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!