We concluded the final week of May by continuing to work on word problems that involve multiplying fractions by whole numbers. Using visuals and equations, the kids looked to solve these problems and share their thought process. These first two lessons in unit 7 have gone very well.
The kids in A303 were also able to spend some more time focused on their informational writing pieces. Many of the fifth graders looked to craft their first draft of their concluding paragraph today.
We had another fantasy book group meeting during the early stages of the day. Many of the groups are approaching the later stages of their novels. Today, groups were able to share some of their readers notes that they have been making in their journals with people from other book groups. We will have another book group day to conclude the week tomorrow.
Social studies time saw the kids exploring, in great detail, the Battle of Bunker Hill. We incorporated some math when exploring the numerical characteristics of the battle. The kids seemed to enjoy this work.
On this early release day, we returned to our writing concerning a Revolutionary War figure. The fifth graders were hard at work on their body paragraph that walked the reader through the person's experience of the war.
The kids worked hard on their math MCAS today. It was nice to wrap that up and we will be able to return to a normal routine the rest of this school week. In June, we will take one session of science and that will bring us to the end of MCAS season.
We were also able to spend some time with our Paul Revere comic strip later in the day.
The last week of May will see the kids continue to work within their fantasy book groups and on their informational writing piece pertaining to a figure from the Revolutionary War. I began to have writer's conferences with some of the students this morning. The early drafts of the writing are coming out very well. I look forward to continuing to meet with the students this week.
As a reminder, tomorrow the fifth graders will be taking their math MCAS test. Please have the kids charge their devices overnight so that they are ready to go tomorrow morning.
We wrapped up another week by completing a writing assignment concerning a key turning point in our fantasy books. After turning this in, the book groups met to continue their reading. Many of the groups are getting to the later stages of their stories and they are eager to see how the books end.
We also spent some time exploring the famous ride of Paul Revere. We looked at a poem written about that event and then the kids began a piece of work that will see them create a graphic novel strip of the ride.
I hope everyone has a nice weekend.
We spent some time in the earlier stages of the day looking at a practice math MCAS test. Next week, the fifth graders will be taking their one session of the exam. Today was a nice opportunity to look at some of the questions that they might expect to see next week.
The fifth graders were also able to return to their informational writing topics during ELA time. Many of the kids are making some nice progress with their writing.
We continued to be hard at work on our information writing during our ELA time. The fifth graders have all crafted lead paragraphs over the last two days. Today saw the kids look to gather information pertaining to their figures background before the start of the Revolutionary War.
Science time was spent exploring some extinct animals and learning about ways that humans can help to ensure that other animals are not lost.
The fifth graders spent their ELA time researching their Revolutionary War figure. Using a number of books in the classroom and some online sources, the kids were gathering this information on their graphic organizers. Later this week, the goal is for the kids to begin crafting their lead paragraph.
We also undertook a math lesson that allowed the kids the choice to play one of the decimal games that we have learned the last three weeks.
This week is an important one of the kids because we are going to be selecting a topic to explore pertaining to the Revolutionary War for our last unit of writing. The informational writing unit is one that will really help to prepare the students for next year. Today and tomorrow, the kids are going to be exposed to a number of books that will allow them to select the one topic that they will pursue.
With only a few more lessons left in our decimal unit, we also continued to be hard at work on word problems and comparing the values of decimals. The last three weeks have been rock solid and that was reflected in the grades for our most recent quiz.
This Thursday saw the kids progress deeper into unit six of their math book. We have a few more lessons left in the decimal unit and the kids are doing well. At some point next week we will look to take a quiz that will see the kids adding and subtracting decimals in word problems.
The fifth graders also did some writing pertaining to critical turning points in their fantasy books. After writing, they shared their thoughts with their groups and then returned to their reading. Many of the groups are approaching the second half of their stories. They really seem to be enjoying the books that they are working with.
It was nice to return to a normal school day with the kids this Wednesday. The fifth graders looked to complete some multi-step decimal word problems during our math time. This lead into a decimal compare game that the students played with a partner.
On this early release day, we were also able to start to turn our attention to the Boston Tea Party. This will continue tomorrow.
The second week of May began with an interesting lesson about the Boston Massacre. The fifth graders looked at some famous artist renderings of the event and looked to use those to help them answer some focus questions.
Members of A303 also met with their fantasy book groups to read deeper into their novels. Later this week, the kids will be doing some writing about important turning points in their stories.
As a reminder, tomorrow we will be taking the ELA portion of the MCAS test. Please have the kids charge their devices fully tonight so that they are ready to go tomorrow morning.
We finished the first week of May by having the fantasy book groups read with the intention of noting significant turning points in the direction of the plot. The kids took some notes as they were reading in preperation for a piece of writing that we will be doing next week.
The kids also put the finishing touches on their taxation without representation flip books in social studies class.
I hope everyone has a nice weekend. As a reminder, the fifth grade will be taking their one session of ELA MCAS next Tuesday the 11th. Please make an effort to remind the kids to charge their devices on Monday night so that they are ready to go on Tuesday morning.
Fifth graders are working on a flip book that seeks to explore the concept of Taxation Without Representation during social studies time. Pairs of students read an article and watched a short video. They then transitioned to answering some comprehension questions that will eventually serve as the foundation of a flip book. We will finish this work tomorrow.
During math class, the kids were on a multi-step word problem that involved decimals. This problem needed to be solved using both figuring and a visual component. Members of A303 did a nice job with this today.
We were fortunate enough to have a representative of the Concord Museum visit us this morning for a presentation about the Revolutionary War. The kids were a great audience for this virtual enrichment and they seemed to learn a lot.
During math class, we also looked to continue our new session that involves adding decimals.
The students took a quiz during math class to track their progress through the first session of our decimal unit. When that was complete, we moved into session two. This session began with another math activity that saw partners looking to add decimals using grids.
We also met with our fantasy book groups, will the focus of our reading being potential turning points in the direction of the story. Later this week, the fifth graders will look to do some writing about this.
We began the second to last month of the school year by undertaking one final lesson in math class that saw the students comparing the values of decimals. Using number lines and grids, the fifth graders continued the work that was begun last week. Tomorrow, the kids will take a quiz to track their progress in this important unit.
The topic of our social studies unit was the Proclamation of 1763. After completing a book about the French and Indian War last week, the fifth graders moved on to the next domino to fall on the road to the Revolutionary War. Using a short video and some maps, the students attempted to create a compromise that would have a avoided further conflict between Great Britain and the colonies. This work will continue tomorrow.
