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.