And the Fun Has Begun!

It's official . . . We have hit the ground running!  And we're runnig full steam ahead!  All students now have their jobs for the year and have delved into the subject matter and routines exceptionally well.  Here's a peek at what we've been up to!

Reading - With two weeks of reading now under our belts, we have practiced identifying the characters, setting and plot (the rising action, the problem, and the solution), as well as cause and effect relationships within a text.  What we learned this week is that often times, an effect becomes a cause to another effect - similar to a chain reaction.  We also worked on the reading strategy of summarizing both during and after reading.

English & Writing - After covering the four different types of sentences in the first full week of school, we moved on to identifying the subject and predicate in sentences.  We also reviewed the traits of "ideas" and "organization" and have begun building a class rubric to use when we write.

Math - It's hard to believe, but we're almost through the entire first unit of math!  We have worked on finding factors, identifying prime and composite numbers, square numbers and square roots, and divisibility.  Our first test will be Tuesday, August 19th!  Students should have brought home a "Test Alert" to begin studying and reviewing.  Be sure to check it out!  It's worth extra credit points on their final test if review has been completed and directions have been followed!

Science - Students in Science are still working on a unit of classifying.  They are currently discussing the differences between vertebrates and invertebrates, and vascular and non-vascular plants.  They will continue with this chapter into the next week.

Social Studies - We have already traveled through both the Southeast and Northeast regions of the United States - all while never leaving our classroom!  We will continue with this unit of regions for the next few weeks, completing a states and capitals quiz for each region.  Keep studying those flash cards!

A few more quick updates . . .  If you have not yet signed up for a parent/student/teacher conference via Volunteerspot.com, please be sure to do that as soon as possible.  You should have received an e-mail from me via Volunteerspot.  Don't wait . . . spots are filling up!

If you are checking Power School and notice that your student has any "missing" work, please be sure to check with him/her.  I will be asking for those assignments first thing Monday morning, so students who still need to complete work will be using their recess time to do so.

REMINDER - Study Buddy Club starts this Thursday, August 21st!  Everyone is welcome!  If your student plans to attend, please be sure to fill out a permission slip and send it in by Thursday morning.  If you cannot find your permission slips, feel free to just send me a note (be sure to include an emergency phone number), or send me an e-mail.  Kiddos are welcome to bring snacks, but please be sure they are following nutritious habits! 

Welcome Back To School!

Welcome back, everyone!  It was an amazing first week of school and I'm truly enjoying getting to know your kiddos!  I want to thank everyone who came to the Parent Information Night on Thursday evening.  If you have any questions about anything that was discussed or that you read in the handout, please do not hesitate to contact me.


We spent a lot of time this first week setting up expectations and procedures for our classroom and our school.  I've been very impressed with how quickly everyone has acclimated.  There are many new friendships forming and I'm so looking forward to watching the kids grow and learn this year.  Fifth grade is an exciting year for them . . . They are almost to middle school! 


I will update you as often as I can via this blog.  Since we've spent a lot of time just getting used to routines and completing some assessments this week, we will be hitting the ground running on Monday morning!  Watch for an update late next week for some of the things we will be working on this week in Room 222.


Have a great weekend!