Week of November 23rd.

TURKEY TROT: 

 5th graders enjoyed getting out there for the Turkey Trot and it was a beautiful day for it!

 Christmas Gift Giving: 

Student brought a note home today about our 5th Grade Charity Project. We will be having a 5th grade Christmas party, but we will not be exchanging gifts, but rather donating to a charity that students will have a hand in choosing. I will attach the information about this in an email next week in case you don't get the note.                                                                                                          
CONTACTING US>    
Email:  lblowers@hamiltonschools.us                                              lcuster@hamiltonschools.us                         
Phone:
269-751-4436
   
HOMEWORK:
MATH:   worksheets 11.5 and 10-12 (only the evens on the second one).
Read your book for the Nov/Dec Book Project
    Blowers Book Report Students received the paper with 4 options for their book report and we have discussed these projects. Due Date: Dec 9                                                  
 MATH   - Mrs. Custer
We are feeling successful multiplying fractions times fractions and fractions times a whole number.  The homework this weekend is  worksheets 11.5 and 10-12 (only the evens on the second one).  Today we took our November math fact tests.  Beginning in December, our goal is no longer 20 problems in one minute, but 30. The kids have their progress charted on a math facts graph that is in their binder, and these tests will be sent home next week.

Language Arts
BLOWERS Writing: 
 Students wrote their Fall similes using best word choices.

READING: with Mrs. Blowers
Students took the assessment over the genre unit. Next week we will work with nonfiction text again.
 
Social Studies with Mrs. Custer

We finished our second unit this week and have moved on to studying the continent of Africa.  The kids will get their test back on Tuesday. 

Science with Mrs. Blowers

Both classes rocked the assessment over balanced/unbalanced forces and simple machines! We began our investigations into non-contact forces. We will continue this next week. We will also discuss the forces of flight and make/test paper airplanes as part of our investigation.

 Spelling:     

This week we focused on adverbs and the difference between adverbs and adjectives. We will be doing more activities with these concepts.

Week of November 16th

TURKEY TROT: Wednesday November 26th
    On Wednesday the entire school will do the 5K Turkey Trot to get outside and be healthy together! Students should DRESS IN LAYERS and bring hats and gloves in case they are needed. This event will be held in the afternoon.
                                                                                                          
CONTACTING US>    
Email:  lblowers@hamiltonschools.us                                              lcuster@hamiltonschools.us                         
Phone:
269-751-4436
   
HOMEWORK:
Reading:   
Read your book for the Nov/Dec Book Project
    Blowers Book Report Students received the paper with 4 options for their book report and we have discussed these projects. Due Date: Dec 9                                                  

 MATH   - Mrs. Custer
Our unit on place value is finished and the tests will be corrected by the end of the weekend, with grades for all 4 standards listed individually in PowerSchool.  Next up is multiplication and division of fractions. 

Language Arts
BLOWERS Writing: 
 This week we some students read their "Bad Case" story. We spent some time doing mini-lessons and activities about sentence fluency. The class also did their first of 3 preliminary spelling tests to see who will be in the 5th grade Spelling Bee in January. Next week we wil write a short piece that focusing on figurative language and word choice.

READING: with Mrs. Blowers
We completed Guests and began reviewing for the assessment which will be next Wednesday.  Students also listened to and discussed "Brother Eagle, Sister Sky" as part of our genre unit. The theme is change and all 3 books in this unit. We have been discussing how characters react to change.
 
Social Studies with Mrs. Custer

This week we focused on The Columbian Exchange and the effects of that on both European life and life here in the Americas.  Our test will be next Tuesday and will cover the Bering Land Bridge Theory, Native American tribes and their regions in North America, early European exploration and The Colombian Exchange.  Please use your social studies spiral notes, worksheets, and textbook to help you review.   We will have one last review on Monday.

Science with Mrs. Blowers
Students completed the assessment over balanced and unbalanced forces & Simple Machines. Tests will come home Wednesday. Our next focus is contact and non-contact forces.

 Spelling:  
  Spelling Lesson 8 Test was Friday.
Next week's Lesson 9 skill is comparatives and superlatives: great, greater, greatest, for example. I suggest students study the spelling list on the blog.

Week of Nov. 9-13

CONTACTING US>    
Email:  lblowers@hamiltonschools.us                                              lcuster@hamiltonschools.us                         
Phone:
269-751-4436
   
HOMEWORK: 
Reading:    
Some students need to finish the summary of Chapter 6.
Read your book for the Nov/Dec Book Project
   
Blowers Book Report Students received the paper with 4 options for their book report and we have discussed these projects. Due Date: Dec 9                                                                                                           
 
MATH   - Mrs. Custer
Our unit on place value is finished and the tests will be corrected by the end of the weekend, with grades for all 4 standards listed individually in PowerSchool.  Next up is multiplication and division of fractions. 

Language Arts
BLOWERS Writing: 
 This week we read an article where 2 sides are given as to whether kids should receive allowance or not. As a class we followed and filled in a very specific outline according to the side chosen. Then students took the information from that outline and wrote it into a persuasive paper. This was a practice run. We reviewed several together discussing tone, how to add details in their own words, and how to not be "wishy-washy", but rather tell people they should agree, not they "hope" others will agree. Next week we will have anyone who wants to read their "Bad Case" story do so and then do mini-lessons about some writing traits.

READING: with Mrs. Blowers
We completed Chapters 5 and 6 in Guests. We worked on vocabulary, meanings of figurative language and choosing the most important events of the story to write a summary. Some students may have their summary to complete and they were told to write this in planners.
 
Social Studies with Mrs. Custer

This week we investigated a primary source that was a patent from King Henry VII of England to John Cabot.  We learned a lot about early European explorers, as well as the style of writing and grammar that was used in the late 1400s.

Science with Mrs. Blowers
We continue to talk balanced and unbalanced forces by moving into investigations about simple machines. We completed other investigations and began reviewing for the test over balanced and unbalanced forces which will be Thursday.

 Spelling:  
  Spelling Lesson 8 Test was Friday. 
Next week's Lesson 9 skill is comparatives and superlatives: great, greater, greatest, for example. I suggest students study the spelling list on the blog. 

Week of  Nov. 2nd 

Wednesday- November 11- 2 Hour Delay

CONTACTING US>    
Email:  lblowers@hamiltonschools.us                                              lcuster@hamiltonschools.us                         
Phone:
269-751-4436
   
HOMEWORK: 
Math: Lessons 7 and 9
Reading:  Read your book for the Nov/Dec Book Project
   
  Blowers Book Report Students received the paper with 4 options for their book report and we have discussed these projects. Due Date: Dec 9                                                                                                           
MATH   - Mrs. Custer

This week was all about rounding decimals as well as the place value concept of 1/10 of a number and 10 times greater than a number.  Our weekend homework is lesson 7 and 9.

Language Arts
BLOWERS Writing: 
 This week we spent writing time giving Book Project Presentations. We also went to the library to check out books for the book project. Next week we will write an opinion piece about an article we'll be reading.

READING: with Mrs. Blowers
We completed Chapters 3 and 4 in Guests. We worked on vocabulary, simile, personification and compare/contrast. Corn is a major food staple in the Native American and early settlers diets. I brought in cornbread and molasses for the kids to try on Monday. Most liked the cornbread- not the molasses so much!
 
Social Studies with Mrs. Custer

We used the verbs identify, organize and analyze as we learned about early European explorers.

Science with Mrs. Blowers
We continue to talk balanced and unbalanced forces by moving into investigations about simple machines. We watched an OK GO video called "This Too Shall Pass" that is a huge Rube Goldberg video containing simple machines that the kids thoroughly enjoyed.      

 Spelling:  
  Spelling Lesson 7 Test was Friday. Lesson 8 skill is various ways to spell the sound /s/ as in skill.