. The students all worked hard on these papers and should feel proud of the results.

During social studies class, the members of A303 began their study of the Declaration of Independence and its importance in American history.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, logs due Friday March 15th

Reading project due in class on Friday March 15th

3/12/19

Fifth graders continued to analyze and compare numerical patterns generated by different rules in math class. The last two days have seen the students in A303 working well together in small groups. The work that they are doing with coordinate grids continues to impress. We will continue this work throughout the rest of this week.

Another accomplishment saw all of the students cross the finish line in their opinion writing concerning zoos. The kids did a great job on these research papers and I can't wait to read the finished products.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, logs due Friday March 15th

Reading project due in class on Friday March 15th

3/11/19

The students looked at living creatures from the Monterey Bay during our science lesson. Using the background knowledge that we established last week, students worked in their science groups to explain the transfer of energy throughout this new food web.

Math class saw the fifth graders working with different sized arrays to establish formulas to solve for the perimeters. The small groups worked well together and it was nice to hear students verbalize their thought processes during the share out portion of the lesson.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, logs due Friday March 15th

Reading project due in class on Friday March 15th

3/8/19

The students wrapped up the week by digging into another lesson focused on using visuals to solve area and volume problems. The students are formulating some rules for how to solve these problems in small groups.

We also are just about at the finish line for our opinion writing papers.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.


Also, students received a reading project that will be due in class on Friday March 15th

3/7/19

The fifth graders progressed into the final investigation of unit five during math class today. This investigation will see the students analyzing geometric patterns. Today's lesson saw the students using tiles to solve for the area and perimeter of different sized shapes.

Later in the school day, the members of A303 continued to work with food chains and food webs during science class. The kids also began to create a miniature ecosystem using living red worms. The kids did a nice job of working together to set this up.


Homework

Math - workbook pages 307 and 308 due Friday March 8th

Also, students received a reading project that will be due in class on Friday March 15th

3/6/19

The students had one of our final opinion writing days during ELA time. Many students have finished typing their pieces and are not working in collaboration to finish last minute revisions. A303's work these last two months with this unit of writing has been top notch. I can't wait to read all of the finished products next week.

During math time, the fifth graders took a quiz that gauged their progress from the last two weeks of coordinate grid work.

Homework

Math - workbook pages 307 and 308 due Friday March 8th

Also, students received a reading project that will be due in class on Friday March 15th

3/5/19

The students returned to school after the snow day and worked through part one of a two part math lesson. Fifth graders continue to work with coordinate grids and data tables. They had to complete a data table and then take that information and graph it using ordered pairs.



Homework

Math - students will receive math homework tomorrow

Also, students received a reading project that will be due in class on Friday March 15th

3/1/19

We began the month of March by undertaking a group science project. Students took part in a lesson that explored food chains and food webs. After answering some group questions and watching an introductory video, the fifth graders worked together to sort cards that contained information about different predators and prey creatures. The groups constructed food webs to represent the ecosystems. The students did a great job of working together.

During social studies, the kids finished answering some questions pertaining to the Battle of Bunker Hill. This tied in nicely with our Revolutionary War reenactors visit from yesterday.

Also, students received a reading project that will be due in class on Friday March 15th

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.