Wednesday 9/10

I felt that we had another productive day in room 312. I mentioned this to my class, but wanted to post it here as well. The first writing assignment that we had went extremely well. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to read the opinion pieces that my students were able to generate in such a short period of time. I consider myself a very lucky teacher to have such a dedicated collection of writers.

Room 312 also did strong work today in reading. Students were active readers and dug into their independent reading books. I was able to circulate throughout the room and listen to some students read. Post-it notes were used to help students focus on important scenes and character developments.

Unfortunately, none of my students came to class with an answer to my trivia question from yesterday. The highest peak in America is Mt. McKinley in Alaska.

Here is tonights question: What is the longest river in the United States?




Homework

Math - math worksheet

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading. By Friday, all students need to have made at least one entry either on kidblog or in their reader's notebook.

Tuesday 9/9

In math class, we continued to work on number puzzles in small groups. Students have been using prior information that we discussed last week on factors, multiples and prime numbers to help them solve some rather difficult puzzles. I have been very happy with the teamwork and cooperation that I have seen the last two days. I hope that this spirit will continue all year long.

In writing, students made progress on their "Me" poem template. When these are all completed, they will be hung on the fifth grade bulletin board in the third floor hallway. I look forward to seeing the finished products.



Homework

Math - Second sheet in math packet, front and back. It was also brought to my attention that the crossword puzzle on the back of sheet has errors in it. The students of 312 have been told that they do not need to fill the numbers into the puzzle. However they are responsible  for completing the addition problems below the puzzle.

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading time, students should also continue to jot entries into their reading notebook. They have been given a list of prompts to help them craft their entries.


Trivia question: What is the highest peak in America? Where is it located?

Anyone who is able to come up with an answer to these questions, please tell me first thing tomorrow morning.

The following is the schedule for room 312 for the 2014-2015 school year. Periodically there will be slight changes, but this will be the template more often than not.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
8:15 - 8:55	Science	ART	SCIENCE	SCIENCE	SCIENCE
8:55 - 9:35	FLEX	FLEX	FLEX	FLEX	FLEX
9:40 - 10:40	MATH	MATH	MATH	MATH	MATH
10:40 - 10:55	S.STUDIES	S.STUDIES	S.STUDIES	S.STUDIES	S.STUDIES
10:55 - 11:35	GYM	S.STUDIES	GYM	LIBRARY	MUSIC
11:40 - 12:10	S.STUDIES	ELA	S.STUDIES	S.STUDIES	S.STUDIES
12:15 - 12:55	LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH
12:55 - 2:00	ELA	ELA	ELA	ELA	ELA
2:00 - 2:15	PATROL	PATROL	PATROL	PATROL	PATROL

Monday September 8th

It was nice to see my class come in today and show a better effort than the Patriots this weekend. I was also glad to see so many of my students were able to decorate their writer's notebook and make it their own.

Today, we took a writer's walk outside the school. Students were tasked with using their senses to help them compile some possible ideas to write about at a later date. Thankfully the weather cooperated.

In reading, students were given a log and guideline to better guide them in their focus. During the school year, students will be responsible for writing in their notebooks and on the class blog about the books that they are engaged with. Students were also handed a checklist of prompts which they are welcome to use to help generate ideas.

I also wanted to alert everyone that the class library is now open for business.

Students are allowed to take one (1) book out at a time if they so choose. I would still encourage all of my students to have an independent reading book of their own in school with them from home.

Homework for 9/8

Math - first page (front and back) of math packet

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading. By Friday, students should have made at least one post into their reader's notebook about the book that they are reading.

Tomorrow, students will be responsible for creating an opinion writing sample that will be graded using a rubric. I would strongly encourage all of my students to spend some time tonight thinking about an issue or topic that they feel strongly about. Students will be given 45 minutes during our ELA block tomorrow to complete this task.

Don't forget to get homework planner signed on a daily basis.

End of first week

I can't believe that the first week of school has already ended. If these first four days are any indication, I think that this will be a great year in room 312. Today, students shared with their classmates a memento that represented their summer vacation. I enjoyed getting to hear my class present to one another why their item was special to them. 

Starting next week, room 312 is going to start getting into our reading and writing notebooks. This weekend, I have asked my students to decorate their writer's notebook. I would like all of my students to make their notebook their "own". I have included a picture of my writer's notebook.

Students may included stickers, photos, images cut of from magazines or printed from a computer. I look forward to seeing these newly decorated notebooks next week.

I would also continue to strongly encourage all of my students to have an independent reading book of their own that they take with them to school on a daily basis. There is going to be ample time for students to read and write during the course of the day. Students should have a book of their own in class to further this work.

One other item that I wanted to mention was that I would like an adult at home to sign student's homework planners on a nightly basis. I will check signatures every Friday and I would like all students to have four signatures. Adults can sign at the bottom of the column each school day in the planners.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend and I will see everyone on Monday.

Thursday Sept. 4th

Tonight's homework

Math - complete workbook page 3. Please use a pencil.

Students are also invited to bring in one item represents their summer vacation. Students will be allowed to share their item with the class and take some questions to explain the significance of their item. All that I ask is that all things that are brought into school are appropriate.

Day 2

The first two days of the new school year have flown by. The students of room 312 are getting reacclimated to school and have done very well, as a group, these first two days. I have enjoyed beginning to get to know my students and I think that I have done a pretty good job to this point getting everyone's name correct.

Today the class helped me come up with a contract which all students signed. This contract will serve as a rulebook as we progress through the school year. Students were also able to use their individual class iPad today. Room 312 looked at writer's notebook exemplars which will serve to guide them as they begin there own writer's logs. Students also completed their first math lesson on partial products and arrays, which helped to lay the groundwork for future work.

There was no homework given today, but I would still like all of my student's homework planners to be signed by an adult at home. I explained to my class that I will check these planners on Fridays to ensure that all assignments are being brought to the attention of someone at home.

I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow and finishing this first week of school on a positive note.

Mr. Allen