4/4/25

The kids put the finishing touches on their Jackie Robinson baseball cards this morning. Each of the students wrote about four traits that Robinson displayed and then attached those to a poster card. These turned out great.

Next week, the fifth graders will take their ELA MCAS. Session one is scheduled for Monday, while the second round is going to be on Thursday the 10th. It is important for each of the fifth graders to have a physical independent reading book those days. Thank you in advance for your help with this.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

4/3/25

Today we finished looking at a practice ELA MCAS exam. The kids did a nice job of drafting a open response question. Nice sharing out throughout the room.

Tomorrow, we are going to return to our regular Jackie Robinson curriculum.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night and log due in class on Friday 4/4

4/2/25

We had a productive math class this morning. The fifth graders worked on some decimal addition workbook pages and then used their remaining time to play a decimal game that allowed them to compare decimals with a variety of different strategies.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night and log due in class on Friday 4/4

4/1/25

We spent time during ELA doing some MCAS practice. The fifth graders will take their two session ELA test next week. Today was a useful day of practice.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night and log due in class on Friday 4/4

3/31/25

We concluded the month of March by moving into the later stages of our decimal unit in math class. Today the fifth graders worked to estimate the sums of decimals and to using visual representations to add tenths and hundredths.

Our ELA time was spent exploring Jackie Robinson's legacy and his continued impact on the game of baseball and the wider world. 

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night and log due in class on Friday 4/4

3/28/25

We concluded the week by working with decimals in the context of number lines during math class. The fifth graders did a nice job with yesterday's assessment, and they carried that spirit into our last lesson of the week.

The members of A303 also responded to a focus question about the read aloud book, The One and Only Ivan.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

3/27/25

The fifth graders completed their first decimal assessment during our math time this morning. After the test was complete, we returned to some of the important work that we have been doing comparing the values of decimals using grids.

We wanted to thank Lynda Johnson for her guidance running the four-week theater enrichment program within the classroom. The kids enjoyed this a great deal.

Homework

Math - workbook page 385, due on Friday 3/28

3/26/25

Today in math class, the fifth graders worked on a series of decimal problems, including some challenging word problems. They then transitioned to played a decimal compare game in pairs. Tomorrow we are going to take a decimal assessment

Homework

Math - workbook page 385, due on Friday 3/28

3/25/25

We spent time work to round decimals during math class. Each of the fifth graders was tasked with completing two workbook pages concerning that matter. With the remaining time, the fifth graders partnered up and played a division review game.

During social studies, the kids worked to answer some questions about the creation of the Deceleration of Independence. 

Homework

Math - workbook page 385, due on Friday 3/28

3/24/25

This week, our focus will be to continue to learn about Jackie Robinson's life and do some writing about a key moment in his playing career. We are also going to dive deeper into our decimal unit. Finally, we are going to look to have the fifth graders practice for their upcoming ELA MCAS test.

Two items of note for the fifth graders this week. On Thursday, we will have the final session of our Backyard Theater program in the classroom and on Friday, we are taking part in a full school program featuring Taiko Thunder.

3/21/25

The kids took part in a zoom meeting with the world language teachers from the Gibbs this afternoon. This was a good opportunity for the fifth graders to learn more about the classes that will be offered next year.

We also took part in an enrichment program where the class learned about the states of matter while observing and in some cases participating in experiments.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

3/20/25

Working in pairs, the fifth graders were tasked with placing decimals onto number lines and to have a conversation about comparing values. This was a productive lesson. We will continue this work tomorrow afternoon.

Also tomorrow, the fifth graders will take part in a science enrichment program concerning the states of matter.

Homework

Math - graphing worksheet due on Friday 3/21

3/19/25

The fifth graders have done some quality writing the last two days. They have been summarizing key components of our anchor text in their workbooks. We also continue to focus on expanding our vocabulary base with some work with unfamiliar words from Promises to Keep. We will look to carry that momentum into tomorrow's work.

The kids are also doing a fine job with our early decimal lessons. I have been impressed with their willingness to share their thinking with peers and to draw comparisons with our previous fraction work.

Homework

Math - graphing worksheet due on Friday 3/21

3/18/25

We explored the thousandths place during math class. The fifth graders continued to represent decimals using grids and they then completed some review work that touched upon unit five items.

On Thursday the kids will have their next Backyard Play enrichment session.

Homework

Math - graphing worksheet due on Friday 3/21

3/17/25

We are going to work to represent decimals on grids this week. The fifth graders are going to call upon many of the lessons that they worked through in our fraction unit to help them with this work. Today was a quality first step.

Homework

Math - graphing worksheet due on Friday 3/21

3/13/25

We explored Jackie Robinson's college years and his time in the military during ELA. We also spent some time watching a short video about the Tuskegee Airmen.

In the afternoon, the fifth graders took part in the second part of their Backyard Play enrichment program.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out log on nightly basis. Due on Friday 3/14

3/12/25

The kids did some writing this morning during their ELA time. Each of the fifth graders was tasked with summarizing a portion of Promises to Keep, our Jackie Robinson book. They relied on a graphic organizer that they worked on yesterday. With the remaining time, the kids familiarized themselves with some unfamiliar vocabulary from the early portion of the text.

Tomorrow afternoon, we will have our second enrichment program with a representative of the Backyard Play group. The fifth graders are looking forward to this.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out log on nightly basis. Due on Friday 3/14

3/11/25

The fifth graders took their last assessment in unit five this afternoon. This test had them interpreting the shape of a graph and interpreting numerical patterns in a data table. Later this week, we will begin working with decimals.

Earlier in the day, the fifth graders met with their second grade book buddies. The fifth graders were able to share their recently completed Rain forest digital books with their younger peers. 

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out log on nightly basis. Due on Friday 3/14

3/10/25

This will be a busy week for the fifth graders in A303. The kids are going to continue to read deeper into our Jackie Robinson anchor text along with doing some practice work on summarizing the key portions of our reading. In math class, the fifth graders will take their last assessment in unit five tomorrow.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading per night, fill out log on nightly basis. Due on Friday 3/14

3/7/25

The fifth graders ended the week by undertaking a writing assignment about our current read aloud book, The One and Only Ivan. Each of the students was tasked with writing about a focus question pertaining to a recent portion of the text.

In math class, we are preparing for an assessment next week. To that end, we continued to work with comparing arrays and graphing data.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

3/6/25

I wanted to thank all families for coming into the classroom this morning for math game time. The fifth graders loved getting to play with their families. Your participation made the morning special. Thank you again.

We returned to our Jackie Robinson book during ELA time. The kids are continuing to work with some unfamiliar vocabulary. We also spent some time talking about verb tenses. This grammar portion of the lesson was valuable. 

In the afternoon, the fifth graders took part in an enrichment program put on by The Backyard Youth Theatre. We will have some more sessions with this program later in the school year.

https://www.backyardyouththeatre.com/

Homework

Math - workbook pages 313 and 314, due Friday 3/7

3/5/25

We began our new ELA module this morning. The kids will be exploring the life and impact of Jackie Robinson. Today, we watched a short biography and then looked at some quotes of people who were impacted in one form or another by Robinson.

As a reminder, on Thursday March 6th, the fifth grade is hosting a math game session with parents and family. Families are invited into the classroom from 8 to 830 that morning.

Homework

Math - workbook pages 313 and 314, due Friday 3/7

3/3/25

We began the month of March with the fifth graders sharing their eBooks with their peers. A lot of time and effort went into these and the kids should feel proud of their efforts. 

During math time, we looked at numerical patterns involving area and perimeter problems.

As a reminder, on Thursday March 6th, the fifth grade is hosting a math game session with parents and family. Families are invited into the classroom from 8 to 830 that morning.

Homework

Math - workbook pages 313 and 314, due Friday 3/7

 

2/28/25

The kids finished working on their digital books this morning during ELA time. Each of the students wrote a narrative, an author's note and then inserted those two components into their book creator app.  These turned out excellent. Next week, they will receive a graded rubric for their narrative writing.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. 

As a reminder, on Thursday March 6th, the fifth grade is hosting a math game session with parents and family. Families are invited into the classroom from 8 to 830 that morning.

2/27/25

The fifth graders continued to work on their eBooks during ELA time. The kids will look to present these to their peers tomorrow morning.

In math class, the fifth graders worked with coordinate graphing worksheets. They did a fine job with this. Tomorrow, we are going to make our way into the second half of unit five.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night and fill out reading log on nightly basis. Due in class on Friday 2/28

2/26/25

My compliments to the fifth graders. Each of them has published their final draft of their recent narrative writing. From what I have read, these are infused with humor and creativity. I look forward to reading the rest this week. The kids are now in the process of creating an eBook that will include their narrative, an author's note as well as some pictures and maps. We will be working on this throughout the rest of the week.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night and fill out reading log on nightly basis. Due in class on Friday 2/28

2/25/25

We had another productive school day in A303. The kids are going to be working on the last stage of the second module in ELA the rest of the week. Beginning today, the fifth graders are going to create an online book that will accompany their narrative essay.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night and fill out reading log on nightly basis. Due in class on Friday 2/28

2/24/25

The fifth graders worked on their end of unit assessment during ELA time. Each of the kids drafted a narrative essay before the break and they used their time today, typing these pieces of writing. We will look to finish these tomorrow before we turn our attention to creating an eBook to accompany the essays.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night and fill out reading log on nightly basis. Due in class on Friday 2/28

2/14/25

The kids took a critical first step in their ELA mid-term assessment. They used a graphic organizer to gather material for a narrative piece of writing that they will compose after the vacation week.

We ended the school day with the exchange of Valentines and some board game time. I hope everyone has a nice vacation week.

2/13/25

We launched a two part mid-unit assessment during ELA this morning. The kids are going to be writing a narrative story from the perspective of a character in our anchor text. Today was a day to collect some ideas on a graphic organizer. Tomorrow, we will look to start writing.

The kids are welcome to bring in their Valentine's Day cards to exchange tomorrow. They are also able to bring one board or card game with them.

2/12/25

All of the kids have successfully completed a piece of narrative writing. A lot of time and effort went into this writing over the last few days. I look forward to reading these pieces.

Tomorrow in science class, the kids are going to work in small groups to create a food web using animal cards.

2/11/25

In math class today, the fifth graders worked to interpret the shape of graphs and to generate ordered pairs that corresponded to the data on a table. The kids worked incredibly hard and remained on task during this important lesson. Later this week, the members of A303 will take a short assessment to gauge their progress.

2/10/25

The last week before the vacation will see the fifth graders put the finishing touches on their Boston Tea Party projects during social studies. We will also be looking at food chains and food webs in science class. Lastly, the members of A303 will look to make some headway in unit five in math class. It will be a busy week and hopefully a productive one.

Also, on Friday the 14th, the kids are once again welcome to bring in a board or card game. They will have some time to play with peers later in the school day.

There is no homework this week.

2/7/25

We returned to school to wrap up the week after yesterday's snow day. The fifth graders continued their work with their narrative essays this morning in ELA. Each of the students turned their attention to the proof paragraphs. We are looking to add figurative and concrete language to these sections. Many of the kids were able to get a fair amount of work complete.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and that the fifth graders help out with any shoveling that needs to be done this weekend.

2/5/25

We only have a few more days in unit four in our math class. We continued to work on word problems concerning larger numbers. Special attention is being paid to slowing down and checking our work. The fifth graders are looking to avoid some of the smaller errors.

Homework

Math - double sided word problem sheet. Due in class on Friday 2/7

2/4/25

The kids used a graphic organizer to analyze the narrative story that we read in class yesterday. The second portion of ELA was spent having the kids generate a narrative writing idea of their own. We will continue this work tomorrow.

Homework

Math - double sided word problem sheet. Due in class on Friday 2/7

2/3/25

This week we are going to move into the last portion of our rainforest unit in ELA. The kids did a nice job of writing their essays last week and we want to carry that momentum into this final leg. We explored how a writer's point of view influences the story being told.

We are also nearing a transition point in math class. These next few lessons will see the fifth graders working through the final lessons in unit 4.

Homework

Math - double sided word problem sheet. Due in class on Friday 2/7

1/31/25

My compliments to each of the fifth graders. They are completing their homework and turning those assignments in on time. This is much appreciated. The writing that this did this week was of a nice quality as well.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/30/25

The kids took part in an important ELA lesson this morning. The fifth graders undertook the first part of their end of unit assessment. This entailed having the kids read an excerpt from our anchor text and then using a graphic organizer to begin to formulate an essay that spoke to the importance of sensory language. This dovetails nicely with the work that we have been focused on in the last two weeks. The kids remained on task throughout this session and many were able to completely finish their organizer. We will look to have each of the fifth graders begin the writing phase tomorrow morning.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night and fill out reading log each night. Due in class on Friday 1/31

1/29/25

The fifth graders progressed in the final portion of unit 4 during math class. After yesterdays assessment, we are going to spend time solving a variety of multiplication and division problems as fluently as possible. Our focus today was on using various methods to solve multi-step word problems. Quality work was done today and we will look to carry that over into the final two days of the week.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night and fill out reading log each night. Due in class on Friday 1/31

1/28/25

The fifth graders took their mid unit assessment during our math time this afternoon. When that was complete, they returned to some pages that they needed to finish from last week. We will kick off the final leg of unit four tomorrow.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night and fill out reading log each night. Due in class on Friday 1/31

1/27/25

We spent time in ELA revising and editing our proof paragraphs from our literary analysis. The goal is to have each fifth grader done with their final copy by the end of the school week.

Tomorrow, the fifth graders will take a math quiz to gauge their progress within unit four.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading per night and fill out reading log each night. Due in class on Friday 1/31

1/24/25

The fifth graders completed their sensory language piece of writing during ELA time this morning. The kids were attentive to this important piece of work and I am sure that will be reflected in the pieces.

We ended the school day by having a whole school assembly in the gym. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/23/25

The fifth graders completed their sensory language analysis piece of writing this morning during ELA. We utilized our time wisely and each of the kids was able to complete this important piece of work.

We continued to work through multi-step division word problems during math class in the afternoon. This week has been a nice opportunity for the fifth graders to practice their division skills. We will continue this important work to wrap up the week tomorrow.

Homework

Math - workbook page 241, due Friday 1/24

1/22/25

The fifth graders finished analyzing a model essay that explored concrete and sensory language in one of our anchor texts. The kids then used a graphic organizer to start putting together an essay of their own. Tomorrow, the goal will be to have the kids begin writing a draft of their own essay.

In math class, the fifth graders looked to continue to review and tighten up their division strategies.

Homework

Math - workbook page 241, due Friday 1/24

1/21/25

This week we are going to explore the Proclamation of 1763 and the phrase "no taxation without representation" in social studies. The kids will look to read some articles and respond to some focus questions.

Homework

Math - workbook page 241, due Friday 1/24

1/17/25

We concluded the week by taking one last extended look at some concrete and sensory language that was used in our rainforest anchor text. The students completed a graphic organizer and an exit ticket. We had an excellent week filled with quality work in ELA.

Compliments to the students for bringing their completed homework assignments back to school today. We spent a portion of our math time in the afternoon sharing out answers.

I hope everyone has a nice long, holiday weekend.

1/16/25

We spent time reviewing idioms this morning during ELA. The kids discussed the meaning of common idioms and then practiced using them in sentences. We then had a close read of a portion of our anchor text. While reading, the fifth graders explored concrete and sensory language. This was a productive ELA lesson.

The homework is due in class tomorrow.

Homework

Math - multiplication worksheet, due Friday 1/17

1/15/25

We continued exploring examples of figurative language in our rainforest texts this morning during ELA. The kids then spent some time responding to a few prompts about recent passages from the text.

Our math time was spent creating a division poster and then working on a few workbook pages.

Homework

Math - multiplication worksheet, due Friday 1/17

1/14/25

The fifth graders took their first assessment of unit four this afternoon. Each of the kids looked to answer some multiplication problems and then a per-algebriac bonus page.

Homework

Math - multiplication worksheet, due Friday 1/17

1/13/25

We are going to explore the French and Indian War in social studies this week. The kids are going to see how this event lead directly to the fight for American independence.

Our math time this week will be spent reviewing some important multiplication and division concepts. We are slowly making our way towards our decimal unit.

1/9/25

We kicked off our work with the Revolutionary War this morning by filling out a KWL chart. This allowed the fifth graders time to share some things that they already know about the war and the people involved and also share some things that they are interested in learning more about in the unit.

This afternoon, the fifth graders watched a movie in the gym as a school-wide reward for earning pineapple tickets. A nice way to conclude the week.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/8/25

Unit four, which we began today, will see the fifth graders review some multiplication and division concepts. The fifth graders did some quality work this morning.

1/7/25

We wrapped up our science talk during ELA time this morning. The kids pulled excerpts from our anchor text that spoke to the question of why scientists study the rainforest.

Tomorrow, we start unit four in math class.

Tomorrow is an early release days because of parent teacher conferences. I look forward to meeting with families this week.

1/6/25

This week, the fifth graders are going to begin their exploration of the Revolutionary War in social studies and are going to launch unit four in math class. That unit will see the kids reviewing multiplication and division concepts. We are also hoping to meet with our second grade book buddies tomorrow.

Tomorrow and Wednesday are early release days because of parent teacher conferences. I look forward to meeting with families this week.

1/3/25

Our first week of 2025 was a quick one, but also a productive one. The fifth graders completed their mid-unit assessment during ELA time this morning. They worked to identify the text structure of an essay and then wrote a summary. The kids remained on task and did a nice job of proof reading their writing.

In the afternoon, the members of A303 took their final assessment in unit three. This test saw the kids solving some addition and subtraction problems that involved mixed numbers.

As a reminder, next Tuesday and Wednesday are early release days because of parent teacher conferences.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/2/25

Happy New Year to all A303 families. It was nice to see everyone back at school this morning. During our morning meeting time, the kids were able to share some highlights of their vacation.

This week, the fifth graders are going to take their first assessment in our second EL module. This one will see them do some writing pertaining to different informational formats that we have been working with in class. Today, we read two articles and tomorrow the kids will look to start their writing.

We are also very close to turning our attention to the Revolutionary War during social studies time.