Wednesday, January 6th

During ELA we completed our daily grammar and we reviewed when to use commas when listing things and when interrupting.  Students worked together to create their own sentences and they had a review worksheet at the end of the lesson.  Lastly, we also continued reading Gathering Blue, and students worked on making text-based inferences.

During social studies we began learning about WWI.  First they discussed why countries go to war and how to prevent war, then we watched the WWI Brainpop video.  We will continue our WWI lesson over the next several days.

 "Why do countries go to war?" and "How can war be prevented?" discussions 

WWI BrainPop Vocabulary

Felix sez... "You're studying, right?

Tuesday, January 5th

We had a productive day today.  After completing our daily grammar work, we continued reading Gathering Blue.  This term students are going to be working on finding accurate quotes to support their explanations and make logical inferences. 

During Social Studies, we began our new Unit of Inquiry.  This term students will be learning about World War I, the Roaring 20s, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Depression, and the New Deal.  

Homework
1.  Read for 30 minutes daily
2.  Vocabulary homework - due Friday - the spelling/vocab test is on Friday
3.  Math homework - due Friday

Tuesday, December 15th

During social studies we reviewed the states.  I could tell some students have been studying!

William McKinley & Theodore Roosevelt notes

(Students should use their notes to help complete their study guides.)

Here are the videos we watched in class.  Students can watch them again, or extend their learning and find new sources if they're interested in Turn of the Century presidential actions.

William McKinley Presidency

Theodore Roosevelt - Foreign Policy

Genius Hour -- Students put finishing touches on their projects and practiced their delivery.  Remember, our learning celebration is tomorrow (12/16/15) at 11:30am in the Falcon's Nest!

Monday, December 14th

As stated in Friday's blog post, students set a goal for what they wanted to accomplish this weekend with their projects.  Additionally, they were supposed to share their progress with parents and get a signature.  If you were not able to check your child's work this weekend, please do so and sign their agenda or project form.  

As I stated to students during class and to parents in the blog last week, 5th graders are working on the IB Transdisciplinary skill of self-management.  This skill is essential in all areas of life and I will be encouraging students to improve over the course of this year.  

During ELA we continued working on fluency by reading Gathering Blue.  During social studies we looked at several sources to find facts about how William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt's actions increased America's influence at the turn of the last century.  Students will be able to use those notes to complete the study guide.  

Homework & Deadlines

Science Study Guide -- Tuesday, 12/15 

Science Assessment -- Tuesday, 12/15

Turn of the Century & 50 States Assessments -- Thursday, 12/17

Geography Project -- Friday, 12/18

Optional Geography Project Extension -- Tuesday, 1/5

Remember, our Turn of the Century Celebration of Learning is on Wednesday, December 16th at 11:30am in the Falcon's Nest.

Weekend Update

Today we worked on answering one of the upcoming assessment questions.  Students finished watching the informational videos and collaborated on how they should answer the question.  The various possibilities are included below.

Students also wrote in their planners, notebooks, or on their Geography Project papers what they're going to get accomplished this weekend.  The intention of this to help students with the IB Transdisciplinary skill of self-managment and to keep parents informed about what their child needs to accomplish this weekend.  I encouraged students to set realistic and specific goals and reminded them of the project deadline.  Please read what they wrote, and sign it.  I'll be checking for signatures on Monday.  

Some students will be bringing home their Genius Hour projects to work on over the weekend.

The following answers were synthesized in class.  

Use these answers as a starting point and add facts from your notes.

Thomas Edison and the innovation of electricity changed life at the turn of the last century.  Thomas Edison also invented a light bulb that could last 1,000 hours.  It saved money and it decreased the number of house fires.

George Washington Carver’s scientific and agricultural contributions changed life at the turn of the last century.  He invented over 300 products made from peanuts and he encouraged farmers to use the farming method of crop rotation.  Crop rotation helped farmers to put nutrients back into the soil so they could continue to grow healthy plants.

The Wright Brother’s invention, the airplane, changed life at the turn of the last century.  They worked on their airplane to make it safer and they are credited with making the first successful flight.  They used their engineering knowledge to continue improving the structure of planes.  Planes were eventually used to make travel quicker and easier.

Alexander Graham Bell was the innovator who created the telephone and he helped to change people’s lives at the turn of the last century.  People were given the ability to communicate with their voices over long distances.

Monday, December 7th

Students took the Math MAP test today and tomorrow they will conclude the Winter MAP by taking the Language Arts portion of the test.  

During ELA, we read some of Gathering Blue and students worked on their fluency.  Then I gave them their homework and the instructions for the geography project.

The homework is a study guide for the December 17th Turn of the Century assessment.  It's due on the same day of the assessment and I encouraged students to make sure they work on it a bit each day so they can write thoughtful answers and use it to study.  We are still going over some content, so students will be able to use their class notes to help them complete the study guide.

assessment schedule & due dates

Turn of the Century assessment - Thursday, December 17th

50 states test - Thursday, December 17th

Geography Project - Friday, December 18th

**Students who will not be in school on the Friday before the December break will be expected to turn in their project before the due date.**

study resources

Turn of the Century Quizlet

Turn of the Century study guide

Geography Project

50 States Study Site

Shepphard Software - Learn the 50 states 

(there are leveled games on this website)


Transcontinental Railroad - basic information
source: Comprehension Homework Packets (Scholastic)

Tuesday, December 1st

ELA
We are continuing our work with literary and informational readings.  As we read Gathering Blue, students are analyzing character, setting, and theme.  For informational reading, students are examining various social studies documents and working on finding evidence, taking accurate notes, summarizing information.

Tomorrow students will work in groups based on how they performed on their opinion writing formative paragraph.  Students who need extra help with crafting arguments will have more practice and students who are ready to extend their learning will focus on creating, and refuting, counterarguments.

Social Studies
This week we are focusing on American imperialism, the Spanish-American War and the Panama canal.  Next week we will begin our focus on innovations.  The summative assessment will be on Thursday, December 17th. 

Homework
Students have vocabulary words and a reading about Asian American immigrants.

Upcoming Events
Celebration of Learning - Wednesday, December 16th (time TBD)
Literary Cafe - Thursday, February 11th - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Tybee Field Trip - March 16th-18th