Monday, September 30th

ELA - We continued to read The Giver and students made text to world connections when we compared and contrasted the book setting with our own community.  

Social Studies - We started the Underground Railroad activity.  Students compared two different texts about the Underground Railroad and I taught them different note-taking techniques.  Tomorrow they'll write a reflection using the information they gathered from the notes and start working on their 3D maps.

Happy Friday!

Students completed their vocabulary and Civil War causes assessments.  I was quite pleased to see that most students studied and that they used the writing process to craft their essays.

Thursday, September 26th

Today we finished our Civil War Causes notes and discussion.  I also conducted a review session at the end of the day.  Please click on the following link for the powerpoint.  

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7MkLtQif6bHUEtUdkUxYUFWa1k/edit?usp=sharing

Students also have a vocabulary assessment tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 25th

ELA -- Ms. Smith taught a continuation lesson about sentence types.  She went over simple, compound, and complex sentences.

Social Studies -- We continued discussing the causes of the Civil War through the line of inquiry: conflict can lead to change.  We spent a good amount of time discussing the Fugitive Slave Act, what it was like for African Americans during that era, Harriett Beecher Stowe, and the effect of Uncle Tom's Cabin on different groups.  We had informative discussions in both classes and one student asked if some people were so mad with her because she was a woman. That question sparked another discussion about what rights (or lack thereof) that women had at the time.  I informed that some at the time felt that it wasn't her "place" to speak out against a topic as controversial as slavery.  Additionally, when I told students about how women were expected to act they couldn't believe it... especially when I asked them to compare those expectations to their own mother's behavior.  : )  Tomorrow we will finish our note-taking and discussion about the causes of the Civil War.

Upcoming Assessments:  Civil War Causes essay assessment, Vocabulary Assessment (both Friday)

Students should take home their journals on Thursday to study since we will be done with all of the notes.  For your reference, I've allowed them to take them to take them home all week to study.  On the assessment, students will be asked the following question:

Why did our country go to war with itself?

Choose at least 2 of the following and describe, in detail, how they contributed to causing the American Civil War.

Dred Scott Decision      

Kansas-Nebraska Act     

Missouri Compromise     

Uncle Tom's Cabin     

State's Rights        

Election of Abraham Lincoln       

Fort Sumter     

Slavery       

Population differences          

Economic differences         

Fugitive Slave Act
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

Since I'm providing the essay question in advance and we have been discussing these topics all week, I expect student answers to be detailed and factual.  I have been clear about what types of answers will receive which grade; consequently, students who have paid attention in class and read over their notes should perform well.

Tuesday, September 24th

ELA -- Some students took the sentence assessment again and the results were much better.  Ms. Smith also taught a vocabulary lesson with this week's words.  Students worked together to come up with sentences using each of the words in context.  There will be a vocabulary assessment on Friday.

Social Studies -- We continued discussing the causes of the Civil War.  Yesterday we covered the Atlantic Slave Trade and the economic system of slavery.  Today we talked about population fluctuations between the North and South (1800-1850), political results of the South's declining populations, and Uncle Tom's Cabin.  We will continue discussing the causes of the Civil War tomorrow and the essay assessment is on Friday.

Field trip forms went home yesterday and the deadline to return them is Friday, September 27th.  Also, MAP score reports were supposed to go home with the report cards but I forgot to print them.  I'll send them home on Wednesday.

Monday, Septmber 23th

ELA -- We continued reading and discussing The Giver.  Ms. Smith taught a small group lesson on sentence types.  The group was composed of students who earned 1's or 2's on the sentence structure quiz and they will be reassessed tomorrow.  Ms. Smith will continue with this week's vocabulary tomorrow and there will be an assessment on Friday.  Students need to know the spelling and definition of the vocabulary words. 

Social Studies -- We began our week-long discussion/note-taking for the causes of the Civil War.  Students are allowed to take home their Social Studies journals this week to study for the assessment on Friday.  It will be a short essay assessment and students will have to answer some form of this week's focus question:  Why did our country go to war with itself?

Vocabulary Words

exceed

proceed

recede

accessory

successor

intercede

concede

recess

precede

accessible

secede

repress

oppress

Thursday, September 19th

Thank you for being patient with the updates this week; when grades are due I get bogged down with grading and get behind on the blog.  I'm finally done and report cards, along with MAP scores, will come home on Monday, September 23rd. 

Because of the flexible classrooms Ms. McFaddin and I wrote comments on specific standards instead of writing one larger comment on the last page of the report.  Additionally, any 1s should be accompanied with a short descriptor to explain the reason for that grade. Lastly, many of the standards are repeated each term so students who earned 2s will have chances in subsequent terms to improve.

This week students began inquiring about the causes of the Civil War.  In ELA we did a review on sentence types and discussed author's purpose.  Additionally, Ms. Smith lead a vocabulary lesson and we are continuing to read The Giver.

We have a field trip to the Atlanta History Center coming up on Wednesday, October 9th.   The field trip forms will come home on Monday and I need 3 chaperones so contact me if you are available.  Thank you.

Monday, September 16th

ELA -- We began reading The Giver today.  I started with a review of behavior expectations and explained how we would read and stop to discuss the text.  Then I asked the students what they remembered about literary elements.  We completed chapter 1 and we will continue reading later this week.

SS -- This week we will be covering the causes of the Civil War.  Today we watched a short video and students explored the textbook to read about some of the perspectives during that time.

Friday, September 6th

Over the past few days students have been working hard reviewing, taking assessments and finishing their projects.

Baby Ms. Black says, "Have a great break!"

Wednesday, Thursday, and Comments About Grades

Students continued to work on their Amendment projects and they began their IB summative writing assessments.  All 5th graders are taking the assessment and they'll have another hour-long block to write tomorrow.

Use the following websites/videos to review for the assessments on Friday:

Supply & Demand BrainPop

Prepositional Phrases BrainPop

username: decaturga  // password: decatur

Amendment Change Process 

(this one may not work on all computers)

Perfect Verb Tenses

On Thursday students will continue to work on their Amendment projects and we will review for Friday's assessments.

Comments about Grades

Over the break I'm going to grade the assessments and log them into Infinite Campus.  Report cards will be sent home on September 23rd.  Please keep in mind that some standards are assessed each term so a 1 or 2 in those categories should not be alarming.  Students will have the opportunity to build their skills and improve their grades in those standards throughout the year.  

Students who stay focused, complete their class work, and follow instructions generally do well in my class.  I'll provide detailed feedback on the report cards about what your child has done well this term and something they can improve upon.   Overall, students are accountable for the grades their grades and they should be able to explain why they earned each grade.

Tuesday, September 3rd

ELA --- We reviewed prepositional phrases and perfect verb tenses.  The perfect verb tenses provide more information about when an action is completed.  Information, examples, and links about the perfect verb tenses for students and parents are below.

Past Perfect -- Tiger had attacked the moth before he ate his dinner. 
(Both actions happened in the past but the attack happened BEFORE the dinner was eaten.)

Present Perfect -- They have attacked their enemies all morning.
(The action STARTED in the past and continues into the present.)

Future Perfect -- We will have attacked their paintball base before we break for lunch.
(The action will be completed at a specific time in the future.)

Perfect Tense Time Continuum

Purdue Owl

English Plus

Univ. of Illinois Writing Center

SS --- Students began working on their Amendment Projects.  The projects are due on Friday and students will have about 3 hours of class time between now and then to finish it.  They are allowed to work on it at home as well.

Update

ELA & SS Assessment/Project Schedule
Please let me know if your child will not be at school any day this week so I can make the necessary adjustments.

Tuesday-Friday --- Amendment Project 

(students will have class time and be given supplies to complete the project)

Wednesday-Thursday --- IB Informational Writing Prompt 

(students get 2, 1-hour writing sessions)

Friday --- Supply & Demand / Amendment change quiz

Friday, August 30th

On Friday afternoon Chris Grabenstein, an award-winning, best-selling author, stopped by and gave a side-splitting and incredibly informative writing lesson.  His improv story was hilarious and he reinforced many of the writing concepts that I've been teaching the children.  It was a truly unique and rewarding experience.