2/26/21

We concluded the week with the second portion of our iReady winter exam this morning. The fifth graders worked on the math section. I wanted to compliment all of the kids for their effort in regards to this exam the last two days.

Room A303 also had another fantastic writing session later in the school day. Many of the kids are into their body paragraphs, where we are organizing the evidence that we have gathered the last few weeks. I was also able to hold writer's conferences with many of the kids to go over their lead paragraphs. Some really nice work done over the last two days. 

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. 

2/25/21

The fifth graders worked on their math mid-year iReady assessment early in the day. The kids worked diligently on this. Tomorrow, we will look to have the kids work on the ELA portion of the exam.

The other area of note was in our writing. Students are hard at work on their opinion writing pieces concerning zoos. Many of the kids were able to finish their lead paragraph and progress into their body paragraphs this afternoon. This work will continue over the next two weeks. 

2/23/21

The fifth graders continued to be hard at work on their opinion writing pieces. Many of the kids have moved into shaping their evidence into body paragraphs. I was able to touch base with many of the students this morning and the writing is coming along nicely. 

Another milestone was crossed in social studies. The members of A303 officially finished their reporting on history unit. The final assessment saw the kids writing about reliable and useful sources for potential generations to learn about the COVID pandemic and its effects on school age children. Quality work across the board during this time. 

2/22/21

It was great to see the fifth graders back in school after the vacation week. We began the day with a share out about fun or interesting events from the week off and then took part in an energizer to start the day.

We had a productive writing session during our ELA time. The kids are hard at work on their final draft of their opinion writing pieces. The goal today was to craft a strong lead paragraph. This work will continue throughout the next two weeks.

2/12/21

We wrapped up the week by putting the finishing touches on our Black History Month research project during ELA. The kids selected two figures from American history to report on and build a timeline of important events in the person's lives. These turned out well.

Members of A303 also completed their end-of-unit social studies assessment. We had a very productive week and the kids should be commended for the work they put in.

I hope everyone has a great vacation week.

2/11/21

We moved into our next nonfiction reading lesson today. We explored the main idea of our anchor text and then used that information to help us in our reading of personal nonfiction texts. The kids ended their ELA time by working on their research project that they began yesterday.

In social studies, the fifth graders are looking to put the finishing touches on their end-of-unit task. This work will see them weigh the pros and cons of different sources and look to choose the best options that would allow them to learn about an important event in recent history. We will continue this work tomorrow.

2/9/21

Today was a big day for the fifth graders. They began to craft their intro paragraph for their opinion essays. The kids looked to identify three key arguments from our recent research that they could use to build their pieces. This work will continue over the next few weeks.

The fifth graders also took a quiz in math class that will gauge their progress with both adding and subtracting fractions. This lead into playing a game called fraction tracks. 

2/8/21

The fifth graders spent some time today taking a school climate survey. This anonymous survey, that all students in the city are filling out, will give the district an understanding as to home the kids are doing with this unusual learning year. 

We followed that up by completing our last writing lesson concerning the lifespans of animals. This particular lesson saw the fifth graders exploring bar graphs and pulling out key data. Tomorrow, the kids will begin crafting their lead paragraphs. 

2/5/21

The fifth graders began writing their opinion pieces during our ELA time. The kids looked to focus on two key supporting details to support their opinion using the numerous sources we have looked at over the last three weeks. 

After we took a quiz in math class, the students then had the option to play one of the two math games we have learned recently involving fractions with a partner. It was another productive session. 

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. 

2/4/21

The fifth graders began crafting their introductory paragraphs for their research-based opinion pieces during our ELA time. Over the last two weeks, they have been exposed to a number of different videos, articles and books that speak to the challenges faced by animals in the 21st century. Their goal is to write an opinion piece concerning the wellbeing of animals, specifically whether they are better off in the wild or in captivity. This work will continue throughout the rest of the month.

We also spent some time looking at complex, non-fiction text during our reading period. The kids looked at an article concerning octopuses and then looked to capture some notes and observations that tied into our overall lesson of working through complex writing. 

2/1/21

The Polar Bear cohort began the first week of February by undertaking the second to last lesson concerning gathering evidence for our opinion pieces. Today and tomorrow, the kids will be looking to gather evidence pertaining to the lifespans of animals, both in the wild and in captivity. 

We also continued to learn more about the sun and the larger solar system during our science work.