Sunday, February 26, 2017

3rd Quarter countdown: Last week of February


It is hard to believe it is the last week of February, and with that the last weeks in the third quarter.

As we continue with the units we are studying, I will be notifying students about any missing work.  Even if students are absent, I will be marking the assignments as a 0, so that students know they need to make up the assignments.

Please continue to check Educate these last two weeks.  There will be limited assignment corrections accepted at this point, so make sure your student checks with me before redoing past assignments.

5th Grade Language Arts:  Spelling:  The next two weeks of spelling will follow normal schedule.  We will take the pretest on Monday, and pages and final test will be on Thursday.  This week's pages are 136-139.  Last week was a challenging list, and only one correct pretest, but overall weekly scores were very good.  I am pleased with the  work done last week in spelling.

Grammar:  We will continue to work through the remaining grammar lessons.  I hope to incorporate more creative writing into 4th quarter.  At this point, the grammar pages and homework will remain the same.  This week we will work on skill pages 135-137.  Proofreading page 138 will be assigned on Thursday and due Friday.  The weekly quiz page 139 will be Friday.

Literature:  We will begin with Chapter 11 on Monday in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  We have read most of the book in class, with some outside reading.  As we read, we have been keeping notes and sketches in our notebook.  The notebook will be a part of the grade for this unit, and since it is done in class, students will need to check if they miss class. Last week we completed questions and a journal.  Look for those grades this week.  We will add vocabulary words to the unit this week.
**We will finish the book before Spring Break.

Social Studies:  Hopefully your 5th grader brought home social studies this weekend.  We  reviewed for the chapter 10 test last week Thursday and Friday.  We completed the study guide together in class, except for the vocabulary words and essay question.  Those are for students to complete on their own.  They will need to study the information on the study guide for the test.  I suggest someone quizzes them on the information.
The Chapter 10 test is on Tuesday.
We will begin Chapter 11 on Monday.  This chapter is set up as a debate.  I will be placing students on a debate team and assigning them a historical character to represent.  It will take us over a week to prepare, and then we will hold the debate.  I will publish the dates as soon as get a feel for when we will be done.  Parents are invited to attend the debate.

6th Grade Literature:  We continue reading Number the Stars in class.  Last week we worked on chapter questions and a journal.  Both of the grades will be posted this week.  We will add some vocabulary words to the unit this week.
We will take a break from our independent reading to share book reports this week.  I will encourage students to record books they may want to read after sharing book reports.
We will finish reading Number the Stars by Spring Break.  There are several other parts to this unit and we will get as far as we can before break.  We will be doing a research project and watching and discussing a documentary as well as a film from this time. The film is based on the novel we are reading.
**Keep up with any missing work.  Even if students are absent it will appear as a 0 so students know to complete it.  I am not allowing corrections on all assignments done, so encourage your student to keep up with and complete the upcoming assignments correctly the first time.

Looking forward to a busy but fun week.
Blessings,
Mrs. Brown

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Week of February 21-24

Welcome Back!  We are back to a relatively normal schedule this week.
Just a reminder that there is only 3 weeks left in third quarter!

Over the next two weeks we will be completing numerous assignments.  Please keep checking Educate and stay on top of things, especially if your child is absent.

5th Grade Language Arts:
Spelling:  We took the pretest on Tuesday.  Pages 130-133 are due Friday.  The final test is also Friday.

Grammar:  We begin Adjectives this week.  We will get all 5 pages in during this short week.  Proofreading will still be assigned on Thursday and due Friday, and the weekly assessment will be Friday.  We are on pages 129-133.

Literature:  We are really getting into  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  We took a quiz on Chapters 1-5 today.  It is on Google classroom.  Students can use their books.  It is due Wednesday.  
As we read we have been using a notebook approach.  Each day we sketch or write something about the book in our notebook.  Make sure if your child is absent they find out what went in the notebook when they were gone.
We will read and journal as well this week.  That assignment will be on Google classroom as well.

5th Grade social studies:  We are finishing chapter 10.  We will be watching a series of Liberty Kids videos as we move through the next few chapters.  Often there is an assignment to go with the video.  Again, if absent, the videos are on YouTube, and students will need to watch them and complete the work that goes with them.

We will take the chapter 10 test on Tuesday of next week.  We will review Thursday and Friday in class. We will begin chapter 11 on Monday.

6th Grade Literature:  We have begun Number the Stars.  So far we have read everything in class.  We will be answering questions this week (Mon. and Tues.) and journaling at the end of the week. Both assignments will be on Google classroom. There will be some outside reading, but most will be done in class.


THIRD QUARTER BOOK REPORT IS DUE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27!
All directions are posted on Google classroom.  Students may bring in their report whenever it is finished.

Have a blessed week,
Mrs. Brown

Sunday, February 12, 2017

3 Day week!

Hopefully these two days off will be a rest for your family.  I am excited to be meeting with teachers on Monday to work on the Language arts curriculum, and Tuesday to attend METC conference and learn some new technology techniques for the classroom.

We have switched seats, we have begun reading new novels, and we will move forward this week!
Last week's literature tests will be handed back this week.

5th Grade Language Arts:  Because of the short week, we will not have spelling this week, or a new grammar skill.  We will take a pronoun review test from our book, and work on some editing skills.

Literature:  We have begun reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis.  This novel fits our fantasy unit, and is a wonderful 5th grade read.  We will be reading it in class, however there will be homework assignments to finish chapters.  You may certainly read the book with your child.  We are going to keep a notebook as we read this novel.  The notebook will contain sketches, character lists and analysis, as well as other notes.  Students are allowed to use a spiral notebook, or put notebook paper in their vocabulary folder.  Students must have the notebook and the book at school each day.

5th grade Social studies:  We continue this week with the historical events in chapter 10.  We will hit the Boston Tea Party this week.  We will begin a combination of textbook/workbook activities and videos in class.  Some videos will have guided note taking sheets that will be completed.  If your child misses a video, they will need to view it on their own and take the notes.
We will discuss the activities of last week, and begin to develop an understanding of the colonists' feelings and view of Great Britain.  This will continue into the next chapter, and will ultimately lead to our Patriots vs. Loyalists Debate.  This event will be held during the school day, and parents are invited.  Details to follow.
**Remember all test and letter corrections are due this week Friday.

6th Grade Literature:  We continue our Historical fiction unit as we begin reading Number the Stars.   This is an award winning novel, and a great example of historical fiction.  With this unit, we will do most of the reading in class.  The book is not difficult to read.  We will use journaling and quizzes for grades as we go.  Towards the end of the novel, we will break into groups and work through a Project-based learning activity about this time in history.  This project will allow students to read from multiple sources, and record information in various ways, in order to share it with others.  Details will follow.

Last week during Independent reading time, I touched base with every student about their progress on their book report book.  I did not assign novel pages to any class this weekend, so that students still reading for the book report have an opportunity to finish their chapters.  Students should work to complete their book by this week to allow some time to complete the report.
Book reports can be completed and turned in at any point.  The due date is February 27/28(Caciano).

Enjoy your days off!  See you on Wednesday!
Mrs. Brown

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Week of February 6-10


This will be a transition week for many of my classes.  We are finishing units and taking tests and then moving on.  I like the last couple of weeks of study, but the upcoming weeks are wonderful.

Make sure as we finish these units you are checking Educate.  I have been keeping a list of missing work on my board, and unfortunately there are numerous students with missing work.

**Remember if your student is absent, they must find out what they missed and make up the work.


5th Grade Language Arts: Spelling:  Spelling pretest on Monday.  Pages assigned and as always are due on Thursday along with the final test.  We are working on pages 122-125.
Grammar:  Last week we worked on Possessive pronouns which can be confusing.  We did well and will continue that work this week.  Skill pages will be 121-123.  Proofreading will be page 124 assigned on Thursday and due Friday.  The quiz will be Friday, page 125.

Literature:  We have finished our author study on Chris Van Allsburg and our introduction to fantasy/science fiction.  Students chose 1 of the 8 books we read to research and present to the class.  We will begin those presentation Monday.  We will also take a test over this unit.  I will post the study guide on Google classroom.  Students do not need to turn it in, but may use it to review and take notes for studying.  

We will begin The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by the end of the week. 

5th grade social studies:  Last week we completed some ending assignments for chapter 9.  The first was the Colonial Williamsburg letter and sketch.  We spent several days on this assignment, and the exact directions were posted on Google classroom.  Each student will receive a grade sheet this week with the rubric and their grade.  We are working to have assignments such as these done correctly, following the directions, and completed in final form.  If your student did not follow the directions, they may talk to me about correcting the assignment.
They will also get back this week the chapter 9 test.  They may make corrections but must follow the correction policy.  
Tomorrow we will go through our "Fakebook" assignments.  It is a great ending to the chapter, but the program has some glitches.  No one will be penalized for computer issues.  We will then begin chapter 10 which is a great part of American history.

6th grade Literature: We are spending the first 20 minutes of class each day reading.  I am meeting with each student about what they are reading during this time.  They will begin to keep track themselves of their progress and some reflections.
The rest of class we have been reading from our textbook.  We just read an wonderful historical fiction story based on the destruction of Pompeii.  We will do some followup work with it this week.  We will also take a test over this unit of Biographies and historical fiction.  I will be posting the study guide for them on Google classroom.  The test will be Wednesday/Thursday(A/B day).  

We will then begin reading in class Number the Stars.    Most of the book will be read in class, however there may be some outside homework.  It is a great work of historical fiction and we will use it to do a Project based learning activity and some reflective writing and art.

Don't forget about the upcoming book report.  Since this is the only report of the year, I have high expectations for the quality of work turned in.  This is not a one night assignment.  Students are given time in class to read, however if your child is less than half way done with their chosen book, they will need to be reading at home.

Have a blessed week!
Mrs. Brown