10/30/19

The students undertook an exciting math project during the early stages of the school day. Groups were tasked with creating a cube made out of rulers and then using this object to attempt to determine the volume of the classroom. The groups worked well together during this time.

Later in the day, we met with our book buddies in second grade to work on some seasonal activities.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

10/29/19

Today, A303 began finding the volume of figures using cubic centimeters. The students continue to build off of prior lessons and today was a nice start into the second investigation of unit 2.

The second half of the day saw the fifth graders once again return to their writing. Many students are hard at work in the drafting stages of their papers. I was able to hold conferences with a few of the fifth graders today and I very much liked what I saw.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night

Math - homework will be given tomorrow night, due on Thursday

10/28/19

It was great to be able to return to a normal schedule with my students this Monday. We started the day with an excellent morning meeting. The students were able to share some of their favorite parts of science camp. Other students will be able to share their recollections as the week moves on.

The focus of the math lesson was once again volume problems. The students didn't miss a beat even after being in Rhode Island for most of last week.

Our social studies lesson centered on the Proclamation of 1763. This is the next step on the road to the Revolutionary War.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night (no log this week)

Math - students will receive some math homework tomorrow

10/21/19

I give the students a lot of credit. On a day that was hard to concentrate, because of the imminent departure for science camp, the students in A303 managed to get a lot accomplished today. We are approaching the end of the first investigation in unit 2 in math class. We also had another very productive writing day. More students began the first drafts of their opinion piece during our ELA time.

Tomorrow the fifth graders are leaving for science camp. Students should be at school at the regular time.

10/18/19

The members of A303 wrapped up the final week before science camp on a positive note. We continued to make progress in our science unit. The fifth graders began to turn their full attention to the planets of our solar system. I was impressed with the amount of background knowledge that the kids brought to today's lesson.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and gets some rest for science camp next week.

10/17/19

The fifth graders took a short assessment during math class to track their progress through the first five lessons of unit 2. After that was completed, we continued to do some work with finding the volume of rectangular prisms using a variety of different strategies.

Today was also a writing day during our ELA time. Students continue to be hard at work gathering evidence to support their claims and crafting them into strong paragraphs. This work will continue in earnest after we return from science camp.

As a reminder, the fifth graders will be traveling to science camp next Tuesday the 22nd.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, fill out log on a nightly basis. Due Friday 10/18

10/16/19

The fifth graders continued deeper into our volume unit. I have greatly appreciated the level of effort that the kids have exhibited these last two days. Tomorrow, we will look to take a short assessment to track everyone's progress.

During our science work, the kids continued to explore the sun as we look to transition into the outer reaches of the solar system.

The fifth graders also met with their book buddies after lunch. Today, the kids worked together to play some interesting math games.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, fill out log on a nightly basis. Due Friday 10/18

10/15/19

We returned to our work with volume problems in math class. The goal of today's lesson was to find the volume of rectangular prisms and to consider how the dimensions of a figure change when the volume is doubled or halved. The fifth graders worked well with their partners in completing the tasks in this lesson.

During our writing time, the students began to use their graphic organizers to formulate their opinion pieces pertaining to zoos. I enjoyed getting to circulate around the room and talk with some students as they were organizing their thoughts.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, fill out log on a nightly basis. Due Friday 10/18

10/11/19

We concluded the work week by furthering our exploration of the concept of volume in math class. The fifth graders continued to use connecting cubes and grid paper to visualize three dimensional objects and then solve for volume. A really nice way to wrap up the week in math class.

During social studies, the students in A303 continued to work to complete their French and Indian War booklets. These books, which contain maps and other important factual details are turning out well.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

10/10/19

It was nice to see everyone back at school today. The fifth graders kicked off unit 2 in math class today. This unit of study will see us work with volume problems. Today's lesson saw the students using connecting cubes to create 3-D objects, which they then used to solve for volume. The kids did a fine job completing the agenda today.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, logs will be due on Friday 10/11

Math - finish workbook pages 67 and 68, due Friday 10/11

10/8/19

The heart of our ELA time saw the students working in-depth with the latest chapter in Home of the Brave. The focus of the lesson was another component of author's craft: repetition. Each student crafted a response in their reader's notebook pertaining to their close reading of the chapter. It was a very meaningful lesson.

As a reminder, we do not have school tomorrow. I look forward to seeing student's back at school on Thursday.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, logs will be due on Friday 10/11

Math - finish workbook pages 67 and 68, due Friday 10/11

10/7/19

The start of the new week, saw the fifth graders approach the conclusion of the first unit during math class. Today, the students in A303 looked to be the finishing touches on some work that was begun last Friday. There was also some time at the conclusion of the lesson for kids to partner up to play the division compare game.

We were also able to dedicate some time to our writing in the later stages of the school day. Many of the students have begun to use a graphic organizer to formulate their opinion of the state of zoos in 2019.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night, logs will be due on Friday 10/11

Math - finish workbook pages 67 and 68, due Friday 10/11

10/4/19

Members of A303 were introduced to a new math game that tied in nicely with our current division of study. The students partnered up to play one another in a division compare card game. This lead into finishing two workbook pages. It was a productive week in our math investigation.

Later in the school day, we zeroed in on key turning points in our reading books. The children practiced this skill with our anchor text and then applied the lesson with their independent reading books.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. Go Patriots.

10/3/19

Students began work on a pamphlet concerning the French and Indian War. This first lesson in our Revolutionary War unit has given me a chance to see the level of background knowledge and passions for history in evidence in many of the students. We will look to finish this project tomorrow.

The focus of our math investigation today was in using division cluster problems to solve different problems. The fifth graders did a nice job working with these.

10/2/19

The focus of our math lesson was exploring the relationship between multiplication and division. Students used a variety of strategies that we have dealt with the first month of the year to figure their way through a collection of problems. We also took an assessment to track the understanding of the student's work with division.

An exciting lesson during social studies took up the bulk of the second half of the school day. The fifth graders began to compile a graphic organizer which will serve as our guide book during this unit. We also began to get into the important details surrounding the French and Indian War.

10/1/19

The month of October saw the members of A303 looking at the life spans of animals in the wild compared with their counterparts kept in zoos. The fifth graders were then tasked with composing a short essay which explained the findings of the charts we looked at.

During our math time, students continued to work with division problems in the context of field day stories. The students continue to build their confidence with these problems.

Tomorrow, the fifth graders will have their picture day. We will also meet with our book buddies in second grade.