1/31/23

Hard to believe that the month of January concluded today. We wrapped it up with an interesting writing lesson that saw the kids learning about a group of elephants from the small Africans country of Eswatini. After reading about these creatures, the kids then practiced taking notes pertaining to the main idea of the piece. 

During math class, we worked on a final batch of workbook pages from unit 4. Tomorrow, the kids are going to take the unit four math test.

Homework

Complete "Nature's Little Helpers". Due Friday February 3

1/30/23

We are going to spend time this week having the kids read deeper into their non-fiction books while looking for main ideas and context clues for certain sections. The kids are also going to work on the final two tasks for their opinion writing unit. By Friday, we are going to start gathering information for our opinion pieces.

Homework

Complete "Nature's Little Helpers". Due Friday February 3

1/27/23

We spent time this morning looking at the Ring of Fire homework. Kids were able to share their answers and smaller groups discussed two questions in particular. Productive block of time.

During science class, the fifth graders continued to work on their food web ecosystem posters. These are shaping up nicely. We will look to put the finishing touches on these next week.

Have a nice weekend.

1/26/23

The kids continued their work with data tables during math class. Today's lesson, which was part two of a three part series, will see the kids continue to use different operations to solve problems. These answers will let be used to solve additional problems. Exciting lessons and quality work in the fifth grade. 

Homework

Reading - read Ring of Fire packet and respond to questions. Due in class on Friday 1/27

1/25/23

We once again visited our non-fiction books during ELA time. Prior to that, the kids looked at two speeches and explored the main idea of each. One was the famous "Luckiest Man" speech by Hall of Fame baseball player Lou Gehrig. The other was a more recent speech given by Malala Yousafsai. Nice participation throughout this session.

Homework

Reading - read Ring of Fire packet and respond to questions. Due in class on Friday 1/27

1/24/23

We are into the final section of unit 4 in math. This unit will see the fifth graders working on multi step word problems. Today was an important day to lay foundation for the rest of this week.  

Homework

Reading - read Ring of Fire packet and respond to questions. Due in class on Friday 1/27

1/23/23

The fifth graders began the week by taking an assessment in math class. This test concludes our division review. Starting tomorrow, we are going to move into multi-step word problems using data tables.

During ELA, the class worked on an example of comprehension homework together. This was valuable time and the kids seemed to grasp the time of responses that were needed to fully answer these questions.

Later this week, the fifth graders will look to complete the iReady testing.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night

The kids are going to get a comprehension packet tomorrow. This will be due in class on Thursday 1/26

1/20/23

The fifth graders didn't let the poor weather outside deter them from another solid day in the classroom. After spending some time working on the reading portion of their iReady exam, the kids explored the New England colonies during social studies time and we had one final division review day during math class.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/19/23

Fifth graders worked through the reading portion of their winter iReady assessment this morning. Tomorrow, the kids will look to complete the math portion of the test. 

We are also going to continue the study of food webs during our science time tomorrow afternoon.

1/18/23

Another solid day of division work during our math time. The last two lessons have been challenging ones and I applaud the fifth graders for continuing to persevere through the agendas. Many of the students were willing to share their thinking, which was greatly appreciated.

Tomorrow and Friday, the kids are going to take the winter portion of their iReady exams. It would be helpful for all of the kids to have a solid independent reading book with them these days.

1/17/23

This week is going to be an eventful one for the fifth graders in ELA. They are going to start reading their chosen non-fiction text. Later this week, they will start collecting some information about their topic that they can share with their peers.

We are also going to undertake two more tasks relating to our opinion writing topic. Beginning next week, the kids are going to start building their argument using the various resources that they have been exposed to over the last two weeks.

Homework

Math - workbook page 241, due tomorrow 1/18

1/13/23

We wrapped up the week by diving into another zoo task during our writing time. The kids are beginning to weight the pros and cons of zoos and to help them collect evidence they watched a short video and used a graphic organizer to collect ideas.

During science class, groups worked to create a model of a forest ecosystem food web using animal cards. This lesson was a quality one and I was impressed with the teamwork.

Have a nice weekend.

1/12/23

It was nice to return to a normal schedule this Thursday. We were able to accomplish much in math, where the kids worked on some division word problems. During ELA time we explored a number of non-fiction texts. By tomorrow, the hope is that all of the fifth graders will have selected a topic and a book to begin working with next week. Finally, the fifth graders did some reading with their second grade book buddies.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night. Logs due on Friday 1/13

Math - workbook page 228, due Friday 1/13

1/11/2023

We had a quality writing lesson tying into our overall theme of opinion writing this morning. 

Tomorrow we are going to meet with our second grade book buddies again.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night. Logs due on Friday 1/13

Anyone who did not finish their Zoochosis article and organizer, must finish this tonight

1/10/23

This early release day saw the kids explore another aspect of the lives of animals that are being kept in zoos. They read an article and responded to some questions. Compliments to the kids for remaining invested in the subject matter throughout.

Tomorrow will also be an 1130 dismissal time.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night. Logs due on Friday 1/13

1/9/23

This week will see the kids continue to explore food chains and food webs during science time. We are also going to start learning about the 13 original English North American colonies.

As a reminder, tomorrow and Wednesday are early dismissal days. The kids are going to be dismissed at 12 o'clock to accommodate parent teacher conference time.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night. Logs due on Friday 1/13

Math - finish workbook pages 222 and 223 if not done in class

1/6/23

We took a short assessment during math class as we prepare to enter the second portion of unit four. The kids seem to be feeling confident about where they stand in the curriculum and I am sure that will be reflected in the results.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. As a reminder, the kids are going to be dismissed early next Tuesday and Wednesday to accommodate the next two sessions of parent teacher conferences. 

1/5/23

Our math lesson saw the fifth graders working to solve multiplication problems using the US standard algorithm. There were a few bumps in the road, but the kids persevered through and made some positive strides.

I look forward to meeting with parents and family members tonight from 6 to 8.

Homework

Math - complete workbook page 216, if not done in class. Due tomorrow 1/6.

1/4/23

The fifth graders took part in an ELA lesson that got their feet wet for our opinion writing unit. Using the argument of cats vs dogs, the kids worked in pairs to generate evidence to support their positions using an article. Nice early lesson.

1/3/23

The start of the new year is going to be an exciting one for the fifth graders. Over the next two weeks, we are going to be starting new units of study in math, reading, writing and science. Today we kicked off unit 4 in math class. This unit will see the kids refreshing their multiplication strategies that we explored earlier this year. 

Tomorrow we are going to launch or opinion writing unit. We are going to be exploring zoos and their relationships with the animals in their care. This is a unit that fifth graders tend to like a great deal.

There will be math homework later this week.