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

WEEK OF OCT. 8-12

DATES:

Friday, Oct. 12.............Outdoor Discovery Center Field Trip
Oct. 16th and 17th.......MEAP Testing  (math and science)
November 1st..............Field Trip 2

MEAP Testing is Tuesday and Wednesday. Please be sure your children are well-rested, have a good breakfast, and a snack. I keep animal crackers at school all of the time for those who need snacks!


Field Trip- I will post pictures from the Outdoor Discovery Center on Sunday with some information about our trip.
 
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.

Math:We continue in our Place Value unit and are now working on decimals. This will include place value , rounding and comparing decimals. We have been working in centers most of the time this school year. This consists of a few minutes of introducing a concept to the whole class, then groups where students work with me, watch a video tutorial, work on a paper assignment, practice on a website, play a game focused on that skill, 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 began reading Guests this week. 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! We began a story map and worked on vocabulary. (MEAP was two days of our reading)

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 Thursday to remind and review.   


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.

Spelling:  This week's spelling test will be given on Monday!
  Spelling tests are every Friday. Monday begins the new lesson. The skill for Lesson  is there, they're and their. 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 reviewed the moon phases eclipse, and tides information we have been learning about. We will have a quiz on Wednesday and will be reviewing each day in class.
Students will be beginning research projects on the solar system, working in pairs or threes to research it and present their information in a poster or digital format.

Week of Oct. 1 - Oct. 5

DATES:
Saturday Oct. 6.............EVERYTHING FOR KIDS SALE - 9am -2 pm
Friday, Oct. 12.............Outdoor Discovery Center Field Trip
Oct. 9th and 10th.........MEAP Testing


MEAP Testing is Tuesday and Wednesday. Please be sure your children are well-rested, have a good breakfast, and a snack. I keep animal crackers at school all of the time for those who need snacks!


READ-A-THON: Thank you so much for your support! The kids relaxed and read today. It is good for them to be able to have sustained reading time and build that stamina!  We will let you know about a field trip we are planning for 4th and 5th graders.

Field Trip- We have a field trip to the Outdoor Discovery Center on October 12th. A note was sent home again today on a pink half sheet. We will not need parent volunteers for this event.
  
iPADS:  Your child may have mentioned we  used iPads Thursday. 4th and 5th grade have 30 to share. We are planing to each use 5 in our classrooms in order to have them in our rooms every day. We are waiting on information as to how we should download apps, etc. before we can do much else. Hopefully next week, we will be using them!

Math:
We continue MEAP review prep. Students took the test for Patterns and Relationships which required them to use function tables and coordinate graphing. I am very proud of how well they did! Our next unit is Place Value. This encompasses more concepts and the test will be a little longer. I will post tutorials on my fusion page as well as sites for them to practice. 
 Students also took the 6th grade Delta math assessment as a pretest for when they will take it in May.


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.

Reading:
We have continued to work on MEAP Prep., comprehension strategies, and reading for information strategies this week. We read Encounter by Jane Yolen which is the first book in the genre unit we are beginning. The central theme is Dealing with Change. We discussed character, setting, events, problem, resolution, and theme. Students incorporated this into a flipbook. This story also had a lot of imagery which we discussed by using background knowledge, picture, and text clues.

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. They will create a project in order to share their book with the class. Presenting a project to the class can be quite stressful for kids. I try to make this as comfortable as possible!    



Writing:
  I am keeping your child's summer writing piece as I will use this to show them their growth as the year progresses. I will share it at conferences. This week we have practiced writing a persuasive piece and a summary. I will keep these for now and these are practice, not graded pieces. We also began a narrative piece that is based off of the book, Daisy Comes Home.

Spelling:
  Spelling tests are every Friday. Monday begins the new lesson. The skill for Lesson 5 is the sounds of /k/. 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 have been learning about the moon phases and the solar and lunar eclipses.

September 21- September 28th

DATES:
Monday, Oct. 1.............FUNDRAISER ENDS
Saturday Oct. 6.............EVERYTHING FOR KIDS SALE - 9am -2 pm
Thursday Oct. 4............SCHOOL PICTURES
Friday Oct. 5.................READATHON
Friday, Oct. 12.............Outdoor Discovery Center field trip


 
READ-A-THON:  4th and 5th grade are having a read-a-thon again this year in order to create more opportunities for field trips. A note was sent home on Thursday concerning this with information about the day and a pledge envelope. Thank you for your support!

Field Trip- We have a field trip to the Outdoor Discovery Center on October 12th. A note was sent home today on a pink half sheet.
4th and 5th grade is going on a field trip together as well- more information is coming. If you want to volunteer you MUST have a WISH form submitted. Volunteers for 5th grade are coordinated by WISH. We are holding a Readathon fundraiser to raise funds for this.


Math:
We continue MEAP review prep. Wednesday we took our first math test. This was new material to our 5th grade curriculum. Students did well. Order of operations can be difficult as there are so many steps- it is easy to make a small mistake. Students who made mistakes in their adding, multiplying, etc, but showed they understood the concept, were given the opportunity to earn back 1/2 point per problem if they could fix work and show all their work. We are now working on finding patterns and function tables. You will have seen some of this come home. I am putting tutorials on my fusion page if your child needs to review. We are also going to work with coordinate graphing

Reading:
We have continued to work on MEAP Prep., comprehension strategies, and reading for information strategies this week. We read several nonfiction articles. We discussed text signposts such as headings, bold print, italics, subheadings, graphs, captions, etc. and searched for them as we read. Students also took the SRI reading assessment Thursday.

Reading at home: I am hoping students have been reading at home frequently. Monday, October 1st we will begin our first monthly reading assignment. Students will choose a novel approved by me and read this over the month of October. They will create a project in order to share their book with the class.Presenting a project to the class can be quite stressful for kids. I try to make this as comfortable as possible!
   
Writing:
  Students' first writing piece, a narrative about something from their summer, will be in Powerschool by Monday. They have written captions for 2 photographs this week which has also allowed them to work on their technology skills. I will make these into a flippable online book which they will put on their personal websites. It will also be on my fusion page.

Spelling:
  Spelling tests are every Friday. Monday begins the new lesson. The skill for Lesson 4 is silent letters. 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. I am planning to send a spelling list each week.


Science: 
Students did very well on the quiz Wednesday over lessons 1-4 which focus on the reason for seasons and how Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun make a year and a day. The quiz required them to answer T/F AND explain the reason they answered that way. This way I can see if there are any misconceptions or if they need to be sure to include additional information. We played a jeopardy review game. We will be investigating the moon next week.



Kickball Champions: On Friday afternoons we have Friday Special Activity. We played kickball against Mrs. Maxson's team and won and then won against Mrs. Michell's class. The best part was, all students were respectful and were able to win and lose graciously - we want them to know being competitive is fine and it is great to be happy about winning, but others respect people who can win and lose without belittling others. They did an awesome job!

BACON APPLE CRISP RECIPE: After having a student ponder the question: "Why can't there be bacon pie?" I decided it was time to try out the recipe I have had for a year and never made. Some loved it, some thought it was weird. :) But here is the recipe.

Yield: One 10-inch pie

Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

• INGREDIENTS
Gingersnap Crust
2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup granulated sugar

Apple Filling
4 to 5 medium Granny Smith apples--peeled, halved and cored
Juice of 1 large lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Bacon-Streusel Topping
6 strips applewood-smoked bacon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ¼-inch cubes

DIRECTIONS 1. Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, fold together the crushed gingersnaps, melted butter and sugar. Press the mixture into a 10-inch pie pan until flat and even. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until the edges start to set, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
2. Make the filling: Thinly slice the apples. Place them in a large bowl and drizzle the lemon juice over the slices. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, sugar and 2 tablespoons flour. Fold the mixture into the apples until the apples are just coated. Spoon the apples into the reserved crust.
3. Make the topping and bake the pie: Increase the oven temperature to 375°. In a medium skillet set over medium-high heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain the slices on paper towels and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, mix the butter into the flour and sugar mixture until pea-size clumps form. Crumble the cooled bacon and add it to the flour mixture. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the apple filling and place the pie in the oven. Bake until the top is browned and the apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

DATES:
Monday, Oct. 1.............FUNDRAISER ENDS
Saturday Oct. 6.............EVERYTHING FOR KIDS SALE - 9am -2 pm
Thursday Oct. 4............SCHOOL PICTURES
Friday, Oct. 12.............Outdoor Discovery Center field trip


Parent email alerts:
I have been trying to make a parent group with your email addresses in order to alert you when I post to the blog, etc. I am having some technical difficulties and Ms. Baker is helping me. Hopefully that will be ready next week. Meanwhile, you can join my fusion page and I will see if we can get that to work. I emailed the class the link to my fusion page where they can access the blog, Spelling City, and links to other math sites for help which I will add to. You can access it quickly that way.


Field Trips- these are the real dates! We have a field trip to the Outdoor Discovery Center on October 12th. 4th and 5th grade is going on a field trip together as well- more information is coming. If you want to volunteer you MUST have a WISH form submitted. Volunteers for 5th grade are coordinated by WISH.


Math:
We continue MEAP review prep. We spent a lot of time on Order of Operations and also learned about numerical expressions. EX: six decreased by 3 is 3 = 6 - 3 = 3.
We will be taking the test on Wednesday. We have been talking quite a bit about not skipping any steps when working the order of operations problems. This is when the mistakes pop up!

Reading:
We have worked on MEAP Prep., comprehension strategies, and reading for information strategies this week. Compare and Contrast is a text structure that students frequently encounter and use ever day and we continued our work with this. Cause and Effect is another text structure we worked with this week. We learned about signal words to look for in reading and use in writing this structure. We read an article about Tornadoes and searched for cause and effect situations and responded to comprehension questions. We read How many Days to America and student wrote their questions and thinking in order to focus on the strategies of questioning and monitoring their comprehension.



Reading at home: I am hoping students have been reading at home frequently. In October we will begin our monthly reading assignments which consists of reading a novel at home, creating a project, and presenting it.
 
Writing:
  Students' first writing piece, a narrative about something from their summer, is due Monday. I give minimal assistance for this first piece in order to see what we need to focus on.

Spelling:
  Our spelling skill for next week (Lesson 3) is irregular verbs. 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. I am planning to send a spelling list each week.


Science: 
Students will have a quiz on Wednesday over lessons 1-4 which focus on the reason for seasons and how Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun make a year and a day.
Our science unit is Objects in the Sky. We have continued to investigate what causes the seasons by watching video clips and having demonstrations and discussions. Students also performed demonstrations. The 2 main reason for the seasons:
  1) The tilt of the Earth's axis (23.5 degrees)
  2) The relationship of the sun to the Earth in its rotation around the sun- basically how directly/indirectly the sun's rays are striking locations on Earth. 
  We also used data from charts to graph the daylight hours of 3 cities during the solstices and equinoxes and then analyzed the information. 

DATES:
Friday, Set. 14...............FUNDRAISER BEGINS
Monday, Oct. 1.............FUNDRAISER ENDS
Saturday Oct. 6.............EVERYTHING FOR KIDS SALE - 9am -2 pm
Thursday Oct. 4............SCHOOL PICTURES


Fusion page/blog:
I emailed the class the link to my fusion page where they can access the blog, Spelling City, and links to other math sites for help which I will add to. I sent directions to you a couple times showing how to  access these pages. I will load your email addresses into a group this weekend and send you the link as well.

Edmodo: Each student has an Edmodo account. This site is purely for education, but is set up to look like a Facebook page which was pretty exciting for the class! They were a little disappointed when I told them that they would not be able to "friend" anyone or chat to each other individually. Whatever they put on there is seen by the group- assignments would be sent directly to me though and no one would see this. I created a "class" for reading and we have played around with it a couple times, taking a poll, a quiz, and chatting to learn how to interact within the site. When we begin using it for some assignments, quizzes, etc. you will be sent a code that will allow you to access your your child's work.



Field Trip Alert Revised! We have a field trip to the Outdoor Discovery Center, however, we now have had to change this as 5th grade teachers have a training we just learned would be on this date. I will get the new date out to you soon. If you want to volunteer you MUST have a WISH form submitted. Volunteers for 5th grade are coordinated by WISH.


Math:
We continue MEAP review adding in multiplying and dividing.
We have worked with Order of Operations this week. Students have watched a video tutorial (on the fusion page), had whole group and small group instruction and practice as well as played some games and done skill practice on the laptops for reinforcement. We will continue with the next step- adding brackets. I sent home the steps for working these problems on a pink half sheet and student have one at school. 
Homework is due Monday.

Reading:
We have worked on MEAP Prep., comprehension strategies, and reading for information strategies this week. Compare and contrast is a text structure that students frequently encounter and use ever day. We learned about signal words to look for in reading and use in writing this structure. We read two stories, The Bracelet and So Far from the Sea then compared/contrasted them. We used that information to write a compare/contrast paper.
Homework is due Monday. Read each article and respond in complete sentences to the first 4 questions. Question number 5 will discuss in class as it is presented in a bit of a confusing way for them.

Writing:
  We began our first writing prompt about our summer. Students have completed their plans, and begun introductions and drafts.

Spelling:
Spelling- Each Friday we will have 2 tests. Students will still have the spelling cloze test like last year. Additionally, there is a skills and proofreading test. I teach the skill and we practice during the week. Proofreading is something we are doing frequently in reading, writing, and spelling. 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. If you would like a paper copy of the spelling list, please contact me.


Science: 
Our science unit is Objects in the Sky. We have continued to investigate what causes the seasons by watching video clips and having demonstrations and discussions. Students also performed demonstrations. The 2 main reason for the seasons:
  1) The tilt of the Earth's axis (23.5 degrees)
  2) The relationship of the sun to the Earth in its rotation around the sun- basically how directly/indirectly the sun's rays are striking locations on Earth. 
  We also used data from charts to graph the daylight hours of 3 cities during the solstices and equinoxes and then analyzed the information. 

Social Studies: 
Students have been working on map skills, latitude and longitude, and the preamble to the Constitution.