5-2 Updates ~ 01/23/17

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017

Hello 5-2 Parents ~

I hope you all enjoyed the second long weekend with your families!  The temperatures on Saturday were delightful - it was fun to get outside and enjoy the sunshine for a little while!

As you may have noticed, this is only my second post for January.  Since we are in the second half of the year, you will notice I begin to pull back a little bit on communication.  While I will still send updates a couple times a month, and will email any critical information, I look to the students to start communicating with you a little more on what is happening in the classroom.  I expect them to truly own their learning by keeping track of deadlines and assessments, while maintaining their own assignment notebook.  Encourage them to share with you what we are doing in each of the subject areas on the weeks you don't see a post from me.  I also do not automatically send home mid-term grading reports this term, but they are available for students to ask for at any time.  Again, this is to encourage students to own their learning and to prepare them to monitor their own grades as they move forward.  Please encourage your child to ask me for a mid-term grade report any time they would like to see one!

I do continue to post birthday photos, though!  Please continue to check back for pictures of our birthday celebrations - since we are celebrating all January and summer birthdays this month, there are quite a few posts!!

** Thank you to all of you who sent in notebook paper - we appreciate you!! **

Important Dates

Global School Play Day ~ February 1st ~ Please send in games or toys with your child for a day of unstructured play!  NO ELECTRONICS, PLEASE!  We are specifically looking for math games during our math block, but the rest of the day is unstructured!

CogAT Testing ~ February 6th - 17th ~ The Cognitive Abilities Test will be given to all 5th grade students this year, and will be used with the MAPS test to determine students' eligibility to take the Advanced Language Arts placement test.  We do not have specific dates yet, but I will let you know as soon as those dates are set.

Everybody Counts ~ Wednesday, February 8th ~ Everybody Counts is an organization dedicated to the empowerment and independence of people with disabilities.  Volunteers take the time to come into classrooms to help the students understand life with a disability in a powerful and engaging way.  THANK YOU to all the parents who volunteer in bringing this valuable program to our school  Our presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, 2/2 at 11:10.

Valentine's Day Party ~ Tuesday, February 14th ~ 2:15-3:15pm

Due to severe and life threatening allergies, we are asking that you DO NOT INCLUDE ANY FOOD OR CANDY ITEMS with your child's individual Valentines. There are many clever and creative alternatives to food items, including pencils, tattoos, stickers, & bubbles... but the nicest way to say "Happy Valentine's Day" is to write a nice note! 

President's Day ~ Monday, February 20th ~ No School

Progress Reports ~ Friday, March 10th

Parent Teacher Conferences ~ Thursday, March 23rd (PM) & Friday, March 24th (AM)

Spring Break ~ March 27th - March 31st


Advanced Placement Testing (Math + ALA) ~ April 10th - 13th

Math

We will be wrapping up Unit 6 in math this week and taking the assessment on Thursday, 1/26.  We have focused on finding data points using line plots, stem and leaf plots, and bar graph, as well as adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  Students can prepare for the assessment by reviewing study links and these concepts on Khan Academy.

Social Studies
We will be wrapping up Unit 15 on the Bill of Rights on Tuesday, 01/24 with our final assessment, and then on to our new science unit....Earth in Space!

Reading

We have been focusing on literary elements in fiction for the past few weeks, specifically discussing characters and conflict in literature.  Students have learned to identify the different types of conflict (person vs person, person vs self, person vs society, and person vs nature) and how the conflict changes the character.  I've been impressed with the students ability to make inferences in the stories we've been reading!  We will use this new understanding to help us determine the theme in the stories we read.  

Writing

We also began our new writing unit Writing in Response to Fiction. During this unit, students will gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between reading and writing and will learn essential reading and writing strategies that they will need in order to respond to fiction throughout their educational careers. The students will be reading the book, The Liberation of Gabriel King, by K.L Going.

The Liberation of Gabriel King is a well written and highly engaging historical fiction novel about a friendship between two fifth grade students, Gabriel King, a Caucasian boy, and his friend Frita, an African-American girl. The setting of the story is rural Georgia in 1976, the year of the bicentennial, and Jimmy Carter is President. The author writes about racial prejudice and the presence of the Ku Klux Klan. Frita’s goal is to liberate Gabe from his fears. Together they list their fears and pledge to conquer them one by one during the summer between fourth and fifth grade. 

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. 
If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” 

― Albert Einstein

Cheers ~

Theresa Fowler

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Ulysses!!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Lucy!!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Anthony!!

Happy 11th Birthday, Sal!!

5-2 Updates ~ 01/08/17

Hello 5-2 Parents ~

I hope you all enjoyed some relaxing time with your families over Winter Break, and found a way to stay warm in this crazy cold weather!!  Brrrr!!  I was so happy to see all the smiling faces and exciting chatter as your children entered the classroom on Tuesday - it's always so much fun to hear their stories of all they did on break :)  

The new year brings some new expectations for your student as they are in the final stretches of their 5th grade year!  I will no longer be stamping their assignment notebook every afternoon - students are now expected to check the assignment board every afternoon, and copy down the assignments due independently.   Of course, I will be reminding them of their assignments and responsibilities at the end of every day, but I will no longer check in with each individual student.  They are  also expected to turn in assigned homework in the morning of it's due date - this includes re-do assignments.  While they will still be receiving reminders to turn the assignments in, I will not check in with them individually to turn their work in.  If the work is not turned in at the expected time, it will be marked late.  We are working to transition them to more independence and ownership of their learning as they begin to prepare for middle school.  Encourage them to maintain organization and listen for those reminders!  As always, if you see your child struggling with this transition, please let me know.

** We are running low on notebook paper.  I have asked the students to each bring in another pack of lined paper.  Please send this in with your child as soon as possible.  Thank you! **

Important Dates

Reading MAP Testing:  Tuesday, January 10th - 2:00pm - Reading

MLK Day ~ Monday, January 16th - No School

Robert Crown ~ Michael/Linda Talk:  Thursday, January 19th - 1:15pm

The Linda program provides a unique “girls-only” format for puberty education. It compares female and male reproductive anatomy and introduces the physiological changes that occur during adolescence. Educators address secondary physical changes such as breast development, increased production of sweat and oil, acne, increased body fat, and the growth of body hair, as well as the menstrual cycle.

Program Goals:
Students will…

1. Increase their knowledge of human anatomy
2. Understand that changes are a normal part of human development
3. Increase their comfort in discussing and caring for their changing bodies

The Michael Program provides a unique “boys-only” format for puberty education. It compares female and male reproductive anatomy and introduces the physiological changes that occur during adolescence. Educators address secondary physical changes such as voice change, increased production of sweat and oil, acne, and the growth of body hair, as well nocturnal emissions and spontaneous erections.

Program Goals:
Students will…

1. Increase their knowledge of human anatomy
2. Understand that changes are a normal part of human development
3. Increase their comfort in discussing and caring for their changing bodies

SIP Day ~ Monday, January 23rd - No School

Math

My math students returned on Tuesday to take a Mid-Year Assessment to evaluate their 5th grade math skills.  This test provided information about how well your children are retaining skills learned in 5th grade.  I was pleased with their progress!  Since these tests were taken on the MimioVote, there are no printed copies with grades to send home.  If you are interested in your child's progress on this assessment, please just send me an email, and I'll send you an electronic copy of their assessment.

We started our work on Unit 6 on Tuesday with a pre-test.  In this unit, we will focus on finding data points using line plots, stem and leaf plots, and bar graphs.  At the end of the unit, we will focus on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  Students can review concepts throughout this unit on Khan Academy.

Social Studies

Now that the Revolutionary War is won, we are a free nation, and with that comes the responsibility and struggle of organizing a government.  Students learned of the challenges our forefathers faced as they argued the best form of government for our new nation.  Then we dove into the 3 branches of government - ask your child if they can name the 3 branches, the members and main responsibilities of each branch, as well as several key responsibilities.  On Monday, we will begin work on the Branches of Government project to review these concepts.  These project will be due on Wednesday, when we will play a Power Card game to help us review for the test.  The Chapter 14 Assessment is scheduled for Thursday, January 12th - I have uploaded the key for the Chapter 14 Organizer to Edmodo to help students prepare for the assessment.

Reading

We have begun our Fiction Unit in reading where students will explore a variety of fiction, including realistic and historical fiction, as well as fairy tales and folk tales.  In each of these types of fiction, we will investigate story elements, such as characters, setting, plot, conflict and solution.  We will also spend time investigating the theme in different fictional text.

Students were also assigned a Conflict Scrapbook for the Revolutionary War novel they read over Winter Break.  The project descriptor and rubric for this project can be found on Edmodo.  This project ties in with our Fiction Unit as we will be focused on discussing conflict in text, and how the conflict impacts the character and the theme of the story.  They will be given time in class to work on this project, though they may have to complete it at home.  The Conflict Scrapbook is due on January 30th.

Your children were also given time this week to choose a book and start a Book Club with their friends.  They were able to choose the novel of their choice, I only ask that they choose a book with at least one other person so they would be able to spend time discussing the book as they read it.  As I told your children, my greatest desire for them is that they would develop a love of reading, and I firmly believe for them to do that, they need to choose books they enjoy reading and they need to discuss it in an authentic way with their peers.  They were able to discuss and determine their own schedule for reading the book with their peers.  The enthusiastic chatter as they chose their books and met in their Book Clubs for the first time was heart-warming.  I just love watching them get so excited about reading is my favorite!

Writing

We also began our new writing unit Writing in Response to Fiction. During this unit, students will gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between reading and writing and will learn essential reading and writing strategies that they will need in order to respond to fiction throughout their educational careers. The students will be reading the book, The Liberation of Gabriel King, by K.L Going.

The Liberation of Gabriel King is a well written and highly engaging historical fiction novel about a friendship between two fifth grade students, Gabriel King, a Caucasian boy, and his friend Frita, an African-American girl. The setting of the story is rural Georgia in 1976, the year of the bicentennial, and Jimmy Carter is President. The author writes about racial prejudice and the presence of the Ku Klux Klan. Frita’s goal is to liberate Gabe from his fears. Together they list their fears and pledge to conquer them one by one during the summer between fourth and fifth grade. 

In order to prepare them for this novel, we will spend some time reading and discussing Freedom Walkers and Rosa Parks to give our students context as to the setting and the civil rights struggles that were present at that time in our history.

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”         

Stay Warm!

Theresa Fowler

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Sofia!!

Happy 11th Birthday, Carson!