Wednesday's News

Language Arts -
We practiced language arts skills. We worked on the meanings of spelling words and practiced writing contractions. We visited with our reading buddies. We practiced finding facts and opinions in our story. We worked on our I am poems. We practiced drawing conclusions and we also worked on study Island. It was a busy morning.

Math-
We continued working with subtracting fractions. No homework. Math test will probably be the Thursday after we get back to school.

Science-
We graphed the results of our plane experiments and drew conclusions based on our data. Basically we found that slope and passengers decreased the distance a plane flies and that adding rubber bands increases the distance a plane flies. We also made flip sticks. This will help us build catapults when we get back to school after winter break. No homework.

Tuesday's News

Brrr! It's cold out there. Remember to bundle up. The rule is that we go outside unless the wind chill is below 0 degrees. Be prepared for outdoor recess.

Language Arts
Today we reviewed language arts skills. We also sorted our spelling words by accented syllable. This was hard for the children. We will review this skill again. We also worked with present and past participles (a be verb followed by a verb ending in -ing) We worked on our I am poems.
Music and gym today!

Math
Today we continued to work on adding and subtracting fractions. Most of us have moved to the subtraction area. If you are still working on addition, you need to finish that for homework and turn it in tomorrow.

Science
Today was a catch up day. Some groups needed to retest their variable in order to be sure of results. Tomorrow we are going to graph our results and make a part of our flipper system for after break.

Monday's News

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Only one more week to go!

Language Arts
Today we reviewed how to draw conclusions. This was a skill that everyone struggled with last week. We also reviewed other language arts skills. We learned our new vocabulary words: humanity, inevitable, enlightened, unheeded, and prevailing. We took our spelling pretest and worked on helping verbs in grammar. We also read our Time for Kids story: Beyond our Horizon.
Our comprehension skill for this week is fact and opinion. There will still be tests this week. We are trying to keep the schedule as normal as possible.

We went to IMC today and Mrs. Slater came to talk to us about bullying again. We will continue to work on no bullying strategies.

Math
We continued to practice adding fractions. Some of us have moved on to subtracting fractions. It does look like the unit 6 test will be after winter break. We will spend several days reviewing before the test. Homework tonight is too finish at least page 50 of the fraction packet. The students have had several days to work on this packet in class.

Science
Today we changed different variables on our plane system and tested the results. We changed the variables in increments and ran the test several times. Tomorrow we will finish up our tests and graph our results. Then it is on to flippers. No homework.

Thoughtful Thursday

Language Arts
We reviewed Language Arts skills and learned about objects of sentences. We also reviewed our phonic skill and word families. We had vocabulary vine, music, and gym. Tomorrow is assessment day (even without homework)

Math
Practice, practice, practice! Today we practiced adding fractions and whole numbers. Both with the same denominators and and with different denominators. No homework today

Science
We flew our Foss-planes. We figured out how many winds of the rubberband it took to fly all the way down the flight line and how long it took to flay 1/2 way down the flight line. No homework today. Tomorrow we will start changing variables to change the flight system.

SCIENCE EXPO is only 8 weeks away. Look for more information to come home tomorrow!

What Went on Wednesday!

Language Arts
We reviewed skills and worked on spelling definitions and subject verb agreement. We read the rest of our story and visited with our reading buddies. We also visited with Rick Glassman and learned about wetlands.

Math
We began working with adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators. We will begin working on a practice packet tomorrow. They may find their study link to be difficult. If they have trouble with it, just send it in tomorrow and we will work on it in class.

Art Smart
Thanks Moms! We really enjoyed making tessalations!

Tuesday, Tuesday!

Language Arts....
Today we reviewed our morning work. We worked on phonics and on subject and verb agreement. We added two more words to our vocab vine box. We started listening to our story. We went to gym and music.

Math....
We reviewed data collection and graphs. We did a pop quiz so that Miss Grannan could see what we need to review before our next test. No homework today. Test Alert: Our unit 6 test will be next week. (I think on Wednesday)

Science....
Today we made airplanes. We will start testing them on Thursday. Tomorrow is Art Smart.

Marvelous Monday

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Language Arts:
Today we reviewed past language arts skills. We took our spelling pretest. We started a new skill in grammar. Our focus is going to be verbs. Today we looked at action verbs. We talked about our vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Our vocabulary words are swagger, governor, navigation, spunk, patriots, spark, tyrant, and instruct. Our comprehension focus is on drawing conclusions. What can we figure out from the text that is not told to us. Our story this week is set in Boston during the American Revolution. We took our unit 2 reading test. We visited the IMC.

Math
Today was all about data. We discussed surveys, populations, samples, and the census. We practiced making frequency tables, bar graphs and circle graphs. We made stem and leaf plots and figured out the minimum, maximum, range, median and mode. Our homework is study link 6.6.

Science
Today we tested someone else's fleet of boats. We found out that our results were close to the same. We learned that the larger the capacity of the boat the more passengers it will carry. Tomorrow we will start working with airplanes. Students had to do a response sheet today. If they didn't get it done it was homework.

Thrilling Thursday

Tonight is another Explorations Night. Shop between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. and receive 10% off your purchase. Northpoint PTO also receives 10% percent of your purchase total.

Tonight is also Northpoint Swim night at Penn. This totally free event is funded by our PTO.

Language Arts
We reviewed possessives and plurals today. We also worked on our phonics skill of VCCV. Each of our spelling words have that spelling pattern this week. We worked on analogies, repetition and assonance as well. Remember that weekly homework is due tomorrow and tomorrow is assessment day in our world.

Math
Today we worked on mystery plots. Students were asked to figure out which data set went with each data. They needed to use their reasoning skills to figure out the answers. Students were also asked to write about their answers and explain their reasoning. This is a skill that is assessed on ISTEP. We talked about the need for full complete answers. Please help at home by having students explain in detail why an answer is right or wrong. Homework tonight is study link 6.4.

Science
We finished up swingers (pendulums) yesterday. Our next experiment deals with lifeboats (paper cups) and passengers (pennies). We will be trying to figure out how capacity affects the number of pennies that we can put in a cup before the cup sinks. Messy but educational.

Wow, it's been awhile!

I apologize for not blogging yet this week.

Don't forget - McTeacher Night is tonight. Yea!!! No cooking involved. Head over to McDonalds between 4:30 and 7:00 and see who is serving!

Tonight is also Explorations Night. This is a good opportunity to pick up gifts for children. Shop at Explorations in Heritage Square and Northpoint's PTO gets a percentage of the sales. Shopping hours are from 8:00-9:00.

Language Arts
Today we reviewed many skills. We also practiced our spelling words. We looked at the proper way to capitalize and punctuate titles. We looked for examples of repetition and assonance in song lyrics and poetry. We also visited with our reading buddies and made inferences about our story for the week.

Math
Today we measured different parts of our hands and used that information to build stem and leaf plots. We then looked for landmarks in the data we collected. Homework is math boxes and study link 6.3.

Science
Today we converted our information about swingers to a two-coordinate graph. We practiced making predictions when we know one of the coordinates. No homework.

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and a restful long weekend.

Language Arts
We had a relaxed morning: dance celebration, reading buddies, camp under, and a read aloud.

Math
We tested over unit 5 concepts. The kids worked hard!

Science
We tested 3 different variables to see which ones would change the number of cycles. Ask us what we figured out!

Foggy, foggy day!

No language arts today because of the fog delay. Kids came in and went straight to music and gym.
Tomorrow we are having the dance celebration and a camp under as a reward for good behavior. This is a great time to read the books for independent reading. Kids can bring in blankets and pillows.

In math we are having a test over unit 5. We reviewed for the test today. All students should have a unit 5 review and a checking progress to study from tonight.

Welcome back Mrs Woods class. This quarter we are studying variables. Today we made a pendulum and tomorrow we are going to see how we can change the pendulum to get different results.

See you tomorrow!

Monday

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Language Arts
No homework this week. What a great week to work on your independent reading projects.
Today we reviewed possessive nouns. We also worked on writing and concrete and abstract nouns. We went to IMC.

Our behavior has earned us a camp under. On Wednesday, students may bring in blankets and pillows and we will spread out and read for about an hour.

Math
We reviewed for our math test on Wednesday.

Science
We took a test over variables. My class goes to social studies starting tomorrow.

Thursday

Tomorrow is the last day to bring in canned goods for the food drive. Please consider donating.

Language Arts
Today we review language arts skills. We learned that the Latin root lat means carry or bring and that the Latin root leg, lect means read, law, appoint. We practiced a variety of skills this morning including text features, phonics and suffixes. Weekly Homework is due tomorrow. Book orders have been extended. They are now due tomorrow.

Math
Today we reviewed equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals. We also practiced rounding and comparing. We learned how to make a percent circle to make a circle graph.
Homework is study link 5.11.

Science
We reviewed important concepts for Monday's test. All students should have notes to study. Test is on Monday.

Tomorrow is Dress Alike Day. Dress like a friend for $1.00. The money goes to Angel's Attic.

DARE to be drug free!

The kids did a wonderful job during DARE graduation this morning. I was so proud!


Language Arts
After DARE graduation we met with our reading buddies. The first graders are just learning how to do AR so the 5th grade pros got to help them take tests. When we came back to the room we read our story with partners and made a graphic organizer to help us write our summaries. Then we practiced our grammar skill of possessives.

Book Orders are due tomorrow!

Math
Today we learned how to use a percent circle to read circle graphs. Tomorrow we will learn how to create circle graphs. Homework tonight is Pages 157-158 and Study link 5.10. Math test will be on Wednesday.

Science
Today we read about how to put together a great science experiment. We talked about how the idea of what to do should start with a question. Be on the lookout for "I wonder" questions. I wonder what would happen if a plant didn't get any light? I wonder why the plant near the window grows faster than the plant on the shelf? A "I wonder" question just might lead to a great science expo project
Science test will be on Monday. Look for a study guide to come home tomorrow.

Tuesday

Don't forget DARE graduation tomorrow at 8:15 a.m. The kids were very excited about it today. They will need to wear their DARE shirts tomorrow.

Language Arts
Today we learned about plural possessives. I was most impressed when a student picked possessives out of our reading material. We also went over our RIT words and problem and solution. We applied what we learned yesterday to our reading story. In vocab vine we learned about uni (one) and form (shape, form). We went to music and gym.

Book orders due on Thursday. Look for a handout that explains how you can get a book free!

Math
Today we began to discuss circle graphes and pie charts. We will continue to work with this concept for the rest of the week. Homework is Study Link 5.9. The math test will be next Wednesday.

Science
Today we ran last weeks experiments again. We got better results today. Science test will be on Monday!

Marvelous Monday

Welcome back to school. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends.

Thank you so much for your generous contributions to DARE! This is a very worthwhile opportunity for your children to take part. They learn so much about how harmful drugs are and how to make good decisions.

Don't forget that we are now in the middle of a food drive. We are collecting can goods and household supplies to give to needy families in the PHM district. We thank you for your help. We will be collecting through Friday. Friday is also dress alike day. For $1.00 friends can dress alike and the money raised will go to Angel's Attic. A charity run by Penn students for needy families.

Language Arts
Today we took our spelling pretest. The words focus on the ou/ow sounds. In grammar our focus will be possessive nouns. These nouns show ownership and aren't the same as plural nouns. Our comprehension skill for the week is problems and solutions. To help us learn about that concept our RIT words all deal with the plot line of a story:
Protagonist - The main character of a story.
Conflict - The problems a main character faces.
Resolution - How conflicts are solved.
Rising Action - The events that lead up to the climax (main event) of the story.
Falling Action - The events that happen after the climax that lead to the resolution of the conflict. Today we used the story of The Three Little Wolves and the Big, Bad Pig to illustrate each of these points.
Our vocabulary words of the week are forbidden, reluctant, irresistible, elegant, blaring, mischievous, and hesitation.
Our story of the week is The Night of San Juan.
Weekly homework was assigned.

Book orders are due Thursday. Be on the look out for a special offer from scholastic tomorrow. If you spend $10.00 online, your child can pick out a free book valued up to $5.00. You will get a letter about this tomorrow.

Math
Today we began looking at percents. We learned that percent means part of 100. By converting fractions to percents we can compare fractions that have different denominators. We used a calculator to help us convert fractions to decimals and then multiplied the decimals by 100 to get our percents. We rounded all percents to the nearest whole number. Homework is study link 5.8 and Math boxes 5.8.

Science
We graphed our results on a grid and discovered that we need to rerun our experiments. Practice leads to more accurate results. The science test will one week from today!

Fabulous Friday the 13th

Thank you everyone for a great day and a great week. I hope you have an awesome weekend! A special thanks to the Art Smart Moms. The artwork is fantastic!

Don't forget that DARE essays and donations are due on Monday.

Language Arts class - Book orders are due next Thursday!

See you on Monday!

Thrilling Thursday

Don't forget that tonight is Dazzle Craft Night from 5:30-7:30 pm.

Language Arts:
Today we read for DARE. Don't forget that tomorrow is the DARE Read-In at 7:00 AM.
We practiced language arts skills.
We finished up yesterday's centers.
And read more about Sam Gribbley's adventures on My Side of the Mountain.
We had gym and music.

Math
We discovered the easiest way to convert a fraction to a decimal is to divide the numerator by the denominator. Fractions are actually division problems. Homework is study link 5.7.

Science
Today we ran controlled experiments and changed one variable in increments.

Wednesday

What a day we've had.....

Language Arts
Today we spent some time doing silent reading for our DARE read-a-thon. (Pledge money is due on Monday) We also reviewed language arts skills. We reviewed all the different ways to make a noun plural and also reviewed spelling definitions. We met with our reading buddies. We had language arts centers today. We will finish the centers tomorrow. We are rotating through 4 centers:
Miss G. - Discuss the main ideas in our leveled readers.
Graphic Organizer - Fill out a graphic organizer to help write the summary of the story.
Word Study - adding ed and ing to the end of words by doubling the final consonant, dropping the e or not changing the word and just adding the ending.
Monuments - researching one of 5 famous monuments on the internet in order to write a paragraph about it.

Math
Today we continued to look at ways to convert fractions into decimals and also reviewed some measuring concepts. Study Link 5.6 is homework.

DARE
Officer Redman talked to us about ways to handle peer pressure. He also explained the requirements for the DARE essay. The essay needs to be done by Monday, November 14. All students need to turn in the essay in order to graduate. Graduation will be held in the cafeteria on Wednesday, November 16 at 8:15 in the morning.

Don't forget Dazzle Craft Night tomorrow evening.

Monday's News and Notes

I hope everyone enjoyed the summer weather over the weekend!

Language Arts
We were very busy today. We warmed up by reviewing several language arts skills. Including titles, moods, and homophones. Next we had our spelling pretest. (Spelling City has been updated for the week.) We reviewed how to make nouns that end in f or fe plural. We dont' have new RIT words this week. Instead we are reviewing last week's words. Today we spent time go over what an appositive is and looking for examples.

Our reading story for the week is "Maya Lin: Architect of Memory." It is a nonfiction article that tells about the architect who made the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as well as the Civil Rights Memorial. Our vocabulary words for the week are dedicated, artifacts, site, exhibits and equality. Our comprehension skill is Main Ideas and Details.

Our writing focus for the week is research. We are researching monuments. Students could take the time to figure out which monument they want to research. It would be great if they could research a monument that they were really interested in.

We went to IMC and picked out books.

Math
Today we looked at ways to make equivalent fractions. What we discovered was that you make equivalent fractions by either multiplying or dividing the numerator and the denominator by the same number. Mathboxes 5.4 and Study Link 5.4 is homework.
*About the math tests: I have been waiting for everyone to finish the tests. That has finally happened. However, I was out of town over the weekend and didn't have a chance to grade. Look for the tests to come home this weekend.

Science:
Today we flew our airplanes and began changing variables in our systems in order to change the results. The science test will probably be two weeks from today.

This is the week that we are earning money for the DARE program by having a read-a- thon. Please make sure that all donations are turned in by next Monday. Don't forget the early morning reading session on Friday at 7:00. Turn in those permission slips.

Thrilling Thursday

Another learning adventure!

Language Arts
Today we practiced spelling plural words for spelling and grammar. We had vocabulary vine where we learned that super/supra means above or beyond and that son means sound. We practiced using restatements as context clues to figure out words we didn't know. We compared our non-fiction story to a legend. We also worked on finding facts to back up our opinions for our letters to the editor. (We'll type the letters tomorrow during computer lab.) We went to music and gym.
Weekly homework is due tomorrow.

Math
Today we practiced comparing and adding fractions. We used a fraction stick handout as a manipulative to help us. Study link 5.3 is homework.

Science
We made planes today out of straws, craft sticks, rubber bands, and a few other things. We are looking forward to trying to fly them tomorrow.

Have a great night!

What's Up Wednesday!

Lots of things actually :)

Language Arts
Today we practiced spelling word meanings and also practiced the skill of spelling plural nouns correctly. We also practiced finding the main idea and important details of short reading passages. We visited with our reading buddies and had a no bullying pep talk from Mrs. Slater.
Our vocab vine words were chrono (time) and Syn- (with together)

Math
Today we used pattern blocks to help us find the fractions involved in a whole. We also learned about mixed numbers and improper fractions. Homework tonight is S.L. 5.2 (Remember that for problem number 1. The whole shape is ONE.)

DARE
Officer Redman talked with us about peer pressure today. There are many types of peer pressure. Sometimes those people who want us to make bad choices pretend to be our friends.

Spelling City

Look at the next post down for what we did today in class and for homework assignments.

I entered this week's lists into spellingcity.com. Go to the website. Click find a list. Search by MsGrannan. Above the search box you will see my name written in blue, click on it and then scroll down. You will see several choices. Treasures 2.2.A is this week's approaching list. Treasures 2.2.O is this week's on level list. and Treasures 2.2.B is this week's beyond list. You can choose the teach, test, or games. Have fun learning!

Tuesdays fly by!

What a beautiful day!

Language Arts
Today we sorted our spelling words by how you make them plural. Then we played a game on the computer helping us to turn words from singular to plural. We read the story Rattlers with a partner and filled out a graphic organizer about the main ideas and details. This graphic organizer can be used to write the summary for weekly homework. We had music and gym.

Vocabulary Vine learned two new roots today. The first, medi, means middle and the second, terr, means earth or land.

Math
Today we reviewed what we know about fractions. They can be part of one object or part of a collection objects. The top number is the numerator and refers to the part. The bottom number is the denominator and refers to the whole. Homework is studly link 5.1

Science
Today we finished up working with our lifeboat fleets. We tested out other groups boats and tried to predict how many passengers each would hold based on capacity. Next up we turn our attention to planes. No homework.

Monday.....

Welcome back. I hope that everyone had a wonderful fall break!

Language Arts
Today we are back to reading from our purple reader! Our story of the week is Rattlers. It is all about why we shouldn't be afraid of rattlesnakes. Our comprehension skill is main ideas and details. The organization of the story is very helpful because each main idea is in the form of a question and is the heading for each section. Our vocabulary words: species, survive, alert, vibrations, surroundings, prey, predators, and lunging. Our grammar skill is singular and plural nouns.
Here is our Rit Vocabulary and examples:
Appositives - When you are renaming someone or something. This information is often not needed. You put commas around the appositive. For example: My dog, Sadie is at the groomers. Sadie is the appositive.
Bias - A preconceived opinion about something. It is also the point of view you take in your writing. For example: Many students wrote a persuasive paper last week about drugs. Their bias was that drugs are bad.
Epiphany - A sudden moment of understanding that causes a character to change or act in a certain way. For example: After everyone sat with other people at lunch, Fred had an epiphany and decided to be nicer to his friends.
Gerund - It is a verb that functions like a noun. For example: Running is a Mr. L's favorite hobby. Running is a gerund.
Italics - A type of letter that is slightly slanted, usually used for titles and to emphasize special words. For example: We will have a test next Friday. Next is in italics to differentiate from this Friday.
Our writing focus of the week is persuasive letters. Each student is to write a letter to the editor. They need to back up their opinions with facts and may need to do a little research at home. This is due on Friday.

Weekly Homework was assigned and is due next Friday.

Check out the spelling city website. It is a really cool website to practice spelling words. Just type in your list under the batch tool and you can learn, test and play games all about your spelling words.

Math: Today we finished up our unit 4 test and worked on a division packet. No homework.

Science: Today we measured the capacity of a fleet of lifeboats (paper cups) and saw how many passengers (pennies) each boat held. What did we learn?

Have a great fall break!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 3 day weekend!

LA
We finished up Maniac Magee with a test. Back to the reading book on Monday.

Math
We started a test over unit 4. Some people are still finishing.

Science
We learned about capacity of lifeboats. Think paper cups and pennies. We will continue this on Monday.

Stay safe!

Dare to be Drug Free!

Red Ribbon Week continues! The 5th graders had Dare today. Look for information about the DARE graduation to come home soon. Tomorrow is wear Red day!

Language Arts
Today we finished up. We finished up some writing. We finished Maniac Magee. The ending to that story is great! We also met with our reading buddies. Don't forget that tomorrow we have our final test over Maniac Magee.

Math
Today we reviewed the concepts in unit 4. Test is tomorrow. I know for some of the kids that is a double whammy. I try to avoid those but I would really like to finish up before fall break.

Be on the look out for report cards. If you don't have a conference today, your child should be bring the report card home.

To Smart To Start Tuesday

Some parents have parent/teacher conferences tomorrow.

Language Arts
We took a vocabulary quiz over part 2 of Maniac Magee. We read chapters 39-42. In today's chapters, Maniac was confronted with some very bad stereotypes. He found it upsetting (so did the class). Will he find a way to bring the town of Two Mills together and teach them that people are more the same than different? If anyone can do it, Maniac can! We will finish the book tomorrow. Final test is on Thursday.

Math
Today we reviewed 4th and 5th grade skills and practiced algebra by playing a game called first to 100. It required students to replace a variable in a problem with the product of two dice. Homework is math box 4.6 and study link 4.6. Test on Thursday.

No science today.
Instead we went to a Red Ribbon Assembly and a party for the end of fall fundraisers. Ask your child who was there!

Thank you for your contributions to PTO. We appreciate all you do!

Marvelous Monday

We had a great day. Don't forget tomorrow is workout gear day. Wear your sweat to school to support a healthy, drug-free lifestyle!

Language Arts
We had a very, very busy day! We read chapters 33-38 in Maniac Magee and did the worksheets. We went to IMC to check out books. Then we came back to the room to start writing a persuasive essay about not doing drugs. Today we filled out a graphic organizer and then wrote a rough draft. Homework is whatever didn't get done in class.

Test Alert: It looks like the final test over Maniac Magee witll be on Thursday! There may be a vocabulary test and another section quiz before Thursday.

Math
Today we did lesson 4.5. We worked on division word problems and what to do with those pesky remainders. Sometimes you get to ignore them. Sometimes you round them up to the next whole number and sometimes you report them as a decimal or a fraction. It all depends on what the problem is asking. Homework is studylink 4.5

Test Alert: The Unit 4 test will be on Thursday!

Science
Today we read about scientific inquiry and several different scientists. No homework!

Fabulous Friday

What a wet day!

Language Arts
We finished part 2 in Maniac Magee. We did the worksheets and took a quiz. There may be a vocabulary quiz on Monday.

Math
We practiced our division during centers. No homework.

Science
We learned that length of string is the variable that changes the number of swings on a pendulum.

Next week is Red Ribbon Week. Look for the red paper that explains each day.

Have a great weekend!

Bus Safety Day!!

What a wonderful day!

Language Arts - We reviewed language arts skills and then read chapters 25-27 in Maniac Magee. It seems that Maniac has found another family. We then did the worksheets for those chapters and worked on the following vocabulary from the book: mosey, prompt, abruptly, blarney, coot, grouse, mangled, portable, knack, and orneriest. There will be a quiz coming up soon!
We went to music and gym today. By the way - Students will have a music test next Thursday. They have a review sheet that they should be studying.

Math - Today we practiced dividing with decimals. Please remember that it doesn't matter to me what type of division you do. We also made magnitude estimates to help us figure out where the decimals end up. Homework is Study Link 4.4 and it is exactly what we did in class this morning. Remember that each problem requires you to do three things: 1. write a number model that shows how you can estimate the answer 2. Circle the place value the answer is and 3. Actually solve the problem.

Bus Safety - Today we watched a video about how to behave on the bus and what to do in case of an emergency. We then practiced exiting the bus in a safe manner.

Upcoming events
Next week is Red Ribbon Week. We will be doing special things all week long to help us remember to Say No to Drugs.
Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 28 in the afternoon and evening.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Language Arts
Wow what a Wednesday! Usually we get a lot done on our longest day. Not so much today. We did our morning work. We did a vocabulary quiz over the first part of the book. Next we visited with our reading buddies. Then we read chapters 22-24 and did the worksheets for those chapters. Time flew!

Math
Today we learned how to use a map scale to figure distances. We used a string to help us measure rivers and borders that weren't straight. We did journal pages109-110 in class. Journal pages 111-112 and studly link 4.3 were assigned as homework.

DARE
Today we learned about the dangers of alcohol.

Tomorrow is Bus Safety Day!

Tuesday

Tomorrow is picture retake day!!!!!

Language Arts
Today we did morning work and then read chapters 19-21 in Maniac Magee. We did the worksheets for those chapters and looked at many different literary techniques. We also had a quiz over chapters 12-21. Homework is anything that did not get done in class.

Math
Today we worked on division. We learned a skill called partial quotient division. It is all right with me if students use this method or the traditional long division method. Homework was page 107-108 and studly link 4.2

Science
Welcome back, Homeroom!! Today we started our science unit on variables. We made a pendulum and counted how many cycles the pendulum would swing in 15 seconds. We then brainstormed changes we could make to the pendulum in order to change our results. We will try these out at our next science class. (Tomorrow we have DARE)

Next week is Red Ribbon Week! Look for more information to be coming home soon.

Mellow Monday

This week is off to a quiet start. How many people stayed up to watch the Bears game?

LA
Today we read chapters 15-18 in Maniac Magee. We had some interesting discussions on various literary devices. Today's chapters dealt quite a bit with stereotypes and prejudices. The students had plenty of time to work on their worksheets. However, if worksheets 15-18 aren't done, they are homework. Tomorrow we are going to read chapters 19-21 and then we will have a quiz over chapters 12-21. Vocab quiz will be on Wednesday.

We also worked on our candy writing.

Math
Today we started working with division. Our focus today was on friendly numbers. For example: If you needed to divide 71 by 5, you could think of the 71 as 50 +21. Then you could divide 5 into 50 (10) and 5 into 21 (4 r.1) and come up with your answer of 14 with a remainder of 1. We played a game called division dash. Homework is journal pages 104 - 105 as well as study link 4.1

Health
Today was Mrs. Woods's class last day for this rotation. We worked on a cooperative learning task to demonstrate abstract thinking. No homework.

Picture retake day is Wednesday!!

Fall Festival Friday

The Fall Festival is tonight from 6-8pm. Bring a donation to Angel's Attic and get a free ticket!

Language Arts
Today we took a quiz over chapters 1-11 in Maniac Magee. We read chapters 12-14 and did the journal pages. We also did the rest of the book projects.

Math
We took the unit 3 test. We also played multiplication games on multiplication.com. Check it out!

Art Smart
Mrs. Demel, from Mrs. Woods class, graciously taught us the Art Smart Lesson on Victor Vasarely. We then made our own optical art!

Have a great weekend! Go ND!

Thorough Thursday

Tomorrow is the last day to send in boxtops.
Tomorrow is also Fall Festival from 6-8 pm.

Language Arts
Today we did our Morning Work and then read chapters 10 and 11 in Maniac Magee. We did the worksheets in class. We had gym and music. Homework is finishing up today's assignments.

Math
We had centers today and reviewed for tomorrow's math test. No homework tonight besides studying.

Health
We had our chapter 2 test today. No homework.

Homeroom - Art Smart tomorrow. Dress appropriately!

Wake Up Wednesday

We had a comfy day in our jammies today. Thank you to everyone who donated a $1.00 to help fight cancer.

Language Arts
We reviewed some language arts skills this morning. Then dove into our novel study. Today our focus was on point of view, figurative language, author's craft and genre. We read with our reading buddies and listened to book project presentations. Homework tonight is to do the journal entries for chapters 7-9.

Math
We reviewed for our Unit 3 test today. Tomorrow we are having center day. (The kids call this game day) One of the centers will be with me to review for the test in small groups. The test is on Friday. Homework tonight is to do the unit 3 checking progress.

DARE
Today Officer Redman discussed the dangers of marijuana and meth. He showed some pictures of what meth does to a person. He also discussed the dangers of driving while on drugs. The focus next week is on alcohol.

Just a reminder: Mrs. Woods class has a health test tomorrow.

Don't forget your boxtops! Fall Festival is Friday!

Try Your Best Tuesday

This is the last week to collect box tops!!!
Tomorrow is pajama day! Bring in a $1.00 to help support cancer research.

Language Arts

BOOK PROJECT IS DUE TOMORROW!!!!!!! TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY TO TAKE AR TEST FOR THE QUARTER!!!!!!

We continued our reading of Maniac Magee. We read quite a bit today. We discussed Hyperbole, similes, metaphors, conflicts, cause and effects, genre and many other literary devices. Homework is to finish the worksheets involved in chapters 2-6. I know this seems like a lot but we talked about every answer in class this morning. So those of you who marked up your novel and listened and contributed should find this pretty easy!

Math
Today we solved problems using our geometry templates. We also reviewed measuring with protractors. Homework is study link 3.10. Here are some ideas to help you with the homelink.

The angles of all triangles add up to 180 degrees.
A straight line measures 180 degrees.
A quadrangle's angles all add up to 360 degrees.
Opposite or vertical angles equal each other.

Math test coming up on Friday!!!!

Health
Today we reviewed for Thursday's test!!

Monday's News

Cooler Weather is here. Make sure your child dress appropriately!

LA: We had a great morning! We started our first novel study for the year. We have chosen to read and study the novel, Maniac Magee. We will be completing almost all of the reading in class, due to some high maturity content. The book is filled with issues like race, segregation and peer issues. We have found that we can all handle these topics a lot better when we are able to talk them through as a class. We read through chapter 1 today and had some great discussions. We were able to incorporate skills such as similes, self vs. man conflict, foreshadowing, symbolism and metaphors...all in the first chapter! I'm so anxious to continue with this great learning tool in the next few weeks! There shouldn't have been any homework today unless someone didn't finish what we did in class!

Even though we don't have a story this week...we still have RIT words. They are:

• Plot line-the order in which things happen in a story
• Allusion-A reference to a familiar person, place, thing or event
• Anecdote-The use of a short story to make a point
• End Rhyme-A rhyme that occurs in the last syllable in a line of poetry
• Lyric-A short poem that could be put to music
• Meter-The rhythm of a poem

Math
Today we worked hard on figuring out the total measure of angles in a polygon. We discovered that all triangles add up to 180 degrees and that we can use that knowledge to help us figure out other shapes. Homework: Pages 92-94 in the journal and then studylink 3.9

Health
Today we continued to look at the changes brought on by adolcencense. We read lessons 5 and 6 in chapter 2. Tomorrow we will do the chapter review and we will have the test on Thursday.

Don't forget to bring in those boxtops.
Also Don't forget that Wednesday is Pajama Day! Bring in a donation to help support cancer research.

Monday's News

Welcome back to school everyone! We are still collecting boxtops for a couple of more weeks.

Language Arts
Today we reviewed Language Arts skills for morning work. We took our spelling pretest over compound words. We introduced this weeks vocabulary words -, injury, slurp, mournful, shrieks, sympathy, decency, delivering, and bulletin board and reviewed this week's skill - idioms. We also talked about our comprehension skill- making inferences. You make an inference by taking what the author tells you and adding in what you know to come up with new information that the author does not tell you. We read this week's story, Shiloh.

Our RIT words include:
Point of view - The person telling the story.
Personification - Giving a non-human object human like qualities. The door stood guard over the meeting.
Plot - The events in a story.
Blank Verse - An un-rhymed poem with regular rhythm.
First Person - When the narrator of the story is also the main character. Shiloh is told in first person because Marty is the narrator and the main character.

We also went to the library today and Mrs. Slater stopped by to teach us about conflict resolution. Our focus today was on I-messages. The kids should have brought home a letter about this today.

Math
Today we used a compass to solve measuring problems. We also learned about adjacent, vertical, and straight angles. Homework is math boxes and study link 3.5.

Health
We talked about the major changes a family can go through and how families need to support each other during those changes. Homework is Lesson checkup 2.1 numbers 1-4.

Fabulous Friday

Language Arts

BOOK ORDER IS DUE ON MONDAY!!!!!

Today we reviewed unit 1 skills and retook the unit 1 test.

Math
Game Day
We reviewed how to measure angles, fact fluency, multiplication, and factors.

Health
We took the chapter 1 test.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thinking Thursday

What a busy day!!!

Continue to collect those boxtops.
Tonight is Culvers Give Back Night is tonight. Be sure to remember your yellow coupon.
Tonight is also Skate Night at USA skating rink.

Language Arts
Today we reviewed language arts skills. We also reviewed sentence fragments. We learned two new Greek and Latin roots. Tomorrow there will be a quiz over the following roots. The students got a "cheat sheet" today.
naut - Sailor, ship
cosmo - world universe
aero - air
hydr, hydro - water
dyna, dynamo - power, force
stat, stas, stant - standing not moving
gen, gener, -geny, etc - clan, class, origin, birth, development,produces
tect - build, cover
aqui, aqua - water
carn - flesh, meat
vore - eat, devour
inter- - , between, among
cap, capt, cept - take, seize, hold
rupt - break
ced, cess - go, yield
ject - cast, throw
sect, sec, seg - cut
man, manu - hand
scrib, script - write


Math
Today we began measuring angles with protractors. We will work on this skill again tomorrow.
Homework - Math Boxes and Study Link 3.4

Health
We reviewed for tomorrow's test.

Willy Wonka Wednesday!

LA
Today we reviewed language arts skills and learned 2 new Greek and Latin Roots (ject - cast, throw and sec, seg - cut) We worked on our Willy Wonka writing. Homework is working on reading projects.

Math
Today we worked on figuring out the measurements of angles of regular polygons.
Homework is journal pages 66 and 68.

DARE today. Health test is Friday!

Tuesday's News

We are still collecting boxtops.

LA
Today we reviewed language arts skill for morning work. In vocabulary vine we learned about rupt (break) and ced, cess (go, yield). We reviewed last week's RIT words and also learned about this week's words. We also read some passages out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that were very descriptive and talked about using descriptive words in our writing. We started brainstorming descriptions for our new candy. We had music and gym.

RIT words
Personal narrative - A story about yourself.
Parallelism - When the author uses the same words, phrases or sentences to give writing rhythm.
Slang - A casual spoken language amongst peers.
Irony - A type of figurative language that contrasts appearance and reality.
Foreshadowing - The planting of important clues that tell (or hint)the reader of what is to come.

Math
We took the Unit 2 test. No homework.

Health
We did the chapter 1 review. This is due Thursday. Test will be on Friday.

Afternoon Adventures brochures went home today!

Monday's News

The PTO is still collecting boxtops.
PTO is also sponsoring a family skating party at USA Skate Center. More information on that is in the blue folders

LA
Today we reviewed charts, homographs, media resources and synonyms. Then we took our Unit 1 reading test. We went to IMC and met with Mrs. Slater to learn more about active listening and conflict resolution. No homework!
P.S. We still need 3 candy boxes.

Math
We reviewed the concepts in Unit 2. Unit 2 test is tomorrow. Checking Progress is homework tonight.

Health
We learned more about cultural difference and conflict resolution today. Homework is the lesson check up for lesson 6 and page 10 in the worksheet packet.

Thursday

I saw some box tops come in today. I wonder if we reached our goal yet? I also saw some envelopes for the donation drive. Thanks for supporting our PTO! They do great things for our kids.

Language Arts
Today we took our spelling bubble and selection assessment. We will be outside for 2 hours tomorrow a.m. with No Child Left Inside. We wanted to make sure that everything got done!
We learned the Greek prefix Inter (among, between) and cap, capt (seize, take, hold) We reviewed cause and effect and read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We are almost done with the book. Thanks to everyone who sent in candy boxes. Don't forget that those boxes are due tomorrow.
Weekly homework is due tomorrow, too.

Math
Today we worked with big numbers as we used taking a sample to estimate the answer to how long it would take to make 1 million tally marks. What did we find out? Homework tonight is Study Link 2.10. We will start reviewing unit 2 concepts on Monday. The test will be on Wednesday.

Health
Today we talked about body language and stress. We learned ways to manage our stress. Homework is Lesson checkup 3 and the vocabulary worksheeet (page 7). It looks like our test will be next Friday.

What a Wednesday!

Don't forget that we are still collecting boxtops! PTO is still accepting donations for the first annual donation drive as well!

Language Arts
Today we reviewed spelling meanings and how to fix run-on sentences and sentence fragments. We learned about the Greek and Latin roots of Carn (flesh, meat) and Vore (eat, devour) Our reading buddies visited our room for the first time. They loved meeting Mozzarella! We also reread Pipiolo and the Roof dogs. We reviewed cause and effect. We also read in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Please remember to send in those candy boxes. So far we have one!

The kids and I also discussed the reading projects today. Time is quickly running out for the first quarter. All students need to read 2 books independently. One book they will take an AR test on and the other they will do the book jacket project on. Read Aloud books don't count! We have 4 students who have read a book and passed a test.

Math
We practiced muliplication of whole numbers and decimals today. Homework is a worksheet. It is expected that students will answer all of the problems in order to solve the riddle. It looks like the math test will be on Tuesday of next week.

DARE
Today Officer Redman talked about consequences of our actions. He also stressed that kids should have a plan before they are faced with a choice.

Don't forget that Friday is No Child Left Inside day! We will be spending quite a bit of time outside that day. Students should dress appropriately.

Trustworthy Tuesday

Our word of the week is trust. We have been discussing how to behave in a trustworthy way.

Language Arts
Today we started a morning work procedure that helps us review all sorts of language arts skills. We will be beginning class this way everyday. We also sorted our spelling words by how they spelled the "ur" sound. We corrected more run-on sentences by changing them into two simple sentences or making them compound and complex sentences. We practiced our vocabulary words and finding causes and effects. Our two new root words of the day are tect (build or cover) and aqui, aqua (water). We also read more of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Please remember to send in those candy boxes. (See yesterday's post or your child's take home folder)

Math
Today we continued practicing our estimating skills. We also reviewed multiplication strategies. Homework tonight is Study Link 2.8

Health
We talked today about friends, feelings, cliques and peer pressure. We discussed that having friends is important, but we still need to think for ourselves. Homework is Lesson 3 check up and page 6 in the worksheet packet.

What to look for in take home folders.
*Today there is a reminder from PTO about the donation drive.
*There is also information from PHM about your child recieving a flu vaccine for free through the school system. Check out the handout for all the information.

Marvelous Monday

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Language Arts
We are reading a fantasy story this week that takes place in Mexico. It is called "Pipiolo and the Roof Dogs." These are our vocabulary words: transformed, celebration, moistened, fragrance, cooperation, canceled, and theory. Our vocabulary skill is using a thesaurus and our comprehension skill is cause and effect. Our grammar skill is fixing run-on sentence.
Here are this week's RIT words:
FABLE -A short, animal tale, most often told or written with a moral tagged on in the form of a proverb.
EXAGGERATION -To represent something as greater than it actually is.
ANALOGY - A comparison of certain similarities between things that are otherwise unlike.
GENERALIZATION - A one sentence summary of a story that includes only the most important details.
OVERSTATEMENT- The act of making something seem more important than it really is.
We went to IMC and Mrs. Slater came and talked to us about conflict resoultion.

Currently we are reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We hope to be finished with it by this weekend. We will be doing a writing project on this book. We need your help. We are in need of candy. We are looking for any movie theater sized candy box that we can use and cover with paper. Wal-mart also sells this size candy box. We hope to have all the candy boxes in by Friday.

There is weekly homework this week. It is due on Friday.

Math
Today we talked about how estimating answers helps us to see if we are in the right ball park. Here is an example of the type of problem we did today. 14 *17 First we round the factors to the nearest easy number (10 * 20 = 200) The magnitude estimate would be hundreds. Homework is finishing page 48 and study link 2.7

Health
Today we talked about the differences between needs and desires. We discovered that we have basic physical and emotional needs. We also discussed goal setting. Reaching short-term goals can help us reach our long term goals. Homework is doing questions 1-4 in the lesson check-ups for lessons 1 & 2. All questions need to be answered in complete sentences and in cursive.

Constitution Day Thursday

Today is the day that we celebrate the writing of our country's constitution!

Language Arts
Today we reviewed skills that will be tested tomorrow. We discussed the main ideas of our story. We learned about the greek roots stat (standing still) and gen (origin, birth, class, clan). We sorted words according to the "R" sound. We also reviewed using context clues, our vocabulary words and summarizing. We worked on our handwriting and listened to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Weekly work is due tomorrow.

Math
We reviewed the skills on our quiz yesterday. We also worked on probablility. Homework is study link 2.6.

Health
We took a test over chapter 2. Social studies starts tomorrow.

Don't forget:
Clip those boxtops and soup labels.
Welcome Back Picnic tonight at Northpoint!

Cut your box top off your waffle box Wednesday!

The title of today's post was what WSTAR ended their broadcast with this morning. I thought it was a great reminder about our boxtop and label collection. Don't forget to send them in. The school really can earn a lot of free stuff!

Language Arts
Today we reviewed spelling definitions and the ways we use commas. We also learned about the greek roots hydro (water) and dyna, dynamo (power, force). We wrote letters describing the kind of camp that we would like to attend and visited our reading buddies. We looked for the main ideas that were found in this week's story and reviewed examples for our RIT words. We also practiced our handwriting and listened to Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Keep working on weekly homework.

Math
We took a quiz. Not everyone is done but as I looked them over it seems we still need some practice with adding and subtracting decimals. We will continue to review that skill. We also learned about averaging numbers and reviewed other data landmarks: maximum, minimum, range, median, and mode. Homework tonight is study link 2.4 and students will need parent help!

DARE: Officer Redman came today to introduce us to the DARE program. We will spend the next 9 weeks learning how drugs affect our bodies and ways to say no.

Don't forget tomorrow is the Welcome Back Picnic!

Trustworthy Tuesday

Our Words of Wisdom all week long have been about truth.

Language Arts
Today we started 5th grade Vocabulary Vine words. Today's roots were cosmo which means universe or world and areo which means air. We continued working with complex sentences in grammar and sorted r-controlled vowel words in spelling. We read our story with a partner and went to gym and music. Please keep working on weekly homework.

Math
Today we worked on problem solving and took notes on what is a number sentence. We know that number sentences can be true or false and that they must contain these things: numbers, a relational symbol (equal, greater than, less than) and an operational sign (+,-, * /). Number sentences may include a variable. If that happens, the sentence is said to be open. Homework is study link 2.4 There is also a quiz tomorrow over: place value, adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimals and problem solving.

Health
Today we reviewed chapter 2. Test is on Thursday.

Tomorrow we have DARE in the afternoon.

Things to remember:
PTO meeting tomorrow followed by an Art Smart meeting.
Thursday night is the Welcome Back Picnic
PTO is collecting boxtops and cambells soup labels through the middle of October. Please put them in the collection bin in the lobby.

What a beautiful day!

Welcome back to school. I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.

Mrs. Stephan asked that the kids put the following in their planners today.
PTO meeting @ 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday / Art Smart meeting to follow.

The PTO newsletter also went home today. I noticed as I read through it that my homeroom class is still looking for someone to be in charge of the montage page for the yearbook. Any takers???

Language Arts
Mondays are so busy as we introduce the skills for the week!
Spelling - We took our pretest. I collected them today but the kids should know what list to study.
Grammar - We continue our study of sentences. Today we began looking a complex sentences.
Vocabulary - Our words are mission, disasters, environment, zone, gravity, maze, adjusted, and function. We continue to work with context clues.
Comprehension - Our story this week is a non-fiction story about Space Camp. We will be working on the skill of finding main ideas and summarizing.
Our RIT words for the week include the following
Consonance - Is the repetition of a consonant sound in sentence. (dark deep dread crept in)
Tone - Is the attitude the writer has toward the subject and audience he is writing for. For example the tone of this week's story is informative. The tone of the tall tale we read 2 weeks ago was humorous.
Colloquialism - Is a common spoken expression. It is informal language. An example might be "What's up?" Often a colloquialism is regional. Do you call that fizzy beverage a coke (no matter the brand), a soda, or pop?
Pun - Is a play on words for humorous effect. For example, a boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
Climax - Is the turning point of a story and is often the part that is most intense. In the Davy Crockett story, the climax would be when the comet dives into the Atlantic Ocean to try an drown Davy.

We also went to IMC today and Mrs. Slater came to talk to us about conflict resolution.

Math
Last week's test went home today. Ask your student how they did! We reviewed adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimals today. Homework today was a worksheet.

A quick note: Everyday Math teaches a variety of ways to figure out answers to math problems. I always encourage the kids to use the method that works best for them. So even if the directions say to use the partial sum method, kids can use whatever method works best for them.

Health
Today we talked about how making healthy choices can help us later in life and as we hit middle school years. We also worked on our chapter 2 review. Test will be on Thursday!

Thursdays fly by

What a quick week! Time for Friday and assessments all ready!

Language Arts
Today we reviewed our spelling definitions and how to combine sentences. In vocabulary vine, we reviewed for tomorrow's quiz and had DEAR time. We also reread the story and reviewed comparing and contrasting. Don't forget that weekly homework is due tomorrow and tomorrow is assessment day.

Students should be bringing home last week's assessments today. We talked about doing our personal best and really showing what we learned doing the week.

Math
Today we took our first test! They will be graded and returned as soon as everyone finishes it. No homework

Health
Our focus today was on the the mental and emotional changes that occur as we grow older. We are also practicing our abstract thinking skills. No homework.

We've been busy!

We had a lot to accomplish today!

Language Arts: We reviewed the phonics rules for the long u and Greek and Latin roots today. Starting next week we will be learning new Greek and Latin roots. Mrs. Slater came in and talked with us about bullying today. We read with our reading buddies. We also reviewed the meanings for simple and complete subjects and predicates. We reread our story for the week and practiced our handwriting while Ms. Grannan read from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Keep working on the weekly homework. It is due the day after tomorrow.

Math: We reviewed the unit review for the test tomorrow. We decided that having a system for finding factors was going to be the best help and that writing the numbers in numerical order would also be helpful. For example, if you are trying to find all the factors for 32, you would start with 1, ......,32 then add 1, 2, ..........16, 32, then 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32. Knowing those divisibility rules will help. Homework was too study for the test and finish the math checking progress.

Health: We learned how environment and heredity both determine how we grow up. We also learned how the endocrine system helps us to grow and how bones and muscles are formed. We did the lesson checking progress. No homework.

A Message from Mr. Dregits:
Please check out the program, Michiana on the Move. Michiana on the Move is a program designed to improve the health and well-being of the people who live and work in the Michiana area. The goal of this program is to mobilize the Michiana community to reach a cumulative goal of 100,000 miles within 4 weeks.

To register, parents can go to www.michianaonthemove.org

Back To Work!

I hope that everyone had a great 3-day weekend.

LA:
Even though today was our short day, we jam packed it full of our normal Monday stuff! Our story this week is Forests of the World, which introduces us to nonfiction articles for the year! It is a great informational piece of writing that we learned a lot from. We also took our spelling pre-test, please make sure your child is studying the appropriate list! This week in grammar, we will be learning how to combine simple sentences together to make compound sentences using conjunctions.

Story Vocabulary this week: quest, settings, reduce, buffet & major.

Rit Words for the week: Due to the short week, we have no RIT words!

HW: Weekly homework is due Friday. Please note-there are only 4 questions for the comprehension section this week!

MATH:
Today we practiced for our test. The test will be on Thursday so that means one more day to study! We completed our unit review today. Tomorrow we will go over the answers to the review so that students know what to study Wednesday night. Homework tonight is finishing whatever didn't get done in class. That may include. Pages 25-26 in journal 1, a handwritten worksheet about prime factorization and the unit review.

Health:
Today we had a short Health class because we were planning to watch President Obama's speech to students. Students completed a worksheet that reviewed vocabulary. The students and I had a long talk about the quality of their answers in health. Students are expected to write their answers in complete sentences and in cursive. The answers are right in the book and generally there are only 4-5 questions. Please encourage your child to do his/her personal best on all assignments.

President Obama's Speech:
Due to various technical difficulties at the C-Span site, we were only able to watch 1/2 of President's Obama's speech.

Thursday's News

Language Arts
We continued reviewing last year's Greek and Latin Roots. Tomorrow we are going to play a game about the root words. We reviewed the grammar skills. We also reviewed compound words and the different parts of a website. All of these skills and the ones listed on Monday will be assessed tomorrow.

Book orders are also due tomorrow. Scholastic is a great way to get books cheaply. Did you notice that many of the books in the brochure now have the lexile listed next to the book? What a great way to get books for the book project and AR test.

Math
Today we worked on prime factorization. We learned to make factor trees. Homework is Study Link 1.9

Health
We talked about how good communication is necessary for family unity.

What a Wednesday!

Language Arts
We had a very busy morning. We reviewed 4th grade roots in vocabulary vine. We also wrote examples of Haiku, couplets, oxymorons, alliterations and idioms. We visited with our reading buddies and then reread our story for the week and filled out a graphic organizer about the story. The graphic organizer should come in handy as students write the summary for the weekly homework. Then we had centers. We worked on spelling and vocabulary, read independently and worked on comprehension skills while reading in small groups. Mrs. Simon came in and helped make sure that everyone knew what to do!

Don't forget about book orders! They are due in two days!

Math
Yesterday we squared numbers. Today we unsquared them. We learned how to problem solve finding the square root of a number. Homework tonight is Study Link 1.8

Health
The chapter 1 test was put in mailboxes today.

We started chapter 2. We discussed how kids and families change.

Market Day orders went home today.

Tuesdays, September 1.

Homeroom-
WSTAR applications went home today. 10 students expressed interest in helping out on our morning news show. Please go over the application carefully with your child. It is important that the news have people who can make the commitment and be on time.

I also sent home a note asking for help with Mozzarella today. So please look that over and check what you would be willing to help out with. If you can't help out, that's okay too. I'm looking for a place for Mozzy to stay this weekend. She does okay over 2 day weekends, but 3 days may be a stretch.... Any takers? send me an email or a note in with your child tomorrow.


Language Arts-
What a crazy day! Today we reviewed Greek and Latin roots in vocabulary vine. We got our picutres taken and read our story. A humongous thank you to all of those moms who helped out with the pictures. We also went to specials.

Just a reminder: Book orders are due on Friday AM.

Math-
I returned yesterday's quiz. Students have the opportunity to earn back 1/2 a point on every point that they missed. They need to do the work in a color other than black or orange so I can tell what was changed.

We reviewed how to solve divisibility problems and learned about square numbers. Study link 1.7 is homework.

Health-
We took a test today over chapter 1.

Monday - Read carefully!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. They go by so quickly.

Tuesday is Picture Day!

Language Arts-
Today is the day that we introduce new vocabulary and skills. Homework packet also went home today. Be sure to record reading minutes every night. This is a recorded score. It does reflect on the report card if you don't read independently.

Spelling Test - Everyone took a spelling pretest and knows what words to study this week. The skill is long vowel sounds. This can be tricky. There are lots of ways to spell long sounds.

Grammar - We learned about simple and complete subjects and predicates.

RIT vocabulary-
Alliteration - Using 2 or more words that start with the same sound.
Couplet - A two lined poem that often rhymes
Figurative Language - Many different strategies that help the reader picture writing in their heads.
Haiku - A three lined poem about nature. Line 1 has 5 syllables. Line 2 has 7 syllables. Line 3 has 5 syllables.
Oxymoron. A statement that contradicts itself. The teacher whispered loudly.

Story vocabulary - Students should be able to define these words: original, wring, advertisement, commenced, fireball, impress, elected and sauntered.

Our comprehension skill is summarizing using plot and setting. We are reading the tall tale "Davy Crockett Saves the World"

Book orders are due on FRIDAY! You may order online or traditionally.

Math-
We took a quiz over the first 4 lessons of unit 1. We also learned about prime and composite numbers. Our homework is Study Link 1.6 It looks like the test will be a week from Wednesday.

Health- We reviewed for our test tomorrow!

We made it through an entire week!

It was wonderful to see so many of you at Parent Information Night last night. Please email me and let me know if you were unable to make it and need an information packet.

Language Arts:
Today was the first assessment Friday! We took tests over all of the skills that we worked on throughout the week. I will grade and record scores over the weekend. Look for the tests to come home on Monday. We also visited with our reading buddies and went to computer lab.

Math:
We continued working with divisibility. We played a game called divisibility rocks.

Health:
We worked on a our chapter one review. Remember test is on Tuesday!

Mozzarella:
Most of you know that we have Miss Brown's bunny from last year. The kids really enjoy having her and she is a very sweet bunny! Mozzy has been spending the weekends at school. Early next week, I will be sending home a note asking for volunteers to keep her on the weekends and especially over long weekends and vacations. I have a dog that would not leave her alone if I took her home.

Have a great weekend!

Wow! Wednesday!

I continue to be amazed and how quickly the days fly by.....

Homeroom:
We continued to find resources in order to do our D.O.G. It's due Friday A.M.

Language Arts:
We reviewed our RIT words by writing examples on the white boards. We continued reviewing last years Greek and Latin roots during Vocab Vine. In Spelling, we reviewed the meanings of our spelling words and in Grammar we reviewed the proper punctuation for the 4 types of sentences. Our reading focused on characters and plot. Specifically we talked about how the events in the plot of a story help us learn about the characters. We also visited with our 1st grade reading buddies today. We are looking forward to a year long friendship with our first grade friends.

Math:
Today we worked on the divisibility rules. This is a hard concept for 5th graders. Some of the rules are easy. Even numbers are divisible by 2, Numbers that end in zero are divisible by10 and 5. Others are more difficult. The rules for 3s, 6s, and 9s involve multiple steps. The rules are listed on today's study link. Please review them with your child. We will review them again in the coming days and throughout the year. Homework is Study Link 1.5

Health:
Today our focus was on uncomforatble feelings. Test will be next Tuesday.

Dates to Remember:
Tomorrow is Parent Information Night! See you at 5:30 pm
Picture day is Tuesday, September 1st.

Wow, Today flew by too......

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather!

Homeroom:
Today we started a new routine. We are starting Daily Oral Geography (DOG). DOG reviews geography terms and concepts. It will usually be given out on Mondays and students will have all week to work on it. We will grade it together on Friday. Students are responsible for doing this assignment even if they come in late one day due to a doctors appointment. It's only eight questions.

Language Arts:
Today we sorted spelling words according to vowel sounds and spelling. We had our first vocabulary vine session. We are spending the next 2 weeks reviewing last year's Greek and Latin roots. We will start new roots after we review. We practiced identifying commands and questions. We also reviewed the 4 different types of sentences. We read the story Miss Alaineous. We went to music and gym.

Math:
We played a game to practice finding the factors of various numbers. Homework tonight is Study Link 1.4. We also spent a bit of class assessing our math facts. Being fluent in basic math facts really helps students be able to concepts in math and less on the computation. Please spend a few minutes every night practicing math facts. Make it quick, easy and fun.

Health/Hygiene:
Today we talked about stress and how our body reacts to it. We reviewed the vocabulay in chapter 1. We also talked about the proper way to wash our hands in order to get rid of the most numbers of germs.

Dates to Remember:
August 27, 2009 - Parent Information Night at 5:30 (That's this Thursday, folks)
September 1, 2009 - Picture Day

Today went by in a flash.......

We had a very busy day!

Language Arts -
We started the day by reviewing procedures for all of our emergency drills. We are ready for any kind of emergency.

We started a new routine today. Every week we will have 5 words that we are learning in order to do better on our NWEA tests. Here are this week's words with definitions and examples. Please go over them with your children.
*Simile- A phrase that compares 2 things using the words like or as. For example: The cheetah was as fast as a bullet train.
*Metaphor- A phrase that compares 2 things but doesn't use like or as. For example: The cheetah was a bullet train running through the jungle.
*Hyperbole- The use of exaggeration to make a point. For example: I have one million things to do before I go to bed.
*Idiom- A figure of speech or a group of words where the words don't match the meaning. For example: The cat got your tongue or It's raining cats and dogs.
*Onomatopoeia- A word that sounds like a sound. For example: Buzz, bang, crack

We also took our spelling pretest. Your child should have a list of appropriate spelling words to study. We also worked on our grammar skill of sentences.

We read a short story called "The Talent Contest." This story taught us our vocabulary words in context. Our vocabulary words for the week our slumped, soggy, capable, strands, gigantic, credit and luminous. The story helped us figure out our comprehension skill for the week. This week we will be looking at how character's thoughts and actions influence the plot (or the events of the story).

We did give out homework for the week. This homework is due on Friday. The homework is no longer called fluency and flow and looks a bit different than last year. There are some new components. Please look it over carefully with your child and make sure that they review all the material.

Math-
Today we looked at factors. We discussed what factors, factor pairs and products are. We practiced finding factors and factor pairs for certain numbers. Our homework is study link 1.3

Health-
Today we looked at how friends affect us and how we affect our friends. We learned that the best way to have a friend is to be a friend and that good communication skills are really necessary to have healthy friendships. We did activity page 6. The page helped us draw conclusions about friendships. Head's up: It looks like the health test over chapter 1 will be on next Tuesday.

Dates to remember:
Don't forget Parent Information Night on Thursday at 5:30.

Have A Great Weekend!

Happy Friday!

We are settling into the new year! Next week we will start with homework and curriculum in all subjects. Don't forget to turn in any of the papers that went home in the manila envelopes on Wednesday. Also don't forget Parent Information Night next Thursday at 5:30pm.

Language Arts:
Today we watched a DVD about good homework habits. We also talked about what it means to revise something. Dylan told us that it means to make it better! We then revised our worry poem and later we typed the poem in computer lab. We also picked out books on our level and had some DEAR and read aloud time.

Math:
Today we began working on factors and multiples by learning about rectangular arrays.

Health:
We learned that setting goals in one step in living a healthy lifestyle and wrote goals for the year.

Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday!

Today was the first day with switches......

The students all switched classes today. For some of them it is a new routine that will quickly become a habit.

Language Arts -
Today we got to know one another. We talked about worries that we have and read a poem, "Fifteen, Maybe Sixteen Things to Worry About." Tomorrow we will edit these and then type them on the computer. We also passed out books, binders, and handouts. Students had music and gym today.

Math-
We also got to one another by creating Math About Me mini-posters and then we went over procedures. Next we investigated our student reference books and tried to learn how we could use them to help us this year. We also completed math boxes 1.1. No homework tonight.

Health-
We started health class with some jokes because humor and laughter are easy ways to be healthy. Then we discussed ways to have a healthy self-concept. We completed the check for understanding at the end of the lesson.

Don't forget!
*Parent Information Night is only one week away! Meet us at the school at 5:30 on Thursday, August 27th to learn more about curriculum, policy and procedures!
*If you haven't gone through the packet and returned all the papers, please do it soon! We need the emergency form back at school as quickly as possible!

We're off to a great start!

Welcome to another school year! I hope everyone's summer was restful and fun.

It was fun today to meet some new friends and get reacquainted with some old friends. Today was spent going over procedures and rules, We also did some get to know you activities and some creative writing.

Be sure to check the blog often. I don't do a newsletter. The blog is where you will find everything about homework and upcoming events.

Mark Parent Information Night on your calenders. It is Thursday, August 27th at 5:30.

Thursday.....

The days are flying by......

Language Arts
Today we celebrated the end of Sign of the Beaver by watching the movie that is based on the book. The movie had many, many differences! We also had specials. Tomorrow we will finish up our written work and take a short test based on the book.

Wax Museum on the biographies tomorrow!!

Math
Today we practiced finding volume and surface area of rectangular prisms. No home work.

Science
Today we reviewed for the test tomorrow.

Have a great evening!

Wild Wednesday

4th grade friends - We had a great time at Connor Prairie yesterday! A giant thank you to everyone who helped to make the day a success!

Language Arts - We finished reading Sign of the Beaver and visited our reading buddies. No homework tonight but the last book order of the year is due tomorrow. Sorry for the late turn around but I want to order tomorrow so that I can get the books by the end of the year!

Math - We worked on finding the volume of a cylinder. The process is the same as a prism. Find the area of the base and then multiply by the height.

Homeroom - Some of the 4th grade classes had an Art Smart Lesson today. So we stayed in homeroom and watched a movie on erosion and then cleaned up the room a little. A giant thank you to all my helpers.

What are you doing for lunch on field day? We want to know! Turn in your papers!

Manic Monday

Wow! It was a busy day!

Language Arts - We had comprehension check on Sign of the Beaver. We completed our Language MAP test. This officially ends our standardized testing for the year. We went to the IMC. Last week was the last week to check out books. Please make sure that all the NP library books are returned to the IMC as soon as possible. We worked on Sign of the Beaver vocabulary and read 3 more chapters. We are almost done with the book!

Math- We reviewed chapter 10 concepts. Test tomorrow. The test will be open SRB and students may use a calculator and ruler.

Science - We compared arial photography and topographic maps. Student needed to complete the Bird's Eye View response sheet by Wednesday at class time. We will review the concepts on Wednesday and the open note test will be on Thursday!

ATTENTION!!! Field day lunch forms are due tomorrrow!!!!!

Friday - Thursday

Have a great weekend!!!
We worked on Sign of the Beaver and had specials in LA.
In Math we worked on circumference and area of circles.
In Science we looked at topographic maps.

Happy Mother's Day to all our Moms.

Watercolors, salt and crayon........

Today was LA - all day!
We spend the day with Matt and Attean in the Maine wilderness. We watched as Attean taught Matt all about the woods and how to survive on his own. We saw the boys overcome dangerous situations and learned more about Attean's life. No homework tonight

We also had Artist in Residence today. We learned some very interesting techniques for using resistance and water colors. We learned that we are creative people and it doesn't really matter what kind of problem we have we can work on it creatively.

Don't forget that tomorrow is a Thursday schedule! Music and PE tomorrow.

Wild Wednesday

Wow! PBA Days go by so very fast! I hope everyone enjoyed sleeping in today.

Language Arts: We tried to do a lot with a little time today. We read and discussed chapters 11-12 in The Sign of the Beaver. Homework Alert: Log any figurative language that you underlined/highlighted. Read chapter 13 and fill out the graphic organizer for chapters11-13.

Math: Today we worked on 2 line line graphes. Homework is study link 10.6

Science: Today we looked at uses for topographic maps. We learned about benchmarks and profiles. Homework is the Response sheet for build a mountain. (Many kids have this done already.)

Tomorrow is Artist in Residence. Students will be in their language arts groups all day. I hear we are painting.

Magical Monday

Don't forget the PBA day on Wednesday. This means that everything runs 2.5 hours later in the morning. School starts at 10:25.

Don't forget that we do have school on Friday. It is a make-up day and will run on a Thursday schedule. That means that my Language Arts class has gym and music 2 days in a row.

Language Arts
We continued reading Sign of the Beaver today. We are becoming very good at picking out figurative language. We also filled out graphic organizers for sections 5-7. We had library today. Homework: Reread chapters 5-10. Quiz tomorrow!!!

Math
We worked on algebraic expressions today. Homework is SL 10.3

Science
We began looking at topographic maps today. We learned about elevation, contours, and contour intervals. No homework tonight.

We are done!

We finished up ISTEP testing today. Yea!!!!!

Language Arts - Today we reviewed chapters 3-4 in Sign of the Beaver. We began working on vocabulary for that section. Homework tonight is to reread chapters 1-4. There is a quiz tomorrow over that section. We also went to music and gym.

No math or science today!

Attention 5th grade parents - We did a wine bottle Art Smart project this year. The wine bottles are ready to be picked up. We are not sending them home on the buses. So if you are in or around Northpoint in the near future, stop by room 26 and pick up your child's fantastic art work.

We tested today....

ISTEP continued today. We took a test about reading and language arts today. Tomorrow we will take our last tests. 5th grade tests over social studies and 4th grade tests over science.

Language Arts
We continued to work on our novel study. We read chapters 2-4 and looked at author's craft. We looked for examples of figurative language and discussed the major events of the story. I am very impressed with the details and connections that the students are making with the book.

Math
We worked on more complex pan balance problems today. No homework today.

Art Smart
We had our last Art Smart today. Thank you so much Art Smart parents. We have truly appreciated your dedication to our class. You have taught us so much!

Testing Tuesday

ISTEP continued today. Today our focus was on language arts.

Language Arts
Today we took ISTEP, read Lost and Found (our read aloud book) went to music and gym.

Math
Today we solved pan balance problems. This is an introduction to algebra. No homework.

Science
Today we used a stream table model to make canyons and deltas. Water used erosion and deposition to form this landforms.

Tomorrow is ART SMART!

Magical Monday

ISTEP is back again for the final time this year. We will be testing Monday-Thursday this week. Please make sure that your child is well rested and has a good breakfast each morning. Students are also allowed to chew gum during the test. There will be no homework this week because of testing.

Language Arts -
Today we are starting our novel study on Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare. We will be reading the book in class and looking for various forms of literary devices as well as comprehension and vocabulary lessons. Each child will have there own copy of the book to mark up. It is expected that they will have their book in class each day. In addition to our daily activities they have a tic-tac-toe to complete as well as a literary devices log. Each of these will be due on Friday, May 15th. They will have time to work on it in class but they may also have to work on it at home in order to get everything done.

Math -
We didn't have math today because of ISTEP.

Science - Welcome Mrs. Suddarth's class to Landforms. We have a lot of information to cover in a very short amount of time. We will have fun learning about canyons, mountains, and maps.

April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

Language Arts
Today we.....
Shared our published books.
Reviewed our vocabulary words.
Practiced finding cause and effect relationships
Read with our reading buddies.
Watched a marvelous play.
Read a tall Tale and discussed figures of speech and hyperbole
Began writing our own tall tale with figures of speech and hyperbole.

Keep working on Fluency and Flow.

Math
Today we.....
Tested our unit 9 skills
practiced solving problems using grids and area.

Finish the Driving Directions and Remodeling Problem page (if you aren't already done)

Science
4th grade went to a presentation about saving energy
5th grade watched a movie about how mountains are made and who lives in mountainous areas.
No homework.

April 21, 2009

Language Arts
Today we.....
Reviewed Vocabulary Vine: phonograph, tripod, tractor, transmit and hydrology.
Sorted our spelling words and reviewed their meanings
Learned that you don't use more or most with better, best, worse, and worst.
Reread our story, "Wild Horses."
Went to music and PE

Fluency and Flow came home as homework. This is a challenging story. Students would benefit from reading it more than once. They must also answer the questions.

Math
Today we.....
Continued to review unit 9 concepts. Test is tomorrow. No homework tonight.

Science
Today we.....
Learned how to make a profile of a mountain.
reviewed contour lines and contour interval.
Discussed what a benchmark is.

Homework: Response Sheet - Build A Mountain (Many students were able to finish this during class or homework time)

April 20, 2009

Language Arts
Here are this week's skills.
Grammar: comparing using good, better, best and bad, worse, worst
Vocabulary: We are looking for context clues in paragraphs adn studying these words - descendants, sanctuary, glistening, threatened, coaxing, fragile, and habitat. There is also a lot of challenging words in the story. Students will benefit from reading the story out loud with an adult.
Comprehension: We are focused on monitoring our comprehension and seeing cause and effect relationships.
Writing: We will be working on descriptive writing this week.

I didn't pass out fluency and flow today because of MAP testing. Look for it to come home tomorrow.

Math
Today we worked on volume and capacity. We also started reviewing for the unit 9 test. Look for the test to be on Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Study Link 9.10 is homework tonight.

Science
Today we began looking at topographic maps and mountains. Our science test will be open note and will take place on Friday. Students have been highlighting key terms in their packets. No homework today.

5th graders - Trip to Discovery tomorrow!!!!

Welcome Back!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful spring break. It was fun to listen to all of the stories this morning before we got down to business.

Language Arts
Today was a busy day for us. We settled right in and got to work. We wrote about spring break and then had a pep talk about Map testing. We went to IMC, took our spelling pretest and worked on grammar. This week we are talking about when to use more and most.

Map testing went really well. Everyone slowed down and did their personal best. I was very pleased with the time everyone took and how everyone used their scrap paper to figure out answers. The time they took was worth it and it showed in their results.

Math
Today we reviewed area and how to fine the area of rectangular shapes. Homework is study link 9.4.

Science
Welcome Mrs. Woods class to science. We will be having fun learning about landforms. We will study how canyons form. We will study mountains and different types of Maps. No homework tonight.

Have a great Spring Break

I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break! Relax and enjoy.

Remember that we start testing the week we come back!

Jen

Wednesday

All published books are turned in!

Language Arts:
Today we reviewed our spelling and grammar skills. We reviewed fact and opinion as well. We read with our reading buddies and played some of the games we designed for last quarter's reading project.

Math
Today we practiced marking points on coordinate grids. Pages 301-307 & 309 and SL 9.2 & 9.3 are due the Monday after spring break. The students had plenty of time to work on this in class. Most students have a page or two to finish up and then they are done!

Science
We watched a movie as a reward for our penny drive.

Just to let you know.....
Spring testing continues after spring break. All test will be given in their language arts class. My language arts class wrote their test dates in their agendas today.

Last Monday before Spring Break

It is hard to believe that today is the last Monday before spring break! Wow, time flies!

Language Arts
Today we took our spelling pretest. We learned when to use comparative adjectives (those ending in er) and superlative adjectives (those ending in est). We read our story, Exploring the Undersea Territory, and talked about knowing the difference between fact and opinion. Our vocabulary includes period, vessels, valuable, documenting, and estimated.

We also worked on published books. The books are being sent to the publisher on Wednesday. Some students will be bringing them home to work on. Please make sure that they come back to school tomorrow.

Math
We took a pretest today that covered coordinate grids, area and volume. I am planning on working in small groups to help students learn these concepts.

Science
Today we looked at aerial photographs of Mount Shasta and compared them to our topographic map and our model. We did a response sheet. Tomorrow is our test and the last day of science.

Wednesday.........

Language Arts
Today we practiced spelling and grammar. We also read independently and with our reading buddies. We talked about making judgments of characters based on their actions and on their words. We worked on published books. I am hoping to have published books done by Friday. If your child isn't done, they will be bringing it home for homework over the weekend.

Math
Today we reviewed for the test. Sadly we didn't finish the review. So we will continue that tomorrow and test on Friday.

Art Smart
Thank you to our great moms who came in to teach us about tessellations today. Our project came home for us to finish. It doesn't need to come back to school.

T-Shirt Tuesday

Did you know that we are selling t-shirts to help save the rain forest in Madagascar? Ask your kids about it.

Language Arts
Today we reviewed our vocabulary words, read independently, read our story and worked on published books. No homework tonight except to read, read, read!

Math
We reviewed for our math test on Thursday. No homework unless the review didn't get done. All reviews need to be done and at school tomorrow so that we can go over them.

Science
Today we used our topographic map to create a profile of a mountain. The profile told us how steep the slopes of the mountains were. No homework tonight. Our test over landforms will be next Tuesday!!!

Monday, Monday

I hope everyone had a marvelous weekend.

Language Arts
Today we took our spelling pretest. We learned about special adjectives called articles. We learned when to use a and an. We read our story, "Ranita, the Frog Princess." Our story is a play this week and the kids had a great time reading the parts. Our vocabulary for the week is selfish, bumbling, cranky, commotion, exasperated, specialty and famished. Our vocabulary skill is antonyms. Our comprehension skill is making judgments and and analyzing characters based on their actions. We also worked on our published books today. Your child should have an order form if you want to order more published books in his/her folder. The first book is free. Addtional copies cost $14.95 plus shipping and handling. Please return your orders by Wednesday. There is a box to check even if you don't want to buy anything.

Math
Today we learned how to divide fractions. We discovered that it was pretty easy as long as we remembered to flip the 2nd fraction. Our homework is study link 8.12.
Test Alert: There will be a test over unit 8 on Thursday!

Science
Today we began investigating mountains. We learned to make a topographic map. We also learned about contour lines and intervals. No homework today.

First Day of Spring......

It's a little chilly out but at least it's not winter!

Language Arts. Today we tested and worked on published books. Keep reading! You have a ways to go if you want me to be part of a human banana Split!

Math: It was game day. We practiced math facts, worked on acclerated math, and played at study island.

Science: Today we modeled what would happen in a flash flood situation. Lots of earth material was moved in a very short amount of time.

Letter to parents: Mrs. Stephan is sending home a letter regarding the throwing away of silverware. Please discuss this issue with your children and then sign and return the letter by Monday.

Today is the last day of winter! Woohoo!!

Today winter is officially over! Knowing Indiana weather I am probably getting excited a little too early but I plan to celebrate anyway.

Some 5th grade parents are asking about promotion. It is scheduled for Friday, May 22 at 10:00 am. This is a change from the original calendar. This date was first published in the October newsletter.

Don't forget to send in your camp forms and money 5th graders. It is due on April 3rd.

Language Arts
Today we learned the many confusing rules for using commas with adjectives. Commas are not used when the adjectives refer to size, color or age. They are also not used with and or if one of the adjectives is proper. We also reviewed connotation and denotation. We looked at poetry and reviewed onomatopoeia and similes. We had music and p.e. Don't forget to turn in your reading minutes tomorrow!

Math
We further reviewed fraction of and percent of problems. This will get easier the more that we work with the concept. Our study link is 8:10.

Science
We discovered how slope will effect the stream table experiment. We found out that the canyons were deeper, there were less meanders, and the deltas were bigger if we the stream table was sloped. No homework tonight.