It is nearing the end of the year, time for us to reflect a little and look back on what we’ve accomplished! Your next blogging challenge is the following:
Click on the link below. It will open to Microsoft Word.
Answer the questions, and SAVE your work to your school drive! This is your backup and will allow you to work on the document over multiple days.
When you finish answering the questions, copy & paste the entire document into your blog!
Well, we completed our class goal just before April break and Justin had a great idea, “How about making our reading logs our next goal?” Awesome idea! And it gives me a chance to fill you in on where we are with this!
Each night I’ve asked kiddos to read 30 minutes for their reading logs. Their goal is to read a minimum of 150 minutes per week, and briefly record their thoughts about what they’ve read. I’ve kept these logs and today I asked kiddos to graphically illustrate their achievements by placing stickers on a United States map. They received one sticker for each returned reading log. Tomorrow, they’ll bring these home so you can initial them! Please return them to school because we still have a few weeks to add to this!
This is where your kiddo should be:
17 weeks of reading logs x 150 minutes per week = 2,550 minutes! If your kiddo has read more than this s/he has exceeded the expectation! If your kiddo has read 2,550, s/he has met the expectation. Anything below this figure means the expectation has not been met.
I know many kiddos have been reading and not completing logs, but this program is based solely on returned sheets and documented minutes. Remember, this is a nightly assignment and the reading logs can be downloaded on this site. Just look to the right for the link and print them at home!
Here’s a glimpse into our wonderful day! I hope you enjoy seeing the wide variety of looks on your kiddos’ faces!
Winooski Valley Field Day, May 2012 on PhotoPeach
Please refer to my earlier link for the specific details you’ll need regarding tomorrow!
The groups, in case you’ve forgotten, are as follows:
Well, our crime scene investigation continues next week! As we’ve begun our mystery genre unit, we’ve encountered new vocabulary, evidence protocols, and evidence testing. We’ve also selected self choice mystery novels and will begin reading those during our guided reading time.
Where are we in solving the crime? Hmmm, there is quite a bit going on thus far. We know there are four suspects, five if you include Felix, because we’re not 100% sure he’s actually dead. We know the scene was filled with evidence and some of it is quite incriminating, but others are a bit more vague. Friday we discovered many new facts about the evidence, and Monday is when we begin our real sleuthing! We’ll begin the morning discussing our results and attempting to link this new information to the appropriate suspect. It should prove to be very exciting! We’ll continue by testing the remaining evidence to narrow down the list of potential perpetrators! Be sure to check in with your kiddos about our latest discoveries!
Math continues to be very challenging this week. Determining volumes of geometric solids is one of the most difficult skills we attempt in fifth grade, but I’m proud to say your kiddos are doing very well! We’ve practiced the formulas for two weeks and will be testing on the unit on Tuesday. (This is a change. I’d told kiddos we’d test on Wednesday, but I feel this is more prudent.) If it is possible, please avoid an early dismissal on Tuesday.
Wednesday is our field trip to Winooski Valley Park District! I’ve sent home information and also posted it here on the blog. As of right now, it appears we’ll have rain on Wednesday, please have kiddos dress appropriately! We’ll continue our science Wednesday afternoon when we return to school. Your children have functioning ecosystems and Wednesday we’ll begin our ‘man’s negative impact on the environment’ phase. There are seven class ecocolumns which will be actively polluted with three of the top environmental challenges facing Vermont. Although it is done over time – the visuals your kiddos leave with are significant.
Although we have a few short weeks of school remaining, they will be very, very busy!
Please click on the link below for full details of our wonderful field trip!
Winooski Valley Field Day, next Wednesday, 8:45 a.m.! Dress appropriately! Bring a bag lunch with drinks (no glass)!
This was what awaited us this morning! As we entered the classroom, we had to crawl through police tape …. only to discover ….. THIS!
The Crime Scene on PhotoPeach
I hope everyone has had a marvelous break! I just finished my fifth book, and I can’t wait to share them with you! Of course, my reading doesn’t count towards the reading challenge – I hope all of you have been busy! Remember to bring your reading challenge sheets back to school on Monday!
Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday!
Titanic Lifeboat Experiment on PhotoPeach
