Science Fair week has arrived! Students have worked so hard, and they are excited to show off their projects this Wednesday. We will be spending the week finalizing our display boards and working on our oral presentations. The Science Fair will be throughout the day at school, as well as in the evening on Wednesday. All students should be in the south gym on Wednesday starting at 6:20 PM. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Upcoming dates:

• Science Fair is Wednesday, May 16th from 6:30-7:30 PM
• 5th grade Olympics are Tuesday, May 22nd
• Marie Murphy trip is Wednesday, May 23rd
• Shedd Aquarium trip is Friday, May 25th
• No School on Monday, May 28th (Memorial Day)
• "Book Blurbers" due Thursday, May 31st (free choice genre)
• 5th Grade Party is Friday, June 1st

The Science Fair is approaching fast! All students should have completed their experiments and have their materials here at school. We will spend the week working on our display boards. The first step is typing up our lab reports and drafting our conclusions. Students will be responsible for writing one paragraph a night of our their conclusions for homework. After our lab reports are complete, we will be printing and pasting onto our display boards. By Friday, many students will have their display boards complete. The only thing left will be to write our speeches and prepare for our presentations. I am looking forward to seeing you all at our 5th grade Science Fair next Wednesday, May 16th, from 6:30-7:30 PM.

When we are not working on Science Fair boards, students will be reading about slavery and the plight of the Middle Passage, and have an understanding of why Africans were targeted for the slave trade.

Students will have a vocabulary quiz on Friday over words containing mis- (meaning bad or badly, wrong). Students are responsible for the following words: misbehave, mischievous, miserable, misfortune, misjudge, mislead, misspell, mistake, mistreat, and misunderstand.

Upcoming dates:

• "Breakfast with Books" (The View From Saturday) is Thursday, May 9th
• Science Fair is Wednesday, May 16th from 6:30-7:30 PM
• 5th Grade Olympics are Tuesday, May 22nd from 9:00-11:00 AM
• Marie Murphy trip is Wednesday, May 23rd
• No School on Monday, May 28th (Memorial Day)
• "Book Blurbers" (free choice) due Thursday, May 31st
• 5th Grade Party is Friday, June 1st
• Picnic/Awards Day is Thursday, June 7th

Wow, I can't believe we are in our first week of May. This is an exciting, but very busy month for students in 5th grade.

Here is a look at our week:

Students should be finishing up their Science Fair experiments at home this week. The final day for experimenting is this coming weekend. By Monday, May 7th, students should have all their materials for their display boards at school (data, graphs, pictures, etc). We will be working on our lab report, conclusions, and display board assembly here at school next week.

Students are finishing their novel studies this week. Students reading Where the Red Fern Grows will take an open book/open notebook test this Friday.

The writers in 5D have been writing fast and furiously during writer's workshop. We are working on writing memoirs, and practicing using voice in our writing to enhance the story telling, as opposed to summarizing. Students have been writing and giving each other feedback. We will continue writing about more memories throughout the week. Many students already have ideas about what they would like their final product to look like. I am very excited to read all these great pieces. Students will have a spelling test on Friday.

In social studies, we are continuing our study of ancient West Africa. Students have been reading about ancience West Africa and taking notes focusing on seven cultural aspects. This week, students will become experts on one of these aspects by conducting more research and presenting their findings.

Upcoming dates:

• MAP testing (reading) is Monday, April 30th
• Science Fair is Wednesday, May 16th from 6:30-7:30 PM
• Olympics are Tuesday, May 22nd
• Students visit Marie Murphy school on Wednesday, May 23rd
• No School on Monday, May 28th (Memorial Day)

This is an exciting week in 5D as we begin two new units: our slavery unit in social studies and memoir writing during our writers' workshop.
Here is a look into our week:

Students are doing a great job in my novel group for Where the Red Fern Grows. Students are in small book clubs, and each day they meet with their groups in literature circles where each member has a job. The Discussion Director is the captain and guides the group. We will be meeting every day this week from 10:30-11:10.

Students have a vocabulary quiz on Friday over words containing cred- (meaning believe). Students are responsible for the following words: credible, incredible, creditor, incredulous, accreditation, credulous, creed, credential, credit, discredit. Our grammar focus for the week is punctuation.

In social studies, students are starting to learn about the geography and culture of Africa. We will spend time studying an Atlas to better understand the continent, and then we will focus on Mali and Ghana towards the end of the week. Students will focus on comparing and contrasting the two countries based on six cultural aspects: religion, family, art, music, education, and traditions.

During writers' workshop this week, students will begin making lists of memories they may want to write about for their memoir piece. I will be reading several memoir picture books and we will take a memory walk around the school to help students make lists. As they begin writing, we will spend time discussing what form they would like their memoirs to be in. I am very excited about this unit!

Upcoming dates:

• MAP testing (math) is Monday, April 23rd
• MAP testing (reading) is Monday, April 30th
• "Book Blurbers" due Monday, April 30th
• Science Fair experiments should be completed by May 5th
• Science Fair is Wednesday, May 16th

I am so proud of all of our poets in 5D! The Poetry Slam was a HUGE success. Thank you to all the family and friends that showed up to support our poets.

Students will be working this week to make final revisions and publish their poetry anthologies. They will also be working on transforming a few of their poems (including their partner poem) into a podcast. Look for these on student blogs towards the end of the week.

We will begin our spring novel studies this week. All of the students in 5th grade will be mixed together and placed in a group reading one of the following books:

• From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
• Bunnicula by James Howe

There will be a spelling test on Friday. The grammar focus for the week is adverbs.

At this point, all students should be in the experimenting process for their Science Fair experiment. Don't forget to take pictures and record detailed observations. All experiments should be completed by May 6th.

Upcoming dates:

• MAP testing (math) is Monday, April 23rd
• MAP testing (reading) is Monday, April 30th
• "Book Blurbers" (realistic fiction) due Monday, April 30th

This is an exciting week in 5D as we gear up for our Poetry Slam Cafe. Students will spend the week revising their poems, and working on creating their Poetry Anthology, as well as rehearsing for the Slam on Friday. Each student will be reciting three poems: a partner poem they wrote with one of their peers, a favorite poem from their own collection, and a memorized poem from another author. Don’t forget you are all invited to join us in the Cafe on Friday, April 13th from 1:30-2:45 PM. The grammar focus for the week is contractions. Students will have a vocabulary quiz on Friday over words containing leg-, lect- (meaning law, choose, gather, select, read) and ord- (meaning order). Students are responsible for the following words: allege, allegory, delegate, election, electorate, legalize, legible, legislation, legitimate, privilege, coordinate, disorder, inordinate, insubordinate, ordain, orderly, ordinance, subordinate, and uncoordinated.

I will be meeting with each student individually to go over their conferencing form for the Science Fair to make sure they are on the right track. As of this Friday, all students will be able to begin working on their experiment at home. Don’t forget to take pictures throughout the experimenting and to have a notebook for collecting data! We will work on the display boards and the lab report at school after the experiments are complete.

Math students will be working on the final Investigation for Unit 7 this week. Students should be solving multiplication and division problems fluently, using all four operations to solve problems, describing and comparing different strategies used to solve division problems, and solving multi-step word problems.

Upcoming dates:

• Poetry Slam Cafe is Friday, April 13th from 1:30-2:45
• “Breakfast with Books” (Esperenza Rising) is Thursday, April 12th
• Students can begin their Science Fair experiments at home on Friday, April 13th
• MAP testing on Monday, April 23rd and Monday, April 30th
• “Book Blurbers” (realistic fiction) due Monday, April 30th

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break.

Hopefully the time off will have inspired our poetry writers and we are coming back ready to write poetry. Our class Poetry Cafe is only two weeks away, so we have quite a bit of work to do to prepare. Students will be working on their Poetry Anthology this week. Each student is required to include seven poems in their anthology (six from their own collection). At the Cafe, each student will be reciting three poems: their partner poem, one favorite from their collection, and a memorized favorite poem from another writer. We look forward to seeing you on Friday, April 13th from 1:30-2:45 for the Poetry Cafe! Students will spend the week writing and setting goals for completing poetry and our anthologies by next Friday. The grammar focus for the week is irregular verbs. There will be a spelling test on Friday.

Students should now know their project question for the Science Fair. Each student should be working on their conference form throughout the week to prepare for a teacher conference next week. Once their project is approved, it is time to start the experiments at home! Students can officially start working on their experiments on Friday, April 13th.

Math students will be working on division strategies and notation this week. Our focus points are to create a story context for division problems, solve division problems with a 2-digit divisor fluently, solve multi-step division problems, and use clear and concise notations in solutions.

Upcoming dates:

• Science Fair conference forms due on Thursday, April 5th
• No school Friday, April 6th for Good Friday
• "Breakfast with Books" (Esperenza Rising) is Thursday, April 12th
• 5$ for Science Fair display boards is due Friday, April 13th
• Poetry Cafe is Friday, April 13th from 1:30-2:45
• MAP testing (reading) is Monday, April 23rd
• MAP testing (math) is Monday, April 30th
• "Book Blurbers" (realistic fiction) due Monday, April 30th

Students were introduced to two major upcoming projects last week: the Poetry Cafe and the Science Fair! Please check back often for updates on these two great projects. Students should have brought home their Science Fair folders over the weekend and gone over the contents of the folder with a parent. Please help your child brainstorm ideas for project questions. The entry form for the Science Fair is due Tuesday, March 20th.

We will be focusing on writing poetry this week and preparing for our Poetry Cafe. The Cafe will be on Friday, April 13th and each student will be reciting three poems from their collection. Our classroom will be transformed into a cafe setting, and students and parents will enjoy the poetry of the 5D students. Students will be working on their partner poems, limericks, haikus, concrete, cinquain, and definition poems this week. We will also be reading the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost and discussing the meaning. Each student will memorize one stanza from the poem to be recited on Thursday using expression and creativity. There will be a vocabulary quiz on Friday over words containing ology meaning the study of. Students are responsible for the following words: anthropology, biology, cardiology, dermatology, ecology, geology, graphology, psychology, sociology, and zoology.

We are starting a new unit in math this week called How Many People? How Many Teams? Our focus points for the week are to generate equivalent multiplication expressions by doubling or tripling one factor and dividing the other by 2 or 3, using story contexts and representations to support explanations of relationships between equivalent expressions, and generating equivalent division expressions.

Upcoming dates:

• Science Fair entry form due Tuesday, March 20th
• No school on Friday, March 23rd for Teacher Institute Day
• Spring break is March 26th-March 30th
• No school on Friday, April 6th
• Poetry Cafe is Friday, April 13th

We made it through ISAT testing! Spring break is in a few weeks, and students have earned the time off!

We are finishing our Dust Bowl unit in social studies this week and beginning our next science unit (experimental design). Students have been working on making PSAs (Public Service Announcements) as a podcast. As students think about how the Dust Bowl tragedies could have been prevented, they have been brainstorming other environmental issues going on that could be prevented in the future. The PSAa are describing the global issues, discussing how to prevent the issue from happening, and warning the public what would happen if not prevented. Students will be making final touches on these PSAs this week, so look for them on student blogs soon.

We are going to start our big poetry unit this week. Students will be working on interpreting poetry and writing their own which will be showcased at our class Poetry Slam on April 13th (more details to come). This week, students will be looking at and interpreting several types of familiar poetry, as well as work on reciting poems using expression. We will start the week listening to the song "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer and talking about the meanings of each verse. Students will study "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein as well. Each student will memorize one stanza of this poem and recite it on Friday. There will also be a spelling test on Friday.

In math we are finishing our decimal unit. The unit test will be on Friday. Students should have a strong understanding of ordering decimals and justifying their order through reasoning about decimal representations, equivalents, and relationships, and adding decimals to the thousandths through reasoning about place value, equivalents, and representations.

Upcoming dates:

• Science Fair proposal forms due Tuesday, March 20th
• No school on Friday, March 23rd (Institute Day)
• Spring break is March 26th-March 30th
• No school on Friday, April 6th (Good Friday)

ISAT testing will take place throughout the week. Students will have less homework than usual. Please make sure your child is getting a good rest each night and is eating breakfast before school to make sure they are ready for success! Below is our ISAT testing schedule:

• Monday, March 5th- no testing
• Tuesday, March 6th- Reading 1 at 10:45 AM
• Wednesday, March 7th- Reading 2 at 10:45 AM/Math 1 at 1:00 PM
• Thursday, March 8th- Reading 3 at 10:45 AM/Math 2 at 1:00 PM
• Friday, March 9th- Math 3 at 10:45 AM

Upcoming dates:

• "Breakfast with Books" is Thursday, March 8th
• No School on Friday, March 23rd (Institute Day)
• Spring Break is the week of March 26th-March 30th