Good afternoon and happy Friday!  I cannot believe that I have only 2 more weeks left with these awesome 5th graders!  

Social Studies: This week we have been learning about the Southern and Middle colonies.  We researched about different colonial jobs and presented our learned information in a gallery walk around the room.  We are looking forward to learning about the American Revolution next week.

Writing:  During writing this week we finished up our D.A.R.E. essays.  We focused on using precise language to get our point across to our reader.  The kiddos should be very proud of their hard work!

Reading:  In reading this week we continued our author study by comparing and contrasting the setting and characters from books by the same author.  We learned how this can help us to know our author better.  We also met with our book clubs twice this week and have been practicing asking questions that require higher level thinking.

Math: In math we were able to spend time playing the stations that we created last week.  We also reflected on our progress this year and have been working on clarifying concepts that are still challenging for us.  We also had our PIE PARTY today!! Congratulations to all of the kiddos who finished their fifth grade pie on ALEKS!  For those that finish their pie before the end of the year I will have a prize for them as well….so keep working hard!

I wanted to also say thank you to everyone who sent gifts and cards in for me for Teacher Appreciation Week.  I feel very lucky to work at a school that has such a supportive community.  I have the best job in the world!! I am going to miss these kiddos so much when they go to middle school!  Thank you, again, for all you do.  I hope all of the moms enjoy your special day on Sunday!  You deserve it!

Sincerely,

Miss DiFranco

Good afternoon!  It has been a busy week in 5th grade.  We are getting very close to the end of the year...3 more weeks!  We have a lot of fun things happening during the next couple of weeks and also lots of important learning!

Social Studies:  This week we have been learning about the 13 colonies.  We spent most of our time this week discussing the New England colonies.  We wrote a letter to Queen Elizabeth pretending that we had just arrived in the New England colonies and also researched some of the games played during this time.  Some students even wrote songs to express some of the strong emotions of various groups.

Writing:  In writing we are working on our DARE essays.  Each student will write an essay and a few will be picked to be shared at our DARE graduation during the last week of school.  The kids have used their DARE books and their experiences from DARE class to create a strong argument about why people should not do drugs.

Math:  This week in math the kids have been paired up to work on creating a math station.  They were each given a topic that we covered this year and then began creating a fun activity to go along with the topic.  We have so many creative thinkers in our classroom!

Reading:  We have started a unit on becoming a fan of an author.  We have spent time getting to know one of my favorite authors, Patricia Polacco.  The kids have learned about how they can find out more about their favorite authors by looking more closely at characters from the books they read.

Upcoming Events:
5/7: Fly Up Day @ Truman and Sperreng 1-3 PM
5/8 : DARE essays due

Have a wonderful weekend.  Thanks!

--Miss DiFranco--

Happy Friday!!

This week in 5th we spent a lot of time preparing for the MAP test that will start on Wednesday for our class!  The kids had the chance to switch between the 5th grade rooms to learn about math, reading, writing, and science this week.  They had so much fun!

I am so proud of all the hard work that they have done this year and now they are going to get to show everything that they have learned.  Please encourage your child to go to bed early, eat a healthy breakfast, and RELAX!!  I know they are all going to do fabulous!

Please make sure that you have sent in headphones and a MAP note for your child to read before taking the MAP test.  It can just be a short note to help them relax before they start the test.  Thank you!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  Please let me know if you have questions!

Thank you,

Miss DiFranco

Happy Friday!  What a wonderful 1st week back from Spring Break!

Writing:  This week in writing we have been focusing on publishing our argument/opinion essays.  The kids have been working on using strategies to sway their audience into taking their side.  Sometime within the next couple of weeks they will have the chance to present to a panel of teachers and cafeteria workers about whether they think we should serve or not serve chocolate milk in the cafeteria.  They have been working extremely hard on these pieces of writing and I am very proud of them!

Math: In math this week we started our chapter on geometry.  We have learned about polygons, triangles, quadrilaterals, parallelograms, 3-D figures, and volume.  We have learned a lot this week...WHEW!  The kids have been doing an awesome job in this unit and are very excited to be learning these topics.  I encourage the kids to practice classifying shapes so that they feel confident with the new information.

Reading:  This week we have spent time practicing answering constructed answer questions on the computer.  Because we have practiced writing on the computer so often the kids seem very excited about being able to use the computer for test-like questions! They also enjoy reading from the e-library that we have available here at school.

Upcoming Events:

4/3: No School

Have a wonderful weekend!  

Sincerely,

Miss DiFranco

Happy Saturday!  I hope everyone has the chance to enjoy the nice weather this weekend!  It is much needed. :)

Science:  During science this week we started a new chapter on force and motion.  Lesson one taught us how force can cause objects to move in different ways.  We also discussed positive and negative charges and how like forces repel each other and opposite charges attract each other.  We also started learning about simple machines.

Writing:  In writing we continued to revise and edit our first argument letter about whether or not chocolate milk should continue to be served in the cafeteria.  On Wednesday we wrote the clean copy of our letter and signed, sealed and delivered them! We are excited to see if our letters worked!

Math:  We finished up chapter 11 in math this week.  We have been discussing the metric and customary systems and the different units used to measure capacity, mass, and length.  Our main focus this chapter has been converting between units and learning about the relationships of the various units.  Our chapter 11 test will be on Wednesday, March 11.  I encourage the kiddos to start studying on Monday so that they feel ready for the test Wednesday.  We will be reviewing on Monday and Tuesday as well.  I will be sending study materials in an email on Monday afternoon.  

Reading: We have continued working in our test preparation unit for reading.  We have looked at various texts and made predictions about questions that test makers could ask us about the text.  We have continued practicing test taking strategies this week especially using context clues and background knowledge to understand questions that may be confusing to us because of the way the question is worded.

Upcoming Events:

3/8 : Spring Musical 4:00 pm

3/12: Parent Teacher Conferences

3/13: Blue Ribbon Assembly - Wear your Blue Ribbon Shirt!

3/13: Half Day

3/16 - 3/20: Spring Break

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Miss DiFranco

Happy Friday!! I hope everyone had a fantastic week.

Science:  We spent several days reviewing for a science quiz on Chapter 9 that was given today.  The quiz was six questions and was presented as a Google Form.  The kids enjoyed getting to use the computers for the quiz and did a wonderful job.  We will start a new chapter on Force and Motion next week.

Writing:  In writing this week we have been focused on rereading and revising our letters about whether we should keep serving chocolate milk in the cafeteria or remove it from the menu.  We have spent a lot of time reading through a variety of sources to locate powerful quotes that we can embed in our letters.  The kiddos have learned that is not only important to have a strong argument but to also have evidence to support their opinion.  We have been having a lot of fun with this unit.

Math:  This week in math we have started Chapter 10: Measurement.  The first few lessons were focused on learning how to measure objects using yards, inches, and feet.  The kids also learned how to convert between each of the units.  Today we learned about how to measure the weight of objects using ounces, pounds, and tons.  We are working on mastering the conversion between these unit as well.  The kids even learned hand motions remember when they need to multiple or divide to convert!  I’m sure they would be excited to show you. :)

Reading:  During reading this week we have continued to talk about main idea and details.  We also talked about different sentece starters that can be used in our writing to introduce a quote when citing information from a source.  We have been using our new knowledge to practice for questions we will see on eValuate.

 

 

If you have not already, please submit your child’s pictures for the 5th Grade Memory Book as soon as possible.  We only have 4 kiddos that have not turned their pictures in.  If you do not have a scanner at home you may send your pictures in and they will be scanned for you and then returned.  We would like every child to have a page in the memory book!  

Upcoming Events:

3/6: Half Day

Have a great weekend,

Miss DiFranco

Happy Saturday!!   I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Science: The kiddos have started presenting their Planet Research Projects this week.  The hard work that they put into their projects is obvious!  We will continue to share projects next week.

Writing:  This week we kicked off our Argument/Opinion Unit in writing.  The kids have been asked to choose a side of whether they should or should not serve chocolate milk in the cafeteria.  They have been collecting evidence for their claim and will write a letter next week that will explain their thinking.  They have gotten really into it and I am looking forward to reading their letters.

Math:  We spent a couple of days reviewing for our Chapter 10 math test this week.  The test was taken on Friday and was sent home with the kids.  They did awesome!!  I was so impressed with how well everyone did on the test.  It is evident that they are spending more time preparing for tests and I hope to continue building these habits this year.

Reading:  During reading we have been working on learning how to read multiple articles and cite them within our writing.  It has tied nicely into our writing unit.  It is important for them to understand that they must include quotation marks around text that they take directly from a source.  It is never too early to start working on this skill!

Upcoming Events:

2/23: Six Flags Scholastic Reading Logs Due

2/25: Field Trip to the Science Center

2/27: Middle School Forms Due

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!  

Sincerely,

Miss DiFranco