Thursday, August 29, 2013

Welcome Fabio and Joe King Jr. to our Class!

We welcome our caterpillars to our class. Two black swallow tail caterpillars found at our friend Kaitlyn's house. The names that we all choose for them is Joe King Jr. (The daredevil) and Fabio.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Reading to self

Today I finished my Calvin and Hobbes book in the middle of clas so I got up quietly and got a different book.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Read to self

Today in reading we read for 40 minutes and we jotted down our thinking on post its!

Monday, August 26, 2013

This Week in Room 33! Aug. 26-30

Here's what to expect this week in 5th grade:

Math- We are working with decimals this week! Last week students brought home their math textbook. This should be kept in a safe place where you can reference it if your child is needing it when completing their homework (or for you to see what they are learning in class!) It can also be used when your student needs to study for a test. We will have tests each unit (rather than chapter).

Science- This week we are discussing tools that scientists use and participating in activities where students will classify, compare, contrast, and think like scientists.

Reading- In reading, we are continuing to build our stamina of reading to self (we are up to 35 minutes!) and making sure we are reading good fit books using the I-PICK method (ask your student to sing the song!) We are continuing to discuss what real reading looks and feels like and how reading is THINKING! We will begin our second "Daily 5" independent activity called "Work on Writing" where students will be writing about their reading. We will also discuss fiction vs. nonfiction books and how we will keep a record of our reading.





Writing- We are working on adding details to our personal narrative writing, writing "seed stories" vs. "watermelon" stories and zooming in on small moments. We are also continuing our "training" on how to use our writer's notebook. This notebook will be traveling from home to school often and is the responsibility of each 5th grader. Please ask your student to see the writer's notebook contract they have signed that is kept in their binder. This will give you more information as to what your student is responsible for.


Curriculum Night- I hope to see you all this Thursday from 7-7:30! I am looking forward to sharing with you about how our classroom works and what your student will experience this year in 5th grade! I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying your students- thank you for sharing your child with me each day- I am so lucky!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Fantastic Friday!!

Today we got to 30 minutes in read to self! We were at 20 minutes, now were at 30! Today has been an exciting, and I could go on and on, but this is it! Bye!


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Thriller Thursday

Today was a great day.We did a lot of fun stuff.I would say everything fun that we did today but I'm just going to say the best thing that I think really stood out to me.Well in reading today we were trying to beat our stamina from yesterday which was 12minutes but today we got to 20minutes of reading hitch I thought was really cool.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Wonderful Wednesday

Today in science we made observations about nature.we also read for 12 min. While building stamina. It was a beautiful day.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

This Week in Room 33! Aug. 19-23

Welcome to our first weekly update! I am hoping everyone enjoyed their weekend and the beautiful weather!

**Parents--- On the right hand side of the blog there is an option for you to "Follow This Blog". Please add your email so you will get notified when a new post has been added.**

This week we will continue to build our classroom community and learn how our classroom runs. Students will be "hired" on Monday for their new classroom leader job that they applied for last Friday. All students are responsible for being the LEADER in their job area.

We will also discuss BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) this week. At Lindbergh, students ARE allowed to bring in their technology devices to school (i.e.- kindles, iPods, tablets, etc.) and use for educational purposes during the school day. We will discuss this week how this looks like in our classroom.

Here's what else expect this week in 5th grade:

Math- We will begin our study of place value and learn how we run our math workshop. Students will be using white boards daily for practice. Your student may want to bring in an old sock (black works best) to use as an eraser. Students will also learn about the website xtramath.org to help practice our basic multiplication and division facts.

Science- We will begin the set up of our science notebook and learn important terms and tools that we will be using in science investigations and activities this year!

Social Studies- Students will switch for social studies and go to Mrs. Turek's room. I will keep you informed in the future when there are projects due, homework, and test dates.

Reading- We will be discussing how our reading workshop runs and begin our "Daily 5" journey! Daily 5 refers to the activities students will be responsible for doing independently during reading time on a daily basis. The MOST important one is "Read to Self". We will begin exploring what read to self looks like and will begin building our stamina so we can read for long periods of time. The absolute BEST way to become a better reader is to READ!  We will be discussing how to choose good fit books as well as the importance of REAL reading (thinking while reading!) vs. FAKE reading (reading the words without thinking of the text's meaning).

Writing- We will introduce our writer's workshop this week and begin using our writer's notebooks! We will be doing a lot of writing this year and this week's focus will be on beginning to build our writing stamina. 

HOMEWORK- I will be posting homework on our classroom calendar. You can find this on our blog at the top tab that says "Class Calendar". In 5th grade, students should spend about 50 minutes on homework. If the homework given takes less time, please have your child read for the remainder. It is important to help your child find a good time and place to complete homework each night. Thank you for all of your support at HOME! :)

Whew- this was a long post! I cannot wait to talk more with you about our classroom on Curriculum Night! Please mark your calendars and plan to attend on Thurs., August 29th from 7-7:30 in our room.

Have a WONDERFUL week!!!!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

1st Day!!!!

Wow! I have been bragging all day that I have the BEST class! We had a fantastic first day filled with team-building, rule-making, and getting to know each other activities! I can't wait to see everyone tomorrow for day 2! Don't forget to bring in a special item from home (that fits in your backpack!) and a favorite book to share tomorrow! 





It's not too late to post a picture on Flickr!

Still want to post a picture from your summer on our Flickr page? Follow these steps:

1- Email the picture to met62marry@photos.flickr.com. Include your name as the subject and write about your picture in the body of the email along with your picture (not as an attachment).

2- Go HERE to view everyone's pictures and captions! The link to our Flickr page is also on the right side of this blog.


Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Welcome to 5th Grade!

Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year! Looking forward to seeing you on Meet the Teacher Night on Tuesday, Aug. 13 from 5:30-7!

Ella B., Emily B., Alec C., Lilli D., Gigi G., Kaitlyn G., Anna H., Loralie H., Brandon H., Talia J., Zach J., Sam L., Tiffany M., Ben P., Josh R., Adam R., Ani S., Blase S., Natalie T., Tyler T.