Final Week of Term 5

This week students will be working on their WWII projects and opinion biographies during class.  The WWII presentations will begin on Wednesday so students should work on them at home if they need time beyond what they have in class.  Additionally, they should be studying for Friday's WWII assessment.  If your child will not be here on Friday, please let me know by this Wednesday.

Today we discussed rationing during WWII and students made small posters.  They wrote down what lens rationing is best connected to and they created illustrations to show their learning.  The majority of groups picked "responsibility" because Americans helped the war effort by rationing, growing victory gardens, canning, and recycling. 

Homework:  Study for the WWII assessment quizlet and review class notes, Math homework, LINKS homework, work on WWII project and opinion biography if the class time isn't enough.

Volunteer to Be a Mentor For Fifth Graders

In the final year of the IB Primary Years Programme, students participate in a culminating project known as the Exhibition. Students are required to engage in a group process that involves them in identifying, investigating and offering solutions to real-life issues. Through this inquiry, they will also manage their time, research, proactively work with mentors, take appropriate actions, communicate their findings, assess their tasks and CELEBRATE their learning. Students will ultimately share their learning during the day as a part of the fifth grade moving on celebration that we call the F.AVE Finale.

We need you to help us accomplish this by volunteering in a fifth grade class for a minimum of one day a week for 45 minutes or an hour over the next 4 weeks.

The mentor should:

•                Meet regularly with the appointed group of students.

•                Offer advice on locating resources and using them efficiently.

•                Ask questions.

•                Help interpret sophisticated/difficult information.

•                Facilitate interviews, telephone calls, and any electronic communication.

•                Provide goal setting and time management advice.

•                Be supportive and encouraging.

•                Celebrate achievements and successes with the students.

•                Attend mentor training Wednesday, April 15th from 5:30-6:30 PM

The mentor should not:

•                Do the work for students.

•                Tell the students the direction to take, but instead ask probing questions to help facilitate their inquiry.

•                 

If you are a fifth grade parent and are interested in being a mentor, please RSVP for mentor training by emailing Karen Newton, IB Coordinator at knewton@csdecatur.net.

Tybee 2015 - Day 2

First Annual Tybee F.AVE Talent Show

"The Teacher's Lounge" won first place!

Tybee 2015 - Day 1

Monday, March 23rd

We began our day with writing and students had 20 minutes work on their biographies.  After that, I showed students the WWII assessment quizlet study guide so students could see what's going to be on the test.  We then took notes on one of the essay questions so students could practice organizing their thoughts before the test.  

We watched the United Nations BrainPop video and then we concluded our day with working on the WWII projects.  

Homework:  Students should work on their biographies and home and begin studying for the WWII assessment.  Students can also work on their WWII projects as well.  Other than those three things, I will not be giving any other homework this week and next week.  

Class Picture Coordination

Tybee Update -- Medications

If your child has medication, please send it on Monday.  Make sure it is clearly labeled with your child's name and dosage instructions.  Also, if you have not signed up for REMIND yet, please do so.  I'll be sending text updates during the trip.

WWII Class Notes (last updated Monday, March 30th)

Here are our WWII class notes and I'll add more as we complete the unit.  Students who are absent, or who want to double-check their notes, should review the pictures below.  

At this point, students also have a complete worksheet packet on the Holocaust and last week's Rosie the Riveter homework.  They are currently working on a packet in class that contains information about WWII basics, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the United Nations.

History of US "A Final Solution" (reading & notes from both flex groups)

History of US:  "A Hot Island" (reading and notes on Guadalcanal)

History of US:  "Forgetting the Constitution" (reading and notes on Japanese Internment)

Purpose of the UN

Purpose of Rationing

Tybee Update

As a reminder, we leave for Tybee next week.  Please visit the 5th grade Tybee page  to review what students need to bring.  For your reference, Ms. McFaddin have gone over the supply list and the behavior rules line by line.  So, all students should be familiar with what they need and what's expected.  

Please arrive at the school on Wednesday, March 25th at 5:45am.  We know that it's early; however, we must leave by 6:00am if we are going to stay on schedule and arrive on time.

We will return to F.AVE at approximately 3:30pm on Friday, March 27th.  Please make sure you are on time...no kid wants to be the last one picked up!  Lastly, if our arrival time back at the school is dramatically different (which it shouldn't be) I will post an update on the blog with an estimated arrival time, and allow students to call parents on my phone.

Week of March 16th

We have a lot going on as we wrap up this term.  Please see below for this week's agenda and links to the documents we'll be using.  

Monday
-Breman Museum Field Trip
-Homework -- Women & African Americans in WWII, Vocabulary
**I gave students the SS homework on Friday so they could get a head start

Tuesday
-Holocaust Reflection 
-D-Day reading and notes
-Project work time
-Read Son

Wednesday
-Japanese Internment reading and notes
-Read Son
-Project work time

Thursday
-Homework Due - we will review and discuss it in class
-Read Son
-Distribute/discuss Opinion Biography rubric and directions
**students will have class time to work on this paper.  Also, I will not be assigning homework for the remaining weeks of the term so students should complete some of their research and writing at home.
-Project work time

Friday
-Vocab quiz
-Read Son
-Pacific Battles - Guadalcanal & Iwo Jima reading and notes
-Writing Time
-Project Work Time

Tuesday, March 10th

Today we continued studying the bombing at Pearl Harbor and the effects of that event.  We read "Pearl Harbor" from a History of US and students took cause and effect T-chart notes on the text.  Then we watched World War II Valor in the Pacific.  It's the video that they show at the Pearl Harbor and Arizona Memorial in Hawaii.  My second flex group is a bit ahead due to the scheduling of various school events, so they listened to the audio recording of Franklin D. Roosevelt asking Congress to declare war on Japan.  Tomorrow we will read the transcript and identify the persuasive writing elements of the document.

Monday, March 9th

Students had STAMP testing and we used our remaining class time to read a document about the lead up to the Pearl Harbor bombing.  Students used the SWBS technique to organize the information.  SWBS stands for Somebody Wanted But So and it's a way to organize information from a text.  Tomorrow we will continue learning about the Pearl Harbor bombing.

Midweek Update

Tonight we are having student led conferences.   Please come directly to our classrooms, you don't have to check in at the front of the building.

Today we concluded our discussions about the Holocaust and began reviewing the multiple causes of WWII.  Students received a copy of the powerpoint and they worked on their summarizing skills by writing a main idea sentence of each slide.  Once we finish the presentation, they will use their main idea sentences to write an opinion paragraph about what they think are the main causes.

We concluded our day by reading Son.

Tuesday, March 3rd

Today we completed our daily grammar and we began our lessons on the Holocaust.  We started off with a read-aloud of Benno and the Night of Broken Glass.  We then watched the Holocaust BrainPop  video, and then we began reading "A Final Solution" from A History of US.  

In addition to taking notes, we had meaningful conversations about the origins of anti-semitism, the evolution of religion, the origin of ideas about race, and the use of scapegoats throughout history.  

We concluded our day by reading Son. Students are making some excellent connections between Son and the previous books we've read in the series.

Student Led Conference Sign Ups

It's been brought to my attention that several parents in my homeroom have signed up for space in Ms. McFaddin's homeroom.  If you have done that, please delete your spot, and reserve a spot in my class. 

Additionally, when the conference date was rescheduled, all of the time slots remained the same.  Some parents have gone in and reserved a second space.  If you did that, please go in and delete the time you no longer want.  Thank you.

Ms. Black's Homeroom Student Led Conference Sign-Up

Monday, March 2nd

Today we had another Villiage Gathering.  During ELA/SS we completed our daily grammar work, checked last week's homework, went over the directions for this week's homework, and read Terrible Things by Eve Bunting.  Terrible Things is an allegory of the Holocaust and students linked events in the story to our key concepts this term:  responsibility, causation, and connection.

We concluded our day by getting organized for Thursday's Student Led Conferences.  

Pennies for Patients

This is the last week to send in donations for Pennies for Patients.  So far, students and families have done an amazing job with their contributions.

Student Led Conferences Update from Ms. Newton

*Please note that we will observe the same times we had scheduled for last Thursday.

This night is designed for students to have an opportunity to inform parents about what they have learned, demonstrate new understandings and articulate personal goals for the remainder of the school year. Please make sure that you have signed up with your homeroom teacher to attend with your child(ren).  Our goal is to have students independently lead parents through their portfolio of learning for the IB unit of inquiry, How We Express Ourselves.  However, if you need additional information or clarification there will be an opportunity to indicate that.  Teachers will respond to all inquiries via email soon after this event.

This sharing of work also includes Spanish, the Arts and Physical Education.  Additional areas of the building will be open so that students can share how their learning in these areas also connected to the unit of study, How We Express Ourselves.  Feel free to visit these areas after 4:00pm (not during your scheduled conference time).

• Music:  Room 227
• Art:  Cafeteria & Falcon's Nest
• Spanish:  Media Center
• Physical Education:  Multi-Purpose room

Also, feel free to stop by room 135 if you need to briefly speak with LINKS or EIP teachers.