Twas the week before Christmas

First of all, let me just wish your family a very blessed Christmas.  It is a joy for me to come and work with your children each day, and I hope you enjoy this time off and can not only find time for rest and relaxation but for worship together at this most holy of times.

Let me set up the blog this week in list form so that you can see day by day what we have.

5th Grade:  
Monday:  Spelling - normal pages and pretest
Sign of the Beaver test review - your child will be creating a review page.  It will be on the chromebook but I will make a printed copy if they wish.
Social studies test - open note and book.  If your child brought home their material to look over, make sure they bring them back to school.  No corrections since it is open note and book.
Advent rehearsal and evening service.  Be here by 6:45

Tuesday:  Grammar pages
We will be taking the word test for the Spelling Bee qualifiers.  No words to study ahead of time.
Spanish Test
Final day for social studies group work on Advertising campaign - turn in by end of the day for Wednesday's competition

Wednesday:  Sign of the Beaver book and vocabulary test.  Because of timing there will be no retakes.  Make sure they have gone over the vocabulary words and book review.  Turn in vocab folder.
Social studies Colony Advertising competition
Geography Bee questions

Thursday:  Spelling pages due and word test
Grammar assignment
S.S. Chapter 8 Slave simulation
5th grade Auction - please have your donated items in by Thursday morning!

Friday:  Grammar quiz
Watching Sign of the Beaver Movie - students can bring a snack
2:00  Christmas Party

**Things to remember - Donated auction items - dollar store items are great!, Brown homeroom - Uganda donation, Prepare for this week's tests, Advent Service Monday evening,  Check Cornerstone this week for any late or missing work.  The quarter ends Friday.  Any test corrections must be in by Friday - no exceptions.


6th Grade:
Caciano - Review for test on Monday, book report presentations
Wednesday - Hatchet final book and vocabulary test
Friday - Hatchet movie - students can bring snacks

Hieber - We reviewed for the test Friday.  They have vocabulary folders and review sheet to study
Tuesday - Hatchet final book and vocabulary test, book report presentations
Thursday - Hatchet movie - students can bring a snack

Both classes will need to turn in their vocabulary folders for a grade on test day.  Make sure I have all parts to the book report, those final grades will be entered over Christmas.

Week of Dec. 7-11

Two Weeks Left!!  I know that is hard to believe, but it is true.  That means it is extremely important that students stay on top of what is due these next 2 weeks, and keep a check on missing work.

**Make sure if your student is absent, they check on what they have missed.  They have the number of days that they were out to make up the work they missed.  This includes tests.

BOOK REPORTS:  The dates published on the Blog are correct. 6Caciano is due Tuesday 12/8.
6Hieber is due Wednesday 12/9.  5th grade is due Thursday 12/10.  They may bring them in anytime this week before or on the due date.
**Please make sure the report is in final form.  Stapled or bound in some way if applicable.  Remember, if you have printing issues, you must talk to me before the due date.


5th grade Language Arts:  Spelling pretest is Monday.  Pages 84-87 due on Thursday.  Final test Thursday.  We will also take the test to qualify for the Spelling bee this week.  These words are not sent out ahead of time.
Grammar:  Pages 83-87.  We will work on the first 2-3 pages together.  Proofreading pages on Thursday and quiz on Friday.

Literature:  We are working on a computer timeline activity for Sign of the Beaver this week.  Students are assigned to read chapters 22-23 by Wednesday and complete the book by Friday.  We will complete vocabulary this week and one final set of questions and/or journal.
**Check with your child, if they have not read all the chapters, please make sure the catch up. Final test is scheduled for next week Wednesday.


5th Grade social studies:  We have been practicing our note taking skills by reading about the first 13 colonies and taking down important information.  We should finish those pages on Tuesday.  We will then begin a advertising campaign  activity.  Students will be designing and ad page or web page to advertise one of the colonies.  We will have a little competition for the best ad design.

We will take a chapter 7 test before Christmas.  It will most likely be open note, but I will let you know by week's end.

6th Grade Literature:  Make sure your child's book report is turned in on time.

We are presenting our survival plans this week.  We will be voting on the best survival plan.  We will finish reading the book this week as well.  Check with your child to make sure they have read the chapters.  We will complete vocabulary and a final set of questions/journal.  There will be a character analysis page this week as well.  The final test will be next week Tuesday/Wednesday.

Week of Nov. 30-Dec. 4th

Three weeks until the end of the quarter!!  These 3 weeks will be fast and furious and filled with many activities.  It will also take us to the end of second quarter so it is imperative that students stay on top of their work and keep checking Cornerstone for missing/late work or grades that need to be redone.

BOOK REPORT: Do not forget book reports are due next week!!  Check the literature tab for the exact date.  This is not a one night project.  I told the students that book reports are worth 2-3 times the normal amount of points given on an assignment.  Make sure they are working on it.  Parents should be proofreading the work before it is turned in.

Students may bring in reports anytime starting Wednesday of this week (12/2).  We will begin presenting early if there are reports turned before the due date.

5th grade Language Arts:  We will have 3 normal weeks of Spelling and Grammar.
Spelling - Pretest will be Monday.  We will be working on pages 76-79 this week.  Multiple students are not completing these pages.  You may want to check on Wednesday night that the pages are completed.  If they are not completed when we grade them they cannot earn all the points possible.  Pages and test on Thursday.
Grammar - We will work on pages 77-79 in class.  We will continue with verbs.  Proofreading correction page will be assigned on Thursday so they can work on it in study hall.  However you may want to check your child's grades on these and proofread their work.  The last of these assignments have had numerous errors.
**Any work that is assigned to be turned in the next day can be checked at home, even if it is completed at school.

Literature - The calendar of assigned chapters and activities is posted on this blog under 5th grade literature.  Students should be reading chapters from The Sign of the Beaver every night.  We will be completing the journals, vocab, quizzes and other activities in class.

5th grade Social Studies:  We have finished chapter 6 on early colonies.  Monday we will spend a short amount of time looking at Plymouth colony and completing the study guide.  The study guide must be completed and at school on Tuesday to receive points.  This is the one assignment that cannot be made up, because we go over all the answers in class on Tuesday, and the students are required to write down the correct answers to have them to study for the test the following day.
Chapter 6 test will be Wednesday.  This is not an open note test.  Make sure to go over the information with your child Monday and Tuesday night to prepare them.

We will complete chapters 7-8 by the end of the quarter.  There will not be any social studies projects during these last weeks.  We will complete 1 group project in class.

6th grade literature:  We are reading  Hatchet.  Students will have a reading assignment each day.  We will complete all the journals, vocab, quizzes, and activities in class.  It is very important that they do not get behind in the reading.  You may want to check with your child about the chapters that they are on.  They should be able to tell you all about what they have read, or they can certainly read it with you at home.
**The calendar of chapters and assignments is on this blog under 6th grade Literature.

We will complete the book, and take the test and vocab test before the end of the quarter.

Week of November 16-20

New Book Monday!!  That's what Monday, Nov. 16 will be.  6th grade will begin reading the Novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and 5th grade will be reading The Sign of the Beaver  by Elizabeth George Speare.

Both are excellent novels and will take us to the end of second quarter.  Calendars for both grades will be posted under the literature tab, shared with students on Google and handed out in class.

5th grade language arts:  Spelling pretest Monday, pages and final test on Thursday. Pages this week are 70-73.
Grammar pages begin on page 71.  We will continue to work with verbs and try to review nouns.

Literature - Books and calendars will be handed out Monday.  Students will be assigned to read approximately two chapters each night in the novel.  You may certainly read the book at home with them.  If they are reading it at school, just check that they are keeping up and understanding the chapters.  They should be able to tell you all about what they are reading.  We will have quizzes, journals, vocabulary and some class activities.

5th grade social studies:  Last week Thursday and Friday we played the Settlement Survival Game.  True to life, more original settlers "died" in the game than survived.  We will take a closer look at the 3 settlements this week in chapter 6.  We may take the chapter test at the end of the week.

Explorer essay:  We worked on this last week in class.  Students were to have an outline completed and rough draft written by Friday.  I printed what they had done.  Please take time to read over this document and help them circle mistakes on the paper.  Please sign the paper so I know you went over it with them at home.  We will work on making corrections and a final copy this week.  The final will be due on Thursday, Nov. 19.

6th grade Literature:  Monday and Tuesday of this week, we will take the Unit test.  Students will be tested over the 4 stories read in the Yellow lit book and the class notes on characters, setting, plot and conflict.  We reviewed the information on the test in class.
We will also begin reading Hatchet.   Please check the blog under Lit for the assignment calendar.

Don't forget to keep working on book report book.  Once students have completed reading,  they may begin the project.  Please do not have them bring the project in until I give them the go ahead.  We will look at sample projects again this week.

Week of November 9-13

Last week was a busy week in all the classes. In LIterature we are reading stories and poems out of our Lit textbooks.  We are learning numerous literary elements as we go.  We will spend one more week in our textbooks before moving on to a new novel.

Make sure your student is reading their book for book report.  They are welcome to begin the project whenever the book is read.  I will give them a date that is ok to bring in the reports.

5th grade language arts:  Spelling - this week's pages are 64-67.  Pretest on Monday and pages and final test on Thursday.  Grammar - we will review plural and possessive nouns over the next few weeks.  I will be sending home one review page each week.  There are still some struggling with this skill.  As a class we will move on to Verbs.  We will be working from pages 65-66, assigning p67 and 68.  Friday will be the weekly quiz.

In literature we will introduce and read "Esther Morris Headed West" on Monday.  On Tuesday we will do a class worksheet on the story.  Wednesday will be a test on the story, fact and opinion, and the notes we have taken over historical fiction, biography, and autobiography.  The notes are in each student's lit notebook. They should bring it home on Tuesday to review.

We continue to work on reading poetry.  We will begin writing our own at the end of the week.

5th grade social studies:  We will be taking chapter 5 test on Monday.  Again, students can use their notebook to help on the test.  They should have reviewed the questions on the worksheet for other parts of the test.  We will begin our research project on Tuesday.  I will send a follow up email on the day that you should expect to see the rough draft come home for corrections.  Then I will post the final date the essay needs to be turned in.  Again we will do most of the work in class.

Settlement Survival Day is on Thursday.  We will play a survival game based on the three settlements we study in chapter 6.  We will then investigate 2 of those settlements further in class.


6th grade literature:  We are finishing up our story "Lob's Girl".  We learned numerous literary elements from the story as well as a great discussion about the ending.  We are doing a writing piece this week based on the theme of this story. Most 6th graders still need to have someone else read over their writing before turning it in.  It will be on Google classroom by mid week.  Check it out!
 We will read one last story "Scout's Honor" from the textbook this week.  We will take a unit test on all 4 stories and notes we have taken in class at the end of the week/beginning of next week.  I will send home a study guide and test date later this week.
We will begin reading Hatchet Monday, November 16.

Week of November 2-6

Fall has arrived.  First quarter has come and gone.  It was wonderful to be able to meet and talk to so many of you during conferences.  It is one of my favorite times, because it gives me great insight into the students and how we can partner together to help them succeed.


This week all will return to normal!!  As normal as middle school can get.

5th grade language arts:  After taking last week's short week off, we will return to spelling and grammar as normal.
We will be working on VCCV patterns in spelling.  The pages are 58-61.  We will take a pretest on Monday.  Pages and final test on Thursday.
Grammar:  We will continue to work with the very tricky plurals and possesives.  We will complete pages 57-58 together to learn the skill.  Wednesday we will work on page 59.  Thursday page 60 will be assigned on Google classroom to correct.  It will be due Friday.  And Friday we will take the weekly assessment.

Literature:  We will be working out of our Treasures book for the next 2 weeks.  Last week we read a biography called Black Cowboy Wild Horses.  The stories are relatively short but need to be read well when they are assigned.  We took a quiz last week after reading the story and many students struggled.  They were allow to make corrections for partial credit.

This week Monday we will read "Sleds on Boston Commons."  It is historical fiction and we will takes notes about that genre.  Students should be prepared to answer questions about the story on Tuesday.
Wednesday we will read the poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere."
And on Friday we will read "When Esther Morris Headed West."  All 3 of these stories  are based on American history and are great examples of biography and historical fiction.

**Make sure your student has read each of the stories.  They bring home their Treasures book to read over them!

5th grade social studies:  Monday and Tuesday we will be taking notes about each of the 8 explorers in chapter 5.  They notes will be completed in the social studies workbook and will be used on the final test. Students were divided into groups to become an "expert"  on one explorer and then teach the class about them.

I will send an email later this week about the final chapter test.
Each student will also be choosing 1 explorer to research.  We will turn the research into a 5 paragraph essay.  We will be working through this process in class.  At some point next week, the rough draft of the essay will come home for you to read and go over with your student.  This will be required before they type the final copy.


6th grade literature:  We will be working out of our large lit text book for the next 2 weeks.  We will be reading several short stories from here.  There will be Google classroom activities for each story.  Keep a check on these grades over the next couple of weeks to make sure students have completed all the work.
We will working through plot, character conflict and foreshadowing.
This will get us ready for reading Hatchet  beginning November 16th.


**Don't forget second quarter book report was assigned for both 5th and 6th grade.  Directions are posted on the blog under 5th or 6th grade Lit.  Students need to be able to check in their book by Wednesday of this week.
Start reading the book now!!  That way you can be done before we begin our next class novel.

Week of October 5-9

Uganda - Here I come!  I am so blessed to have received an opportunity to travel to Uganda and work with our partners at CCLS-U.  I will be leaving next Tuesday, October 13th.
Since the quarter ends and report cards are done while I am gone, I will be using this week to touch base with any students with missing or make-up work.
If your student has a question in one of my classes, please have them see me during Seminar this week.


5th Grade Language Arts:  Spelling  pages this week are 37-40 with the pre-test on Monday.  Spelling pages are due on Thursday.  Youy may want to touch base with your child on Wednesday to make sure those pages are done.
Grammar this week is a continuation of nouns.  We will work through pages 39-40 on Tuesday.  On Thursdays we work through the proofreading page and the students re-type this.  You may want to check the grades on these pages and encourage your student to take his/her time.
Literature finds us reading our novels.  We continue to work on vocabulary words in class so that we all agree on the definitions.  We completed our first round of journals last week.  Some need to be redone or completed for late points.  Monday will be a quiz on the first 3 reading selections.  Later this week we will work on  Acrostic poems to match our Lit books.  Each student has a calendar of chapters that are due and each due date. Chapters are due every 2 days.  The students should be bringing home the books to read!

5th Grade social studies: Hopefully you saw the email about this week's Great Native American Dig.  WE will prepare for the dig Monday-Wednesday and dig on Thursday.  The follow up recovery analysis and presentations will take place Friday and the following Monday.

6th Grade Literature: We have 4 wonderful novels we are reading. Each class period another set of chapters are due.  Students should be reading the chapters outside of class.  In class we find and add 2 vocabulary words and definitions each time, go through a daily discussion question, and then write journals or discuss them.  This week Monday and Tuesday will be a quiz on the first 3 sets of chapters read.
We are targeted to finish reading the novels sometime next week.  In order to make sure your student is reading their chapters, have them tell you all about the book!

Week of September 28-October 2

I can hardly believe we are finishing September already and moving into October.  First quarter always goes so fast.
Last week we had New Book Day for both 5th and 6th grade - complete with silly string!!
We have finished reading our first novel and we are moving on to new books.  The books were introduced on Wednesday and Thursday and later in the week students ranked the books in order of their preference.
I will have book groups made for Monday/Tuesday and each student will be placed in a group with other students reading the same book.

I try to give students their first or second preference, and yet keep the groups somewhat balanced for group work and discussions.  The students can borrow the other books in the set during the year and read if they want.

If you check the blog under literature by Tuesday or Wednesday there should be a calendar for each group posted with the chapters that need to be read and the due dates.  **It is vital the students stay up with the reading, so that they can complete the vocabulary, journals, and discussions at school.  Each student will have their own copy of the book, and may bring it home to read! 

5th grade Lang. Arts:  Spelling this week will be pages 32-35.  Spelling pages are always due on Thursday.  If you check Cornerstone and see low grades for these weekly pages, your student may not be completing them on time.
Grammar skill pages on Tuesday will be pages 31-32.  Pages 33-34 will be assigned on Wednesday and Thursday with the quiz on Friday.

Literature - Look for the new novel to come home.  Check that your student is reading the chapters.  They will have their first journal and discussion this week.

5th grade Social Studies:  We have made it through the notes for chapter 3.  We will begin researching Native American tribes this week.  There will be 8 tribes for each class.  Students will work in a group to research a list of given topics.  Each group will then create 8 artifacts that represent their tribe.  The artifacts must all fit in a shoe box.  Next week depending on the weather we will hold the Great Native American Dig!  Each group will bury their artifacts in the sand pits on the playground.  Another group will dig them up and recover them.  They will examine each artifact and try to determine its origin and usage.  They will then try to piece together with the information they have, which tribe they have discovered and what region they are from.  This should be an awesome experience.  I will have many materials for the creation of the artifacts in my room, however, your child may be asking for things from home as well.
If you have a spare shoe box, we will need some to use.  Send it in anytime this week!  Thanks!

6th grade Literature:  We are moving on to new books.  The four choices for 6th grade are all excellent books and award winners or winning authors.  We will finish reading the last 2 chapters of Charlotte Doyle at the beginning of class this week.  I will be working on grading their essays.  Vocabulary tests will be given back Monday/Tuesday. Again, make sure your student is reading the pages assigned outside of class.

God bless your week!

Week of September 21-25

Last Week's review:  In 5th and 6th grade we have come to the end of our first unit with the read aloud novels.  Both groups have talked about setting and characters in depth.  Some of the projects associated with those are hanging in the hallway.  I have greatly enjoyed reading to the classes and they have listened intently.

In social studies both 5th grades completed their Wintercounts.  Those canvases will hang in the hallway beginning next week.

On to this week...

5th Grade Language Arts:  Spelling - We are working on pages 26-29.  Pretest is on Monday.  Your student should bring home their pre-test on Tuesday.  This allows them to know which words they need to concentrate on for the week.  Ask them about it.
Grammar - Our skill this week is Run-on sentences.  This is a great lesson and  for 5th graders certainly a work in progress.  We will work through skill pages together on Tuesday and Wednesday with the re-write assignment on Thursday and quiz Friday.
Literature -  We will finish reading Maniac Magee tomorrow.  We will go over final vocabulary words on Tuesday.  The final test will be Thursday.  It will cover parts of the book and the vocabulary words.  We will review in class.  The vocabulary folder will also be turned in on Thursday for a final grade.
We may squeeze in the reading of one story in our Treasures book this week.
I will be introducing the next set of books.  There will be four choices.  Please go to the 5th grade literature tab on the blog to see the books and link to a website with reviews.  Each student will rank the 4 books in order of interest and will be assigned to one of the books to read.  We will celebrate New Book Beginnings next Monday!


5th Grade Social Studies:  We are beginning chapter 3.  The students will have a map to color on Monday and possibly some other homework by Wednesday.  We will begin brainstorming Native American Tribes to research by region.  Hopefully by the end of the week we will be making those research choices and details of the project will follow.

6th Grade Literature: This week as we finish the reading of True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle we will begin the essay test.  Each student will complete a character essay for the main character.  We will work through the directions together as well as a planning sheet.  All of those pages and the final will be done on Google Classroom.  You can go there to see the assignment starting Tuesday.
We will also finish vocabulary and the test over the words will be Thursday/ Friday.  Your student should bring home a vocabulary folder with the words completed.  The folder will also be turned in for a grade.
       I will be introducing the next set of books this week.  You can see the books and a link to a website with reviews on the 6th grade literature tab on this blog.  Choices will be assigned and we will be ready to begin the new books next Monday!!

Have a blessed week in the Lord!

Week of September 14-17

Last week was a great week.  We had 5th grade Candy Bar Craze Days with each 5th grader designing their own candy bar on the chromebook.  Numerous students decided to try and make it for real and we were able to look at and taste their creations.  Students were not required to make the candy bar, but some did and are still working on it for extra points.

Both 5th and 6th grade completed drawings of maps or sketches of the ship that represent the setting for the novel being read.  This week we are focusing on characters from the books. 6th graders are doing character presentations and 5th grade will doing a character Word-It-Out.


5th grade Language Arts:  We will be working on spelling pages 20-23 this week.  Pre-test on Monday, pages and final test on Thursday. Both classes have been doing well with completing the spelling pages with just a few incompletes.
Grammar is more on combining sentences.  We will work together on skill pages 19-20 on Tuesday.  Wednesday we will complete page 21 and page 22 will be assigned.  If understanding is good we will take the quiz on Thursday.
We will most likely finish Maniac Magee next week or early the following week.  We will have one more set of vocabulary words, and one more journal.  On Monday each class will be assigned Quiz #2 on Google Classroom to be completed for Tuesday. There will be a final test with vocabulary words included sometime the week of September 21st. We will go over what is on the test ahead of time.

5th grade Social Studies:  On Monday we will be reading about Native American stories and each student will be creating their own Winter Count.  They will design a pictograph story representing each year of their life.  We will put the stories on a large canvas and it will hang in the hallway.
We are done with chapter 2 - it is really just an introduction for chapter 3.  We will take a very short quiz on it on Thursday.  Students will receive a short study guide on Tuesday that we will go over on Wednesday.  They must have it complete and at school Wednesday to receive points on the study guide.


6th grade Literature: Both classes have Quiz #2 due Monday(6C) or Tuesday(6H) next week.
Groups are working on their Character presentations.  We will be presenting on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  We will also be working on Vocabulary during the week.  Sometime within the next week or two we will come to the end of our reading of True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.  I will let the students know about the final test at that time.

What's happening the week of September 8-11

What's happening...

Weekly I will publish what is happening for the week ahead.  It will not be an exact listing of assignments and due dates, that can be found on Cornerstone, but just a general idea of what we will be doing and any tests or projects that may be coming.


5th grade Language arts:
     Spelling:  We will be working  on pages 14-17 next week.  We will take the pre-test on Tuesday.  The pages and final test will still be on Thursday.  Your student will have some study hall time on Tuesday to work on the assignment.
     Grammar:  We will be working with compound sentences.  On Wednesday we will work through pages 13-14 together in class and page 15 will be assigned.  On Thursday we will look at page 16 and they will need to re-type that page for Friday.  Friday will be the weekly quiz.
     Literature:  We will still be reading through our novel Maniac Magee.  On Tuesday they will finish a journal we started today on Google Classroom.  It will be due Wednesday.  We will work on vocabulary words on Thursday and possibly take Quiz #2 on Friday.  We will also complete the "Candy Bar Craze" activity.  It will be due on Friday.


5th grade Social Studies: We have finished chapter one.  The 3D U.S. maps are up in the hallway.  Hopefully they will stay 3D at least for next week!  Students will get the chapter test back on Tuesday and we will go over the correction policy.  (The policy is stated on the blog under social studies).
We will be moving on to Chapter 2 about Native Americans.
Look for upcoming information about our exciting group project for this chapter!


6th grade Literature: We are still reading together True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by AVI.  Ask your student about it!  Next week they will complete a journal they began this week and turn in.  We will continue to work on vocabulary and take Quiz #2 on Thurs./Friday.  They should have turned in or be ready to turn in their sketch of the Seahawk which focused on the book's setting.  This week we will focus on the characters.

Hope to see everyone on Tuesday night.  We will go over many aspects of the classes as well as Cornerstone and other exciting events new this year.  I will share a syllabus with you for each class.

Have a blessed weekend!

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back Families

It is always amazing how fast those summer weeks seem to go.  But I pray that you and your family had some much needed time to relax and enjoy each other and perhaps venture away from St. Louis as well.

I had a jam packed summer.  Returning to school to get my Colloquy degree took up lots of hours.  I traveled to Milwaukee with my son to visit the college he will attend in the fall, and I traveled with Miss Albers to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia for the teacher's institute.  We had a wonderful time, learned a great deal and brought back many treasures for our classes.  I also had the  joy of taking my oldest daughter to New York for her 21st birthday.

And now - I am back hard at work preparing for the upcoming year.

Just a few notes about my 5th grade blog.  My blog is the place to go if you need to locate the spelling book, grammar book or reading workbook on line.  Spelling words for the entire quarter will be posted on the blog.  And directions for projects will be here also.
You can locate these things by clicking on the tab that matches the class you need to find information about.

I will update the front page post every 2-3 weeks with things going on in the classroom and things to be aware of that are coming up.

Special emails will be sent out to make you aware of upcoming tests and study guides.

As always if you ever need anything or have a question, drop me an email!

I am looking forward to a fantastic year.  There are so many wonderful things we learn about and activities we do in 5th and 6th grade.  I can't wait to share those things with you and your student.
See you soon!

Final Weeks

It is sad but true.... We are in the final weeks of school!

Just a couple quick notes to make sure your student finishes strong!!

6th Grade Literature:  Students are reading their final novel for the year.  We have 5-6 books per class being read.  The students have a calendar on their google account that lists exactly what chapters are due and the dates.  It also lists quizzes, vocabulary and other assignments and the due dates.
It is important the students stay current with their assignments.  This last unit will go very quickly, and there is little time to make up missing work.
Anyone missing work when we come to the final project, will not be allowed to help.  We will be creating a board game to match the book.


5th Grade Literature: We are also on the last unit and final novel for the year.  The class is divided into 4 books.  They have chapters assigned and a Google document with all the assignments and due dates for their group.  They should be referring to that document.
The unit will move very quickly.  Students cannot fall behind in their work.  If they do, they will be removed from the book in order to catch up.

Book Talks:  Book talks are going well.  If your student did not sign up in and present in the last 3 weeks, I have assigned them a slot for Monday or Tuesday of next week.  They must have a book read and be ready to tell us about.  There is not a specific form for this, but they may talk about characters, problem/solution, favorite or least favorite parts.

5th Grade social studies:  We have finished our chapters on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  We are going to spend 2 weeks on Westward Expansion.  There will be some book work and workbook pages, and research.  Students will be able to choose a partner or work alone for this final presentation.  They will choose a topic relating to Westward Expansion, research it and present their findings.  There will be choices for presentations.  We will do presentations end of next week, and finish as time allows.
We will talk about Abraham Lincoln and the beginning of The Civil War as well.

5th Grade Language Arts:  We will continue to have Spelling and Grammar as normal these last few weeks of school.

Spring has arrived and so has 4th Quarter

Third Quarter was a very busy one in 5th and 6th grade.  But it was full of wonderful books and stories, some great projects, book reports and many ways that the students were allowed to express themselves!

Take a look if you have a chance in the upstairs hallway.  Our 5th grade book reports are displayed.
Also hanging is a  5th grade class writing project we did, based on the picture book Tuesday, where each student wrote 1 page of this story.  Each class developed a different plot, so the two stories are quite different.  This was a great way to practice using adjectives.

Our 6th grade group Holocaust projects are also displayed.  Each group created 4 pieces of research, based on a different topic of the Holocaust.  Each group also created an Animoto video with a six word summary.  The links to those videos are on the 6th grade page of this blog.  Check them out!!

Coming soon... will be the 5th grade Narnia Class News.  A newspaper based on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
We are in the process of writing our stories now and they will be published in newspaper form.


Spelling, and grammar remain the same for 4th quarter.  The words and weekly dates are posted.  Each week that we have spelling, we also have grammar.  We will continue to write more during the 4th quarter.

4th Quarter Book Reports!!  About halfway through 4th quarter each student will be placed in a small group and assigned one last novel to read.  At the completion of that novel there will be a group book report and an individual report for the book they read. 5th graders will be creating Pop-up books and 6th graders will create a Board Game based on the book.
          Each student will also need to read one other novel of their choosing for 4th quarter.  Instead of a formal book report, each student will need to sign up for a Book Talk, where they will talk about the book in front of the class.  They will need to be able to tell about the book and answer questions.  We will do Book Talks throughout 4th quarter.
Students may read and complete more than one Book Talk for extra points this quarter.
I will go over Book Talks this week.  Spring Break is a great time to get a jump start on reading a book!

Have a Wonderful Spring Break and keep an eye out for all the great things to come!

One week before the end....of third quarter!

It is so hard to believe that we are almost at the end of third quarter.  It has been a great quarter.  One of may favorite to teach for both 5th and 6th grade.
Here's an update of what we have done, and what is left.


6th Grade Literature:
In 6th grade literature this quarter we read historical fiction as well as biographies.  We read some great stories from our anthology book including on about the City of Pompeii.

Then we moved on to Number the Stars, a classic historical fiction novel about the Holocaust from Lois Lowery.  It is an amazing book and we had great discussions.  We are finishing work on on our final projects for the book.
The book and vocabulary test will be next week Tuesday and Wednesday.  We will present projects as well.  As part of each projects, students produced a 30 second Animoto video based on their research.  Look for those to be linked on the blog.

Right now, we are also watching the news reports that go along with 3rd quarter book report.  They are well done and truly show some talent and effort!

5th Grade Language Arts:
5th grade this quarter investigated Fantasy books and stories.  We began with a unit on Chris Van Allsburg picture books and then moved into The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.  Even though some students had read this book, it was a wonderful class read.  Again, we had great discussions about this book, and we really enjoyed the comparisons we made with the Bible.
The final test and movie are end of this week.  Next week we will begin the project that goes with this book.  We will be creating a Narnia Class Newspaper.

We have also been listening to presentations of book reports.  As we finish those they will be hanging in the hallway.

In the hallway also look for our class versions of the picture book Tuesday.  Each student wrote one page of this fun book of pictures.  It was a great way to use our imaginations and practice using adjectives.

5th Grade Social Studies:
We are marching through history.  Chapter 11 was spent investigating the Loyalist side and the Patriot side of the debate for Independence.
Just this week we held a live debate, where the students took on the roles of historical characters, reporters, and public relation agents.
They debated the question of Independence and both sides had good arguments.  The debates were recorded and may be published to disc.  Stay tuned for details.

What we're up to now!

January/February 2015:

So as third quarter gets into full swing here are a few things we are working on:


5th Grade Social Studies:  We are knee deep into American History!!
Having just finished a chapter on Colonial Times, we now take on how the Colonists became unhappy with King George and the series of events that lead to America's independence.

We enjoyed pretending to be in Colonial Williamsburg and experience some of the activities that would have gone on there.  Some of the letters and sketches reflecting on that activity are in the hallway.

These next chapters will dive deep into American history and the characters involved.  We will even have a debate between Patriots and Loyalists complete with characters and costumes!


5th Grade Literature:  We began this unit by reading 2 selections from our Treaures book.  We really enjoyed them both and a highlight was creating our own imaginary land.  Those creations are hanging up in the hallway.

We are in the midst of reading and discussing a series of 6 Chris Van Allsburg books.  He is probably best known for The Polar Express and Jumanji.  We will conclude with picking one of the 6 books to investigate and create a class presentation about.  We will use those presentations for notetaking and the information will be on a final test.

All this leads into our Fantasy unit.  We will begin reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis within the next 2 weeks.  We will read it together as a class and work on vocabulary, journals, discussions and comprehension as part of this unit.  If your student reads ahead, they will have to go back and read the parts we are on in class.

Don't forget the third quarter book report is due February 23rd.  Directions were sent home, shared on Google, posted on Mykoob under the due date and on the blog.  Since we start reading a new novel in the next week or so, it would be a great idea to have your student complete reading their book report book before that time.


6th Grade Literature:
We are working Historical Fiction/Biography/Autobiography.  We have read several great selections from our 6th grade anthology.  We are reading "Dog of Pompeii" this week and discussing that historical event.  There will be a unit test on Historical fiction and the stories we have read next week.

We will begin reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry next week or the following.  It is a great historical fiction.  We will do some basic research about that time in history as well.

Don't forget the third quarter book report is due February 25/26th.  It would be a great idea to have y our student complete reading their book report book before we begin reading Number the Stars.  Directions for the book report were sent home, shared on Google, posted on Mykoob under the due date and on the blog.