Ms. Quesenberry - Over the Rainbow

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.

Next Week: February 13-17

Wow!  Next week is a busy week for fifth grade!  A few reminders:

-Valentines: If students want to bring in Valentine's for the class and/or a treat to share they may do this on Tuesday, February 14th.  We will pass out Valentine's in the afternoon. 

-Picture Day: We will take our class photo and individual photos on Wednesday, February 15th at 9:20. Students are allowed to bring a prop for their photo.  There is an order form going home for you to pick a background, but you don't have to order pictures at this time.  You will have the opportunity to buy a package after the photo is sent home.

-Human Growth and Development: Make sure you have signed and returned the green permission slip.  Students will be attending these classes on Wednesday (15th) and Thursday (16th).

-Six Flags Reading Form: This is due Friday, February 17th. 

-Candy-grams will be sold through the 14th in the mornings and Student Council is collecting hygiene products for the homeless. 

In between all of that we will be making time for some academics.  :)  Next week we will work on the following:

Writing: We are continuing our informational writing on the causes of the Dust Bowl.  We will focus on transitional phrases, using an "expert" voice, and citing text evidence. 

Also, our vocabulary list for the week is all about prefixes.  We will be looking at prefixes, suffixes, and affixes for a few weeks.  This is a fifth grade standard that will help students with vocabulary for years to come.  Be on the lookout for popular prefixes and root words with your student!

Reading: This week we kicked off our World War II novel groups.  Students will continue reading and discussing these.  We are comparing and contrasting different characters, settings, events, and even themes.  We also begin working on some test preparation and test-taking skills. 

Math: We are continuing fractions as well as exploring geometry.  Students will be working on a fun "Geometry Land" project in class.  They will use different shapes and vocabulary (parallel, right, etc) to create an entire village!

Social Studies: Next week we will begin World War II.  Students have a great background of this topic from our historical fiction.  We will start with some background in Europe and then focus on the United States entering the war after Pearl Harbor.  

 

After next week, we get a week to rest and relax!  Winter break is February 20-24!  

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Next Week: Feb 6-10

Thanks to everyone who attended our Poetry Cafe!  It was wonderful and so much fun!  Tomorrow is "Falcons Friday".  Students are encouraged to wear their Falcons gear and dress in red and black.  Rise up!

Coming up next week...

Writing: We will be studying proverbs and adages for our grammar study this week.  Students will even get the chance to write some of their own proverbs!  We will also start writing our first DBQ (Document Based Question).  We studied all the documents this week and looked at the big question: What caused the dust bowl?  Students will write a five paragraph essay (introduction, 3 body paragraphs with their causes, and a conclusion).  We will be focusing on writing strong informational paragraphs and using text evidence.  This should be helpful as we move into the Milestones. 

Reading: We are studying realistic and historical fiction.  We will be reading a variety of books that are set during World War II.  We will read some picture books as a class, the novel The Art of Keeping Cool, and students will begin novels with their "book clubs".  We will be comparing and contrasting settings, events, characters and studying theme.  This should also be an awesome introduction to our upcoming World War II unit in Social Studies. 

Math: Fractions, fractions, and more fractions are continuing.  We will keep working on multiplying fractions as well as moving into division of fractions.  

Science: We will be starting our unit on matter.  This will include mass, physical and chemical properties, and physical and chemical changes.  

 

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns!

Next Week: January 30-February 3

We had a great 5 day week!  It was nice to be back in our normal weekly routine!  We are looking forward to doing it again next week! Don't forget to send in a signed permission slip and payment for the Chattanooga field trip if you have not yet.  We need to make sure we have enough funds for an upcoming bus deposit.  

Writing:Poetry Cafe is Wednesday, February 1st!  Family is welcome to attend.  We are very excited to perform a variety of different poems for an audience.  We will be moving back to informational writing after poetry.  We will start with an informational piece related to our Social Studies: What caused the Dust Bowl?

Reading: Along with informational writing we will be doing some informational reading on the Dust Bowl and Great Depression.  We will also start the novel The Art of Keeping Cool.  This is a realistic fiction chapter book. 

Math: We are continuing operations with fractions.  Students are building confidence with fractions and we will be continuing this while looking at some word problems and math constructed responses. 

Social Studies: Along with our reading and writing, we will begin studying the Great Depression and the 1930s.  

Poetry Cafe

Constructive and Destructive Study Guide

Students will get a copy of this study guide on Monday, but I wanted to go ahead an share it on the blog.  Our assessment will be Friday, January 27th. 

Here is the guide:  Download Constructive and Destructive study guide

And here are a few online games that you can use for practice at home:

 

A jeopardy review game (this one goes into a little more detail about volcanoes and earthquakes, but there are still some great review questions):

Jeopardy

This is an interactive website that allows students to experiment with constructive and destructive forces:

Interactive Review

This is a prezi (kind of like an interactive powerpoint) created by a teacher that has good review information:

Prezi

Hope you are all enjoying your rainy Saturday!

 

 

Next Week: January 23

Reminder:  We are still collecting money for our Chattanooga field trip March 30th.  We have a deposit due soon for the buses. If you have not paid in full, please start making payments at this time to ensure that the fifth grade will be able to take this field trip.  Let us know if you have any questions about this trip or payment.  

Next week we will finally be back to a full five day week!  Make sure everyone rests up this weekend and gets to bed early Sunday night to prepare for a full week of learning!

Writing: We will continue to study different types of poetry.  We will be looking at concrete poems, limericks, haikus, and narrative poems.  Students will also start picking a favorite piece to prepare for our poetry cafe at the end of the unit. 

Reading: We will also continue reading poetry to study theme, figurative language, and look at author's purpose.  We will be looking at some poems by Robert Frost and Maya Angelou!  Your students are becoming really strong analyzers as we look at word choice, imagery, and hidden metaphors!

Math: Next week we will continue operations with fractions.  Students are building their confidence in adding and subtracting fractions as well as converting improper fractions to mixed numbers AND mixed numbers to improper fractions.  Next week we will start looking at multiplying and dividing fractions as well.

Science:  This week we have had a lot of fun kicking off constructive and destructive forces.  Students did an experiment with milky ways to look at the way the Earth's plates move to create mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes.  Next week we will look at the role humans have had on our changing Earth through things like levees and dams.  Look out for a study guide to go home early next week! 

Next Week: January 17-20

We have made it through a 2 day week and a 3 day week...now we are ready for a 4 day week!  I hope everyone enjoys the 3 day weekend and takes time to reflect on the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr.  We will be reading through his I Have a Dream speech in reading next week!

Writing- We are going to continue studying some "mentor poems" and looking at techniques that poets use to add figurative language and imagery to their works.  We will practice rewriting some poems at the beginning of the week and end the week by trying sonnets and ballads.

Reading- As we are writing poetry, we will also be reading it!  We are going to do some close reading of Langston Hughes's poems. We study his contributions to the Harlem Renaissance in Social Studies as well.   

Math- We have started working with fractions.  We will be looking at converting mixed numbers to improper fractions and improper fractions to mixed numbers.  We will also work with equivalent fractions and finding common denominators as we get ready for adding and subtracting fractions.  

Social studies and science- At the beginning of the week we will wrap up World War I and the Roaring 20s.  This unit has been split up between breaks so we will not have a summative assessment on this topic. We have had several formative checks along the way.  On Thursday, we will kick off our next science topic: Constructive and destructive forces.  

Friday is hat day if your student would like to participate!

Let us know if you have any questions.  Thank you for your continued support!