Thank you for bearing with us as we try to navigate this new process. Please check your email for more information and updates  if you have any questions or concerns, please let us know! We are here to help! Students have documents in schoology to communicate with us if wanted/needed! This can be to say hello, ask a question, share their thoughts, or check for a fun activity. I will check these each morning and afternoon. 🙂 4th grade doc is in HOMEROOM course; 5th grade doc is in READING course! I hope this allows students to feel some sense of normalcy in a hectic time!

INFO FOR DIGITAL LEARNING DAYS:

• Directions listed in google doc shared with you via email. If you did not get this, please email me ELHarris@henrico.k12.va.us 
• The County Packet activities 
• Check out resources listed on clever!!
• Any review games linked in schoology
• Daily time on MobyMax (students can choose math, reading literature, or reading informational and work through skills). They can also do fact fluency to practice math facts. 
• SOLPass.org to review VA Studies Units (VS2-VS8) or MATH!
• READ, READ, READ! 🙂 
• Brain Pop videos (via Clever)
• Read on EPIC (class code: euv1842)

I have also uploaded some resources from Mrs. Bushey to Schoology (homeroom) for students to check out during the school closure if interested. They are listed below:
BrainPop Coronavirus 
Colds, The Flu, and You Video
Washing Hands Video
Coping skills – mindfulness
Coping skills – deep breathing
Ms. Bushey’s strategies to use at home

PROJECT EXAMPLES:
COMIC STRIPS–

Midwest Projects (5th):

WOW! I can’t believe it is already MARCH!

4th/5th: In reading this week we continued focusing on on comparing and contrasting two texts. We got to compare theme, settings, characters, problems, etc. This unit works as a review of many things we have already learned this year which is perfect as we head into end-of-the-year testing season. In 5th specifically we are expanding on what we learned about compare and contrast when we discussed it during our text structure unit. Our mid-quarter reading assessment will be WEDNESDAY! This is not something students can “study” for, but if you want to review notes in interactive reading notebooks for homework on Monday and Tuesday that will help them remember what we have been learning. This is a short assessment and works to help me identify any gaps we have in content before moving forward.

4th: We moved our CIVIL WAR test to Tuesday March 10. Students should be bringing home this study guide and their interactive notebooks to study. There are also practice questions on SOLpass.org (password: tigers) as well as additional resources linked at this top of this blog under Virginia Studies Resources. Please let me know if you have any questions!

5th: We have moved on to the MIDWEST! Final Northeast collage projects were due this week. If your child did not have a chance to finish, look for this to come home Monday for homework. There will also be an at-home project for the MIDWEST so look for details on that next week as well.

We have been hard at work on MARKET DAY projects and presentations. We want to commend the groups on learning how to work in a team and truly collaborate on ideas. We are guiding their planning, but it is tough to contribute and compromise on ideas. We invite you to join us for Sharktank pitches on Thursday March 12th from 12:30-1:30 if you are available! We need investors to help fund our group projects. If you are interested, please email your child’s homeroom teacher OR fill out the bottom portion of the form below when it comes home on Monday!

• CAREER DAY ALL CALL: Mrs. Bushey is seeking presenters and cool vehicles for this year’s Career Day! Talk to your family and friends – we’d love to have them visit with our students! Please see this flyer for more information and to RSVP by March 11: Career Day – Call for Presenters & Touch-a-Truck

• March 8th-Daylight Savings (Spring Forward!)
• March 9th-13th-Spring Book Fair
• Monday MARCH 9th: Bookmark Entries & Read Across America Bingo Sheets Due
• Tuesday MARCH 10: VS7 Civil War Test (4th Grade); LAST DAY of SPANISH LESSONS 🙁
• Wednesday MARCH 11: Reading 4.5 Week Assessment (4th/5th)
• Thursday MARCH 12: Shark Tank pitches for market day. Please join us from 12:30-1:30 if you are able to invest!
• Thursday MARCH 12: PTO Meeting/2nd Grade performs @ 6:00 PM
• Friday MARCH 13: Field Day Tee Shirt sales end! You may purchase on-line using this link or send it in using the order form that I sent home last week.
• MARCH 17-St. Patrick’s Day
• MARCH 22–Wish MS. BROUDY a Happy Birthday!
• MARCH 30 End of Quarter; 1/2 Day; STEAM Day

4th: In reading this week we focused on on comparing and contrasting two texts. This helped us to review and practice with MAIN IDEA as well! We read two passages on a similar topic and created venn diagrams to compare and contrast them. Finally we identified that they might have a similar topic (ie: both articles are about ELEPHANTS) but each article has a different purpose or main idea (ie: elephants at the circus vs elephants in the wild). Next week we will compare FICTION STORIES! This is my favorite as we get to compare theme, settings, characters, etc. This unit works as a review of many things we have already learned this year.

5th: We wrapped up our focus on media messages by talking about how to determine if a website is real or fake!  We watched this video Common Sense Five Ways to Spot Fake News Video . Then we took a look at different websites and used an acronym checklist to determine if they were credible.

4th: We wrapped up comma rules! We are showing off our skills with a letter that includes AT LEAST 7 different ways to use a comma! Check out the comma rules list below. We have also discussed commas used with dates and between cities and states.

5th: We wrapped up homonyms, homophones, and homographs. We did a lot of good practice with this and even incorporated it into our mentor sentence this week. We will, of course, continue to discuss this as they come up throughout the year!

4th: We are working our way through the Civil War. This is a LOT of information! Today, we wrapped up our 3D projects and presentations about the major events/battles of the Civil War! Students presented and the class recorded important info in a chart for their notebooks. We have also discussed abolitionists, generals, and roles of groups during the war (American Indians, enslaved African Americans, and free African Americans). You can use this info to help study! 🙂 We will most likely quiz on VS7 Civil War next Friday! A study guide will come home Monday (as well as interactive notebooks to study).

5th: 5th: We wrapped up final northeast region projects, notes, and presentations. Today we studied, played review games, and tested on the Northeast States and Capitals. The kids did great!! Next week we will move on to the MIDWEST! 

•  March 2-6 Read Across America WEEK! Fliers came home earlier this week. 
  MONDAY: Cat in the Hat: Hat Day!
  TUESDAY: NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS!
  WEDNESDAY: Wacky Wednesday: Wear wacky clothes
  THURSDAY: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: Wear red or blue
  FRIDAY: Oh The Places You’ll Go : Dress to impress 
• Tuesday March 3 Student Holiday/Staff Clerical Day
• Thursday March 5th  Virginia Historical Society field trip to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (permission slips for this came home; please return ASAP; cost $0).
• Friday March 6th: VS7 Civil War Test (4th Grade)
• Friday March 6th: Spring Picture Day!
• Monday March 9th: Spring Book Fair!

4th: We wrapped up our focus on cause and effect this week! We reviewed how one cause can have many effects, and one effect can come from many causes! NEXT WEEK we will be comparing and contrasting texts! We will look at fiction and nonfiction as well as a mix of both. When comparing fiction texts we will compare settings, characters, plot, etc.. When comparing nonfiction text, we will look at main ideas/focus of each passage. Lastly, we will compare a fiction story written on the same topic as a nonfiction text.

5th: We continued looking at media messages! We have loved this unit so far, as it has allowed us to look at and analyze some popular ads that we all have probably seen before! We considered each ad by asking a series of questions to determine who made the ad, what message they were trying to convey, who was the audience, and if it was effective. To wrap up, students are creating their own print, video, audio, and digital ads! We will hopefully wrap these up tomorrow. Check Instagram for some final results!

4th: We are pausing on large writing pieces this week to brush up on our grammar skills. We are discussing comma rules! We are showing off our skills with a letter that includes AT LEAST 7 different ways to use a comma! Check out the comma rules list below. We have also discussed commas used with dates and between cities and states.

5th: We are pausing on large writing pieces this week to brush up on our grammar skills. We are focusing on some prefix review (mis- in- un-) and  homophones, homographs, and homonyms.

4th: Working on our Civil War unit! We started some in-class projects to take a look at specific battles/events of the Civil War and important people. Each group chose an event and person to research. They are creating a 3D representation of their event and creating a short google slides presentation to teach others.

5th: Wrapping up final northeast region projects, notes, and presentations. Please study northeast states and capitals each night! TEST ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27th.

• Friday Feb 21st Fire Safety Trailer Simulation with Henrico Fire Department
•  February 26 PTO Spirit Night at McDonald’s
• February 28 5th Grade Northeast states and capitals test!*
• February 28 Pizza Parties for all students to celebrate HCPS benchmark tests!
•  March 2 Read Across America Day…more details coming soon!
• March 3 Student Holiday/Staff Clerical Day
• Thursday March 5th  Virginia Historical Society field trip to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (permission slips for this came home; please return ASAP; cost $0)
• March 6 Spring Picture Day!
• March 9 Spring Book Fair!

4th: We focused on cause and effect this week! We learned about how one cause can have many effects, and one effect can come from many causes! We focused on this by reading some articles. One article was about the titanic sinking and how many people think it was just of the iceberg, but in reality, there were many small things that contributed to the bigger problem. This also opened up our conversation about the many causes that led to the Civil War!

5th: We are learning about MEDIA MESSAGES! Today, we get information through many different sources of media. Over the next few weeks we will discuss the different types of media (auditory, visual, and written) as well as how to access, analyze, and create media. It is important students know how to evaluate the messages they receive from all the different types of media they access as well as determine if sources are trustworthy and reliable!

We wrapped up our choose your own adventure stories. Students worked hard to create these digital stories where students got to choose their own endings! Students had to include facts about their topic from our research, include the plot points of a narrative, and have at least 4 endings! Ask students to pull up their stories on schoology to show you. 🙂 I love how these turned out.

In VA Studies we are introducing our VS7 Civil War Unit! We will kick this off with a STEAM project on Monday’s half day where students will build an Iron Clad ship like the ones used in the Battle of the Ironsides! This historic sea battle was one of the first of it’s time because iron ships had just been developed. The USS Monitor and USS Merrimack battled to a draw. Students will design, build, test, and adjust their iron clad ships within certain parameters.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for the support with the African American Living History Museum! We are so proud of how well this event turned out, and the kids were so proud of their work.

In fifth grade, we are working on the Northeast states! Students are doing collage projects to research and show off what they know. We are also working on learning the states and capitals. We will test on these the week after next.

• Monday Feb 17th
  • President’s Day
  • 1/2 Day & STEAM DAY!
• Monday Feb 19th
  • Fire Safety Lesson # 3 with Henrico Fire Department
• Friday Feb 21st
  • Fire Safety Trailer Simulation with Henrico Fire Department
• Thursday March 5th  
  • Virginia Historical Society field trip to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (permission slips for this will come home later in February)

WE WRAPPED UP BENCHMARK TESTING! We are so proud of their hard work. Look for benchmark scores on the conference form copies that will come home today! Each student will have one. You DO NOT need to sign/return this copy. It is yours to keep.

Thank you to everyone who had the opportunity to come to conferences last night! It was so nice to get to check in with families and we appreciate your flexibility in scheduling on additional days or phone conferences if necessary to make it work! We love to share what awesome work our kiddos are doing, and we hope you are all proud of them!

Next week we will get back to our normal routines! Here is what we will be focusing on:
-4th Reading: Cause and Effect Relationships; text structure
-4th Writing: Wrapping up “Choose your own Adventure” State Stories
-4th Virginia Studies:

-5th Reading: Media Messages
-5th Writing: Wrapping up “Choose your own Adventure” Animal Stories
-5th Social Studies: WE’VE MOVED ON TO THE NORTHEAST!

Check the blog next week for details about what we have learned!

4TH GRADE AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM! Students need a poster and some sort of prop/costume to represent their person. If no costume/prop is applicable, dress nicely and wear a name tag! 🙂
Click here for copy. This outlines expectations and requirements!

EXAMPLES OF POSTERS:

• We will pass out Valentine’s and enjoy treats at the end of the day on Friday February 14th @ 1:30
• If you would like to send valentines (NOT REQUIRED) please send one for each student (12).
• Students may bring a decorated box or bag to collect valentines. If not, we will give them a baggie to collect.
• Candy is fine as long as it is peanut free

Last Friday, Strawbridge photo packets came home with students. If you would like to purchase, please follow ordering instructions inside the packet.  If you are NOT INTERESTED in keeping these photos, PLEASE RETURN THE FULL PACKET ASAP. Thanks! If you have any questions, you can call the front office and ask Tracey!

• Friday Feb 7th
  • Fire Safety Lesson # 2 with the Henrico Fire Department
• Monday Feb 10th
  • Awards Assembly in Classroom 7:45 – 8:00
  • Report Cards go Home
• Thursday Feb 13th
  • AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM (4th) 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM IF YOU CAN MAKE IT!
• Friday Feb 14th
  • PAW Achievement
  • Valentine’s Day Valentine Swap and Treats 1:30
  • National No One Eats Alone Day
• Monday Feb 17th
  • President’s Day
  • 1/2 Day & STEAM DAY!
• Monday Feb 19th
  • Fire Safety Lesson # 3 with Henrico Fire Department
• Friday Feb 21st
  • Fire Safety Trailer Simulation with Henrico Fire Department
• Thursday March 5th  
  • Virginia Historical Society field trip to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (permission slips for this will come home later in February)

CHECK OUT MS. POLAND’S BLOG FOR MATH/SCIENCE UPDATES!

WHAT A WEEK! For a short week, I feel we really accomplished so much! We are officially done with READING AND VIRGINIA STUDIES BENCHMARKS! We just have MATH NEXT WEEK!

We did a variety of activities to review for Virginia Studies  this week!! We made review folders, played bingo, SOLPass, group projects, kahoots, etc!! Check out the Instagram for some photos and videos of the kids presenting review posters they created and presenting bottle buddies! I am 100% confident that these kids gave it their all, and I am so proud of their hard work.

Bottle Buddies will be on display in the library for the next few weeks! If you happen to stop by the school, stop in the library and check them out.

In writing, both fourth and fifth wrapped up descriptive writing pieces. Fourth wrote about a state (specifically one of the 13 original colonies) and 5th wrote about animals. Some of these will also be on display in the hallway! I will send home typed copies as soon as we are all published!

4TH GRADE AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM! Click here for copy. 

5TH GRADE READING: DEADLINE EXTENDED TO TUESDAY FEBRUARY 4th!

• They need to write five articles (each in a different text structure) to create a magazine/newspaper (whichever they prefer) and include the required text features
• I have added working on this to the list of early finisher options so students should have some time in class, but this is an AT HOME PROJECT.
• It can be typed or hand written!
• Please let me know if you have any questions.

• We will pass out Valentine’s and enjoy treats at the end of the day on Friday February 14th @ 1:30
• If you would like to send valentines (NOT REQUIRED) please send one for each student (12).
• Students may bring a decorated box or bag to collect valentines. If not, we will give them a baggie to collect.Candy is fine as long as it is peanut free

Information came home for conferences this week! If you are interested in joining us for a conference, please SIGN UP HERE!! We realize that spots are limited so there is also an option for another day or a phone conference if no times work for you. Please let us know! Whether or not you come in for a conference, we will send home conference forms with updated grades, benchmark scores, and data! Keep an eye out for these once conferences have wrapped up!

Last Friday, Strawbridge photo packets came home with students. If you would like to purchase, please follow ordering instructions inside the packet.  If you are NOT INTERESTED in keeping these photos, PLEASE RETURN THE FULL PACKET ASAP. Thanks! If you have any questions, you can call the front office and ask Tracey!

• Monday Feb 3rd
  • Fire Safety Lesson # 1 with the Henrico Fire Department
  • National School Counseling Week-Do Something Nice for Mrs. Bushey!
• Wednesday Feb 5th 
  • 4th Math Benchmark Assessment Day 1
• Thursday Feb 6th 
  • 4th Math Benchmark Assessment Day 2
  • Parent Teacher Conferences (SIGN UP HERE!!)
• Friday Feb 7th
  • Fire Safety Lesson # 2 with the Henrico Fire Department
• Monday Feb 10th
  • Awards Assembly in Classroom 7:45 – 8:00
  • Report Cards go Home
• Thursday Feb 13th
  • AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM (4th) 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM IF YOU CAN MAKE IT!
  • Fire Safety Lesson # 3 with Henrico Fire Department
• Friday Feb 14th
  • PAW Achievement
  • Valentine’s Day Valentine Swap and Treats 1:30
  • National No One Eats Alone Day
• Monday Feb 17th
  • President’s Day
  • 1/2 Day & STEAM DAY!
• Friday Feb 21st
  • Fire Safety Trailer Simulation with Henrico Fire Department
• Thursday March 5th  
  • Virginia Historical Society field trip to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (permission slips for this will come home later in February)

CHECK OUT MS. POLAND’S BLOG FOR MATH/SCIENCE UPDATES!

We have had a really great week reviewing all of the skills we have learned so far this year. It is nice to take this mid-year refresher to make sure students have really learned that information and can apply it in different scenarios.  Our READING BENCHMARK is complete for fourth grade and will wrap up next week on Wednesday for fifth!

VIRGINIA STUDIES UPDATE: In VA studies we are reviewing EVERYTHING we have learned so far– which is no small feat! Next week look for some review homework to help keep things fresh and remind students of the tips and tricks we have learned for each topic (ie: MILK WITH KETCHUP TASTES NASTY to remember border states, PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR JACKET for rivers).  There is a great review for students on SOL PASS! Students can click on each standard and watch videos and play games to review. You can also check out VA Trekkers or the VA Studies resource tab on this blog (VS2-VS5). We have also been creating a review folder full of helpful information like links to review activities online, homework if we have it, and study guides for each unit. Look for that folder to grow more next week! Study each night!

Thank you for your participation with BIOGRAPHY BOTTLE BUDDIES! Yesterday we got to do a gallery tour of other classroom’s projects, and I know we were proud to show off our hard work! Check out the INSTAGRAM (linked on the right) for photos!

Please look for information to come home on Tuesday about an African American Living History Museum that we will do in February to celebrate Black History Month. Over the weekend, discuss which influential African American your student would like to research and portray during the museum. They will “dress up” as this person and share a brief speech about his/her life during a museum tour held in the cafeteria!

5TH GRADE READING UPDATE: Some students have mentioned needing some extra time, so I have bumped this due date to TUESDAY FEBRUARY 4th! They need to write five articles (each in a different text structure) to create a magazine/newspaper (whichever they prefer).  I have added working on this to the list of early finisher options so students should have some time in class, but this is an AT HOME PROJECT. It can be typed or hand written! Students have notes in interactive notebooks they are welcome to bring home! Please let me know if you have any questions.

WRITING UPDATE: we wrapped up our descriptive writing about states (4th) and animals (5th). This was a new process to some. We incorporated some advanced skills like citing sources in the text, writing a three part thesis statement in the introduction and restating it in the conclusion, avoiding first person pronouns (I, Me, My, We), and paraphrasing facts found on the internet so we don’t plagiarized! Students worked so hard on these. Please look for copies to come home next week once we have finished typing them!

• We will pass out Valentine’s and enjoy treats at the end of the day on Friday February 14th @ 1:30
• Class list will come home next week! If you would like to send valentines (NOT REQUIRED) please send one for each student (12).
• Students may bring a decorated box or bag to collect valentines. If not, we will give them a baggie to collect.
• Candy is fine as long as it is peanut free
• There will be a link to a sign up genius for any treats we need for our party. Thanks to your generous donations, we have some juice and chips leftover from the winter party so we should only need a few things!Today, Strawbridge photo packets came home with students. If you would like to purchase, please follow ordering instructions inside the packet.  If you are NOT INTERESTED in keeping these photos, please return the full packet on Tuesday!

• Monday January 27: STUDENT HOLIDAY
  
• Tuesday January 28: Spanish Lesson
• BENCHMARK TESTING:
  -READING (5th only) Wednesday January 29th
  -VA Studies (4)/Science (5) JANUARY 31
  –MATH 4th/5th FEBRUARY 6, 7
• Tuesday February 4th: 5th Grade Text Structure Magazine Project Due*
• Friday February 14: PAW ACHIEVEMENT CELEBRATION; Valentine’s Party at 1:30
• Click here for information about ILL STUDENT POLICIES from Nurse Combee
  

  Click here to check out updates for math and science from Ms .Poland!

Congratulations to LAUREN for representing our class this week in the county-wide spelling bee!! She made it all the way to the third round while competing with over 50 other students. Way to go Lauren!

READING: Fourth grade wrapped up AUTHOR’S PURPOSE. We have expanded upon PIE (persuade, inform, entertain) to include EXPLAIN and DESCRIBE. Students work to identify the reasons author’s write and what clues/things authors include to help you see that and understand the purpose. You can ask your child about author’s purpose when they are reading ANYTHING! They should be able to tell you what the author was trying to do. (Ex: instructions for a new game, newspaper articles, novels, etc.). We also reviewed for our READING BENCHMARK which begins on TUESDAY! 🙂

Fifth grade wrapped up our instruction on nonfiction text structures. While explicit instruction on this is done, we will continue focusing on this for the rest of the year! Students worked to identify clue words and text feature clues to help them identify the structure. This is new information and pretty tricky. Students have a project that was assigned LAST WEEK. The sheet below came home with instructions. Some have mentioned needing some extra time, so I will bump this due date to TUESDAY FEBRUARY 4th! They need to write five articles (each in a different text structure) to create a magazine. We will continue going over examples in class! I will also help with a planning sheet but this should be able to be completed at home and independently. Students have notes in interactive notebooks they are welcome to bring home! Please let me know if you have any questions.

In writing, we are wrapping up our rough drafts of our DESCRIPTION/INFORMATIONAL writing! Fourth graders have researched a state, while fifth grade chose an animal. We have discussed important writing lessons that come along with informational writing like reliable sources, plagiarism, and THESIS STATEMENTS!

In VA studies we have wrapped up VS5 American Revolution! Students rocked the assessment for this unit. Please remember bottle buddy projects are due January 23rd!! We will spend next week reviewing EVERYTHING WE HAVE LEARNED THIS YEAR for our benchmark assessment on January 31st! 🙂 Look for review/homework to come home some nights!

In fifth grade, we wrapped up the SOUTHEAST REGION with our end of unit presentations and our states and capitals quiz. We are moving on to the NORTHEAST!

• FRIDAY JANUARY 17: VS5 Test (4th), SE States and Capitals Test (5th), BENCHMARK PEP RALLY @ 1:30
• MONDAY JANUARY 20th : NO SCHOOL; Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
• BENCHMARK TESTING:
  -READING 4th/5th JANUARY 22, 24
  -VA Studies (4)/Science (5) JANUARY 31
  –MATH 4th/5th FEBRUARY 6, 7
• Thursday January 23: FAMILY LIFE LESSONS 8:30-10:40
  Thursday January 23: BOTTLE BUDDY PROJECTS DUE (4th)
• Monday January 27: STUDENT HOLIDAY
• Tuesday February 4th: 5th Grade Text Structure Magazine Project Due*
• Click here for information about ILL STUDENT POLICIES from Nurse Combee
  

  Click here to check out updates for math and science from Ms .Poland!