Sunday, September 30, 2012

Vocabulary Spelling City - How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways!





    
With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning let me tell you about Vocabulary Spelling City!  Why do I love this resource so much?  Take a look at the image  on the left.  This wonderful website offers engaging activities that help students master spelling and vocabulary.  My students love to practice their words by playing "Hang Mouse" on their computers at home, but they especially love to practice their spelling words with this activity on the Smart Board at school!  They also enjoy "Word -O-Rama" and "Letter Fall". While it's wonderful that my students can enjoy the online interaction I also like that I can print many different activities as handouts for student practice. 

During the week I generally assign a spelling practice activity each day for homework and these are all taken from Vocabulary Spelling City.  I have posted all my spelling lists on this site.  Students simply go online, select the list they are working with and select an activity to work on.  Students may complete crossword puzzles, unscramble words, practice alphabetization, or vocabulary. 

As a fifth grade teacher I want my students to practice cursive writing.  I know that soon they will develop their own distinctive styles of handwriting and I know that they will use keyboarding skills even more extensively as they grow older.  But, I feel that at this point it's important that they learn how to read and write cursive.  Then they can choose whether and when they wish to use it.  So, each week I always introduce the spelling words with a handwriting practice page from Vocabulary Spelling City.  Students can see the proper formation of letters and how they join.  They can trace each word before practicing it independently.  I think it makes a wonderful introduction to each week's lesson.  All I have to do is click on the list for the week and select  "handwriting worksheets".  This opens a dialogue box which lets me format the words to my specifications.  I choose cursive, but you may also select print or D'Nealian models, select the size, and whether or not you wish to display guide arrows to assist students.

Teaching spelling and vocabulary is so easy with this great resource!  I also love that students can take final or practice spelling and vocabulary tests right online.  Not only that but there are two tiers of use offered.  Many activities are free but there is a Premium Membership which allows automated student record keeping.  My students are thrilled when I tell them that for homework they need to go on the computer and practice their spelling.  I can later go to the Vocabulary Spelling City myself, log in and check out who has done the assignments and when they did them in addition to seeing their scores.

So, really, what's not to love about this site?

Sunday, September 02, 2012

First Day of School

Wednesday, August 29, 2012 was our first day of school.  The first day of school is probably the best day of the school year!  There is nothing more wonderful than a spanking clean school and classroom, students who are well rested and eager to start the new year, and staff who are ready and waiting!  Energy is high and everyone is ready for the next challenge.

Many of you are familiar with Wordle, a fascinating way to create word clouds from text.  To make this image I simply pasted the address of this blog into the Wordle form and pressed "submit".  This image, then, represents all that has been written on our blog.  I was thrilled to see that the word "students" is right in the center, and that it is the largest word in the image.  After all, the students are the most important - they are the center of our universe.

This year in addition to teaching math to both fifth grade classes, I will teach social studies and language arts to my "traveling group" and Mrs. Ladabouche will teach science to both fifth grade classes.  Soon, more information about Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop will be sent home and posted on the blog.

We have ordered a homework planner for each student.  As soon as the planners arrive students will place the planner inside the front of their three ring binder and the planner will remain there for the entire school year.  At the end of each day we stop and take some time for students to enter homework assignments, information about special activities that may come up, and reminders about other items of importance.  We would like you to get into the habit of checking your child's planner each evening.  Something new for fifth graders this year is the Reader's Notebook which will go home with students and return with the student each morning along with the novel or chapter book the student is reading at the time. 

Please note that you can now access homework assignments from this blog.  If a student is absent or forgets to write down an assignment simply check the calendar on the sidebar to your right.  Clicking on the calendar will bring up details about each assignment and when it's due.  In the fifth grade students should expect to have reading homework each evening and parents are asked to initial their child's reading log located in the students' Reader's Notebook and which will travel back and forth from school to home each day.  Students will have math homework each night spending some time in practicing the skills that we have learned in class.  Finally, students will have spelling words to study each week.

Students should get into the habit of remembering to bring their instruments each Wednesday and Friday.  Fifth grade instrumental music lessons take place on Wednesday afternoons and Fifth Grade Band practice is held on Friday at 12:30 pm each week.


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Supply List For 2012 - 2013 School Year

My front door.
The school year has ended, but we are already preparing for the new school year. Vacation is a time to rest and relax, but it is also a time to regroup and start developing new units for the next school year! So, although I will not be at school for a few weeks, I will still be busy preparing new and exciting units of study.

Supply lists for next year's fifth grade were handed out with report cards on the last day of school, but I am including a copy of the supply list for next year's NEW fifth grade students in this blog post in case your copy gets lost. Simply click on the following link to download as either a pdf file or as a Word file. 2012 - 2013 5W Supply List Now you can print out the supply list and take it with you!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Our School Year Has Ended



We had a wonderful trip to Cape Cod.  We saw many different habitats and ecosystems which we had been learning about in science and we saw many sites related to our learning in social studies.  We came back windburned, exhausted, with sand in our shoes, and many lovely memories of the trip.

Upon returning from Cape Cod we had only two weeks of school left, but we made the best of them!

Now the fifth grade students have "stepped up" and are beginning their summer vacations.






Monday, April 30, 2012

Homework for April 30 - May 4

We are finishing up Chapter 10, Growing Tensions Between the Colonies and Britain and will have our final test at the beginning of next week.  Students should plan to visit the History Alive! website and practice the tutorial for Chapter 10.


We have only two more Spelling units after this week.  Students can go to Spelling City and work on some of the activities for Lesson 33 to get extra practice.


Monday, April 30, 2012

Math - 5 Minute Math - all ten questions


Language Arts - read and record pages in reading journal


Spelling - handwriting models for Lesson 33 - in cursive with proper heading on paper


Social Studies - re-read chapter 10 and practice the online tutorial for chapter 10


Science - students need to bring in jars for terrariums


Extra - money for the Cape Cod trip is due at this time, students should return their mid-trimester reports with parent signatures, health surveys are overdue


Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Math - What is the Title of This Picture computation practice handout - with proper heading on paper


Language Arts - read and record pages in reading journal


Spelling - Unscramble spelling  words for Lesson 33 - in cursive with proper heading on paper


Social Studies - study for the upcoming test on Chapter 10


Science - students need to bring in jars for terrariums


Extra - money for the Cape Cod trip is due, health surveys will be collected tomorrow, instrument lessons tomorrow - bring instruments and music, computer class tomorrow - bring flash drives and ear buds, READ for the Zumba Reading Challenge


Wednesday, May 2, 2012




Math - Write word problems to accompany division equations on handout and solve the equations


Language Arts - read and record pages in reading journal


Spelling - lesson 33 practice page, also visit SpellingCity for practice with lesson 33 words


Social Studies - study for test on Tuesday, complete online tutorial for chapter 10 at HIstory Alive!, practice vocabulary words at SpellingCity (please note that this is a different link that the link above to the spelling lesson)


Science - bring a trowel and dress for outside tomorrow rain or shine:  we will be collecting wildflowers and other "wildlings" to place in student-made terrariums


Extra - dress for outside, Physical Education - wear appropriate shoes and clothing, return Cape Cod packing list form, READ and record each ten minutes for Zumba Reading Challenge



Friday, April 27, 2012

Homework For April 23 - April 27

I apparently misunderstood how extra pages work in Blogger.  I had thought that I could post regularly to the homework page and it would update as a regular blog post does.  Wrong.  Wrong.  Wrong.  Evidently the extra pages are "static" and not meant to be used for regular blog posts.  Therefore, I will try to add homework to this part of the blog each afternoon instead!  Perhaps it would be less cluttered if I start a post for each week and add to that one post during that week (but date the posts) before starting a new post the following week.  We'll try and see!  I will give the title the dates of the week.


Please send me feedback.  I would like to know if you are using this blog to double check homework assignments.  Is there anything else you would like me to include?


Monday, April 23, 2012


Math - Chain Code computation practice handout - with proper heading on paper


Language Arts - read and record pages in reading journal


Spelling - handwriting models for Lesson 32 - in cursive with proper heading on paper


Social Studies - some students need to complete the map of the original 13 colonies


Science - students need to bring in jars for terrariums


Extra - money for the Cape Cod trip is due at this time.  Please send it in ASAP!!!


Tuesday April 24, 2012


Math - Code Line computation practice handout - with proper heading on paper


Language Arts - read and record pages in reading journal


Spelling - Unscramble spelling  words for Lesson 32 - in cursive with proper heading on paper


Social Studies - two students need to complete the map of the original 13 colonies


Science - students need to bring in jars for terrariums, some students need to complete their "foldables"


Extra - money for the Cape Cod trip is due at this time.  Please send it in ASAP!!!  Health surveys are due tomorrow, instrument lessons tomorrow - bring instruments and music, Walk At Lunch tomorrow - wear appropriate shoes and clothing, Computer class tomorrow - bring flash drives and ear buds


April 25, 2012


Math - Animal Cracks computation practice handout - with proper heading on paper


Language Arts - read and record pages in reading journal, some people have a grammar test retake


Spelling - student choice


Social Studies - two students need to complete the map of the original 13 colonies


Science - students need to bring in jars for terrariums, study for science quiz


Extra - money for the Cape Cod trip is due at this time.  Please send it in ASAP!!!  Health surveys are due this week, Physical Education AND Walk At Lunch tomorrow - wear appropriate shoes and clothing


April 26, 2012

Math - no math homework this evening


Language Arts - read and record pages in reading journal, some people have a grammar test retake


Spelling - student choice, test tomorrow on lesson 32


Social Studies - one student needs to complete the map of the original 13 colonies


Science - students need to bring in jars for terrariums


Extra - money for the Cape Cod trip is due at this time.  Please send it in ASAP!!!  Health surveys are due this week, Band tomorrow - bring instruments and music



April 27, 2012

Traditionally I give little to no homework on Fridays BUT...  

Language Arts -  read and record pages in reading journal 



Spelling - Visit Spelling City Lesson 33 and get a head start on lesson 33 if you wish


Social Studies - test coming up at the end of next week or early the following week on Chapter 10, Growing Tensions Between the Colonies and Britain.  




Science -  PLEASE bring in jars for terrariums

Extra - money for Cape Cod is due today.  A few people still need to send in their money.  Health surveys will be collected on Monday.  Wear gym shoes and dress appropriately for physical education on Monday.  






Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Homework Assignments




I have updated this blog with a new page, "Homework Assignments".  My hope is to keep this section updated regularly with homework assignments and due dates so that parents and students can check in on a regular basis if necessary.  

I think it would be useful mainly if students are absent.  Then they can check and at least get some of their homework done before they return to school if they are feeling well enough.  Sometimes, too, students forget to write down  every assignment or forget due dates.  I hope that this will provide an efficient way for you to stay up to date.

This will mean that I will need to update the blog every afternoon after school, and I hope that I will be able to keep up with this new endeavor.  Please bear with me as I establish this new habit.


Parents

In general there is homework every night except for Fridays.  However, weekend is assigned over the weekend more frequently during the last trimester.

Homework is collected each morning and math homework is reviewed daily at the beginning of each math class. Students who have difficulties understanding their homework are expected to ask the teacher for assistance.   We are always available at lunch/recess for extra help as needed.   
Language Arts - Read and record pages read in journalsMath - every night except FridaySpelling - every night except FridaySocial Studies - occasionallyScience - occasionally


Sunday, April 01, 2012

Decimals - Yikes!

We have spent quite a bit of time working on developing our understanding of fractions. Our unit, What's That Portion has focused on using percents and fractions, learning the concept of "percent" and that percent means "out of a hundred", learning some benchmark percents and their fractional equivalent, comparing and ordering fractions and percents, adding and subtracting fractions.

One site that offers practice in working with fractions is Eight Interactive Fraction Bar Games.

Students have now moved on to the next unit, Decimals on Grids and Number Lines. Some students are discovering that place value of decimal numbers can be a bit tricky and involve some careful thinking to understand properly. We have been working on understanding and comparing decimals and locating decimals on a number line as well as identifying decimals on tenths, hundredths, and thousandths grids.

One website that we have used in practicing decimals is Decimal Squares Interactive Games. Decimal Darts is a special favorite for learning the nuances between decimals of varying values. Students have asked for the link to this site, so here it is! I will also place it on the sidebar for ease of access.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Explorer Research Completed

Students worked hard to complete all the elements of the social studies research assignment. We enjoyed listening to the presentations of our classmates and learning all about "their" explorer.

Students dressed as their chosen explorer and using the document camera and the SmartBoard, they shared their maps, their time lines, navigational tools, and artifacts representing their voyages.

It was interesting to hear the presentations in chronological order of discoveries and to see how different European countries focused on different aspects of exploration and conquest. Some countries focused more on conquest, some focused on a search for the Northwest Passage, and some developed trade with the native people.

Our next focus in social studies will be to learn about the origins of slavery in the New World.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Nearly Done!

This image is a drawing of the only ship of Magellan to finish circumnavigating the globe. Magellan is one of the many explorers we have been researching for the last few weeks. We will soon create "Treasure Chests" in which we will place all the work each student has completed. We will begin giving presentations at the end of this week so that our classmates can learn some of the interesting facts about the men we have been studying.

All students have finished making maps of their explorer's routes, timelines of important events in the explorer's life have been completed, artifacts representing each explorer have been created, and we are putting the final touches on our written essays.

In the process of this research project students have kept track of the specific reference resources used, learned how to take notes from their reading, written "hooks" for their essays, developed thesis statements about the importance of "their" explorers, and learned how to use the thesis statement to help organize their essay. Later this week we will use an online program to create "Works Cited" pages to accompany the essays.

Students have worked very hard on this extended project. It's been impressive to see them share research information and help each other with technical questions related to using Google Docs and their netbook computers. We are now looking forward to hearing the oral presentations and seeing our classmates dressed up as their particular explorer.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Explorers - Where Did They Go?

We've finished reading Routes of Exploration to the New World, Chapter Five in our Social Studies Alive textbook. In this chapter we read about eight different European explorers, their motives, routes, and discoveries. The explorers we learned about in the text were Columbus, Cabot, Ponce de Leon, Cortes, Cartier, Coronado, Hudson, and de La Salle.

Our next task is to broaden our knowledge of one particular explorer from the European Age of Exploration and Discovery. Students chose from a list of several different European explorers including, in addition to those mentioned above, de Vaca, Champlain, de Soto, da Gama, and Magellan.

Each student will be compiling notes about "their" explorer before they: create a map showing the routes of discovery, create a timeline of the explorer's life, write a five paragraph essay focusing on their explorer's importance, create or find artifacts that represent the explorer, and finally dress in the style of their explorer to present their research to the class.

Monday, January 09, 2012

2D Geometry - Awesome

Our unit on two dimensional geometry is nearly complete. We have been learning a lot about polygons and their properties with special emphasis on triangles and quadrilaterals.


This unit has been full of vocabulary that can be hard to keep straight such as the difference between "parallel" and "perpendicular" lines, or between "congruent" and "similar" shapes.

We've learned about the many different types of triangles and their properties. Fifth graders did an interesting activity in which they constructed a large triangle marking each angle before cutting out the triangle. Then students carefully ripped off each angle of the triangle and reassembled the angles along a straight line to discover that the sum of the angles of any triangle - not matter what size or shape
- is always 180 degrees.

We completed a similar
exercise to discover that the sum of all the angles of a quadrilateral - no matter what size or shape - is always 360 degrees. Students also learned about the many different types of quadrilaterals and their properties.

Our next math unit will be Name That Portion in which students will become familiar with percents and their meaning as well as learning their fraction equivalents. From there students will continue to work with the concept of fractional amounts and how to combine fractions with unlike denominators.