Hello Everyone,

I cannot believe it is the end of October already! Although with the snowstorm this week, it did feel like January :).   This week at school, 5th graders had a couple of interesting events. First, Mrs. Bolte enjoyed her last week at SES with a celebration in her honor.  The 5th graders sang a parody to her favorite song Sweet Caroline ( "Sweet Mrs. Bolte).  They were amazing!!! We also had a visit from Ms. Ahearn at the Fire Dept who delivered a lesson about calling 911.  The kids got to role play and practice calling 911 in various situations.

In math this week, we have moved on from multiplying powers of 10 to multiplying by multiple of 10.  We have also begun learning some mental strategies for multiplying larger numbers.  For example, we have been looking at how problems like 15 x 30 will help us solve 15 x 29 or 15 x 31.

In reading, we have continued to read our book Home of the Brave.  We have been working on how readers identify themes or messages in their books and how we support our ideas with evidence from the text.  Guided reading groups have also begun new books!  Some of the books our kiddos are reading include: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson,  Loser  by Jerry Spinelli and The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart.  These books are all realistic fiction books and touch upon social issues.  I cannot wait to have our literature discussions with these books!

In writing, we are working on revising our narrative stories.  We have learned many revising strategies and will be moving into editing this week.  I cannot wait to have these amazing stories published for all to see!  Once we finish our narrative unit, we will be moving into a unit on poetry.

We are also wrapping up the government unit and I plan to be done this week!  We will then switch gears to science!  Our first unit will be a geology unit that will cover the following topics:  Rock Cycle, Mineral Identification, Weathering and Erosion, and Soil.  This is a great unit with many hands on experiments that I think the kids will love!

Below are some pictures from the week!

Enjoy your Halloween!
Ms. Phillips

Hello all,

This week we had Cafe Sun during our lunch period.  The 5th grade performed a song using both voices and instruments!  Thank you to Ms. Sue who did a fabulous job putting together this special lunchtime entertainment.

In math this week, we began learning about place value.  These lessons provide the skills necessary for the unit ahead on multiplication and division.  Specifically, we learned how to multiple numbers by powers of ten using a place value chart.  We also learned how to represent powers of ten with exponents. Next week, we will begin using these skills to help us multiply and divide 3 digit by 2 digit numbers.

In addition, students were given a math project in which they must collect data on an activity they do after school.  They will use this data to create a line graph on a coordinate grid.  This project is due on Friday, October 28th.

In reading, we began thinking about plot structure.  We learned how to identify the problem in a story and also how to determine which events were the most important. All 3 guided reading groups have also finished their first group book and will be starting new books next week!

In writing, every student decided on the story they want to take through the writing process.  We drafted our stories, then redrafted multiple times, each time bringing forth a new meaning.  We have learned how to think about theme and story structure as we write narratives.  Next week, we will continue to fine tooth our drafts by exploring leads, endings and word choice.

In Social Studies, the students wrapped up the 3 branches of government.  They created Google Drawings that represented the 3 branches and their powers.  Next week, we begin studying the Bill of Rights and the Amendments.

Important reminders: Next week on Wednesday is the All School Sing to honor Mrs. Bolte who is retiring! The assembly will begin at 1:45.

Below I have included some pictures from Cafe Sun this week!

Best to you!
Ms. Phillips

October Update!

Hi all,

I will preface by saying that I have no pictures to share this week!  I had meant to take some pictures yesterday of the great work kiddos are doing in class, but we got busy and I forgot.  So I will have to update with no photos!  :(

This week, we began to wrap up our unit on coordinate planes.  We have be working at graphing and interpreting sets of data as well as determining rules from patterns.  Next week, be on the look out for a home project in which students will collect data about themselves and then graph it!  In addition, next week we will begin our first Engage NY unit.  In this unit, we will be exploring place value and how we can use place value to multiply and divide by powers of ten.  From there, we will use our understanding of place value to help us with our understanding of multiplication and division.

In reading, we have been thinking about characters and their traits.  We have learned that to identify character traits, good readers think about what characters say, do and think and also notice what other characters say about them.  We have also started identifying the way characters change, by talking about picture books we have read this year.  Students are continuing to read their guided reading books, as well as independent books, and are doing well at writing 1 journal entry each week!

In writing, we have been working on narrative writing craft.  This week, we learned many new ways of generating ideas for realistic fiction as well as ways to write good narratives.  I am so pleased with the amount of engagement I am seeing from our writers in class.  They have so many good stories to tell!!!  Yesterday, almost every student raised their hand to share a story they wrote in our writer's workshop!

In social studies, we continued reading about the 3 branches of government. We have been learning not only about the government, but how to navigate a text book and take good notes.  On Friday, students began to create a google image that would represent the powers each branch of government holds.

Have a fabulous week!  I promise pictures for next time!! :)

Ms. Phillips

Coordinates, narratives and government....Oh my!

Hi Folks,

           Thank you to all who came to Open House on Tuesday.  It was a pleasure getting to meet many of you and talk about our upcoming year.
          This week has been busy as we have adjusted back into our routines! In math, we began thinking about patterns between corresponding terms and representing ordered pairs on coordinate grids.  The kids LOVED the coordinate grids, and especially liked creating maps to show locations.  In our math workshop, we continued to practice multiplication as well as solving and writing numerical expressions.  Below I have included some pictures of our math workshop!
           Students were also assigned a small project to demonstrate their understanding of the Order of Operations.  The kiddos seemed excited about these projects!!
           In reading this week, we began our first set of Guided Reading Groups.  The students were excited about the new books and eager to read them.  We have also began our first Chapter book read aloud entitled Home of the Brave.  This book is about a refugee from Africa who comes to America to escape the war in Sudan.  He must learn to adjust to his new life.  This book is beautifully written in verse, and the poetic language delicately touches on tough world issues.
          In writing, we have begun our narrative unit.  This year, we are allow students to either choose between a personal narrative or a realistic fiction narrative.  Many students have been writing stories that are realistic fiction or embellished stories.  I am so pleased with the motivation and engagement I have seen during our writing time, and I am more excited to read the amazing stories they produce in the weeks to come!
         In social studies we began our unit on government.  We began with a simulation on how the 3 branches of government work together to pass a law.  Ask your child about how a law is passed! We then have begun doing some readings about the government and will continue those next week!

Please enjoy some pictures from the classroom as well as a few gems from NC!
   
Have a nice 3 day weekend!

Ms. Phillips

September Flew By!

Hi Everyone,

I cannot believe the first month of school has already flew by! It feels like yesterday the kiddos were walking in the door on the first day.

We had a great trip to Nature's Classroom last week.  I will be posting pictures soon from the trip.  The students had a blast learning about a wide variety of topics including dissections, astronomy, night vision, argument protocol, and many more.

In math,we have been studying algebraic expressions.  The students have learned  how to use the order of operations to solve and write numerical expressions.  We have also been practicing our multiplication facts!  By 5th grade, it is imperative that students know their multiplications facts well in order to work with fractions, which is a large part of our curriculum. To practice, we have been doing multiplication ladders with a buddy in class.  Ask your child about multiplication ladders!  It is important that students practice their facts at home as well as school.   This week, we will begin a short unit on patterns and graphing data on coordinate planes.

In reading, we have been working on routines and procedures for Reader's Workshop.  In Reader's Workshop, students are expected to read independently in a just right book and write a reader's response once a week. Students have been practicing how to write a reading response that includes the Title, Author, Genre and Summary. This week, we have also begun guided reading groups.  Students will be reading realistic fiction books and studying characters.  Some of the books students are reading are: Flying Solo, Extra Credit and Return to Sender.  

In writer's workshop, we just finished up a mini unit on the Writing Process.  Students learned the steps in the writing process, with a major focus on revision.  We even got to see the first 5 drafts of the book Because of Winn Dixie! The kids thought seeing an authors revision work was really interesting!  This week, we will begin our first narrative unit.  Students will be writing either a personal or realistic fiction narrative story.

In social studies, we just began our unit on the government.  Students will learn about the 3 branches of government and their roles in creating laws.  We will also study the Bill of Rights and learn about our rights as citizens of the United States.

I hope to see you all at Open House on October 4th!

Ms. Phillips