Thursday, September 27th

We visited the Atlanta History Museum and it was amazing.  We watched a one-woman play and discussed the facts and opinions she presented from her perspective as a middle-class slave owner.  We spent some time learning about the perspective of Atlanta civilians who lived during the Civil War.  Also, each student assumed the identity of a real Confederate or Union soldier and learned about the painful hardships of war.

Tomorrow students will reflect upon what they learned and next week we will progress through the Civil War GPS standard.  Students are required to learn about contemporary leaders, important battles, the aftermath of the war, and the period of Reconstruction.

Also, I would like to address something some parents may have noticed.  This term, instead of teaching 2-3 lessons each of Social Studies or Science (since they share a common time period), I am going to have weeks where I use the time to focus on Social Studies and weeks where I focus on Science.  As always, details about what we cover in class will be included on the daily blog posts. 

Thank you to all of the parents who served as chaperones.  You all made the trip go very smoothly.  Thanks again!

 

Wednesday, September 26th

ELA - We continued reading The Giver and as we read, students answered discussion questions and shared observations.

Math - We modeled the addition and subtraction of decimals and we also discussed the relationship between fractions, decimals and percents.

Social Studies - We watched a BrainPop video about Abraham Lincoln and we discussed whether or not he was a "true" abolitionist.  Additionally, students analyzed whether different individuals (a free black farmer from Massachusetts, an abolitionist from Massachusetts, and a white Alabama senator) would vote for Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election.  

We concluded Social Studies by making a link between the content and our current Unit of Inquiry (Sharing the Planet).  Students were asked to think of the people who were living at that time (plantation owner, free black soldier, confederate soldier, abolitionist, etc...) and to answer a question, from ONE perspective, on whether fighting the Civil War was worth it.  I learned that students will be asked this question tomorrow at the Atlanta History Museum and I want them to be prepared.

Tuesday, September 25th

ELA -- We continued reading The Giver and making inferences from direct quotes in the text.

Math -- We used base-10 blocks to model decimals up to the hundredth place.  After students completed the activity they completed classwork that reviewed comparing, ordering, and rounding decimals.  Students who did not finish their classwork were given a copy of the textbook page so they could finish at home.

Social Studies -- Ms. Newton concluded her Unit of Inquiry lesson and students concluded the day by reflecting on the perspectives of people living during that time based on their location.

Monday, September 24th

ELA -- We started our literary unit on The Giver.  We read chapter one and students worked on an activity where they analyzed, summarized, and made inferences based on quotes from the text.

Math -- Based on Friday's quiz results, I did a review of comparing, ordering, and rounding decimals.

Social Studies -- Ms. Newton introduced our new Unit of Inquiry: Sharing the Planet.  

Announcements

Report cards and MAP results were sent home today.  I DO NOT need parents to sign and return the report cards... they are yours to keep.  If you have questions about any grades feel free to text, email, or set a conference time with me.

The field trip is this Thursday; if you child did not sign up to receive a sack lunch please remember to pack and send their lunch that day.

I am keeping track of books that students read (they must pass the AR test to receive credit for reading their books).  Some students are off to a great start and have already read 5 or more books. Several students; however, need to put in a little extra reading time if they are to meet their term & end-of-the-year reading goals.

Thursday, September 20th

Thank you for being patient with me and my lateness in posting; grades were due this week and that's an all-consuming process.

Tonight your child will come home with a small packet of their graded work.  This packet doesn't include all of the work from last term; however, it contains the assessments and some of their writing assignments.

I need these back on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st.  

If you have any questions that your child is unable to answer (and they SHOULD be able to answer any and all questions about the work) then feel free to text or email me.

ELA - This week we have been focusing on verbs tenses - past, present, future, perfect past, perfect present, and perfect future.  Additionally, students have been working on identifying and using the correct word when they have to choose between there, their, and they're.  Today I briefly discussed my trilogy study and we will begin reading The Giver next week.

Math - We have been working on decimals all week.  Fifth graders are required to understand and complete math problems with decimals up to the thousandth place value.  Today students took notes on the 3-step process for multiplying decimals.  

Social Studies - We have been working on our Underground Railroad maps and taking notes on the era directly preceding the Civil War.  Additionally, students wrote a Unit of Inquiry reflection from the perspective of someone living in America at that time.  

Science - We completed an activity where students voted and discussed several traits (hair, eye color, sports playing ability...) and whether they were learned or inherited.

Other Announcements

-Tomorrow students will have an ELA assessment on Perfect Verb Tenses and "There, Their, and They're" and a math quiz on decimals.

Monday, September 17th

ELA - We did a review of the difference between "there, their, and they're."  Students seemed to understand the difference between the homographs; however, I have not seen this reflected in their writing.

Social Studies - Students practiced note-taking skills as we read and discussed the American Civil War.

Math -- We began class by reviewing some difficult problems from last term's assessment.  After that students took the pre-test for this term's math content.

Last Week of Term 1!

Students are continuing to work on their ELA/Science projects.  Students also have assessments for Social Studies (Bill of Rights), Science (classification), and Math.  Projects are due at the end of the day on Thursday (students will have the majority of class time on Thursday to complete them) so I'm looking forward to the excellent work samples on display for curriculum night.