1/31/24

The month of January ended with work being done in our nonfiction reading unit. Each of the kids read their books and then gathered some information pertaining to one of our core reading topics. Productive lesson. Tomorrow, the kids will return to their opinion writing drafts.

1/30/24

Today was a significant writing day for the fifth graders. We looked to draft our opening paragraphs for our zoo opinion writing pieces. Over the last few weeks, the fifth graders have exposed to a number of articles, videos and presentations about this important topic. We are going to focus on our body paragraphs supported by quality evidence over the next two weeks.

We also returned to the topic of food webs during science class this afternoon.

Next week, when we meet with our book buddies on Tuesday, the kids are going to make Valentine's Day cards for local senior citizens.

1/29/24

Heather Gozzard, a veterinarian and former zoo worker, was nice enough to visit the classroom and speak with the kids this morning. Her presentation was engaging and informative and the fifth graders enjoyed every moment of it. They were also able to ask Heather some questions about her experiences working with animals and practice using a stethoscope and medical gauze on stuffed animals. The kids are now going to turn their attention to drafting their opinion pieces.

1/26/24

This week was filled with quality work. Most so in science class. Working in small groups, the fifth graders did a great job of creating food chains and food webs. Today, we wrapped up our work by having the kids respond to some focus questions about the webs they created.

As a reminder, our special guest is coming into the classroom on Monday to talk with the kids about wildlife and zoos/sactuaries.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/25/24

We launched unit five in math class this morning. The kids are going to spend the next week working with temperature graphs of various American cities and then analyzing the data. 

In science class, small groups worked to create food webs using a deck of wildlife cards and answering some focus questions. The kids loved today's work.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night

Math - workbook page 269. Due on Friday 1/26

1/24/24

Congratulations to the kids for completing their unit four math test this morning. The last four weeks have seen the fifth graders doing top notch work on a daily basis and I am sure the results will reflect that. Tomorrow, we are going to progress into unit five, which will see the kids working with data that they will analyze and graph.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night

Math - workbook page 269. Due on Friday 1/26

1/23/24

Tomorrow, the fifth graders are going to take their unit four math assessment.

We also finished our excellent lesson on creating food chains during science. On Thursday, the kids are going to build upon that and look to do some work with food webs.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night

Math - workbook page 269. Due on Friday 1/26

1/22/24

We began the new week by meeting Ivy the dog and her owners this morning. The fifth graders enjoyed this presentation and were engaged throughout.

During science class, we reviewed some of the key vocabulary from last week and then began a food chain activity using wildlife flash cards. This will continue tomorrow.

Homework

Reading - read for 30 minutes each night

Math - workbook page 269. Due on Friday 1/26

1/19/24

We only have a few more lessons in unit four in math class. Fifth graders completed their multi-step word problems this morning. The later stages of the class saw the kids doing some review work for next week's assessment.

On Monday morning, the kids are going to meet Ivy the Determined Dog. They are excited for this enrichment program.

https://www.ivysbook.com/

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

1/18/24

The kids began their living systems unit in science class this afternoon. We are going to be exploring food chains and food webs over the next two weeks and today was a quality introductory lessons to some key vocabulary we will be using.

During math class we continued our work with multi-step word problems. Next week, we will look to conclude the unit with our final assessment.

1/17/24

We began an exciting math lesson this morning. The fifth graders used date tables to solve multi-step work problems. Using both multiplication and division the kids worked in pairs during this lesson. We will continue this work tomorrow.

The students also had time to learn about African elephants before an important writing task tomorrow.

1/16/24

We looked at our next task in our opinion writing unit during ELA. The kids read and annotated an article that spoke to strengths and weaknesses of modern zoos. Tomorrow we are going to look at the challenges faced by elephants in 2024.

This afternoon we met with our second grade book buddies. After reading aloud a picture book on Martin Luther Kings Jr., the kids worked to respond to some short writing prompts. 

1/12/24

We concluded an incredibly productive week by working on our third opinion writing lesson. This one saw the kids balancing two conflicting opinions held by the authors of two articles and looking to decide for themselves which of the two arguments was the more persuasive. We will continue this important work next week. 

It was a pleasure getting to meet with parents this week. Thank you for all who took the time to come in. 

I hope everyone has a nice long weekend.

1/11/24

It was nice to return to a normal school day with the fifth graders. The last two ELA periods have seen the kids exploring an illness that is affecting some animals kept in captivity. Small groups have read an article and watched a short Discovery Channel video and gathered talking points for their upcoming opinion writing pieces. The kids are deeply invested in this material and we are sinking our teeth into these important topics. The work will continue tomorrow.

Homework

Reading - read for at least 30 minutes per night

Math - division worksheet, due Friday 1/12

1/10/24

Our second early release day saw the kids tackle task number two in their opinion writing unit. After exploring two zoos and their efforts to save endangered animals earlier this week, the kids looked at an article that went into detail about some wildlife that are suffering because they are kept in captivity. These first two lessons have been positive ones.

Homework

Reading - read for at least 30 minutes per night

Math - division worksheet, due Friday 1/12

1/9/24

This first day of parent teacher conferences, saw the fifth graders take their division review assessment. When complete, the kids returned to some of the left over work from yesterday's lesson.

Tomorrow will once again be an 11:30 dismissal.

Homework

Reading - read for at least 30 minutes per night

Math - division worksheet, due Friday 1/12

1/8/24

The kids braved the elements to arrive at school today and I am glad that they did. We kicked off our first opinion writing lesson concerning our topic of endangered animals this afternoon. The kids looked at a video about a zoo in Arizona and their efforts to restore the population of a critically endangered animal. They then collected data from the video using an organizer.

Also today, each of the realistic fiction book groups presented their poster to the class. These turned our very well and families will get a chance to look at these during parent teacher conference days.

Homework

Reading - read for at least 30 minutes per night

Math - division worksheet, due Friday 1/12

1/5/24

We officially completed our realistic fiction book unit today. Each of the five reading groups did a great job this week of finishing their two writing pieces and their posters. They turned out very well. Starting next week, we are going to start exploring non-fiction books.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and that the fifth graders help their parents with the shoveling.

1/4/24

Each of the realistic fiction book groups crossed the finish line with their book posters and writing pieces this afternoon. The last three days have been incredibly productive. Tomorrow, each of the groups will present their posters to their classmates.

We also began looking at our pre-unit opinion writing assessment. This important writing sample is going to preview the upcoming unit and provide me with a baseline where each of the kids stands in regards this important unit.

1/3/24

The kids continued to work on refining their division solving strategies in math class and book groups continued to make steady progress on their posters and pieces of writing. We are looking forward to having all groups ready to present their posters this Friday.

1/2/24

It was great to be back in the classroom together to start the new year. During morning meeting this week, the kids will have an opportunity to share the highlights of their week off from school.

We are also going to look to have all book groups complete their book posters and write up for their realistic fiction novels. On Friday, groups will share out and next week we will launch our non-fiction unit of study.