Christmas Giving Project: We raised around $250! A name was drawn and it was Seth Hartz. He chose to donate the Make-a-Wish foundation.

DECEMBER 17- DECEMBER 21

Many pictures below!

I hope you know that I sincerely enjoy being with this class each day! Thank you for the gifts, kind words, notes, and emails. I hope all the thank you cards got home to you!

Christmas Giving Project: We raised around $250! A name was drawn and it was Seth Hartz. He chose to donate the Make-a-Wish foundation.

LOG CABINS- These were creative and a lot of effort was put into them. Kids and teachers from other classes enjoy viewing these in the library and hallway. The kids are really proud of their work as they should be.

 

ElOQUENCE DAY: What fun! We went to the Cafe' de Eloquence' at Haven Church where parents did an incredible job of decorating, cooking, and serving. We so appreciate it! I hope to get the picture that was taken of them to post here. The kids did practice their manners and I thought they did quite well. The pictures are below- if I receive others I will add them!

We missed Brendan and Chenin

Our menu

Being "Uneloquent"! Being silly sometimes is what holds you together as a team!

The guys- dapper!

The girls- lovely!


The Log Cabins- amazing!

 

 Math:   We took the test today- some didn't finish and I also couldn't get all of them graded. We will review and wrap up after Christmas break.
  PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD PRACTICE MATH FACTS!

Reading:  Sign of the Beaver is completed and we all enjoyed it. We will watch the movie when we return to school and compare it to the book. They are quite different! Then we will work again with non-fiction texts and then Guided Reading Groups. We have practiced many strategies together as a class and often the kids like us to read aloud together so we can practice during discussions- posing questions, discussing as a group and then responding. We talk vocabulary a lot!

 

Writing: We learned about comma usage and practiced using them. Then we read Eats, Shoots, and Leaves which shows students how commas and apostrophes can completely change meaning. Pairs of students took a sentence, wrote it two ways, and illustrated it. Some chose to draw and some used the Kerpoof! site.


We are moving a little slowly on getting things transferred to their websites. They had another lesson on Thursday in infotech. Hopefully when we return the science and writing items will be on within a week. I have a new strategy called; remember to remind the kids and myself that when they have spare time they could work on this instead of waiting until infotech now that they can do it on their own!

Merry Christmas to all of you!!

12-12-12 We celebrated 12-12-12 by having each of us bring 12 items in a bag. We wrote clues for them to see if the class could guess what we brought. We had a lot of fun with that! Since we have been giving our persuasive election speeches for the best fruit/vegetable, I brought in a variety of 12 fruits.

DECEMBER 10 - DECEMBER 14

12-12-12 We celebrated 12-12-12 by having each of us bring 12 items in a bag. We wrote clues for them to see if the class could guess what we brought. We had a lot of fun with that! Since we have been giving our persuasive election speeches for the best fruit/vegetable, I brought in a variety of 12 fruits.

Even picky eaters had fun with this!

 We tried star fruit, mango, a red pummelo, cactus fruit, mini bananas (just cuz they're so cute!) and persimmon which left the weirdest dry feeling in our mouths! We also broke open a coconut brought in by Nathan Haverdink for his speech and tried the coconut milk. Austin Rudolph brought in fresh fennel. Most agreed it was really good! Who knew? Here's a picture of the fruit we ate.

LOG CABINS- (OPTIONAL)......  Due Tuesday December 18th

Eloquence Day:.....................  Friday, December 21st from 11-1. 

    Our location is always a SECRET! Students are expected to dress up- girls skirts or dresses if possible. Boys wear khakis/slacks and a nice shirt. We prefer no jeans, but I would NOT expect anyone to purchase something new for this. Wear the nicest ones you have if you don't own dress pants.  This should be fun, not stressful!

Reading at home:   There will be no project for December, but I expect students to read. They will be able to give me a short summary, written or verbal, and receive a certificate to Pizza Hut.

HOMEWORK: 1) Division page with 2-digit divisor for practice and review.
                                  2) Read, read, read
                                  3) Log cabin if you are making one.

 Math:   We have been working with 2-digit divisors and practicing strategies such as estimating, rounding, and using compatible numbers in order to work with these larger numbers. We are reviewing decimal concepts and practicing upcoming concepts as well.

  
  PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD PRACTICE MATH FACTS!

 RTI:   As you know, this time is spent reteaching concepts that students should enter 5th grade with. We have begun focusing our attention on fractions; comparing fractions, converting improper fractions to mixed numbers, adding and subtracting fraction and mixed numbers with like denominators. I will expect them to not only be able to work the algorithm, but be able to draw and explain it as well.

Reading:  Sign of the Beaver is our new genre unit and the class is thoroughly enjoying this book. It ties in well with our social studies unit.  The class chose to read it as a class- they like to stop and discuss along the way and ask questions! Students are also doing some written comprehension work. 

 

 

Writing: 

This week students presented their campaign speeches for their fruit or vegetable. They are working on placing the videos of this on their web pages.I will video these and put them on my fusion page- kids should place them on their websites. (Have you checked out their websites from infotech??)

   I am now requiring the kids to perform a lot more revising and editing on their own. Complete sentences, main idea with details that support only that idea in the paragraph, paragraphing, punctuation... some of the things we talk about frequently. Here are some pictures:

































 

Spelling: 

This week's skill was contractions. I sent the list home for lesson 12 and 13. This skill next week is homophones. 
 

Science:
  We discussed point of reference and measuring distance. We used plastic jumping frogs to test  this out.

 Enjoy your weekend everyone!

DECEMBER 3RD - DECEMBER 7TH

DECEMBER 3RD - DECEMBER 7TH

We ended the week with some Christmas music, candy canes, and an art project. Then we had an impromptu competition with Mrs. Maxson's class to see who could sing Jingle Bells the loudest!

Eloquence Day: Notes went home on Wednesday for Eloquence Day volunteers. Be sure to get that in if you want to help out with this event. This will be on Friday, December 21st from 11-1. Our location is always a SECRET! Students are expected to dress up- girls skirts or dresses if possible. Boys wear khakis/slacks and a nice shirt. We prefer no jeans, but I would NOT expect anyone to purchase something new for this. Wear the nicest ones you have if you don't own dress pants.  This should be fun, not stressful!

Reading at home: There will be no project for December, but I expect students to read. They will be able to give me a short summary, written or verbal, and receive a certificate to Pizza Hut.

HOMEWORK: There are 8 division problems for review.

 Math:   

   We will take our first division test on Tuesday. We have been doing quite a bit of review.  Our next unit is division as well, dividing by 2 digit divisors among other concepts.
  PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD PRACTICE MATH FACTS! Flashcards, computer program, just practice. This is a year where more steps are required for many concepts and knowing the facts is going to save your child some frustration and time.
  RTI: As you know, this time is spent reteaching concepts that students should enter 5th grade with. We have begun focusing our attention on fractions; comparing fractions, converting improper fractions to mixed numbers, adding and subtracting fraction and mixed numbers with like denominators. I will expect them to not only be able to work the algorithm, but be able to draw and explain it as well.

Reading:  Sign of the Beaver is our new genre unit and the class is thoroughly enjoying this book. It ties in well with our social studies unit.  The class chose to read it as a class- they like to stop and discuss along the way and ask questions! Students are also doing some written comprehension work. 

 
We keep reading about cornmeal, corn cakes, corn mush, corn pudding- so I brought in cornbread and molasses so the kids could try it. Corn bread- most liked it. Plain molasses- not so much!

 

Log Cabins: They are OPTIONAL: These are due December 18th. I sent home the information and we have all discussed it. FYI: I talked with the kids about the fact that this is OPTIONAL. We talked about being respectful of your time- students should be planning now, making a list of materials, going over this with you and beginning soon. We talked about how this should not be a last minute thing that gets thrown at you. It is Ok to work on this project with your child. 

Writing: 

Monday students will begin presenting their campaign speeches for their fruit or vegetable. They are making campaign posters as well. I will video these and put them on my fusion page- kids should place them on their websites. (Have you checked out their websites from infotech??)

   I am now requiring the kids to perform a lot more revising and editing on their own. Complete sentences, main idea with details that support only that idea in the paragraph, paragraphing, punctuation... some of the things we talk about frequently.

Spelling: 

This week's skill was apostrophes. We use them to show possession and in contractions. Possession rules can be tricky. I am giving the skills test next week as they needed more practice. We will revisit this frequently.
   I will send lesson 12 and 13 spelling lists home on Monday

Science:
  This week students have been working in groups to make a marble take the longest amount of time to go from one end of the table to the other. They are designing and testing various set-ups. Each group read their driving question and then taped their trials. In infotech, they began making these into an iMovie to place on their sites. Monday we will wrap up by discussing more about the forces involved, what went well, and what didn't.

This is a long unit with A LOT of vocabulary. Science vocabulary can be more difficult for kids because these are not words they regularly use or encounter. Students can study the vocabulary online in Study Stacks. I have shown them this and how to use it. It is on their science Edmodo account. I will continue to add more vocabulary as it comes up.

 Enjoy your weekend everyone!

November 27- November 30

I hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving break! It's been fun getting back together with your kids. 

Eloquence Day: Earlier I mentioned that Eloquence Day would be December 20th. We have changed this to December 21st. Students are expected to dress up- girls skirts or dresses if possible. Boys wear khakis/slacks and a nice shirt. I would NOT expect anyone to purchase something new for this. Boys frequently don't have anything but jeans. If that's the case, wear the nicest ones you have. This should be fun, not stressful.
 

In January we will be having a Grand Valley student, Scott Klunder, in to assist 3 mornings and 1 full day each week from 
January 7th -April 16th.
  
NEW ON MY FUSION PAGE:

Under the topic "Comprehension Pages" your child can click and go to a site that has many short passages and 10 questions to respond to. There are various levels. A goal for the January 5th grade Dibels testing is to be able to read 120 words per minute with 98% accuracy. Another is goal is to be able to read a passage aloud and retell the main idea and 3 details. These could be used for practice.

Study Stacks: I have shown the class Study Stacks which is a vocabulary study site. I have linked it to their science Edmodo page but will get it on the fusion site soon. You can read more below in the science section.

 

November Book Projects: Students should be finished or nearly finished reading their November books. Everyone has chosen their project and have rubrics- I passed them out a 2nd time before Thanksgiving for those who needed them. They know this is due December 3rd. I am happy to help at school and they have been offered materials if necessary. Powerpoints, etc. can be sent to my email and presented from my computer.

There will be no project for December, but I expect students to read. They will be able to give me a short summary, written or verbal, and receive a certificate to Pizza Hut.

HOMEWORK: Students have a reading comprehension passage and should finish Lesson 22 if it wasn't completed. 
 

 Math:   

   We took the multiplication test Thursday. I am showing kids their percentages so they are aware of what their grade would be in middle school. We have talked a lot about how small mistakes from not checking work can be an issue. 
We will continue to review multiplication and decimals. We began our dividing whole numbers unit on Wednesday. We have been giving dividing a lot of attention during RTI. Students are working the problems using the regular algorithm, but will be learning another way which they will also have to show.
The fusion site has some practice activities.
 

Reading: The students loved "A Long Way from Chicago". We wrapped up our discussion today.We are beginning our next genre unit tomorrow. The theme is "Facing a Challenge" and the novel is Sign of the Beaver. Just a heads up- this is the unit where students make the log cabin using a description from the book.I will send more info early next week. We are going to make log cabins an OPTIONAL project. 

Writing: 

Students wrote a paragraph about what it would be like if they lived in a snow globe to place on our bulletin board entitled, "If I were in a Snow Globe". These were so fun to read! We began a new persuasive paper. Students are choosing a fruit or vegetable to research. They will then write a persuasive election speech trying to get us to vote for their choice for "Fruit or Vegetable of the Year". Our focus is using a persuasive voice, idea development, and public speaking. Today they researched and took notes. They will write and present their speeches. Many of them want to make campaign flyers, signs, and bring in the fruit or vegetable of their choice. We'll tape these and put them on their web pages.

Spelling: 

This week's skill was prefixes. Prefixes change the meaning of a word and the base word does not change. We also began looking at rules for using commas. Today was how a comma is used with a city and state and when addressing someone else. 
 I sent home this week's and next week's lists on Tuesday.

Science: Science will be much more hands on with this unit! Yea! It is "Forces and Motion". They will need to cooperate in groups to design investigations, run trials, and record their information. We often run into issues with cooperation with this unit, and it is a good place to discuss cooperating skills, sharing, delegating, and compromising.
  This week students have been working in groups to make a marble take the longest amount of time to go from one end of the table to the other. They are designing and testing various set-ups. I have had them videotape this to share on their websites later.
 
This is a long unit with A LOT of vocabulary. Science vocabulary can be more difficult for kids because these are not words they regularly use or encounter. Students can study the vocabulary online in Study Stacks. I have shown them this and how to use it. It is on their science Edmodo account. I will continue to add more vocabulary as it comes up.

 Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Week of Nov. 12 - 16th

Please visit the fusion page to view the iMovie trailers the groups made for Pumpkin Day! They are so fun! I can't put them on the blog because they won't work as a URL- and if it does, I haven't figured it out yet! You can use the directions I sent you to get to the fusion page or click on the link in the email reminder I sent.
    Once you get to the page, scroll down to the "videos and podcasts". Click on what you want to watch- there are 5 of them, you just need to click "more" to see them. Once you view one, you'll most likely have to click on "fusion page" and "homeroom" to get back to the others.
ALSO ON THE FUSION PAGE are the digital books some students did. They will be under "Student work" - click on it and you will see the names.

November Book Projects: Students should be reading their November books. Everyone has chosen their project and have rubrics. They know that they should bring their books home over Thanksgiving and get any materials needed from me. This is due December 3rd.

HOMEWORK:  Students have a math review page due Monday and should read the article and respond to comprehension questions sent home.

 Math:   

   We took the Algebra test on Thursday. We will continue to review theses concepts weekly with decimal review pages. We began our multiplying whole numbers unit. We have been giving multiplying and dividing a lot of attention during RTI. Students are working on the working the problems using the regular algorithm. Teachers at all grade levels can't impress upon kids and parents enough how important it is that students know their facts. We will be using them constantly with the math they are doing. It also allows students to perform better on timed tests such as the Delta.
 

Reading: The students are really enjoying the book, "A Long Way from Chicago" a novel set in the 1930's. Students are working in small groups reading and practicing comprehension skills and fluency. I meet with 2 of the 4 groups each day to read and work on comprehension skills and reading strategies. Some topics we are focusing on are author's purpose, genre, word study/vocab. inferencing,event mapping, & comprehension strategies such as rereading, asking questions, being aware when we are confused, retelling and summarizing.

Writing: 

Students presented their "Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups" project based on a book of that title.  We have 3 more to go on Monday. They had fun working on this together. We also read an article about junk food commercials. Students needed to choose whether or not they thought these commercials should be banned, use examples from the text to support their choice and write a persuasive paper.

Spelling: 

There will be no spelling test next week due to the short week. Friday's test will be sent home on Monday.

Science: We have been reviewing all week for the test which is Monday, November 19th.   The students have a study guide to study for this test.

WEEK of November 5th- 9th

Tues. Nov. 13..............Kids' Art Fair in Gym 6-8

Students made iMovies on the iPads to document their Pumpkin Day activities. Since we used the iPads it is a little more complicated to get them onto the blog, so I will let you know when that happens!
 

November Book Projects: Students have chosen a book to read in November. We discussed choosing appropriate books for their level. They have 4 options for projects this time. The presentation is due December 3rd. Students need to learn to organize their time for this. You should see your child reading this book a few times each week right now, not waiting until a week prior. They will need time to complete their chosen project.

HOMEWORK:  Students have a math review page due Monday and should read a minimum of 30 min for their November Book project.

 Math:   

  We are working with pre-algebra concepts that include exponents, multiplying whole numbers by powers of 10, and multiplying & dividing decimals by powers of 10. The test will be Wednesday with a study guide home on Monday. In RTI we are working on division, multiplication & some fraction concepts. Once there is knowledge of the concept, they need to continue to work on accuracy and fluency.

Reading: We are reading "A Long Way from Chicago" a novel set in the 1930's. We looked at a Power Point yesterday for some background knowledge about this time period - Great Depression, Dustbowl, gangters... that were around then. We started chapter 1 together and now students will be working in small groups on their own and meeting with me to work on reading strategies and comprehension. Some topics we are focusing on are author's purpose, genre, word study/vocab. inferencing,event mapping, & comprehension strategies such as rereading, asking questions, being aware when we are confused, retelling and summarizing.

Writing: 

A few of the River Tour pieces are graded later than normal as I was waiting on students to make one last pass at revising and editing their document.

We changed our mind about the Halloween project and are working in pairs on a "Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups" project based on a book of that title. This is short and creative.

Spelling:  Spelling test will be returned on Monday. Forgot to send the spelling list home every day this week! I sent home the lesson 8 and 9 list today. We will take the lesson 8 test on Monday. I have next lesson's list ready! The skill is est/er.
 

Science:We are finishing the last couple lessons and will do review and a study guide. The test will likely be Monday, November 19th. 

DATES:
Wed. Nov. 7th..............Donuts with Dad

Thur. Nov. 9th.............picture retakes

Tues. Nov. 13..............Kids' Art Fair in Gym 6-8

Pumpkin Day!

I have an awesome class. They handled this time very well. Cooperating, doing what was asked, and enjoying themselves!  

*We estimated weight, amount, weighed the pumpkins,did some division, and counted seeds- ate them on Friday!

*Then the kids designed and carved their pumpkins with no injuries! 

*Each group took pictures with an iPad and are going to use them for a group project on Monday. We will upload the project to the blog so you can check it out!

*Thank you Cindy Kleinheksel for donating a couple pumpkins and helping out. Thank you Jody Heavilin for bringing us some cookies!

Field Trip: I was nervous as this was a new field trip, but it went well and all centered around the native American learning students are doing coupled with science since we were able to visit the Planetarium. Thank you to parents for going along! Lori Haverdink, Jody Heavilin, Cherish Nyboer, Jen Heyerman. We appreciate it!

October Book Presentations: Because of the field trip, we will finish presentations on Monday. They are doing a great job! It helped us have a good discussion of what information is important to include in retelling a story to others. 

November Book Projects: Students have known since Monday that they need to have another book chosen to read in November. We discussed choosing appropriate books for their level. They will have 4 options for projects this time. I will review the options again on Monday.

 Math:   

Students took the math test today. I will have those back on Monday. We are starting an algebra unit that includes exponents, multiplying whole numbers by powers of 10, and multiplying and dividing  decimals by powers of 10.

Reading: We finished Guests and our story map. We reviewed the characters, setting, problem/resolution and theme. We will have a test on Monday and Tuesday over identifying the above story elements, simile, and personification. These are items we have worked on since the beginning of the year. Students will also be required to read a selected passage and respond to questions. A third part is responding to the question, "How has Moss changed throughout the novel?" We discussed how to set this up, how to find the information, how it would be graded, etc. We have talked about this all along in the book and the students have a grasp of this- they need to be able to use text examples and/or quotes which we have worked on a lot.

Writing:
River Tour pieces are done. Your child will have a rubric with typed comments and if he/she typed it into google docs, there are additional comments there as well- students can direct you to that. Some students wanted theirs made into a digital flipbook which I did last night, and will upload them to their individual webpage this weekend. Students also wrote persuasive papers in response to an article about girls being allowed to play on boys' sports teams. Most have been returned graded- if your child doesn't have his back, it needed some work and I need to regrade it.

We also discussed a new short Spooky Halloween story that uses onomatopoeia, or sound words, such as "crash", "boom", etc. Next week we will also write a short persuasive piece. We couldn't get to it before Halloween, but the kids still want to write it, so we are! Should only be a 2-3 day project

Spelling:  Spelling test will be returned on Monday. Spelling list sent home Monday. Spelling skill for next week is ways to spell the sounds of /s/.

Science:
 Projects have been presented- I enjoyed the variety of posters, powerpoints, and iMovies!

DATES:
Oct. 25 and 26............. No School
November 1st.............. Field Trip 

I am so glad that all of you were able to come to conferences! Please know that if you felt that you needed more time that you are welcome to call or come in at another time!

My Blog gives information about the week, pictures, etc.

My fusion page has links for learning, calendar, sometimes announcements.. please check this out.

http://homeroom-grad.hamiltones.hamiltonschools.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/integrated_home.phtml?gid=2239663&sessionid=9fb6e2fef5193652e81294865f4aa881

HOMEWORK: DUE WEDNESDAY!

Reading at home: I am hoping students have been reading at home frequently. Monday, October 1st we began our first monthly reading assignment. Students chose a novel and will read this over the month of October. We discussed the assignment again today to remind and review.   

Math:   

We have been focusing on decimal place value, comparing decimals, and rounding decimals. I am looking to have the test next Friday. There will be a study guide for this.

LOOK AT MY FUSION PAGE!                                                
If you click the "Place Value" link, several tutorials and practice sites will be there. This would be good review for those who need it. 

MATH FACTS: Please practice math facts with your child. Keeping a set in the car may be a good idea. A few minutes frequently during the week will be quite helpful. Division is something most students need to work on.

Reading:
We continue in our  genre unit reading Guests, a historical fiction novel. We have talked about legends and pourquois, or "why" stories this week and had a lot of discussion about the book plot, character motives and actions, as well as vocabulary in context. We also worked on a summary of the legend from the book.
Writing:
River Tour pieces are due Monday- students who feel unable to reach that deadline know that they should be discussing this with me so we can work out a plan and there is no stress. We also discussed a new short Spooky Halloween story that uses onomatopoeia, or sound words, such as "crash", "boom", etc. Next week we will also write a short persuasive piece.

Spelling:  No spelling this week, except for review.

Science:
 Research projects on the solar system are due Tuesday.

Enjoy the long weekend!!

Oct. 15th - Oct 19th

DATES:
Oct. 25 and 26............. No School
November 1st.............. Field Trip 

Math and Reading Homework due Monday Oct. 22nd


MEAP took up much time this week so it slowed us down a bit. I was very impressed with my class as they really gave this assessment a good amount of time, and were respectful and quiet for others when they were finished!

MORE Field Trip: Normally we don't have two field trips so close together, but we will be going on November 1st to the Planetarium and to a play about native Americans and the museum. We will be putting in a WISH request for parent volunteers for this trip.


HOMEWORK: Reading at home: I am hoping students have been reading at home frequently. Monday, October 1st we began our first monthly reading assignment. Students chose a novel and will read this over the month of October. We discussed the assignment again Today to remind and review.   


Math: We have investigated all concepts in our Place Value unit and will be reviewing next week. Students need to know place value to 100 billion and decimals to the thousandths. They should be able to write numbers in standard, word, and expanded form, round whole numbers and decimals, and compare and order whole numbers and decimals.
We have watched tutorials- most are on my fusion page- worked whole class, in small groups and individually. I have students fix mistakes with me to be sure they are on the right track and see who I need to assist further. I am trying to help students understand that just because they finished the paper or tutorial, or website, doesn't mean they are done- if we struggled, were confused, etc. we need to ask for extra help, extra practice activities, watch the tutorial again, etc...

MATH FACTS: Please practice math facts with your child. Keeping a set in the car may be a good idea. A few minutes frequently during the week will be quite helpful. Division is something most students need to work on.

Reading:
We continue in our  genre unit reading Guests, a historical fiction novel. This novel is a little more difficult read as it contains quite a bit of inferencing. We are having a lot of discussion along the way. We have been noting the author techniques of  personification, metaphors, and similes as there so SO many of them!


Writing:
 Students have completed their plans and are drafting their river tour pieces. Students will be able to choose how they wish to share their final drafts- write it, put it on a google doc, Power Point, digital flipbook, or some other digital format. Anything digital will be uploaded to their personal websites. 
  Friday we also reviewed similes and descriptive language. The class used these skills to write a poem about fall which you can check out on the bulletin board outside our classroom.

Spelling:  Next week's skill for lesson 7 is compound words.
  Spelling tests are every Friday. Monday begins the new lesson. The spelling list will be sent home Monday.  If you go on my fusion page, there are directions to get to Spelling City where students can play games and take practice tests over the spelling lists for each week.


Science:
We had our quiz on Wednesday- we reviewed 2 days in class and students were to study at home. Students will be began research projects on the solar system, working in pairs or threes to research a planet and present their information in a poster or digital format. 

Have a great weekend and I will see you at conferences!

Field Trip photos!

Making fire!

Making fire!

Summer home-wagenogan

cooking area

throwing tomahawks

Snow goggles

This basket smelled like maple syrup!

A bladder used for a canteen!

Preparing to throw tomahawks