Happenings from the week of March 11th- March 15th

UPCOMING DATES:

Monday March 18....................... PTO Meeting
Monday, March 18.......................Puberty lessons begin.

Wednesday, March 20...................Yellow Day- Wear yellow 

Friday, March 22........................PTO FUN NIGHT

Friday, May 3…………………………………………… Charlton Park field trip (note soon)

Friday May 31^st ……………………………………… Dunes field trip (info in April)

Middle School Visit – Our 5^th graders enjoyed the visit to the middle school on Thursday. Sounds like dancing and bounce house activities were

a hit and they got to see where they will be next year.

Box Tops Winners!  5^th grade won the Box Tops challenge! Thank you for your assistance with this. We will have a pizza party on March 27^th

BEACH DAY! Celebrate Spring with Beach Day on March 27^th. More

                            about this later

 MARCH BOOK PROJECT: Students have chosen to complete their reading bookmark each week instead of a project I have. They should be reading a minimum of 20 minutes each time they read. 

 
Math: We took the Fractions Operations test Friday. It is rather lengthy so I gave them a break after some time. We have already been working on our adding and subtracting decimals unit. Students will be expected to draw pictures to show the operation. (I will give them 100’s grids to shade in for this!) We will move onto multiplying and dividing decimals and then geometry. You can help your child by practicing subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals at home!
  

READING: We continued our discussion of the Fighting Ground as well as the online digital "bulletin board" to teach each other further about this war. It will incorporate social studies, reading, and writing curriculum. This week students searched for articles on their topics at their level, wrote a short summary and will present these next week.

WRITING:   We read an article about how manners are on the decline in our country that looked at both sides of whether this matters or not. Students chose a side to debate and are writing a short persuasive piece that will be due Tuesday.

SCIENCE: Students took the quiz on Thursday. We studied magnetism as a non-contact force and completed an investigation. We also watched a video clip about the Maglev trains that don’t make contact with the track by using a magnetic force. We also learned about the 4 components of flight: lift, thrust, gravity, and drag. We made and tested paper airplanes. Monday students will compete with their designs for the farthest flight.

Spelling: Students completed Test 21. They will come home on Monday. The lists for Lesson 22 and 23 will come home on Monday.

WEEK OF MARCH 4-8

WEEK OF MARCH 4-8

Thursday, March 14.................... 5th graders to middle school for visit/Parent meeting
Saturday, March 16 ....................Everything For Kids Sale 9:00-2:00
Monday March 18....................... PTO Meeting
Monday, March 18...................... Puberty lessons begin.

I enjoyed meeting with you last week during conferences. If you have any further questions, be sure to contact me!

  MARCH BOOK PROJECT: Students have chosen to complete their reading bookmark each week instead of a project I have. They should be reading a minimum of 20 minutes each time they read. 
 
Math: We did the study guide for chapter 8 math on Friday. We will review and the test will be on Thursday. We are moving to adding and subtracting decimals next and then multiplying and dividing decimals. We will continue to review fractions weekly.
  

READING: We have been reading and discussing The Fighting Ground this last week and will continue this week. We are practicing comprehension strategies as a whole group, pairs and individually as well as working on vocabulary. We watched a video clip showing the type of gun a Revolutionary War soldier would have used and how difficult it was to use as this is something in our  novel that the main character struggles with. We are also working in pairs to study Revolutionary War events and people and creating an online digital presentation and "bulletin board" to teach each other further about this war. It will incorporate social studies, reading, and writing curriculum.

WRITING:   Students will be presenting their biography Power Points this week. We will work on a short persuasive piece as well.

SCIENCE: We completed a study guide for an upcoming quiz. We will study in class and students will take their study guides home on Monday. The quiz is Wednesday. We will begin our investigations into flight and magnetism this week.

Spelling: Students completed Test 20. The test over lesson 21 is Friday- students already received this list to study.

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 25- FEBRUARY 28

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 25- FEBRUARY 28

Monday, March  4...................................Ned Show Assembly
Monday/Tuesday, March 4th/5th .........CONFERENCES
Friday March 8.............................Half day of school- Dismissal is at 11:40-no lunch
Saturday, March 16 ....................Everything For Kids Sale 9:00-2:00
Monday March 18....................... PTO Meeting



CONFERENCES: I look forward to visiting with you at conferences. Remember that you child is welcome to come along!! Most students have a brief iMovie to share with you! If your child cannot come or you want a conference with me without your child, you can view their iMovie on the website later.


RED CROSS: We had some people from the Red Cross come and talk about being safe at home alone. Examples of things they discussed:
 * Don't use the stove, knives, etc. just in case!
 *Do not tell people who call that your parents aren't home- 
   or just don't answer unless it is someone you know well! 
 * Don't give anyone, including friends garage code number or 
    tell where the key is hidden!  
 * Do not let anyone into the house unless it's people your parents
   have said are OK- even neighbors we don't know well shouldn't 
   be let in. 
 * Adults DO NOT need a kid's help- if someone you don't know asks for your help, ignore and walk away, say you have to go home and leave, etc.

Kids often know what they should or shouldn't do, but it is very important to help them have the words they would say in a situation as well.



March is Reading Month: Your child received a bookmark with reading activities. Choose at least 5. I'm doing it to!

Math:  I'm going to give you A LOT of information here!

I would like to give the Chapter 8 math test next Friday. I will keep you posted if that changes. We have been continually reviewing concepts as we add in others. 

The most difficult concepts for kids is keeping straight the difference between multiplying and dividing fractions and whole numbers.When you and I were growing up, we just memorized the math algorithm and moved on- and a lot of us have a hard time with fractions even as adults. Students are expected to be able to perform the algorithm (the math part!), draw what it looks like, explain what they are doing, and apply it in a word problem (real life situation) - this is how they will be tested in 2 years in math and we all need to prepare for it. 

 Math for kids and parents: These tutorials are something you may want to hang onto for next year if you find them helpful.
     When dividing fractions think: "How many ___ go into ___?"
Ex:  -->4  ÷ ½  > How many 1/2's are in 4? This tutorial will explain.
http://learnzillion.com/lessons/1042-divide-whole-numbers-by-unit-fractions-using-the-multiplicative-inverse

Ex: 

-->½ ÷ 4 > you are dividing 1/2's into 4 sections. (NOT the same as the above)

http://learnzillion.com/lessons/1039-divide-unit-fractions-by-whole-numbers-by-using-the-multiplicative-inverse

When multiplying fractions, think "Fraction OF a number."

 

-->4  x ½> What is 1/2 of 4?     
CLICK BELOW FOR THE LINK:
  Multiply a whole number x a fraction

This is a tutorial for multiplying a fraction x a fraction: (2/3  x  2/3)   
CLICK BELOW FOR THE LINK:

Multiply a fraction x a fraction

 

 *It would be helpful to have your child practice a few of these each week!
Multiply: 3 digits by 2 digits such as 457 x 23. 
Divide: 4 digits by 2 digits such as 6504 divide by 25.
    FEBRUARY BOOK PROJECT: students will begin presenting their iMovies next week. Technology and presentation/public speaking are part of the common core, so this has been a good way to incorporate those standards.

READING: We began the new genre unit with the theme, "Making Choices".
We read "Katie's Trunk" as an opening picture book and begin the The Fighting Ground on Monday. Just an FYI in case your child comes home telling you about this: This book does have a "bad word" a couple times during a battle which we will be replacing with "darn". I talk to the kids each year about how as they are getting older and reading more serious books, everything is not always goodness and light, there isn't always a happy or satisfying ending, and the characters have to be believable in the situation they are in. They know it isn't appropriate to say "bad" words and I have never had an issue with it in 5 years. Every 5th grade teacher uses this book- it's part of our curriculum that incorporates the Revolutionary War in language arts and social studies.
I will also be adding in non-fiction material.

 
WRITING:   Finishing Biographies this week! Students will be presenting their power points. We had some discussion about how to incorporate parts of their plans into various paragraphs where they best fit- this can be tough! For example: In which paragraph would the quotes they found fit best? Should you have a paragraph about interesting facts or try to incorporate them into other paragraphs where they may fit? What if you have one that doesn't work anywhere? How do we make it fit seamlessly somewhere?


SCIENCE:  We reviewed Newton's first law of motion: Part 1: an object in motion will stay in motion at the same speed and direction until an outside force acts on it. Part 2: an object at rest stays at rest unless a force acts on it. We demonstrated this ourselves. We also performed an investigation about Newton's 2nd law of motion and will finish this on Monday. We will have a quiz on Monday the 11th. I review in class and will give them a study guide.We have been doing a lot of putting the definitions and concepts into our own words and acting them out so they make sense. We also discuss how these concepts are applied to our daily lives all of the time!

Spelling: Students completed Test 19. I will send home the study list for lessons 20 and 21 on Monday.
 
Have a great weekend!
Laura Blowers 
 

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 18- FEBRUARY 22

Friday, March 1.......................................No School- Records Day
Monday, March  4...................................Ned Show Assembly
Monday/Tuesday, March 4th/5th .........CONFERENCES
Friday March 8.............................Half day of school- Dismissal is at 11:40-no lunch
Saturday, March 16 ....................Everything For Kids Sale 9:00-2:00
Monday March 18....................... PTO Meeting

 FEBRUARY BOOK PROJECT: students began their iMovies in Infotech on Thursday, will complete them next week and then present. They should then post them to their websites.

Math: We tested Friday over our first fractions unit. These skills will continue to be practiced and used in our current unit, fraction operations. The test for this will likely be the week of March 4th- I will keep you posted. We continue to review multiplying and dividing larger numbers. 
 *It would be helpful to have your child practice a few of these each week! They will continue to be tested on these concepts into middle school.
Multiply: 3 digits by 2 digits such as 457 x 23. 
Divide: 4 digits by 2 digits such as 6504 divide by 25.
  
Students are noticing that knowing math facts is increasingly helpful in the fractions units! This will continue to be very necessary from here on out in math as multiple operations are being used within concepts.

READING: We wrapped up Book Clubs this week. Students are finishing up a short project Monday, we will share them, and move on to our last genre unit, The Fighting Ground. I will also be adding in non-fiction material.




MONTHLY BOOK PROJECTS: 
 I will be giving students a new book project for March soon. It will involve non-fiction texts. I will send home details about this later.  
 It is important for your child to be reading at home frequently, something I know you hear every year. We often get focused on chapter books as kids get older. But shorter or lengthier non-fiction material including biographies, news articles, magazines, and other informational materials about a variety of subjects are also important as students are learning to read for information. So have your child tell you about topics they are interested in and read up on it from numerous sources!

 
WRITING:   Students are working on drafts for their biographies. We had some discussion about how to incorporate parts of their plans into various paragraphs where they best fit- this can be tough! For example: In which paragraph would the quotes they found fit best? Should you have a paragraph about interesting facts or try to incorporate them into other paragraphs where they may fit? What if you have one that doesn't work anywhere? How do we make it fit seamlessly somewhere?


SCIENCE:  We reviewed kinds of forces and measuring forces. I showed the students a video clip about Newton's first law of motion: Part 1: an object in motion will stay in motion at the same speed and direction until an outside force acts on it. Part 2: an object at rest stays at rest unless a force acts on it. We demonstrated this ourselves. Students then performed an investigation with a piece of track and a marble to show whether the marble adheres to Newton's Law. We will revisit this next week to put it all together. We have been doing a lot of putting the definitions and concepts into our own words and acting them out so they make sense. We also discuss how these concepts are applied to our daily lives all of the time!

Spelling: Students completed Test 18. I will have these at conferences. Test 19 is Thursday- students received the list last Monday.

Have a great weekend!
Laura Blowers 
 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22................Popcorn Day
FRIDAY, MARCH 1........................No School- Records Day
FRIDAY, MARCH 8........................Half day of school- Dismissal is at 11:40-no lunch

FIELD TRIP: Most students enjoyed the symphony. It is a great experience for them to be in the DeVos hall and to listen to and watch a professional orchestra play. The group does a great job of involving the kids- and there are hundreds of them there! The cafeteria at Calvin was a huge hit! Pizza, french fries, hot dogs, salad bar, soup, sundae bar, desserts, slushies... Visiting the campus was also interesting as most have never seen what this is like.Thank you to all our parents who volunteered their time!
   My small camera wasn't working so I have no pictures! But we will be receiving some from Calvin, and I will post these to the blog then.

 
FEBRUARY BOOK PROJECT: Student need to have their books read by Feb. 20th and will begin the project in class. The project is making an iMovie trailer to persuade others to read their book.

Math: This week we continued review. Students will take the test over our first fraction unit on Friday, February 22nd. A study guide will be given on Wednesday. We will continue our unit in fraction operations.
  
Students are noticing that knowing math facts is increasingly helpful in the fractions units!


READING: We continue our Book Clubs. Our last day should be Friday. We will then begin our last genre unit, The Fighting Ground.

 
WRITING:   Students are working on their plans and drafts for their biographies. They are sorting their information into appropriate categories in their plans and then will begin to write their biographies. We have discussed writing inviting introductions. Hopefully I will have a new projector bulb by Monday so I am able to model writing their info into a draft!


SCIENCE:  We reviewed balanced and unbalanced forces this week and took a quiz over Lessons 1-4. We also began discussing how to measure force: The tool used is the spring scale and the unit of measure is called a Newton. Students conducted an investigation practicing measuring force and will expand on that lesson next week.

Spelling: Because of our short week, we just reviewed for spelling this week. Lesson 18 list will be sent home on Monday.

Have a great weekend!
Laura Blowers 
 

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4th - FEBRUARY 8th

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4th - FEBRUARY 8th

DATES: 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14th.....Field Trip
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15TH...........No School
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22................Popcorn Day
FRIDAY, MARCH 1........................No School- Records Day
FRIDAY, MARCH 8........................Half day of school- Dismissal is at 11:40-no lunch


Thanks to our students for participating in the Purple Day event in order to support a former student!

 



FEBRUARY BOOK PROJECT: Student need to have their books read by Feb. 20th and will begin the project in class. The project is making an iMovie trailer to persuade others to read their book.

Math: We continue to work in our fraction unit. New concepts were adding and subtracting mixed numbers and multiplying fractions.
  
Students are noticing that knowing math facts is increasingly helpful in the fractions units!


READING: We continue our Book Club, using Edmodo. It's nice that even when I am not meeting with a group, I will be able to monitor students' thinking and respond to them before we meet if necessary.

 
WRITING:   Students chose a historical figure to read about and will then write a biography about that person. They will be able to use another technological platform to present the biography as well. They read a took notes this week and will begin their plan on Monday.


SCIENCE:  We discussed balanced and unbalanced forces this week and did a little arm wrestling as demonstration. We applied the concept of balanced and unbalanced forces in a Tug-of-war game.is
  We have been practicing vocabulary and concepts by reading the definition, summarizing what it means, and showing an verbally and physically giving an example. We have been talking about how memorizing a definition isn't helpful if we don't know what it means! There will be a quiz, but with snow days and me being gone next week, I am moving it to Monday, February 11.

Spelling: Lesson 18 list will be sent home on Monday.

Have a great weekend!
Laura Blowers 
 

WEEK OF JANUARY 28TH - FEBRUARY 1ST

DATES:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8.....Release Time
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22...Popcorn Day
FRIDAY, MARCH 1............No School- Records Day
FRIDAY, MARCH 8............Half day of school- Dismissal is at 11:40-no lunch


 
WOW- more snow days! We keep pushing due dates, projects back with all of these days off. The kids are handling the continuing change in schedule well.
  I will be gone at a conference on Monday and Tuesday- not great timing with the snow days. Mrs. Immink will be there.

Valentine's Day: 5th grade does not have a Valentine's Day party as in other grades- no Valentine's Day cards. We will let you know next week what we plan.

Math: We completed all lessons in our first fractions unit, reviewing older concepts along the way.
  We began our next fractions unit this week. We have added and subtracted fractions with unlike denominators. Most of us have a solid grasp of this as we have been working on this in RTI since December. We will move onto adding and subtracting mixed numbers with same denominators next-another concepts we have practiced in RTI. Then add/subtract mixed numbers with unlike denominators. These concepts require students to use skills learned in the previous unit.

I have placed a folder for fractions on my fusion page. It has very good tutorials for review and activities attached.  I will continue to add to this. Click on "Fractions" and choose your topic.
  
I keep track of which students are needing more practice with certain concepts and they are getting extra help, have tutorials to watch, and if necessary I will send additional practice home next week.

Students are noticing that knowing math facts is increasingly helpful in the fractions units!


READING: We continue our Book Club, even though we are behind where I want to be! They are getting the hang of using Edmodo. It's nice that even when I am not meeting with a group, I will be able to monitor students' thinking and respond to them before we meet if necessary. There will be some paper/pencil work as well- right now they are doing a character study and some grammar activities.

 
WRITING:   Several students are finished with their Snowman story. I am grading those this weekend. They are on a google doc. Some students need to revise again and then I will grade it. Students were given a rubric and assignment sheet showing the goals. Some don't use this and keep handing me things "finished" and are being sent back 3 and 4 times. I have been addressing this with reminders about being thorough, following the rubrics and checklists. This will be everyone's final try at revising, then it's graded. When conferencing with students, we write ideas on sticky notes and their papers so they can refer to them. On the google doc, I write comments for them to follow as well.


A review of the assignment: Their pieces focus on onomatopeoia (sound words such as bang, crash, etc) and using various sentence structures. Instead of using so many subject/predicate sentences, they have a graphic organizer that has a variety of sentence structures with examples. Using a variety of structures allows writing to flow, seem less choppy, and shows a progression in their writing abilities. We will make this a focus from now on.

SCIENCE:  We discussed balanced and unbalanced forces this week and did a little arm wrestling as demonstration. Tug-of-war is next if we can get the gym!
  We have been practicing vocabulary and concepts by reading the definition, summarizing what it means, and showing an verbally and physically giving an example. We have been talking about how memorizing a definition isn't helpful if we don't know what it means! There will be a quiz, but with snow days and me being gone next week, I am moving it to Monday, February 11.


Spelling: Lesson 16 tests will be given on Monday.

Have a great weekend!
Laura Blowers