Ms. Quesenberry - Over the Rainbow

Next Week: March 27-31

One more week until Spring Break!  This school year continues to fly by!  Report cards went home today, and we have officially started the last nine weeks of fifth grade.  Here are some important dates next week:

Tuesday, March 28: Last day to send in a baby photo AND current photo for the 5th grade slideshow

                             Rising 6th grade parent night at Palmer Middle School

Wednesday, March 29: Art Show at Pitner

Thursday, March 30: Fifth Grade Field Trip to Chattanooga Aquarium and IMAX (remember to send in money for lunch and pick up at 4:30).

What will be learning next week?

Writing- We will be publishing our narrative pieces and practicing a few prompt style writing pieces to prepare for the EOG Milestones testing.  We also will be studying commas and conjunctions in sentences. 

Reading-We will continue reading Countdown by Deborah Wiles.  We are all really enjoying it.  It is a document novel which is very unique: it is a fictional story that showcases primary sources and biographies throughout from 1962.  I had the pleasure of meeting the author at the Kennesaw State University Literature Conference, and she shared some insight on writing the novel that I have shared with the class.  

Math- Our unit test on measuement, conversion, and volume will be Wednesday, March 29th.  Students were given a study guide.  If they complete it they can earn up to 15 bonus points on the test! 

Social Studies-We are starting Civil Rights (1950-1975) in Social Studies.  Students are working on a book featuring 5 key figures from this time period: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, John F Kennedy, Robert F Kennedy, and Thurgood Marshall.  They are using nonfiction text features to showcase their knowledge of informational writing.  Also, on Friday (March 31st) we will be viewing Remember the Titans and discussing that in class (permission slips were signed at the beginning of the year).

Science- Next week, there will be NO homework.  Students will start working on at home Cell Project instead.  The directions are here (Download Cell Model Project) and students will get a copy of these on Monday.  This project is not due until April 14th (the Friday after Spring Break) so they should have plenty of time to complete it. 

Please let me know if you have any questions about academics or the upcoming field trip.  Thanks for your continued support!

 

 

Chattanooga Updates

There are 2 letters going home in the Thursday folder tomorrow about the Chattanooga field trip:

1. Letter about the electronic device policy and transportation when we return at 4:30pm.  This needs to be returned to school before the field trip on March 30th. 
2. General Information about the field trip for you to keep at home.  This has important information about what students should bring with them on March 30th.  

I am posting both of these letters below so you can review the information if any letters get lost on the way home :). 

Download Chattanooga Electronics and transportation letter

Download Chattanooga_Trip_Info

 

This Week: March 13-17

Coming up this week...

Monday: Oral Health Presentations in the Media Center

Tuesday: Our first meeting with Palmer!  All fifth graders are going to the cafeteria Tuesday morning to hear a little about middle school.  More transition to middle school dates will be coming home soon.

This week wraps up our third nine weeks.  Report cards will be sent home March 23rd so students should make sure all missing work is submitted by this Thursday, March 16th.  This is what we will be learning this week:

Writing- We are going to continue our narrative unit.  We are really focusing in on character change and conflict.  We will be looking at story elements, making a plan, and start drafting!

Reading- We started reading the book, Countdown, last week by Deborah Wiles.  It takes place during the 1960s and talks a lot about the changing nation as the main character, Franny, experiences change in her world.  We will continue reading and discussing this novel.  The focus on character change should go well with our narrative writing unit!

Math- We are starting volume this week.  This is a big part of our fifth grade standards.  Students already know how to find perimeter and area from previous years, but now they will apply that knowledge to finding volume of 3-dimensional shapes. By the end of the week, we will also start looking at measurement and conversions (minute to seconds, feet to inches, etc.) 

Science- We are officially starting our last science unit, and it is one of my favorites!  We will study plant and animal cells as well as plant and animal classification.  We will be drawing diagrams, writing cell analogies, and creating graphic organizers to show classification of animals and plants into scientific groups. 

Next Week: March 6-10

I had so much fun at my very first Bedtime, Books, and Brownies and loved seeing so many of you there!  We are all relaxing in our pajamas today and reading some awesome books.  This afternoon we will be looking at Dr. Seuss and his role in World War II as a political cartoonist.  You should check it out if you've never seen any of his illustrations!

Coming up next week...

Writing- We have published our Dust Bowl DBQs and they look really good!  These informational essays sound like experts wrote them.  Next, we will be taking a look back at narrative writing.  At the beginning of the year we focused on personal narratives, but now we will look at some other ways to write narratives.  For example, writing a story from a different point of view or responding to a specific situation.  We will focus in the beginning on creating strong characters by looking at character traits and change in character throughout a story. 

Reading- We will continue preparing for End of Grade testing by looking at the "Extended Constructed" response on the ELA test.  This is a narrative type of writing which will tie in well with our writing topic for the week.  We will look at the rubric and grade some student samples to get a better idea of expectations.  We also will be finishing up our World War II novels and have our last group discussions. 

Math- We are wrapping up fractions and geometry in math.  We have also started doing some coordinate plane activities and making mystery shapes with ordered pairs.  Coming up soon we will move into volume which is one of our last big fifth grade units! 

Social Studies- We are moving right along through our history standards.  We will be moving into the Cold War next week.  Students will take an open note assessment on World War II and The Cold War on Friday, March 10th.  It will be beneficial to them to have an assessment on multiple topics as we prepare for the End of Grade assessments. Students will be able to use their journals and any notes they have on the topics, but, of course, stronger knowledge and familiarity with the topic will help them perform better. 

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns!

Fifth Grade Dates

You should see a flyer coming home with these important dates, but I wanted to put them up on the blog as well.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

March 9^th: Deadline for Field Trip Permission Slip

March 24^th:  Deadline to Submit Photos for the Slideshow

March 30^th:  Fifth Grade Field Trip to Chattanooga

May 17th: Awards Ceremony

May 19^th:  Fifth Grade Luau

May 23^rd:  Kickball Tournament

May 24^th:  Last Day of School/Fifth Grade Walk of Honor

 

Slideshow Instructions: 

Please submit ONE baby photo and ONE current photo of your child for a special slideshow to be shown at the Awards Ceremony on May 17^th.   Please submit only high-resolution photos in jpeg format, cropped and tagged with your child’s name and teacher.  Email digital copies to Gina McLaughlin at [email protected].   If you prefer to submit printed copies, your child must hand-deliver them to Mrs. McLaughlin’s classroom in the fifth grade hall.  Please label the back of the photo with your child’s name and teacher. Photos will be returned.  Photos must be submitted by Friday, March 24^th to be included in the slideshow.