Week of December 16, 2013

Math: This week we will work on lessons 5.6, 5.7, and 5.8. They all cover how to convert between fractions, decimals, and percentages. Since Unit 5 is quite long, students will take a Part I test on Thursday. We will finish the rest of Unit 5 after break and then move on to algebra(which is using Hands-On Equations, not EverydayMath). Be sure your child continues to work on IXL and finish up Xtramath(basic fact practice!) over break. I have provided an extra credit opportunity-- if students want to complete a work packet over break, it is available! 

Writing:  Students have made their rough drafts of their graphic novels. This week they will be working on their final drafts/illustrating them! Look for a finished product by the end of the week!

Reading/Novels:  We will continue working on Activating/ Connecting our knowledge with our Reader Response notebooks. We will be reading more non-fiction articles and merge our prior knowledge with our new knowledge. We will use post-its to keep track of our thinking. Students are also writing letters to their classmates about their independent reading books. They will respond to eachother in writing as well. 

Social Studies:  Students will dive into their ancient Egypt/Mesopotamia research. This is to prepare for a field trip we will be taking in January to the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago). Students will present what they learned in a Google Presentation. 

Special Events:

• Holiday Break begins next Monday! Happy Holidays! 

Webquest links

Use the templates below to conduct your research.  (Add your name's to the title, when you make your own doc)

Ancient Egypt
In-class video clip

Ancient Mesopotamia

In-Class Video Clip

Week of December 9, 2013

Math: We will continue through Unit 5. We will cover lessons 5.3-5.5 which go over comparing/ordering fractions and how to find equivalent fractions. There will be NO MATH on Wednesday, due to the Robert Crown presentation. 

Writing:  We will continue to focus on character traits and begin to write a story in which we exaggerate a specific character trait of their choice. 

Reading/Novels:  We will continue working on Activating/ Connecting our knowledge with our Reader Response notebooks. We will be reading more non-fiction articles and merge our prior knowledge with our new knowledge. We will use post-its to keep track of our thinking. 

IMPORTANT:

There will be no monthly letter for the month of December.
Letter to a Classmate  (click File, Make a Copy)

Social Studies:  Students will present their battles project to the class. They will take notes/provide each group with feedback. We will then begin a Webquest, later in the week, going over ancient Egypt/Mesopotamia. This is to prepare for a field trip we will be taking in January to the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago). 

Special Events:

• Geography Bee rounds will begin this week.
• Robert Crown Presentation 10:45-12:15 on Weds
• Due to missing our specials on Weds, we will have them on Monday from 10:15-11:15

November Mystery Book Reports

Penny
Chrystel
Rayvn
Justin
Hailey
Kyle B
Joshua
Gianna
Christina
Renusree
Erica
Noah
Pareena
Zoey
Kyle S
Jason
Daniel T
Jillian
Patryk
Daniel M
Won Jun
Carlos
*Preeti

The Week of December 2, 2013

Math: We will be starting Unit 5 (which is a long unit). We will complete the first part of the unit, which covers fractions, mixed numbers, and ordering/comparing fractions, until December break. We will learn the contents of part 2 in January. Please encourage your child to practice on IXL(skill practice) and Xtramath (fact practice) a few times a week. It is a great preview/review resource. 

Writing:  We will begin WEX Book 2 (Response to Literature) in January. Until then, we will be doing a unit on Character traits. We will identify traits of a character in our books, think about what traits we would like to have if we were fictional characters, and then create a COMIC LIFE graphic novel illustrating various traits. This will connect nicely with the books students are reading during our novels time. 

Reading/Novels:  We will be working on Activating/ Connecting our knowledge with our Reader Response notebooks. Students will be given guided practice with a National Geographic article, then practice in pairs, and finally practice independently. Their post-it notes as they read, and their written responses will serve as their assessment pieces. 

IMPORTANT:

There will be no monthly letter for the month of December.

Social Studies:  We will be doing a partner research activity on various Revolutionary War battles. Students will research, then present their findings with the class We will start our science unit, "Watery Earth" in January. 

Research in the LMC:  Our "Various Perspectives" research project ended last week. Please look for rubrics/evaluations in your child's home folder. You can also see their editorials below. 

Special Events

• Many students are looking forward to the upcoming Geography Bee. Here are some resources to help prepare. 
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/sample-questions/
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/quiz/today/
• http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/puzzlesquizzes/quizyournoodle-geography-bee/

Editorials

For our LMC research project, students researched the pros/cons of various current-day topics and wrote an editorial based on their findings.

Josh
Rayvn
Noah
Daniel M
Chrystel
Gianna
Justin
Christina
Penny
Jason
Hailey
Erica
Won Jun
Kyle B
Jillian
Daniel
Preeti
Renusree
Patryk
Pareena
Zoey
Carlos
Kyle S

Week of November 18, 2013

Math:  On Monday students will have a chance to review for the Chapter 4 test which will be given on Tuesday. If students need additional time, Wednesday will be offered as well. On Thursday, we will begin to review fraction concepts to prepare for Chapter 5. We will finish out the week with problem solving. Students have been explicitly taught various strategies/approaches. They are also expected to explain what they did/why they did it for each step of the problem. I suggest over Thanksgiving break students practice with fractions on IXL. 

Writing:  Students are finishing up their final drafts of poems. In addition, we will do some fun writing prompts/poems that relate to Thanksgiving. 

Reading/Novels:  This week students will practice noticing text features and their purposes in non-fiction texts. In addition, we will be reading a historical fiction story entitled, "Sleds on Boston Common". We will be making inferences and using text clues to do so. This is our last week with our current novel groups. 

IMPORTANT:

Monthly Letter Template on Google : Remember, if you turn it in before break, it will be extra credit. Otherwise, it is officially due on Dec. 2nd (just like your book report!)
Use this!  (Be sure to make a copy & name it with your name & MYSTERY)

Social Studies:  We will finish Chapter 13 and a project that highlights four major reasons for winning the war. Students can expect a test on Thursday. 
States/Capitals Game!

Research in the LMC:  We have 4 lessons in the LMC this week to finish our research project. Students should have completed their independent research by now, and will soon be expected to write a script in which they share what their research indicates. 

Special Events this week!

-Report Cards! 

-Conferences are next Monday/Tuesday

Week of November 11, 2013

Social Studies Discussions Link for 5th Grade

Math:  We will be finishing up the concepts of Chapter 4. Students are encouraged to practice division concepts on IXL. A test can be expected next week. 

Writing:  We are finishing up the writing portion of our poetry unit. Students will be typing up their poems, revising them, and sharing them with the class. 

Reading/Novels:  This week we will be learning some new comprehension strategies. We will be using National Geographic articles. 

My novels group:
Comprehension Quiz 4

Online Dictionary

Monthly Letter Template on Google : Remember, if you turn it in before break, it will be extra credit. Otherwise, it is officially due on Dec. 2nd (just like your book report!)
Use this!  (Be sure to make a copy & name it with your name & MYSTERY)

Social Studies:  We will be learning about the four contributing factors to winning the Revolutionary War. 

Research in the LMC: Students researched either a patriot or loyalist from Chapter 11 of the History Alive book. This week we will be having small group discussions about the varying viewpoints and record them/post to our blog. Stay tuned! 

Special Events this week!

-No school on Monday due to Veteran's Day!

Week of November 4, 2013

Math:  Students will get back their Unit 3 tests that went over geometry concepts. All students will need to get a parent signature and make corrections. Unit 4 will cover long division. We will get through 4.4 this week. Students will still be encouraged to do IXL independently for 20-30 minutes each week, as well as practice math facts on Xtramath. 

Writing:  Students will continue to be introduced to a variety of poems. They will get a chance to finish up their Tankas on Monday. We will learn about figurative language and how it impacts poetry (similes, metaphors, alliteration, personification). 

Reading/Novels:  This week we will be doing mini-lessons on monitoring our comprehension using the "Read, Write, Talk" strategy. I will model good reading behaviors, students will practice in pairs, and then will have the opportunity to practice the skill independently. I will be providing students with differentiated articles based on their lexiles.  For novels, we will continue to switch classrooms, depending on which novel your child is reading. 

My novels group:

Quizes:
Vocabulary Quiz 2
Comprehension Quiz 3

Online Dictionary

Monthly Letter Template on Google (Remember a letter & your project on mysteries is due before Thanksgiving break)
Use this!  (Be sure to make a copy & name it with your name & MYSTERY)

Social Studies:  We will finish Chapter 12 and have a test on Tuesday. We will begin Chapter 13 on Weds. 

Research in the LMC: This week we will be there Thursday & Friday for our newly assigned project. 

Special Events this week!

- Friday from 2:30-3:30 Mrs. Albrecht will be doing a challenge activity with our class. 

Historical Fiction Book Trailers

Zoey
Won Jun
Kyle S
Hailey
Daniel M
Patryk
Jillian
Christina
Carlos
Rayvn
Gianna
Jason
Penny
Kyle B
Renusree
Preeti
Pareena
Chrystel
Joshua
Justin
Daniel
Erica

Week of October 28, 2013

Math:  Students can anticipate a test on either Tuesday/Wednesday of next week. A study   guide and review session were held last week. Students should be using the online resources for additional practice as well. We will then begin Unit 4 which covers long division. 

Writing: Students will be getting back their WEX narrative rubrics back this week. This concludes the Book 1 lessons of WEX. Therefore, through Thanksgiving Break, all 5th grade students will be participating in a poetry unit. We will focus on a variety of poems and creating our own. Students should feel free to bring in their favorite poetry books to share with the class as well. 

Reading/Novels:  This week we will be doing mini-lessons on monitoring our comprehension using "fix up" strategies. I will model good reading behaviors, students will practice in pairs, and then will have the opportunity to practice the skill independently. For novels, we will continue to switch classrooms, depending on which novel your child is reading. 

My novels group:
Take this on 10/30/13: Remember to login to docs.google.com, use your google login/password (d25name@student.sd25.org & 171 number). Then open up a new tab to take the quiz. 

Comprehension Quiz 2

Vocabulary Quiz 1

Comprehension Quiz

 Sign into Edmodo, go to "join group" and enter the code: usyqk5
Online Dictionary

Monthly Letter Template on Google
Use this!  (Be sure to make a copy & name it with your name & Historical Fiction Book)

Social Studies: We will finish learning about the Declaration of Independence & the rest of Unit 12 this week. Students can anticipate a test early next week. 

Research in the LMC: This week, we will be starting a unit in which students will be researching controversial current-day topics (such as should uniforms be mandatory, should athletes' grades matter, should schools be co-ed... etc). Students will then research this topic and decide which side research supports. Students will then be researching Revolutionary War figures and which side/perspective they supported during that time (relating current/past perspectives on varying issues). This project will take us through Thanksgiving. 

Special Events this week!

Monday 10:15-11:15 LMC research for new project , 2:30-3:30 historical fiction book trailer research

Thursday afternoon (Halloween Festivities!)

Friday 2:35-3:00 Garden Ceremony 

Week of October 21, 203

Math:  We will be learning about different types of triangles, properties of polygons(mostly quadrilaterals), tessellations, and review for next week's test. Students can expect a test by Tuesday/Wednesday of next week on all of Unit 3. A study guide will be sent home midweek. Please encourage your child to practice individual skills on IXL, as well as math facts on Xtramath. 

How to copy a triangle: http://www.mathopenref.com/constcopytriangle.html
How Do I Classify Quadrilaterals?

IXL Skills:  Classifying Quadrangles

Challenge Skills on IXL: Classifying Quadrangles
Measuring/Classifying Angles

Classify Quadrangles

Writing: Students began typing their final drafts of their personal narratives on Friday on GoogleDocs. We will continue to type/edit our papers. All final drafts are due by Thursday morning. (If students need extra time, they will need to complete them at home). 

Reading/Novels:  This week we will start mini-lessons on monitoring comprehension, in which I model skills and allow for time for students to practice in pairs and independently. We will also switch classes for novels. Students will be told which novel/teacher they have on Monday morning. 

My novels group:  Sign into Edmodo, go to "join group" and enter the code: usyqk5
Online Dictionary

Monthly Letter Template on Google
Use this!  (Be sure to make a copy & name it with your name & Historical Fiction Book)

Social Studies: Students have a test on Monday afternoon. We will then move straight into Chapter 12 for the rest of the week. We will be starting an LMC project with Mrs. Polito the following week to cover the material we are skipping in Chapter 11. Students will be learning about seeing things from various perspectives (relating to the loyalists, patriots, and neutralists) and connecting that to a current controversial issue today. 

Special Events this week!

Tuesday 2:15- We will attend the 4th grade show

Friday 9:15- Marble Party celebration!

Friday 1:15: Everybody Counts

**Please return the Orange Halloween slip handed out on Friday so we know your child's plan for Halloween Day. 

Week of October 15, 2013

Math:  We will be using the math workshop format the rest of this week. Math workshop includes 4 station rotations: math fact practice, small group instruction with me, IXL/Khan instruction, and independent work time.  We will review measuring with a protractor, learn how to use a compass, and problem solve. 

How Do I Measure an Angle?
Keep practicing math facts & IXL skills! 

Writing: Students will be learning how to write leads to their personal narratives and will be typing their final drafts on GoogleDocs by the end of this week. Early next week we will then revise/edit the typed versions. 

Treasures/Novels:  I will be modeling reading comprehension strategies, such as using your inner voice/sticky notes to log their thinking. Students will be using their historical fiction books to practice independently, as well as non-fiction books on the human body and National Geographic. Students should be reading their historical fiction book each night. 

Social Studies: We will read the final sections of chapter 11. Students can anticipate a test on Monday next week. They can use the History Alive Tutorial link on the right  helpful links section to study. We will be reviewing on Weds/Thurs. 

Special Events this week!

NO SCHOOL MONDAY/TUESDAY!!

WEDNESDAY IS A MONDAY SCHEDULE-- WE HAVE GYM/MUSIC RESCHEDULED FOR THIS DAY SINCE WE MISSED THEM LAST FRIDAY!! 

Historical Reenactment iMovies

Daniel, Jason, Joshua, Jillian and Penny

Kyle, Pareena, Hailey, Renusree, Daniel

Patryk & Justin

Unnamed Group Video
Unnamed Group Video

Week of October 7, 2013

Math:  Students can expect to get their Unit 2 tests back early in the week. We will begin Unit 3 in which we will be looking at data, measuring angles, and beginning to use a protractor to measure angles. 
How Do I Measure an Angle?

Writing: Singular and plural nouns will be our grammar focus this week. Students will be reminded to be aware of spelling changes for some of these nouns. In WEX, students will be introduced to what a personal narrative is, and will begin to draft their final piece. 

Treasures/Novels:  This week we will be reading a story called, "My Great Grandmother's Gourd". We will revisit the idea of theme, make inferences, and compare/contrast. We are finishing up novels and will be creating flipbooks so students can practice identifying setting, theme, plot, etc. 

**Students are expected to have a HISTORICAL FICTION book selected by Oct. 7th! 

Science: We will be learning about the various Acts the British enforced on the colonists. We will read about the Quartering Act, Stamp Act, and the Boston Massacre. In addition, we will be looking at primary source documents regarding the massacre, and have students decide who they believe is at fault. (viewing various perspectives). 
We will be making newspaper articles... 
Use this in Class

1. Name of Newspaper : Boston Gazette

2. Date (on the letterhead)

3. Headline (create your own)

4. Enter your story.

5. Click 'download your image"

6. It will download and appear. Click on "save as" and save it to your desktop.

7. Go to Edmodo.com and login

8. Click on "Miss P's Homeroom 2013"

9. Where it says "Post"Click on "Attach File"

10. Select the image you saved to your desktop & send!

DAILY GEOGRAPHY:  Students are encouraged to review their Daily Geography over the weekend before they turn it in on Mondays. 

Special Events this week!

• The Historical Reenactment Field Trip Friday Morning! 
• I will be at a meeting Friday PM, so please email me with questions. 

Human Body Review Videos

Josh, Noah, Kyle, Daniel

Renusree, Hailey, Gianna, Zoey

Kyle, Daniel, Pareena

Justin, Jason, Jillian, Won Jun

Penny, Patryk, Erica, Rayvn

Chrystel, Christina, Carlos

Week of September 30, 2013

Math:  This week we are finishing Unit 2. We will review on Wednesday, and will have a test on Thursday. Students were given an overview of the test on Friday. Please encourage your students to use Khan Academy to further study these concepts. 

Writing: Common and proper nouns will be the grammar focus this week. We will continue to focus using strong verbs, showing and not telling, and using focused writing. Students will work on explaining how they did various things using transition words. 

Treasures/Novels:  This week we will learn about the text features of the fantasy genre. The story is titled, "Westlandia".  We will focus on making inferences/analyzing the text, as well as word origins. Lastly, students will be introduced to theme and how to identify the theme of a story. 

Students will be asked to select a historical fiction book for October's independent reading project. Please help students select a book by Oct 7th. We will be doing research in the LMC for 4 days throughout the month of October in relation to the book they choose. 

Science: Students will review for our final Science quick check on Monday for the assessment on Tuesday. We will start History Alive on Wednesday. 

DAILY GEOGRAPHY:  Students are encouraged to review their Daily Geography over the weekend before they turn it in on Mondays. 

Special Events this week!

• STARS lunch for students who have turned in all their homework this month on Thursday. 
• Miss P will be out at a meeting all day Tuesday (please email if you need anything). 

September Book Reviews

Miss P's students all read realistic fiction books this month. Check out their reviews!

Hailey

Penny

KyleB

Gianna

Christina

Noah

Justin

Erica

Chrystel

Joshua

Jason

Rayvn

Carlos

Won Jun

Daniel

Kyle S

Zoey

Daniel T

Renusree

Preeti

Jillian

Patryk

Week of September 23, 2013

Math: This week we will be working on 2.5-2.8 in Everyday Math. We will be estimating, learning about probability, multiply decimals, and begin formal problem solving instruction. Continue to refer to last week's video tutorials. 
**Xtramath reports will be sent home occasionally for you to see your child's understanding of math facts (this includes accuracy/speed). You have access to check their progress through the parent login.

Probability Videos/Exercises

Probability practice
   Use videos 1 -8 depending on your understanding of probability thus far.

Writing: Using strong verbs and varying sentence structure are the main focus of this week. Grammar will go over how to correct run-on sentences. 

Words Their Way:  Students meet with me 1x a week and practice independently/with a partner the remaining 4 days. When we reconvene, students are testing on 10 of the words that follow the pattern they studied.

 

Treasures/Novels:  This week we will be using the book "Freedom Riders" to do Close Reading lessons (which connects to the CommonCore standards of Language Arts). Students will gain more experience with highlighting key ideas and revisiting the text multiple times to aid their comprehension. 

Students will continue to work in their reading groups, respond to what they read in the notebooks, and work in literature circles. The independent reading project for their realistic fiction book was introduced last week & is due SEPTEMBER 30th. Ask your students to show you the purple plan sheet. We will begin recording this week! 

**Students wrote their 1st "Reader Response Letter" during reading time. This is to show me their understanding and thinking of the novels they are reading in class. It follows a specific format and an example we did as a class. I am conferencing with students to provide them not only written feedback, but also personal feedback and a time to ask questions. You will be asked to sign the rubric this week. The notebooks are not to go home, but will be shown to you at conference times. 

Science: This week we will be doing an experiment to illustrate how the respiratory system works. We will also do another experiment to show how digestion occurs. We are nearing the end of the science unit on the human body, and will have a test early next week. 

DAILY GEOGRAPHY:  Students are encouraged to review their Daily Geography over the weekend before they turn it in on Mondays. 

Special Events this week!

** Thinking Skills with Mrs. Albrecht on Thursday 11:15-12:15! 

Week of September 16, 2013

Math: Students should have cleaned out their math section of their accordion folder this weekend. Please check this, so your child can stay organized and start unit 2 on track. We will start the week by finishing the test for about 30 minutes on Monday. We will review how to estimate reasonable answers, learn how to add/subtract numbers with decimals, and begin problem solving. Use the following links to preview/review concepts. 

Ever Wonder Why Borrowing Work?
Adding/Subtracting Decimals Tutorial
Word Problem Practice
Word Problems with decimals

Your child can login to Khanacademy anytime and watch video tutorials on any math concept. This is a great opportunity for them to preview future concepts or review concepts they are having trouble with. It is a great resource to watch videos and also practice concepts with immediate feedback. 

You will get updates on Xtramath mastery levels. Your child is expected to login at least 6x a week to practice math fact mastery. This is very important as we approach our fractions unit. 

Writing:  Our grammar focus is on combining sentences and complex sentences. This week we are continuing to focus on SHOWING and not TELLING. Students should be getting more comfortable with being descriptive in their writing. We will also introduce the new skill of using strong verbs and revising their work independently. 

Words Their Way:  Students will have their first quiz on their word patterns this week.

 

Treasures/Novels:  We will be studying a new genre this week and read a story called "Goin Someplace Special". We will learn about the historical fiction genre. This will connect to some CLOSE reading we will be doing with the book Freedom Riders next week.  We will also learn about homophones and the text features of a timeline. 

Students will continue to work in their reading groups, respond to what they read in the notebooks, and work in literature circles. The independent reading project for their realistic fiction book was introduced last week & is due SEPTEMBER 30th. Ask your students to show you the purple plan sheet. 

Science:   This week we will be studying the effects of muscle fatigue on our muscular system and cardiovascular system and graph the data on the computer.
Create a Graph

DAILY GEOGRAPHY:  Students are encouraged to review their Daily Geography over the weekend before they turn it in on Mondays. 

Special Events this week!

** If students are interesting in participating as student council class reps, students have to make a 2 minute speech to the class this Thursday. 

Week of September 9, 2013

Math: 

Use these videos of Ms. P for Monday/Tuesday when learning about Prime Factorization 

Prime Factorization 1

Prime Factorization 2

Prime Factorization 3

We will be finishing up Unit 1 (which covers factors, square numbers, square roots, and prime factorization) by the end of the week. Students will get a study guide & will have a review day before the test which is tentatively scheduled for Friday.

****Before using Khan Academy this year, you need to join my coaching group. Use your district "d25" login and password to do this. You can then join this class by entering the code 9H39JJ on the "Coaches" tab of your profile page:   Please do this before clicking the links below! You should see your user name in the upper right hand corner if you do this correctly.  PLEASE WRITE YOUR USER NAME/PASSWORD in the front of your assignment notebooks, next to your Everyday Math info/password.  We did this in class on Sept 4, but please make sure you can login from home too! 


Math Videos : 

Practicing Square Roots

Prime Factorization

Prime Factorization Practice

(Review videos)
Factors Tutorial/Practice on Khan Academy
Divisibility Practice
Divisibility Rules Tutorial
Practice Divisibility Rules
Brain Pop Square Roots
How to Find Square Root (unsquare a number)

Writing:  Our focus of writing this week is on "Showing" and not "Telling". Students will be asked to use descriptive writing rather than recounting events in sequential order. Our grammar focus is on compound sentences & conjunctions. We will also be reviewing subjects/predicates-- please review your child's grade on Friday's quiz (and sign if the score was below a 70%)

Words Their Way:  We have gone through a practice week of how our daily activities will run. This week students will work with words at their spelling level. Word lists may be used over 1-2 weeks, depending on student progress.

 

Treasures/Novels:  For Treasures, we will be continue to work with last week's story, focus on a story chart (and the parts of a fictional story), as well as read some non-fiction texts. We will also practice our vocabulary and focus on synonyms. 

Students will continue to work in their reading groups, respond to what they read in the notebooks, and work in literature circles. The independent reading project for their realistic fiction book will also be introduced. 

Use this link to help your child find an independent reading book: Scholastic Book Finder

Science:  Students were introduced to the nervous system last week (and also reflexes), and will continue to explore this body system, in addition to the skeletal system. We will likely do an experiment to learn about our bones on Thursday/Friday of this week. 

DAILY GEOGRAPHY:  Please check your student's home section for their Daily Geography work that they complete every morning. They are welcome to take it home to finish up if they feel rushed in the morning. 

Special Events this week!

• Picture Day on Monday at 11:20!! 
• MAP TESTING FOR SOME STUDENTS (NO LONGER ALL STUDENTS!) Look for a letter in backpack mail!!  
• Music for Youth assembly Wednesday at 9:15