We had a wonderful time today celebrating all of our hard work on our informational pieces! I am so proud of everyone!
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Happy Friday!
I hope everyone had a great week and is staying healthy! We have had quite a few kiddos out this week because they have not been feeling well. I'm hoping the weekend will give everyone some time to get better so that we can have a fabulous last week before winter break.
In science we finished up lesson two and three on classifying plants and animals based on their characteristics. Some of us even created our own dichotomous keys to identify specific plant types. We will review chapter 3 at the beginning of next week and will have our test on Thursday, the 18th.
In writing we have been publishing all week. We talked about adding a bibliography and a table of context to our informational pieces in order to make them more like the mentor texts we have been reading. They are turning out so well and the kids are so excited about them! I can't wait to see everyone's finished pieces.
In math we discussed dividing decimals this week. We finished chapter 6 on Thursday and started reviewing for our test today. We will continue reviewing on Monday and then our test will be on Tuesday, the 16th.
In reading we have continued working with nonfiction texts and the different ways that authors craft their writing to make it appealing to their audience. It has been awesome to see some of the kids become more interested in nonfiction texts throughout this unit!
We have a busy week next week as we try to wrap up everything before we head out for winter break! Along with our math and science test, we will be going on our caroling field trip on Wednesday, the 17th. We will go caroling in the morning and return to school around noon. We will have our winter party on Friday which will be a half day.
Thank you to everyone who sent in items with their kids for adopt-a-family. We reached our goal and brought in 118 items! :)
Have a relaxing weekend,
Meredith DiFranco
I hope everyone had a great week and is staying healthy! We have had quite a few kiddos out this week because they have not been feeling well. I'm hoping the weekend will give everyone some time to get better so that we can have a fabulous last week before winter break.
In science we finished up lesson two and three on classifying plants and animals based on their characteristics. Some of us even created our own dichotomous keys to identify specific plant types. We will review chapter 3 at the beginning of next week and will have our test on Thursday, the 18th.
In writing we have been publishing all week. We talked about adding a bibliography and a table of context to our informational pieces in order to make them more like the mentor texts we have been reading. They are turning out so well and the kids are so excited about them! I can't wait to see everyone's finished pieces.
In math we discussed dividing decimals this week. We finished chapter 6 on Thursday and started reviewing for our test today. We will continue reviewing on Monday and then our test will be on Tuesday, the 16th.
In reading we have continued working with nonfiction texts and the different ways that authors craft their writing to make it appealing to their audience. It has been awesome to see some of the kids become more interested in nonfiction texts throughout this unit!
We have a busy week next week as we try to wrap up everything before we head out for winter break! Along with our math and science test, we will be going on our caroling field trip on Wednesday, the 17th. We will go caroling in the morning and return to school around noon. We will have our winter party on Friday which will be a half day.
Thank you to everyone who sent in items with their kids for adopt-a-family. We reached our goal and brought in 118 items! :)
Have a relaxing weekend,
Meredith DiFranco
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Concord Science Night
is coming Thurs. Feb. 19
· All students in Kindergarten – Fifth
grade are invited to create a PRISM project between now and Feb. 16
· Instructions/PRISM books are located
on the Lindbergh Website: Go to the Student dropdown and you will see the PRISM
link
· All PRISM projects will be on display
Thurs., Feb. 19 from 6-7:30. If possible, we would like for the student to
stand nearby and explain their project for any or all of the night. There will be
a variety of activities to take part in on Science Night besides looking at
projects on display: Lego-Robotics demos, experiments from a variety of science
topics & more.
· Fill out the attached PRISM Entry
Form & send it in
· Projects are due into Concord by Mon.
Feb. 16
· There will be a special Pizza Party
for those who participate in PRISM!!!
· Projects can also qualify to go on to
the Greater
St. Louis Science Fair in May. Check out this link:
http://www.sciencefairstl.org/judges/judging-rubrics
Friday, December 5, 2014
Happy Friday!! I hope everyone had a great week!
WOW, the time is flying by in 5th grade this year and I can't believe that there are only 10 school days left until Winter Break!
This week in science we have been learning about vertebrates and invertebrates. The kids created foldables, completed an interactive notebook activity, and watched several short video clips on different ways to classify organisms. They love learning about animals so this has been a really fun chapter for them!
In writing this week we have been working on our drafts of our informational pieces. The kids are so excited about what they have written so far and cannot wait to start publishing next week. We also talked about adding text features and constructed an introduction that grabs their readers attention. I am thrilled with the pieces they have been working on and can't wait to see the final draft soon.
In math we have continued working with decimals and even started dividing decimals by whole numbers. We have used two strategies so far: dividing using estimation and dividing using models. They have done very well with this. I sent home a sheet with the kids today about accessing the textbook online. This will allow you to practice at home with the kiddos if you want to and even print out activities. It is just another resource you can use if you would like!
In reading we have continued working in our nonfiction unit. We focused on author's voice and how authors use text features and word choice to voice their bias on a subject. This unit has continued to support our writing unit which has been amazing exposure of mentor texts for the kiddos.
Next week is our very last week to bring in items for adopt-a-family. Our class has brought in 70 items so far and I am hoping that we can reach at least 100 by Friday!!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and thank you for everything you do to support your child's learning. We couldn't do it without you!
Meredith DiFranco
WOW, the time is flying by in 5th grade this year and I can't believe that there are only 10 school days left until Winter Break!
This week in science we have been learning about vertebrates and invertebrates. The kids created foldables, completed an interactive notebook activity, and watched several short video clips on different ways to classify organisms. They love learning about animals so this has been a really fun chapter for them!
In writing this week we have been working on our drafts of our informational pieces. The kids are so excited about what they have written so far and cannot wait to start publishing next week. We also talked about adding text features and constructed an introduction that grabs their readers attention. I am thrilled with the pieces they have been working on and can't wait to see the final draft soon.
In math we have continued working with decimals and even started dividing decimals by whole numbers. We have used two strategies so far: dividing using estimation and dividing using models. They have done very well with this. I sent home a sheet with the kids today about accessing the textbook online. This will allow you to practice at home with the kiddos if you want to and even print out activities. It is just another resource you can use if you would like!
In reading we have continued working in our nonfiction unit. We focused on author's voice and how authors use text features and word choice to voice their bias on a subject. This unit has continued to support our writing unit which has been amazing exposure of mentor texts for the kiddos.
Next week is our very last week to bring in items for adopt-a-family. Our class has brought in 70 items so far and I am hoping that we can reach at least 100 by Friday!!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and thank you for everything you do to support your child's learning. We couldn't do it without you!
Meredith DiFranco
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Happy Friday!
It has been such a fun week at Concord while we celebrated the great accomplishment of becoming a Blue Ribbon School!
In science we started stations for our new chapter on classifying organisms. The kids are really excited that there is so much information on animals in this chapter and can’t wait to learn even more!
In writing the kids spent this week researching various topics in history with their research groups. We wrapped up researching today and will begin organizing and drafting our pieces next week. The kids have done AMAZING with this and I can’t wait to see the fabulous pieces they create.
In math we have started our next chapter on multiplying and dividing decimals. We started off by multiplying whole numbers and decimals and today we started multiplying one decimal by another decimal. The kiddos seem very confident with these concepts!
In reading we are working on reading informational pieces which blends well with our unit on informational writing. We have been practicing paying close attention to choosing nonfiction resources and deciding which ones would be best to use with various types of research.
Today the kiddos watched a movie in the morning with Dr. Stryjewski and Dr. Mariscal, got a special BLUE treat at lunch, and got to enjoy an hour of reading around the school from 2-3. It has been one big blue ribbon celebration today! What a great way to end our week.
Also, please remember to send items in for adopt-a-family if you can! Any donations are much appreciated!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you,
Meredith DiFranco
Friday, November 14, 2014
Good afternoon!
It has been an exciting and fun week here at Concord. Our Veteran’s Day assembly was a great tribute to the men and women who serve our county. We also watched a live feed of Dr. Stryjewski receiving our Blue Ribbon Award in Washington D.C. What an amazing school we have!
In science we have started a new chapter on classifying organisms. We will start up our science stations with lesson 1 on Monday. We are very excited about this chapter because of all the new and interesting information we will be learning.
In writing and reading we are continuing units on nonfiction study. This week the kids spent time researching various events in history and voted on ones that they are most interested in. I will be putting them into research groups to find more information on the topic they decide on. They will then create an informational piece on their own with the research information they have found as a group. They have shown great enthusiasm about this piece and I am very excited to see what they come up with!
In math we finished up chapter 5 in which we learned how to add and subtract decimals. We had our test today and I am confident that everyone did FABULOUS! They showed great understanding of the concepts throughout the chapter. I hope that we will have the same confidence as we enter our next chapter of multiplying and dividing decimals!
In social studies we have been presenting our PowerPoints that we created about the Native American tribes we chose for our projects. The kids have been leaders in our classroom as they presented. They are very knowledgeable and had no problem answering questions that their peers asked.
I hope you have a great weekend of relaxation. I can’t believe there is only one full week of school left until Thanksgiving. Time flies when you’re having fun!
Next week is Blue Ribbon week and we are going to celebrate with themed days. A note went home about this last week and each days theme is listed in Dr. Stryjewski’s email sent today. Monday is a Lindbergh spirit themed day so please send your kiddos in their green and gold! Next week is also cleaning supply week for adopt-a-family. Please send any cleaning supplies to donate to our family.
Thank you for all you do,
Meredith DiFranco
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Friday, November 7, 2014
Happy Friday!
I hope you
had a wonderful week. We had a
fun-filled week of learning in 5th grade!
This week in
science we spent time reviewing our chapter on weather and precipitation. We filled out our study guide and then played
jeopardy to quiz ourselves! The kiddos
took their test on Thursday and will be getting them back at the beginning of
next week.
In writing we
continued researching and taking notes for our informational piece about a
Native American tribe. The kids have been
doing such a great job with this and I can’t wait to see their finished
piece. Today was their first day of
drafting and they will continue into next week.
We will celebrate our hard work on Wednesday!
In math we
started our new chapter on decimals and have been learning to round, estimate,
and add them. They have really impressed
me with what they already know! We will
continue working with decimals throughout next week. Our chapter 5 test will be on Friday, November
14th.
In reading we
have been working on mapping out nonfiction books by looking at the table of
contents. We created road maps using a
nonfiction book which was really fun! We
also talked about how we can use what we already know about nonfiction books to
make a plan for when we read a new nonfiction book. As always, the kiddos in our class continue
to amaze me with how much they LOVE reading!
In social
studies, as I’m sure you know, we turned in our Native American dwelling
models. WOW, I was so impressed with
what all of the kiddos created. They are
now on display in our library for everyone to enjoy. :)
Next week it
is paper products week for adopt-a-family.
A note came home with the kids today.
We are collecting paper towels, baby wipes, toilet paper, and all other
paper products to donate to our families.
Thank you for
all of your support!
Have a
fabulous weekend,
Ms. DiFranco
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Happy Thursday!!
Here is a quick reminder from the eNote sent earlier this week from Dr. Stryjewski in case you didn't get a chance to read it:
Adopt-a-Family is our service-centered annual campaign that supports CONCORD families. Each year, families are "adopted" and supported by collecting food items, household items, personal care items, and holiday gifts. We ask students to participate each week in our collections to support these great families. To help kick off this year's campaign, we will have our popular "Jingles for Jammies" this Friday, November 7th. Students are asked to bring in donations of change (or anything amount you'd like to donate) and they can wear their pajamas. Money collected is used to purchase Ameren and grocery gift cards for our families. Please help support this wonderful campaign.
Thank you for your support! :)
Here is a quick reminder from the eNote sent earlier this week from Dr. Stryjewski in case you didn't get a chance to read it:
Adopt-a-Family is our service-centered annual campaign that supports CONCORD families. Each year, families are "adopted" and supported by collecting food items, household items, personal care items, and holiday gifts. We ask students to participate each week in our collections to support these great families. To help kick off this year's campaign, we will have our popular "Jingles for Jammies" this Friday, November 7th. Students are asked to bring in donations of change (or anything amount you'd like to donate) and they can wear their pajamas. Money collected is used to purchase Ameren and grocery gift cards for our families. Please help support this wonderful campaign.
Thank you for your support! :)
Friday, October 24, 2014
Happy Friday!!
Hope you all had as a great of a week as we had in 5th
grade! As second quarter has gotten
underway we have hit the ground running!
In science this week, we finished up a lesson on clouds and
precipitation. The kids did several activities
in their stations this week including making models of the different types of
clouds with cotton balls and making their very own weather forecast video. They had so much fun exploring this new
material!
In writing, we have started our new unit on information
writing. Students chose a Native
American tribe to research and will be working on creating an informational
piece with the new information that they gather. Their enthusiasm for this unit has me very
excited about what is to come over the next couple of weeks.
In math, we have been worked on several lessons about long
division. Many of the kids expressed to
me that they were not feeling confident with the material so we have been
working on practicing these strategies in order to improve. I continue to encourage the kiddos to
practice multiplication and division problems at home. Practice makes perfect! :)
In reading this week, we have continued to discuss how we
can build bridges between characters in two different texts. They have done a fabulous job with this. We are also going to be starting book clubs
soon, which the kiddos are very excited about!
We took a vote on which book they want to read and I am looking forward
to the conversations that we will have around these books. The kids are full of such wonderful ideas
which makes me confident that they will enjoy this.
In social studies, the kids have started a new project
centered on Native Americans. They will
be creating a slideshow presentation for our class, along with a model of the house
of the tribe that they chose. Students
will be given time in class to work on their presentation but the model of the
house should be done at home. The due
date for this project is projected to be November 5th or 6th. I will keep you updated as the date gets
closer.
I am looking forward to seeing you this coming week at
Parent Teacher conferences. Have a wonderful
weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather!
Monday, October 20, 2014
Writing celebration !!
Last week 5th graders worked hard to edit, revise, and publish their personal narrative pieces. On Friday we got to celebrate their hard work by eating popcorn and reading each other's fabulous stories! After reading the stories we left comments for the author. It was so much fun!
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Weekly Update 10/13
Happy Sunday!!
Sorry that I was not able to get out our weekly update up until now! What a great week we had in 5th grade. I can't believe how quickly October is flying by and soon it will be the end of October and time for parent-teacher conferences. I sent home conference sheets with the kiddos on Friday. Please take a look at the sheets and send them back as soon as you are able to! Many of you already scheduled a time for your conference at Curriculum Night so I just need you to confirm that that time still works for you. :)
Lots of learning was taking place in our classroom this week...
In science we have been learning about a variety of weather tools which has been a subject that the kids have really enjoyed. We have continued using science stations this week and the kids were able to lots of hands on activities. We constructed anemometers and we hope to find a windy day this week to put them to use. This has been something that the kids have been anticipating for several weeks!
In writing we finished up our drafts of our second and final personal narrative pieces. We started publishing on Friday and will continue working on them for the next couple of days. On Thursday we are going to have a celebration where the kids will get to share their writing with other 5th grade classes and teachers. We are super excited!
In math we are continuing to work on division. I can see that the more we practice multiplication facts, the better the kids are getting at division as well. We are going to start Chapter 4 in math this week which will build on the division concepts that we know. We will not have a chapter 3 test because we are going to combine chapters 3 and 4 into one test. This test will not be for a couple of weeks.
In reading we have been focused on learning about characters and how our characters can help us understand more about the story we are reading. I cannot say enough about how many great readers we have in our class. It is amazing that they enjoy reading so much!
This is the last call for anyone who would like to place a Scholastic Book Order. Our orders are due on October 20th so please send in your orders or place them online if you wish to order any books!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Thank you for all you do,
Meredith DiFranco
Sorry that I was not able to get out our weekly update up until now! What a great week we had in 5th grade. I can't believe how quickly October is flying by and soon it will be the end of October and time for parent-teacher conferences. I sent home conference sheets with the kiddos on Friday. Please take a look at the sheets and send them back as soon as you are able to! Many of you already scheduled a time for your conference at Curriculum Night so I just need you to confirm that that time still works for you. :)
Lots of learning was taking place in our classroom this week...
In science we have been learning about a variety of weather tools which has been a subject that the kids have really enjoyed. We have continued using science stations this week and the kids were able to lots of hands on activities. We constructed anemometers and we hope to find a windy day this week to put them to use. This has been something that the kids have been anticipating for several weeks!
In writing we finished up our drafts of our second and final personal narrative pieces. We started publishing on Friday and will continue working on them for the next couple of days. On Thursday we are going to have a celebration where the kids will get to share their writing with other 5th grade classes and teachers. We are super excited!
In math we are continuing to work on division. I can see that the more we practice multiplication facts, the better the kids are getting at division as well. We are going to start Chapter 4 in math this week which will build on the division concepts that we know. We will not have a chapter 3 test because we are going to combine chapters 3 and 4 into one test. This test will not be for a couple of weeks.
In reading we have been focused on learning about characters and how our characters can help us understand more about the story we are reading. I cannot say enough about how many great readers we have in our class. It is amazing that they enjoy reading so much!
This is the last call for anyone who would like to place a Scholastic Book Order. Our orders are due on October 20th so please send in your orders or place them online if you wish to order any books!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Thank you for all you do,
Meredith DiFranco
Friday, October 3, 2014
HAPPY FRIDAY!!
Wow! I cannot believe that it is already October! I am so proud of the learning that has gone on in our classroom this week. I really couldn't ask for a more hard working group!
This week we celebrated being a Blue Ribbon school! On Tuesday, many people from around our district came to every classroom to celebrate with us and give us Culver's ice cream!! We were so excited...not only for the ice cream but for the dedication of each and every one of our students to their education. :)
In science this week we have been learning about the water cycle and the ocean's role in the cycle. We have started using science stations which allow for multiple activities to take place around the same subject. The kiddos have really enjoyed them and I can see that they are gaining so much knowledge!
In writing we are working on the third section of our personal narrative unit. This week we have spent time using other author's writing to get ideas that we can use in our own writing pieces. Next week each kiddo will choose an idea from their notebook to take through the whole writing process. During our share out at the end of writing today I was so impressed with the strategies that were present in their writing.
In math we have started our chapter on division, yay!! This is another chapter where their multiplication facts will be super important. I continue to encourage them to practice those facts at home because they will be so helpful as we progress this year! :)
In reading we have been focused on the characters in our stories. We have been paying close attention to their thoughts and actions and have been using those to make predictions about who the characters really are.
I wanted to give you a quick reminder that our October Scholastic order is due on October 20th. I sent the order home with the kids awhile ago but I know sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. If you are interested in placing an order and cannot find your order form, you can go online to scholastic.com/readingclub and place your order there. Our class code is: NDWMZ.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for all the support you give your child! We couldn't do it without you!
Ms. DiFranco
Wow! I cannot believe that it is already October! I am so proud of the learning that has gone on in our classroom this week. I really couldn't ask for a more hard working group!
This week we celebrated being a Blue Ribbon school! On Tuesday, many people from around our district came to every classroom to celebrate with us and give us Culver's ice cream!! We were so excited...not only for the ice cream but for the dedication of each and every one of our students to their education. :)
In science this week we have been learning about the water cycle and the ocean's role in the cycle. We have started using science stations which allow for multiple activities to take place around the same subject. The kiddos have really enjoyed them and I can see that they are gaining so much knowledge!
In writing we are working on the third section of our personal narrative unit. This week we have spent time using other author's writing to get ideas that we can use in our own writing pieces. Next week each kiddo will choose an idea from their notebook to take through the whole writing process. During our share out at the end of writing today I was so impressed with the strategies that were present in their writing.
In math we have started our chapter on division, yay!! This is another chapter where their multiplication facts will be super important. I continue to encourage them to practice those facts at home because they will be so helpful as we progress this year! :)
In reading we have been focused on the characters in our stories. We have been paying close attention to their thoughts and actions and have been using those to make predictions about who the characters really are.
I wanted to give you a quick reminder that our October Scholastic order is due on October 20th. I sent the order home with the kids awhile ago but I know sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. If you are interested in placing an order and cannot find your order form, you can go online to scholastic.com/readingclub and place your order there. Our class code is: NDWMZ.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for all the support you give your child! We couldn't do it without you!
Ms. DiFranco
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
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