We had another exciting week in Room 315! We spent a few days completing the IOWA test. I am proud of how hard all of the students worked during our testing days. Those days can be LONG, but they all showed such perseverance and open-mindedness. I am grateful to teach such an amazing group! A special thank you to the Killimett family for providing donuts to celebrate the end of testing. We enjoyed them!! This week, we are wrapping up our first unit of inquiry. It has been a learning experience for all of us, but the students have become historians in the process! They have learned so much about the history of conflict and resolution in the United States over the past 118 years. Students are focusing on completing their "Adviser to the President" summative task. Students are working on analyzing their "sorting out" chart in order to identify patterns in our history that could assist them in advising President Bush. The students have access to the class sorting out chart, their Google Slides, and task rubric in Google Classroom. Because this is an assessment piece, students should not be working on it at home. However, I encourage you to take a look at the assignment to better understand the task and requirements. I am sure that the students will BLOW ME AWAY with their ideas. Last Friday, we finished Refugee. The students did an excellent job with our first novel study. We are continuing to work on completing the summative tasks for the novel. Students are completing their character analysis projects this week. Students will also be assigned one final interpretive question to respond to for Refugee. When we return from fall break, we will begin our second unit of inquiry. Our novel study for that unit will be Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. If your child did not order a copy of the novel at the beginning of the year and you have not purchased one yet, it is imperative that every child have a copy of the novel. The book is available at the public library, Barnes and Noble bookstore, and on Amazon. As the students will tell you, we use our novels daily for all of our literary analysis assignments, so it's very important for everyone to have a copy. It's hard to believe that we are approaching the end of the first marking period! The students have come so far in such a short time. It is so encouraging to see them growing and learning each day. As the marking period nears its end, I know there are many questions about grades and progress. With the implementation of IB this year, our grading practices have evolved from what your child may have been accustomed to in 4th grade. My hope is that the weekly progress reports sent home Fridays have been insightful. I went through the digital grade book today to make sure all of the settings were correct, as some had mentioned that assignments were not showing up. Please remember that students and parents have access to the grade book via StudentVue and ParentVue. If you have any questions about how to access, please don't hesitate to let me know. Remember, my goal is to support your child's growth and achievement. If your child feels that he or she has made growth since some of the assessments were given, I am always happy to allow them to retest. The request to retest form is available under "Useful Links" on the website. Typically, the protocol is that students must submit their request the Monday following the grade being posted. Retakes are typically administered on Fridays. Since this process is new for many, I am very flexible this first nine weeks. Talk with your child about their progress. If there are areas where they feel they could do better, please encourage them to retest. (specifically in math!) Additionally, please remember, students can access their work after submission through Classroom. If you would like to review their assessments after they have been completed, they are always available to you. REMINDERS/ANNOUNCEMENTS:
UPCOMING DUE DATES: Friday, September 21 - History Assessment (Matching) Friday, September 21 - Character Analysis Project Friday September 21 - Adviser to the President Slides Tuesday, October 2 - History of Conflict and Resolution Test (Multiple Choice) Friday, October 5 - Refugee Reading Skills Assessment (Multiple Choice) Check out a video below of our very own, Samuel, solving a Rubik's Cube in 1 minute and 20 seconds. Each morning, we build community by answering a question of the day. On "Totally Awesome" Tuesday, Samuel shared that he's totally awesome because of his Rubiks skills. I agree, Samuel, YOU are TOTALLY awesome!! Have a great week!
0 Comments
It has been an exciting two weeks in 5th grade! My apologies for not posting last week. The short week got the best of me, but do not worry, all of the fun will be shared in this post! Our class attend the escape room field trip on Friday, August 31st. Students were put into groups with students from the other two classes who attend the trip with us. It was so great to see the students connecting with students from across the grade level. Anyone who has ever been to an escape room knows that the challenge is difficult. I was so proud of the way my students responded to the challenge. They all exhibited a growth mindset. They were determined in their journey to escape, and they had fun trying! Of the 12 groups that participated in the escape room challenges, only one team escaped. A special shout out to Gabby Miller and Hayden Kupris for being part of that group. Not only did their group escape, but it was Gabby and Hayden who led the charge for their team. They were communicators, inquirers, thinkers, open-minded, and risk takers. They were able to open King Tut's Tomb with 10 minutes to spare! Kudos to you both!! As if that field trip was not exciting enough, we returned from Labor Day and attended the Breman Museum to learn about the Holocaust. We spent an hour touring parts of the gallery and then had the privilege of hearing a 2nd generation Holocaust survivor. It was an absolutely amazing day. Our class toured together as a group. The docent could not believe that the students were 5th graders at a public school. She was taken aback by the depth of understanding and scope of knowledge that our students brought with them on their tour. I could not have been prouder of my students! The Breman sent an email to Ms. Mansfield celebrating our students. They represented Teasley in the best way. It was amazing to see the connections the students were making between the gallery, the presentation, and our study of US history. In addition to the field trips, we have continued our study of conflict and resolution over the past two weeks. At this point, all students have received my feedback on their initial research. Research is one of the most essential yet challenging standards that we address in 5th grade. i was impressed with the students' willingness to take risk with their research, as I know it can be daunting. The main piece of feedback that was given across the board was that our study of history focuses on US history. Therefore, we must always look at history through a "US" lens. Mrs. Crosby told the students that before they sit down and research, they should put on their stars and stripes glasses. That image speaks to the perspective that students should consider when doing research for historical topics. While I certainly encourage my internationally-minded thinkers to always look at the global perspective, we must make sure that we dive deeper and consider the following:
Tomorrow, we remember the events of 9/11/01. We will be reading the book 14 Cows for America. If you are not familiar with this text, I have included a link to an online read aloud here. If you are comfortable doing so, please share with your child where you were on 9/11/01. For many of us, 9/11 was the first major historical event of our lifetime. Hearing firsthand accounts of the event always helps students understand that what happens today can be history tomorrow. In math, most students have completed their work with order of operations and expressions and have begun work on multi-digit multiplication. In 5th grade, we do introduce the standard algorithm for multiplication. It is important for students to understand that zero serves as a place holder in the standard algorithm because the multiplication occurring involves tens and not just digits in the ones place. I have attached the standards clarification document for your reference. A few students demonstrated mastery of multiplication and have begun work on partial quotient division. This standard can be challenging, so if your child is struggling, please know that we will practice this standard MANY times over then next two weeks. REMINDERS/ANNOUNCEMENTS:
UPCOMING DUE DATES: Friday, September 14 - Vocabulary Assessment Three Friday, September 14 - Grammar Assessment (Verbs) Friday, September 21 - Fictional Narrative Due *extended* Wednesday, September 19 - Character Analysis Project Due *extended* Have a great week!
|
Our Class Is...Bright Archives
January 2019
Categories |