11/26/25

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving holiday. Look forward to seeing the kids back in school as we start December.

11/25/25

The last full school day in November saw the fifth graders working with some volume review problems and playing another round of fraction tracks during math class. The fifth graders had a productive last two weeks working with fractions.

Tomorrow is board game day. The kids are welcome to bring one board or card game with them to class.

11/24/25

During math class this morning, the kids learned a new fraction game called "Fraction Tracks". This game saw the fifth graders representing fraction on various number lines and to continue to think about equivalent fractions.

As a reminder, the kids are welcome to bring a board or card game with them to class on Wednesday, as they will have some time to play with their peers.

11/21/25

The fifth graders began their final project concerning Esperanza Rising during our ELA time this morning. Working in small group, the kids are creating alternate book covers on large poster paper. Today was a nice first step in that direction. We will look to have all groups complete this next week.

As a reminder, next Wednesday the 26th, the members of A303 are welcome to each bring in one board or card game to play with their classmates. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

11/20/25

All of the fifth graders have completed their literary essays. A lot of time and effort went into these and the kids should feel proud of their efforts. Next week, the kids will be placed into small groups and they will look to design an alternate cover for Esperanza Rising.

Tomorrow the fifth graders will take their first fraction quiz to gauge their progress.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night and fill out section of reading log. Due in class on Friday 11/21

11/18/25

The fifth graders put the finishing touches on their early English settlement projects during our social studies time this morning. Later this week, they will have an opportunity to share their projects with their peers.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night and fill out section of reading log. Due in class on Friday 11/21

11/17/25

Now that many of the fifth graders have completed their literary essays, they are now hard at work on their two-voice poems. The kids were able to make nice headway with these this afternoon.

During math class, the kids used clock faces to help them add fractions. They then spent some time reviewing volume problems.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night and fill out section of reading log. Due in class on Friday 11/21

11/14/25

We concluded the week by continuing to work on our early English settlement brochure projects. These are coming along nicely. The kids will have a few more days next week to complete these.

The fifth graders will also look to take their first fraction assessment of unit three next week.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

11/13/25

During our ELA time, the fifth graders began to work on a "two voice" poem. This piece of writing calls on the kids to revisit the scene that they wrote about for their literary essays. Today was a nice effort and the work will continue tomorrow.

This morning, Mr. Luba spoke with the fifth graders about anti-bullying strategies. The kids were active participants.

11/12/25

The fifth graders enjoyed their long holiday weekend and returned to the classroom this morning eager to put the finishing touches on their literary essays. The goal these next three days is for all of the fifth graders to complete their first draft. We will then spend some time peer editing pieces.

11/7/25

The kids spent some time exploring life lessons that various characters in Esperanza Rising learned over the course of the novel. This is going to better inform their concluding paragraphs in their literary essays. The fifth graders will look to complete their first drafts next week.

As a reminder, there is no school next Monday and Tuesday.

11/6/25

The focus of our math time this afternoon was in ordering fractions and justifying their order using equivalent values. The kids worked in pairs to create a number line of fraction cards. This was a valuable lesson.

Tonight is the final night of parent teacher conferences, running from 6 to 8 o'clock.

11/5/25

Another early release for the fifth graders, but before they left they had a productive ELA lesson. The focus of our work this morning was on using graphic organizers to start to draft their proof, or body, paragraphs of their literary essays. Many of the fifth graders were able to complete a draft of both of these items during our time working.

11/4/25

Although it was a shorter day, the fifth graders still had a meaningful math class this morning. The kids worked to find fractional parts of a whole and represented fractions on different sized rectangular grids.

Tomorrow is also an early release day because of conferences.

11/3/25

The month of November is going to see the fifth graders start working on fractions in math class and on their literary essays during ELA time. These two items are important ones for the kids and today was a nice start. During math class, this morning, the members of A303 used grid paper to help them start to visualize fractional representation.

Later in the school day, the fifth graders looked at examples of literary essay lead paragraphs that tied into certain moments of Esperanza Rising. We will be using a "painted essay" model to help us determine the parts of an essay that are the most significant.

Because of the early release days due to conferences tomorrow and Wednesday, there will be no homework this week.