Term 3 projects

I'm in the process of grading projects and several (mainly the poetry projects) are missing.  I recorded 1's in the grade book for students who are missing any parts of the project and I will accept late work up until Thursday, January 5th.  


Students had ample time to complete all parts of their projects so the fact that over half of the poetry projects and several papers are missing is a bit troublesome.  I understand that some students may have not placed them in the appropriate place (I found several posters under chairs) so that's why I'm extended the deadline (again).


Thank you have have a great holiday.

Thank You!

Thank you so much for the wonderful holiday gifts.  It means so much to feel loved and appreciated by my students and their parents.   Have a wonderful holiday break - see you next year!

Revised assessment schedule and due dates

Friday -- Math Assessment


Monday -- Poetry Project, Roosevelt paper, Magnetism Assessment


Tuesday --  Battle of Little Bighorn paper, ELA Assessment, Social Studies Assessment

Expressions on the Ave is TONIGHT!!!

We will line up outside of the classroom at 545pm and after the performance you can retrieve your child from the media center.  Students will be seated on the edge of the stage towards the left so I advise that you sit on the center-left side of the bleachers.

Update

I apologize for the delay in updates; things have been busy at F.AVE!


Math -- Students are completing classwork and homework that will help them review for Friday's Term 3 Math assessment


Writing/Social Studies -- Students will be completing their Roosevelt persuasive papers this week and they will be writing an analytical paper on the Battle of Little Bighorn.  The Social Studies Assessment will be this Friday (I am considering moving it to next Monday or Tuesday... I'll keep everyone posted if I do).


Reading -- Students are studying dramatic plays with Mr. Zimbardo (I'm teaching his students about persuasive writing).  Students are reading A Midsummer's Night Dream and they will watch the movie next week.


Science -- We are reviewing Magnetism and the assessment will be given on Friday.

Expressions on the Ave

-arrive by 5:45pm in the classroom on Thursday to line up.
-We are dressing in 80s Pop attire... I'm dressing as the Flashdance girl...
-If you don't have 80s attire for your child please just wear bright colors.  We are sitting up front so we have the perfect position for pictures.

Thursday, December 8th

Math - We learned how to add and subtract mixed numbers with unlike denominators.


Writing/Social Studies - Students worked on their Turn of the Century timelines.  They are due tomorrow!


Expressions on the Ave is next week and here's a picture of our practice session today.  Our class attire is  80s Pop.  

I am a naturally frugal and organized person so the following REALLY bothered me.

Classroom supplies are not cheap and apparently, some students were taking the marker caps, wrapping tape around them, and putting them on their fingers.  I am upset that students would casually take things that their parents and I purchased and not use them properly.  


I expressed my feelings to the students and I fully expect that this type of behavior will not occur again.  

Wednesday, December 7th

Math - Mr. Withers taught a lesson on how to determine values from various shape blocks.

...everyone wants a turn...

Writing/Social Studies/Reading - Mrs. M came in to help me help students with the grammar, spelling, and content of their Theodore Roosevelt persuasive papers.  We also watched some additional videos on Roosevelt and discussed the outline.  All students completed the rough drafts of their introduction today and continued to work on their outlines.

Tuesday, December 6th

Math - Students learned how to add and subtract improper fractions and mixed numbers.


Reading - Students completed their weekly reading question 


Writing/Social Studies - Students continued to work on their Teddy Roosevelt persuasive papers and their Turn of the Century timelines.  We also completed a Venn diagram detailing some similarities and differences between European and Asian Immigrants.


Science - Students completed a worksheet where they had to read information about butterflies and write an explanation about how magnetism affects animal migratory patterns.


Reminder:  The student reward celebration is on Friday at 1:30pm!  

Monday, December 5th

Math - Introduction to improper fractions & mixed numbers.


Reading - Mrs. Bowden taught a lesson on the elements of dramatic literature.


Writing/Social Studies - Students continued to work on their timelines and outlines for their T. Roosevelt persuasive paper.


Science - Introduction to Magnetism (BrainPop video & notes)


Announcement --> homework is due on FRIDAY this week.

Friday, December 2nd

Thursday, December 1st

Math - Students worked on equivalent fractions, improper factions, mixed numbers and word problems.  


Reading - Students worked on their projects and had extra "Expressions on the Ave" practice with several other 5th grade classes.

***I updated the needs & wants list... if you can contribute, THANK YOU!***

Wednesday, November 30th

Reading - We reviewed this week's vocabulary and students worked on their term 3 projects.

   

Social Studies - Students took notes and discussed economic, cultural, and political events that took place at the turn of the last century.  


Math - Mr. Wither's taught a lesson on equivalent fractions.

Recess Photos

  

Expressions on the Ave - December 15th

The 5th grade performance of Expressions on the Ave is on Thursday, December 15th and each class will dress according to a certain genre.  And our genre is......  POP!


Being born in 1970-something my idea of pop-inspired clothing is 80s inspired Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Flashdance type clothing.  However, parents and students might have a different idea of what "Pop" clothing might look like.  


At any rate, we have a week to prepare so hopefully we'll look great!

Tuesday, November 29th

Writing - Students received their graded work and they started doing their research for their term 3 projects on the iPads.  


MAP - Students took the Math portion of the MAP (Measuring Academic Progress) test today.


Math - We reviewed how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators.


Music - Students spent an extra 20 minutes with Ms. Massaquoi today in preparation for the upcoming performance "Expressions on the Ave!"


Announcement:  We need more facial tissues and band-aids, please.

It's cold outside...

...so please dress your child accordingly : )

Monday, November 28th

Reading -- We watched a poetry BrainPop video and took the quiz.  We discussed literary elements and students practiced creating their own puns, idioms, metaphors, etc...


Writing/Social Studies -- We went over this week's vocabulary and discussed this term's projects.  Project details went home today so parents can be informed about the guidelines and deadlines.


Math -- We discussed adding and subtracting fractions and students worked on creating equivalent fractions.


Science -- We watched an electricity BrainPop video to review and students completed a worksheet that went over the concepts that will be on Friday's Electricity assessment.


Homework is due on Thursday; however, the reading about Theodore Roosevelt and the Spanish-American war needs to be done by WEDNESDAY.

Math-A-Thon!

Math-a-Thon! Calling All Fifth Graders!!!  Friday, Dec.  2, join your classmates for the annual FAVE Math-a-thon!   Why??  to have fun and raise money for the 5th grade Tybee Trip this spring!  Help us meet our fundraising goal of $5000!! What:  5th grade Math-a-Thon Where:  FAVE When:  6:30-8:30 pm Why:  To raise money and have a blast! Dinner, snacks, raffle prizes, and top fundraiser prizes provided!! Mandatory Parent Meeting to be held at 7pm.  Questions? Contact E. Hanna at elizabeth.hanna@comcast.net

Friday, November 18th

Math - Students took a summative assessment on equivalent fractions, odd/even numbers, prime/composite numbers, factors, multiples, and prime factors.


Reading/Writing - Students took a vocabulary quiz and we started discussing the writing process.  


Social Studies - Students finished taking notes on immigration at the turn of the last century and we watched two BrainPop videos about American Indians and Westward Expansion.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Book Request

If you have any children's/young adult books you would like to get rid of please consider donating them to our classroom library.  I've had specific requests for Hardy Boys and Warriors books.  Thanks!

Homework Reminder

Homework packets are distributed Monday and they are ALWAYS due on Thursday unless I specify otherwise (and I have only done that once this year).  I like to go over homework on Thursdays so I can make any clarifications or, if necessary, reteach concepts before Friday quizzes. 


Lastly, I advise that students work on it a little bit each night because the packet can seem overwhelming if left to Wednesday nights.  Thank you.

Update

We've had another busy week with the Thanksgiving luncheon and Literary Cafe; it was GREAT seeing such supportive families.  Here is what we've covered so far this week:


Language Arts (Reading/Writing) - We are working through understanding how to use persuasive arguments in everyday life.  After the break we are going to read a short play, finish learning about poetry elements and start our term 3 persuasive writing paper.


Science - Students completed and checked their Electricity vocabulary review sheet.  After the break students will build another circuit and be assessed on their knowledge of electricity.


Math - Students learned about equivalent fractions, divisibility rules (2-10), Prime/Composite numbers, and how to find the Greatest Common Factor of two numbers. After the break students will learn how to model multiplication and division of fractions and how to add and subtract fractions with dissimilar denominators.


Social Studies - Students completed two group activities where they found information about immigrants and industry at the turn of the century.  Some students had a few issues with working in groups; however, this presented an opportunity to reinforce our classroom rules and remember that we are a community of learners.

Co-ed football - Equality in Action

Literary Cafe

Thanksgiving Luncheon

Thanksgiving Lunch

Our Thanksgiving Lunch time is on Thursday in the Art & Science classrooms at 11:00am.  

Monday, November 14th

Reading - Mrs. Bowden taught a lesson about similes and metaphors.  The lesson was as informative as a dictionary.


Science - We discussed our science vocabulary and everyone completed their worksheets.


Social Studies - Students worked in groups to find information about the Great Western Cattle Trail, the Black Cowboys of Texas, and the Chisolm Trail.


Math - We discussed equivalent fractions (this was a review for many students) and students completed a review worksheet.


Book Fair - Students got to preview the Book Fair.  


Literary Cafe - TOMORROW at 6:30pm!  

Friday, November 11th

Happy Veteran's Day!

Please take the time to thank a Veteran you know.

Math - We discussed divisibility rules and students took a math quiz that covered characteristics of whole numbers, factors, and mathematical communication


Language Arts - Students took a pretest on literary elements and figurative language.  


Social Studies - Students watched a BrainPop video and took notes on George Washington Carver.


Homework reminder -- Homework packets are always due on a Thursday unless I specify otherwise (and that has only happened once this year).  Homework typically covers all subjects and we go over it on Fridays to make sure 


Explorations - Students started their new explorations today.  I will be teaching Yoga again.  If you have a spare yoga mat you no longer use I would love to take it off your hands.  Thank you.

Thursday, November 10th

(I'm still a tad bit behind in the daily blog... thanks for your understanding!)


Math -- We went over Prime Factorization and during Math Mania students took a division speed test and worked on their division skills.  We also watched a BrainPop video on how and why to make a budget.  Nobody ever taught me in school about budgets and I think it is an essential life skill.


Reading - Students read silently and we went over the vocabulary.

Wednesday, November 9th

Reading - Students finished writing down their Persuasive Writing notes.  We also discussed times and places they have encountered persuasive arguments.


Science - Mrs. Bates, an educator who works for Georgia Power, visited the class today and lead several activities.  She talked about energy, conservation, and gave students the materials to identify insulators and conductors.  She concluded her visit by letting the students build their own closed circuits.

 

Literary Cafe - Our coach came for the second session to critique each students' performance.  


Math - Mr. Wither's taught a lesson on the Sieve of Eratosthenes.  Mathematicians use the Sieve of Eratosthenes to identify prime numbers when placed on a 10x10 grid.

Homework is due TOMORROW (Thursday).

Tuesday, November 8th

Writing - I gave a long introductory lesson on Persuasive Writing.  Students took notes and discussed examples of times when they have encountered persuasive arguments.


Science - Students worked on an electricity vocabulary worksheet.


Reading - Students read silently, worked on their weekly reading question and started their persuasive writing activity packet.

Last week

Grades were due last week and it was a stressfully hectic time period.  That being said, I don't have blog entries for last Wednesday-Friday.  I did take some pictures and they are posted below.

 A student brought in a vocabulary word from last week.  

Monday, November 7th

Language Arts - Mrs. Bowden taught a lesson on suffixes and during Writing we went over this week's vocabulary words.  


Math - I taught a lesson on Prime & Composite numbers.  Students took notes and practiced "rainbow" factoring.  We concluded math by working on some factoring problems in the textbook.


Science - Students did an activity where they tested different materials to see if they would move due to static electricity.  


Homework is due on Thursday and the Vocabulary test is on Friday.


This Week's Words:  (Root Word --> Spec= see/look)

Gallery Walk Announcement - Parking

If you drive to school for the gallery walk DO NOT park across the street in front of any of the houses.  There is ample parking a block away at the church down 5th avenue if parking isn't available in front of the school.  

Thank you.

Monday, October 31st

During Reading students wrote down this week's vocabulary words and they read silently.  During Science they wrote their Bacteria Everywhere lab observations and took their Term 2 Science Assessment.  After taking the Science Assessment students completed the Civil War Essay re-test and then spent the remainder of the day finishing their projects.


--Homework packets went home today; they are due on Friday.
--The Gallery Walk is on Wednesday, November 2nd - 4-530pm!  Come see your child's project work.

Friday, October 28th

During the morning students took their Math and Reconstruction Social Studies Assessments.  During the afternoon we walked to Adair Park for the DeKalb Heritage Festival.  While there students enjoyed stories about Mary Gay and her actions during the Civil War, Black soldiers and their role in various American wars, and education during Reconstruction.  Additionally they learned how yarn is created from wool with a spinning wheel and they observed how a woman would have cooked using cast iron pots and a hearth fire.

On our way to Adair Park

Thursday, October 27th

Students worked on their projects today during Reading and Math.


Announcements -
-I still need 2-3 parent volunteers to accompany us on tomorrow's field trip.  We will leave the school at 11:30am.  Please email me if you can help out.
-Based on how the students have been pacing themselves I'm extending the project deadline to Monday, October 31st.

Wednesday, October 26th

**Announcement**

I need 2-3 more parents to accompany us on our field trip this Friday.  Please contact me via email if you would like to come with us.

Math - We reviewed for the Term 2 Math Assessment.

Science - Dr. Hammer brought some of his graduate assistants and he discussed beneficial and harmful bacteria.  After the lesson he and his students assisted us with starting bacterial cultures.  Students brought them home and after they grow for a few days they should glow in the dark.

Schedule of Assessments
Friday, October 28th -- Math, Social Studies (Reconstruction)
Monday, October 31st -- Science, Social Studies (essay re-take)

Microbes Rule the World!

Dr. Hammer came to talk to us about microbes.  He also brought his grad students who assisted us with a science experiment.

Tuesday, October 26th

Reading/Writing - Students took notes on Adjectives, Conjunctions, and Prepositions.  After they finished taking notes students continued to work on their projects. 


Social Studies/Math - We played Sharecrop-opoly - a simulation where students can understand the system of sharecropping from an economic and social perspective.  After the simulation we had a short discussion about the differences between sharecropping and slavery (there aren't many) and how debt enslaves people. 


Reminder:  Projects are due this Friday with the exception of the Parts of Speech project which is now due on Monday, October 31st.  

Monday, October 24th

Reading  - During Reading Ms. Bowden taught a lesson on Adverbs.

Math - We continued to work on Baseball Math and when students finished they worked on their projects.

Social Studies - We discussed the essay questions that were included on the first two segments of this term's Social Studies assessments.  Later this week I will give students the opportunity to re-take the essay portions of those tests.

Science - We started a new experiment titled "Bacteria are Everywhere."  Students will be making daily scientific observations for the next week.

Thursday, October 20th

Math -- We continued with Baseball Math since the students need additional practice with long division and dividing decimals.


Math Mania -- Students took their weekly multiplication speed test and many of their results improved.  We then watched a BrainPop quiz and took the accompanying review quiz.  Lastly, students started a work packet of division work.


Reading -- I taught a lesson about verbs.  Students took notes on, and practiced identifying, action, linking, and helping verbs.

How many verbs can you identify in this video?  We came up with over two dozen.

Reminder:  Part 2 of the Social Studies assessment is tomorrow.  

Wednesday, October 19th

During Reading students worked on their projects and during Writing we discussed how to write effective topic sentences.  The results were amazing.  No longer will students be starting their papers  with, "Hi, my name is _____ and I'm going to tell you all about decimals!" or "Okay, let's talk about microorganisms."


During Social Studies we reviewed for this Friday's assessment on Civil War battles and people.  Lastly, during Math Mr. Withers taught long division with decimals using baseball statistics.

We love it when Mr. Wither's comes on Wednesdays.

Recess/Weather Reminder

We have not missed one recess yet this year and we will go outside unless it is raining or snowing heavily.    Please make sure your child has something warm to wear outside for recess.

Tuesday, October 18th

Science - Students reviewed the 3 Domains and 6 Kingdoms and we discussed where microorganisms might be categorized and why.  We then watched BrainPop videos on Bacteria and Protists and students completed the accompanying quizzes.


During Reading & Writing students continued to work on their projects and during Math we talked about and practiced the different methods of dividing decimals. 

Monday, October 17th

Reading:  Ms. Bowden and I gave a lesson on pronouns and students put their Paper Outlines in their ELA notebooks.  While students are working on their papers they are allowed to take their notebooks home as long as they bring it back to school each day.

Math: We practiced multiplying decimals and writing numbers in exponent and expanded form.

Science:  We talked about the next category under Kingdom (Phylum) and we discussed the different types of Vertebrates (phylum: Chordata).  Students also compared/contrasted vertebrates and invertebrates.

Social Studies:  Students worked on their Reconstruction organizers.  They are due on Friday and the information on the organizer will be assessed on Friday, October 28th.


Announcements:
-There's no homework packet this week; however, students have been told to study their Civil War organizers (battles & people).  Students will be VERY busy with their projects and classwork so I thought it was best to forgo the packet.

-I sent home a letter today about the term 2 projects.  I also attached the project details for your review.

-Pictures went home today.  

-Things were very hectic last week so I didn't make blog postings for Thursday and Friday.  However, here are some pictures with our science experiment... the results were revealing...

Wednesday, October 12th

Reading -- Students read silently for 20 minutes, studied their vocabulary words, and finished their Social Studies organizers.

Social Studies --  Students corrected their quizzes and we discussed what will be on Friday's Social Studies assessment.  There are 5 parts to the Social Studies assessment and I'm going to start giving it in parts between now and the end of the term.


BioBus -- Students had the second part of the BioBus lesson.  They were able to view live microscopic organisms and they extracted DNA from peas.  

 

Math - Mr. Withers taught a lesson on multiplying decimals - it was quite enlightening.


Homework is due on Friday.