Wax Museum

The Wax Museum was a hit!  The students had accurate costumes and very informative, well-prepared speeches!  Thank you to the parents and grandparents who came to listen!  16 of our students had a parent or grandparent come listen.  That is great support - thank you!

As for this week, I always encourage my students to read, but I am giving the students who are caught up on their work the week off of Reading Log.  We'll start up again in January.  Please don't forget about our book report.  We will start work on that in January.

For the remainder of the week:
Tuesday - Walking to the Fallon Theater, dress for the weather.
Wednesday - Vocabulary quiz in Projects
Thursday - Candy Gift Exchange and Drama play

Thank you for sending in your family Christmas cards.  We are enjoying the ones we have and it is not too late to send yours in.

Have a great week!

Projects and Christmas Events

We have two busy weeks before Christmas break.  Just so you are up on all the happenings in our class, here is the run-down.  There is really nothing new, just reminders of all we have going on.

1.  Revolutionary War Project costumes are due in class Wednesday Dec. 10.  We will use them Wednesday and Thursday for dress rehearsals.

2.  Wax Museum Presentation - Please come!  We have worked really hard and learned so much about the people and events of the revolution.  The 4th and 5th graders (80 kids!) will present Monday, Dec. 15 from 2:00 - 3:00.  Location to follow, probably the school, but we may have another option nearby.  

3.  Class Movie - We are walking to the Fallon Movie Theater Tuesday, Dec. 16.  Permission slips are all in, please send in $6.00 by Thursday.

4.  Christmas Candy Exchange - We will do a game to exchange a candy treat in class.  Send in a wrapped candy item with your child.  Please keep it under $2.50 and have that in by Wed. Dec. 17.

5.  Drama Christmas Play - The play, totally produced in drama class is Thursday Dec. 18 at 2:30.  (Maybe a little later, I have not checked with the Mrs Christie.) I am not in the class when they practice, but I have seen a little bit and it looks adorable.  I can't wait to see it!  The play should end at 3:15.  If you want to take your child at that time, please plan to check them out with me and Mrs. Evans.  I'll have my clipboard on me, I don't want to lose track of anyone!  I will try to have them packed up so that you can take them when the play is over, or they can dismiss at the regular time.

I know there is a lot going on.  We should have our second quarter auctions, but I am moving them to January.  That will be fun to look forward to when we come back from break.  

Keep your Christmas cards coming in.  You'd be surprised how many people stop to look at them.  I love having them in our classroom.  Have a great week!

Christmas Movie, Revolutionary War Project

For our Christmas party, the fifth grades will walk on Tuesday Dec. 16 to Fallon Theater to see Penguins of Madagascar. This movie is rated PG. Watch for a permission slip to come home soon. The price is $6.00 for admission, small drink, and small popcorn. The 7th and 8th graders are going on a different day that same week. Because we are doing this for our party, no food will be needed on that last day before Christmas break. We will do an activity in the classroom that afternoon, but our big celebration will be the movie.

In academic news, we are learning all about the events of the Revolutionary War. On Wednesday, your student will select a person to research and learn about for the wax museum. Your child will need a costume, so you may want to discuss that. Students may choose either gender for their historical figure, the only expectation is that students are respectful in how he or she represents the person from history. Our final presentations will be on Monday, Dec. 15. More information to follow on the location.

Have a great week!

New Project

Today was the start of a new history project.  We will cover the years of 1607 - 1776 in just 5 weeks!  We will focus on events leading up to the Revolutionary war.  The presentation will be a Wax Museum, where each student will choose an important person to research and share a memorized speech as that person from history.  We kicked it off by reading a timeline of early United States history and an article about colonization.  Then we made Thanksgiving Bracelets that went with a poem about the Mayflower and Plymouth colony.  Then we made one of three types of colonial hats, either a colonial bonnet, a powdered wig, or a tri-cornered hat.  Because the students will dress up for their presentation, this activity seemed both appropriate and a fun way to get interested in the people of the Revolution.

In addition to this entry event, we started expository writing today.  We will shift gears with our writing to write to give information.  We will focus on organizing our writing with topic sentences and facts, rather than description and dialogue like we included in narratives.

Have a great week!

Project Building Days, Gratitude Journal Challenge

This week has been much anticipated by the students, it is the week we build during project time!  Thank you for helping your student get the supplies into the classroom.  The creativity level in the classroom is very high and I especially appreciate how they are using their research to confirm what they are making.  They are focusing on building things that represent Native American life, according to their research on their chosen tribe.  They are also learning about when the Europeans came into their region and what that was like.   Lots of learning going on.

We are working on writing skills in the classroom this week, focusing on eliminating run-on sentences and sentence fragments.  The students will get to apply these skills when they choose aone of their narratives to revise and publish.  We are also starting to write in Gratitude Journals.  If you would like to take this gratitude challenge by fulfilling the same assignment as your child, you can choose one person or thing you are thankful for each school day and write a paragraph (5 sentence minimum) about why you are thankful for this person or thing.  We will do this for the 11 school days before Thanksgiving.  It will be a challenge for all of us to complete this, but we are going to do our best.  We hope to use writing to define and express our thoughts, as well as focus on the positive things in our lives.  Please let me know if you do this, even if you miss some days!  What a great way to prepare for Thanksgiving and have meaningful discussions with your child.

Have a great week!

Halloween Party

It has been a pleasure to meet with so many of you for Parent Teacher conferences.  I appreciate the hard work your children are doing in the classroom.  It makes our classroom a great place to be.  I enjoy each day with them.

This week we have a few new things, we started a new project today about Native Americans and the European explorers.  This will be a shorter one, just three weeks, with a building component, so be prepared for the supply lists to come home on Wednesday of this week.  We also got new classroom jobs.  Ask your child if he or she applied for a job this quarter.  If they have not, it is not too late.  Get those applications in!

On Thursday, we will celebrate Halloween.  Please have your child wear his or her costume.  Make sure it follows the school guidelines for costumes.  Our class is having a nacho party at 1:30, with a Halloween game inside.  We will have drama at 2:30 - 3:15, then we will finish the day with pumpkin bowling outside from 3:15 - 4:00 when we dismiss.  Ask your child if you have a food assignment.  Those went home last Thursday.  Thanks for all you do!

Parent Teacher Conferences and Tuck Project

Parent teacher conferences are this Friday, 10/24, and next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  I sent an email with specific times.  Please let me know when is the best time for us to meet.  Your student may come to the conference of you may come without him or her.  

This week in Reading, we are working on a Tuck Everlasting project in class.  Your student will need to gather 10 items from home that represent a character.  The items will come home after your child presents and should fit in a lunch bag.  Your student has chosen the character and is doing the writing in class.  

We have finished up auctions for the first quarter.  Thank you to all who sent in such great items!  It was a lot of fun to watch the students manage their money and make decisions about how much to spend on something.  Such great lessons for life outside the classroom!  

Have a great week!

End of Quarter Auctions

This is a big week in fifth grade.  We are ending the quarter, but we are also finishing up some major things in the classroom.  We finished our read aloud Wonder on Thursday.  We will finish Tuck Everlasting this week.  With both of these books, we will be discussing themes and how characters change during the course of the book.  These are two of my favorite books, both of them have great opportunities for discussion.  I highly recommend them, even to parents!

This week is our auction week.  Thank you to the parents who have already brought in auction items, Mrs. Wadsworth, Mrs. Baldwin, Mrs. Sorensen, and Mrs. Swan.  We will do auctions every day this week, so it's not too late to send in a treat or two.  I really appreciate it!

The Parent teacher conference schedule will be available soon!  I will hold some conferences on a Friday and some the following week, so I can accommodate everyone's schedules.  I am looking forward to meeting with everyone.  I will email you when the schedule is available for signing up.

Junior Acheivement, Bio Narrative, PE volunteer needed

In our economics project, we have been working with Washington Federal Bank to have the Junior Achievement program brought into our classroom.  This is a nationwide curriculum for 4th and 5th graders about economics.  They have trained presenters who have excellent materials that they share with us each week.  We played a game today with them, learning about different types of resources. It has been really helpful to learn with them and we appreciate having this program in our classroom.

This week, we are working on a biographical narrative in writing. We organized our narrative today and we will have it completed by Thursday.  Ask your child who they are writing about and why.

We have a wonderful Oasis PE parent, who is actually not a parent of any of our students, who takes our class each week Wednesdays from 3:15 - 4:00.  This person is not able to come for PE on Wed. 10/15 and Wed. 11/5.  If you can sub, please email me!  The students look forward to this all week.  It is a great way to enjoy this nice weather and play.  Can you help us out?  Let me know!

Game of Life Project

This week we are really getting the foundation set for our Game of Life project.  The students chose a career from a list.  They interviewed for three possible jobs, and they were selected for one.  We had a great discussion about how to interview, how to introduce yourself, shake someone's hand, They will use the sample salary to set a budget.  They will house shop and car shop with their budget and income in mind.  They are learning some great life skills.  Ask them about it at home.

We continue to read Tuck Everlasting in the classroom.  We have another vocab quiz on Monday 10/6.  We will soon start writing a biographical narrative as well.  Things are going great in the fifth grade!

Have a great week.

Economics Project

What a great day in fifth grade today!  We took a Tuck Everlasting Vocabulary quiz, learned 10 new words for next week's quiz, worked on our personal narratives, and learned the rules to play the game of Life.  Thank you to the Dales, the Wadsworths and the Sorensens who sent in their games for us to use.  We are taking good care of them.  We are also being introduced to many real life decisions that come up in that game, such as, should I go to college or start right in with a career?  Should I use my money to make a long-term investment?  What if it doesn't pay off?    This is our entry event for an economics project we are starting this week.  We will also get new vocabulary words for that unit as well, but not until Wednesday.   This might bring up some great dinner table conversations for this week.

As far as assignments for this week, we have a personal narrative due this week, our first one of the year.  This one will be done totally in class, but you may want to ask your student about his or her topic.  We will continue reading Tuck Everlasting this week, with another vocab quiz next Monday morning. We are having a great time in the fifth grade.  You have great students who are working hard!

New Tribes, Picture Day, and Vocab Quizzes

This week we have new seats, or tribes.  The students work cooperatively on many tasks in the classroom, so they should get to know the members of their new group.  We are doing some activities this week where they will get to know their new tribe members and where they will learn strengths of their new group members.  It is always fun to see students work together and develop leadership within their tribe.

Picture day is Wednesday.  Susan Robertson does a lovely job on these portraits!  If you send in your money early we will keep it in the classroom. Our time was moved from 3:00 to 10:00, which is good news for keeping students looking neat for their picture.

In reading this week, we will start reading Tuck Everlasting.  This is a great book that has a powerful message and is beautifully written.  With this lovely writing style, there are many vocabulary words we will study over the next three weeks.  We will have a vocabulary quiz each Monday for the next three weeks.  Your child will make a study guide in class and will have a few minutes each day to study, but should really prepare at home as well.

Overall, things are going great in the fifth grade!  This is a great group of students.  I love spending my day with them!

Walking Field Trip, Afternoon Snacks, and Project Presentation

Our class will be walking on Thursday, September 11, to City Hall for the Fallon City 9/11 Memorial Program.  We will leave at our morning recess time (9:20) and will be back in plenty of time for lunch at the school at our normal time.  Please make sure your child is dressed with comfortable shoes for walking.  Sunscreen or a hat may be appropriate, check the weather.  This is a respectful event and the city goes to a lot of work to make it nice for all who attend.  We will review our behavior expectations before we go, but you may want to talk to your child about this event, as it will probably bring up some questions.  

In class, we take a few minutes for our GO time (Get Organized time) at the end of each day.  I am allowing students to eat a snack during this time, so you may want to pack an extra item in the lunch for an afternoon snack.  We don’t have a sink in the classroom, so it should be a relatively neat snack, and just nutritious foods, no super sugary foods or candy at this time please.

In academics this week, our first project is coming to a close.  We will have a vocabulary quiz on Tuesday and will present our regional maps, slide shows, and graphs on Wednesday.  This has been a fun project, be sure to ask your child about his or her region. Next week, take a look at the maps that will be on display in the hallways.

 

US Regional Map Project

We are working hard on our United States Regional Map project.  Each group of four students is making a political or physical map of a region of the United States.  As part of this, each group is deciding on some information about the region they can share in a chart or graph.  Be sure to ask you child about his or her region and what cool facts they will share on their graph.  We had a lot of fun deciding!  The students will create a short slide show of attractions in their region.  The maps and graphs will be displayed in the hall for the other Oasis students to learn from and enjoy.

On weekends with a holiday, we do not do Parent journals, so don't worry if you didn't see it come home.  We are sending home the first Monday folder on Tuesday this week because of Labor Day.  Confusing, I know, but we have graded work to send home.  Usually that folder will come home on Mondays.  Just initial in the 9-1 box and send the empty folder back tomorrow.

Have a great week!

Second Week

We are off to a strong start of the second week of school.  We had lots of parent responses in parent journals this week.  Thank you for that!  We will not write to you this week because of the Labor Day holiday, but expect that parent journal to come home the week after.  We will try to be very consistent about that.

Also, this is a Monday, but we have no graded work to send home, so no Monday folder this week.  When that comes home, just initial inside on the grid to indicate you have the papers.

I am thrilled with  how quickly the students are picking up the routines in the classroom!  I really appreciate how attentive they are during instruction time.  This is such a nice group of kids!

We completed our bio-poems this week, they are on display on the bulletin boards outside our classroom.  In Projects, we are beginning to work on a regional map of the United States.  Ask your child what region he or she chose and what states are in that region.  We are excited to learn more about each region.

Have a great week!  

First Day

Wow!  What a great day!  These fifth graders were fabulous today!  We had a ton of routines and procedures to go over and they listened and followed directions.  I appreciated their attentiveness and helpfulness today.

A few things:  Me Bags - we will use them Wednesday.  We need a few more students to bring their introduction item to school in the lunch bag.

Big Binders - I love them, but they don't fit in the chair packs.  Please have your child use the white Oasis binder for the year.  Your child may personalize the binder with pictures or artwork at home.

Reading Log - Your child has homework - read for 20 minutes and write a summary of what he or she reads.  This will be the same for every night this year.

Math class - begins Tuesday with Miss Pettit. Expect homework.

Pick up - We are still getting the kinks out, Mrs. Mackedon will send out an email about how we can make pick up run smoothly.


It was a great day.  Rest up and get ready for tomorrow!

2014 Supply List

Oasis Academy

5th Grade Supply List

2014-2015

Shared supplies: The following items will be collected from your student and distributed as needed during the school year. These may be brought in at Back to School night or on the first day of school.

• 3 Tennis balls for chair and table legs, to protect the floors 
• 1 4-pack of toilet paper 
• 1 large box of tissues 
• Disinfecting cleaning wipes 
• 30 pencils - no mechanical pencils please 
• 2 large pink erasers 
• 4 large glue sticks 
• 2 black fine point Sharpie markers 

Hopefully this won’t be too confusing - bring only the supply below that goes with your last name. 

• Last name A-J - two rolls paper towels 
• Last name K - S - one box of 8 color markers 
• Last name T-Z - one box sandwich size zip- top baggies 

Individual supplies: These items will be kept by your students.

• 1 gently used sock or eraser to erase individual white boards 
• Non-disposable water bottle, labeled with name, to stay in classroom 
• 2 blue or black pens 
• 4 highlighters 
• 1 box of 8-12 colored pencils, basic colors 
• 2 composition books, with hard covers (no spirals) 
• 3 sturdy 2-pocket folders, no prongs in the center 
• 1 zippered pencil pouch for binder 
• 1 Plastic pencil box to hold classroom supplies (pens, highlighters, colored pencils, eraser) 

I have a classroom set of rulers, scissors, and crayons, so no need to send those in. 

Please email me with questions! jstockard@oasisacademyfallon.us

Walking Field Trip and Field Day

Hello Fifth Grade Families,

Welcome to an exciting week, the last week of school!

Some things you need to know:
Tuesday:   Walking field trip with 4th grade to District Court.
We will do this to learn about branches of government, but also to learn some of the history of this court in our community.  Please have your student wear walking shoes and dress for the weather, even if it is rainy. We will be eating lunch earlier to accommodate the time for this field trip.

All week:  Auctions.  Please send in treats to auction off.  Ask your child for details.

Thursday:  Field Day.  More info in Oasis Emails.  School day from 8:00 - 2:00 at outdoor pool grounds for all grades.  Hot dog lunch is provided.  We will be swimming and bowling.  Kids need a swimsuit and towel and maybe flip flops.  With the exception of swimming time, they need closed-toe shoes. They will need to keep track of their things, so a bag will be helpful.  They are able to buy food at the snack bar in the bowling alley if they want; otherwise, no money is needed.  Dress for the weather outside, sunscreen or a hat may be needed.  If you want to spend the day rotating with our class, please email me to coordinate.  

All Week:  Many classrooms are moving, but our classroom is one of the lucky ones that is not, so we will have business as usual for much of the week.  We are still doing book clubs and other learning activities right up until the end.  Have a great week.

 

End of the Year and Auctions

The end of the year is almost here.  This is a happy and sad time for me.  I want you to know how much I have enjoyed this class.  I love this group of kids, I love how hard they have worked and how they have worked together throughout the year.  They all have strengths and weaknesses, and I enjoy the challenge of finding each student’s strengths and helping him or her learn and contribute to the classroom community.  I always feel a little sad to pass my students on, but I am confident that they will be successful as sixth graders and beyond.  Thank you parents for your support this year.  You are raising wonderful children!

On to some end of the year details.  We have auctions in the classroom in the last week of school.  Monday, May 19 will be a big auction day.  I encourage kids to spend their Bighorn Bucks, as the money does not have value in any other place but this classroom.  I have some non-food items to auction off, but I am requesting any fun treat items.  Candy bars, individual bags of chips, donuts, Gatorade, and homemade treats are all big sellers.  If you have leftover party favors or other small toys, you can send these in too.  This works best if you do not send in 20 items.  When we have a limited supply, the demand rises, which is one of the economic principles this activity teaches.  So please send in some auction items if you are able to before Monday.

Field Day is coming up.  Rock climbing is really fun, but it requires a permission slip.  It was emailed home and is due Monday, May 19.  If anyone wants to rotate with the class on field day, please email me to coordinate.  

Have a great week.

May 5

We are loving this week!  As of Monday, each book club finished their books and we took some time to come up with a clever way to share a literary element from the book.  This was a student choice in-class project, with a few guidelines. The students had to choose a project that reflects their strengths in learning styles.  We’ve had skits, a rap, an outdoor game, maps made from descriptions in the book, and a tool invented that would have helped the character.  Very exciting to see the students taking so much ownership in their learning and sharing their excitement about their book.  We are presenting in class this week and will take an assessment on our books also this week.  

In writing, we finished the state writing test.  It is a timed opinion prompt, with text to read and then write your opinion.  Everyone worked hard and I was glad to see each student taking the allowed time to do his or her best work. We are looking forward to having the students share more of their work from our Work on Writing time during our literacy blocks.

The big thing this week is painting the playground.  Thursday is our day and it looks like a good weather day.  We have parent volunteers and we have our plans ready.  We will start on Thursday after lunch and hopefully be done by 3:00.  Be sure to send your kids in their worst uniforms in case they get paint on them, or send them with a paint shirt to cover their clothes.  We also talked about shoes, maybe an old pair or they can change into flip flops for painting. Just in case there are any paint drips.

Have a great week.

Back to Normal

Greetings!  

We are back to a normal week this week after our testing last week.  What we are looking forward to this week:  returning to our book club schedule, having literacy blocks to read and write, finishing our opinion papers about when you deserve a trophy, finding our best learning style through a multiple intelligence survey,  choosing a book project that matches our learning style, writing a space picture book in Projects, hearing the second half of The One and Only Ivan, and playing kickball with the official rules on these lovely afternoons.  This is a great time of the school year and we have lots to learn in the last weeks of school.  Our schedule of work will remain the same until the very last days of school.  

On the horizon, we have the Nevada State Writing Proficiency test the week of May 5.  Also, weather permitting, we will be painting the playground that week as well.  I am still looking for a few volunteers for that project.  Please email me if you are available.  I can't give you a solid date until we check the weather, but I'm aiming for May 8 from 1:15 - 3:30 and hoping to get 4 or 5 parents to help.  Should be fun, right? 

Have a great week.  These fifth graders are awesome and I love being with them every day!

CRT Testing

Hello Fifth Grade families, 

You will be happy to know that our first day of CRT testing went very well.  These are the things I noticed that impressed me:  all students at school on time, kids ready to work hard, plenty of nutritious snacks (thank you, parents!), many students working hard for two or more hours, and students checking and double-checking their work.  I was happy with the effort I saw today!  Now we need to be ready to do it all over again tomorrow!  No homework this week, just the early bedtime and healthy breakfast.

Our testing schedule looks like this:  

Tuesday:  a.m. - Reading Part 2       p.m. -  Math Part 1

Wednesday: a.m. - Science Part 1 p.m. -  Math Part 2

Thursday: a.m. -  Science Part 2 p.m. - no testing

Then we will look ahead to the State Writing testing the week of May 5. Thanks for all your efforts to make our testing week smooth and successful!

Eclipse and Testing

We ended our school day today with a short video on the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse that is happening tonight.  This is the first of four, a tetrad of total eclipses, each occurring six months apart.  It is interesting, but of course, to see it, you have to be up at midnight.  It should be visible somewhere between 11:00 pm and 12:30 am.  There was a lot of talk among the students of setting alarms and getting up in the middle of the night, so this is just advance warning in case this discussion arises in your homes.    

Another important matter on the horizon is CRT testing which will begin first thing next week.  Mrs. Anderson is arranging snacks to be brought in on testing days, which is every day next week.  We will not have our typical homework that week, but I am telling the fifth graders that they are to get to bed at least 30 minutes earlier to be rested for their tests each day.  Thank you for helping them be ready.  I don’t like to spend too much time talking about testing in the classroom.  It is a fine line between stressing them out and having them take the tests seriously.  On an individual level, the test data is used for a full school year to determine what each student knows and still needs to learn.  It is important that the results are a fair representation of what your child knows.  Please encourage your child to take the time to do his or her best.  

Have a great week and contact me with any concerns or questions.  Thanks for all you do to make our classroom run smoothly!

Spring Break - Night sky Viewing

It is Spring Break, a perfect time to do this learning task if your schedule allows it.  We are studying the solar system right now, and your student will start writing a book with a partner about a topic when we return to school.  We have talked about moon phases, stars and constellations, visible planets in the night sky, and the size and direction of shadows.  With no school this week, if you are able to view any of these things, please do so.  If you are outside during sunny weather, notice the shadows and how their size and direction changes throughout the day.  Why is this?  The moon and stars are often visible late at night and early in the morning.  What phase is the moon in right now? Can you see any constellations?  Are they in the same place throughout the night?  All year long?  There is no grade attached to this request, just a chance to see what we are learning about.

I have met with most of you for Parent Teacher Conferences.  Thank you for taking time to meet and discuss your child's progress.  If any questions arise, please contact me.  Have a great Spring Break!

Classroom News and Spring Conferences

We’re off to another great week in the fifth grade.  We are in new book clubs in reading and we are working on an opinion writing essay in writing.  We started a new Space Systems project.  The students don’t know this yet, but this will be a book-writing project.  They will work in pairs and be assigned a topic such as planets, stars, gravity, etc.  We learned about relative distance today and went outside to figure out how far Neptune is away from the sun.   They went home with some questions that may be fun to look up at home, or we will find the answers in the classroom.   We had a few auction items today. Thank you Julie Evans for sending those in, they were a hit! We ended our day with possibly my favorite PE yet.  We shot Q-tips through a straw into a “Pot of gold” and played marshmallow catch with a partner.  There was really no skill advantage for anyone and we all had a great time.  Thanks Jackie Trease for sending in these items for our Valentine’s party, we ran out of time that day, so our Cupid games became Leprechaun games today.  

Parent teacher Conferences will be held the week of March 24.  I will have times for a few conferences Monday 3/24, Tuesday 3/25, and Thursday 3/27 from 4:15 - 5:30 and Wednesday, 3/26 from 5:30 - 6:30.  I can meet on Friday as needed. With busy spring schedules, I will (really try to!) keep to a prompt schedule.  These are not student led.  Your child is welcome but not required. Please email me with your preferred time. Looking forward to meeting with you all!

Come See Our Projects

Please come see our Sphere Interaction project presentations.  We will be presenting between 2:00 - 3:00 in the Oasis Academy lunchroom.  We are inviting 4th and 5th grade families and the 2nd and 3rd grade classes.  Each station will have a short explanation of the spheres involved and the event and how the spheres interacted in their event.  They will have a display board with information and a model to show before and after the interaction event.  It should be an educational opportunity for all of us.

Thank you to those who sent in auction items!  We had some great things to auction off on Thursday.  You may send in items any day this week.

Conference scheduling will take place soon.  Looking forward to discussing progress and growth of these marvelous fifth graders!  Have a nice week!

End of Third Quarter

Time is just flying by and we are at the end of the third quarter this week.  We finished the animal research slide shows today and we are holding writing conferences this week to go over each student's research report.  Overall, these were outstanding!  It is exciting to see the growth in each student's writing abilities. We will begin opinion writing this week, which will be our focus for the fourth quarter.

In Reading we finished a book called True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.  It is a personal favorite of mine, and we are rewriting the last chapter.  We will also show what we know by writing about different themes in the book and how the characters deal with challenges in the book.  We have students ready to read their final chapters for our read aloud time this week.

Thank you all for sending in supplies for projects, especially the tri-fold boards.  We will build on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

The end of the quarter also brings up auction time in our classroom.   I have some items for auctions, but if anyone wants to send in a few additional things to auction off in the classroom, I would really appreciate it.  Food items are popular, like Gatorades, mini chip bags, candy bars or other treats.  If it is something your child likes, probably other students would too.   Also, because we are learning about supply and demand, having just a few of any one item is helpful.  Don't feel like you have to get 20 of something, just a few is better.  The students look forward to auction time and having new and exciting things really helps.  Thank you in advance to those of you who are able to send in a few items.  

Earth's Systems Interaction Project

Where does the week go?  This week we started a new project and it’s a building project!  Look for the supply request letter to come home.  We need supplies by Monday, March 3, which is right around the corner!  

We have learned about the geosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere and how these spheres interact.  Each student is in a small group and has chosen an event where at least two of the spheres interact such as a wildfire, a volcano, a tsunami or an oil spill.  Each small group will need a tri-fold display board and each student will be responsible to print some color pictures for the board.  If this is not an option for you to do at home, please email me so we can make other arrangements.  The students will build a model of their event showing a model of how it was before and after the event.  The students have a rubric to guide them as they work together in this process.  The building will be done completely at school.  

When we get a date set, we would like to have parents come see the presentations.  We are looking at March 12 at 2:00, but that is a tentative date and time at this point.  

Things are going well in the classroom, we finished our read aloud, True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle, and the students are writing a different ending.  We can’t wait to hear all the variations when we share with the class.   

Have a great week!

Research Report

This week we have been busily working on our animal research report during our writing time and during our Daily Five literacy blocks.  This report is on a self-selected animal.  It needs to have three headings and each heading needs to have two paragraphs.  Each student printed out his or her draft last week to take home over the long weekend to edit with an adult.   I loved seeing all the changes come in, knowing that a parent or sibling took the time to go through the paper and give helpful feedback.  Thank you for that!

After the written report is turned in, the students get to make a short slide show about their animal to share with the class.  We are all learning a lot from each other!

We are also starting our new Earth Science project next week.  This week is full of vocabulary and information-gathering.

Hope you all enjoyed your President's Day holiday.  It makes for a really short week coming back.  

New Project, Writing, and Valentine's Day

This week we are finishing up our economics project with some reflection about our presentations and a quiz on the vocabulary we used during the project.  We will start our new Earth Science project with some vocabulary this week.  This new project will involve making a model, so be prepared for that.   We will do two science projects in a row before we go back to Social Studies.  Because fifth graders take the Science CRT test this year, we want to cover as much ground in Science as possible before the test dates.

In writing, we are working on a research report.  Don't be afraid, the work should be done almost entirely in the classroom.  Your student has chosen an animal and found 3 websites for research.  He or she has also chosen three headings and is taking notes to be ready to begin writing a draft later this week.  If all goes as planned, your student will bring home a copy of the rough draft to edit with you at home this weekend.  Make the changes on paper and send it back in with your child.

We will celebrate Valentine's Day with a party in the afternoon.  We will exchange cards and enjoy some nachos in the classroom.  Then we will go outside for some active partner "Minute to Win it" type games.  Thank you to all the parents who are sending in food and game items.  I love having so many willing volunteers!  Have a great week!

Economics Project

Welcome to a new week!  The big things this week are a test on Mr. Blue Jeans and our project presentations on Thursday.  The test is Monday morning and the students may use their informal outline that they have been keeping as they read.  They will have an essay question which we discussed last week in class.

For our Economics project, the students have been working really hard to get their written business plan completed and to get their slide show wit their oral presentation ready.  We will have several community business leaders in our classroom to see their slide shows and listen to their ideas.  They will ask questions and give feedback.  We have a few budding business people in the class and I am excited to see and hear their plans.  

We sure appreciate our business people for committing to help out.  Community involvement in an important part of project based learning, so we really appreciate them!  They are:  Dee Dee Ferguson of Cobblestone Corner, Mayor Ken Tedford of Tedford Tire, Andrea Schell of Fallon Kaia Fit, and Roger Diedrichsen of Pizza Barn.  All were excited and willing to rearrange their schedules to meet with us and we feel honored to have them join us on Thursday afternoon.

Writing Conferences and Economics Project

We have some exciting work going on the fifth grade this week.  By Tuesday, we will be finished with all the writer's conferences on the 5 paragraph essay on New Year’s Resolutions.  In each writer’s conference, the author and I have reviewed progress toward individual writing goals.  We look at how each student did on those specific goal areas and overall on their work.  I can see much improvement in these writers!  

We are reading and enjoying Mr. Blue Jeans.  We will finish the book next week, and there will be a written test on the book.  The date is not yet decided.  

The most exciting part of our day right now is our Economics project.  The students are in teams working to write a business plan for a student store.  It is taking a lot of cooperation and group decision-making.  They will present their written plan and a brief slide show presentation to a panel of business people from the community on Feb. 5.  We are pretty excited about this project.  

Keep your students reading for home reading logs and thank you for the responses in parent journals this week.  Look for another letter this weekend.  Have a great week!

Economics Project

This week is a short week, but it is packed with learning experiences! We officially started our Social Studies economics project.  We are making a business plan for a fictitious student store.  The students have a lot of information to discuss with their teams and decide what will be the best way to appeal to their consumers.  They are using the Oriental trading website to select items and will set prices in an effort to raise money.  Just so you know, there is no plan to really operate the student store and no plan to take a class trip at the end of the year, but that is part of the setup for this simulation.  The students were excited to work on this and I could hardly tear them away from their work when time was up.  I'm sure we have several future business owners in the class!

We also got new tribes today, so your student is sitting with new people at his or her table.  We are beginning writing conferences to give feedback on the five paragraph essay about goals.  I enjoy these individual conferences with each student.  It is a great time to look at the improvements each student has made and to see where each one can improve.  We are continuing to read our biography, Mr. Blue Jeans.  Also in reading, each student has a new goal to work on with a new strategy group.  I am excited about what we will be learning to improve our reading comprehension.

Things are going well in the fifth grade.  I love spending my days with your kids.  Thanks for sharing your delightful students with me!

Denim Project and Goals

How ironic that I would forget to update my blog on Monday since we have been writing about goals in class and Monday updating is one of my goals for this year.   Hmmm...next week will be better.  

As for our week, thank you parents for sending in jeans for our Reading project.  Oh my, what a fun time we had making products out of the denim to sell.  There was a lot of creativity as students designed their items and again today as they bought and sold.  We had some great conversations about making things to sell, how to get people interested in your product, how to set a fair price and many other things.  So many lessons learned today!  We will start reading the biography of Levi Strauss and learn how he decided on a product to make and how he built a successful business.  We will have a lot of connections to his experience now that we have done this project.  If you sent in scissors, ask your child for them back.  We are done with them and I will make sure they are in the backpacks to go home.  Thank you again, this was a great learning experience!

In Writing, we are writing a five-paragraph essay.  We just finished one about goals.  Ask your child about his or her goals for 2014.  We will be taking some time to work on Greek and Latin roots and spelling patterns.

With the start of a new year, Mrs. Antoniono and I have met with each student to go over his or her CRT data from last year for Math and Reading.  We have looked at strengths and weaknesses and set goals to help bring up the lowest area.  Some students will be looking for non-fiction books to read for home reading.  If you need a recommendation, please email me.  We hope to help each student succeed on these tests in the Spring.

We will be starting an Economics project next week.  More info to follow on that.  

Have a great week!

Mr. Blue Jeans and Item Request

Hello Fifth grade Families,
Welcome to a new year.  It was great to see all the smiling fifth grade faces upon their return back to school.  We have a few fun learning activities that I want you to be aware of, one requires a send in item.

In Reading, we will start reading Mr. Blue Jeans, the biography of Levi Strauss.  Before we begin the book, we are going to do a project using denim fabric.  If you have old jeans of any size or color that you are getting rid of, please send them in.  I'd like for each student to have 1 pair that can be cut up by Monday, Jan. 13.  Along with that request, I just have 2 pairs of scissors that can be used for fabric.  If you have sewing scissors that you can wrap up and send in with your child to use, I will remind  they are very sharp and for fabric only.  It would be great if we can get another 8 pairs of scissors to make the work go more quickly.  We should only need them for 1-2 days.

With the reading of the book, we will also have vocabulary quizzes.  Your student will have a study guide, so remind them to study their words for the quiz.  The quiz is planned for next Tuesday.

Thanks for your help.  Hope your new year is off to a great start!