Oct. 5......................Homecoming week
Oct. 8 .....................5th/6th Grade Bingo Bash
More info. to come about these events.
CONTACTING US>
Email: lblowers@hamiltonschools.us lcuster@hamiltonschools.us
Phone:
269-751-4436
REMIND: More of you have signed up for Remind text messages! It's an easy way to get
reminders for tests, field trips, and last minute items if you don't
look at your email routinely.
Signing up takes seconds to do!
Enter this number: (424) 835-7621
Text this: @1458b
"Photos" tab:
Mrs. Custer and I will add photos from Monday's field trip when we have time this coming week.
HOMEWORK:
MATH: "Compare the Fractions" is due Monday.
Blowers Book Report This
is due Oct. 1st for presentations. Students who do not have access or
slow service and want to do their slideshow presentation at school will
have time for this on Sept. 28 and 29. I sent home a notes outline for
each slide if students want to use this, sent home a list of character
traits for their "Character", and we practiced how to write a summary.
JRT- Just Right Time:
This Tuesday and Thursday 5th graders went to assigned classrooms to meet their "Just Right Time" teachers. Next week we will begin the full program. A note was sent home Thursday.
MATH
We tackled greatest common factors, how to form equivalent fractions
and the process for comparing fractions that have uncommon
denominators.
Language Arts
BLOWERS Writing: Students completed the final drafts of their writing of a piece
titled, "What I
Didn't Get to do this Summer". With this piece I am
reviewing the writing process and what it looks like in our classroom. I am also
looking for their strengths and what is needed to be worked on. From there students will begin to set goals in writing. I will be putting grades in for 3 standards, but they will not affect a final grade.
We discussed the purposes of captions and practiced writing them. Monday students will choose an animals picture and write a caption. We will compile the class' captions to make a flippable interactive book. We are focusing on precise language, how punctuation makes meaning, and using text and pictures for inferencing.
READING:
We have been using the article, "How candy Conquered America" to practice making and writing comparisons and using the QAR strategies when finding information in texts. (Question/Answer Relationships). We practiced comparing and contrasting information from two articles of similar topics. One of the our upcoming texts we will be reading is about the Joplin tornado. We will focus on making inferences about vocabulary, finding and understanding text features and use the QAR strategy independently. This coming week will be your child's first grades in PowerSchool for reading
Social Studies
This
week we dug in deep using our reading strategies and websites to learn
more about The Constitution and how a bill becomes a law in the U.S.
The answers to my questions are due Monday.
Science
This week are studying motion- how do we know something is moving? We use a point of reference. We will conduct an investigation outside. Next week students will design an obstacle course on a table. The purpose is to keep a marble rolling from one end of the table to the other as SLOWLY as possible. We will measure speed and discuss motion and forces.
Spelling:
Students took the Lesson 2 test on Friday.This will be their first Spelling Grade in PowerSchool.
The Lesson 3 word list is in the "Spelling" tab above. I recommend that students review the
words as they frequently come up in these 2 assessments!
The skill next week is irregular verbs.
We also learned about nouns and pronouns- how to identify whether a word is a noun and that pronouns replace nouns.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
UPCOMING DATES:
Sept. 21...................Field trip
Oct. 5-9................... Homecoming week
Oct. 8 .....................5th/6th Grade Bingo Bash
More info. to come about these events.
FIELD TRIP:
We will have a 5th grade field trip on September 21st. This is a way for all of our 5th graders to come together and do team-building activities. 4 notes have gone home about this trip. The camp sent us a medical form on Friday- late, I know. Every student needs to return this on Monday. I will attach it on the email with the linnk to this blog if your child lost it.
* A reminder that there is a parent section on the school website where you can find information about a variety of topics. http://www.hamiltonschools.us/for-parents/
CONTACTING ME: Email: lblowers@hamiltonschools.us Phone:
269-751-4436
ALSO: If you get a call with a "231" area code, that is likely me calling from my cell phone.
REMIND: More of you have signed up for Remind text messages! It's an easy way to get reminders for tests, field trips, and last minute items if you don't look at your email routinely. Signing up takes seconds to do! Enter this number: (424) 835-7621
Text this: @1458b
"Photos" tab: Mrs. Custer and I will add photos from Monday's field trip when we have time next week!
HOMEWORK:
Book Report: This is due Oct. 1st for presentations. Students who do not have access or slow service and want to do their slideshow presentation at school will have time for this on Sept. 28 and 29. I sent home a notes outline for each slide if students want to use this, sent home a list of character traits for their "Character", and we practiced how to write a summary.
JRT- Just Right Time:
Next Tuesday and Thursday 5th grade will have a "soft start" to our JRT time where we will just be meeting each other and discussing what we will be doing with students. This time is like RTI where students from all classes have been grouped to work on particular needs in reading and math. Your child has been assigned to a one of the seven 5th grade teachers for this.
MATH
Language Arts
BLOWERS: Students are completing their writing of a piece titled, "What I Didn't Get to do this Summer". I will be making comments on their googledocs about their pieces over the weekend. With this piece I am reviewing the writing process, what it looks like in our classroom. I am looking for their strengths and what is needed to be worked on.
READING: We read "My Lucky Day" and discussed/practiced the steps to summarizing fiction. Students took the SRI on Tuesday. We read the NF article "How Candy Conquered America". Through this article we practiced summarizing sections of NF text, making inferences using background knowledge and text clues, and using text clues to find definitions to unknown vocabulary. Next week we will reread this article and discuss and practice Question/Answer relationships. We will also practice compare and contrast strategies with the above article and a paired text to the above article.
Social Studies
Science
This week we walked the grounds discussing areas we will work in for science and picked up items from nature to mass and weigh, working in partners to do all of this. We have had some discussions about mass and weight which can be confusing for students. We watched some video clips with examples and explanations. Later we will be doing other investigations about mass and weight.
Spelling: Students took the Lesson 1 test on Friday. We took this test together as a practice as the proofreading test is new to them.
The Lesson 2 word list is in the "Spelling" tab above. We no longer have the Word Test in 5th grade. Students will be learning a skill which they will be tested on as well as be tested on proofreading skills. I do recommend, however, that students review the words as they frequently come up in these 2 assessments!
More info. to come about these events.
FIELD TRIP:
We will have a 5th grade field trip on September 21st. This is a way for all of our 5th graders to come together and do team-building activities. 4 notes have gone home about this trip. The camp sent us a medical form on Friday- late, I know. Every student needs to return this on Monday. I will attach it on the email with the linnk to this blog if your child lost it.
* A reminder that there is a parent section on the school website where you can find information about a variety of topics. http://www.hamiltonschools.us/for-parents/
CONTACTING ME: Email: lblowers@hamiltonschools.us Phone:
269-751-4436
ALSO: If you get a call with a "231" area code, that is likely me calling from my cell phone.
REMIND: More of you have signed up for Remind text messages! It's an easy way to get reminders for tests, field trips, and last minute items if you don't look at your email routinely. Signing up takes seconds to do! Enter this number: (424) 835-7621
Text this: @1458b
"Photos" tab: Mrs. Custer and I will add photos from Monday's field trip when we have time next week!
HOMEWORK:
Book Report: This is due Oct. 1st for presentations. Students who do not have access or slow service and want to do their slideshow presentation at school will have time for this on Sept. 28 and 29. I sent home a notes outline for each slide if students want to use this, sent home a list of character traits for their "Character", and we practiced how to write a summary.
JRT- Just Right Time:
Next Tuesday and Thursday 5th grade will have a "soft start" to our JRT time where we will just be meeting each other and discussing what we will be doing with students. This time is like RTI where students from all classes have been grouped to work on particular needs in reading and math. Your child has been assigned to a one of the seven 5th grade teachers for this.
MATH
We have spent most of our
time on review of math concepts and facts. I call it getting the summer
cobwebs out! Our new lessons this week focused on the difference between
multiples and factors and how to determine the greatest common factor. We also
took the Delta math test this week.
Language Arts
BLOWERS: Students are completing their writing of a piece titled, "What I Didn't Get to do this Summer". I will be making comments on their googledocs about their pieces over the weekend. With this piece I am reviewing the writing process, what it looks like in our classroom. I am looking for their strengths and what is needed to be worked on.
READING: We read "My Lucky Day" and discussed/practiced the steps to summarizing fiction. Students took the SRI on Tuesday. We read the NF article "How Candy Conquered America". Through this article we practiced summarizing sections of NF text, making inferences using background knowledge and text clues, and using text clues to find definitions to unknown vocabulary. Next week we will reread this article and discuss and practice Question/Answer relationships. We will also practice compare and contrast strategies with the above article and a paired text to the above article.
Social Studies
We had a fun week
celebrating Constitution Day by reading a couple books, watching SchoolHouse
Rock, reciting the Preamble (after learning what those big words actually mean)
and enjoying patriotic cupcakes! We also started a review of the 3
branches of government.
Science
This week we walked the grounds discussing areas we will work in for science and picked up items from nature to mass and weigh, working in partners to do all of this. We have had some discussions about mass and weight which can be confusing for students. We watched some video clips with examples and explanations. Later we will be doing other investigations about mass and weight.
Spelling: Students took the Lesson 1 test on Friday. We took this test together as a practice as the proofreading test is new to them.
The Lesson 2 word list is in the "Spelling" tab above. We no longer have the Word Test in 5th grade. Students will be learning a skill which they will be tested on as well as be tested on proofreading skills. I do recommend, however, that students review the words as they frequently come up in these 2 assessments!
Friday, September 11, 2015
UPCOMING DATES:
Sept. 21...................Field trip
Oct. 5-9................... Homecoming week
Oct. 8 .....................5th/6th Grade Bingo Bash
More info. to come about these events.
Notes from Mrs. Blowers:
I hope the first week went well for your child. We have spent a lot of time learning routines, finding where we're going, practicing opening lockers, and meeting new people. Team-building activities have been part of this and we will continue to do these off an on. I look forward to getting to know your children and each of their unique personalities better!
* Next week Mrs. Custer will join my blog and begin writing the Math and Social Studies sections. We will have our own section for writing.
* We will have a 5th grade field trip on September 21st. This is a way for all of our 5th graders to come together and do team-building activities. 2 notes went home today about this.
* A reminder that there is a parent section on the school website where you can find information about a variety of topics.
http://www.hamiltonschools.us/for-parents/
CONTACTING ME:
Email: lblowers@hamiltonschools.us
Phone:
269-751-4436
REMIND: 9 of you have signed up for Remind text messages. It's an easy way to get reminders for tests, field trips, and last minute items if you don't look at your email routinely.
Signing up takes seconds to do!
Enter this number: (424) 835-7621
Text this: @1458b
"Photos" tab: Mrs. Custer and I will add photos from class, field trips etc throughout the year and place them in this tab or directly on the blog page.
HOMEWORK: No homework EXCEPT to read their Book report book. Information about the assignment was further explained to students today and a note was sent home.
MATH
Students will begin getting into the first math unit, Adding and Subtracting Fractions next week. The "Math" tab above has tutorials I put on from last year and Mrs. Custer may add others as the year goes on.
Language Arts
We began writing a piece titled, "What I Didn't Get to do this Summer" for a little change of pace from the usual.
In reading we read and discussed a short article about 9/11 and included mini-lessons about thinking about our reading by summarizing information as well as noticing the difference between recognizing vocabulary words and truly understanding them. We will be reading texts associated with our Comprehension Toolkit and reviewing/practicing comprehension strategies beginning next week. The "Reading" tab above has some sites for comprehension and vocabulary. I will add to this.
Science
Our first science unit - Forces and Motion-begins Monday. We will be heading outdoors for several investigations.
Spelling:
The Lesson 1 word list is in the "Spelling" tab above. We no longer have the Word Test in 5th grade. Students will be learning a skill which they will be tested on as well as be tested on proofreading skills. I do recommend, however, that students review the words as they frequently come up in these 2 assessments!
Sept. 21...................Field trip
Oct. 5-9................... Homecoming week
Oct. 8 .....................5th/6th Grade Bingo Bash
More info. to come about these events.
Notes from Mrs. Blowers:
I hope the first week went well for your child. We have spent a lot of time learning routines, finding where we're going, practicing opening lockers, and meeting new people. Team-building activities have been part of this and we will continue to do these off an on. I look forward to getting to know your children and each of their unique personalities better!
* Next week Mrs. Custer will join my blog and begin writing the Math and Social Studies sections. We will have our own section for writing.
* We will have a 5th grade field trip on September 21st. This is a way for all of our 5th graders to come together and do team-building activities. 2 notes went home today about this.
* A reminder that there is a parent section on the school website where you can find information about a variety of topics.
http://www.hamiltonschools.us/for-parents/
CONTACTING ME:
Email: lblowers@hamiltonschools.us
Phone:
269-751-4436
REMIND: 9 of you have signed up for Remind text messages. It's an easy way to get reminders for tests, field trips, and last minute items if you don't look at your email routinely.
Signing up takes seconds to do!
Enter this number: (424) 835-7621
Text this: @1458b
"Photos" tab: Mrs. Custer and I will add photos from class, field trips etc throughout the year and place them in this tab or directly on the blog page.
HOMEWORK: No homework EXCEPT to read their Book report book. Information about the assignment was further explained to students today and a note was sent home.
MATH
Students will begin getting into the first math unit, Adding and Subtracting Fractions next week. The "Math" tab above has tutorials I put on from last year and Mrs. Custer may add others as the year goes on.
Language Arts
We began writing a piece titled, "What I Didn't Get to do this Summer" for a little change of pace from the usual.
In reading we read and discussed a short article about 9/11 and included mini-lessons about thinking about our reading by summarizing information as well as noticing the difference between recognizing vocabulary words and truly understanding them. We will be reading texts associated with our Comprehension Toolkit and reviewing/practicing comprehension strategies beginning next week. The "Reading" tab above has some sites for comprehension and vocabulary. I will add to this.
Science
Our first science unit - Forces and Motion-begins Monday. We will be heading outdoors for several investigations.
Spelling:
The Lesson 1 word list is in the "Spelling" tab above. We no longer have the Word Test in 5th grade. Students will be learning a skill which they will be tested on as well as be tested on proofreading skills. I do recommend, however, that students review the words as they frequently come up in these 2 assessments!
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Week of May 25-May 29
DUNE'S FIELD TRIP: I have pictures in the "photos" tab. Since my class was split up, I don't have any pictures of the girls. :( if you have photos for the blog, you can send them and I will put them on
POETRY CAFE': Thank you for joining us for this! The kids worked hard to memorize, use expression, and animations to present poems. Thanks to all those who donated items for the cafe'!
Photos are in the 'photos' tab.
Lockers: We will be cleaning out lockers Thursday and Friday. You may want to send along something for them to bring items home in.
Absence: If you know your child will miss school the last week, you should let me know as soon as possible. Tests will need to be completed before this or they will have to take a '1'.
IMPORTANT! Friday your child brought home a Manila envelope with information for next school year and orientation in September. Please put this in a safe place for that date.
SCIENCE:
We have been reviewing the study guide. The test will be June 1st. Students are also working in groups to create their own animals including it's classification, habitat, behavioral and physical
adaptations.
DUNE'S FIELD TRIP: I have pictures in the "photos" tab. Since my class was split up, I don't have any pictures of the girls. :( if you have photos for the blog, you can send them and I will put them on
POETRY CAFE': Thank you for joining us for this! The kids worked hard to memorize, use expression, and animations to present poems. Thanks to all those who donated items for the cafe'!
Photos are in the 'photos' tab.
Lockers: We will be cleaning out lockers Thursday and Friday. You may want to send along something for them to bring items home in.
Absence: If you know your child will miss school the last week, you should let me know as soon as possible. Tests will need to be completed before this or they will have to take a '1'.
IMPORTANT! Friday your child brought home a Manila envelope with information for next school year and orientation in September. Please put this in a safe place for that date.
HOMEWORK:
1) Math workbook page 181.
We wrote this in planners, I showed it to kids and we talked about how to do it.
2) Study for Monday's science test. We have studied this week. Students assured me they had their study guides to take home- we looked at these together again on Friday.
MATH:
We began one of 2 study guides for our measurement unit. The test will be Thursday June 4th.
READING:
We will complete The Fighting Ground on Monday and have more discussion and review. The assessment will be on Wednesday June 3rd.
WRITING:
We will finalize our poetry unit this week and students will present 1 or 2 of their poems.SCIENCE:
We have been reviewing the study guide. The test will be June 1st. Students are also working in groups to create their own animals including it's classification, habitat, behavioral and physical
adaptations.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
About the Week of May 18th and looking ahead...
DUNE'S FIELD TRIP: WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY! The weather cooperated, we had well-behaved students, and everyone had a lot of fun! Thank you to all who volunteered and and participating in the Penny War! Leftover snacks and water are being saved for another fun 5th/6th grade activity day the last week of school.Pencils: Please send pencils with your child!
Lockers: We will be cleaning out lockers the last full week of school. You may want to send along something for them to bring items home in.
Absence: If you know your child will miss school the last week, you should let me know as soon as possible. Tests will need to be completed before this or they will have to take a '1'.
UPCOMING DATES:
Monday May 25th: NO SCHOOL- Memorial Day
May 28th I will be gone. The same sub they have had the other 2 times I was gone will be there. (Mrs. VanHuis)
HOMEWORK:There is no homework for Memorial Day weekend except to practice memorizing poems or if a student has finish-up work. These students talked with me and know.
2) Reading: ALL: Reading daily is a homework expectation.
MATH:
We continue in our measurement unit. We have been reviewing past concepts and added in line plots graphs, perimeter, area, and volume. Next week we will learn about compound volumes and continue reviewing all concepts. The test will be the last full week of school. I will let you know the date this coming week.
READING:
We are part way through The Fighting Ground, our last genre unit. We should be finishing that this weekend.We have
been reading as a class so far, discussing vocabulary, character motive
and reactions to events, visualizing scenes, and summarizing
information. We are also reviewing how to write a summary, write a
complete response, and quote accurately from text.
WRITING:
We continue with our Poetry unit this week.
This centers around
grammar and figurative language review and includes poems that focus on
these skills, but are also fun! Mrs. Custer and I
will have a "Poetry Cafe" that parents will be invited to where you may
listen to your students read and act out their own poetry and the poetry
of published authors.
Poetry
Cafe will be May 27th in the morning. Mrs. Custer will have hers first,
and then we will trade classrooms so we have a larger area for the
Cafe' and so our parents who have twins are able to see both of their
children. Our Poetry Cafe will be at 9:50 in Mrs. Custer's room.Science:
We reviewed and discussed body systems. We will continue that discussion next week as well as complete and study the study guide. The test will be June 1st. Students are also working in groups to create their own animals including it's classification, habitat, behavioral and physical adaptations.
Spelling Students
took proofreading part of Spelling Test 30 on Thursday. We will review and take the skill section which is synonyms and
antonyms on Thursday. This will be the last spelling test!
Saturday, May 16, 2015
About the Week of May 11th and looking ahead...
UPCOMING DATES:
Friday May 22nd: DUNES FIELD TRIP
Monday May 25th: NO SCHOOL- Memorial Day
May 21st and May 28th I will be gone. The same sub they have had the other 2 times I was gone will be there. (Mrs. VanHuis)
HOMEWORK:1) Math: Lesson: Students have a page reviewing measuring with metric units. They also have a graphic organizer to assist them.
2) Reading: ALL: Reading daily is a homework expectation.
MATH:
Our focus for measurement so far has been practicing measuring, comparing, and converting metric units of length, capacity, and mass as well as customary units of length. We will continue reviewing this and add in customary units of capacity and mass. We will also learn about line plots. Students took the 6th Grade Delta Math test this week.
READING:
Book club papers will come home this week- I need to get them passed back and have the kids staple them together. Those grades have been put in already. We began The Fighting Ground, our last genre unit.We have been reading as a class so far, discussing vocabulary, character motive and reactions to events, visualizing scenes, and summarizing information. We are also reviewing how to write a summary, write a complete response, and quote accurately from text.
WRITING:
I have Biographies all graded and most students have theirs returned. I will put the grades in this weekend. We began our Poetry unit this week. This centers around
grammar and figurative language review and includes poems that focus on
these skills, but are also fun! Mrs. Custer and I
will have a "Poetry Cafe" that parents will be invited to where you may
listen to your students read and act out their own poetry and the poetry
of published authors.
Poetry Cafe will be May 27th in the morning. Mrs. Custer will have hers first, and then we will trade classrooms so we have a larger area for the Cafe' and so our parents who have twins are able to see both of their children.If you replied about donations, I will send out a slip to you on Monday as to which item to bring- and thank you!
Science:
We had our quiz on Friday over lessons 1-6. We aslo discussed fossils and what paleontologists can discover from them. Next week we will talk about natural disasters and how they can affect climate and animal habitats. We will discuss body systems and how they work together. I am hoping there will be enough time for students to create their own animal using what they know about classification, physical and behavioral adaptations and how these work with what an animals habitat would be.
Spelling Students
took Spelling Test 29 on Friday. This week's skill is synonyms and antonyms. This will be the LAST SPELLING TEST! The Lesson 30 words are in the
spelling tab. Your child should study these particularly if the
proofreading has been difficult for them. The spelling tests typically
get a little more difficult toward the end of the year now. I will give
paper copies out to anyone who wants one.
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