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CLASSROOM NEWS
September 7th
Congratulations to our August Student of the Month: Melanie Mislo. She will be honored, along
with all other 3rd -5th graders, at a special festive gathering in the Guidance Suite.
Language Arts:
We will finish our STAR and SRI testing Monday, September 8th and I will send home a sheet
with those results and Lexile scores in this Thursday’s Folder.
As fifth graders I know that they have been exposed to many fiction novels. I took an
informal poll and found out that most students had not read novels that were either in the
science fiction or suspense genre. I wanted to start my teacher read-alouds with a bang and I
also wanted to choose my first literature unit with a genre that would really engage all the
students. Hopefully your child has been telling you about the book I’m reading to them, Ember
the City of Light. It’s science fiction and every day they sit one inch closer to me, hanging
on to my every word. I purposely pick the worst time to stop reading and it’s working! They
are begging me to read any moment they think we have free. I intentionally picked a book that
was par t of a series, a prequel and sequel and already a few students have told me they have
either bought the series or checked them out of the library. In our literature unit we are
focusing on suspense and reading a series of 3 short stories. We are learning about multiple
cause and effect, the format of a suspense story and the use of idioms, similes and language to
create tension and mood. Our first story we read aloud as a class and everyone had their hands
up to take their turn reading a paragraph – and hating the spots I chose to end for the day.
Funny how that works. I have been really pleased with how excited and engaged they have been.
We’ve had lots of class discussion around the various techniques the writer uses to build to his
story’s climax. Right now everyone is working on writing their own suspense story using a
graphic organizer to map their story. It’s a difficult process but they are sticking with it
and really working hard. As I mentioned at Open House, Janet Ostendorf is joining me for one
hour each morning and we team teach reading. It has been a real gift to have her there helping
me review all 27 graphic organizers and make sure all the fine tweaks ( for both conventions and
comprehension) are made before they write their final draft. I will have them take turns
sharing their stories with the class and we may show them off for a few weeks before they go
home. We have two more stories to read as part of the unit and they each have a very different
setting and problem that will appeal to everyone in class.
We also had some housekeeping things to do, such as write a (pre) persuasive paper as part
of the four paragraphs all students must write each year. These paragraphs remain in their
portfolio and their scores are sent to the State. Once we finish more of our literature unit we
will begin a more focused study of writing persuasive papers. Right now, I am coordinating with
Mrs. Clark, the Social Studies teacher, to make sure they read and complete a graphic organizer
on a series of books on the Civil War. They will work in pairs reading and discussing but will
have to complete their write ups individually. For this week they will be juggling two very
different reading studies.
Science:
We have been studying matter for 3 weeks and will be having a test 2 weeks from now. I
will finalize the date with your child and it will be in their planners. On Friday I told them
to take their science texts home to begin reviewing the material – no cramming!! This is a new
textbook adoption and there have been some “glitches”. We are still receiving all our materials
and we have not been able to open the text online. We keep checking and I hope that will be
resolved very soon. Know that as part of our learning we have a Science Folder with materials
and notes from our class discussions and readings plus each student has created an Interactive
Science Notebook which is a great study guide because it focuses on the main idea and supporting
details in each lesson. (there are 3 lessons in this chapter). Each lesson is divided into 3
sections: RAP (review and preview), VIP (very important page – this is what I teach and I
demand they copy exactly what I write on the board in my specific format to teach organizational
skills) and WOW (words of wisdom – the spot I use to confirm they “got it”). Each RAP, VIP and
WOW is numbered sequentially and the WOW is usually based on an experiment we do in class and
their responses to questions about the concept. This gives me and them an opportunity to apply
their vocabulary and it’s pretty easy for me to spot any weaknesses. So, we do more experiments
until the light bulbs go off. I think they have enjoyed what we’ve done so far and frankly,
compared to some of the other units, Matter is kind of boring, an important building block but
not terribly exciting. I feel like they will be really be pumped when we get to the meat and
potatoes. I found a disgusting (I hate touching the pictures on the pages, it turns my stomach)
book about all the baddies in our bodies – germs, parasites etc magnified to millions of times
their actual size. Trust me when I tell you that maggots are truly vile to look at. We chose,
as our first chapter, to read about what is burrowing under our flesh as the kids were finishing
their snacks. (Eewww) Some of the boys were squeezing their eyes shut, burying their faces in
the hands but demanding I keep reading. They love it and can’t wait for me to read more. I am
really trying to find all sorts of books to engage them in all the subjects. FYI- I purchased
these mostly at Scholastic book fairs.
Math:
In math we have been working on place value, including for decimals. We created a foldable
to help us organize all the categories and to keep track of what value is located where. It has
been, not easy. Some days we move along and others, we stop dead in our tracks. We also have
been working a lot on our vocabulary – without truly understanding what is being asked, we can’t
speak math. Since the rest of the year is so dependent on mastering this step, I am moving at
the classes speed and working with small groups for extra practice. I will tell you what I told
my class. My tests are very straightforward and not tricky. I want everyone to pass and do
well and I like to put a lot of questions (versus very few) to give them a better chance of
getting a higher grade. I also will give partial credit to students that show their work but I
can see they made a minor error in the final answer. Anyone that fails a test will retake a
similar test for a second chance and I will throw out the lower grade. I have been using a
variety of approaches to teach place value, including coloring in models, creating models,
graphic organizers, number lines etc. We work until everyone feels comfortable with the
approach. We also use a math journal that is a great resource for studying as well.
Housekeeping: I will post grades this week (I’ll send a newsflash to let you know when they’re
online). There was a question of licensing and which program we would ultimately use.
I will be out two days this week for a special teacher development program (W/TH). Even
though I will have a substitute, Mrs. Ostendorf will be teaching the reading.
COGAT’s and ITBS testing begin next week! We will have a half day on the 16th and begin
COGAT’s on Wed-Fri, 17th-19th. The ITBS will be administered the following week. It is
imperative your child not miss school during this time frame. The test results can be helpful
to your child – for Target placement and as a heads up for how they might perform on the CRCT’s
in the late spring. Testing starts promptly at 8 a.m. each day. Late arrivals will not be
admitted. I will be discussing and teaching relaxation and focusing strategies throughout the
days leading up to the test. Make sure they start getting regular sleep now to be ready next
week.
Have a great week.
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