10/8/14

I wanted to give special thanks to Lydia's mother, who was nice enough to come into our classroom today. Ms. Powell, who is a published author, came into room 312 to work with the students on their personal narrative stories. The children were engaged in the lesson and did some really nice work. As we approach the end of the first bend in our personal narrative section, students continue to be very productive.

In math class, we started a lesson on numerical expressions. We also compared expressions using visual models.

In social studies, we used our giant inflatable globe to help us better understand the hemispheres. Students worked together to identify countries in all four of the hemispheres.





Homework


Math - complete third sheet in weekly math packet

Reading - 30 minutes of quiet reading.

Blog for Friday - How does the setting affect the characters in Bud Not Buddy? Special attention should be paid to our main character of Bud. This post should be 8 - 10 sentences in length.

Spelling - look over spelling list for twenty minutes each night in preparation for test on Friday




Trivia: Which actor was the voice of Woody in the Toy Story movies?

10/7/14

We finished discussing chapter 2 in Bud Not Buddy. We spoke about the role that rules play in Bud's life. We also spent some time discussing figurative language in terms of chapter 2.

In writing class, we spent time looking at action sequences and how good writers have the ability to draw out the most important action in their narrative story. Students in 312 have to write about an action sequence in their writer's notebook tonight for homework.

Homework


Math - complete second sheet in weekly math packet

Reading - 30 minutes of quite reading.

Blog for Friday - How does the setting affect the characters in Bud Not Buddy? Special attention should be paid to our main character of Bud. This post should be 8 - 10 sentences in length.

Spelling - look over spelling list for twenty minutes each night in preparation for test on Friday

Writing - 1 paragraph in writer's notebook about an action sequence. Describe in detail one event.



Trivia: What is the largest land mammal?

10/6/14

Students continue to dig deeper into Bud Not Buddy. Our class discussion today focused on the conclusion of chapter one. Students have been using sticky notes to focus their reading and they have been picking up on important themes and character developments. We looked at the importance of family today and some important phrases that repeated throughout the chapter.

In math, students continued to work on order of operation problems. Students have been dealing with some challenging work that includes exponents. Progress is being made on a daily basis and I love seeing so many hard workers in room 312. Even if at first, things are a little confusing, my class does not give up.

I also wanted to pay tribute to my class on our website for the praise that was paid to them today. During morning announcements, Mr. Allen's class was singled out for their quiet, respectful lines. Keep up the good work.

My class has also being doing a great job making the morning announcements over the speaker in the morning from the principal's office.

I will see everyone tomorrow.



Homework


Math - complete first sheet in weekly math packet

Reading - 30 minutes of quite reading.

Blog for Friday - How does the setting affect the characters in Bud Not Buddy? Special attention should be paid to our main character of Bud. This post should be 8 - 10 sentences in length.

Spelling - look over spelling list for twenty minutes each night in preparation for test on Friday



Trivia: What is the largest mammal on planet earth?

10/3/14

I was very happy with the way that book buddies went. The fifth graders in room 312 did a great job of reading with their young partners. I definitely have some great role models in my class and it was a great first partner activity. We look forward to working with Ms. Dichter's class in the future.

Students also engaged in a productive discussion on some key moments of chapter 1 in Bud Not Buddy. Students are using their sticky notes to identify key turning points, character traits and other interesting concepts from the novel. We have only been working with this book for two days, but I can't wait to get back into it next week. Keep up the good work room 312.

In math class, students paired up with fifth graders from Ms. Armstrong's room to practice order of operations problems. This can be a challenging concept, but over the course of the last two weeks I have seen students start to make serious progress in getting these concepts down.

This weekend I would like all of my students to be thinking about one of their narrative seed ideas that they can pick out of their notebook. This seed idea will serve as the foundation that they will start building upon for a publishable piece. Students need to remember that the idea that they select need to have a heart. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone back in class on Monday.

Homework
I have a number of students who have not completed their blog post for this week. I would ideally like everyone to have completed this no later than 8 o'clock tonight. Again the prompt is: Would you recommend your book to another reader? Why or why not.

This needs to be an 8-10 sentence response.

10/2/14

In writing, we continued our work with the novel Bud Not Buddy. The class engaged in a thoughful discussion about why rules are important and why having a job is a meaningful thing for people. Both topics tie into the early chapters in the novel. Students were presented with background information about the Great Depression, and used that knowledge to better access the reading. I look forward to continuing to explore this book with my class.

Students finished creating great promotional posters about the order of operations in math class. These posters turned out very well and they will be displayed in the classroom during the duration of our work on the topic.

Students also participated with Ms. Solomon, our math coach, on a challenging math problem. Students rose to the occasion and were fully invested in the lesson.

Tomorrow we will have our first book buddy activity with Ms. Dichter's second grade class. I will be looking to my class to act as strong role models for their young friends.



Homework


Math - fourth sheet in math packet, students should practice multiplication facts for 15 - 20 minutes a day and record on sheet

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading. Blog prompt for Friday: Would you recommend the book that you are reading to another reader? Why or why not?  Must be 8 - 10 sentences


Trivia: What are the two types of mammals that lay eggs?

10/1/14

It was great to see so many parents and other family members at curriculum night yesterday. I enjoyed getting to meet families and look forward to seeing more of you throughout the course of the school year.

I can't believe we have already completed the first month of the school year. If September was any indication, I think room 312 is going to have a productive year.

Students continued their work with order of operations in math today. In reading, the class began their first discussion about the novel, Bud Not Buddy. I for one am eager to dig into this book with my class.



Homework


Math - third sheet in math packet, students should practice multiplication facts for 15 - 20 minutes a day and record on sheet

Reading - 30 minutes of independent reading. Blog prompt for Friday: Would you recommend the book that you are reading to another reader? Why or why not?  Must be 8 - 10 sentences


Trivia: An animal that does not have a backbone is known as a what?

Recommended 5th grade reading

http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/showarticle/678

This is a link to a comprehensive list of fifth grade reading books. This list groups books by genre and gives a brief synopsis of each. Hatchet, Number the Stars would be two books that I would ask students not to read, as they are books that could potentially be used in class this year