Welcome to Week 10! We had a great week last week. The kids worked hard, showed great leadership, and are showing an improving amount of maturity. We certainly appreciate all of our students hard work! On to the week.
In math we will be continuing our 4th unit, this one on 1-digit division. This week students will be estimating quotients (answers), connecting models and symbols, working with zeros in the quotient, and understanding factors. The kids have truly begun showing a much higher level of confidence during math time. They are working hard on learning new concepts and many students are improving on their math facts so that the concepts are easy to complete. We have noticed that the students that are still struggling with math facts are able to complete the concepts with a high degree of success, but oftentimes their math facts trip them up. Keep working on those multiplication factors! THEY ARE THE KEY!
In science we are studying the affects of water over earth materials. We have discussed weathering, erosion, and deposition. Last week we completed our first investigation on erosion and deposition. This week we are going to change the investigation slightly when we add more flow to our streaming water over the earth materials. Through these investigations students are practicing writing hypotheses, forming procedures to test the hypothesis, writing a conclusion, and re-writing or making stronger our original hypothesis using our new knowledge. We are working very hard to make each investigation be very similar to what is going to be asked of your student on this years MSP test. So far the kids are enjoying science and really grasping the concepts well!
In reading this week we are going to continue our work in our book groups. Students are continuing to focus on predicting, questioning and summarizing. However, we are also asking students to answer comprehension strategies. After reading through, and grading, their packets this weekend, we are going to put a big emphasis on how to answer a question. Students are asked to write in complete sentences. Please look over your student's reading comprehension packet with them to help them understand my notes to them on how they can improve their work.
One way to ensure their answer is in complete sentences is to use the question to start the answer. An example of this would be: Why did Mrs. Therriault ask me to do this assignment? One way to start this answer would be: Mrs. Therriault asked me to do this assignment because...
Students are also being asked to provide evidence from the story to support their answer. In this case, we are looking for students to use details to explain their answer, use quotes to prove their answer or describe the events of the story in detail. These are all ways students can "use evidence". Saying, "because it said so in the book" will not count as evidence.
Each assignment is listed by day of the week and by the book your student has been assigned. The homework for reading this week is as follows.
Monday: Walk Two Moons(W2M) 9 &10, Junebug(June) 5, Bridge to Terrabithia(BT) 6, Landry News(LN) 8 & 9, and Wild River(WR) 4
Tuesday: W2M 11 &12, June 6, BT 7, LN 10 &11, WR 5
Wednesday: W2M 13&14&15, June 7, BT 8, LN 12 & 13, WR 6
There is no reading homework Thursday or Friday.
In writing this week students will have one last chance to revise and edit their papers. Students will be given a rubric that will explain how their papers will be graded. On Tuesday night, students will be asked to publish their story to be turned in on Wednesday. ANY LATE PAPERS WILL NOT RECEIVE FULL CREDIT. Students can handwrite or type their published papers. It will take Mrs. Therriault a little bit of time to grade them since their are 56 papers. Again, encourage your student to refer back to the rubric while they are publishing to ensure they are producing quality work. While there is not a length requirement, we are looking for quality.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns,
Allyn and Alaina
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Week 9: Starting our new novel series, Systems and Landforms in Science, and Multiplication is over
Welcome to week 9! Should be a good week. We are definitely getting into the thick part of our curriculum so you might see more work coming home to be finished. Keep checking those planners and asking your kids what they need to complete!
Last week in reading we finished reading Maniac Magee. This week, students will begin novel studies. They will be reading another realistic fiction book and working on the same reading comprehension strategies as before. Students will be asked to read at home for homework and come prepared to discuss and answer questions about what they read the night before. Please help your student to get the reading done each night and bring the book back to school. If they are not prepared, they will slow down the entire group, which is not fair to those who are staying on top of their work. In addition to implementing the reading strategies we practiced as a whole class, students will also be working on how to answer questions completely. In order for an answer to be considered complete students must: 1. write in complete sentences using correct punctuation and capitalization. 2. provide evidence from the text to support their answer. 3. answer all parts of a question. Students will receive direct instruction as to what this will look like and how they can tackle a question. We will also be giving students feedback constantly throughout their novel studies regarding their answers. They will be expected to read the feedback and correct mistakes as they have been doing in math.
In writing this week, students are working on revising their drafts. We are working on how to help a partner think critically about their own writing and make improvements. It is very hard for 5th graders to revise because their writing is so personal. By working with a partner, we are teaching students to step back from their work and think about how someone else reads their story differently than they do. We will also be working on word choice: specifically how to replace over used words such as "said", "nice" and "bad". Students will have one writing homework assignment this week which will be to create a "clean" copy of their draft. This will require students to rewrite their draft, including all of the changes they have made to their work. They need to bring both their first draft and this clean draft back to school.
In math this week we will be taking a pre-test on our multiplication unit and with the results we will do a little peer instruction to fill any holes. On Thursday we will begin our next chapter which will be dividing by one-digit divisors. The kids have been working hard on their multiplication facts. Keep it up! Those facts will be increasingly important as we move into division and soon into long division (two chapters from now).
We will be starting our first science unit of the year this week. This first unit will be based around landforms. Students will be learning how landforms are created, learn what a system is and how the parts of a system are so important to the results of the system. In addition, students will begin an investigation into erosion and its affects on land.
That's it for now. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Allyn and Alaina
Last week in reading we finished reading Maniac Magee. This week, students will begin novel studies. They will be reading another realistic fiction book and working on the same reading comprehension strategies as before. Students will be asked to read at home for homework and come prepared to discuss and answer questions about what they read the night before. Please help your student to get the reading done each night and bring the book back to school. If they are not prepared, they will slow down the entire group, which is not fair to those who are staying on top of their work. In addition to implementing the reading strategies we practiced as a whole class, students will also be working on how to answer questions completely. In order for an answer to be considered complete students must: 1. write in complete sentences using correct punctuation and capitalization. 2. provide evidence from the text to support their answer. 3. answer all parts of a question. Students will receive direct instruction as to what this will look like and how they can tackle a question. We will also be giving students feedback constantly throughout their novel studies regarding their answers. They will be expected to read the feedback and correct mistakes as they have been doing in math.
In writing this week, students are working on revising their drafts. We are working on how to help a partner think critically about their own writing and make improvements. It is very hard for 5th graders to revise because their writing is so personal. By working with a partner, we are teaching students to step back from their work and think about how someone else reads their story differently than they do. We will also be working on word choice: specifically how to replace over used words such as "said", "nice" and "bad". Students will have one writing homework assignment this week which will be to create a "clean" copy of their draft. This will require students to rewrite their draft, including all of the changes they have made to their work. They need to bring both their first draft and this clean draft back to school.
In math this week we will be taking a pre-test on our multiplication unit and with the results we will do a little peer instruction to fill any holes. On Thursday we will begin our next chapter which will be dividing by one-digit divisors. The kids have been working hard on their multiplication facts. Keep it up! Those facts will be increasingly important as we move into division and soon into long division (two chapters from now).
We will be starting our first science unit of the year this week. This first unit will be based around landforms. Students will be learning how landforms are created, learn what a system is and how the parts of a system are so important to the results of the system. In addition, students will begin an investigation into erosion and its affects on land.
That's it for now. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Allyn and Alaina
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Week 8: The Conclusion of Maniac Magee, Multiplying Double Digit Factos, and starting our second writing piece
Welcome to Week 8! We would like to thanks all those parents that took the time out of their busy days to spend 15 minutes with us and their student discussing the year so far, our assessment scores, and goals we have for the remainder of the year. We find these quick meetings to be an imperative part of your students education. Thank you for being here and talking with us. On to the week...
In reading we are going to complete our first classroom novel Maniac Magee. It's been a great story that the kids have truly enjoyed, but it has also given us many opportunities to train the kids in how to use reading comprehension strategies, forumlate questions and ideas in their journals, as well as discuss books in small groups. As we finish this book we are also putting the finishing touches on this training. As we move into new books we feel as though this first month of work will really pay off and allow each student to succeed in their reading journals, in groups, and find great enjoyment in reading. In addition, we are going to continue grocking and will have our first grocking quiz this week.
In math, students will be reviewing multiplication with single digit factors and move into multiplying double digit factors. This will entail learning the steps, carefully writing out problems, and quite a bit of practice. Please be prepared to help your student practice the steps at home or to fix problems that may have been completed incorrectly. Also, if you are noticing that your student is struggling through this chapter...I highly recommend checking out his or her ability to use the multiplication facts. If they don't have the basic facts down, this chapter and the two after this will be increasingly difficult and frustrating. We highly recommend a website called Multiplication Madness (linked on our classroom website) to get practice and to test your kids.
Finally, in writing students will be choosing a piece to begin writing a rough draft. They have each come up with three or four ideas for stories over the course of the past 2 weeks. Now they need to choose one of those topics to begin writing a rough draft.
Thanks again for all your support during conference week. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Allyn and Alaina
In reading we are going to complete our first classroom novel Maniac Magee. It's been a great story that the kids have truly enjoyed, but it has also given us many opportunities to train the kids in how to use reading comprehension strategies, forumlate questions and ideas in their journals, as well as discuss books in small groups. As we finish this book we are also putting the finishing touches on this training. As we move into new books we feel as though this first month of work will really pay off and allow each student to succeed in their reading journals, in groups, and find great enjoyment in reading. In addition, we are going to continue grocking and will have our first grocking quiz this week.
In math, students will be reviewing multiplication with single digit factors and move into multiplying double digit factors. This will entail learning the steps, carefully writing out problems, and quite a bit of practice. Please be prepared to help your student practice the steps at home or to fix problems that may have been completed incorrectly. Also, if you are noticing that your student is struggling through this chapter...I highly recommend checking out his or her ability to use the multiplication facts. If they don't have the basic facts down, this chapter and the two after this will be increasingly difficult and frustrating. We highly recommend a website called Multiplication Madness (linked on our classroom website) to get practice and to test your kids.
Finally, in writing students will be choosing a piece to begin writing a rough draft. They have each come up with three or four ideas for stories over the course of the past 2 weeks. Now they need to choose one of those topics to begin writing a rough draft.
Thanks again for all your support during conference week. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Allyn and Alaina
Sunday, October 10, 2010
New Policy. Please read and discuss with your student
Dear Families,
We wanted to make you aware of a change in our policy of turning in homework and class work. Students will be made aware of the due date of any assignment and will be given ample time to work on any given assignment. However, rather than just counting an assignment as a missing assignment that can be turned in any time for full credit, assignments turned in after the due date will not be able to receive full credit. In addition to not being able to receive full credit on that assignment, students will not be able to attend Reward Time on Fridays. Students may also be asked to miss recess time in order to complete the assignment.
Example: Sally’s reading assignment is to read two chapters and complete a journal entry. She was told the assignment is due the following day in order for groups to discuss what is read. Sally forgot her book at school and did not complete the homework. She is asked to complete the assignment at afternoon recess. She finishes the assignment and turns it in. She produces a great journal entry that would have received a 3. However, because the assignment was late she will receive a 2. Sally will also not be able to participate in this week’s Reward Time.
The reason why we are implementing our policy regarding late work is because we are seeing more missing assignments than is appropriate at this grade level. Many students are not taking their assignments seriously. We have tried many different approaches to getting students to turn in work. These methods have not been effective so we are reaching out to you to help them understand the importance of homework and school work. When assignments are not turned in on time, students can miss out on group work, aren’t prepared for further instruction and are not learning the crucial life-long skill of meeting deadlines. Please talk to your student about the importance of turning in work on time and putting 100% of his or her effort into each and every assignment.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact us.
alaina.therriault@shorelineschools.org
allyn.woods@shorelineschools.org
Thank you for your continued support,
Allyn and Alaina
We wanted to make you aware of a change in our policy of turning in homework and class work. Students will be made aware of the due date of any assignment and will be given ample time to work on any given assignment. However, rather than just counting an assignment as a missing assignment that can be turned in any time for full credit, assignments turned in after the due date will not be able to receive full credit. In addition to not being able to receive full credit on that assignment, students will not be able to attend Reward Time on Fridays. Students may also be asked to miss recess time in order to complete the assignment.
Example: Sally’s reading assignment is to read two chapters and complete a journal entry. She was told the assignment is due the following day in order for groups to discuss what is read. Sally forgot her book at school and did not complete the homework. She is asked to complete the assignment at afternoon recess. She finishes the assignment and turns it in. She produces a great journal entry that would have received a 3. However, because the assignment was late she will receive a 2. Sally will also not be able to participate in this week’s Reward Time.
The reason why we are implementing our policy regarding late work is because we are seeing more missing assignments than is appropriate at this grade level. Many students are not taking their assignments seriously. We have tried many different approaches to getting students to turn in work. These methods have not been effective so we are reaching out to you to help them understand the importance of homework and school work. When assignments are not turned in on time, students can miss out on group work, aren’t prepared for further instruction and are not learning the crucial life-long skill of meeting deadlines. Please talk to your student about the importance of turning in work on time and putting 100% of his or her effort into each and every assignment.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact us.
alaina.therriault@shorelineschools.org
allyn.woods@shorelineschools.org
Thank you for your continued support,
Allyn and Alaina
Week 7: Multiplication, Grocking, Maniac Magee, and Explorers
Welcome to Week 7! Please remember that this is conference week. Please attend the conference WITH YOUR STUDENT at the time that was assigned to you.
Although this is a short week, we are doing quite a bit. Here we go:
In reading this week we are starting our language study. We are working with words that derive from the romance languages. Students will be learning how to break words apart into prefixes, roots and suffixes. They are also going to learn that these word chunks have meaning. We call this "Grocking", so when you hear your student using this strange word, you will understand a little bit about what we are doing. This is a long term unit of study that we will continue to work on over the course of the entire year. Another aspect of reading this week is our work with Maniac Magee. We are going to use the comprehension strategies that we have been using in isolation together to answer comprehension questions both in small groups and individually. The strategies we have been using are prediction, questioning and summarizing. The final part of our reading block is our RtI block. Some students will be pulled into small groups to work on decoding skills (breaking words apart by syllables and sounds). The rest of the students will be applying our comprehension lessons to books of their choosing. (Sorry for copy and pasting this....we are planning on continuing this same plan)
In writing this week students are going to examine how writers decide what they should write about. The students have several pieces they have started, but this week they will pick one piece that they will take through the writing process. This means they will be completing a draft, revising and editing and publishing. The topics will vary since we have brainstormed on several different prompts.
We are going to kick off our social studies work for the year this Friday. We will be learning about the many explorers who came to North America. Students will be examining three essential questions throughout our Explorers Unit: What is our history? Why do people move? How can something new influence someone's perspective on their own life? Understanding these concepts will help build the foundation for further study on the development of our country which we will explore in depth this year.
In math we are going to start our 3rd chapter on multiplication. Students will review the properties of multiplication, use mental math, and estimate products. The key word to this is REVIEW. In the 5th grade students should have their multiplication math facts down well enough to be successful during this unit. If you student is struggling with multiplication there is a very good chance that they do not have these essential math facts down. If that is the case...practice, practice, practice...and contact us so that we can practice with them at school as well.
Lastly, we will be following this blog with a quick note to all of our parents and students regarding classwork and homework. Please read the following blog and talk about it with your student.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Alaina and Allyn
Although this is a short week, we are doing quite a bit. Here we go:
In reading this week we are starting our language study. We are working with words that derive from the romance languages. Students will be learning how to break words apart into prefixes, roots and suffixes. They are also going to learn that these word chunks have meaning. We call this "Grocking", so when you hear your student using this strange word, you will understand a little bit about what we are doing. This is a long term unit of study that we will continue to work on over the course of the entire year. Another aspect of reading this week is our work with Maniac Magee. We are going to use the comprehension strategies that we have been using in isolation together to answer comprehension questions both in small groups and individually. The strategies we have been using are prediction, questioning and summarizing. The final part of our reading block is our RtI block. Some students will be pulled into small groups to work on decoding skills (breaking words apart by syllables and sounds). The rest of the students will be applying our comprehension lessons to books of their choosing. (Sorry for copy and pasting this....we are planning on continuing this same plan)
In writing this week students are going to examine how writers decide what they should write about. The students have several pieces they have started, but this week they will pick one piece that they will take through the writing process. This means they will be completing a draft, revising and editing and publishing. The topics will vary since we have brainstormed on several different prompts.
We are going to kick off our social studies work for the year this Friday. We will be learning about the many explorers who came to North America. Students will be examining three essential questions throughout our Explorers Unit: What is our history? Why do people move? How can something new influence someone's perspective on their own life? Understanding these concepts will help build the foundation for further study on the development of our country which we will explore in depth this year.
In math we are going to start our 3rd chapter on multiplication. Students will review the properties of multiplication, use mental math, and estimate products. The key word to this is REVIEW. In the 5th grade students should have their multiplication math facts down well enough to be successful during this unit. If you student is struggling with multiplication there is a very good chance that they do not have these essential math facts down. If that is the case...practice, practice, practice...and contact us so that we can practice with them at school as well.
Lastly, we will be following this blog with a quick note to all of our parents and students regarding classwork and homework. Please read the following blog and talk about it with your student.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Alaina and Allyn
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Week 6: Adding and Subtracting Decimals, Language Study, and Gathering Ideas for Writing
Welcome to week 6! Thank you so much for a great turn-out at our Curriculum Night on Thursday. We had a good conversation and we hope that all of our parents came away from our meeting with a better understanding of our expectations this year.
On to the week...
In reading this week we are starting our language study. We are working with words that derive from the romance languages. Students will be learning how to break words apart into prefixes, roots and suffixes. They are also going to learn that these word chunks have meaning. We call this "Grocking", so when you hear your student using this strange word, you will understand a little bit about what we are doing. This is a long term unit of study that we will continue to work on over the course of the entire year. Another aspect of reading this week is our work with Maniac Magee. We are going to use the comprehension strategies that we have been using in isolation together to answer comprehension questions both in small groups and individually. The strategies we have been using are prediction, questioning and summarizing. The final part of our reading block is our RtI block. Some students will be pulled into small groups to work on decoding skills (breaking words apart by syllables and sounds). The rest of the students will be applying our comprehension lessons to books of their choosing.
In writing this week students will continue to learn new ways to gather ideas for their own writing by examining two different stories. Students will have time to brainstorm writing ideas and start writing two different stories. We are not yet asking students to complete one piece, rather we are showing them that it is ok to have several started before committing to one to take through the writing process. This reduces the stress that many students feel when they are asked to write. We are still using our writing time to continue to build our writing community as well so they feel safer to share their writing with their peers.
In math we will be concluding our subtracting and adding numbers with decimals unit. This week we will review a few of the concepts, do a little peer instruction to make sure everyone has mastered the unit, and take our end of topic test. The kids are working hard at their math and are beginning to turn the corner. We are seeing more work completed, more attention to detail, and a much greater amount of enthusiasm for math. These are all great signs!
Just two final reminders. We are still collecting conference forms and soon we hope to be sending home a time and date for you and your student to come in and conference with us. Be on the lookout for those. Lastly, remember that Friday is a teacher in-service day.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns so far,
Thanks,
Allyn Woods and Alaina Therriault
On to the week...
In reading this week we are starting our language study. We are working with words that derive from the romance languages. Students will be learning how to break words apart into prefixes, roots and suffixes. They are also going to learn that these word chunks have meaning. We call this "Grocking", so when you hear your student using this strange word, you will understand a little bit about what we are doing. This is a long term unit of study that we will continue to work on over the course of the entire year. Another aspect of reading this week is our work with Maniac Magee. We are going to use the comprehension strategies that we have been using in isolation together to answer comprehension questions both in small groups and individually. The strategies we have been using are prediction, questioning and summarizing. The final part of our reading block is our RtI block. Some students will be pulled into small groups to work on decoding skills (breaking words apart by syllables and sounds). The rest of the students will be applying our comprehension lessons to books of their choosing.
In writing this week students will continue to learn new ways to gather ideas for their own writing by examining two different stories. Students will have time to brainstorm writing ideas and start writing two different stories. We are not yet asking students to complete one piece, rather we are showing them that it is ok to have several started before committing to one to take through the writing process. This reduces the stress that many students feel when they are asked to write. We are still using our writing time to continue to build our writing community as well so they feel safer to share their writing with their peers.
In math we will be concluding our subtracting and adding numbers with decimals unit. This week we will review a few of the concepts, do a little peer instruction to make sure everyone has mastered the unit, and take our end of topic test. The kids are working hard at their math and are beginning to turn the corner. We are seeing more work completed, more attention to detail, and a much greater amount of enthusiasm for math. These are all great signs!
Just two final reminders. We are still collecting conference forms and soon we hope to be sending home a time and date for you and your student to come in and conference with us. Be on the lookout for those. Lastly, remember that Friday is a teacher in-service day.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns so far,
Thanks,
Allyn Woods and Alaina Therriault
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