Welcome to the new school year.  I will be using this blog for major projects we will be doing throughout the year, and you can use it as a resource to find information, a new book, and fun sites to enjoy. It also has a link to vocabulary and spelling words we use throughout each unit.  You can find these on the ELA Text Links page above.  Feel free to look around.

Our class began using the Treasures book on our second week of school and completed our first week of work on Friday, September 5th, when we took our first test.  

Two days before a test, students will be given a review sheet that has all of the spelling words, vocabulary, comprehension skills, and grammar on the back.  This will be in their binder and placed in their ELA folder, or their Take Home Folder.  I will let you know in the daily communication email when it goes home.  

Mrs. Murray, the 5B teacher, and I, have decided to send a spelling page home for practice.  We will begin the page as bell work at school and it will go home in their folder to work on during the week.  It does not have to be completed that night, just before the test, so they will have time to do it. They will bring it to school on the day of the test and show me it was completed.   I will let you know in the email (as a note) that it has been sent home. 

I am truly looking forward to this year and getting to know these amazing students.  Thanks for sharing them with me for the next few months.  

We are finishing up Unit 1 this week and completing the Unit Assessment throughout this week.  It is a very long test and will take the week to do it in pieces.  Students have accomplished a lot throughout this unit and I am very pleased with their effort.  Progress has been made and they are really learning how to find meaning in text.

Each student is still expected to read approximately 20 min. each night.  Research shows that students in 4th grade should be reading a total of 2 hours each day to stay at grade level.  This includes reading in class, but to make up for other time they are missing, it is very important for them to read a bit at home.  As fifth graders, it is important for them to read, read, and read some more.  Try to help them find books that work for them and fit into their interest.  These are the books they will be using to complete their book recommendations and letters to me, which are required each quarter.  Take some time to discuss their books with them.  Students really enjoy telling me about their discussions with family members about their books.  Your enthusiasm for reading is vital to their success.  After all, you are their first and best teacher.

If your child is absent from ELA during the week, you can check out ELA this week on the tab  above and find out what they missed.

All first quarter letters to the teacher and book recommendations are due by Wednesday of this week.  Students have known about this and I have been writing in their planners if they do not have them.

If your child is absent during the week you can always find the class work that we completed during that day on the above tab labeled "Class Activities for the Week."

We will be going to the book fair during class Tuesday.

Test on Thursday, Oct. 10 for Unit 1 Week 3.  Vocabulary and spelling words can be found on the text link tab above. It is the first link.

Mrs. Griffith will be absent all week, so Math activities will be placed in the ELA blog for this week.  You can also find class information on:

•  Homework on the Web in Parent Portal on SIS
• Blog Tab in ELA as ELA This Week

This information is the same as what the students put in their planner each day.  Occasionally, this may change, but this is the original plan for the week.

If you have any questions that would normally be directed to Mrs. Griffith, you can email any of the 5A teachers.  We will try to take care of any concerns. 

In English Language Arts, we will be using the Treasures series.  This is the same book that was used throughout the primary and elementary grades.  You will not be assigned a book because we use them mostly for the stories.  If you are absent you can check out a book and return it the next day.  I do have a link on this blog that has the vocabulary words that we will be using if you need help with them.

The district has decided to do the reading and writing workshop in each grade.  I am extremely excited about this!  We are going to find those "just right" books and get into "the zone" as we read and write around the room.  Writing will be meaningful and we will create some amazing works.  I sure hope you are ready for a fun, challenging, and exciting time as we venture through the doorway of our imaginations.

In ELA (English Language Arts) you will have two grades: one for reading and one for writing.  Rooster Time will be a class that reinforces both of these grades and also your math grade.  This is vital time to get work finished, improve your reading and writing skills, and also math skills.

Please familiarize yourself with this blog for any questions you may have.  Many are answered through the blog.  It does not need to be checked daily, but if you have any questions, please let it be the first place you go to get information.  Email, which seems like a quicker way normally, takes a little longer because of our schedule.  We have our plan time first thing in the morning, which means we do not have a break throughout the day until after school and duties are finished.  If we have to scoot out of the school quickly we may not get back to you for at least 24 hours, until our next plan time.  Please remember that we are structured different from what you are used to.  We do have homerooms, but we also have close to 100 students to get to know and take care of their needs.  Please be assured that we care about each one of them as individuals and want all of their needs to be met, so communication is vital for their success.  It just may not happen as quickly as you were used to when they were in a self contained classroom with approximately 24 other students.   



   

We are beginning the Memory Book that we complete at the end of the year.  This activity is always a fun one for the kids once it is finished.  I have an assignment for all parents, but will email that to you soon.

Students have been writing this throughout the year and we will be doing the typing on three days this month.

The schedule is a follows:
Monday (4/29) - Write about "My Life as a Fifth Grader" for Memory Book
Tuesday Hour 4 & 5 (4/30) -  Writing, "25 Years From Now"
Wednesday Hour 2 & 3 - "The Person I Most Admire"
Thursday Hour 2 & 3 - "The Person I Most Admire"
Friday (5/3) - Computer Lab (We will also be in the lab on May 8 & 9 )

Monday , May 6, Front Cover
Tuesday, May 7, Finish cover or write missing pages
Wednesday, May 8, Computer Lab
Thursday, May 9, Computer Lab (last day in lab)
Friday: Field Day/MAP Reward

Monday, May 13 & 14 Reader's Workshop
Wednesday, May 15, Put Books Together - Need a lot of parent help on this day if possible!

We do need parent help to laminate the cover (would like to have 3-4 to help laminate and cut) on May 8 or 9,  and we also need help to do the binding on May 15.  Please let me know if this is a possibility for you.

This month we are working on persuasive writing and writing letters.  We will be completing one after we return from Spring Break that we have begun on Thursday before leaving.  The snow day is making it a little difficult to complete all work needed before break and also getting these started.

We have begun a new unit during this quarter.  Just a reminder that the packets are a study guide for the weekly tests.  When looking over grades, the packets are marked with U5W1, which means unit 5 week 1.  We are putting dates on the pages that we are to do this work in class.  Of course, these dates do changes with the many snow days we have experienced.  Hopefully, those are behind us know and we will be on target.

Please check out the homework/classwork page tab at the top if your child is absent.  These are the projected dates of class activities each week, and the same information we put on the homework on the web.

This week in Com. Arts we will be finishing up Unit 4 and beginning Unit 5.  We will take a small quiz on Wednesday and take the Unit 5 Common Assessment on Thursday. 

Tuesday will be fun for those students that earned the Children's Literature Festival trip.  We will met at the school at 7:00 in the morning, and return around 3:00.  Hope you are ready for a great time with authors and illustrators. 

This week we will finish up the packet for U4W4 Hurricanes.  U4W5 will begin on Wednesday, March 13, after we return from the Rachel's Challenge assembly at the High School.  Our classes will be shortened on that day.

This month we will be continuing our study in the 4th unit.  Due to the snow days that we enjoyed, we will be making up time and fitting in the activities that were previously planned.  Therefore, we may have a change of plans at the last minute. Class will continue as usual for the most part and we will just pick up where we left off.

CLASS: If you check your child’s work, which I highly encourage, please make sure the vocabulary sentences in the packet are complete.  The sentences should have the vocabulary word in it (underlined) and a context clue circled (extra point for the sentence if used correctly).  The vocabulary and spelling may be completed at any time.  The other pages in the packet are for guided practice and we do those together in class. Please do not do these ahead of time.  We use the practice and grammar pages to review previous skills we learned and work on the current skills.  You may discuss them, but we rarely follow directions on these pages.  The packet pages are part of the information that will be tested over in the section. Therefore, the packet is a form of a study guide. Rarely do I give points for the other parts of the packet, but it is practice for them.  Occasionally, when I do take points on certain numbers in these pages, I tell them which ones to make sure they finish with their best effort.  If students are absent on days we are working on packet pages, they may do them according to directions.  

END OF YEAR BOOKLET: We will pin down our thoughts for our end of the year booklet during this month.  This is the booklet we have been working on in our journal. The booklet is an evolving project that is building as the year goes. The further we get on this we will need parents to help read their writing. This will help them as they finished their project.

WRITING: Students have made great strides in their writing, which has been a focus for this year.  We have started writing and putting our thoughts into words at the end of some classes.  It is intriguing to read their thoughts and witness their development throughout time.  A scoring guide is attached to this newsletter so that you will have access to one at all times.  Students have a scoring guide in their Com. Arts folder, but we know that this may be hard to find from time to time. Grades will reflect this writing, especially in Rooster Time.  We have done a lot of practice, and now it will be showing up in the grades. 

This week we will be doing a shortened week.  Students will be graded on short pieces after the activities have been completed.  There will not be a formal test for this week.

Please check out the page above if you are looking for the daily activities for Communication Arts.

Students who are planning on going to the Children's Literature Festival have until March 4th to test.  Originally, the date was set for February 4th, but they actually have until March 4th to AR test in order to go.
 
 Below is an activity on author's purpose that may be fun to do with your child to talk about the purpose in writing.

Author's Purpose Activity

Monday -BW - Vocabulary in PKT
CW - REad 394-395
Discuss Main Idea and Details in the passage
Introduce Author and Books

Tuesday BW - Spelling in PKT
CW - Read short story on pg. 414-147
Do extra sheet (not in PKT) summary and timeline

Wednesday BW - Finish Spelling
CW - Read main story, pg. 396-412 'Goin Someplace Special
Trifold with skills on it

Thursday - BW - Homophones (not in PKT)
CW- Begin Grammar
Check spelling

Friday - BW - DLR
CW - Grammar

Students have been doing a lot of writing lately, and I have seen huge improvements in their work. We finished a 5 paragraph writing on their goals for the future.  When they turned it in, I signed their planner.  I have also written in their planner if they did not turn it in.  This is as big project and is worth a lot of points. 

This week, Jan. 28- Feb. 1, we will be doing review for unit 3. Before we start another story we will review and then take the Unit 3 Post Assessment on Monday, Feb. 4.

January 2013
In Communication Arts, we will be reviewing verbs and helping verbs for grammar.  The comprehension strategies will be evaluating fact and opinion while reading a nonfiction article.  This is a skill we have explored before, but is very important when examining nonfiction.  Students will need to look for facts/certainties, and opinions/disputable information. Students have already learned signal words when evaluating passages, and are pretty good at it.  Please reinforce this skill with them throughout your conversations.  

The next section will be making inferences and analyzing while using the strategy of compare and contrast.  We will be using a fictional story while doing our classwork.  

Please remember that students are not to do the “Practice” and “Grammar” pages in the packet as homework.  These are guided practice pages for the week.  We rarely do them according to the directions and therefore, I quite often make them erase their work.  We do not grade those pages, so it is more important for them to do each page in class.  If they are absent on the day we did the pages, they may do them as the instruction states.  Spelling and Vocabulary pages may be done at any time.  These pages are for a grade and are important to have completed.  If you would like to help your child with these, I would greatly appreciate it.

Spelling Bee - We have a few students from our team that will move forward with the District Spelling Bee on January 23 at the High School.  Congratulations to Jaden G., Emily P., Morgan W., Maggie T., Wyatt P., Bethany L.,  and Jayden R. Good luck on January 23.

This is the final stretch of the first semester.  We will begin Unit three of our Treasures textbook. I have seen such growth in the students during our Communication Arts classes and have watched them learn how to think through stories by making inferences and connections to the story.  This helps tremendously with comprehension.   Please encourage your child to read, whether it is a book, magazine, or other forms of written text.  The more students see words, the more their vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency will grow.  

Students will also be writing their memory book throughout the rest of the year.  In the journals, we have started the rough drafts for a few of the chapters.  You will find that they have written 10 questions to ask a relative during the holidays.  It is best if they ask these questions of a grandparent or a great grandparent.  The idea is to find someone that is a distance from their age.  This way, they will learn new things about the life of fifth graders many years ago.  They may interview parents, neighbors, friends, aunts or uncles, but no siblings. Many students have begun their interview and the stories they have shared with me are priceless.  Please remind them to do this during the holidays.  We will be typing these up so we can put them in their book at the end of the year.  If your child would like to start typing, please have them do it in google docs.

I sure hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.  Students were amazingly attentive today in class and I was really enjoying it. 

We do not have any major projects to do in Communication Arts this week.  It is business-as-usual.  Please check out the page at the top for class activities if your child is missing school.  They could get caught up and back on track, even with missing a day.

We have begun our memory book that we will finish up at the end of the year.  Students have rough drafts in their journals.  The current assignment is that they are to interview an older adult.  Instructions have been given to interview a grandparent or great grandparent, if at all possible.  They have known about this before Thanksgiving break, so they should do this now  through the winter break while they are more likely to see them.  It will only take a few minutes.  I also told them that the older ones would be much more interesting and they would really enjoy helping out.  Students should not interview a sibling or anyone that is close to their age. In the journal, they wrote 10 questions.  These should not be "yes" or "no" questions, but open-ended. It is not due immediately, but would be best to do this now and get it out of the way.

Check out the classwork and homework page at the top right corner of this blog, if you would like to see daily class activities.  This is the information that is placed in the planner each day, in case you cannot read what your child wrote.

This week we will be doing the lessons in one week.  We will not extend activities of the packet longer than a week. 

We began writing the booklet we will be creating at the end of the year.  Please make sure your child's journal is back in the binder before they leave the house.  Students will be working on this from time to time throughout the rest of the year.  The booklet will be created as we have a few moments here and there.  Final creations are very interesting and fun to look over. Next week, we will be taking time to write more on the booklet in their journal.

Students did a great job while I was away and have been busy-as-usual.  They were given another packet on Monday that the 5B Communication Arts teacher made up. On Tuesday, each class went through the packet and marked the days we were doing the pages. 

• Students will be working on this packet for bell work on Tuesday and Wednesday.  
• Packet will be turned in on Thursday of this week. 
• Grammar pages will be completed in class on Wednesday.  Students are not to work on grammar from home.

Students will have a sub for the remainder of the week.  I have to make a quick trip to WV due to a death in the family. 

The packet will be in a different order this week.  We did the grammar on Monday so that students will have that knowledge before the quiz on Friday.  The substitute teachers will do the stories and 2 pages in the packet.  Students are not to do the page with the graphic organizer and the last page of  the packet.  The rest may be completed as homework.