11/30/16

The students began investigating some of the finer points of the cultural regions that Native American tribes resided in. The students will shortly begin a project that will see them research a particular tribe and compile information about the lifestyle of their selected tribe. This is always a high point of our early work and social studies and I am looking forward to starting this with my students.

Later in the day, the fifth graders continued to read Bud, Not Buddy with their small reading groups. We will be finishing our reading of this novel within the next two weeks.


Homework

Math - Squre numbers worksheet due Friday December 2nd (students should show work/reasoning on blank recording sheet which is attached)

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading and fill out reading log on nightly basis

11/29/16

During our work today, the fifth graders built up working definitions of numerators and denominators in math class. The students used graphic organizers to show examples and pictures of both of these key terms. The fifth graders are doing a nice job of laying the foundation for our continued work with fractions.

Later in the day, M102 continued to read deeper into Bud, Not Buddy. The students are doing a great job of discussing the key points of the later parts of the novel.


Homework

Math - Squre numbers worksheet due Friday December 2nd (students should show work/reasoning on blank recording sheet which is attached)

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading and fill out reading log on nightly basis

11/28/16

It was nice to see all of the students back at school as we officially kicked off the second term together. The effort and dedication on display throughout the first term from all of my students gives me high hopes for our continued work. We will be moving onto fractions in math and literary writing. I can't wait to see the members of M102 rise to the occasion with this new material.

During social studies, the students continued to learn more about native americans and the cultural regions that they were located in in the continental United States. Within the next two weeks, we will begin to work on our culminating project in this unit.


Homework

Math - Squre numbers worksheet due Friday December 2nd (students should show work/reasoning on blank recording sheet which is attached)

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading and fill out reading log on nightly basis

11/23/16

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday. I look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday the 28th.

11/22/16

A very big day in M102 today. The fifth graders wrapped up both unit one in math and finished their opinion writing pieces. I could not be more prouder of the effort that all of the students put into their work these past few months. They rose to the occasion on countless occasions and I am sure that the results will reflect that.

I look forward to wrapping up the week with the fifth graders tomorrow.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

11/21/16

The fifth graders spent one more day reviewing some of our multiplication, division and order of operation problems in preparation for tomorrow's unit one assessment. Members of M102 are feeling confident about this benchmark and I can't wait to continue into our next unit.

The second half of the day was spent writing. Many more members of the fifth grade were able to put the finishing touches on their opinion writing pieces today. The students are doing a great job of peer editing drafts. Students are offering meaningful critiques and the papers will be stronger for them.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

11/18/16

I wanted to compliment the members of M102 for another successful week of work. I look forward to seeing members of Boys In Motion at the Turkey Trot race tomorrow and I look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Monday as we begin our final week before the Thanksgiving break.



Homework

Blog - Make a prediction as to what will happen to Bud from this point forward in Bud, Not Buddy. Use evidence from the text to back up your point of view. This post must be at least 4 paragraphs in length and is due Friday 11/18

11/17/16

The fifth graders continued to prepare for their unit one math assessment next week during our math time. The students have made significant strides as a class in their ability to solve increasingly challenging division and multiplication problems. I have enjoyed getting to see the progress that the fifth graders have made. Will we continue this line of work tomorrow.



Homework

Math - word problem worksheet due on Friday 11/18

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Blog - Make a prediction as to what will happen to Bud from this point forward in Bud, Not Buddy. Use evidence from the text to back up your point of view. This post must be at least 4 paragraphs in length and is due Friday 11/18

11/16/16

The fifth graders are approaching the finish line in their opinion writing unit. Some are wrapping up drafts, while others have moved into the typing phase. The end result will be that all fifth graders will publish a final draft. The students should be commended for their hard work throughout this writing process. I am lucky to have a class filled with talented and passionate writers.

Earlier in the day, the students had one more social studies session to complete their Kennewick Man sketches on their iPads.



Homework

Math - word problem worksheet due on Friday 11/18

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Blog - Make a prediction as to what will happen to Bud from this point forward in Bud, Not Buddy. Use evidence from the text to back up your point of view. This post must be at least 4 paragraphs in length and is due Friday 11/18

11/15/16

The fifth graders continued continued to work with cluster problems during math today. The students are rapidly approaching the conclusion of our first unit and they continue to display very flexible minds when it comes to solving division problems. Next week, the members of M102 will take their unit one assessment on division, multiplication, order of operation and number sense concepts.

The students continued to read Bud, Not Buddy during ELA today. The students continue to use their skills for reading complex text to help them better understand some of the core concepts of the novel. I continue to enjoy getting to hear the students read and discuss the novel.

Homework

Math - word problem worksheet due on Friday 11/18

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Blog - Make a prediction as to what will happen to Bud from this point forward in Bud, Not Buddy. Use evidence from the text to back up your point of view. This post must be at least 4 paragraphs in length and is due Friday 11/18

11/14/16

The fifth graders spent their science time playing a Jeopardy review game. The questions dealt with the moon, the sun and the first manned mission to the moon. Both Mr. Quan and myself were impressed with the accumulated knowledge that the students brought into this lesson.

During math class, the students worked with division and multiplication cluster problems. These problems provided the students practice in working to solve division problems with unfriendly numbers. It was nice to see students increase their proficiency and lower their time in solving these problems. This work will continue into tomorrow's lesson.

Homework

Math - word problem worksheet due on Friday 11/18

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

Blog - Make a prediction as to what will happen to Bud from this point forward in Bud, Not Buddy. Use evidence from the text to back up your point of view. This post must be at least 4 paragraphs in length and is due Friday 11/18

11/10/16

The fifth graders ended this short week by taking an assessment during math class. This assessment sought to gauge where the students are with some of the work that we have been doing recently with division. The students have been working hard the last few weeks and I am eager to sit with these assessments this weekend to see how the class did. Later in the class, the fifth graders worked together on some order of operations review puzzles.

Members of M102 also continued to work on their Kennewick Man project during social studies today. The fifth graders are thoroughly engaged with this project and are using the paper and explain everything apps on their iPads to help them craft their own version of the Kennewick Man. I can't wait to see the finished results.

I hope everyone has a nice long weekend. Happy Veterans Day to all those who have served the United States of America.

11/9/16

As we returned to school today, the fifth graders continued to read deeper into Bud, Not Buddy. The students began the lesson by responding to some focus questions. This lead into reading of new chapters. The fifth graders launched this new reading by discussing metaphors. I was impressed with the amount of background knowledge that the students brought to this lesson.

Earlier in the day, the fifth graders shared out small group responses to a word problem that involved both multiplication and division. This multi-step problem required the students to work together to come up with multiple solutions to meet the parameters of the problem. This segued into more work with multiple towers.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading 

11/7/16

This short week began with the members of M102 starting to work on a project in social studies. The students have been learning about the first peoples to cross over into the North American continent. One such person has come to be known as the Kennewick Man. The students are tasked with creating a sketch of what this man possibly looked like and listing tools that he may have carried with him to ensure his survival. The fifth graders will be working on this project throughout the course of the week.

Later in the day, the focus of our mini-writing lesson was on transition words. Students continue to be heavily invested in their opinion writing and are making steady progress to the ultimate goal of a typed final draft.

Lastly, the fifth graders took part in a mock election today to give them some sense of the significance of the national election which will take place tomorrow.

I look forward to seeing all students back in school on Wednesday.


Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

11/3/16

The students of M102 spent some time investigating some tools used by the earliest Native Americans to enter the North American Continent. Fifth graders were tasked with reading an article and sketching these ancient implements and then writing about their importance. The students were animated and engaged in this lesson.

Later in the day, the fifth graders had a writing lesson that focused on rebuttals and the ability to counter differing point of views within their opinion pieces. The students continue to be hard at work on their papers and they are really taking shape. I have very much enjoyed getting to see these papers getting stronger and stronger.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of reading

11/2/16

Today, the fifth graders returned to Bud, Not Buddy. We are entering the middle chapters of the novel and I continue to be impressed with the level of enthusiasm that the students are displaying while reading this book. They seem to be enjoying it and that is displayed in their small group discussions and in their written responses.

We also worked with some word problems that involved division and its relationship with multiplication during our math block.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading

11/1/16

As we began the month of November together, the fifth graders continued to craft divisibility rules to use as a guide as we progress through the next few lessons. The second half of the math class saw the students undertake another challenging multi-step word problem. I enjoyed seeing the students reasons their way through the early stages of the problem.

Later in the day, the members of M102 returned to their writing. Today's focus was on adding transition words to create more of a flow to the writing.

Homework

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading