Have a great break!

We've had an eventful week at F.AVE.  Our learning celebration was awesome and it was wonderful to see so many parents come and listen to students share what they've learned.  Today students took their Turn of the Century assessment and they continued to work on the preview inquiries.  Many students have already started to become familiar with WWI, the Roaring 20s, and 1920s economics.

Ms. McFaddin and I both want to say thank you so much for the very generous gifts we received today and at the UOI learning celebration.  It's been a productive year and we are looking forward to an engaging and challenging 2nd semester.  We hope you enjoy this break with your families and we will see you in the new year!

 I really enjoyed the personal gifts.  I can tell my students understand me.  : )

We even saw our unofficial flex team mascot, Nubs, this week.  

Wednesday, December 17th

Today students continued working on their projects and they completed their opinion writing summative assessments.  

TOMORROW is our Learning Celebration!  It begins at 10:30am and parents should come directly to  our classrooms for the event.  Parents who wish to check out their child after the celebration may do so as long as they let Ms. McFaddin or me know.

Please also remember to take the flex team parent survey; we want to hear your opinions!

TAKE THE SURVEY -- THANK YOU!

Secret Question

**discretely tell Ms. Black the answer to the question below to get a treat!**

What's one example of EACH of the different forms of migration that we have been studying this term? (Forced, Seasonal, Escape, & Migration) 

Tuesday, December 16th

Students worked on their summative opinion essays today and then continued working on their projects.  Many are finishing up and they're quite excited for this Thursday's learning celebration.

Tomorrow students will have some additional time during science and social studies to finish their projects.

Please remember to complete the flex team parent survey if you have not already done so.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1C5mNfcrNTkk22e9BmjOZtTSChwQcXL7Vq02LL7ROlUE/viewform

Flex Team Parent Survey

The following email and survey link are from Ms. Karen Newton, IB Coordinator.  

Hello parents,

We have reached the mid-point of the year and are excited to get your feedback about how the flex team has worked for your children.  Your feedback is a crucial piece of data that will inform us about the effectiveness of this model.  In addition to your feedback, we will also be examining student achievement data at this mid-point and again at the end of the year.  Please find below a link to a survey that is asking about your experience with flex this year as a parent.  Your children will also complete a similar survey in class.  If you have any questions, please contact Karen Newton at knewton@csdecatur. net.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1C5mNfcrNTkk22e9BmjOZtTSChwQcXL7Vq02LL7ROlUE/viewform

Monday, December 15th

Today we reviewed for Friday's Turn of the Century social studies assessment.  Students did an activity called Quiz Quiz Trade, and then students wrote down the topics they need to study.  Then we worked on understanding the narrator's perspective while we read further in Messenger.  Students spent the remaining class time working on their projects.

As a reminder our celebration of learning is THIS Thursday at 10:30am.  

Please come directly to our classrooms; we will check parents in and out from there.

Friday, December 12th

On Wednesday I asked students to take home the Turn of the Century rubrics for parent check-in.  Students were supposed to share their progress and get a parent or guardian’s signature.  The signed rubrics were due on Thursday and I gave students who forgot one more day to complete the task. 

Over the weekend, please check in with your child about the progress on his or her project.  Our learning celebration is on Thursday and I want to make sure that students are being accountable and completing the required work.  They still have three in-class working days next week; however, I also have other lessons and assessments planned for those days.

If you need another copy of the rubric you can get a copy from the list on the right.  Lastly, if you have any questions about the project and your child is not able to answer them, please contact me.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Mid-week update

Students continued working on their Turn of the Century projects and tonight they'll be giving parents an update on their progress.  After your child gives you an update, please sign his or her rubric.  The signed rubric is due on Thursday along with this week's homework.

Today we began MAP testing and that will continue through the rest of the week.

Ms. McFaddin and I are still collecting Tybee forms and payments.  If you need more information about Tybee or you need another copy of the form, please visit the Tybee page on the 5th grade curriculum site.

Monday, December 8th

Today students took an RI7 snapshot on Edmodo.  Standard RI7 is focuses on being able to research and find answers quickly in informational texts.  I'll use the results to make my reading groups for the Spanish-American war activity tomorrow.  We then went over this week's vocabulary list and reading response homework.

In order to understand the role innovations and migrations have played in our world, I felt that it was necessary for students to have a basic knowledge of imperialism.  Students analyzed several political cartoons and created a thought map about the reasons/justifications for imperialist actions at the turn of the last century.  This is not an easy topic to discuss; however, I believe that students benefit when they understand underlying motivations.

Then we read Messenger.  Today we focused on identifying the differences in setting.  Students thought about the theme, Control vs. Choice, and related it back to people's relationship with food in each of the three books.

We concluded our day by working on our projects.  Our celebration of learning will take place on Thursday, December 18th, 10:30am-11:30am.  We will have light refreshments and parents will be able to see all of the hard work that students have been doing.

Thursday, December 4th

Today students worked on identifying and writing main ideas and details.  First, they worked with their table groups to find main ideas and supporting evidence in several short passages.  Then they worked in larger groups based on height to make an effective persuasive paragraph.  After each group shared, we evaluated the arguments.  Students determined that arguments based on factual evidence were much stronger than arguments based on opinion.  Furthermore, arguments that were "important" were more effective.  For example, arguments based on safety or essential human needs were more effective than arguments based on toys or recreational activities.

Students then worked with a partner to complete a peer review of the homework reading response.  Students completed at least two revisions and then moved on to work on their projects.  

For your reference, this term's writing assessment will be completed over two days during the last week of the term.  We will be completing class activities, like the ones we did today, to work on crafting effective main ideas, eliminating weak arguments, and revising work.  Students who complete their work and make a sincere effort should have no difficulty on the assessment.  

Wednesday, December 3rd

Students worked on their projects today.  I gave them advice about what notes format to use and provided video sources via edmodo.  Then students worked on their notes for the western cattle trails.  They examined two different texts on the topic and wrote a short reflection.  

Tuesday, December 2nd

Today students learned about direct objects and how to identify them in a sentence.  Then we worked on determining theme.  Students worked in groups to select two themes and they found evidence to support those themes within Gathering Blue.  

Students were then given this term's project guidelines. They will have class time between now and the due date to complete it; however, it's okay if students want to work on it at home as well.

Parents, please turn in your Tybee field trip forms if you have not done so yet.  Thank you.

Monday, December 1st

We had a limited amount of class time today due to the cultural assembly.  We were able to complete our daily grammar work and students completed a snapshot on standard RL2 (theme, mood & tone).  I'll use the snapshot data to make small groups for our literary activity tomorrow.  We concluded our day with discussing the causal relationship between the Civil War and the development of the Western Cattle Trails.

Homework:  Read for 30 minutes each night & complete the ELA and math worksheets.  

End of the Week Update

Today students checked their vocabulary homework and we read another chapter in Gathering Blue.  Then we worked on finding evidence and summarizing texts.  Students read two documents; one was specifically about Asian immigrants and the other was a general overview of immigration at the turn of the last century.  

Since students previously watched a video about the treatment of many Asian immigrants, I felt that it was important to understand why people would be motivated to move to a place where they would endure prejudice and discriminatory laws.  Based on yesterday's snapshot formative assessment, I divided students into groups and Ms. Ehmer and I each worked with a small group while students who met the standard worked individually.

Homework:  Students should study their vocabulary and read over their immigration notes/worksheets.  Students should have the following with them to study:  SS notebook, Asian Immigrants/Immigrants Flock to America worksheet and the Immigration handout. 

 

Tomorrow, students should be able to use their notes to answer the following question:

What were the similarities and differences for immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island and Angel Island?

We've had an eventful week at F.AVE and I hope everyone has a wonderful break!

Wednesday, Novembert 19th

Today students learned more about immigrants who came to the United States at the turn of the last century.  Tomorrow they will read additional sources and prepare for their quiz on Friday.  

Literary Cafe begins at 6:00pm tonight in the multi-purpose room.  I'll see you soon!

Lastly, tomorrow's Thanksgiving luncheon begins at 12:20pm.

The Georgia Power visit was today.  Students had a blast!

 

Tuesday, November 18th

Students worked on understanding the why people moved to the United States at the turn of the last century.  They looked through the text they read yesterday to find examples of people moving to escape and to find opportunities.  Then they shared their answers with another group and then wrote an opinion paragraph using their notes.  

We continued reading Gathering Blue and students practiced their Literary Cafe poems/stories today.

I wrote the following things on the board today for students to put in their agendas.  I will try to do this early each week so students can get in the habit of managing their time.

Monday, November 17th

This week's social studies focus has shifted to immigration.  Specifically, students will learn about various groups of people and what their motivations were for coming to the United States.  Additionally, students will explore what life was like for immigrants.  Today they worked with a partner and read a text titled "Immigrants Speak." While they read with their partners, they identified facts, wrote down opinions, and made connections to this term's central idea.  

We also discussed this week's vocabulary words and we read Gathering Blue.

Homework:  Vocabulary, read for 30 minutes each night & practice for Literary Cafe

Edmodo:  I've finally been able to set up our Edmodo class and students should join using the following code: 8ab3kd

Friday, November 14th

We had another productive day today.  Students learned more about how to write effective arguments and practiced writing their own persuasive paragraphs.  Students then conducted peer reviews and made one or more changes to their drafts.  For social studies, students choose one of the prompts to answer and then worked on their 3D maps when they were done.  We also read Gathering Blue.  I'm very pleased that students are becoming increasingly skilled in making evidence-based inferences.

Thursday, November 13th

Today students learned about the Wounded Knee Massacre.  They took notes about the cause and effect of that conflict and they watched a short video about Sitting Bull.  Students then gathered their notes and work from this week to study tonight.  Tomorrow, students will be expected to use their notes to help them answer ONE of the following questions:

1.Compare and contrast the Battle of Little Bighorn and the Massacre at Wounded Knee.  What are the similarities and differences of each of these conflicts?  

2.What were the main causes leading up to the Trail of Tears?  What happened as a result of the Trail of Tears?  

We also discussed opinion writing today.  I taught them about the acronym of RAFTS and tomorrow they will have practice with writing effective opinions.  We concluded our day with reading Gathering Blue and discussing various literary elements.

Wednesday, November 12th

Today we talked about mood, tone, and theme within stories and poems.  Students took some notes on the definition of each term and then practiced determining the mood, tone, and theme within short passages and books that we've read together.  Then I read one of my favorite poems, The Bagpipe Who Didn't Say No, to the students and they worked with partners to determine its mood, tone and theme.  We also discussed good public speaking practices for literary cafe.  Some students missed part of the lesson so they can click on the turtle picture below to access the Prezi presentation.

During social studies students watched three short videos on DiscoveryEd about the Battle of Little Bighorn.  Students created a Venn diagram with the perspectives of Native Americans and the U.S. government about the battle.  Then students made a T-Chart with facts about the cause and effect of the battle.  We will finish up the activity tomorrow with a discussion about the details they heard/saw in the videos.

We also read Gathering Blue and students were able to discuss the moods, tones, and themes within the book.

Tuesday, November 11th

Today was a bit difficult for some students. Last week, when I was attending a conference, I left work for students to complete.  Now that we are going over the work and trying to use it for this week's activities, I see that some students didn't follow directions, produced sloppy work, or simply refused to complete it at all.  

Today, in both groups, students were at different points and I don't believe in slowing down the students who made the effort and followed directions.  Nor do we have the time to waste when we are expected to cover specific standards in each term.  Consequently, some students will have additional homework tonight.  The work that is missing or incomplete needs to be finished and brought to school on Wednesday.  Many students were able to use class time to complete much of the work so there shouldn't be too much left to do.  

We continued learning about the Trail of Tears and students watched a video about New Echota.  They completed another window paining and shared their answer with a partner. Then students used the information they gathered from the three different sources to create an outline.  Later this week they'll use the outline to construct a written response. 

Students also worked on analyzing character in Gathering Blue.  Students completed the character organizer last week compared evidence and completed peer reviews of each other's written responses.  Students who didn't do the work from last week worked on their organizers individually. 

We concluded our day with reading more in Gathering Blue.  

Lastly, three students were able to answer yesterday's secret question.  Hopefully the next time I post a question more students will be able to answer so I can give out more treats!