Wow! It was a blur, but the day is done. We labeled some supplies, had a couple assemblies, ate lunch, read some books, had PE, went over some expectations, checked out our Chromebooks, looked at our class website, learned about Class Dojo, filled out our assignment notebooks, and even had time for a snack! Whew! It will be a very busy first week, but I promise to sprinkle in some fun along the way. Please consider using the Class Dojo app. I hate asking parents to add one more thing to check, but it really is a fun and effective way to communicate and check in on your 5th grader's behavior. I will speak more about this app on Curriculum Night, but if you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask before then! A sheet came home today with login information. Get some rest, 5-H, because we get to do it all over again tomorrow!
For our Field Trip tomorrow:
* Arrive at school between 7:40 and 7:50. We will leave PROMPTLY at 7:50 * Look for a 5th Grade Teacher by the Flagpole Entrance * Bring a 100% Disposable Lunch * Do NOT bring cell phones or cameras * Dress for outdoor activities (even if it is raining), but do not bring umbrellas * Outstanding behavior is expected During the week of April 8-12, we will be taking our state testing. The IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) has replaced the PARCC tests that we have done in recent years. The testing is essentially the same, just the name has changed. To be ready for the tests, please check with your 5th grader to make sure they have working headphones at school. 5th graders take one Science test, two ELA tests, and three Math tests. Our testing schedule is as follows:
Monday: Math I Tuesday: ELA I Wednesday: Math II Thursday: ELA II Friday: Math III & Science I Dear 5H Families,
January ended with quite an odd week! However, we are ready to put it behind us and look forward to the warmer weeks ahead. Here is what is going on in our class... SOCIAL STUDIES REVOLUTIONARY WAR UNIT: Over the next several weeks, we will be studying the birth of our country. This unit covers chapters 8 and 9 in our Social Studies textbook. We will have a test for each of these chapters. It also involves a research report on an American Revolution hero (to be done at school) and an accompanying paper doll (to be done at home). The cardstock template was sent home with each student last week and is due on February 11. GENIUS HOUR: Students have spent some time thinking about topics and we are ready to start our investigations. For more information/links about Genius Hour, please see the "Genius Hour" link on the links section of this website. IAR: This stands for the Illinois Readiness Assessment. It is taking the place of the PARCC test that we typically take in the spring. More details and information about this test will come home soon. DIGITAL ASSIGNMENTS: We will be continuing to ramp up our use of digital literacy tools to improve our reading skills. I will post a list of assignments each week. I will also be spending some time rearranging our Google Classroom to display the students' assignments in a weekly format instead of a subject-based format. I try to connect our in-class learning with the reading/grammar assignments that I provide online. I will also begin posting a photo of these weekly assignments on this web page and on our Class Dojo site. CHROMEBOOKS: Students have been warned multiple times about misusing Chromebooks in school. Beginning February 4, students that choose to play games on their Chromebooks at school will begin losing Dojo points. If misuse continues, they will lose their Chromebook privilege for the rest of the day. Our time in school is too valuable to spend it playing games. Several students have also been making "unblocked game" websites to share with their friends. Clearly, this is not an acceptable use of their devices. For further information, please click here to remind your 5th grader about their obligations regarding use of the district-owned resource. If you have further questions or concerns about your child's use of his/her Chromebook, please contact me. GRANGER TRANSITION: As we get closer to the end of the year, more and more information will be shared regarding your child's transition to the middle school. Many students have not yet returned their elective options page that Granger Middle School sent home earlier in January. These were printed with each student's personal information on it. If you need a blank copy of the form, please contact me via email. These elective sheets are due by February 8, 2019. GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT LESSON: Information was sent home regarding 5th grade's upcoming growth and development lessons. These lessons will take place on February 21, 2019. The information sheet contained an opt-out form. Parents that choose to have their child skip the presentations must fill out and return the opt-out form by February 11. 3rd QUARTER ELA THEME: Our third quarter ELA theme is all about Choices & Consequences. Our anchor text is a book called, Red Kayak. It is a story about a boy that must deal with the consequences of his actions. This theme ties in nicely with our Revolutionary War unit and is also a good reminder that our choices can often have unpredictable outcomes. We are working our way through this structured writing activity in class. The final published piece will be done by next Friday, January 18.
Dear 5H Families,
I cannot believe we are already at the halfway point of this school year! I would like to highlight a few points of interest before we get too close to the holiday craziness that will set in next week. 1) Please consider taking the 5Essentials survey. Ms. Morgan has sent out an email, but I would like to offer another link in case you have deleted it or did not see it. Please be sure to put DUPAGE as the county. The survey can be completed in about 5-7 minutes and the feedback is much appreciated. 2) Starting in January, we will be kicking off our Genius Hour projects! This is time set aside at school for students to investigate ideas and create projects according to their own interests. Everything you could want to know about Genius Hour can be found at this outstanding site. Much more information will be posted following winter break, but to get an idea about student interests, we recently took a Thrively survey. This site (using Google login) allows students to complete interest-based activities and writing projects. 3) To provide more writing and grammar support, we also took a diagnostic grammar survey on Friday using NoRedInk. This is a website (using Google login) that allows skill-based, student-focused grammar and writing activities. We will have some time set aside each week for these activities, but if you are looking for an at-home activity for your 5th grader to do on their Chromebook that is more productive than a game, please consider having him/her spend some time on NoRedInk! 4) In years past, I have given my students small gifts before the winter break. Typically, it was a book or small plastic toys. These "gifts" rarely represented how much I value my students. So this year, I am doing something different. Instead of providing generic toys or uninteresting books, I chose to purchase a yearlong subscription to BreakoutEDU. This platform allows me access to all of the Breakout EDU games and programs that we can use to improve our class. There is even an option to allow students to create their own digital games to share! I'm looking forward to using these valuable tools in the second half of the school year. 5) As always, please feel free to contact me at any time with any concerns or questions. My goal is to provide an awesome year in 5th grade for your children. I am privileged to work with them and I want to do the best I can for each of them. Enjoy your weekend and have a joyous, safe, and memorable holiday season! |
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August 2021
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