3/12/20

Fifth graders began to look at the book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. This final anchor text in our clean water unit, is always one that the kids seem to enjoy. We made some group observations and predictions about the story and began to work with it in our small reading groups.

Homework

Reading - fill out reader's log on a nightly basis and keep track of minutes read over the course of the week

Math - finish pages 405 and 406 if not done in class, due Friday 3/13

3/11/20

Author Adam Lane visited with the fifth graders this afternoon. The students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and asked some good questions afterwards.

Our science lesson focused on the kids using animal cards to create food webs for two unique ecosystems located in North America. The groups worked well together during this activity. 

Homework

Reading - fill out reader's log on a nightly basis and keep track of minutes read over the course of the week

Math - finish pages 405 and 406 if not done in class, due Friday 3/13

3/10/20

We worked on subtracting fractions during math class. The students used some of the same strategies and ideas that we looked at in yesterday's lesson to help them solve these problems. They did a nice job today.

Homework

Reading - fill out reader's log on a nightly basis and keep track of minutes read over the course of the week

Math - finish workbook pages 396 and 397 if not done in class

3/9/20

The fifth graders began the week by progressing further into unit 6 in math class. We began to work with adding decimal problems in earnest today. Students used decimal cards and hundredths grids to help them solve some problems.

Our ELA time was dedicated to completing literary essays. There are a few more writer's conferences to complete and then all students will have crossed the finish line in their second unit of writing.

Homework

Reading - fill out reader's log on a nightly basis and keep track of minutes read over the course of the week

Math - finish workbook pages 396 and 397 if not done in class

3/6/20

The second half of the school day saw students working  on a number of different important items. Some students made a push to complete the second draft of their literary essays. While that was going on, some of the other fifth graders were hard at work on a food web poster that ties in to our current living system unit in science class. Many of the fifth graders are big fans of animals and they are conveying that passion into their science work.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

3/5/20

We concluded investigation one in unit 6 during math class this morning. The students took an assessment that looked to have them compare values of decimals and to order them from least to greatest. The kids appeared to do very well with this. Tomorrow, we will push into the final investigation of the unit.

On this, the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre the fifth graders in A303 continued our exploration of the Boston Massacre. The lesson allowed us to combine some math concepts with history when the students compiled data from the battlefield into tables and graphs.


Homework

Reading - keep reading each night and fill out log for the school wide competition.

3/4/20

The students were able to meet with their book buddies this afternoon. The second graders shared their newly created stories with the fifth graders, while the older kids were able to share some details about the literary essays that they have been working with in our writing class.

Fifth graders also looked to complete the final lesson in unit 6, investigation one during our math class. This concluding lesson saw the kids continue to order and compare decimals. Tomorrow, the fifth graders will look to take a quiz pertaining to this first section of unit 6.

Homework

Reading - keep reading each night and fill out log for the school wide competition.

2/28/20

The month of February and the school week wrapped up in exciting fashion today. The fifth graders were able to take part in an exciting science enrichment opportunity this afternoon. Staff from the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary lead students on a visit with an inflatable, life-sized humpback whale. Kids were able to tour inside the whale and learn more about marine life.

We continued to be hard at work on decimal related problems during our math lesson this morning. The first two weeks of our unit 6 work have gone very well. Next week, the fifth graders will take an assessment to track their progress to this point.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

2/27/20

We began to explore living systems during science class this afternoon. This talking point lead into a video about food chains and food webs. The kids looked to respond to some questions and ended the lesson by building a food chain that may be found in North America.

Our math lesson was centered on rounding decimals and placing the rounded amounts onto a number line. The fifth graders did a nice job with this work.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night and fill our logs. This is important as it is part of the larger reading initiative in the school.

2/26/20

We continued our exploration of the Battle of Bunker Hill during social studies. After a short video and reading an article, the kids actually analyzed data from the battle field. This lesson allowed us to incorporate some math concepts into a history lesson. The students did a great job and were engaged.

A new decimal game that built on our understanding of the relationship between decimals was at the heart of our math time. The students are doing a new job of balancing the time spent on the new game with completing their assigned work book pages.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night and fill our logs. This is important as it is part of the larger reading initiative in the school.

Math - finish workbook pages 368 and 369 if not done in class

2/25/20

Our math class saw the fifth graders working to organize decimals by their value and then to place them on number lines. After this portion of the lesson, fifth graders worked on some multiplication and division review work.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night and fill our logs. This is important as it is part of the larger reading initiative in the school.

Math - finish workbook pages 368 and 369 if not done in class

2/24/20

We returned to school after the vacation week and also returned to our new decimal unit in math class. The fifth graders worked to compare the value of decimals using hundredths grids and some of the terminology that we have been developing. It was a nice return to work.

The second half of the school day saw the kids once again returning to their writing. As I conference with students to look at some first drafts, others worked to self edit their pieces with our checklist.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night and fill our logs. This is important as it is part of the larger reading initiative in the school.

Math - finish workbook pages 368 and 369 if not done in class

2/14/20

We continued into our second lesson in unit 6 in math class this morning. The students were able to continue to find fraction and decimals equivalents of shaded in grids. A great first two days in our decimal unit.

I hope everyone has a great vacation week.

2/13/20

We began our work in unit 6 during math class. This unit centers around decimals. Our introductory lesson today began with a meaningful discussion of the relationship between fractions and decimals. This lead into looking at decimals on grids and listing their fraction equivalents. I look forward to diving deeper into this topic with the students over the coming weeks.

Our writing time was spent looking to perfect our concluding paragraphs. There was great energy in the room as the kids worked on their essays.

As a reminder, students are welcome to bring in Valentines on Friday. No food is to be brought in.

Homework

Math - coordinate grid worksheet due Friday 2/14

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out reading log and keep track of the minutes used

2/12/20

The fifth graders worked on a large scale problem during our math session. This multistep problem encompassed data tables, coordinate graph and an observation sheet. The fifth graders were presented with these questions to gauge their progress through the last lesson in unit 5.

As a reminder, students are welcome to bring in Valentines on Friday. No food is to be brought in.


Homework

Math - coordinate grid worksheet due Friday 2/14

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out reading log and keep track of the minutes used

2/11/20

The students worked to interpret the shape of graphs in terms of the situation the graph represents in math class. This lead into some work with identifying numerical patterns and describing differences noticed in graphs. A busy lesson, but a productive one.

As a reminder, students are welcome to bring in Valentines on Friday. No food is to be brought in. 


Homework

Math - coordinate grid worksheet due Friday 2/14

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out reading log and keep track of the minutes used

2/10/20

We began the final week before vacation by returning to our writing. The students are making tremendous progress with their literary essays. Many have finished their first draft and are now working to peer edit their pieces. I was able to conference with some students today and will meet with more later this week. The essays are quite good.

As a reminder, the fifth graders are welcome to bring in Valentines for each other this Friday the 14th. They can not bring in any food, this includes candy.

Homework

Math - coordinate grid worksheet due Friday 2/14

2/7/20

We wrapped up a terrific week by undertaking one final lesson pertaining to area and perimeter in math class. The students have taken to this work like fish to water. It was great to see the comfortability level rise as the students continued to work with coordinate graphs and data tables today.

The second half of the school day was centered around a writing lesson that focused on the fleshing out of body paragraphs within literary essays. We will look to continue this work throughout the month.

As a reminder, the kids are welcome to bring in Valentines next Friday the 14th. There can be no food brought into the classroom, including candy.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

2/6/20

The fifth graders are stacking quality lesson on top of quality lesson in math class. We worked with comparing arrays with 4, 5 and 6 squares across today. These lessons are allowing students to practice with area and perimeter problems and then compile their results into coordinate graphs.

All fifth graders are also now hard at work on their timeline posters for the anchor text, A River Ran Wild. They are looking to track the important dates in the life of the Nashua River. This will continue into next week.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night

Math - finish page 322, if not done in class

2/5/20

The student's put themselves into the shoes of John Adams during social studies this afternoon. They began work on a letter written from the perspective of Adams that is attempting to persuade George Washington to take command of the Continental Army. The kids were invested in this lesson and the early stages of the letters have turned out well.

We also had another literary essay writing day during our ELA time. The fifth graders are making nice progress in working to complete their graphic organizers. A few kids have also begun their first draft.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night

2/4/20

We started the second investigation in unit 5 during math class. Today's session saw the fifth graders working to write equations that describe the relationships between two varying quantities.

We also finished out work with the book A River Ran Wild during reading class. 


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night

2/3/20

A point of emphasis in our ELA work today was in having all students finish crafting their lead paragraph for their literary essays. Many of the students were able to do that and then progress into their first body paragraph.

We also finished the first investigation in unit 5 during math class. The students worked to create one final coordinate graph and then moved on to noting observations about the data contained in that graph.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night

1/31/20

It is hard to believe that today was the last day of January. We concluded the fifth month of the 2019-2020 school year by taking part in an exciting series of science experiments. A representative of the Museum of Science visited the school to engage the kids with a series of tests pertaining to the states of matter. The fifth graders thoroughly enjoyed this enrichment opportunity. 

We also continued to create growth stories that tied into coordinate graphs during out math time. As we approach the halfway point of unit five, the student are doing a great job of gradually accumulating information.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/30/20

The students continued to work in their small reading groups to answer questions pertaining to the anchor text, A River Ran Wild. As we head into next week, the groups are going to undertake a timeline project that ties into this book.

We also had a productive science lesson in the second half of the school day.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out reader's log on a nightly basis. Due Friday 1/31

1/29/20

The students continued to create growth stories in math class that they then represented on coordinate graphs. A303 students have impressed in the last two weeks with this work. Starting tomorrow and continuing over the next few days, the kids will work with data collected about some incredible animals.

We had a writing session this afternoon. All of the students have selected a literary essay that they will be looking to craft an essay about over these next few weeks. The focus of today's work was on creating a strong lead paragraph.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out reader's log on a nightly basis. Due Friday 1/31

Math - finish workbook pages 294, if not done in class

1/27/20

The students began to read the book A River Ran Wild by Lynne Cherry during ELA. This book tells the story of the Nashua River and the impact that pollution has had on the New England landmark. After reading the story, the fifth graders worked in small groups to answer some comprehension questions.

Our math time was spent continuing to work with coordinate graphs. Many of the fifth graders were able to finish a graph that they created using a data table.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out reader's log on a nightly basis. Due Friday 1/31

Math - finish workbook pages 289 and 290, if not done in class

1/24/20

We wrapped up the week working with more coordinate grids and data tables in our math lesson. The kids have really taken to the early lessons in unit 5 and I felt like this week was a positive one across the board in A303.

We also returned to our writing during the later stages of the school day. All of the fifth graders have know selected the literary essay that they will be writing about over the next few weeks.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/23/20

The fifth graders traveled to the Museum of Science this morning for the Explore the Universe in the planetarium. This presentation was informative and engaging and the fifth graders seemed to really enjoy it.

When we returned to the school in the later stages of the school day, the students in A303 undertook the second lesson in our new math unit. The students continued to work with graphs and interpreting the data contained within them.


Homework

Reading - any reading group who has not finished their novel, needs to finish reading it at home by the end of this week.

1/22/20

We began unit 5 in math class this morning. This unit will see the kids working with temperature, height and growth models represented on coordinate graphs. The first session saw the students comparing the temperature in two different cities.

During our ELA time, we also kicked off our next reading unit. This current events unit will see the kids looking at the importance of clean water and its impact on people all over the world.

As a reminder, the fifth graders are traveling to the Museum of Science this Thursday the 23rd.

Homework

Reading - any reading group who has not finished their novel, needs to finish reading it at home by the end of this week.

1/21/20

The fifth graders are getting close to the end of unit 4 in math class. Today's lesson saw the kids working on both multiplication and division problems that larger numbers. Tomorrow, we will take an end of unit quiz.

As a reminder, the fifth graders are traveling to the Museum of Science this Thursday the 23rd.

Homework

Reading - any reading group who has not finished their novel, needs to finish reading it at home by the end of this week.

1/17/20

The students finished their iReady winter testing window. My compliments to the class for working hard on these important assessments this past week.

We returned to our work with data tables during math class. This week has been a productive one in terms of our current math investigation. The kids did a nice job.

Have a nice weekend.

1/15/20

Students in A303 began the reading portion of their iReady exam this afternoon. The students appeared to have given their best effort and I look forward to going over the results these next few days.

We continued to work on multi-step word problems that pertain to a data table during our math work. The kids are doing a fine job of persevering through some challenging work.

The fifth grade is traveling to the Museum of Science on Thursday January 23rd. Please sign and return field trip permission slips as soon as possible.

1/14/20

The fifth graders began the final investigation in unit 4 this morning. The work in this unit is centered on multi-step word problems using data tables. Today was a great first day. I was impressed with the students ability to work with the given data.

Tomorrow, the kids will begin the reading portion of their iReady exam.

The fifth grade is traveling to the Museum of Science on Thursday January 23rd. Please sign and return field trip permission slips as soon as possible.

1/13/20

The students began the winter sessions of their iReady assessment this afternoon. The math portion of the exam was the focus today. On Wednesday, the kids will look to complete the reading portion of the assessment.

We were also able to meet with our reading groups this afternoon. The goal is to have all groups finished with their novels by this Friday.

1/10/20

We wrapped up a very productive week this Friday by progressing in different subjects. Our math time was spent taking an assessment to gauge the student's understanding of the first two investigations in unit four. These five questions will serve to give me a firm idea of where everyone stands as we enter the last investigation of this unit.

Our science time was spent learning about the water cycle and completing a graphic organizer. The kids also watched a short video pertaining to the topic.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/9/20

The students worked to read and then annotate a short story during our ELA time today. Starting next week, the fifth graders will be exposed to a collection of short stories. At that point, they will select one to start crafting a literary essay about.

We also continued to work on describing and comparing strategies that are used to solve two-digit divisor division problems.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night. Reading log due Friday 1/10

Math - workbook page 241, due Friday 1/10

1/8/20

Today, we had the pleasure of visiting with the author and illustrator Raul the Third. The fifth graders were an attentive audience and it was a rewarding enrichment opportunity.

Students also worked in their reading groups during ELA time. The goal is to have all students finished with their novels by next Friday.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night. Reading log due Friday 1/10

Math - workbook page 241, due Friday 1/10

1/7/20

The fifth graders practiced using a graphic organizer to compile information about a literary essay during our ELA time. Later this week and into next week, the students will be exposed to a number of different essays and they will look to work with the essay in a similar manner to today's lesson.

As a reminder, the author and illustrator Raul the Third is going to visit with the fifth graders tomorrow afternoon.

https://www.raulthethird.com/


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night. Reading log due Friday 1/10

Math - workbook page 241, due Friday 1/10

1/6/20

Our first full week of school in the new year, saw the students in A303 continue their work in unit four with division. Today's lesson saw the kids work to refine some of the strategies that they have been using recently. This work will continue into tomorrow's lesson as well.

The fifth graders also met with their book groups again. I continue to be impressed with the dedication the students are showing. The ensuing class discussions about the novels have been great to hear.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night. Reading log due Friday 1/10

Math - workbook page 241, due Friday 1/10

1/3/20

We ended this short week by undertaking a fun kickoff lesson in our second unit of writing. The fifth graders are transitioning into literary essay writing in this term. To launch that unit, the kids looked at a video about a youth soccer team in Thailand. This lead into some practice with using graphic organizers.

During social studies, we dug into the famous ride of Paul Revere. After a video showing a reenactment of that night, the students looked at a poem that commemorated that important night in American history.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. Go Patriots.

1/2/20

It will take me a few more days to get used to typing the 20 at the end of the date. It was great to see the kids back at school today to start the new year. During our morning meeting, the fifth graders were able to share some of the highlights of their winter vacations.

We continued to make progress in our math time. The focus of our work today was on creating a word problem and then solving it with a visual element on poster paper.

Fifth graders were also able to meet with their book groups to progress deeper into their novels during ELA time.