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