Science Test Next Wednesday!

Reminder---

The Ch. 9 Earth and Space science test will be Wednesday, February 3. We will be reviewing in class on Monday and Tuesday of next week. To prepare and study at home, please use the following resources:

• Science Book pages 363- 393
• Ch. 9 Vocabulary Cards
• Ch. 9 Study Guide pg. 401
• Ch. 9 Review Test pages 402-404

Author Studies

Our Author Studies:

Sharon Creech- Paulina, Sammie, Kamryn

Peg Kehret- Lila

Wendy Mass- Sydney

Lois Lowry- Zoe

Sharon Draper- Olivia

Raina Telgemeier- Emma, Rylee, Erin, Aidan

Lisa McMann- Miles, Tyler M.

Hiro Mashima- Gus

Gennifer Choldenko- Eli, Sam, Ben, Jeremy

Lauren Tarshis- Jordan

R.L. Stine- Tyler H.

John Grisham- Charlie

Today my favorite thing was .............

Today we wrote down our favorite thing we did in the classroom then put it on our door

Social Issues Book Club Celebration!

We celebrated the end of our social issues book club unit by creating iMovies! We asked ourselves- 

• What is one social issue that we explored during our book club discussions while reading this book?
• What did we learn about this social issue?
• How did reading this book change our thoughts and ideas about this social issue?

Each Little Bird that Sings by Deborah Wiles

Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen

Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech

Reminder on Adding & Subtracting Unlike Fractions

Math practice

This is one of the pages you could do for extra practice.

This Week in Room 33! Jan. 25-29

Don't forget- our field trip to the Sheldon Theater for a performance on the history of jazz is tomorrow (Tuesday!) Here's what to expect this week in 5th grade-

Science- We will work within stations to explore asteroids, meteors, comets, and moons. Our chapter 9 test on Earth and Space will be on Wed. 2/3. If you have Netflix, check out the show recommended by Miles called Cosmos- very cool!

Writing- I am so proud of our memoir work! Our 1st memoirs will be going home on Tuesday to be shared with families and portfolios will be due on Thursday (please sign and make sure your student has completed the checklist to self-evaluate his/her work). 

This week we are beginning our 2nd memoir piece! We are challenging ourselves to look deeply within for a new perspective to focus our next piece on. We will be flash drafting, revising the expository portions of our memoir, and reconsidering the finer points (focusing in on important and revealing details). 

Below are some thought prompts we are using to study ourselves as we might study characters in a book. These thoughts can lead to new memoir ideas. I would encourage families to use these prompts to spark discussions at home! 

Thought Prompts to Help Us Better Understand Ourselves (or Characters in a Book!)

• Some people think I'm... But really I'm...
• Early on, (I had this problem). Later, (I changed).
• My ideas about myself are complicated. On the one hand, I think... On the other hand, I think...
• Experiences/relationships/struggles can teach us...
• When ______ first happened to me, I thought it was about... But now I realize it was really about...

Math- This week we are adding/subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, problem solving, estimating sums/differences, adding/subtracting mixed numbers, and subtracting mixed numbers with renaming. 

Reading- I couldn't be prouder of the amount of reading happening in our classroom! Continue to encourage discussions on books, current events (try tweentribune.com!), and social issues at home. We are completing our social issues book clubs this week and beginning a new unit on author studies!

Social Studies- This week we are continuing to discuss Roanoke, Jamestown, and other European settlements.

Reminders-

1/27 Field Trip to Sheldon

1/29 Family Bingo at Truman 6:30 Doors open, 7:00 Game begins

Fri. 2/5- Counselor's Day

Number lines in math!!!!

Fun fun fun fun today in math we learned how to put a fraction on the right place for a number line and if the fraction is closest to zero one half or one whole.     

SNOW!!!!!!

It's snowing!!!!!

This Week in Room 33! Jan. 19-22

I hope everyone enjoyed their 3-day weekend! Looking forward to seeing everyone! Here's what to expect this week in 5th grade-

Science- We will be studying the inner and outer planets this week. 

Writing- Students will be revising, editing, and celebrating their 1st memoir this week! Completed memoirs (on looseleaf, does not need to be typed) will be due Thursday for our celebration. 

Math- We are completing ch. 8 in math with a short, informal quiz on Wednesday and beginning ch. 9 on adding and subtracting fractions. We will be rounding fractions and adding/subtracting like and unlike fractions this week. Our fractions unit test will cover ch. 8-10.

Reading- We will be wrapping up our unit on social issues book clubs this week. We will continue analyzing and interpreting our books through the lens of social issues as we challenge ourselves to make our thinking more complex! 

Social Studies- We will learn about and discuss Roanoke, Jamestown, and the New England settlements.

Reminders-

1/26- Field Trip to Sheldon- Please turn in permission slip this week!

1/29- Family Bingo at Truman- Doors open 6:30, Game begins 7:00

Reading with Buddies

Check out the album below for pictures from yesterday's reading time with our 2nd grade buddies!

Social Issues

In reading we are talking about social issues. What social issues are in your book? What article are you reading tonight that connects with your book's social issues?

New Jobs

Another round of Jobs. Will we make it?

This Week in Room 33! Jan. 11-15

I hope everyone is adjusting well to the new year! We are full steam ahead in 5th grade! Here's what to expect this week-

Science- We are continuing our study on Earth and Space. We are learning that the reason for the seasons isn't about the Earth's distance from the sun, but rather Earth's tilt on its axis! This week we will also learn about stars.

PRISM REMINDER- If your student is interested in and working on completing a PRISM investigation project, check out THIS POST or this Lindbergh link!

Writing- We are continuing our study of memoirs by finding and growing ideas, pushing our thinking, and adding depth to our writing by asking ourselves "What is the deeper theme or message we want to convey?" We are also studying and planning structures and will draft our first piece!

Math- We are continuing to work on chapter 8 with lessons on problem solving, least common multiple, using the ladder method, comparing fractions, and writing fractions as decimals and percents.

Reading- We are continuing to study social issues within our book club books.  Students should be reading their assigned book club book in school and at home. When they reach their stopping point, they can continue reading their choice books. I am SO impressed by the amount of reading, deep thinking and conversing that is happening in our classroom!

Social Studies- We will study different European explorers and begin to discuss the colonies of Jamestown and Roanoke.

Reminders:

Wed. 1/13 is Early Release!

Mon. 1/18- No School!

This Week in Room 33! Jan. 4-8

Welcome back! Thank you SO much for a fantastic winter party and for all the sweet and thoughtful gifts. I felt so spoiled and appreciated! I hope everyone enjoyed their winter break and that you are all relaxed and ready for the 2nd half of 5th grade!

Here's what is going on this week-

Science- We are starting a new unit on Earth and Space (chapter 9)! Our first lesson focuses on how Earth moves. REMINDER- If your student is interested in completing a PRISM investigation project, check out THIS POST!

Writing- We are beginning an exciting and challenging unit on memoirs! A memoir is a hybrid kind of writing, including elements of both personal narrative and personal essay. We are raising the level of our craft by adding in more reflection, opinions, and thoughts. We will then be supporting our thoughts with evidence in the form of personal stories!

As a reminder, students should be spending 20 minutes each week (10 min. Tue, 10 min. Thurs.) writing- they can write in their writer's notebook or they can write an email to me or on their Google drive!

Math- We are now in Volume 2 of our math series and starting chapter 8 on fractions and decimals. This week our focus is on relating fractions and division, greatest common factor, and simplest form. Please practice those basic multiplication and division facts with your student- it is SO important to know them quickly in order to efficiently perform these new skills. Thank you for all your hard work at home!

Reading- We are excited to start a new unit on social issues within book clubs! We will be reading through the lens of identifying and interpreting the author's and our own views on social issues. We will learn that reading for social issues can help you better understand and empathize with people in books, movies, and the world!

Social Studies- We are beginning a new chapter on European settlements.

Reminders/Upcoming Dates:
Wed. 1/13- Early Release
Mon. 1/18 No School