4/30/21

We wrapped up the week and the month of April by having one final lesson involving the comparison of decimal values. The fifth graders had a productive week of math and I was impressed with the continued effort that was in evidence during this final lesson.

An area of focus for our fantasy book group time was in setting. The students were looking for details that would allow a reader to grasp that they were reading a work of fantasy. We concluded the lesson by doing a short piece of writing.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

4/29/21

The kids created maps to track the shifting borders of America after the conclusion of the French and Indian War during social studies time. This activity went very well and it lead into some partner work answering some questions that tied into a video from yesterday and an article that we read today. A great two days of work on this from all of the kids.

We also had another really productive math lesson that continued our work with comparing the values of decimals. The fifth graders looked to use both number lines and hundredths grids to answer some questions.

4/28/21

The focus of our work in math class were number lines, specifically placing decimals onto the number lines. The students continue to work on place value and comparing. Today's lesson went well.

During ELA time, the book groups responded to a writing prompt concerning the main character in their fantasy book. They then had some time to continue to read deeper into their novels. 

4/27/21

The fifth graders launched their Road to Revolution during social studies this afternoon. We will be exploring key events, people and documents during this unit. Today, we explored the French and Indian War by using maps and a short video to help us answer some questions.

Fifth graders also met with their book groups again to read deeper in their fantasy novels. The groups are doing a fantastic job of not just reading with each other but also having meaningful conversations while reading. 

4/26/21

 It was nice to see everyone back at school after the spring vacation week. The kids were able to share some of the highlights of their week off during our morning meeting to start the day.

We continued to progress deeper into our decimal unit during math class. Today, the kids had one final lesson in which they used grids to represent the values of decimals, while also creating a list of equivalent decimals. 

During our ELA session, the fifth graders returned to their fantasy book groups. After spending some time reading a few chapters, the members looked to complete some writing pertaining to their main characters. 

4/16/21

The kids wrapped up their final week before vacation by putting the finishing touches on their 13 colonies group posters. These turned out very well and when we return from vacation, the kids will be able to present them to their peers. 

We also had another great fantasy book club session during our ELA time this morning. The fifth graders are continuing to track their thoughts about the stories and character development in their journals. 

I hope everyone has a great vacation week.

4/15/21

Fifth graders are going to be focusing on completing their 13 colonies project these final two days before vacation. Each of the groups did a nice job today of breaking up tasks so that all group members were involved. 

We also moved into our decimal unit today during math class. The fifth graders are going to be focused in this area over the next few weeks and today's lesson was a quality way to begin the investigation.