I-Pad Minis in 5th Grade!

 
We are excited to incorporate this new technology into our daily learning.  Many thanks to our wonderful Parents Club!
 
One way that we have used our new Ipad Minis has been to help our kindergarten buddies practice reading their sight words.
 
We have also used the Minis to take assessments on-line, and as a tool for research.
 

What’s Coming Up- Week of February 4


Miscellaneous:

  • Be on the lookout for a note coming home with your money balance for 5th grade camp.
  • We will be going to Tarry Hall for roller skating on Feb. 14th. This will be in place of our Valentines party. We will leave school at 9:00 and return about 11:30. We will be collecting money for this which will be due by Feb. 7th.  A note will be coming home soon with the students with further information. Parents may meet us for no fee at the rink if they wish. However, if you wish to skate it will cost you $4.00 at the door. Let us know if you have any questions.


Math: We are finishing up or study of fractions which included comparing fractions, finding equivalent fractions, converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and vise versa, and adding and subtracting fractions/mixed numbers. The next unit we will continue our study of fractions by learning how to multiply and divide them.

ELA:  Working our way through the writing process, we will continue writing our informational writing piece. The students have enjoyed studying and looking up research from non-fiction texts. We hope to be finishing our informational texts in the next few weeks. Our next ELA unit will be reading and writing using the historical fiction genre.

Social Studies: We will continue to learn about the original thirteen colonies.  Starting next week the students will be put into groups and will be asked to create a skit describing an English settlement.  We will then begin to review our study about the colonization and settlement to get ready for a test in the middle of February.

Science: We have really been enjoying learning about the human body systems. Currently we are studying the respiratory system and will have a test on this system the beginning of next week. Our next body system of study will be the nervous system. The students have really enjoyed learning how all of these system work together in our amazing human body!

 

Private Technology Devices in the Classroom

Many students have asked to use “tablets” in the classroom to do their IDR.  Our fifth grade team all agree these are valuable devices that may be used in the classroom.  We have decided that we are going to limit use of electronics to “tablets’ only and to be used only during the student’s individual reading time.  If electronics are taken out or used for any other purpose without the permission of a teacher, we will ask the student to take the device home and return to more traditional means of reading.
 
Below is a link that we are asking you to fill out giving your child permission to bring their devices in to use.  Thank you so much for taking the time and filling this out so we can better protect your children, and their property.
 
Permission Slip

Tidbits!

  • penguin
  • Please remember to be reading 150 minutes a week at home and turning in your reading logs! To become a better reader..READ!
  • Our class store is VERY low on supplies. If you are out and about it would be great to have some donations for our store! 🙂
  • Our class is always happy to accept book donations. If you have any books in your home library that are not read anymore. We would love them.
  • The weather forecast is saying that snow is on the way this week. Please make sure you have the correct clothing for COLD weather!
Have a great weekend!

Class Update!

 

Miscellaneous: We can hardly believe we are already into the 2013 part of our school year.  With the new year we are thinking about all the activities that the Spring brings.  We would like to remind you that Camp fees are due by February 28.  You are welcome to turn in the balance anytime prior to this date.  If you need a reminder of what your balance is, feel free to contact me.  The sooner, the better.  

The kids are excited, and we are extremely thankful for the newest purchase made due to the graciousness of Georgetown’s Parent’s Club.  Last week we obtained three Ipad mini’s for 5th grade.  We have been actively using these tools in our classrooms, and look forward to using them even more as the year progresses.  Look for upcoming posts that show these wonderful devices in use!  Thank you so much parents!

Math: Last week we reviewed how to make equivalent fractions, how to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers, and how to convert mixed numbers to improper fractions. This week our focus will be adding and subtracting mixed numbers with common denominators and adding and subtracting numbers with unlike denominators.

ELA:  
We have started a unit on informational writing.  First we read and studied mentor texts pertaining to informational writing by looking at how the information is presented along with certain text features (graphs, pictures, charts, etc.).  Then we chose a topic that we know a lot about or could teach other students and began planning out our entries.  This week we will continue planning our subcategories and gathering our evidence for publishing.

Social Studies: We just wrapped up our study of the early English colony of Roanoke and Jamestown.  This upcoming week our focus will be on the the geographical, economical, and climate features of the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies of England. We will learn how these, and other features contributed to the prosperity of the original thirteen colonies.

Science: We have begun our Life Science unit on Body Systems.  We have already finished the Digestive System. This week we will continue with the Circulatory System and then move into the Respiratory System.  We will take a quiz to wrap up each System for a total of 8 systems.  We will continue to update the blogs with any information about homework or quizzes.  Our goal is to identify the general purposes of each system and explain how they work together.

**Watch out for quiz #2 on the Circulatory System this Tuesday.  You should know: it’s purpose, what it carries, how many chambers the heart has, what the upper and lower chambers of the heart are called, and the difference between arteries, veins, and capillaries.

Reminders

  • Please remember to have your child bring a sack lunch tomorrow, Friday Jan. 11th for our field trip.
  • Have students wear their 5th grade celebration shirts on the field trip.
  • Make sure students are studying for the digestive system quiz which will be given on Monday.
Thank you! 🙂

Science

Greetings

We have science homework tonight (Wednesday) that is due tomorrow (Thursday) about the Digestive System.  Please read the two pages and then answer the 6 questions that follow.

Next Monday, Jan. 14, we will be having a quiz covering the Digestive System.  It will include: what is its purpose/function, describe a trip through the system, and what is the purpose of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gall bladder, and pancreas.

Happy Studying

Field Trip Information

 

 

We will be heading to the Grand Rapids Public Museum and Planetarium this Friday, Jan. 11th. We will leave school at 9:15 and return at 2:00. Please send a totally disposable sack lunch with your child on Friday. In addition, please do not send any spending money with the children. We will not be able to buy food  nor have time to go to the souvenir shop. We are hoping that all of the 5th graders will wear their 5th grade celebration t-shirt on Friday!  It would be fun to see all the children in matching shirts! 🙂 If you have any questions please let me know.

New Year Update! :)

 

Happy New Year to All!

I hope that this break has been relaxing and full of happy memories! I am looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

  • Please remember to bring in your reading logs! The students should have read 150 minutes over the past 3 weeks! Hopefully we will start the new year out on a positive note by all handing this in! 🙂
  • I am asking that you try to get to the Public Library by Wed. Jan 9th and check out 2 Non-fiction informational texts. (Such as books about the rainforest, Solar System, Human Body systems, Mammals etc.) Please choose books that are of interest to you as well as a good fit book which is leveled at about your reading level. We will be using these texts for ELA the next few weeks. Thank you!
  • Monday we will blog an update with final information about our field trip on this Friday!

Here’s to a Happy 2013! 🙂

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