FYI...

Grades are due and I'm trying to plan term 3.  Once I get those two tasks behind me I'll be able to update the blog again.  I'm guessing that will probably be Thursday....  Thank you for your patient understanding.   

Wednesday & Thursday

Math - We reviewed the math assessment yesterday and today during the first part of math.  Students then retook the assessment.  Students who excelled on the assessment the first time on Tuesday were given the option to do an extension project.  Students who choose to complete it have until Tuesday to turn it in.

ELA - Students completed their Giver opinion assessment essay on Tuesday and today they worked on their Civil War essay.  I'm going to let students know on Friday that if they need additional time, they can turn in their Reconstruction essays on Monday.  

Social Studies - Civil War Assessment

Science - Cell Parts & Heredity Assessment

On Friday students will have the opportunity to finish any assessments they need to complete.  The Microorganism project and the Civil War Vocabulary (if applicable) are both due on Friday.

I currently have 2 parent chaperones for Friday's field trip but we have room for more! If you would like to come, let me know and remember to wear comfortable walking shoes.

Term 2 Math Assessment

I gave the math assessment, graded it, and I'm going to do one last review tomorrow.  Many students made careless mistakes so I think one last review will be helpful.  Tomorrow evening they will bring home the assessment and notes for review and it would be helpful if parents could have a conversation about the questions.  Students who can explain the math verbally AND be held accountable for their work (in my experience) generally do better.  I'll be reassessing the math standards one final time on Thursday.  The test will have the same types of questions in the same format; however, the digits will all be changed.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Tuesday, October 23rd

Math -- Students took their Term 2 Math assessment.  I'm going to (attempt to) grade them all tonight so students can either be reassessed or given an extension (level 4) activity on Thursday.

ELA -- Students began their Giver assessment and they continued working on their Reconstruction essay.

Science -- Students were given a study sheet for Thursday's science assessment and they continued to work on their microorganism projects.

Class Work

Some parents may have noticed the volume of the class work and graded work coming home recently.  I have been making an effort to review work and enter scores in the grade book more quickly.  Work that comes home on a weekly basis does not need to be signed or returned.

In the future, when I do send home work or assessments that need to be signed and returned, I'll make that very clear to students and make an announcement on the blog.  Thanks!

Monday, October 22nd

ELA / Social Studies - Students began working on their Reconstruction Opinion Essays and we read & discussed chapter 15 in The Giver. 

Math - We reviewed decimal division and students worked on multiplying, adding, and subtracting decimals.

Science - Students began work on their Microorganism projects.   Projects are due at the beginning of the day on Friday. 

Ms. Young's last day was on Friday

Assessment Update

I just graded students' Civil War vocabulary assessment.  For your reference, students worked in small groups to find definitions and write sentences for each word.   As a class, we discussed each word and shared the sentences.   Then, I wrote the assessment using those sentences.  Students were told this several times and reminded to study.   Unfortunately, more than half of the class earned 1s or 2s.  

Students who earned 1s are required to complete the assessment as homework.  It is due on Friday.

I also gave out the guidelines for the Reconstruction Opinion Essay and the Microorganism project.  PDFs of the documents are available on the sidebar.

Thursday, October 18th

ELA - I introduced the fundamentals of opinion writing while students took notes.  

Science - Ms. Karably taught a lesson about DNA and did a DNA extraction activity.

Social Studies - We continued to review our Civil War information.

Students have all been given a red homework folder (except for the students who already had their own homework folders).  Students are expected to carry their ongoing work and study materials in this folder.  It needs to come back to school every day.

Assessment Schedule

Monday -- Civil War Vocabulary, Start Reconstruction Opinion Essay, Start Microorganism Science Project

Tuesday -- The Giver Assessment (part 1), Math Assessment

Wednesday -- The Giver Assessment (part 2)

Thursday -- Social Studies Assessment (part 1), Science Assessment

Friday -- Social Studies Assessment (part 2) , Reconstruction Opinion Essay Due, Microorganism Science Project Due (students will NOT have class time on Friday due to the afternoon field trip)

Students will have class time to work on the essay and the microorganism project.  

Wednesday, October 17th

Math -- Students reviewed decimal division and worked on Compass learning.  As a reminder, students should complete at least 1 additional hour of Compass each week.

Language Arts -- We discussed the setting of The Giver and contrasted it with the setting of our community.

Social Studies -- I reviewed the Civil War information packet and Ms. Young taught a lesson on the Freedmen's Bureau.  

Note about class work, behavior, and grades

While I was at the Compass workshop yesterday students had work complete including a reflection on sharecropping.  To my dismay, when I graded the reflections, many students had only written a few hastily scribbled sentences and others wrote only one sentence.  Students read information about sharecropping, analyzed the sharecropping poverty cycle, discussed this information, went through a simulation of what a year in the life of a sharecropper, AND had twenty minutes to write a reflection that contrasted slavery with sharecropping.  Lastly, more than 1/3 of the students had their names written down for behavior infractions.

I have high expectations for students, academically and behaviorally.  I reminded students that their good behavior shouldn't change if I am absent or if they are in one of their specials classes (Art, P.E., Spanish, etc...)  Additionally, I told them that I don't GIVE grades; they EARN them.  Sometimes students just sit even after I've instructed them to take notes.  Others need constant reminders to stay on task.  And some talk so much that they miss notes and directions.  Sometimes, even after tell students that we are discussing answers to questions that will be on assessments, many seem unconcerned.

We will be working extra hard this week and next week to get caught up and assessments will begin next Tuesday.  Students have been informed that they are responsible for their own grades and that they will have to explain them to parents if they are lower than expected.  

On Friday I will inform students about the specific assessments they will be given and I suggest they study over the weekend and all next week.  I will post that list on the blog as well so parents know what to expect. 

Please email or text me if you have any questions.  

Basic Math Facts

It is quite obvious that most students do not know their basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.  Students should already know these facts and if they do not learn them quickly they will be at a disadvantage.  Furthermore, they will not be able to successfully progress in math if they don't have these basic skills.  I don't want my students to be frustrated with math or hindered by an issue that can be easily solved with  as little as 10 minutes of practice at home.  And I KNOW that current trends in education encourage teachers to shy away from rote memorization; however, I feel like many of the traditional methods are necessary in math.

Moving forward I want every family to buy their child a sets of flashcards and/or work on their facts with one of the many online resources.  I will add links to some helpful websites on the sidebar; however, feel free to use whatever works best for your child.

Beginning next term I'm going to start doing fact quizzes to make sure students are held accountable for learning these facts. 

Tuesday, October 16th

Today I'm in a Compass Learning workshop at the CSD central office.  Students will be working on the following things today:

ELA - Students will read chapter 14 in The Giver and complete a compare/contrast setting worksheet.

Social Studies - Students will complete a sharecropping simulation with Ms. Young.

Math - Ms. Washington will review decimal division with the students and begin teaching them how to solve decimal division with the traditional algorithm.

Compass Learning Update

Right now students have an hour of time during each school week to work on math and reading (1/2 hour each).  Since instructional time is already limited I do not want to block off another time segment for the whole class to complete Compass work together.  

Moving forward, I would like for students to work on Compass learning at home at least 1 hour per week.  Additionally, I would like for students to primarily work on the Science and Social Studies activities since our in-school Compass time is devoted to Math and Reading.  I am currently loading the activities now and they will be ready for this evening if you would like your child to get started tonight. 

Lastly, students have logged in several times to they already know their user name and password.  The website is https://thelearningodyssey.com/# and make sure you type in "Decatur" for the school tab.  

Feel free to email or text me if you have any questions.  Thanks!

Monday, October 15th

ELA / Social Studies - Students continued to gather information for their Civil War organizers and we will continue to work on it until Wednesday.  Ms. Young taught a Reconstruction lesson on the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.

Science - Students began taking notes on genetics.

Math - I introduced modeling decimal division.  We will continue with decimal division this whole week and I'll start assessments next week.

Wednesday & Thursday, Oct 10-11

ELA - We finished chapter 12 in The Giver and discussed the unique, dystopian characteristics of the setting.  

Social Studies - We continued to read a Civil War summary text to find the important vocabulary.

Science - Ms. Young lead a lesson where students reviewed cell parts and got to create an animal cell out of a cookie and candy pieces.

Math - Students learned how to model the multiplication of decimals with each other and whole numbers with decimals.

Students have a science assessment tomorrow.  They will have to know the organelles in plants and animal cells.

Spanish Announcement

¡Oye.. Halcones de Quinto Grado!: October 15-26^th is when the Term 2 Spanish Summative Assessments will occur in Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing!  ¡Estudia quizlet.com tanto posible!

Tuesday, October 9th

ELA -- We began reading a Civil War information packet and identifying words that students did not know. 

Math -- I taught the students how to model the multiplication of decimals on a grid and we reviewed how to use the traditional algorithm to calculate the product of two decimals.

Science -- Students watched a BrainPop video on cell structures and drew/labeled their own plant cells. Tomorrow we will compare/contrast plant and animal cells.

Monday, October 8th

ELA -- Students continued to work on their Civil War organizers.  We discussed cause and effect again since many students are not making the connection between specific events and how they caused change the course of American history.  For example, students know the factual details about John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry.  However, as 5th graders, they are AT LEAST expected to know that the effect of that event was that abolitionists were inspired to action and slave owners felt more threatened.  I wanted to give the Civil War assessment this Friday; however, I don't feel that students will be prepared.  I would prefer to take another week to delve more deeply into the content so students have the opportunity to really learn the material.  Now my goal is to give the assessment on Friday, October 19th.

Math -- Students reviewed Friday's classwork with Mrs. Washington.  They reviewed adding/subtracting decimals and multiplying by powers of 10.

Science -- Students drew/labeled an animal cell and took notes on the animal cell parts.    

On Thursday, Ms. Young, my GSU student intern, will be leading a lesson where students get to create a cell model out of a cookie, frosting, and candy.  As a parent myself I kind of hesitated when she mentioned "cookie" and "candy"; however, Ms. Young assured me that it would be a fun, fact-filled lesson.  Additionally, I'll let the kids have a few extra minutes of recess before dismissal so they can run some of the sugar energy off.  We will need the following supplies; if you can contribute we would really appreciate it.  (I'll update the list as donations come in.)

28 deli style sugar cookies

1 medium size bag of skittles

1 box of mike & ikes

1 package of gumballs (we'll need at least 28)

1 package of twizzlers pull and peel candy

ziplock bags

Thank You!

Friday, October 5th

I am at a Scholastic Guided Reading workshop today and the students are having a wonderful, productive, work-filled day with Mr. Fuller.  

Wednesday, October 3rd

ELA - We finished discussing parallel structure.  We will continue to discuss this concept because students aren't entirely comfortable with it yet.  We concluded ELA by reading another chapter in The Giver.  

As a reminder parallel structure occurs in sentences when listing actions or items.  All of those items need to be the same part of speech and in the same tense when verbs.  Example:  Ms. Black cooked her dinner, wrote her lesson plans, and helped her kids with their homework.  All of the underlined words in the list are past tense verbs.  Another example would be:  She spoke clearly and softly.  Clearly and softly are, obviously, adverbs. 

Math - Students had their weekly Compass computer time today.  They spent 30 minutes each on customized Math and ELA work.  Students may also work on it at home.  The website is:  https://thelearningodyssey.com  Students all know their login and password and under the "School" tab you need to type in "Decatur"

Social Studies - Ms. Young taught a lesson about the major Civil War battles.  Students gathered information as a group on one battle and began sharing that information with the rest of the class.

Author Visit -- Adam Gidwitz visited today and told a grisly and entertaining version of the Cinderella story. 

I just found out...

...that Lois Lowry's trilogy (which we will be studying this year thanks to a DEF grant) has become a QUARTET!  So I guess I'll be applying for that spring time grant so we can read Son together before the school year ends!

Tuesday, October 2nd

ELA -- We discussed and watched a video on parallel structure.  I'll be finishing the lesson tomorrow.

Math -- Students spent class time reviewing adding, subtracting, comparing, and ordering decimals.  Some students worked in small groups with Ms. Washington and the remainder worked in class.  As previously stated, students will have homework tonight (some of it may be unfinished classwork) and it is due on Thursday.

Social Studies -- Students continued working on their Civil War information packets.   

Compass Learning
Tomorrow students will begin their once-a-week reading and math work on Compass Learning.  This is a computer program designed to give each child personalized help in areas that they need the most assistance (this is taken from student MAP data).   Students are allowed to bring in their own cheap, over-the-ears headphones; however, headphones will be provided for all students.  Students can also log in at home at https://thelearningodyssey.com/# and students were told their login/password information today.   

Homework

Due to student performance on the last ELA and Math quizzes I'll be sending homework for tonight and it's due on Thursday.  I want to be able to start term 2 projects at the end of next week; however, I need to make sure that all students have a grasp of the material I've covered so far.  

The homework going home tonight and tomorrow will be due on Thursday.  I'll be conducting quizzes again on Friday to see if we can move on or if I need to reteach the concepts again. 

The homework will cover the following:
Ordering Decimals
Comparing Decimals
Adding & Subtracting Decimals
There, They're & Their
Perfect Verb Tenses

Students who have earned 4s will be exempted from the applicable homework.  Please contact me if you have any questions.

Monday, October 1st

ELA - We read chapter 9 in The Giver and discussed some of the important details about setting.  Students also received a list of this week's vocabulary words to take home and study.

Math - Students took a short quiz on rounding and ordering decimals.  Afterwards students took notes on the steps to adding and subtracting decimals.  For the rest of the week I'll be focusing on reviewing previously taught concepts to students who need it and I'll be teaching students how to model the multiplication of decimals.

If you have not done so yet, PLEASE purchase some multiplication and division flashcards for your child.  Many of my students (like 20 out of 28) are still using their fingers to calculate basic multiplication so they need to get those skills down if they are going to be successful in my class and in middle school.

Social Studies - Students began working on a packet that covers the following Georgia Performance Standard:

SS5H1 The student will explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War.

a. Identify Uncle Tom’s Cabin and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, and explain how each of these events was related to the Civil War.
b. Discuss how the issues of states’ rights and slavery increased tensions between the North and South.

c. Identify major battles and campaigns: Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s March to the Sea, and Appomattox Court House.

d. Describe the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

e. Describe the effects of war on the North and South.

Students will have all week to complete the packet and they will be able to use it when taking the assessment.  Needless to say, the assessment will be rigorous and they will be required to answer several short essay questions.  The packet has EVERYTHING they need to know and the assessment will occur sometime next week (probably on Thursday, October 11th).