Here Come the Work! Update 9/24-9/28

Some of our Citizenship Discussion has been about people with special needs. 

Math: Please refer to the 5V Math Class blog with the link provided below. For easy access, the link is also located on the left hand column in the links for learning section. Or... http://5vmath.blogspot.com/

Reading: This week we study some neat vocabulary strategies and we continue to practice reading informational texts. We're studying interpreting this week as well as synonyms with our vocabulary. We'll take a quiz on an article we read from our Time for Kids magazine and we'll practice the re-read to monitor comprehension strategy as well. We always practice that one!  Look forward to a couple of new challenging vocabulary words and silent reading and conference time. I'm going to respond to students book conversations and they will respond back to me by this Tuesday or Wednesday. We have to meet in small groups to practice interpreting. We are interpreting in our short answer responses but also on our recent quiz, we had 10 friends have trouble with interpreting information so we will have to fix that I guess! 

Current Events: Last week we learned how our country elects a President. Go ahead, ask your child! He or she should be able to explain it to you. Our mock election between the Sunshine party and Tree party candidates will take place after they hit the campaign trail. We will continue to study the actual 2012 election and take our mock vote in that as well!  On EDLINE the kids are having discussions about elections and current events. Their recent discussions about teachers and teacher evaluation was very interesting. 

Writing: More EDLINE "What would you do?" discussions this Friday...In addition, the kids will turn in the drafts to their first books to me this Wednesday and we will begin the editing and revising process the week after. We've just studied how to show our thoughts in writing rather than telling them. We're going to study how to keep focused in our writing this week as well. We write EVERYDAY! We also have some good quick writes this week. I will see kids in small groups to discuss/re-teach/re-learn some skills related to short answer response writing, aka SAR writing. 

Technology: We're still studying the ACV strategy in class. Ask your child about it. Soon we will begin practicing some internet browsing strategies and we will use EDLINE to do some of that work. 

Citizenship: I talked to the children about not staring at students who are "drawing attention to themselves". Sometimes kids see students with special needs drawing attention to themselves unknowingly and can't control the behavior. We talked about how it was rude to stare. One thing we talked about the week prior was addressing people in the correct way. For example, not calling a student or anyone "retarded" or saying something like "he is special needs"...Instead we talked about putting the person first like: "He is a person with special needs."

Science: This has been such a great weather unit. We are going to continue to study weather the rest of the year though! We will continue to watch ABC7's weather forecasts daily and read the weather at www.weather.com daily. This week we are studying the water cycle, clouds, and different types of clouds. Please see Edline for visual image resources that can be used to study for the test which is upcoming in about two weeks. 

Three Week Anniversary: Update 9/17-9/21

The class seeks to generate revenue via ball chair sales. 

Math: Please refer to the 5V Math Class blog with the link provided below. For easy access, the link is also located on the left hand column in the links for learning section. Or... http://5vmath.blogspot.com/

Reading: This week we study some neat vocabulary strategies and we continue to practice reading informational texts. We'll take a quiz on an article we read from our Time for Kids magazine and we'll practice the re-read to monitor comprehension strategy as well. Look forward to a couple of new challenging vocabulary words and silent reading and conference time. I'm going to respond to students book conversations and they will respond back to me by this Friday. 

Current Events: Last week we studied some basics about Election 2012 and this week we'll be studying how our country elects its President. We'll be doing some math with the study of the Electoral Map. We studied the Chicago Teacher's strike and there is a discussion question on redline in the current events discussion folder regarding that. The response is due this Wednesday! Kids will have time in class on Tuesday to work! 

Writing: After formally planning our first stories we are are now drafting them. Kids are also responding to journal topics in class and learning how to elaborate using phrases like because and for example. In addition, we are writing in our reflection journal. Soon we will study how to properly answer an essay question! There is also a discussion question from the "What Would you Do?" discussion board titled "classmate" which is due Wednesday or Thursday. 

Technology: I've shown students control commands and general internet browsing and posting tips. That will continue this week. I hope that this week we can learn to upload files. We will continue to practice practical tips and learn how to manage posting information using strategies for success. 

Citizenship: This week we study "I can statements" in conflict resolution. We've already learned how important the "I can" statement is when we need to address an issue and not the person him/herself. 

Science: We're busier than ever proving concepts in our scientific method experiments. I see so much thinking taking place when the kids lead the experiments and projects. We're also studying the following concepts within the context of watching a weather forecast: temperature, air pressure, humidity, and fronts. Please see Edline for visual image resources that can be used to study for the test which is upcoming in about two weeks. 

Getting in Gear: Update 9/10-9/14

We'll be learning about weather forecasts this week. 

Math: Please refer to the 5V Math Class blog with the link provided below. For easy access, the link is also located on the left hand column in the links for learning section. Or... http://5vmath.blogspot.com/

Reading: I am having reading conferences with the kids and I'm learning more about them each time. I will use this information to help them become better readers. The ultimate goal is to instill a passion for reading in them. We'll be working on more strategies this week. Those include vocabulary strategies and summarizing strategies. We'll continue learning through our read aloud text Because of Mr. Terupt and we will learn a new challenge word! We'll also be logging on to Blackboard to have book conversations! 

Current Events: Last week we studied some basics about Election 2012 and this week we'll be studying how our country elects its President. We'll be doing some math with the study of the Electoral Map.  

Writing: The kids are beginning to write their first books. They are learning how to write with mini craft lessons. We learn what the authors in our books do as authors to make their books engaging and great. Recently we've studied how authors describe characters and use different perspectives to reveal character personalities. 

Technology: We have to study control commands for copying and pasting. In addition to this, we will study how to post messages on Blackboard. I will introduce a learning portal called Edline to the children as well and this will help them learn online and access resources online for their learning! 

Citizenship: We studied "I statements" this past week. I praised one of our students for making the comment: "Mr. Vaid, I did not get my lunch card." instead of "Mr. Vaid, you didn't give me my lunch card." Those little manners go a long way! 

Science: This week the students will use the scientific method to conduct experiments proving or disproving certain characteristics or properties of air. We're trying to prove weather air is lighter than water, weather air has weight, and we'll also study a weather forecast and study the nuances of the terms and what they mean. 

Beat the Heat! Update: 9/5-9/7

This week we'll study more key terms and topics of Election 2012.

Hello everyone. I want to reiterate my gratefulness to the families or helped provide for our fans this week. In addition, a reminder that curriculum night is coming up on Thursday, September 13th between 7pm and 830pm.More information will be forthcoming. 
I want to provide you with a brief update about what the 5th grade and 5V will be studying next week:

Math: Please refer to the 5V Math Class blog with the link provided below. For easy access, the link is also located on the left hand column in the links for learning section. 

Reading: As we continue to develop and/or further our love for reading we will study more genres and learn a few reading strategies including reading for purpose, summarizing, and we will study a vocabulary strategy that helps us get closer to knowing the meaning of a word. All of our lessons and application will be done through read aloud texts and independent reading. I will begin having book conversations with your child this week! 

Current Events: Last week we studied some basics about Election 2012 including the RNC briefly, the candidates, and some key election terms. We also talked a lot about Hurricane Isaac. This week we will continue to study key election terms and briefly study the issues the candidates will be discussing. The lessons will be aimed at giving students the background knowledge they need to understand the Election 2012. There will also be an Election 2012 extra credit opportunity given out this Friday, due next Monday 9/10. 

Writing: We open our Writer's Workshop this Wednesday! Kids will be encouraged to select what they want to write and write for authentic purposes. We will study pre-writing this week and have a few writing craft lessons. We'll use our read aloud text Because of Mr. Terrupt to study how authors describe characters and how authors use multiple perspectives to reveal character. We've been writing informal short stories but next week, the kids will begin drafting their very first formal writing piece of the year. 

Technology: We made tables for our reading logs last week. We'll review that this week and practice using control commands to copy and paste. 

Citizenship: We will have our second class meeting this Wednesday and discuss action items, lunch food, and how our class can generate revenue. 

Science: This week the students will use the scientific method to conduct experiments proving or disproving certain characteristics or properties of air. Think: How can one prove that air has weight...or does it? Can one prove that warm air rises...or does it? The children will use the scientific method to conduct experiments. We are also studying the layers of the atmosphere.