Debate Topic: Homework

The kids recently read and debated the homework amount issue. We read in our Time for Kids magazines about the effects of too much homework and at the same time, the potential concern for less student achievement as a result of cutting back homework.

The kids were asked:

Should K-12 teachers give less homework to their students?

YES: 72%

NO: 28%

Yes Comments:

"School is the place for work. Students need to relax and spend time with families when they get home."

"Kids need down time and extra time for activities they do after school like basketball and piano."

"Harris Cooper, the homework expert says that adding homework does not effect achievement in school."

"At some point, adding homework doesn't mean kids are learning-it just gets to be the same old things over and over."

No Comments:

"Kids do not get a lot as it is."

"We need to practice the skills outside of school because we can forget them during the lesson. It's good practice."

"It's possible that we may not do as well in school with less homework because we don't get as much practice."

"It's like our job. We go to school and we get homework. It will help make us smarter and compete with others and be the best."

Curricular Update (Week of 12/19-12/22 and important reminders

Happy Holidays 5V Families! I hope all is well. Here is what the 5Vers are up to this week!

Reading:

1. We are going to continue to study strategies for determining meaning of vocabulary words, even with out context. We will use prefix/root/suffix strategies too.
2. The kids will also get a nice dose of reading comprehension fix up strategies to use while they read. We're almost done with our read aloud book and that will also be used to help strategize.
3. The kids are going to get a good dose of reading time so that they can apply the strategies they are learning in class.
4. We'll also learn a new word or too and make a reading/writing connection.

Writing:

1. On Monday and Wednesday we have some fun writing activities-small ones but very meaningful. On Monday we are going to practice writing college admission essays. Yes you heard right! Did you know some college admissions are requiring essays completed in 25 words or less?
2. Tuesday and Thursday we will be in the lab practicing word processing skills on MS Word and typing up some of our work.
3. The kids will get a chance to share their written work-this includes published self architected writing, reflection journals, drafts, picture books, and more.
4. We'll also have a tech lesson in the lab on arranging our files and folders.
5. We publish our picture books Wednesday or Thursday and give them to our buddies!

Math:

1. Students in regular math will work through the second half of unit 6 which is data analysis, probability, computation, fractions, and reading/writing graphs/tables.
2. Students in accelerated math will finish up chapter 5 and will study angle relationships, sectors of a circle, computation strategies, congruency, and line segments.

Science:

1. We are having a great time inquiring about magnets.
2. We are going to study what a magnetic field is and how you can prove it exists.
3. We will also study magnetic properties such as attraction and repulsion as well as the alignment of north and south particles.
4. The kids will also get to test out their inquiries but that is more likely AFTER break!

Citizenship:

1. The 5th graders are going to review expectations for hallway transitions between classes and while walking in the hallway.

Important Reminders:

Monday:

1. Vaid Helpers @ 8:25am

2. Small group work

Tuesday:

1. Vaid Helpers @ 8:25am

2. Small group work

3. Picture books for buddies due! (This includes the final copy with colored pictures)

4. Last day enrichment for 21st Century Club

Wednesday:

1. Late start Wednesday

2. Mystery Project is due

3. Vaid Helpers @ 8:25am

4. Movie and hot chocolate day: Kids and parents should discuss movie selection to see on Wednesday. They include:

1. Christmas Story, 2. Alvin and the Chipmunks, 3. Elf, 4. The Lion King

Thursday:

1. Holiday Party :)

2. No after school Vaid Helpers

3. Have a safe, healthy, and enjoyable holiday break. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate Christmas. Happy Hannukah and Kwanza to those who celebrate as well. Happy New Year to all!

Curricular Update (Week of 12/5-12/9 and important reminders

Hi 5V Families! How are you? Here is what the 5th graders will be up to this week!

Reading:

1. The kids will be having a discussion about their opinions on Iditarod racing and whether it's cruel to the dogs who race. We'll also discuss our characterizations about Dusty, the musher. The kids have become real good at understanding what you have to think about when you characterize or describe someone. These were the ideas we thought about while we read.
2. As always, we'll be studying a ton of vocabulary through word choice lessons in writing, word part lessons in spelling, and higher level challenges in reading. Some of our recent words include: rant, coax, malevolent, and the prefix ped.
3. I think our most enjoyable lesson will be studying what makes a metaphor and how to write a metaphor and then really understanding what metaphors are in our effort to write them.
4. We also have some reading and writing connections and we'll debate on whether schools should cut down on handing out homework to K-12 students after we read an article about it in our Time for Kids magazine. We'll also write a proper extended response essay and practice writing inferences.
5. We'll also be reading our mystery stories for a very particular purpose and having book conversations on Blackboard.

Writing:

1. This week's writing has a few focuses-One of them includes making first final draft revisions on the picture books the kids are writing for their reading buddies. They will have online video lessons posted on Blackboard and the editing paperwork I've done.
2. Another focus is grammar. Based on what I've seen in the writing, the kids need practice with commas and using conjunctions in their writing so that they are not putting periods all over the paragraph!
3. Finally, we will have our craft lessons in word choice which the kids are loving and personification so that we can SHOW and not tell in our writing!
4. Stay tuned for a writing volunteer opportunity at the end of this week or the beginning of next week.

Math:

1. Students in regular math are either in the middle of unit 5 fractions or are wrapping up the unit. In 5V we have a test scheduled for this Wednesday. This unit has been interesting because there have been no whole group lessons. I've met with kids in groups or individually and I want to see if this format works out or not.
2. Students in accelerated math in 5V math are in the middle of unit 5 studying angles, angle relationships, measuring angles, percentages of wholes, line segments, and bisection. Students in 5B math will be doing the same thing very shortly!
3. The students in accel math will also be practicing their problem solving skills and the students in regular math will practice real life math skills in a lesson and both groups will play games this week!

Science:

1. We are having a lot of fun using clay to make models of atoms! We've made carbon and on Monday and Tuesday we plan to make iron and oxygen and then we'll make a molecule called iron oxide aka rust!
2. So we'll study how a molecule is formed and continue to understand the construction of an atom and why neutrons have the number they do and same with the protons and electrons.
3. We have a clay quiz on Wednesday and the kids will be expected to construct an atom with their clay. I will test them to see if they know how many protons, electrons and neutrons to place in the atom based on the information provided by the periodic table.
4. At the end of the week we will study how atoms relates to magnets and take a magnet pre-test!

Citizenship:

1. Last week we had a good discussion on being a good role models for each other. We talked about how some students in our class take things the wrong way and when we act silly, others will act silly thinking it's okay.
2. We also talked about helping each other out and being there for one another.

Important Reminders:

Monday, December 5th:

• NO before school store
• NO before or after school Vaid helpers
• NO before or after school small group help
• There IS band/orchestra

Tuesday, December 6th:

• NO before school Vaid Helpers
• Enrichment 21st Century Learning

Wednesday, December 7th:

• Science Quiz on atoms
• 5th grade musical in school @ 930am.
• Blackboard conversation posts are due.
• Late start Wednesday @ 9:05am.
• Math Test in 5V regular math (unit 5)
• 5th grade musical @ 7pm! Kids should be in class at 630pm.

Thursday, December 8th:

• See side bar for general school reminders.
• As of right now, picture book first draft revisions are due!

Friday, December 9th:

• Reading quiz on the selection Iditarod Dream.
• Possible parent volunteer opportunity to edit first draft revisions-more info to come later.

Curricular Update (Week of 11/21-12/2 and important reminders

Hello 5V Families,

How are you? Another Sunday and another Bears win. Here is the update for next week and the week after Thanksgiving Break. In advance, I wish everyone a very safe, happy, and peaceful Thanksgiving Break.

Reading:

1. The students will continue to think about literary components while they read and practice good reading strategies that I model through the read aloud and other think aloud opportunities.
2. We're continuing to learn high level vocabulary words and use them in context. Words are a big part of our day as we study word parts, meaning, and strategies to understand meaning in class.
3. The 5th grade teachers decided to give the kids a read-in on Tuesday and they will have the opportunity to wear their PJ'S if they'd like and read their silent reading books for a good portion of time during the reading/writing hour.
4. After break we will study the author's purpose in writing, sequencing events, characterization, and interpreting evidence in a text to draw conclusions about a character. The kids will also write an extended response and we'll practice skills with that. The writing piece that we're reading is called Iditarod Dream.

Writing:

1. Wow! While we are a little exhausted from our publishing last week, that doesn't mean we will stop. Our next piece for publication is a picture book. It will be a special picture book combining multiple ideas. We might give the books to our reading buddies as a gift. There are so many writing craft skills that we are going to study including personification, elaboration using elaboration cues, particular figurative languages, using strong verbs and more.
2. Grammar: The kids have told me that their independent and individual grammar lessons online are very beneficial and I've already seen the results. I follow up with the kids after the lesson and we work one on one and it's going very well. Each child has certain needs in terms of grammar-some more than others. It is my personal goal that we make sure that each child gets his or her grammar needs met.
3. The following week while we continue to publish picture book mashes we will also write debate topic pieces on whether students in the U.S.A receive too much homework, and...our 5V newspaper will begin its official work! I can't wait!

Math:

1. Accelerated Math: So, we finished our unit 4 in one week...wow! Well, it's a credit to the kids already strong knowledge in fractions. Each child's track in math was set so that we worked on concepts that he or she needed practice and re-teaching in. The kids will have the choice of a test on Monday. On Tuesday we play games.
2. Regular Math: After I look at the pre-test results I will be able to develop a plan and track for each child's lesson work during the chapter 5 unit of fractions. Work includes adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, comparing, and ordering fractions. Particular concepts include putting fractions into lowest terms, converting between fractions, decimals, and percents, as well as converting between mixed numbers and fractions.
3. Problem Solving: Each group of kids continues to work in their problem solving folders and their goal isn't so much only getting the correct answer, but to identify what strategy they would use to solve the problem.
4. Game Day: This Tuesday the kids will play the games they created. They are VERY creative, concept based, and math relevant!

Social Studies:

1. We wrap up our unit on colonies this week. It's been a blast. The kids have learned so much about what it takes to colonize a country. They've also had great discussions and writing opportunities to share their thoughts on persecution, religion, and settlement.
2. Tuesday we wrap up with an short answer test that is open book. The goal of this unit was to get kids to understand how America was colonized early in its history, by whom, and exactly how.

Science:

1. When we get back from break we begin a unit on Magnetism and electricity.
2. To begin, we study atoms, the structure of an atom, and how that relates to magnets and electricity.
3. I want to have an overarching applicable idea that the kids can relate this concept to and I'm working on seeing if I can get the kids to relate all this to an electrical switchboard.

Citizenship:

1. After break I will share with you the results from our surveys we took and some thoughts the kids had about classroom/school atmosphere. This also includes their thoughts about school life, growing up, popularity, making friends, and bullying.
2. We learned to respect our binders by taking steps to clean them out and organize them.

Important Reminders for this week:

Monday, November 21st:

1. There will be no Vaid helpers before or after school because of meetings.
2. Students in accelerated can choose to take unit 4 test or not.

Tuesday, November 22nd:

1. Art Awareness @ 10:20am.
2. Read in for kids: 11:15-12:00 noon
3. No 21st century learners enrichment class. (Reminder will come home on Monday)

General Reminders for next week:

1. Thursday, December 1st: Family Fun Night at Metea Valley High School: This is a night in which you can go to Metea with your kids, play games, sports, and check out the building.
2. Friday, December 2nd: Dress rehearsal for 5th grade winter concert.

Debate Topic: Commercializing Schools

The students this week read about school districts that are allowing companies to advertise their products/services in the buildings and on busses in exchange for needed funding/revenue. We had companies like Walmart and Culvers advertise in our own classroom for a couple of days. We even began to generate our own revenue by selling the naming rights to classroom equipment. More on that later...

Students were asked: Should school districts allow commercial companies to advertise their products/services in exchange for needed funding/revenue? Here are the results:

YES: 18%

NO: 82%

Supporting Commentary:

-The schools could use the money to buy s new technology and supplies.

-We'll save more jobs for teachers.

-It's no big deal-we see ads all the time. It will help us because the supplies and technology we can buy will improve our learning.

-We're going to see advertising more and more as we get older, so this is okay for us.

Rejecting Commentary:

-It's not fair because we are then forced to see the ads. At home we can turn off the TV if we don't like commercials.

-It takes advantage of kids. It's like they know they can get what they want from us and make us buy things.

-The schools are desperate for money and this is a cheap way to get it.

-This could lead to kids forcing their parents to buy things and maybe even unhealthy foods. The companies know kids are easily influenced.

Bathroom Bill Still at Stalemate

5V-Bathroom Bill HR #2 appears to be going nowhere. After President Vaid's veto of the bill two weeks ago, the house showed overwhelming support for the President in a surprising turn of events. Most thought that the bill would easily get the necessary 2/3 votes in the house to override the veto. After some campaigning by President Vaid this week, house members must have got the message. "I don't know if they liked the Senate's amended version to begin with." President Vaid said. It was anticipated that if the House got the 2/3 votes to override the bill that the Senate would have no issue passing it. More debate will continue. Citizens can expect an amended version to come out of the House this week. "This was surprising." one Senator said, "We thought we'd get the 2/3 we needed with no problem." Stay tuned for continuing coverage later this week.

Curricular Update (Week of 10/31-11/4 and important reminders

Hi 5V Families! Here is what the 5th graders are up to this week in 5V.

Reading:

• The kids are will study and practice a non-fiction reading strategy called "Scan and Run" as we read a biography of Roberto Clemente this week.
• The kids will also continue to study strategies to get meaning out of vocabulary words.
• We're going to practice vocabulary in context with our skits this week.
• We're also practicing the science and art of good writing by responding to questions and learning how to construct a good response.
• TFK Tuesday-the kids will read non-fiction, practice good reading habits and learn content.
• As always, I'll be modeling good reading habits through our read aloud and other texts.

Writing:

• The 5th graders will be studying how to organize their thoughts when writing an expository essay using a 4 square organizer.
• The kids will also study how to look closely at a writing prompt question and study how to answer it.
• Each day the kids will have their choice time writing and we'll go through the writing process to publish our own student constructed writing pieces.
• Our 5V newspaper is going to start next week.
• We'll continue to journal our thoughts each day in our reflection journals.

Social Studies:

• What fun the kids are having creating their own colonies which are now evolving into their own countries.
• The students are creating their own governments this week.
• They are studying how a country can evolve through its self government and most colonies I anticipate will secede from their mother country.
• The kids will present their colony-country projects on Friday.

Math:

• Regular math will be studying division, division with decimals, and estimation strategies.
• Accelerated math will continue to study graph trends, rates, division, and story problems involving variables.
• Quiz this Friday

Citizenship:

• We will have discussions regarding bullying and its impact on schools/kids.

President Vetoes Bill

5V-In an unexpected move Wednesday evening, President Vaid vetoed the "Bathroom Break" bill, HR # 2 just hours after it passed legislation in Congress. The move comes as a surprise to some who had expected a swift and smooth legislation. After nearly two weeks of debate, including amendments from the Senate, it appears that Congress is back at square one. "I've clearly stated my objections and hope that the Congress and I can come to a compromise over bathroom policy. We're setting a dangerous precedent with a law that could be mistreated and that's not the purpose of a law." the President said earlier this evening. The original bill received little support inititally but House Members who supported the President's vision got it to pass, only to be shot down in the Senate. President Vaid is expected to send the bill back to the House within the next 10 days. Congress still has the opportunity to override the President's veto with 2/3 approval in both chambers but will be on recess till next Monday.

House Set to Vote on Amended Bathroom Bill

5V-Last Friday, the 5V House of Representatives passed HR #2 Bathroom Break bill. They eclipsed the necessary 6 votes by getting 8 votes to pass legislature in the House only to have the senate unanimously kill the bill. However, the bill was amended in the Senate and the House is set to vote on it at 9:15am Tuesday morning. The original bill issued by three representatives found little support in its original form, never making it past the House in early October. It called for an mandatory bathroom break after specials with out the opportunity to use the the following reading period for individual bathroom breaks. "We need to pass this bill and we're here to support Mr. Vaid and his vision." said one representative. However, amendments to the bill call for a bathroom break after specials and in addition to that, using the last 15 minutes of reading as individual bathroom break time where two boys and two girls can use the bathroom as opposed to one boy and one girl which is the current law. "It's a distraction when kids get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of class when we're trying to read." said one Representative who opposes the bill. Supporters meanwhile say that the bathroom break is too early in the day and kids who are immersed in their books won't have a problem with it. If the bill passes in both houses, it will then go to President Vaid's desk for approval or veto.

Curricular Update (Week of 10/17-10/21 and important reminders

Greetings 5V Families, here's what the 5th graders are up to this week:

Reading:

1. The kids are going study character traits and use strategies to identify personalities of characters and real people in our reading.
2. The students will also practice vocabulary in context via their skits.
3. Through our awesome new read aloud "Wonder Struck"we are going to make so many inferences and predictions.
4. I'll model to the kids fluency and comprehension strategies as usual using two different texts.
5. The kids will practice writing professional like essays in a short answer response format.
6. We'll also practice inferring and note taking with our super cool genre reading and work.

Writing:

1. Thanks so much for helping your kids with the memoirs. They really will benefit from your interaction.
2. This week we wrap up writing the memoirs in parts (opening scene, middle, and final thought)
3. The kids will write their own pieces of writing too. This is self selected writing that we will pre-write, rough draft, edit, and revise in efforts to publish a final draft.
4. The kids are also loving the scary story contest and they are writing that too.
5. I'm hoping by the end of this week we can write another debate topic.

Math:

1. Students in 5th grade regular math are studying geometry. This includes measuring angles, studying different kinds of angles, studying triangles, congruency, polygons, tessellation's, and measuring angles in regular and irregular polygons.
2. Students in Accelerated math will have taken the test by Tuesday, and then a pre-test on Wednesday. They are doing lots of problem solving, writing, and even some work with math essays this week.

Social Studies:

1. Very cool project and application of knowledge this week and next! The kids are creating their own colony and they have to do a LOT of work, thinking, and decision making with this. They are imagining that they have been given a charter or permission to settle anywhere on Earth that they choose. Part of the deal involves them paying back the money the King gave them as part of the charter to go settle and colonize a location. They will have to create an economy, infer and make observations/predictions about their settlement, decide how they want to interact with the natives, and more! We'll study atlases, decision making skills, math, and economy relevant ideas.

Citizenship:

1. Mr. Raczak visits 5V to talk about bullying with the students Tuesday!! He's visiting all the classrooms to get their opinions, ideas, and interpretations on the idea of bullying.

Important Reminders:

Tuesday 10/18:

1. Vaid Helpers AM

2. Before school Mr. Vaid small group help

3. Enrichment

Wednesday: 10/19:

1. Late start 9:05

2. Conference notes go home.

3. After school Mr. Vaid small group help

4. Vaid helpers PM

Thursday 10/20:

1. Enrichment

Friday 10/21:

1. Spelling Test

2. 1st quarter ends

3. Vaid Helpers AM

Curricular Update (Week of 10/11-10/14 and important reminders

Hi 5V Families! Here is an update for what the 5th graders will we be up to during this abridged week of school. :)

Special Note: FAMILY READING NIGHT IS THIS TUESDAY NIGHT @ 6:15. ALL THE 5TH GRADE TEACHERS WILL BE PRESENT. IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN UP AND ATTEND! HOPE YOU CAN COME!

Reading:

1. Through their new work with the non-fiction genre project, the kids will learn how to collect information with note taking, infer what facts and knowledge mean, all with the purpose of publishing this information through some medium afterwards.
2. We will study more comprehension strategies to do before and during reading and test taking strategies as part of our typical reading week. We'll use our read aloud story, silent reading book, and Time for Kids magazines to accomplish this.
3. The kids will also study some figurative language like idioms and later in writing class we will use figurative language in our poetry.
4. We'll also study some new vocabulary words like pungent, essential, and more that relate to our study of prefixes and suffixes. (Last week we studied -ic, -sub, and -ous)

Writing:

1. There are three major components to our writing this week: Writing memoirs, writing poetry, and students developing their own self selected writing. The last component will always remain a pillar of our writing this year.
2. Memoirs: We have done a lot of immersion and will continue more this week. Students will pick the memory they will write about on Monday and on Tuesday through Thursday we will do some close readings with writing skills and literary skills. Then on Friday we write our first draft!
3. Poetry: On Friday we went outside and wrote fall poetry. We will continue that this week and apply figurative language, appropriate word choice, and poetic techniques to our poems.
4. Self Selected Writing: The kids are so excited to begin their rough drafts of their own self selected writing. We have finished studying the pre-writing process and now they write rough drafts this week after another mini lesson on pre-writing.

Math:

1. Students in regular 5th grade math will be studying geometry. This includes measuring angles, studying triangles, identifying polygons and even doing a little data study with the American Tour lessons.
2. Students in accel math will be wrapping up unit 2 and will finish up with the study of division and interpreting remainder values. There will be three days of math this week. A test will be next week.

Social Studies:

1. We make our way to the colony of Roanoke in Virginia on Tuesday. We will study the early colonization of North America and its settlers.
2. While we study, we will read selected headings from our book, learn from videos, secondary sources, including other texts.
3. Some of our work will include poetry and journaling.

Citizenship:

1. The students are studying the problem solving steps.
2. We used a democratic model of voting similar to how our Congress passes a bill as a way to vote on classroom interests such as a bathroom break after specials or not. We'll continue to this model. The boys are members of the House and the girls are Senators. We studied how many votes are needed in each house to pass the bill and what happens when one house does not pass the bill. I'll post the voting results/records later. The kids REALLY ENJOYED this!
3. This week we'll also bond as a class by having some lunch outside together in this nice fall weather.

Reminders for this week:

Monday 10/10:

• No School

Tuesday 10/11:

• Enrichment
• Family Reading Night

Wednesday 10/12:

• Half day of School (12:15pm dismissal)

Thursday 10/13:

• Enrichment

Friday 10/14:

• One week before 1st quarter ends

Argument # 2: Should 3, 4, and 5 year olds be Watching Sponge Bob Square Pants?

Last week a study was publicized detailing how watching the popular Nickelodeon cartoon Sponge Bob Squarepants could have adverse effects on the concentration of children around the age of four years. The students read a news report and watched a video regarding the study. Afterward, they were asked if parents should allow their children around the age of four (including 3 and 5) to watch the cartoon.

Here are the their results:

YES: 14%

NO: 86%

YES COMMENTS:

1. "Parents should really make the decision."
2. "The show is not supposed to be educational so it's okay."
3. "Kids can learn from it because Sponge Bob has good messages about friendship."

NO COMMENTS:

1. "The scenes do change too quickly. My sister used to watch it and I think she might have learned some bad words."
2. "The show has bad words in it and it's not good for little children around that age."
3. The researchers and psychologists have a point about attention. After watching the show with frames that change every several seconds kids can be like zoned out afterwards.
4. "Maybe older kids can watch it but there's too much fast action and bad words like stupid in the show."

Curricular Update (Week of 9/26-9/30 and important reminders

Hi 5V Families! Here is the update for this week:

Reading:

1. The students will be studying new vocabulary this week and practicing strategies for understanding it. Some of our words are from a story we are reading called "Sees Behind Trees" from our anthology. Other words include frigorific, asinine, and anticipate...perhaps some more.
2. We'll be doing a lot of reading from our silent reading books and I"ll be doing a lot mini lessons in individual conferences as we do close reads and analyze chunks of text as part of those lessons.
3. The children will also learn how to appropriately answer a question using specific skills while at the same time being evaluative and reflective of the question.

Writing:

1. The kids will learn another method to start a story. This week will be monologue.
2. We are slowly setting up our writer's workshop and the kids will learn strategies for pre-writing their own stories.
3. We're also going to study general writer tendencies as we study our read aloud-things that real authors do in their writing.
4. We are going to continue to study where authors get ideas for stories.
5. Hopefully by Friday or by early next week, the kids will have begun their first student generated story.

Math:

1. Students in regular math are currently studying unit 2. Skills include estimation, addition, subtraction, multiplication, understanding probability, and multiplying with decimals. Students in 5V regular math will have a test this Friday or next Monday.
2. Students in accel math have wrapped up unit 1 and will begin unit 2. Unit 2 has a variety of skills to study including understanding place value, multiplying decimals, dividing, dividing decimals, and estimating.
3. We'll also continue to problem solve and we start math reflective journals soon as well.
4. I'm also going to get the kids on the computer and working with math-things like MS Excel, watching math videos, etc...

Math Facts:

1. We are continuing to pursue excellence in math fact studies.
2. The kids will also graph their scores using MS Excel in the lab this Friday.

Science:

1. We wrap up science this week. There's a test on Friday on our weather unit. Kids have done well on the two quizzes.
2. We wrap up this week by studying humidity, air pressure, and clouds.

Citizenship:

1. The students continue to study how to problem solve.

Important Reminders:

Mon 9/26:

1. Track and Field meet for 4th and 5th grade. 9:30-10:30-Kids should wear p.e shoes and bring water bottles!
2. Students in 5V Math accel branch take a pre-test
3. Students who are Vaid Helpers begin work for this week on Monday after school!!

Tues 9/27:

1. Author Michael Grant visits May Watts to discuss his new story "The Magnificent 12"
2. Students in 5th grade take the District 204 writing prompt pre-test
3. Before school Vaid Helpers
4. After school Vaid Helpers
5. Enrichment

Wed 9/28:

1. CoGat District testing for 2nd graders and 5th graders. We will test between 11am and 12pm.
2. Late start Wednesday 9:15am.
3. After school Vaid Helpers

Thurs 9/29:

1. CoGat District testing for 2nd graders and 5th graders. We will test between 11am and 12pm.
2. LMC books due or re-new
3. After School Vaid Helpers
4. Enrichment

Fri: 9/30:

1. CoGat District testing for 2nd graders and 5th graders. We will test between 11am and 12pm.
2. Weather unit test
3. Before School Vaid Helpers

Curricular Update (Week of 9/19-9/23 and important reminders

Hi 5V Families,

Here is what the 5th graders will be up to this week in 5V:

Reading:

1. Students will wrap up research on the innovator they are studying.
2. The kids will also practice presentation skills.
3. We'll continue to draw conclusions and make inferences. I have some fun activities planned for that. There will be some homework coming home about 3x this week in regards to our skill practice.
4. I'll continue to conference with our readers and assess them.
5. We are slated to learn 2-3 new vocabulary words this week :)

Writing:

1. The students will be writing 1 or 2 argument pieces this week. Stay tuned for a 5V family poll question that you can answer.
2. The kids will also learn the writing process this week and practice strategies for pre-writing. This is the step before rough drafting.
3. We'll also do some fun prompts or reaction writing. Recently we went on a little nature walk and the kids were inspired to write.
4. As always we will share any of our writing and practice good listening skills.

Math Facts:

1. WOW! The kids keep getting better at their math facts. We are practicing almost every day and I am seeing kids in small groups for multiplication practice.
2. Soon I will be seeing kids in small groups for computation practice.
3. Look out for a line graph to come home that shows your child's math fact progress.

Spelling:

1. We begin a new spelling unit this Monday.
2. We will continue to study strategies for spelling and we'll test this Friday.

Math:

1. The 5V Math class blog will be created soon and you will get updates about math via that blog.
2. 5th grade curriculum students will be beginning unit 2 in math. Unit 2 covers addition, subtraction, estimation strategies, multiplication, and multiplying decimals. The kids will take the pre-test on Tuesday and official lessons will begin on Wednesday.
3. 6th grade curriculum students will wrap up their last lesson for Unit 1 on Tuesday. They will have a test on unit 1 on Thursday, and pre-test for unit 2 on Friday.
4. All students will continue problem solving activities which will encompass computation, measurement, estimation, and analysis.

Science:

1. The kids are having fun drawing conclusions about properties of air.
2. We will study another property or two of air this week.
3. We have a few activities this week relevant to air pressure, humidity, and clouds.

Citizenship:

1. Our lesson this week again revolves around being able to problem solve.
2. Paw print redemption is this Thursday. The kids can trade in their tickets for prizes.
3. The gift card raffle for tickets put into the raffle bin is this Friday.

Important Reminders and Dates this week:

Monday, 9/19:

• PTA Meeting @ 7pm
• Kids get new spelling list

Tuesday, 9/20:

• Possible science quiz on what we've studied so far
• Turn in forms for "Vaid Helpers"if interested-these will come home Monday

Wednesday, 9/21:

• Late start Wednesday
• Turn in forms for "Vaid Helpers" if interested-these will come home Monday
• Possible science quiz on what we've studied so far (if not on Tuesday)

Thursday, 9/22:

• Pawprint Redemption Day

Friday, 9/23

• Math quiz for 5th grade curriculum in Mr. Vaid's class. Depending on 6th grade student curriculum we may just have unit test on Friday so no need for quiz.
• Students finish research and presentations in class.

Curricular Update (Week of 9/12-9/16 and important reminders

Hi 5V Families!

Here is what the 5th graders will be up to this week:

Reading:

1. The kids are going to practice research skills using online and print resources. Some of these skills include reading to interpret information and navigate search sites as well as drawing conclusions, and using evidence to support a thought.
2. The students will also continue to read in their independent choice books. I will conference with them to listen to their reading.
3. The kids will also read their award winning genre books for the purpose of sharing thoughts, reading for purpose, and making predictions. The genre project is due by Tuesday, October 4th. For every 1/3 of the story completed, the kids are required to log onto blackboard and post their reading response in the "Reading Project" forum.
4. The kids will continue to learn new vocabulary words. Here is a sneak peek of three of the new words: relevant, anticipate, and legacy.

Writing:

1. During writing class, the kids will give their "Me in a Bag" speeches. They've practiced communication skills and presentation skills. They learned that making an introduction and a conclusion to bookend the speech is essential for a presentation.
2. We will look at another topic that will spark some argument or debate and write for the purpose of taking a position and then supporting it through argument.
3. As we do each week, we'll also watch a video and react to it. Ask your kids about the Nick Vujicic video we watched. There was strong reaction to that and the kids wrote about it.
4. While we are in the lab the kids will study some word processing skills as well as tips and tricks on MS Word and Blackboard.

Math:

1. Students in the 5th grade math curriculum will wrap up unit 1 this week by studying square roots, prime factor strings, problem solving, and other skills in their math boxes.
2. There are tests scheduled this week for the 5th grade curriculum. Ask your child when his or her test is. In 5V it is on Friday.
3. Students in the accelerated math curriculum will continue unit 1 this week as they study circle graphs, samples, surveys, and interpreting information from visuals. They have a test the following week, not this week.

Science:

1. This week we will study different properties of air. I'm not going to mention which ones because our activities our set up so that the kids have to infer what property or feature of air we are demonstrating or they are experimenting in class.
2. On Friday we may have a quiz on what we have studied.

Citizenship:

1. This week during citizenship time we will study how to problem solve situations.
2. On Monday the 12th, the 5th grade will go to Mr. Schumann's room and we will reflect on the September 11th terrorist attacks as part of our study of history and we will have a discussion about it.

Important Dates and Reminders:

Monday 9/12:

1. 5th grade meets in Mr. Schumann's room @ 2:45pm to discuss/reflect upon September 11th attacks.
2. Students in Mr. Vaid's math class will take a special math assessment to determine what concepts students are deficient in. All 5th grade students will take this assessment and the 5th grade teachers will use the results to guide our instruction.
3. Ice Cream Social Night at May Watts! I believe it's at 6 or 7pm.

Wednesday 9/14:

1. CBM Testing for 5th graders. These are the one minute fluency checks kids take 3x each year.

Thursday 9/15:

1. Band and Orchestra
2. Curriculum Night @ 7:05 pm for 5th grade (goes till 8:25pm)

Friday 9/16:

1. Possible 5V math quiz
2. Possible 5V science quiz

Argument # 1 Longer School Day/Year Beneficial?

Last week, the kids in 5V were asked if a longer school day (an extra 1 to 1.5 hours) and a longer school year (additional 2 weeks) would be beneficial to kids. They were asked to take a position and explain using an elaboration cue (because) why they picked this position.

After reading the results, ask yourself what you think and vote in the 5V Family poll on the right hand side.

Results of class voting:

YES it is beneficial (26%)

NO it is NOT beneficial (74%)

Student comments:

Yes (beneficial)

* School is supposed to make us smart. If we go to school more we'll be smarter.

* We won't be so rushed and we'll be able to learn more than we already do.

* We could spend more time with our friends if we don't see them outside of school.

No (not beneficial)

* The hours we have now are fine. We already go a lot for 6 to 7 hours.

* Kids need a break-we'll get tired, run low on energy, and not learn if we're tired from school.

* We need to do things outside of school and have other places to go and things to do and we need time to do those activities too.

Curricular Update (Week of 9/7-9/9 and important reminders

Hi 5V Families! A very hot Friday and a five day weekend has thrown our schedule off a bit but not to worry, we're back this week to continue learning. Here's a peek at our work this week:

Reading:

1. The students will study a variety of research skills in preparation for a mini research project they will begin next week.
2. The kids will also practice using vocabulary words in context as part of skits they are performing with the following words: hostile, ostracize, elaborate, and eerie.
3. I will continue to listen to your children read.
4. The students will continue to have time to read in class, read for purpose, journal what they've read, and find out what their first book report project for the year is.
5. On Thursday, kids will select an award winning book from the LMC for their first book report project which will be due Friday, September 3oth or Tuesday, October 4th.

Writing:

1. The kids will be putting the final touches on their "Me en Una Bolsa" aka "Me in a Bag" speeches this week. They'll practice presentation skills at the same time.
2. The students will also be in the computer lab to finish their "What I've Learned" writing project which you may see at Curriculum night. They will have learned some good word processing skills with this work on the computer as well-perhaps they'll show you.
3. We'll work on another argument topic this week and practice persuasive writing and argument writing skills. Earlier we learned it's essential to take a position on a topic and then defend it with elaboration using the word "because".
4. We have another "View and React" video to watch this week. The kids will watch the video, react to it, and journal their opinions, thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

Math:

1. Students in 5th grade math are studying lessons from unit 1. They include learning to differentiate between prime and composite numbers, squares and square roots, and writing factors in prime factorization. A test for 5th grade math students will be coming up early next week. Stay tuned!
2. Students in 6th grade math aka math acceleration are learning to examine, sort through, and order data in a variety of graphic aids such as stem and leaf plots, bar graphs, line plots, mystery plots, and line graphs. The kids are also learning how to find landmarks for a set of data (mean, median, mode, etc...)
3. All 5th and 6th grade students are also learning strategies, tips, and tricks for computation and measurement.

Science:

1. We have our quiz on the layers of the atmosphere on Wednesday. The kids are fascinated by the Earth's one atmosphere and how it has seven layers.
2. On Thursday the students are going to study how to weather instruments (the wind vane and the anemometer) measure wind direction and wind speed respectively.

Citizenship:

1. Our class reached its gold ticket goal for the second week in a row! I told the kids they will receive an incentive for this! Our goal last week was 45 tickets and we recorded 55!
2. So far our ticket count is as follows for the first two weeks of school: 52 and 55.

Important Reminders for this week:

Wednesday, September 7th:

1. Quiz on layers of the atmosphere in science class.
2. Late start Wednesday (classes begin @ 9:15am)

Thursday, September 8th:

1. Kids travel to LMC to pick out award winning book for first book report project.
2. I will tell the students what some of the project will entail.

Friday, September 9th:

1. 5V math quiz (on a few of the concepts we have studied so far)
2. Class two minute math fact test (we will begin graphing our scores)
3. CBM Testing for 5th grade (computation, math applications, comprehension)

Curriculum Update for 8/29-9-2

Hi 5V Families! Great first week of school. I really like my class. So, here is what we are up to this second week of school:

Reading:

1. Students will continue to study pre-reading strategies and select books based on studying the preview, the title, making predictions, and setting a purpose. The kids are also making books lists in the computer lab-ask them about it.
2. I will meet with students to have reading conferences to obtain information about their interest and abilities in reading.
3. The kids are learning the essential parts to a story-there are four-ask them if they remember-we just started this so give them some time ;)
4. The kids will also continue to respond in the form of writing to journal topics after they read their own self selected books. This will help them think as they read.
5. We continue study vocabulary from our read aloud story as well as important challenging vocabulary in every day life. We are going to put on skits to take more ownership of the words.

Writing:

1. We're studying how writers come up with ideas for creating stories. This will help us transition our learning of the four essential parts to a story.
2. The kids are reacting and writing to different journal topics I'm giving them to write for. Some argumentative, some reflective, some thought provoking.
3. We have two cool mini projects we are continuing: Me in a Bag AND What I've Learned So Far in Life...We'll wrap those up this week so stay tuned!
4. The kids write every day in their daily reflection journal-they LOVE it! They just share their thoughts on the day and feelings.

Math:

1. Students in regular 5th grade math have just begun unit 1. Their pre-test scores will determine what they study.
2. Our 5th grade regular unit covers arrays, factors, divisibility of numbers, prime numbers, composite numbers, square numbers, square roots, and prime factorization.
3. For 6th grade accel math we begin with landmarks, data collection, and a variety of graphs.
4. Please expect a study link and a math box for HW each night. But...the kids will have time to complete the work in class.

Science:

1. The kids will learn that weather is constantly changing and they will learn about our Earth's protective atmosphere and how it's broken into 7 layers.
2. Also, the kids will study and learn that there are different weather instruments to measure different facets of weather such as wind speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity, and air pressure.
3. We are also writing in science class and learning how to express our feelings through journaling about weather memories.

Citizenship:

1. Last week, the class earned 55 gold tickets for great behavior in the class and around the school. Our goal was 35...we really did well!
2. We'll set a new goal this week.
3. On Monday, the kids will get a one hour tour of the building and expectations for behavior in those areas of the building. This is conducted by Mr. Raczak, Mrs. Boldt, and other May Watts staff.

Hello!

Hi 5v Families,

It was very nice to meet you today at the annual May Watts Meet and Greet. I am in the process of creating an email list so that I can contact all of you at once. You should receive your first class email by the weekend. Please continue to check out the class blog.

The information and updates I post are usually relevant to:

* What the 5th graders are studying in class

* Important dates and reminders

* Student debate/poll results

* Family poll question that you can answer

For your reference, my email is: Amit_Vaid@ipsd.org

Thanks and talk to you soon!

Mr. Vaid

HELLO! Welcome to 5V

Good day Families of 5V. The school year does not begin until Monday, August 22nd but after receiving your class list you may have wandered over to Mr. Vaid's blog.

Welcome to 5V. I am excited to begin the 2011-12 school year with you. I love 5th grade. This is my 8th year teaching (all at May Watts in 5th grade) and I hope that you are excited to start the school year. Not only will we learn a lot and become producers of information but we will also have an engaging, unique, and creative way of accomplishing our goals as well.

Meet and Greet: Please know that the May Watts Meet 'n Greet will be on Wednesday August 17th from 1:15-2:00pm. Please stop by the classroom so I can meet you and you can put your supplies away. Seating for the first several weeks of school is established @ Meet 'n Greet on a first come first serve basis, so come and grab your seat! I will also ask families to sign up on the 5V email list.

May Watts Citizenship Celebration 1:45-3:00pm

Tuesday afternoon May Watts students will be participating in the Field Day Citizenship Celebration between 1:45pm and 3:00pm. Because of the weather students should prepare with the following:

* Bring a water bottle

* Wear a hat if possible

* Apply sun screen prior to school

5th Grade Farewell Party

Hi 5V Families! The Fifth Grade Farewell Party is this Tuesday, May 17th. Students should bring the following items because they will be outside and because of the potential for heat. Right now, the forecast for Tuesday is 61 and sunny.

If you have, please wear/bring:

• Comfortable tennis or gym shoes.
• water bottle
• hat
• beach towel to sit on during lunch
• apply sun screen prior to arriving at school.
• Anything else? Let me know if you think something should be listed!

Curriculum Update

Hi 5V Families! Here is what we are studying this week:

Reading:

• We will be acting out a play "Name that American" this week and next week.
• Students will do solo or partnership skits/presentations with new vocabulary words (including two recently new ones: kerfuffle and acclimate)
• We will read our Time for Kids magazines to practice non-fiction reading skills.
• We'll continue our read for purpose book conferences.

Writing:

• Students have just finished their 6 word memoirs-WOW! So awesome-you should really read their 6 word memoirs...AND submit your own for a chance to be in the raffle for a prize.
• The kids will continue practicing their research and presentation skills and will write their outlines for their presentations by this Friday.
• We'll also continue to write our workshop stories and writing (SO MANY this year) and continue our share time on Friday.
• I also have some interesting topic writes for the kids this week and next week.

Math:

• Students in 5V will take the 5V math test this Tuesday.
• Pre-test for 5V math for unit 11 is Wednesday.
• We will begin unit 11 with a focus on a variety of studies such as: polygons, measuring polygons, and work with formulas to measure.
• Our small group work continues as does our computation practice.

Social Studies:

• During reading class we are taking some time to finish up our Civil War chapter. The kids are so engaged and into the lessons and discussions.
• We are taking a lot of quizzes to monitor comprehension and practicing study skills.

Science:

• We have begun investigating the parts and functions of the microscope.
• This week we will study the idea of magnification and learn how to magnify a specimen under the scope.
• We will also study our first couple of specimens this Thursday and Friday.

Citizenship:

• We will refresh our bullying lesson and unit.
• Students will also study the cool tool of the week which is "keeping hands and feet to yourself."

Important Dates and Reminders

Hi 5V Fams! Here are some important dates and reminders for this upcoming week:

Monday, May 9th

• Jump Rope for Heart (9:45am-11am) please bring p.e shoes and water bottles.
• Spelling test
• Math test review day

Tuesday, May 10th

• 5V Math Test
• Students continue research and practice presentations (coming up in 2 weeks)

Wednesday, May 11th

• Tentatively scheduled after school work day for researchers/presenters for the presentation.

Thursday, May 12th

• Continue practicing our presentations.
• Paw-print redemption

Friday, May 13th

• Citizenship Popsicle Party (courtesy of Sania's winning raffle ticket!)

6 Word Memoir Participation

Hi 5V Families! How are you? Our 5V children recently wrote a 6 word memoir trying to reflect/summarize/ponder the meaning of their 10 and 11 year old lives.

You can ask your child how he or she reflected on his/her life over the past 10/11 years. They wrote their feelings about their lives in 6 words (no easy task) Some memoirs from LAST year include:

• One way is right. Which one?
• Does God ask questions?
• Life's a rollercoaster...then it drops!
• Am I a shadow or person?
• Not the best, but has heart.
• I fall, I stumble, I'm okay.
• Never the best, but always good.
• Big dreams start from the seed.
• Was shy before, now very proud.
• Gotta stand out to be noticed.

Each time we do this, the child accompanies the memoir with a picture depicting the memoir. You should see your child's work. A lot are really powerful or at least provocative and all are meaningful!

Well, ponder is a strong word, but reflection. It's been a class tradition now for a couple years that I ask the parents to submit their 6 word memoir if they would like to. If you submit one to me via email, you will be eligible to take part in a raffle to win a gift card to a place I think you would probably spend it as you are parents and probably need things.

So, ask your child for some help, check out the examples above, and feel free to email me. It would help if your email contained the 6 word memoir in the subject line in case I need to go back and search to make sure you are part of the raffle drawing.

Mr. Vaid

Important Dates and Reminders 4/18-4/22

Monday 4/18:

• Wear nature shirts to school for Ecology Club's Earth Week.


• Try to bring books from public library to supplement research on impact person, event, or idea.


• Math Pre-test in 5V (Pre-algebra)


• Please turn in 5th grade party lunch permission form.


• Begin new spelling unit.

Tuesday 4/19:

• Research continues in the lab.


• Trash clean up in the back of the school as part of Earth week.


• Continue research.


• Quiz in social studies


• Invention models are due for 5V students who chose to make a model.


• Please turn in 5th grade party lunch permission form.

Wednesday 4/20:

• Assembly in the gym at 2:45 for Earth Week.


• Quiz in social studies.


• Please turn in 5th grade party lunch permission form.

Thursday 4/21:

• Wear white t-shirts as part of Earth Week.


• Thursday math quiz potentially.


• Study over the weekend for spelling test.

Friday 4/22:

• No school today.

Curricular Update 4/18-4/22

Hi 5V Families-Here is a curricular update for next week: Citizenship: We are going to continue to study conflict resolution. I want students to practice making "I" statements with each other to share their feelings in a safe, tactful, and non-threatening manner. Reading: The students will read World of William Joyce Scrapbook in their reading anthology books. We will primarily focus on vocabulary skills-an assortment of using synonyms, antonyms, multiple meaning words, and more. We will also continue to read, have reading conferences, and read for purpose in our history books. Writing: During writing students will continue their research on a person, event, or idea that has had an impact on America. They are practicing technology skills, research skills, and comprehension skills. I am trying to teach them as many research and computer skill tips as I can. Math 5V: We begin a unit on pre-algebra on Tuesday. On Monday we will have a pre-test. Our format of instruction has shifted. I am meeting with more small groups than ever while I have students practice particular skills via computer games and other alternatives like math boxes. We will have a Friday quiz. Social Studies: We are in the midst of studying the post war affects of the American Revolution and the country of America as an infant. Currently we are on chapter 10 and are assessing listening comprehension as well as reading comprehension almost daily. We are studying very broad concepts and reading to form opinions. The kids love to share their opinions and they can understand multiple perspectives and in turn their interest and passion for history has increased!!

Curricular Update for 3/21-3/25

Hi 5V Fams! Here is what we will be studying next week, prior to spring break:



Reading:

• Inferring the reasons for why the 13 colonies and their delegates declared independence from Britain.
• Learning and reviewing note taking strategies to take effective notes in order to prep for exams.
• Studying the difference between important vs. just interesting details in a SS text.
• We're also going to study and share a variety of texts through book shares and reading conferences.

Writing:

• Students are continuing to work on their research persusasive papers. They are researching information and taking surveys for data collection.
• We've written the introduction. Next week we finish with the body paragaphs and the conclusion.
• Students will also continue writing their own student made stories in writer's workshop.
• After break we are doing a fun 6 word memoir activity. You can win a prize if you participate. More details later!

Math:

• We continue to study fractions and review fractions.
• We've studied how to add and subtract mixed numbers and multiply fractions.
• We will continue studying adding and subtracting mixed numbers and multipying them.
• In addition we are going to study division of fractions and strategies for comparing fraction values, converting them to decimals and more. It's a lot with fractions! A test may be given on Thursday or Friday of next week.

Social Studies:

• We are loving social studies. We are studying about how the 13 colonies declared independece from Britain and we're going to study our country's first government, the Articles of Confederation.
• The kids will be examining perspectives of different Revolutionary groups such as the Colonists, African American soldiers, the British, and the important women who helped win the war!

Citizenship:
We will have an in-class bully discussion next week in a positive and structured setting so that students can focus on ideas and behaviors that can prevent bullying. I also want to give students who could not attend the bully meeting after school an opportunity to share their thoughts on what problems they see with bullying and how they feel about the behaviors, as well as how to prevent bullying and what kids can do to stick up for one another.

May Watts Fun Fair 3/19 11am-3pm

The May Watts Fun Fair is this Saturday, March 19th between 11am and 3pm. Please come for games, food, prizes, and a silent auction!

Curricular Update 3/1-3/11

This curricular update will include math and science from this week. Because of ISAT testing, reading, flex groups, and writing classes have been minimized.

Reading:

• Kids are giving meaning to words in context by using context clue strategies. We are performing skits to demonstrate the meanings of words like: swoon, pugnacious, distinguish, lethargic, pungent, despair, and undeniable.


• The kids are reading their traditional literature stories with two specific purposes: 1.) To analyze character personalities based on evidence and 2.) To recall important scenes from the text that are important to the goal/conflict of the characters and story.


• We'll probably start some type of reading in our reading anthology book-maybe a fictional story and we'll practice comprehension skills or strategies.


• We'll practice our fluency through 6 minute solution fluency practice, reading silently, and the read aloud.


• At some point we will also analyze non-fiction as we cross this with our current events subject and articles.

Writing:

• Next week we will be in the computer lab researching information about homework and trying to find data and sources to support our viewpoints about the amount of HW children receive.


• As we research, we are studying how to report our arguments in a persuasive manner as we study how to write and organize a persuasive essay.


• Kids will also have time to work on, as always, their student composed, self driven created work.

Math:

• This week and next week we are studying how to measure area for rectangles, triangles, and paralellograms.


• Towards the end of this week and early next week we will study how to measure volume for 3 dimensional objects and how to measure surface area.


• Finally, we will study how to measure area for a circle.


• We are going to study how to use formulas to measure area and volume for our objects and surfaces.


• There will be no math quiz this Friday, but one the following on the 11th.

Science:

• Our astronomy unit has been great. The kids are really enjoying it.


• This week we are studying different constellations, their stars, and the colors/temperatures, and how bright their stars are on the spectral classification scale.


• Kids have been also studying the life cycle of a star as we study constellations.


• Next week we'll finish up our unit with a study of galaxies and take a test, probably on Wednesday or Thursday.


• Be sure to study using the study sheets that are handed out in class.

ISAT Testing Week

HI 5V Families! This week is ISAT testing for 3rd through 5th grades.

Our schedule looks like this each day, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

10:30-11:30 Reading ISAT

12:00-1:00 Math ISAT

On Friday, March 4th between 1:45pm and 3:15pm, we will having our gold ticket celebration party because the kids made their goal of 1300 tickets in our recent counting period.

Children will have the choice between 2 movies (TBD) and can go to a 5th grade classroom to watch the movies. There will be no math class on Friday.

Debate Topic: Too Much Homework

Last week the kids and I studied an article from the Chicago Tribune about a school district in Illinois that is doing away with homework. The report questioned whether students in America are receiving too much homework and if there is any benefit to the homework.

I asked the kids what they thought prior to reading the article and to make their decisions based on their personal experiences as well as experiences with siblings and older friends.

This is what they had to say:

20% We receive too LITTLE HW.

45% We receive just the RIGHT amount of HW.

35% We receive too MUCH HW.

Opinions from kids:

Argument Too Little:

"Places like China and my cousins go to school year round and they get a lot and our scores are worse than theirs."

"We have to compete for jobs with others in America so we need more practice."

Argument Just Right:

"It's not a big deal. My brother in middle school is fine. He doesn't complain."

"Some nights we get a lot, sometimes not very much, so it balances out."

Argument Too Much:

"My sister is up till 1am sometimes. Once I went down into the basement and saw her working like at 1am."

"We're just kids and if we go to school that should be good enough, we don't need to do extra stuff after. My brother has SO much homework in high school."

Debate Topic: Bullying

Debate Topic: Bullying

Students were asked to write another persuasvive debate topic. In this case they were asked if law enforcement such as police and/or the courts should be involved in handling and punishing bullying matters that occur at the middle school and high school level:

NO: 23%

YES: 77%

Persuasive Points:

Against Law Enforcement Intervention:

"Only if there are people getting physically hurt-then the police should step in."

"It's not that big of a deal unless some one is emotionally disturbed by bullying."

For Law Enforcement Intervetion:

"Kids are afraid to go to school because of bullies."

"I've been bullied at school, at least once a month and it's a major problem."

"It's very serious-it can turn violent. I bet that shooter from Tuscon was bullied."

"Yes, especially in HS because it get can violent with shootings."