Happy 11th Birthday, Lizzie Ferrazza!!
Monday, September 29, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
5-2 Updates ~ 09/26
Hello 5-2 Parents ~
Another beautiful weekend in front of us and another busy week in 5-2 this week! My apologies for not updating the blog last week!! I usually get it updated once a week, but sometimes....time just gets away from me!!
Important Dates
Smile ~ School Picture Day is this Tuesday, September 30th! Picture order forms went home this week. It would be best if you sent in the order form ASAP, but they can be sent in as late as Tuesday. If you do not receive the order form, please let me know. Some students have asked me if they can arrive in their comfortable clothes, then change into their "picture outfits" before pictures are taken. Your child will NOT have time to change before pictures are taken, so please have your child arrive to school in their "picture outfits". If they want to bring a change of clothes for after pictures are taken, they will be allowed to change before they go out to recess.
Re-enactment ~ Thursday, October 9th - Our 5th graders will have an opportunity to take a step back in time to 1776 and visit a frontier camp in our very own field! This is such an exciting experience for the 5th graders as they get to meet with and learn from several re-enactors from that time period. From militia members to school teachers, they learn what life was like on the frontier at that time. Shortly after they visit our field, we begin our social studies unit on the Revolutionary War. Permission slips went home this week - there is not cost, so please just sign and return the form ASAP. Thank you!
Math
Unit 1 Assessments went home this week to be signed and returned, and we started Unit 2 - Addition/Subtraction/Multiplication Algorithms. Many of the students performed exceptionally well on the Unit 2 pre-test ~ our Math Stations work well to accomodate the large number of kids that need to be enriched. Math Stations are an engaging way to structure the classroom, and they allow me time to differentiate instruction for those learners who need additional time in instruction, as well as those who need an additional challenge. A new Autumn Common Core Packet also went home this week. This packet is due at the end of unit 2 ~ about two weeks from now, so please have students working on that packet regularly so they don't get caught having to complete it all at the end. Learning to break down larger assignments is an excellent way to prepare for the years to come!
Science
We had a busy week in science this week! Students continued their study of the nervous system early in the week as they learned more about reflexes, such as the blink reflex and pupil dialation. Ask your child how they discovered these reflexes work without even thinking about them, then ask them if they can tell you the difference between a reflex and a reaction. With a reflex, our nervous system takes information in through one of our senses, sends it to the spinal cord, then immediately back to the muscles - it does not have to travel to the brain to make a decision. With a reaction, our nervous system takes information in through one of our senses, sends it to the spinal cord, which takes it to the brain to make a decision. The brain makes a decision about what to do, then sends that message down through the spinal cord, out through the nerves and to the muscles.
Later in the week, we spent more time in the skeletal system as they were allowed to explore cow bones. They discovered bones are made up of compact bone, spongy bone, and bone marrow. Students were excited as they were allowed to explore these bones in more detail with proscopes. They also discovered how important calcium in our bones and we discussed the importance of eating a calcium-rich diet and exercising regularly to keep our bones healthy. Your children are quite engaged in these science lessons! Their enthusiasm is contagious :)
We will bt midway through the Human Body unit, and will be taking a mid-unit assessment on Thursday. We will review for the quiz on Wednesday, and I will post the completed graphic organizers for students to start studying this weekend. They can also log on to Spelling City to practice the vocabulary from this unit.
Reading
On the 3rd week of every unit in Treasures we shift our focus to non-fiction text strategies. We learned how to compare and contrast in Time for Kids articles under the theme of forest biomes. Comparing and contrasting can be an easier strategy to master when reading simpler text, but now that your child is in 5th grade, they have been pushed to identify relationships in much more complex text. Many of them struggled to master this strategy, but most of them were able to challenge themselves to find relationships in more difficult text. They also spent a great deal of time improving their research skills this week as they researched the difference between deciduous and coniferous forests, then they turned their research into writing as they compared and contrasted the forests. Again, this is challenging for many as they learned to squeeze every fact out of the text they are reading, but so many of them really improved their skills this week!
Writing
The students continued to work on the skill of focus this week in writing, shifting from focusing on the moment to focusing on an object. They were also asked to describe an item that means the most to them - can you guess what they chose?? Ask them! Later in the week, they shifted their focus to a setting, and described a really crowded environment. I'm so impressed with how much detail they're bringing into their writing as they really learned to focus on the details.
We worry about what a child will become tomorrow,
yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher
As always...if you have any questions or concerns at all, please don't hesitate to contact me! Enjoy your weekend!
Cheers ~
Theresa Fowler
Sunday, September 14, 2014
5-2 Updates!
Hello 5-2 Families :)
Important Dates and Information:
Morning Announcements - If you sent in a permission slip for Morning Announcements, your children were placed on the schedule, but please be aware that there are many children who are interested in participating. This means you may not see your child on the schedule until well into the school year. I will attach the schedule to the blog when it's fully updated. You will receive an email from Mrs. Watanuki the Friday before the week your child has duty. Your child is expected to be here at 8:45 every morning they serve on Morning Announcements.
Maps Testing ~
- Math ~ Monday, 9/15 ~ 9:10-10:10pm (Tranter ~ Wednesday, 9/9 ~ 9:10-10:10)
It is important that your child is in school on these days, so please try to schedule any appointments outside of these times. If your child is absent due to illness, we will schedule make-ups, but it does mean they will be out of the classroom during instruction. Research shows that students perform better when they are well-rested and well-fed before taking assessments!
Room Rep Meeting ~ Tuesday, 9/16 ~ 3-4pm ~ I will be discussing the need for regular copy moms to help us out with the room moms. Please let me know if you're interested!
Band Meeting ~ Wednesday, 9/17 ~ 7-8pm
What's Happening in the Classroom
Math
We will be finishing Unit 1 this week with our first unit test on Friday. This year, their unit assessments will include both the material they learn in Everyday Mathematics, as well as the lessons on Kahn Academy. Your child was given a Self-Assessment at the beginning of the unit with all of the skills listed, both in Everyday Math and Kahn Academy. If you're interested in the skills they are responsible for learning this unit, please ask them to share their Self-Assessment with you. We expect them to review this Self-Assessment throughout the unit to monitor their own progress of skills taught during the unit so they don't arrive at the assessment unprepared. Ask your child if thye have re-assessed their skills in the past week! We will be reviewing for the test both Wednesday and Thursday in class, with some review work assigned as homework. I typically offer study sessions for the unit tests - this week I will offer one on Thursday during lunch and recess. Please encourage your child to attend if they are struggling with the review and need some additional time to review the skills. In addition to the Unit Assessment, students will also take a Snapshot on Edmodo - this is a Common Core aligned assessment of the standard covered during the unit.
As a reminder, please be sure your child is practicing their multiplication and division facts with your students. The automaticity of their facts becomes increasingly important as they move through the 5th grade curriculum. They can review their facts by playing Facts Dash or Facts Workshop using their Everydaymathonline.com login.
Science
Our study of the human body continued this week as we learned about bones and joints. Ask your child if they remember the three different types of joints in their body, and the location of each of these models! We will begin this week learning how the muscles work in pairs to move the bones, then they will have an opportunity to build models of joints using a variety of supplies in their science teams this week. While we don't have a unit assessment for a couple of weeks in science, it's important for students to keep up on the vocabulary learned in this unit. The graphic organizers they complete for each chapter has the most important information for each lesson - have your child continue to review these throughout the unit.
Reading
In reading this week, we opened our Treasures book to begin the first unit. Students learned to identify character traits in a variety of texts, discuss how a character changes throughout a story, and find evidence from the text to support their claims. I've included some pictures below of them working hard in their small groups :)
We took the Weekly Assessment on Friday, testing the vocabulary, comprehension strategies, grammar and spelling from the week. In 5th grade, students take their tests on MimioVote, a responder system that enters their scores using remote devices. This is a paperless system, so we do not send home paper copies of the test. They do write their written responses on an answer sheet, and I record their final test scores on this sheet (Weekly Literacy Assessment Report). These scores are broken down into the components of the test so we have a better understanding of how your child performed on the test. I also record the scores from their spelling, grammar, and vocabualry tests on the Literacy Report. Your child will bring this report home for a signature on Mondays - please be sure to sign and return. If you should ever want to see a detailed copy of your child's performance on the test, I can email you an electronic copy - simply email me a request. In addition to the Weekly Assessment, students will also take a Snapshot on Edmodo - this is a Common Core aligned assessment of the standard covered during the week.
Writing
We will be finishing up our Informational/Explanatory Text-Based Writing Unit this week. Students will be learning how to respond to non-fiction text in this unit. Most of the non-fiction reading they will be doing in this unit will be on the human body, so it pairs nicely with our science unit. Once those are edited and published, they will begin to work on Tall Tales, which pairs with our Tall Tale unit in reading this week. After reading several tall tales earlier in the week, they will be ready to begin writing their own tall tales toward the end of the week.
Have a fantastic week!
I hope you were able to get out and enjoy the weather on this beautiful weekend! While the temperature drops came quite suddenly this year, it's so nice to feel those fall temperatures rolling in.
We jumped into curriculum with both feet this week in all content areas...you may have noticed the increase in homework expectations. If you are noticing more than an hour of homework, your child is probably not using their classroom time wisely. This is a learned skill, and something we talk about often. If they're struggling at home with the amount of homework, you may want to reinforce using their independent time in the classroom to complete homework. If they seem overwhelmed, please include me in the conversation as your child may need some additional support with organization and making choices during work times.
Important Dates and Information:
Morning Announcements - If you sent in a permission slip for Morning Announcements, your children were placed on the schedule, but please be aware that there are many children who are interested in participating. This means you may not see your child on the schedule until well into the school year. I will attach the schedule to the blog when it's fully updated. You will receive an email from Mrs. Watanuki the Friday before the week your child has duty. Your child is expected to be here at 8:45 every morning they serve on Morning Announcements.
Maps Testing ~
- Math ~ Monday, 9/15 ~ 9:10-10:10pm (Tranter ~ Wednesday, 9/9 ~ 9:10-10:10)
It is important that your child is in school on these days, so please try to schedule any appointments outside of these times. If your child is absent due to illness, we will schedule make-ups, but it does mean they will be out of the classroom during instruction. Research shows that students perform better when they are well-rested and well-fed before taking assessments!
Room Rep Meeting ~ Tuesday, 9/16 ~ 3-4pm ~ I will be discussing the need for regular copy moms to help us out with the room moms. Please let me know if you're interested!
Band Meeting ~ Wednesday, 9/17 ~ 7-8pm
What's Happening in the Classroom
Math
We will be finishing Unit 1 this week with our first unit test on Friday. This year, their unit assessments will include both the material they learn in Everyday Mathematics, as well as the lessons on Kahn Academy. Your child was given a Self-Assessment at the beginning of the unit with all of the skills listed, both in Everyday Math and Kahn Academy. If you're interested in the skills they are responsible for learning this unit, please ask them to share their Self-Assessment with you. We expect them to review this Self-Assessment throughout the unit to monitor their own progress of skills taught during the unit so they don't arrive at the assessment unprepared. Ask your child if thye have re-assessed their skills in the past week! We will be reviewing for the test both Wednesday and Thursday in class, with some review work assigned as homework. I typically offer study sessions for the unit tests - this week I will offer one on Thursday during lunch and recess. Please encourage your child to attend if they are struggling with the review and need some additional time to review the skills. In addition to the Unit Assessment, students will also take a Snapshot on Edmodo - this is a Common Core aligned assessment of the standard covered during the unit.
As a reminder, please be sure your child is practicing their multiplication and division facts with your students. The automaticity of their facts becomes increasingly important as they move through the 5th grade curriculum. They can review their facts by playing Facts Dash or Facts Workshop using their Everydaymathonline.com login.
Science
Our study of the human body continued this week as we learned about bones and joints. Ask your child if they remember the three different types of joints in their body, and the location of each of these models! We will begin this week learning how the muscles work in pairs to move the bones, then they will have an opportunity to build models of joints using a variety of supplies in their science teams this week. While we don't have a unit assessment for a couple of weeks in science, it's important for students to keep up on the vocabulary learned in this unit. The graphic organizers they complete for each chapter has the most important information for each lesson - have your child continue to review these throughout the unit.
Reading
In reading this week, we opened our Treasures book to begin the first unit. Students learned to identify character traits in a variety of texts, discuss how a character changes throughout a story, and find evidence from the text to support their claims. I've included some pictures below of them working hard in their small groups :)
We took the Weekly Assessment on Friday, testing the vocabulary, comprehension strategies, grammar and spelling from the week. In 5th grade, students take their tests on MimioVote, a responder system that enters their scores using remote devices. This is a paperless system, so we do not send home paper copies of the test. They do write their written responses on an answer sheet, and I record their final test scores on this sheet (Weekly Literacy Assessment Report). These scores are broken down into the components of the test so we have a better understanding of how your child performed on the test. I also record the scores from their spelling, grammar, and vocabualry tests on the Literacy Report. Your child will bring this report home for a signature on Mondays - please be sure to sign and return. If you should ever want to see a detailed copy of your child's performance on the test, I can email you an electronic copy - simply email me a request. In addition to the Weekly Assessment, students will also take a Snapshot on Edmodo - this is a Common Core aligned assessment of the standard covered during the week.
As I mentioned on Curriculum Night, your child has the option to Re-take/Re-do any project or assessment if they are not pleased with their grade. If they do not pass the assignment or project, I will ask them to re-take or re-do it. They will complete a Re-take/Re-do Contract with me which will require additional work for the unit, then they will have the another opportunity to complete it. If your child is ever discouraged by their assessment scores, please encourage them to see me about a re-do.
Writing
We will be finishing up our Informational/Explanatory Text-Based Writing Unit this week. Students will be learning how to respond to non-fiction text in this unit. Most of the non-fiction reading they will be doing in this unit will be on the human body, so it pairs nicely with our science unit. Once those are edited and published, they will begin to work on Tall Tales, which pairs with our Tall Tale unit in reading this week. After reading several tall tales earlier in the week, they will be ready to begin writing their own tall tales toward the end of the week.
Edmodo
As you are aware, much of our daily work is completed on Edmodo. You may have logged on to see some of the work they are involved in, and perhaps noticed some late assignments. Please know that many of their assignments are completed in small groups, so one member will submit the work, leaving the other members appearing as if they did not submit the assignment. I do grade those group assignments and post them on each of their accounts, but in the interim it may look as if your child did not submit an assignment. Many of these assignments are also classwork only, and do not go home as homework. If a student doesn't finish the assignment in class, I will give them time to complete the assignment the next day in class. Again, it may appear as if their assignment is late.
The assignment notebook is where homework assignments are recorded. If your child has a late assignment, you will receive notification with a late slip and strike sheet. If you have NOT received one of these sheets, assume that your child does not have a late assignment, even though Edmodo may show a late assignment.
Have a fantastic week!
“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” – Pablo Casals
Cheers ~
Theresa Fowler
Friday, September 5, 2014
5-2 Updates
Hello 5-2 families :)
Well, that was an exciting end to our week!! I'm sure you've heard the whirlwind of stories about our last hour in a very dark classroom by now...but you would be SO proud of your children in a potentially very scary situation. They were SO brave and SO mature in their response!! I was fortunate enough to have a few moments advance warning as my husband let me know the storm blew through our town and took down TWO of our 40 ft Bradford pear trees (so sad!!) and it was headed our way. As the skies grew very dark, and your children started to notice, I calmly assured them the safest place to be during the storm was the school. They asked if the power was going to go off...I said it might, so we talked about what we were going to do if that was going to happen. They were worried about alarms, but I reassured them that we already knew what to do if that happened. I reminded them that I would be there with them, and that my number one job was to protect them and keep them safe. Moments later, when the power went out...their response was so sweet: "We trust you, Mrs. Fowler!" I was so thankful to have had that few minutes to talk with them before the power went out! Only a few tears were shed and after lots of hugs, we spent the remainder of the afternoon playing silent ball under the light of my phone's flashlight :)
Important Dates and Information:
Morning Announcements - Permissions slips were sent home today! If your child is interested in being on our Morning Announcements team, please read the information carefully, and send in the permission slip. They will be put on a rotating schedule to serve in one week intervals. You will be notified when your child is on the Morning Announcement schedule - they are expected to be here at 8:45am during that week.
Bike Rodeo ~ Tuesday, 9/9 ~ 3-5pm - Students should plan to attend the Bike Rodeo if they plan to ride their bike to school. It is not mandatory if they have attended a Bike Rodeo in the past.
Maps Testing ~
- Reading ~ Thursday, 9/11 ~ 2:15-3:15pm
- Math ~ Monday, 9/15 ~ 9:10-10:10pm (Tranter ~ Wednesday, 9/9 ~ 9:10-10:10)
It is important that your child is in school on these days, so please try to schedule any appointments outside of these times. If your child is absent due to illness, we will schedule make-ups, but it does mean they will be out of the classroom during instruction. Research shows that students perform better when they are well-rested and well-fed before taking assessments!
Room Rep Meeting ~ Tuesday, 9/16 ~ 3-4pm ~ I will be discussing the need for regular copy moms to help us out with the room moms. Please let me know if you're interested!
Band Meeting ~ Wednesday, 9/17 ~ 7-8pm
What's Happening in the Classroom
Math ~ We started Unit 1 this week in math! We will cover a variety of topics in Number Theory in this unit, including factors and products, squaring and un-squaring numbers, prime and composite numbers, and prime factorization.
As I shared with you on Parent Night, I pre-test the students for every unit. This allows me to differentiate instruction for each lesson based on the results of the pre-test. I teach math in a workshop model so students rotate stations. In the rotation, they will meet with me for instruction, spend time in their journals, and practice skills on Khan Academy or Everyday Math Online. If they demonstrate mastery on the pre-test, they will work on enrichment and advanced content; if they demonstrate a need for additional support, I will spend more time in instruction with them.
I also shared that homework is not graded because it is practice, but it is checked every day. If students do not demonstrate an understanding of the skills covered on their homework, they will be asked to re-do the assignment. Encourage your child to work through their homework each night - even if it is a struggle, they should do their best to complete as much of the homework as they can, but not to worry if they cannot finish it. We do review the homework every morning, so if they do not understand a concept, they will have a chance to discuss it with me.
Most nights, they will have a study link and math boxes for homework - this should take them approximately 30 minutes of their nightly 60 minutes of homework. If you find that your child consistently takes longer than 30 minutes to complete their math homework, please let me know!
Science ~ We started our Human Body unit with a rigorous physical exercise routine on Thursday! I've included some pictures below - I apologize that your children are so blurry, but they were really moving!! They worked out pretty intensely for 5 minutes, then spent some time observing and recording the changes to their bodies as they worked out. The students then tried to figure out what was happening to their bodies to cause the changes. Ask your child what they noticed about their body, and why they thing it might be happening! We will spend the next several weeks learning about those changes as we study the systems of the body through hands on experiments.
Reading - In reading this week, students learned that authors are intentional when writing stories, and they put "signposts" in the text where readers are supposed to stop and "Notice & Note" what is happening. The signposts we discussed this week are: Contrasts & Contradictions, Aha Moments, Again & Again, Memory Moments, Words of the Wiser, and Tough Questions. Ask your child about these signposts to see if they remember what they should "Notice and Note"! We will be looking for these signposts in everything we read this year.
Writing - We started our Informational/Explanatory Text-Based Writing Unit this week. Students will be learning how to respond to non-fiction text in this unit. Most of the non-fiction reading they will be doing in this unit will be on the human body, so it pairs nicely with our science unit.
Enjoy your weekend...hopefully it will be more peaceful than our Friday afternoon!
Well, that was an exciting end to our week!! I'm sure you've heard the whirlwind of stories about our last hour in a very dark classroom by now...but you would be SO proud of your children in a potentially very scary situation. They were SO brave and SO mature in their response!! I was fortunate enough to have a few moments advance warning as my husband let me know the storm blew through our town and took down TWO of our 40 ft Bradford pear trees (so sad!!) and it was headed our way. As the skies grew very dark, and your children started to notice, I calmly assured them the safest place to be during the storm was the school. They asked if the power was going to go off...I said it might, so we talked about what we were going to do if that was going to happen. They were worried about alarms, but I reassured them that we already knew what to do if that happened. I reminded them that I would be there with them, and that my number one job was to protect them and keep them safe. Moments later, when the power went out...their response was so sweet: "We trust you, Mrs. Fowler!" I was so thankful to have had that few minutes to talk with them before the power went out! Only a few tears were shed and after lots of hugs, we spent the remainder of the afternoon playing silent ball under the light of my phone's flashlight :)
Important Dates and Information:
Morning Announcements - Permissions slips were sent home today! If your child is interested in being on our Morning Announcements team, please read the information carefully, and send in the permission slip. They will be put on a rotating schedule to serve in one week intervals. You will be notified when your child is on the Morning Announcement schedule - they are expected to be here at 8:45am during that week.
Bike Rodeo ~ Tuesday, 9/9 ~ 3-5pm - Students should plan to attend the Bike Rodeo if they plan to ride their bike to school. It is not mandatory if they have attended a Bike Rodeo in the past.
Maps Testing ~
- Reading ~ Thursday, 9/11 ~ 2:15-3:15pm
- Math ~ Monday, 9/15 ~ 9:10-10:10pm (Tranter ~ Wednesday, 9/9 ~ 9:10-10:10)
It is important that your child is in school on these days, so please try to schedule any appointments outside of these times. If your child is absent due to illness, we will schedule make-ups, but it does mean they will be out of the classroom during instruction. Research shows that students perform better when they are well-rested and well-fed before taking assessments!
Room Rep Meeting ~ Tuesday, 9/16 ~ 3-4pm ~ I will be discussing the need for regular copy moms to help us out with the room moms. Please let me know if you're interested!
Band Meeting ~ Wednesday, 9/17 ~ 7-8pm
What's Happening in the Classroom
Math ~ We started Unit 1 this week in math! We will cover a variety of topics in Number Theory in this unit, including factors and products, squaring and un-squaring numbers, prime and composite numbers, and prime factorization.
As I shared with you on Parent Night, I pre-test the students for every unit. This allows me to differentiate instruction for each lesson based on the results of the pre-test. I teach math in a workshop model so students rotate stations. In the rotation, they will meet with me for instruction, spend time in their journals, and practice skills on Khan Academy or Everyday Math Online. If they demonstrate mastery on the pre-test, they will work on enrichment and advanced content; if they demonstrate a need for additional support, I will spend more time in instruction with them.
I also shared that homework is not graded because it is practice, but it is checked every day. If students do not demonstrate an understanding of the skills covered on their homework, they will be asked to re-do the assignment. Encourage your child to work through their homework each night - even if it is a struggle, they should do their best to complete as much of the homework as they can, but not to worry if they cannot finish it. We do review the homework every morning, so if they do not understand a concept, they will have a chance to discuss it with me.
Most nights, they will have a study link and math boxes for homework - this should take them approximately 30 minutes of their nightly 60 minutes of homework. If you find that your child consistently takes longer than 30 minutes to complete their math homework, please let me know!
Science ~ We started our Human Body unit with a rigorous physical exercise routine on Thursday! I've included some pictures below - I apologize that your children are so blurry, but they were really moving!! They worked out pretty intensely for 5 minutes, then spent some time observing and recording the changes to their bodies as they worked out. The students then tried to figure out what was happening to their bodies to cause the changes. Ask your child what they noticed about their body, and why they thing it might be happening! We will spend the next several weeks learning about those changes as we study the systems of the body through hands on experiments.
Reading - In reading this week, students learned that authors are intentional when writing stories, and they put "signposts" in the text where readers are supposed to stop and "Notice & Note" what is happening. The signposts we discussed this week are: Contrasts & Contradictions, Aha Moments, Again & Again, Memory Moments, Words of the Wiser, and Tough Questions. Ask your child about these signposts to see if they remember what they should "Notice and Note"! We will be looking for these signposts in everything we read this year.
Writing - We started our Informational/Explanatory Text-Based Writing Unit this week. Students will be learning how to respond to non-fiction text in this unit. Most of the non-fiction reading they will be doing in this unit will be on the human body, so it pairs nicely with our science unit.
Enjoy your weekend...hopefully it will be more peaceful than our Friday afternoon!
“Children see magic because they look for it.”
Cheers ~
Theresa Fowler
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