Friday, May 13, 2011

Week of May 9th-13th

May 17 -  Laffy Taffy Tuesday
- May 27 - All Library Books Due, Wear Red, White, and Blue!
- May 30 - No School
- June 3 -  Dunes Field Trip (rain date June 6)
- June 9 -  Last Day of School!!!

Laffy Taffy Tuesday- Come prepared with an appropriate joke and eat some Laffy Taffy today!!

5th grade special day: We have always done the tunnel at the end of 5th grade and will this year as well. But this year we will also celebrate our exiting 5th graders in another way. We will send something more about this later, but at this time, we are planning for June 8th for an hour. No time yet, but afternoon is likely. We will get something more specific to you next week.

If your child enjoyed today and loves running, I encourage them to try cross country in middle school-only 2 days each week in 6th grade. A great way to try it out!


MATH: We will take the Ch 9 math test on Monday. We will then begin Chapter 10, a second measurement unit. Students will be taking the 5th Delta math screener on Monday as well. This is over 4th grade outcomes that we have tested previously and then worked with students who haven't passed specific goals during RTI time and class time to assist them. We will also take the 6th grade screener in a couple weeks to test 5th grade outcomes in specific areas.


WRITING: We are going to be wrapping up our Pourqouis this week. To finish out the year, we will write another short persuasive piece, a piece about going to the middle school which is sent there, as well as write some fn poetry pieces that focus on grammar.


READING: Students are in 4 groups, each group with a different novel. They are reading in class, having book discussions, working on vocabulary, and comprehension activities. We will read Number the Stars as a class next.


SCIENCE: We have discussed how catastrophic events can change the ecosystem, plant, and animals life. Students will take the test the last Monday of school. I will have a study guide for them in addition to plenty of review.





Track and Field Day: Hot! Fun! Awesome kids brought their awesome sportsmanship and gave their all today! We are proud of all student athletes! The only injury for Hamilton this year was me- I got so excited cheering that I forgot I was on the bench and shouldn't be jumping! - Thank you to parents and other family that came to share this day.










































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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Week of May 2nd-6th



Fifth grade teachers are planning some special days for the month of May. Please put these on your calendar!

May 12:   Pink Day in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
                   Everybody please wear something pink. Yep, even the boys!

May 17:   Laffy Taffy Tuesday: Everyone needs to have a joke that's appropriate 
                   to share with the class to practice those speaking skills! Of course, 
                   we'll eat Laffy Taffy!
                      

May 27:   Wear your Red, White, and Blue!! (Memorial Day's coming)

UPCOMING DATES:
- May 12 - Pink Day
- May 13 - Track and Field Day 
- May 17 - Laffy Taffy Tuesday
- May 27 - All Library Books Due, Wear Red, White, and Blue!
- May 30 - No School
- June 3 - Dunes Field Trip (rain date June 6)
- June 9 - Last Day of School!!!
 
 MATH: 
We have been learning about area of squares, rectangles, triangles, and parallelograms. These concepts require students to follow a formula, something they will need to be able to do more and more in math in the middle and high school. We also began our lesson on converting units of time and have been reviewing converting units of length in customary and metric units. We will take the test on Thursday unless I feel that we need a little extra time and then it will be Monday.

SPELLING:
Spelling tests are Monday. As always, students should study the word list on the Spelling City website.
The skills test focuses on synonyms.

READING:
We began Literature Circles this week. Students chose a book and are in a group with other students. They will be reading, discussing, and doing various activities involving their novel over the next 2 weeks. Students will sometimes need to finish a section of their book for homework if unable to do so in class. I monitor the amount of reading I give by checking in with group members on how they feel about the amount and by observing students to see that they are making use of their in -class time.

WRITING:
We read read some Pourqoui tales this week and discussed that these are fictional tales of why something is the way it is. For example, why do zebras have stripes or why is the ocean blue? These are also called "Why tales" as the word pourqoui is French for "why". Students began writing their own - I look forward to reading what they come up with!