Lots of Learning!

Room 5 is still learning many new things! We will have a busy end of the school year...stay tuned for many fun activities!

Math: We have started a Hands on Equations unit. This unit focuses on using manipulatives to solve algebraic equations. The students will have homework that does not require the manipulatives, but involves the same thinking.

Science: Our NYS Science test is Wednesday and Monday. We are reviewing and practicing and continue to learn about ecosystems. Our crickets, pillbugs, and sowbugs arrived last week. Our aquatic life should be here shortly as well.

Writing Workshop: Our class is working on a memoir about their 4th grade friends. Each student is required to write a memory or something nice about each of their classmates. The memories will go in a book with an illustration. By the end of the unit each student will have a book filled with compliments and fun stories from their 4th grade classmates!

Reading Workshop: All book groups are going well! The students are already on their second book! Way to go!

Social Studies: We have started our unit about Immigration. The students are very excited about our Immigration Simulation which will take place on June 11th. Please read, sign, and return the blue paper that is making its way home today. Thank you!

Balloon Countdown: Our class is doing a balloon countdown for the end of the year. Each day one student gets to pop a balloon. Inside the balloon is an activity for that day. Only students who hand in homework and are respectful to others are able to pop a balloon. Today we wrote "words of wisdom" for next year's 4th graders!

I strongly encourage the students to bring in water everyday! It gets EXTREMELY warm in our classroom and it is extra important to stay hydrated!

Please send in a white t-shirt to be tie-dyed by Friday, June 1st!

Thank you for your support!

Lots of Learning!

Room 5 has started a few new units! We are learning so much and continue to work hard!

Writing Workshop: We are working on a poetry unit! Some poetic devices we have explored are simile, metaphor, and alliteration. We have written acrostic poems, color poems, and cinquains. We will continue learning about poetry this week.

Reading Workshop: The students are continuing to read their Literature Circle books. The students have increased their goals and are now reading more than 10 pages and writing at least 2 responses. Some groups have student leaders and some groups have met without a teacher. I am very impressed with the work the students are doing in their Literature Circle books!

Math Workshop: This week we are focusing on circle concepts: radius, diameter, circumference, as well as coordinate geometry and ordered pairs. The students are working hard in their math stations. We will begin to explore science concepts in preparation for our NYS Science Assessment in station 2.

Science: The students have assembled the terrarium part of their ecosystems. The organisms for the aquariums should be arriving soon. We are learning about ecosystems, their interactions, and the things in our environment that impact ecosystems.

Social Studies: We just finished our government unit. The students did an excellent job during this unit! We also talked about voting and school budgets. Please have your student vote for their snack choice for next year's lunch!

I'd like to thank everyone who came to our Colonial Museum! I hope you enjoyed all of the hard work the students put into researching and presenting their colony. The students especially enjoyed sharing their colonial life journals with you! This was one of their favorite writing projects this year!

Congratulations to all of the students who participated in Lip Sync! They looked great and had amazing dance moves!

Marvelous May!

Phew...state testing is over...until Science that is! These fourth graders are very hard workers and deserve to be recognized for all of their determination and perseverance! The fourth grade teachers are planning a secret celebration! We will get back to you when we get things finalized. :)

We are finally back to a "normal" week in Room 5! It will be so nice not having to start our days with 90 minutes of testing! I'm sure the students will miss the smarties, smartfood, and donuts though! Here is a glimpse at what we will be learning about:

Reading Workshop: We have started Literature Circles! The students are LOVING meeting with their book groups twice a week. During our meetings we discuss what we read, share our thinking and feelings about what we read, and create a new reading goal. The students are doing an excellent job responding to their reading and listening to each other's thoughts. Most groups are reading books about social struggles with students their ages. They are able to truly connect to these characters. 

Writing Workshop: We are starting a Poetry unit. This unit will be a nice break from essay writing and research. We will be learning about literary devices, poetic devices, and more. We will practice writing a variety of poems. The students will have poetry homework as well.

Math Workshop: Our class is excited to get back into the routine of math workshop and stations. This week we will be focusing on comparing and ordering fractions with uncommon denominators, converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa. My goal is to brush up on fractions and learn some 5th grade fraction concepts and strategies.

Social Studies: This week we will be learning about the US Government today. We will learn about the national, state, and local governments. There are a lot of fun BrainPop videos about these topics as well.

Thanks for all of your support during testing! I especially appreciated your letters to the students. Those who were surprised were truly shocked and couldn't believe a letter from their parent had arrived at school without them knowing! All students enjoyed reading the letters :)

Welcome Back!

Nothing says "welcome back" like a 90 degree day to get the week started! I hope everyone had a nice holiday and enjoyed their week off.

This week the students will be given the ELA. We will be testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from approximately 9:30-11:00. Please be sure your child gets plenty of rest and a filling breakfast this week! We have been working hard all year and I know the students are ready and confident.

This week we will be preparing for the NYS Math Assessment which will be given next week. We will also continue learning about the end of the Revolutionary War and the beginning of our new nation. The students are doing an awesome job with their colonial life journals!

There are many fun events coming up like the craft fair, book fair, and more! Please look at the list of important events to the left to stay updated!

April!

It's hard to believe it is already April! We are very busy in Room 5 as we prepare for the NYS Assessments that will occur after break.

In Math Workshop we will continue our Geometry Unit this week. We will practice finding the perimeter and area of classroom objects. The students did a nice job on their vocabulary quizzes next year! I can tell they are using the flashcards to practice and study. We will have our 3rd Interim Assessment on Wednesday, April 4th. 

In Reading Workshop we are practicing for the ELA. We have been practicing answering questions using evidence from the text, writing paragraphs which include a topic sentence, supporting details, and an ending sentence. We will continue practicing each section of the test this week. 

In Writing Workshop we are working hard on our non-fiction books. The students have working hard to put the books together neatly. They are looking great so far!

In Social Studies we will wrap up our unit about the Revolutionary War this week. I'm sure you all heard about the Stamp Act we reenacted last week. The students thought they had lost their "nice" teachers for good. I'll admit, we had a blast doing it! When we come back from break we will talk about government.

A permission slip for Lip Sync will be coming home this week! We will be doing a dance as a grade and it will be a ton of fun!! Can't wait :)

Please click on the Links and Photos tab to see some photos!

Happy Spring!

We had some very nice weather last week, which was a nice way to welcome Spring. Sadly, we will have some seasonal weather this week. I will miss the sunshine and warmth! 

In Math Workshop we will be working on our Geometry Unit. Station 2 will be a review of previously taught concepts in preparation for the NYS Math Test. The test will be Wednesday, April 25th to Friday, April 27th. Our spelling unit this week will focus on important vocabulary words from our Geometry Unit.

In Reading Workshop we are reviewing topic, main idea, theme, summary, details, and evidence. We will also practice the multiple choice and listening parts of the ELA. The NYS ELA will be Tuesday, April 17th to Friday, April 19th. 

In Writing Workshop we will begin putting our non-fiction books together. Thank you for your guidance with the typing portion. The students did an excellent job typing their Table of Contents, Glossary, and locating pictures. They learned how to underline and bold text, center align text, and change the font size and style.

In Social Studies we will begin a unit about the Revolutionary War. We will continue writing in our Colonial Life journals. The students are doing an amazing job with this and are highly motivated! I can't wait to share them with you.

Thank you for all of your support at home!

March 19th-23rd

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Both days had great weather. It looks like we are going to have a nice week as well! This week will be a busy one with the orchestra festival and rehearsals. I will see some of you at conferences on Tuesday, which is a half day.

In Math Workshop we will be finishing our measurement unit this week. We have a few more lessons. We will review on Wednesday and have a test on Thursday. Our next unit is geometry!

In Writing Workshop we have finished our non-fiction books and each student conferenced with me. During the conferences the students revised and edited. The books will be sent home to be typed. A letter with details will be provided. We will continue typing the glossary and the table of contents in school. We are also searching for pictures to go with our books.

In Reading Workshop we learned about the theme in texts. We read many classic stories together to analyze and explain the theme. The students have been focusing on using evidence from the text to support the theme. This week we will be comparing themes between stories. We will also begin our test prep unit. This week the students will start reading for 30 minutes each night. They will also read longer during independent reading to build stamina for the state test.

In Social Studies we are continuing to learn about colonial life. The students have been doing an amazing job with their journal writing. They love it and look forward to it everyday. They are really taking on the role of a colonist in the 1700s.

Last week was one of the best weeks we have had in school. The students are working together, being cooperative, and maintaining a positive attitude. We were complemented by the staff at recess about how nice the students are. They are kind to each other and respectful to all. It was very sweet to hear how great we are as a class. I left on Friday afternoon with a huge smile on my face thinking "I have the BEST students". Keep up the awesome work, Room 5!