We started off the day with our month end assembly. We have some very talented students in our classroom!!

We started centers after assembly but did not get completely through. We finished up during the last hour of the day.

After recess, students had Science with Mrs. Gale. We then wrote our Spelling Test. We also read the next chapter in our read aloud.

After lunch, we completed Math Pods. Students continued to work on the assignment from pages 232-233. At teacher table, we discussed how lines of symmetry can be used as an attribute to describe quadrilaterals. We used mira's to help us through this activity. At computers, students played Shape Lab. If you were absent today, please watch Symmetry.

April Newsletter

April Newsletter
Room 20
http://mrsshields.blogspot.com/

Welcome to April! Hopefully we will get to see some Spring weather soon!! The Easter Bunny doesn’t like puddles!!

If you are interested in signing up for a committee for the Grade 5 Farewell please let me know as soon as you can. These committees will be meeting at the end of April to get things started as June is going to be here before we know it.
Here are a few hi-lights from our month to come...

Language Arts
We have began our new anthology, On With the Show!, in Guided Reading. The small groups will continue to focus on a variety of reading strategies within each short story and poem that follow an art theme. The students continue to do an excellent job with the strategies!
Spelling will continue with the same format of 7 words. We are into our 20th lesson. Please remember that students receive their spelling words on Day 1, and write their spelling test on Day 6.
The students continue to WOW! me with their writing. Their creativity and knowledge of the writing traits is very impressive. We will continue to focus on all 6 of the traits (ideas, organization, word choice, voice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation) as they have all been introduced.
We will be completing the Writing Assessment for Learning April 27-29. Attendance during these 3 dates are extremely important!

Math
Our next unit, Geometry, will bring a lot of hands on learning and exploration within the classroom.
Geometry unit objectives:
- Build, represent, and describe geometric objects and shapes.
- Identify and sort quadrilaterals
We will also continue with Problem Solvers and Exemplars. We will be focusing on the Brainstorming strategy.

Social Studies
We are currently working on an expository writing piece that has students researching and writing about what life was like on a voyage of an explorer of their choice. We will continue with the Heritage unit throughout the month of April focusing on what life was like in Canada after the explorers arrived.

Art – Mrs. Schentag
For the month of April, we will continue on our Drama Unit. This unit explores children's literature in order to inspire us to carry out drama activities. Students will be engaged in meetings, court sessions hot seats and other drama activities which will relate to real-life situations. We look forward to a lot of fun and cooperative group work.
The Grade 5's also look forward to their Drama Night which will be held on Tuesday, April 20 at 7:00 p. m. Congratulations to all of the students who have worked so hard to prepare for a very entertaining evening!

French – Mrs. Orosz
Students will continue to develop their comprehension and ability to communicate, as they participate in games and other activities centered around the story “ L’Arbre Ungali. ” A highlight of each class will be a short session of telling and writing events which occur in the story using different words.

Physical Education - Mr.Leidl
Students will begin the transition from the gymnasium to outdoor playground pursuits. Focus will be on track and field, softball skills, soccer, golf and tennis.

Health - Mr. Leidl
Students will begin a number of health/safety initiatives this month. The first will involve a research project on UV rays and the negative effects of prolonged sun exposure. The second will involve bicycle safety and wearing appropriate head gear. The third will involve planning the SummerActive Physical Activity Initiative.

We started our day with Centers. In Guided Reading, we are looking at hour poets use descriptive words to help the reader visualize the intended message of the poem.

After recess, students had RBL with Mrs. Schentag.

We then completed Math Pods. Station 1 had students working on identifying diagonals, congruent sides, parallel sides, and adjacent sides for a variety of shapes. At teacher table, we looked at comparing different quadrilaterals based on the definitions of the specific shapes. Students were assigned numbers 1 and 2 from page 232, due for tomorrow. At computers, students explored through a few tangram websites (these websites are listed on the Math Links on the right hand side of the blog).

Students finished up the day with French and Phys Ed.

We started off another week with Centers. We will finish up this set of Centers before the Spring break.

After recess, students worked on their Expository Writing pieces for Social Studies. I'm very proud of the work the students are doing as their writing has been excellent! These pieces will be posted in the hallway!

We completed Math Pods after lunch. At computers, students completed Quadrilateral Quest. Students worked with Mrs. Gale to review perpendicular lines. We also began discussing quadrilaterals and diagonals.

To finish up the day, we worked again on our Social Expository Writing assignment.

Students started the day off in Art with Mrs. Schentag.

We worked on word processing Lesson 20 Spelling words.

After recess, students completed their versions of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs writing assignment. We also worked on our Social expository pieces as we missed our Social period with the Roughrider visit this afternoon.

In math, students continue to work on recognizing the terminology involved with the Geometry unit. At teacher table, we discussed perpendicular lines. Students were assigned #2 on page 228. At group work, students worked with the 6 different pattern blocks and identified parallel lines and equal sides. At computers, students tried to solve a variety of Geometric Puzzles.

We started off the day with our new Lesson 20 spelling words (theme, famous, piece, money, surface, wind, shortly).

We then worked on our Social Studies Expository Writing pieces. We are beginning to put pull our ideas together and begin our first draft.

We reviewed yesterday's Geometry Dictionary assignment. Students were then given time to complete the Dictionary so that we become more familiar with the many new terms of this unit. We also reviewed yesterday's assignment and discussed a variety of attributes of shapes. Students were also given some time on the computer to try and "master" the house building website that they tried yesterday!

Students finished off the day in French and Phys Ed.

Have a great evening everyone!! Enjoy the snow :(

We completed Day 4 of Centers this morning. All Center activities are due tomorrow.

After recess, students have Science with Mrs. Gale.

We then wrote our Lesson 19 Spelling Test. We also read the next chapter of our read aloud, Hatchet.

We started our new Math unit, Geometry, after lunch. We completed Math Pods. Station 1 had students working on the beginning of a Geometry Dictionary. The first 6 definitions are due for tomorrow. We discussed a variety of attributes at Station 2. Students were assigned 4,5,7 from page 225. At computers, students tried to create the different houses using the website Building Houses.

We finished off the day working on our Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs writing pieces.

Reminders
Another Roughrider Day has been scheduled for Thursday.

We completed Day 3 of Centers this morning. The guided reading groups continue to work extremely hard! Great job Grade 5!!

After recess, students had a chance to visit the Book Fair in the library. There are many wonderful and great books for the students to choose from!

We wrote our Fractions and Decimals math test before lunch. Please sign and return these tests for tomorrow.

The students finished off the day with French and Phys. Ed.

Reminders
-Spelling Test Lesson 19 tomorrow
-Roughrider Day tomorrow. Wear green!!

Thank you for such a wonderful turnout at last night's CSI Parent Night! It was great to watch the students show the parents what they have been doing in the classroom! I hope that everyone enjoyed the evening!!

We started yet another day with Centers this morning.

After recess, we finished up our Reading is Fun paragraphs for the Scholastic Reading is Fun writing contest. Keep your fingers crossed that we are the big winners of 100 free books for our classroom!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

We started the day with a wonderful school assembly that showcased many of the Music Festival talent from our school.

We then completed Day 1 of a new set of Centers.

After recess, students had Science with Mrs. Gale. We also completed Centers before lunch as we ran out of time after assembly.

We reviewed yesterday's math assignment after lunch. Students were assigned a review for the Fractions and Decimals unit on pages 216-217 (1,2,3ab,4,5,6ab,7,8cd,9ab,16,18). The unit test will be on Monday, March 22.

The finish up the day, Mr. Leidl took the students skating!

I hope to see everyone tonight at CSI!!

Reminder:
Book Fair Monday, March 22

Spring is in the air!! We had another very busy day in Grade 5!!

We started the day with Spelling. Students finished word processing Lesson 19. Spelling test will be on Tuesday, March 23.

After recess, we worked on a variety of writing pieces during 6+1. I conferenced with some students looking more in depth at our sticker stories. Take some time to read them tomorrow night! Students did a wonderful job!!
Students also began working on a short write about why they think reading is fun. We will be entering these pieces into a Scholastic writing contest for a chance to win 100 books for our classroom!!

After lunch, students were given their unit assignment for Social. Students will be writing an expository piece of writing. They must pretend to be on an explorer's ship and describe what life was like. The format of this assignment is very similar to what the AFL will look like in April.

To finish off the day, we did Math pods with the help of Mrs. Lippai. At computers, students played Decimal Darts. With me, students were introduced to Estimating Sums and Differences of Decimals. Students were assigned page 198 (1 a,c,e, 2 a,c,e, & 6). Students discussed Ordering Decimals in the Thousandths Place with Mrs. Lippai. Students were assigned page 189 (1 a,d,g, 2, 4, 11). Both of these assignments are due for tomorrow.

Another week has quickly approached! We have lots of work to do during this short week!

We started off the day with Lesson 19 spelling words (opposition, hundred, himself, inside, really, brilliant, similar). Students will continue to word process these words tomorrow.

We then spent our Math class as a whole group talking about thousandths and the different ways we can represent this decimal place. Students were assigned page 185-186 (1, 2a,b, 3, 7a,e, 8a,c, 13). This assignment is due for tomorrow.

Reminders:
CSI night Wednesday, March 17
Assembly Wednesday, March 17, 9:00

We completed Day 4 of Centers this morning. All Center activities are due Monday morning.

After recess, students worked on their Science Expository writing pieces. We also took some time to record their poetry recitals for the parent night on Wednesday.

In math, we completed pods. At teacher table, we discussed using a number line to order decimals. Students were assigned page 181 (1,2,5,7). Due for Monday. At group work, students played an ordering decimals game. At computers, students played Decimals/Whole Number Jeopardy.

To finish off the day, students continued to work on their Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs writing assignment. I also pulled individual students to review and complete conventions for their Sticker Stories.

Have a great weekend everyone! Don't forget our CSI Parent Night on Wednesday, March 17!

The following students need to get their Grade 6 forms into the office as soon as possible:
Hunter, Alexis, Dalton, Reena, and Sydney

Hi everyone! Sorry for the missing posts!

Today we completed Day 3 of Centers. Students continue to excell during Guided Reading and stations! Great job Grade 5!

After recess, students had library with Mrs. Schentag. We then completed an hour of Math Pods. With me, we reviewed the assignment Mrs. Gale gave the students last math class which focused on how to compare decimals to fractions. At seatwork, students worked in group to play a variety of Fraction Pizza games working with equivalent fractions. At the computer station, students played Fishy Fractions.

Reminders:
- Spelling Test tomorrow
- I have spoken with some students in regard to some missing assignments. Please hand these in tomorrow.

We completed Day 3 of Centers this morning.

After recess, students had library with Mrs. Schentag. We then completed Math Pods, reviewing comparing fractions. Station 1 had students working independently to complete a textbook assignment (pages 170-173, 5,6,7,9,10,11). At station 2 students were introduced to the 4th and final strategy to compare fractions, finding common denominators. Station 3, computers, had students playing Fraction Monkey.

After lunch, students had French and Phys Ed.

Reminder
- Click orders are due tomorrow

We completed Day 2 of Centers today.

After recess, students had the opportunity to choose a poem they will be reciting at parent night. Students will be recording their voices or video taping themselves reciting their poems. These will be shared during the parent night March 17.

We completed another day of Math Pods with the help of Mrs. Gale. Mrs. Gale had her group of students comparing fractions using fraction circles and fraction tiles. The group I worked with, compared fractions using a number line. The third group of students played Dolphing Racing at the computer station.

To finish off the day, we talked about Christopher Columbus in Social Studies. We watched a short video introducing the students to this explorer. We then completed a short read and 6 questions.

March Newsletter

March Newsletter
Room 20
http://mrsshieldsblog.blogspot.com/
March is finally upon us! Here are some of the things we are working on throughout the month…

 A parent/student/teacher evening is planned for the Grade 5’s on Wednesday, March 17 th, 7:00- 8:30pm. We have called it CSI~ Come, See, and Investigate. Come to the school, See what and how your child has been learning, and Investigate some of the learning approaches through hands-on activities! There will be a math, art, language arts, and physical education station. We hope this evening will be an informal opportunity for children to share the Grade 5 experience with their parents. We look forward to seeing you!

 Report cards will be going out Friday, March 26th. I have sent out Markbook updates throughout the term. If you have any questions please contact me at school (745-2171) or by email (kshields@mail.gssd.ca).

 Our Grade 5 Farewell assembly will be on Friday, June 25 th. If you are able to help with the Memory Book CD, decorations or the tea, a sign-up sheet will be available during our Come, See, and Investigate Evening, or you can let me know by note, phone, or email.

Language Arts
We are currently finishing up with the anthology, Tales-Clever, Foolish, and Brave. We will begin the next anthology, On With The Show!. This unit will focus on stories with an artistic twist! We will continue with our small group guided reading stations as the students are doing a wonderful job working together and improving their reading skills.
We will continue to focus on all components of the 6+1 Writing model. We are working on pulling all of the components together to create our best pieces of writing.
We have started to focus on a Questioning reading strategy as a whole group. We have used a variety of children’s books to introduce this reading skill and will continue to utilize children’s books to further our skills in this area. Students will then take these skills into their Independent Reading novels.
We are currently in the middle of Lesson 17 in Spelling. We will continue with the same format of 7 spelling words, handwriting practice, word processing, and short spelling activities.

Math
We will continue to work on the Fractions and Decimals unit throughout the month of March. Students will be working with many hands on manipulatives to explore fractions and decimals.
We will also continue to work on Problem Solving. We have begun to work with Exemplars as well. Exemplars are very similar to the Problem Solvers that we have been doing, except more in depth. Students are asked to describe the steps they are taking to solve the problem in more detail, as well connect the problem to their lives.

Social Studies
We will continue to research and discuss a variety of explorers in our Heritage unit. There are many wonderful resources available that will help us to understand the many roles explorers played in Canada's history. We will also complete an expository writing piece focusing on an explorer of each student's choice.

Science – Mrs. Gale
Students have almost completed their expository writing piece, It’s Element(ary)! They have researched and compiled their information quickly and efficiently. Wonderful work Grade 5s!
To conclude our unit Matter and its Changes, students will be performing science experiments for the class. Students will be given an outline as to what is expected.

French – Mrs. Orosz
Students will continue to do interactive activities on the SmartBoard, based on the story “L’Arbre Ungali.” They will do related written activities, drawings, and games. The class will participate in re-telling the story with different words. Students will also sing the song and do the dance steps to the song for this story.

Health – Mr. Leidl
Students will review their wellness plans designed at the beginning of the school year and to begin revising for the final term of the year. Focus will be on written goal setting, action plans and initiative. The HIV/AIDS unit will also be completed by the end of the month.

Physical Education – Mr. Leidl
Run, jump and throw will be the physical education emphasis for the month of March as students prepare for the GSSD Elementary Standards Track and Field Meet scheduled for the 19th of April in Yorkton.

Art Education – Mrs. Schentag
Students will complete the Surprise Ending Dance Unit by choreograghing a dance which will tell their stories that they have prepared in their groups. They will present these dances to their own class as well as the other Grade 5 classroom.
The Arts Ed class will then move on to a Drama Unit entitled Responding to Literature. Students will become involved in drama games and activities which will respond to children's literature by role-playing and problem-solving. We will also participate in meetings, tableau activities, chants, storytelling and improvisation activties related to literature.
Students can use this opportunity to brush up on their drama skills as we prepare for the P. J. Gillen Drama Night being held sometime in April.

After a very busy week of a field trip and inservice days, hopefully this week will be back to routine!!

We started off the day with a new set of Centers. This week's centers are primarily focused on computer activities to help reinforce some of the concepts we are covering.

After recess, students had Science with Mrs. Gale.

We took some time to complete our Lesson 17 Spelling words (country, rumor, living, moisture, intrude, half, lived). Word processing for Lesson 17 is due for tomorrow.
Those students who were already complete, played Fraction Eaters.

We completed Math Pods after lunch. At computers, students played Equivalent Fraction Concentration with a partner. Students also worked on their Fraction Sundaes that they started during last week's centers. Students must now compile equivalent fractions for the ice cream they used in their sundaes. The last group of students worked with me to begin discussing ordering and comparing fractions, as well the tools we can use to complete that.

To finish off the day, students had Phys. Ed. with Mr. Leidl.

** We will be hosting a CSI (Come See and Investigate) for our Grade 5 classrooms in March. I will include all of the details in the March newsletter!