Friday, April 14, 2017
Monday, April 3, 2017
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Hello 5-2 Parents ~
I hope you found some time to rest and relax with your families over Spring Break! It was great to have a chance to connect with most of you at Parent-Teacher Conferences last week, but I sure do miss your kiddos! Having been out of the building for the week prior to break has left me two weeks without seeing them - I'm looking forward to greeting all their smiling faces tomorrow morning :)
As many of you are aware, we welcomed a new student from France into our classroom the week before break - Ines Doulet. The students excitedly prepared for her arrival, and have worked hard to make her feel comfortable and part of the community :) Please join Olive-us in welcoming the Doulet family to the nest!
For the next two weeks, Miss Charlotte Bono, a former 5-2 student, will return to the nest as a student teacher to observe our classroom!! She will be helping with instruction, and will have a chance to interact with all of your children. She's excited to be back in her old classroom, and I'm excited for some of your children to see a former student of mine work hard to achieve her dreams of being a teacher. I know some of your kiddos aspire to be an educator when they grow up - I hope they find Miss Bono to be inspiring!!
Important Dates
Illinois State Science Assessment ~ Wednesday, April 5th ~ 10:15amIllinois assesses students in 5th grade and 8th grade on the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This is one 60-minute assessment, and it will take place on the computer. Please be sure your child has a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast before school.
Advanced Placement Testing (ALA) ~ April 10th ~ 1:20pm
If you received an email notifying you that your child qualified to test for the Advanced Language Arts class for the 2017-2018 school year, your child will be testing at this time.Advanced Placement Testing (Math) ~ April 13th ~ 1:20pm
If you received an email notifying you that your child qualified to test for the Advanced Math class for the 2017-2018 school year, your child will be testing at this time. If your child is currently in Advanced Math, they will be automatically placed in Advanced Math for the 2017-2018 school year.
No School ~ Friday, April 14th
Middle School Visits ~ Wednesday, April 19th ~ 9:10am
All students in 5-2 will visit their respective middle schools (South or Thomas) at this time. A permission slip was sent home for these field trips before Spring Break. Please be sure these are returned to me when we return from break. Thank you!
Book Fair/Earth Day Fair ~ Wednesday, April 19th ~ 6:30-8:00pm
Please join us in the commons for our annual book fair!
Thomas Middle School Transition Night ~ Thursday, April 20th ~ 7pm
This event is for all families who will be attending Thomas Middle School for the 2017-2018 school year. For more information on this event, please contact TMS.
Just Move It Challenge ~ SMS ~ Saturday, April 22nd
See the Twig to sign-up for the district 5k!
Math
When we return from break, my math class will be pre-testing for Unit 9. We will cover plotting points on coordinate graphs, area of quadrangles and triangles, and volume of rectangular prisms. Your child can review these concepts on Khan throughout the unit to strengthen their skills. Our unit 9 assessment is currently scheduled for Monday, April 23rd.
Social Studies
We will begin our Westward Expansion Unit on Monday as they find a huge map of the United States taped to our floor. Students will be able to move in and settle the land as groups, but they will quickly discover there isn't enough land for all of them. As they become more crowded, they will have to decide how to problem solve. This activity mirrors the idea of Manifest Destiny - the common belief that we as Americans had the right to move west and take over land from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean.
We will begin chapter 16 in History Alive on Monday as well - this chapter focuses on how we acquired the different portions of land that now make up the United States. The chapter 16 test will be Wednesday, April 12th.
Students have been anxiously awaiting Hacker's Trail - a Westward Expansion game that simulates an Oregon pioneer wagon train moving west in the mid-1800s. Students will have to work cooperatively to make trail decisions, and deal with the many different fates a real wagon train would have had to deal with this journey - from cholera to native America attacks. Students will get sick, injured, and even die along this exciting, but dangerous journey. On Friday, they will be able to choose their identities, and will be given the task of loading their wagons with supplies in preparation for their journey. We will be leaving for Independence, Missouri next Monday!! While the actual journeys took months, this game will take about 3 weeks to play. Who will make it alive?
They will be given a novel Bound for Oregon to help them prepare for Hacker's Trail Simulation on Monday - the expectation is that they read a chapter each night.
Social Studies
We will begin our Westward Expansion Unit on Monday as they find a huge map of the United States taped to our floor. Students will be able to move in and settle the land as groups, but they will quickly discover there isn't enough land for all of them. As they become more crowded, they will have to decide how to problem solve. This activity mirrors the idea of Manifest Destiny - the common belief that we as Americans had the right to move west and take over land from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean.
We will begin chapter 16 in History Alive on Monday as well - this chapter focuses on how we acquired the different portions of land that now make up the United States. The chapter 16 test will be Wednesday, April 12th.
Students have been anxiously awaiting Hacker's Trail - a Westward Expansion game that simulates an Oregon pioneer wagon train moving west in the mid-1800s. Students will have to work cooperatively to make trail decisions, and deal with the many different fates a real wagon train would have had to deal with this journey - from cholera to native America attacks. Students will get sick, injured, and even die along this exciting, but dangerous journey. On Friday, they will be able to choose their identities, and will be given the task of loading their wagons with supplies in preparation for their journey. We will be leaving for Independence, Missouri next Monday!! While the actual journeys took months, this game will take about 3 weeks to play. Who will make it alive?
They will be given a novel Bound for Oregon to help them prepare for Hacker's Trail Simulation on Monday - the expectation is that they read a chapter each night.
Reading
We will continue our poetry unit when we return. Even our reluctant poetry readers have been engaged in the study of our carefully selected poems for this unit. They are age appropriate, but deal with more mature themes that your children are finding quite thought-provoking. I've been impressed with the level of analysis and discussion your children are bringing to this unit, as they discuss the mood and meaning behind these poems. For the remainder of the unit, we will be analyzing figurative language, learning how structure creates meaning in poetry, and uncovering the theme found in poems. Currently, the Poetry Assessment is scheduled for Friday, April 21st.
Writing
Before we begin our next writing unit, we will spend time this week learning Words Their Way. This is a new district-wide word study program that will replace our currently used spelling and vocabulary programs. Word study is a program where words are sorted in routines that require children to examine, discriminate, and make critical judgments about speech sounds, spelling patterns, and meanings. Word study is seen as a way to enhance a child's reading ability by teaching them phonics, spelling, patterns, sight words, decoding strategies, and word meanings. Word studies provide two critical purposes: general knowledge of English spelling, and specific knowledge about individual words. Words Their Way is differentiated based on students' abilities, so work with different sets of words. Their homework will still look the same - as assignments on Spelling City, but they will engage in different activities in the classroom and they will be on different schedules for assessing the words.
Once we are comfortable with the new routine for Words Their Way, we will begin our next writing unit - Short Fiction.
“Children must be taught HOW to think, not WHAT to think.”
~ Margaret Mead
Cheers ~
Theresa Fowler
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Sunday, March 5, 2017
5-2 Updates ~ 03/05/17
Hello 5-2 Parents ~
It's been awhile since I've posted an update! Hopefully, your children have been keeping you updated on the 5-2 happenings. Here are a few highlights...
Important Dates
PARCC Testing Dates ~ We will be testing on each of the following dates from 1:15-3:00.
Thursday, 03/09 ~ ELA #1
Friday, 03/10 ~ ELA #2
Monday, 03/13 ~ ELA #3
Tuesday, 03/14 ~ MATH #1
Wednesday, 03/15 ~ MATH #2
Friday, 03/17 ~ MATH #3
Monday, 03/20 ~ MATH #4
Please be sure your child is well rested on these days, and do your best to avoid absences. Makeups are available, but many children experience anxiety since they miss instruction to take the makeup tests.
Parent Teacher Conferences ~ Thursday, March 23rd (PM) & Friday, March 24th (AM)
Please remember that this time is set aside for us to discuss your child's progress. Our spring conferences are optional, however, so if you are traveling on these dates, it is not necessary to re-schedule the conferences. If I have specific concerns about your child, I will be in touch with you. If I have not contacted you, then I do not feel the need to meet. If, however, you would like to meet and cannot make these dates, I will always make myself available.
Spring Break ~ March 27th - March 31st
Advanced Placement Testing (Math + ALA) ~ April 10th - 13th
Thursday, 03/09 ~ ELA #1
Friday, 03/10 ~ ELA #2
Monday, 03/13 ~ ELA #3
Tuesday, 03/14 ~ MATH #1
Wednesday, 03/15 ~ MATH #2
Friday, 03/17 ~ MATH #3
Monday, 03/20 ~ MATH #4
Please be sure your child is well rested on these days, and do your best to avoid absences. Makeups are available, but many children experience anxiety since they miss instruction to take the makeup tests.
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 have been adding and subtracting mixed numbers in Unit 8 for the past week, and will move on to multiplying and dividing fractions this week. These concepts can be tricky, so reviewing them on Khan will provide the additional practice many students need. We will be testing on Unit 8 before we leave for Spring Break.
Science
We wrapped up our Earth in Space unit last week with a final assessments. The students did exceptionally well in this unit - I was impressed with their scores! They should be looking to have their assessment signed and returned this weekend. As a culminating activity, your children had an opportunity to combine our poetry unit with our science unit to create their own constellation with a poem. Their creativity blew me away! Their work is hanging in our hall - look for your child's poem and constellation when you come visit for conferences!
Social Studies
We will be moving on to our Westward Expansion unit for the next couple of weeks, and our beloved Hacker's Trail simulation after Spring Break. This is an opportunity for students to take on the persona of pioneers moving west, and suffer the same "fates" the pioneers encountered as they traveled on the Oregon Trail.
Science
Social Studies
We will be moving on to our Westward Expansion unit for the next couple of weeks, and our beloved Hacker's Trail simulation after Spring Break. This is an opportunity for students to take on the persona of pioneers moving west, and suffer the same "fates" the pioneers encountered as they traveled on the Oregon Trail.
Reading
We've moved on to study Poetry in reading, and your children have been surprised to enjoy the poems we've been reading. This unit is full of relevant and entertaining poems, and the kids have been delighted reading them. On Friday, they had a special guest, Mrs. FitzPatrick come to our classroom to teach a lesson from a favorite book of poems, Dear Mother, Dear Daughter. These are response poems written as letters from a daughter to her mother and back again about such topics as homework and bedtime. They prompted some excellent discussion with the students that brought laughter to the whole room!
Writing
Your children finished up their Response to Fiction Essay Unit this week by publishing their responses to The Liberation of Gabriel King. After giving them feedback on those essays, students wrote a timed response to a shared text from our Fiction Unit, "Yao Bai and the Egg Pirates." I was impressed with how hard the students worked to improve their writing for the final timed assessment. Your child should have given you two rubrics to sign and return this weekend.
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken in creative expression and knowledge."
― Albert Einstein
Cheers ~
Theresa Fowler
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