Week Five

Happy Friday to all you fans of 5D!

What a week we have had. I think the high expectations, routines, and hopes for success in 5th grade are fully understood by all members of the class. Here's a glimpse into our week...

• In math students worked with rounding decimals, patterns across our place value system as well as powers of ten. Each day in workshop the three groups met with me, practiced skills in the next center and played games in the other center. Ask your child all about the games! Decimal Bump, Decimal Destruction, Partner Round Up among others. 

• I am impressed in reading so far. After our conversation about whether or not reading is important, I've seen students treat reading with joy and respect. We visited 5L to talk about setting reading goals for the start of our first reading unit. Some goals had to do with tackling higher levels of reading, reading more fluently, keeping track of characters and events better, increase reading stamina and become a more fluent reader. Each student knew exactly what he or she needed! 

• In writing we have done a lot of work around pre-writing. Each student has thought of many turning points in their lives that would make incredible narratives. We talk about thinking of a memory that could grow into an amazing story. Students have been challenged to think of a story that encompasses one of our growth mindset stances.  

• Showcasing The Honest Truth with 5L! Mrs.Loh and I came up with a cool idea on the fly! The students were shown online book reviews, book teasers and author talks all about Dan Gemeinhart's book. In groups of three or four, they were challenged in creating something to showcase the book in some way. Through talk shows, iMovies, as well as Animotos each group shined! 

• Homework is in play each Monday through Thursday.  I normally have the students fill out the agenda on Monday for the whole week.  They should be reading 30 minutes each night, completing a math worksheet and blogging or commenting each week.  Math notebooks are a great resource and I often remind kids to take them home with the homework.  Remember there is a wealth of online resources on the SMS website if you feel your child needs extra to do each night!

• Parent conference google sign up will be coming soon! I cannot believe the month of September is behind us! There are two, half days for parents conferences. I'll be sending an email that you can edit to put yourself in a spot. Each slot will be 15 minutes long. You'll be able to see your child's literacy binder, math notebook among other things.

Remember to collect a mason jar or glass jar to send into school for a craft for November!  THanks for the Clorox wipes too!  I love to keep the room as germ free as I can.

Have a wonderful, restful and relaxing weekend!  Until Monday!

Shannon

Week Four

Happy Friday to all family and friends of 5D!

Wow, we are fully into the swing of things in fifth grade!  This week your children have exemplified our Growth Mindset and have thought deeply about the way they see things.  We have worked diligently to speak/think/believe with a growth of learning.  Please ask your children all about it and how they are tweaking their talk/thoughts and behavior to reflect this mindset.  I am excited to see the metamorphosis they will all experience this year!

BEFORE I FORGET!!!

Our first early release is next Wednesday, September 28th!  Students are dismissed at 12:50.  We do serve lunch in the cafe.

Here are a few happenings from our week!

• In math we began place value of decimals, our first unit.  This week we looked at the three ways to write decimals (word, standard and expanded).  We also talked about the base ten number system following patterns where one place value to the right is TEN TIMES larger while one place value to the left is 1/10th of that digit.  We also compared and ordered decimals and finished the week off with games.
• In reading we had one of the most honest, thoughtful conversations about whether or not reading is important as well as what we, as readers, like and dislike about reading.  This conversation came as a result of a lot of students sharing that reading was not a favorite.  My hope is that talks like these will help me better understand how to help each individual with the goal of learning to like/love reading!  Some pictures below are of the students AFTER this talk. Being heard was important to them!
• In writing, the students continued to blog.  In class we made an anchor chart all about QUALITY blogs and comments.  On Wednesday, I pre-assessed the students for our first narrative unit.  On Friday, I began the unit starting with Turning Points (those emotional points in your life that make great stories).
• Our Classroom Agreement (the way we want 5D to look/sound/act like) is coming along nicely.  This week students worked in pairs and trios to take the results from a student survey to create guiding statements for the class.  It's a work in progress!

                                                           Building a Reading Life!

                                                Classroom Agreement Pairs and Trios

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Week Three

Hello family and friends of 5D!

With week three came more academics and routine and boy, am I tired! The students have all transitioned well to the academics and are ready to be challenged. We are definitely building up stamina to last through the day!

Here are a few happenings from our week!

On Monday all students took a preassement in math which will give me great information about what each and every student needs.

In math, the students experienced what workshop looks like, sounds like and feels like in 5D. We took four days to practice transitions and look closely at expectations and behavior in each center. I'm always at the teacher center where we work in our notebooks to review, learn and challenge ourselves to think more deeply.  Mrs. Bastille runs the game or extra practice center. This week she taught the students a game called "Name That Number". The other center consisted of place value practice in IXL.

In reading we looked at three levels of sticky notes in response to our reading. Students were able to determine what made a meaty, well thought out sticky and then challenged themselves to reach that level. 

Also in reading, I read many books this week to support our Growth Mindset. We have looked at all five stances.

Optimism

Empathy

Persistence 

Resilience

Flexibility

The children joined my Google Classroom to get their first Writing assignment. They could choose from three story starters and just write! This will give me a lot of useful information about what everyone needs to start of a successful writing year!

blogging! I introduced blogging to the class this week as we explored posts from last year. The students discussed what made certain blogs, high quality. They blogged a little bit each day and then we showcased some of the published blogs. I modeled writing a quality comment to the blog. The blog will be used during the year as a creative writing outlet and will be given as homework some weeks. The easiest way to have your child get to the blog is by going to the SMS website and finding Kidblog that is linked to Mrs. DeLello. 

Dot Day! We celebrated with a whole school morning meeting on Friday all about how everyone can leave their mark on this world! This blends beautifully with our growth mindset! 

I'm trying to stay organized and think about the future... For a future project in November, each child will need a glass jar. Could you try to send one in from now until October? I'd save an old pasta jar and remove the label. Have your child write their name on the bottom.

Also if you have any spare Clorox wipes at home to donate, I'd be eternally grateful. I try to keep the desks wiped down and I'm running out of my personal supply.

We got outside and played Cat and Mouse with 5W and 5L

The students practiced Order of Operations with some task cards

I hope you all have a weekend full of fun, family time and relaxation! Until Monday....

Shannon 

End of Week TWO!

What a wonderful week we had. I cannot believe I've only had this group for two weeks because I feel like I know them so well by now. We did many activities and projects this week while starting to place more routines into our day. Here are a few happenings from our week...

Popsicle Stick Bridges

Students worked in teams of four to construct a popsicle stick bridge that would span a 12 inch distance. Each bridge was tested with gram stackers. One incredible group was able to hold 300 grams without it collapsing! 

Go Figure Me posters

All the students worked diligently this week on creating 10 equations all about numbers in their life. They displayed these equations onto a poster for any adult to figure out!

Chromebook Introduction

The class came up with ways we can all take care of the technology we have in the classroom. After brainstorming, the students signed a Chromebook Agreement. They signed into a few digital citizenship programs to review how to be a productive digital user and citizen.

Army Men Launchers

The students worked in pairs to create a catapult that would launch an army man as far as possible. In the afternoon the top two members from our classroom competed against the top two from the other five classrooms.

Math Centers

Today we did four math centers to support team building, cooperative work and math facts!

Ask your child about...

• Salute!
• Multiplication War
• IXL
• Factor Football

UP!  We all enjoyed watching the movie UP this afternoon, but through a different mindset lens.  As a class, we've delved into what empathy, optimism and persistence look like.  All the students got practice seeing it in action and writing about it with UP!  I was impressed with how thoughtful the fifth graders were as they shared their ideas around these growth mindset stances.  

Attached you will find the PowerPoint from Thursday's Open House.  Please let me know if you have any questions! 

https://docs.google.com/a/sau16.org/presentation/d/1d5E48U13cO5dcX8kq6HtmfxuT1i20TUnLo2NEzI9Xhg/edit?usp=sharing

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend to gear up for our five day school week!

Until Monday....

Shannon 

More Pictures from the Week

Happy birthday, Logan!

Cup tower challenge

Artifact museum