And We're Off...

We are off and running for the 2016-2017 school year.
The new 5th graders did a great job adjusting to all the "new" at the middle school.  It will take a while before things run smoothly, but we will get there.

A couple of highlights - Everyone has managed to get into and back out of their locker.  We have a few lockers that still need a little organizational help. If your child did not have locker shelves, consider making this purchase to help them out.

We have now managed to work through the A/B day rotation.  That will become a little more clear as we do it.  Honestly, I have messed up the schedule as much as anyone with all the changes we have made.

We have attended two band meetings.  Look for some information to come home this week or next about choosing instruments.  Band is a great 5th grade opportunity.

And some updates for the week:

5th Grade Language Arts:
Spelling:  We began spelling today by taking a pre-test.  It is a great tool to identify the words we have the most trouble spelling.  A 100% on the pre-test means you do not have to take the final test.  Pages 2-5 in spelling are due on Thursday.  We worked on pages 2-3 today and will look at 4-5 tomorrow.  Students are able to work at their own pace, as long as the pages are complete by Thursday.  The weekly word test is on Thursday afternoon.
Grammar:  We will begin grammar skills tomorrow.  We will work on the first 2-3 pages together in class.  There will be grammar homework every Thursday on the chromebook, however many will finish it at afternoon study hall.

Literature:  We are reading together in class the book Wonder  by RJ Palacio.  It is one of the best books I have read from recent years.  We will use this book to guide us through the parts of literature response (summary, comprehension, reaction journals, vocabulary) and learn a great deal about ourselves and how we treat others.  I highly recommend parents read this book as well.  Tuesday we will be answering comprehension questions, and Wednesday we will complete our first journal on Google classroom.

5th Grade Social Studies:

Our first unit of study is world/US geography.  We will spend some time reviewing maps and globes and latitude and longitude.  We will be using latitude/longitude to locate cities from the Rio Olympics.  We will eventually be working on a 3D map of the physical features in the United States.  We will be shooting for our first test, the end of next week, but I will let you know exactly when it is and what will be on it.

6th Grade Literature:
We are working on a team building project called Survival Island.  We will be presenting those on Wednesday and Thursday.  Our first novel is a class read aloud called The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by AVI.  We will use it as a review of the parts of a story and character development.  We will be using comprehension questions, journals and vocabulary as we read it.

I am so pleased to be working with all of you in these subjects.  Please let me know if you have any questions.