Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Personal Narrative Writing
Students have been working diligently and looking critically at their narrative pre-assessment. We have discussed how adjectives make your writing more interesting and transition phrases move your story along. We also learned about inference. We had a great time reading a small beginning of a story, thinking about what we could "infer" from the writing and then creating our own ending to the story. Congratulations to those students who shared their work out loud. It is a brave person who reads their writing out loud. It is a risk, but we can't grow unless we take risks.
Number the Stars
What is the sign of a really good book? It is when you don't want to put it down. That was the case this week when students read chapters 11 through 14 in Number the Stars. Lois Lowry grabs the reader and keeps you reading. The book shows us a wonderful example of a young girl, an ordinary person, being brave not only to save her best friend's life, but the lives of several other people she doesn't even know. The question for all of us is, would we rise to the occasion and be brave if the situation arose?
Island Project
Wednesday September 28th
Students were assigned a Design Your Own Island Project today. The assignment has two components. First, students must define define 29 geography terms related to landforms. Students may use an online dictionary or a book dictionary. Students should also do their best to rewrite the definitions in their own words. This is due on or before Tuesday, October 11th. Once students finish the definitions, they will be able to start creating/designing their island and incorporate the landforms. I showed students island projects that were created by previous students in order for them to get an idea of how to proceed. There was much enthusiasm for the assignment! Students were given a rubric for this assignment. Ask your child about their idea for their island. We will have some time in school for this assignment but students should also be working on it at home.
Students were assigned a Design Your Own Island Project today. The assignment has two components. First, students must define define 29 geography terms related to landforms. Students may use an online dictionary or a book dictionary. Students should also do their best to rewrite the definitions in their own words. This is due on or before Tuesday, October 11th. Once students finish the definitions, they will be able to start creating/designing their island and incorporate the landforms. I showed students island projects that were created by previous students in order for them to get an idea of how to proceed. There was much enthusiasm for the assignment! Students were given a rubric for this assignment. Ask your child about their idea for their island. We will have some time in school for this assignment but students should also be working on it at home.
Friday, September 23, 2016
September 23, 2016
Dear Families,
The All School Hike has been postponed until next Friday, weather permitting. Students were given their hike assignment this week. If you signed up to chaperone but cannot make the new date, please email Mike Sherwin, msherwin@u32.org. Also, if you can now chaperone on September 30th, please email Mike to let him know. We ask that on the hike, or any field trip, that you only take photos of your own child(ren). Thanks so much.
Students have been taking the DRA2 Developmental Reading Assessment this week. Congratulations to all the kids for doing their best on this lengthy test. There was quite a bit of writing on their part! Next week students will take the computerized math assessment called STAR360. All students in grades 5 and 6 will take the test during their math class on Tuesday.
Students looked at their narrative pre-assessment writing piece to see how they could improve it. The first order of business was to be sure everything was spelled correctly and that proper punctuation was used. We are now looking at how to elaborate some parts of the story and how to use adjectives to make their writing more interesting and to keep the reader reading.
In a few weeks, students will begin work on an independent book project. We have talked in class about how everyone needs to have read a book by the first or second week in October. Many students have already read more than one book. Please ask your child what they are reading and if they have finished reading a book since the start of school.
In social studies, we looked at a map of Europe to see how many countries kids could locate. Students will have a quiz on this soon. I will have a list of countries students must locate and many blank maps. When students feel they are ready, they can take the test, and they can take it as many times as they need to. It is important that students understand where countries in Europe are located, especially once we begin our study of ancient civilizations.
The cooler weather has arrived. We are keeping track of the sunrise and the sunset on a weekly chart. Over the past 2 weeks we have lost 42 minutes of daylight. Yikes! We were all surprised.
Have a great weekend. All the best, Ellen
The All School Hike has been postponed until next Friday, weather permitting. Students were given their hike assignment this week. If you signed up to chaperone but cannot make the new date, please email Mike Sherwin, msherwin@u32.org. Also, if you can now chaperone on September 30th, please email Mike to let him know. We ask that on the hike, or any field trip, that you only take photos of your own child(ren). Thanks so much.
Students have been taking the DRA2 Developmental Reading Assessment this week. Congratulations to all the kids for doing their best on this lengthy test. There was quite a bit of writing on their part! Next week students will take the computerized math assessment called STAR360. All students in grades 5 and 6 will take the test during their math class on Tuesday.
Students looked at their narrative pre-assessment writing piece to see how they could improve it. The first order of business was to be sure everything was spelled correctly and that proper punctuation was used. We are now looking at how to elaborate some parts of the story and how to use adjectives to make their writing more interesting and to keep the reader reading.
In a few weeks, students will begin work on an independent book project. We have talked in class about how everyone needs to have read a book by the first or second week in October. Many students have already read more than one book. Please ask your child what they are reading and if they have finished reading a book since the start of school.
In social studies, we looked at a map of Europe to see how many countries kids could locate. Students will have a quiz on this soon. I will have a list of countries students must locate and many blank maps. When students feel they are ready, they can take the test, and they can take it as many times as they need to. It is important that students understand where countries in Europe are located, especially once we begin our study of ancient civilizations.
The cooler weather has arrived. We are keeping track of the sunrise and the sunset on a weekly chart. Over the past 2 weeks we have lost 42 minutes of daylight. Yikes! We were all surprised.
Have a great weekend. All the best, Ellen
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Arlyn has asked that we include the following
message in our blogs about a school in Louisiana that needs our
help.
EMES is a collection site for books to be sent
to St. Amant School in Louisiana.
We are looking for NEW or LIKE-NEW Books. This
effort is being organized by Bear
Pond Books. Families who wish to purchase books, can get a discount if they use the Bear Pond online
ordering system. For details see www.bearpondbooks.com.
The 4th grade teacher has requested the
following books in particular:
“We’re
having to bring in items from home to improvise an environmentas normal as possible. Students don’t have
any reading materials for when they
finish their work or when they come into class. We also do not have a library at this location, so reading books is
considered a luxury as of now.” ~Lindsey Kelley, 4th grade teacher at
St. Amant Primary School in St. Amant, Louisiana
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Friday, September 2, 2016
September 2, 2016
Dear Families,
We have had a great
start to the new school year. All of
your children are wonderful. Everyone seems to be putting their best foot
forward. Enclosed in the Friday Folder,
that went home with your child today, is important information for you about
the following:
1.
Our classroom is
a peanut and tree nut free classroom.
Bringing treats in for birthdays or other celebrations is fine, but
please remember to check the ingredients and to be sure the food is processed
in a nut tree environment. Thanks!
2.
Grade 5/6
Wrightsville Dam Team Building Day Field Trip Permission Form. Please
return this by Tuesday September 6th.
3. All School Hike Sign-Up and Permission Form. Please
return by Friday September 9th.
Enclosed in that form is information for you if you are interested
in chaperoning.
************************************************************
PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT: I hope to see
all of you on Parent information night, Tuesday September 6th
from 6PM to 7:30. There will be an information session in our classroom
from 6:00-6:25 and another from 6:30 – 6:50.
Both of these sessions will be the same.
I will be speaking about the 5th and 6th grade
academic program and expectations for students.
This evening is not the usual open house. It is directed towards parents to inform you
of what is going on in your child’s classroom.
************************************************************
Please remember to return the information packet and
the classroom
blog permission form that was sent home on Monday
as soon as possible. Thanks so much.
We are beginning our classroom read, Number
the Stars, written by Lois Lowry. This
wonderful book takes place during World War II.
Students will be assigned chapters to read and questions to answer
related to the text. Students will be
expected to be prepared to discuss what they have read. We are also reading Harris and Me, by Gary
Paulsen, as a class read aloud.
With
the start of the new school year, we have been talking about beginnings in
class. Students were assigned a Quote
Response, due Thursday September 8th , that is related to
“beginnings”. The assignment and the
scoring rubric is glued into their writing journal. Students may neatly hand write their response
or type it on the computer. Ask your
child about the quote response!
In 6th grade
math, students worked on a multiplication and division timed test, as well as a
math skills review assessment. 6th graders also have a POW, or
Problem of the Week, called the Railroad Problem, which is due on Tuesday
September 6th. This
assignment requires students to write step by step directions to show how they
solved the problem. Ask your student if
they solved the problem!
5th graders
were also assigned the Railroad Problem and a POW (Problem of the Week) called
All that Glitters. This is due Monday
September 12th.
In geography, we are
learning where the 50 states in the United States are located. I am impressed with how quickly students were
able to learn where the states are located. We will then move to onto Europe, northern
Africa and western Asia. This will prepare students for our Ancient
Civilizations unit.
There
are always many things to get the year off on the right foot. We are talking about safe, responsible and
respectful behavior and reviewing PBIS behavior expectations for the classroom
and the entire school (cafeteria, hallways, playground and the bus). Thank you
for supporting your child’s effort to be safe, respectful and responsible.
Don’t forget that Picture Day is
Tuesday September 6th!
Have a great long weekend. See you Tuesday evening at the Parent
Information Night.
Ellen Knoedler
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