Check Out These Research Reports!

I couldn't be prouder of our historical research reports! Check them out with the link below!
Our Historical Research Reports

Spreading Holiday Cheer, Writing Celebration, and Buddy Time!

Last Week of 2014! Dec. 15-19

How can you not read that and break into song? :) I am so excited for our 5th graders to go caroling this Wednesday! I also cannot believe we have made it to our last week of 2014! I am so very grateful for the time I have had with your students and am looking forward to seeing everyone in 2015! Happy Holidays to YOU and your families!

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

Science- We have completed chapter 3 on classifying living things. We will review in class on Tuesday and our test will be on Thursday. Students should use their textbook to study.

Writing- Students have been working so hard on their research reports! I cannot wait to celebrate their finished products on Wednesday! Their completed research report is due Wed. Students should use their Informational Writing Checklist (see below) to help evaluate their work. Writing portfolios will go home on Wednesday so they can share their writing with you! These portfolios will be due on Friday (please sign the green sheet and check over their self-evaluation checklist- same as below).



Math- Our chapter 6 test on multiplying and dividing decimals will be tomorrow (Tuesday). Students can study using their textbook (there are MANY practice problems in the book throughout each lesson) or online textbook. Check out the video below on dividing decimals by decimals (decimals in the dividend AND divisor). SWOOP, THERE IT IS! :)


Reading- We will spend time this week with our read aloud- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and continue to focus on how reader's can have deep discussions about fiction. We will also discuss our reading goals for winter break- what will your student be reading over break? Share this article with family over break (I shared this with you on last week's update!)
Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Still Read Fiction

Social Studies- We have a very busy week ahead and will try our very best to squeeze in some social studies! We are studying the Renaissance and new inventions that helped find sea routes to Asia. This will lead us to discussions about famous sailors/explorers such as Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco de Gama, and Christopher Columbus.

Reminders:
Wed. 12/17- Caroling Field Trip- Please wear Leader in Me shirts and holiday hats.  We will leave school at 9:15 and go to Delmar Gardens at Meramec Valley at 9:30 a.m.  We'll perform and visit with their residents.  Board busses at 10:30 and head to Friendship Village.  We will perform there at 11:00 and visit with their residents and return to school by noon.
Fri. 12/19 Half Day and Winter Party!

Thinking Ahead to PRISM

Parents,

I just wanted to send a quick update about PRISM. This year it will NOT be mandatory for 5th graders to complete the PRISM project. I handed out 3 green sheets to the students today (kept in their science tab of binder) with more information on how PRISM is completed in 5th grade. 

IF students choose to complete a project, there is a suggested timeline, a sheet with possible investigation/websites, and a proposal sheet. I would highly encourage your student to use these tools if they would like to participate. 

The first step is choosing a testable question that they want to investigate (it must be measurable!) If your student is interested, I would encourage them to complete the proposal sheet and turn in to me next week so I can go over it with them and make sure they are on the right track. 

Thank you for all your help and encouragement at home. I highly suggest participating because it is a FANTASTIC way to get hands-on practice with the scientific method and performing investigations (a BIG part of the 5th grade curriculum and state-wide testing). If you have any questions, please let me know! 

Here is a link to the suggested timeline- PRISM 5th Grade Suggested Timeline

To My Harry Potter Fans...

Check this link/video out!

J.K. Rowling Will Share 12 New Harry Potter Stories Leading Up To Christmas

This Week in Room 33! Dec. 8-12

As we continue to learn and work hard these last 2 weeks of school before break, we have also been discussing random acts of kindness! Ask your student what their thoughts are on the following video (we watched this in class last week). Enjoy!

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

Science- We are continuing to study how scientists classify organisms. We will wrap up lesson 2 on animals and begin lesson 3 on classifying plants! Looking ahead, our chapter 3 test will be on Thursday, Dec. 18th.

Writing- We are ready to wrap up our research reports! I am SO proud of all the hard work we have put into these reports so far and am already looking forward to our celebration! We will be revising, editing, and publishing on the google drive this week. Our final research report will be due Wed. Dec. 17th for our celebration. Don't forget, students should be spending 10 minutes each night on writing. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to share their work with you! 

Math- We are finishing up our chapter on multiplying and dividing decimals. Our lessons this week cover dividing decimals by decimals with hands on models, learning the algorithm of dividing decimals, and dividing decimals by powers of 10. Our chapter 6 test will be on Tue. Dec. 16th.

Reading- This week we will focus on tackling complex texts in the company of friends. We will work on some passages and higher level thinking questions in small groups and present our thinking to the class. We will also begin a shortened version of literature circles with historical fiction picture books. We will notice how physical details create an emotional atmosphere, support one another in our book clubs by listening and building on each other's comments, and keep track of important details by creating a mental bulletin board.

Check out the following article that we read and discussed in class last week- please discuss with your child! VERY interesting! Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Still Read Fiction

Social Studies- We will continue to discuss and learn about topics such as Marco Polo, the Silk Road, African trading companies, European ideas and technology in the 1400s and their contributions to overseas exploration.

Reminders:
Wed is Early Release!
12/17- Caroling Field Trip- Please wear Leader in Me shirts and holiday hats.  We will leave school at 9:15 and go to Delmar Gardens at Meramec Valley at 9:30 a.m.  We'll perform and visit with their residents.  Board busses at 10:30 and head to Friendship Village.  We will perform there at 11:00 and visit with their residents and return to school by noon.
12/19 Half Day and Winter Party!

Text Features in our Writing!

Check out our shared google doc we used today! We worked in small groups to discuss how other author's use text features to enhance the reader's experience!

Studying Nonfiction Text Features in Mentor Texts

This Week in Room 33! Dec. 1-5

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving break and their extra day off! Here's what to expect this week in 5th grade:

Science- We will be studying how to classify animals (Lesson 2 of Chapter 3 in our textbook). We will participate in science stations which include our online textbook. Be sure to check out the links in our science page!

Writing- This week we will continue drafting and revising our research report on a historical event. We will focus on creating cohesion within our paper, using text features, crafting introductions and conclusions, utilizing quotes, and citing our sources. Students should be working on their papers for about 10 minutes each night. I am so proud of our hardworking researchers and writers! 

Math- We will continue chapter 6 (multiplying and dividing decimals) and focus on problem solving using patterns, multiplication properties, estimating quotients, and dividing decimals using hands on models. 

Reading- This week we will continue our study of nonfiction books, articles, and documents. We will notice how nonfiction authors make you feel by what they show and what they leave out, determine reliability from global sources on the Internet, and teach others what we learn by organizing what we know and elaborating on others comments to enhance our new knowledge. 

Social Studies- We are ready to dive into our study on the age of exploration with topics such as Marco Polo, the Silk Road, and African trading kingdoms, and new ideas in Europe. 

Reminders/Upcoming Events-

The Book Fair is this week! We will preview on Tuesday and our "buy day" will be on Friday. 

Friday- Wacky Hair Day- Donate $1 for Adopt-a-Family!

Sat.- Concord Winter Festival from 9-12

12/10- Early Release

Tommorrow we have homerun club. Feel free to bring in soda and a snack.

This Week in Room 33! Nov. 24-25

I hope everyone enjoys their time off with family and friends! I am so very thankful for my job and getting to spend every day teaching and learning from your children! Thank YOU for all your time and support at home!

Here's what to expect this SHORT 2-day week in 5th grade:

Science- We are wrapping up lesson 1 on classifying organisms!

Writing- We are working on our drafts for our research report on historical events. Our goal is for our readers to to think "Whoa!" We are elaborating by blending facts with our thoughts and teaching about our event like it's a story to make it more powerful to our readers. 

Math-We are multiplying decimals and multiplying decimals by powers of 10. 

Reading- We are reading nonfiction like writers and noticing how nonfiction authors make readers feel emotions! 

Social Studies- We are hoping to finally complete our text mapping project as we preview our next chapter on the age of exploration!

Reminders/Upcoming Events-

11/26-11/28 Thanksgiving Break! 

12/1-5 Book Fair

12/16- Concord Winter Festival

Adding Thoughts to our Research Notes

Primary and Secondary Sources

Today we learned about primary sources and  secondary sources. The difference is, a primary source is told by someone who witnessed or experienced the event and a secondary source is told by someone who researched the event and wrote about it. We want to research primary sources because it is certain and true. A secondary source is likely to be true but information could have been changed over time.

Busy Researchers!!!

We are BUSY with our CHALLENGING and EXCITING research projects!!! See below for a reminder on note-taking tips, our plans for research, and a link with different sources we are using on the google drive!

Sources for Research Teams

This Week in Room 33! Nov. 17-21

Wow! I hope everyone has enjoyed their snowy weekend! We have an exciting week ahead before we head into our Thanksgiving break. We will be celebrating our Blue Ribbon award this week! See below for each day's theme.

Monday- We are FLYERS! Wear GREEN and GOLD!

Tuesday- HATS off to Concord! Wear a HAT to school!

Wednesday- Show your BLUE ribbon PRIDE! Wear BLUE!

Thursday- Concord is a COMFY place to learn! Wear your PJS!

Friday- We are a 2014 BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL! We will wear new blue ribbon t-shirts!

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

Science- We are studying our new chapter on classifying organisms. We will be focusing on lesson 1- How do we classify living things? Students will be able to understand how to develop and use a dichotomous key to classify plants and animals. 

Writing- We are diving into our research for our 2nd informational piece! Students were put into research teams based on their top 3 choices of historical events they were interested in researching and writing about. Students are excited to work together to research new information that will help them write powerful informational pieces to make their readers go "Whoa!" Here are our research teams: 

The Great Depression- Grace, Lainie, Julia, Emma

Titanic- Adam, Makenzi, Willie, Joey, Blake, Jackson

D-Day- Aidan, Tommy, Chris, Jake

Gold Rush of 1849- Abbi, Marissa, Tanish, Jaiden

Boston Tea Party- Ava, Sophie, Carrigan, CiCi

Math- Students did a fantastic job on their chapter 5 test! These will come home on Monday! This week we are starting chapter 6 on multiplying and dividing decimals. Once again, students will benefit from knowing their basic multiplication and division facts. Please continue to practice them at home! 

Reading- We will be working closely with our writing curriculum by working on reading nonfiction texts to help us with our research. We will use boxes & bullets to pull out main ideas and supporting details, use and understand technical vocabulary, determine the difference between first and second-hand accounts, determine the author's bias, and see how the text brings about the reader's emotions. 

Social Studies- Within social studies we will also work closely with our reading/writing curriculum as we are reading and writing about historical events! We will continue our text mapping project as we preview our text for text features to help see the big picture of our next chapter on the age of exploration!

Reminders-

Mon. 11/17- Concord's Academic All Stars @ 6:00 in LHS Auditorium

Tue. 11/18- PTG Meeting (7:00) & Party Planning (6:00)

11/26-28 Thanksgiving Break

Chain of Thankfulness

Chain of Thankfulness

Dear Families,

It is a great time of year to reflect on how lucky we are and think about what we are thankful for. Today, your child has brought home strips of construction paper for members of your family to fill out. We are creating a chain of thankfulness for our classroom and we would love for you to join us!

Please write one thing you are thankful for on the strip of paper with your name on the back. This is not a required assignment, but more so a fun way to involve you in our classroom.

If we don’t see you before the break, we hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday with friends and family! Thank you for your time and hope to see some links come back soon!

Mrs. Schaefer and Mrs. Smith

Teaching Our Buddies!

Today we celebrated our research reports by sharing with our buddies! 5th graders did a fantastic job teaching about their tribes! I couldn't be prouder!

News Report with a GREAT Message!

Today in reading, we practiced having intellectual discussions with partners using response prompts to show our deep thinking about the video below. We are learning that it is important to say more than just "That was interesting!" or "That was cool!" We were also able to pick out the main idea of the news story as well as the message behind the story. We were even able to make connections to our own book clubs we have at school (literature circles)! Check it out!

Thank You from Miss Ballard

Dear Students and Families,

I just wanted to say thank you for such a wonderful student teaching experience.  I really enjoyed the past twelve weeks and am sad to have to leave Room 33.  Thank you for all of the last day cards, gifts, and flowers.  (I felt really appreciated!)  I know that I am leaving you in good hands with Mrs. Schaefer and Mrs. Smith and wish you a wonderful rest of the year!

Sincerely,
Miss Erica Ballard

properties of addition

today in math we learned about the different properties. Associative,idenity,communitive- julia and lainie

This Week in Room 33! Nov. 10-14

We have a busy and exciting week ahead of us!

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

Science- Weather tests will be coming home Monday Tuesday! As a reminder, test grades in the 70s may be fixed and returned, grades in the 60s MUST be fixed and returned. Our next unit of study will be chapter 3 in our text on classifying organisms!

Writing- We are working on redrafting our research reports on our native american tribe onto clean, lined paper. Their completed research reports are due Wednesday for our celebration! 

Writing portfolios will come home Wednesday and will be due 

Friday. Students are responsible for showing a parent their research report, their self-evaluation checklist, and their green sheet (needs parent signature). Please take this time to celebrate your student's writing and discuss goals for the next piece!

We will begin work on our 2nd research report at the end of the week. Students will work in research teams and will choose a historical topic for their 2nd piece! 

Math- We will finish our chapter on adding and subtracting decimals this week with lessons on addition properties and subtracting decimals. We will review on Thursday and our test will be on Friday. The study guide (pgs. 367-369) will be due Thursday.

Reading- We are continuing our study of determining importance and finding the main idea of a text. This is especially important when we are researching nonfiction texts. When we are able to determine the most important ideas of a text, we can then make conscious decisions on what we want to include in our research reports! 

We are also focusing on having meaningful discussions where we can respond personally and intellectually in conversations about nonfiction texts. We have been learning to use response prompts such as-

I wonder why...

It surprised me that...

I knew... but I never thought...

I used to think... but now I am realizing...

Now I understand why...

I agree/disagree with ______ because...

Adding on to what ______ said...

I can see ______'s point, but...

Social Studies- I couldn't be PROUDER of our native american projects! Wow! I was SO impressed! I will be posting the google presentations on the blog this week. Also, if you are able to, feel free to check out the models on display in the library- they are outstanding! 

We will begin to study chapter 3 on the age of exploration. We will focus on the importance of previewing a nonfiction text's features to help aid in understanding the content. We will be "text mapping" the chapter- be on the lookout for pictures!

Important Dates/Reminders:

Tue. 11/11- Veteran's Day Assembly! 9:00 AM

Wed. 11/12- Early Release!

*Fortel's Pizza Fundraiser is DUE Wed!

Fri. 11/14- Picture Retakes

Mon. 11/17- Concord's Academic All Stars @ 6:00 in LHS Auditorium

11/17-11/21 Blue Ribbon Week Celebration!

Sharing Our Native American Projects