Yet another week has come and gone!! We completed our latest set of Centers this morning. The students also wrote their TWAS and Lesson 17 Spelling Test.

We wrote our Division test after recess. The tests have been marked and returned to students to share with you. Please sign and return these for Monday. I have also emailed the latest Markbook for Math. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me. Our next unit, Measurement, will start on Monday.

After lunch, students continued to type their Famous Canadian paragraphs.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in French and Phys Ed.

Have a great long weekend everyone and we'll see you on Monday!

We started off our day by completing Day 3 of Centers. Tomorrow students will write their lesson 17 spelling test.

After recess, students completed Science Pods. At station 1, students added the nervous system to their human body drawings. The posters have come along wonderfully! At station 2, students worked as a group to read an article titled Glorious Food. Students then compiled a list of foods they ate yesterday and determined whether or not the food they ate was processed or not. Finally, at station 3 students used this time to type out their Famous Canadian paragraphs (Social Studies).

Our afternoon was full of Math and Division review. Students worked on a few long division questions to review for tomorrow's test. Students also worked to play Division Bingo to review their division facts. The third station had students reviewing their division facts on the computer.

The day finished with Phys Ed and Read Aloud. "Winter Room" left the students hanging in suspense for next class!!

Students completed Day 2 of Centers this morning.

After recess, we worked on a Division Review. Most students completed this review and I corrected it for them. Those students that did not get completed can hand their reviews in tomorrow and I will have it back to them by the end of the day. Please use this review to study for the Division test on Thursday.

In Science students completed the three short questions pertaining to the Reaction Time activity that we completed last week. We also graphed all of our reaction times onto a virtual graph.

Students then had French with Mrs. Orosz.

We finished our afternoon with Social Studies where students got a chance to continue typing their Famous Canadian paragraphs.

Phys Ed wrapped up our day.

We started off our week with new Center groups, as well as a new round of activities. Some students have switched classrooms while others have stayed the same. Some students have also switched groups.
Students were given their Lesson 17 spelling words this morning. The spelling test will be Thursday, January 27 as there is no school on Friday, January 28.

After lunch, students started to type out their Social Studies Famous Canadian paragraphs.

To start off our afternoon, students completed Math Pods. At station 1, students worked to review Division and Estimation. At station 2, students worked through 5 long division questions. The third station had students reviewing their division facts on the computer. Students will receive a Division review tomorrow. Our division test will be on Thursday, January 27. This will wrap up our Multiplication and Division Units for the year. Our next unit, Measurement, will give the students a lot of hands on experience.

We wrapped up our day with Phys Ed and read aloud.

We wrapped up our current set of Centers this morning. Students wrote their Lesson 16 Spelling test and wrote their TWAS.

After lunch, students enjoyed Art with Mrs. Schentag.

We started off our afternoon with a short period of math. Students worked through pods. At the teacher table students worked through 3 long division questions. At the rug, students played multiplication war against each other. The third station had students practicing division facts on the computer.

Students then headed down to French.

After recess, students were given their Famous Canadian paragraphs back. We will be using Microsoft Word for the first time to type out these wonderful paragraphs!! The students have done an absolute wonderful job on these pieces of writing.

Our day wrapped up with Phys Ed.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

I hope everyone was able to get out their extra warm mittens today!

We started off our chilly day with Day 3 of Centers today. All but 3 students were present today so we continued with a normal day.

After recess, we completed 3 stations in 6+1 Writing. Station 1 had students cutting and glueing 4 paragraphs into the proper order, using transition words as clues to the correct order. Station 2 had students using their Beginning/Middle/End stories we wrote last week. Students were to add transition words to this piece. Station 3 had students writing a "How To Make A Sandwich" paragraph, focusing on the use of transition words.

After lunch, we completed Math Pods, focusing on division. Students worked with Mrs. Lippai on page 102, #4. With me, students were given 6 division questions to complete and hand in. We also reviewed yesterday's assignment. The third station had students practicing division on the computer.

We wrapped up our day with Phys Ed and read aloud.

Reminders
- Spelling test tomorrow

We completed Day 2 of Centers this morning.

In Math, we continued to practice long division. We reviewed yesterday's assignment and worked through them together. Students then worked on a textbook assignment from page 102 (#2). Students are to work on this for homework tonight if they didn't get through it in class.

After lunch, students worked in partners to identify transition words in a story.

Students finished up their day with French and Phys Ed.

Students started a new set of Centers this morning.

In Science, students completed their heart rate activity by checking their pulse rate with their fingers. We then discussed/compared pulse rates using fingers and pulse rates using the stethoscope.  We then watched a short video on the nervous system. Students then completed a partner activity in which we explored our reaction times.

After lunch, students completed math pods. At the computer station, students practiced their division facts. Students also worked in partners to complete some multiplication problem solving. The final station had students practicing long division. Those students who did not get completed will be bringing this home for homework. Try to support them as best you can with this method of division as this strategy is probably not one you will be familiar with.

We finished up our day with Phys Ed and read aloud.

Welcome to another week!! We started our Monday morning off with Day 4 of Centers. All Center activities were due today. Students were given their new spelling words for Lesson 16. Our spelling test will be Friday, January 21.

After recess, we continued to work on Division. At station 1 students worked on estimation and division. This assignment is due tomorrow. At teacher table, we continued to work on long division. Students used white boards to solve long division. I will post a short video to help explain this strategy within the next few days. At computers, students choose a division game from the blog. Students also received a copy of their MarkBook for Math. A copy has also been emailed out to those parents who provided an email address.

We began to discuss transition words in 6+1 Writing. Students will be encouraged to use a variety of transition words within your writing pieces.

After lunch, students worked to complete their circulatory systems on their life-size human body.

Students then headed down to French with Mrs. Orosz.

We finished up our day by completing our first draft for our Famous Canadian paragraphs in Social Studies. The students have done a wonderful job so far!! Some students must complete their first draft for homework tonight.

Reminders
- Spelling Test - Friday, January 21

Our Wednesday morning was packed full of writing! After our school assembly, we discussed how pieces of writing always have a Beginning/Middle/End. Students choose a topic from their Seed Idea topics. We then drew a picture for the beginning, the middle, and the end of our stories. Students then took it one step further and broke the middle picture down into 3 more seperate pictures. These quick sketches helped us to get our pieces organized. Students then wrote their first draft of their stories using these pictures as their guideline.
Take a look at what some of the students put together as part of organizing their stories...
(click on the pictures to make then bigger)

After lunch, we completed Math Pods. Students worked with me to review their practice tests that they completed yesterday. Students practiced their division facts using the games on the blog. With Mrs. Lippai students continued to work with estimation. She assigned students the following questions (you can use either strategy to solve).

We have to move our Math test to Friday as tomorrow is early dismissal.

We finished up the day in Phys Ed and with our Read Aloud.

Another wonderful day in Room 20! I'm not sure what the holidays did to the students but whatever it did, keep it up!! The students are doing such a wonderful job in the classroom and working so hard!

We started a new set of Centers today. Just a reminder...if a student misses a day of school it is his/her responsible to complete the stations that they miss. The trays are always available so please take whatever station you missed or you know will miss.

After recess, we worked in Math Pods. At station 1, students were given a Multiplication practice test. This is due for tomorrow. Please use this to help study for Thursday's test. At station 2, we continued to work on estimation and division using wipe boards. Students are using Front End Rounding and Compatible Numbers to estimate. Lastly, students could choose any of the division games found on the blog at the computer station.

Students then headed down to library with Mrs. Schentag.

After lunch, we worked on our Famous Canadian paragraphs. I'm so excited to see the students final pieces of writing as their ideas and organization are coming along wonderfully. We completed our "Hamburger Organizers" today.

Our day wrapped up with French and Phys Ed.

Reminders:
-Assembly Wednesday @ 9
-Book orders due Thursday
-Early dismissal Thursday
-Spelling test Friday

We completed Day 4 of Centers this morning. We will start a new set tomorrow.

After recess, we completed Science pods. At station 1, students worked with their partner to draw the circulatory system on their human body. At station 2, we worked together as a group to explore with a stethoscope. Students found their resting heart rate using the stethoscope. We then ran in one spot for 2 minutes and students then found their heart rate. Station 3 had students watch a short circulatory video on the computer.

Math, after lunch, was packed full of division. Students worked with Mrs. Lippai to demonstrate division facts using stamps. Another group of students worked with me to demonstrate division facts using manipulatives and taking pictures. The third group of students were practicing their division facts on the computer.

We finished up our day with Phys Ed and our read aloud, The Winter Room.

Reminders:
-Assembly Wednesday
-Early dismissal Thursday
-Math quiz Thursday
-Book orders due Thursday
-Spelling test Friday

January Newsletter

January 2011 Newsletter – Room 20


http://mrsshieldsblog.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year everyone! I always love this time of year. Everyone is so excited to get back to school. Just a reminder that the classroom blog is updated daily with our activities during the day as well as links to websites that can help students to practice the topics we are studying. I encourage you to access this site on a daily basis.

Here is a quick outline as to what will be happening in Room 20 during the month of January.

Language Arts
Centers - We will be continuing with Centers, including Guided Reading and Independent Reading. Throughout the next few weeks students’ reading levels will be assessed again using Fontus and Pinnell. If you are interested in how your child does, please don’t hesitate to ask. I would be more than happy to speak with you on the phone, through email, or in person.

We will also be continuing with our weekly spelling lessons using words from the stories we are studying at Guided Reading. Students will be encouraged to use more detail in their spelling sentences.

Independent Reading (Mrs. Lippai) - Our focus during Independent Reading for the next month will be Questioning. Questioning is a reading strategy that helps a reader to anticipate and focus his/her reading. It sets a purpose for reading and allows students to interact with the text. As teachers, we will model for and help students explore how to ask their own good questions and then read to answer them. Students will also become familiar with questioning graphic organizers which will be linked to some beautifully written and illustrated stories we will be using to reinforce the Questioning strategy. Be sure to ask your child what he/she is learning in Independent Reading!

Writing – We will be continuing with the Organization trait of 6+1 Writing. We will spend time looking at Beginning/Middle/End. Students will also have opportunities to organize their writing within their research, particularly in Social Studies and Science.

Math
We are wrapping up our Multiplication unit and moving on into the Division unit. Students will be practicing division facts, using estimation with division, and solving 3-digit long division.

Science
We will be continuing with the Human Body unit throughout the month of January. We will be looking at the circulatory system, the nervous system, how our muscles help us move, and how our skin protects us. We will also be looking at how food we eat can help us to stay healthy.

Social
We will be wrapping up our Canadian Symbols unit this month. Students will be doing a research project on a famous Canadian. We will be incorporating the 6+1 Writing Traits (Organization) into this activity.

Art – Mrs. Schentag
Congratulations to all the grade 5 students for a wonderful Christmas Concert performance! I thoroughly enjoyed working with all of them on this special Christmas project.

January will finally bring about our theme change to a Visual Art unit entitled The World of Art. Students will learn about logos and slogans and create one of each for themselves. They will also create a Time Capsule Me Box and decorate it with items which depict will their values, interests and culture. Students are asked to bring a few items from home that they can use to decorate their boxes. As well they will be asked to bring 3 items to place into their boxes which are important to the students and that they can describe to the class in their Me Box presentations. A letter will be sent home shortly providing more information about this assignment.

Phys. Ed./Health – Mr. Leidl
Emphasis will be on ball handling skills with a focus on basketball lead up skills and game strategies. Educational gymnastics, cross country skiing, and outdoor pursuits will also be explored before the February Break. Students will participate in a variety of drug awareness projects focusing on healthy decision making and increasing self esteem.

French – Mrs. Orosz
Students will review vocabulary learned before Christmas, and continue to reinforce their comprehension with guided written activities. We will sing some familiar as well as new songs, and practice French in a variety of game activities.

This morning we completed Day 3 of Centers. Students wrote their TWAS for the short week and will be bringing them home to share.

After recess, we completed Math Pods. Students continued to work on being able to show what division looks like. Here is an example of one we did together on the SMARTboard.

We will continue to work on demonstrating the concept of division on Monday. A second station had students working with estimation and division. Students were assigned number 2 from page 98. The third station had students reviewing their division facts on the computer.

After lunch, we worked as a whole group to title our class Breathing Rates graph. Students will complete this graph during the next set of Centers.

Social Studies wrapped up our day. Students continued to compile their 8 interesting facts about a famous Canadian. Students also started to number their facts as to the order they will write them in their paragraphs.

Have a great weekend everyone!! See you on Monday!

Another great day for Room 20! The holiday must have been a great break for everyone because we are all in high-gear and working so hard! I'm very proud of everyone!!

We began our Thursday with Day 2 of Centers. The discussions students are having at the guided reading table are tremendous!

After recess, students worked on their research projects in Social Studies.

Students then had art with Mrs. Schentag.

After lunch, we had Math Pods. At station one, students continued to work on their Multiplication Review booklet. Students did a wonderful job drawing an array to solve a 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication question. The rest of this booklet is homework for tomorrow. At station two, students were introduced to division. Students worked hands on to demonstrate what division looks like, then had the opportunity to show two division questions using stamps. We will continue with this activity tomorrow. At station three, students could choose a Division game from the websites listed on the blog.

We finished up our day with Phys Ed and our read aloud.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday and is enjoying the new year!! It was great to see everyone's smiling faces again!

We got right back into it this morning with our first day of Centers. Students who are in my classroom for centers choose their new spelling words. The Spelling test won't be until Friday, January 10.

After recess, students had art with Mrs. Schentag until lunch.

After lunch, we started a multiplication review. We took a quick look at some of the multiplication strategies we learned before the break. We will finish this up tomorrow as well as begin with division. I will be sending home a markbook for math very soon.

Students then had a short period of French with Mrs. Orosz before recess.

We finished off the day with Social Studies. Students choose a famous Canadian to research for a 10 sentence paragraph. We will be working on this assignment for the next few days.

Mr. Leidl ended the day with Phys Ed.