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.