We had another great week!

Next Saturday is Glen Allen Day!

Monday, September 30th is a half-day for students.  This will be our Digital Citizenship Day!  The students will rotate to all five 5th grade classrooms for a lesson on a particular element of digital citizenship.  As we know, this is such an important part of using technology.  Please let me know if you have questions!

“Cubs Read” (reading incentive program):  Is your child interested in the “Cubs Read” program that offers incentives to students who go above and beyond the daily 2o minute reading homework requirement? If so, they should begin logging their minutes on the reading log/calendar that will be coming home on Tuesday, October 1.

MATH

This week we will continue to work with order of operations (5.7 & 6.6) and exponents and perfect squares (6.4).  There will be a  quiz on exponents and squares on Thursday, October 3rd.  In class, the students will practice this skill playing a matching game, making cootie catchers, and illustrating square roots on graph paper.  Your student has notes and examples of all of these skills in their math notebooks.  I am reminding them to take their math notebooks home with them each day to complete homework correctly.  Please continue to encourage your student to also use the resources on the Math page of this blog to practice and prepare.  There will be an Order of Operations Test on Thursday, October 10th.  Weekly Math (blue logic puzzle) is due on Wednesday, October 2nd.  Remember that we will be going over Weekly Math throughout the week in class.  Your student should be asking me for help when needed.  If Tuesday night rolls around, and they are still not finished with this assignment they need to complete it at home. Up until that point please remind them that they need to ask for help in the classroom.  This assignment is not a homework assignment but a classwork assignment.  Thanks for your support with this!  🙂

LANGUAGE

This week we will continue working with using commonly confused words correctly.  We will also practice using a web for prewriting, review parts of speech on MobyMax, and do lots of writing through seed writing activities and writing journals.   The students can use Spelling City to help prepare for Word Trek.  Their usernames are their login without the hcps.  Their passwords are gaesspell.  Please encourage your student to use Spelling City each night of the week to review for the test on Friday.  My suggestion is that they complete one page of the homework and then get on Spelling City with the correct definitions and spelling in front of them each night.  I feel that this is more productive than waiting until they have completed all of the homework to start using Spelling City.

We will vote on a name and begin designing the banner for our school Google Site this week.  This will act as a blog for GAES.  The students will decide what categories they want to include and then will write pieces for the site.  We will trade off jobs each month.  This has historically been a very popular activity each year!  🙂

READING

We will work with elements of plot this week.  The students will use Running Out of Time to “build” a plot pyramid in their small groups.  They will also focus on recognizing the main idea/theme of a passage. There will be a graded assignment on parts of a story vocabulary this week.  Your student has notes on these concepts in their Reading notebooks.  They are also using Bloom’s Taxonomy based questions to respond to the books they are reading during silent reading time.

On Thursday we will meet with two kindergarten classes to collaborate on a project.  The students will listen to one of the No David stories and use this as a jumping off point to help the kindergartners come up with two rules for proper iPad usage.  The fifth graders will help with writing the rules.  The kindergartner will illustrate on of the rules on paper that will later be scanned into Book Creator.  The fifth grader will illustrate a rule using Book Creator.  These are going to be awesome!

The mystery book report is due on Thursday, October 31st.  Your child has time in class to read their mystery.  If they have finished reading their book, they may use their free time to start answering the questions.  They can type these on Google Drive and then pull them up at home as well.  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this assignment.

SCIENCE

There will be a fossil making activity this week!  Also, this week we will finish our Rock unit (5.7) with some fun review activities and a test on Friday, October 4th.  Your student has a study guide in their purple folder and notes in their Science notebook.  Please encourage your student to use the resources on the Science page of this blog as well.  The students will also finish their Rock Think-Tac-Toe this week.  Ask your student what projects they chose for this assignment.  🙂

SOCIAL STUDIES

We have started learning about Henrico County’s economy.  The students will work with a partner to discover what drew people to Henrico originally and what keeps our county growing today.  Then they will work in groups of three to plan and create a commercial for one of Henrico’s products or offerings that they will film on Flipgrid.  This is going to be fun!

IMPORTANT DATES

9/30 – Student half day/5th Grade Technology Day

10/3 – Exponents and Squares Quiz

10/4 – Rock Cycle Poster due

10/4 – Rocks Unit Test

10/5 – Glen Allen Day

10/10 – Order of Operations Test

10/14 – Student Holiday

10/31 Mystery Book Report due

Thanks so much to everyone who was able to come to Back to School Night.  Please let me know if you have any questions at any time this year.  Feel free to send me an email or a note with your child.

IB Program and GYSA applications went home last week.  Please let me know if you have questions.

The Math MAPS test will be given on Friday, September 27th.  This is a change!  Please be sure that your child has a restful night’s sleep, a nutritious breakfast, and a stress-free morning.  🙂

Gifted Referrals for grades 3, 4 and 5 will be accepted during the first semester from October 7-October 25. Students in grades K, 1, and 2 can be referred during the second semester from January 6-24.  If you are interested in referring your child for screening, please send a written letter to Ellen Gonzalez, Gifted Identification Coordinator during the appropriate window.  If you have any questions, please contact Ellen Gonzalez at 804-756-3040 or elgonzalez@henrico.k12.va.us and/or refer to http://henricoschools.us/gifted/.

MATH
This week we will continue practicing double digit divisor division.   The students will also begin working with order of operations (5.7 & 6.6) this week.    They will have notes on all of these concepts in their Math notebooks to assist with homework.   Weekly Math (green logic puzzle) is due on Wednesday, Sep. 25th and will be graded.  If your student needs help they should be asking me during math class.  There will be a quiz on integers on Tuesday, September 24th.  Your student has notes in their notebook to help prepare for this quiz.  Please remind your student to use the resources on the Math page of this blog to review.  There are many games and videos to help them prepare for tests and keep skills fresh.

Language Arts

We will continue to practice pre-writing using the four square method of planning.  The students will begin planning an essay on someone they admire this week.  The students will also write in their writing journals every week.  Each month they will receive a list of approximately 20 journal entries from which to choose.   The students will receive a monthly journal grade.  The students are also working on word puzzles once a week in language stations.  In reading, we will start another read aloud, Because of Mr. Terupt.  The students will focus on character traits with this novel.  They will create a chart in their Reading Response Journals to fill in as we meet each new character.  They will also work with summarizing in small groups.  We are continuing with Running Out of Time.  The students are loving this novel!  The first book report is due Thursday, October 31st.  October’s genre is mystery.  Your student has received the paperwork needed for the book report.  Students need to have a book checked out and approved by me prior to Wednesday, September 25th.  We had a full cart of mysteries to choose from thanks to our fantastic librarians!  Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the October book report.

SCIENCE

The Rock Cycle Poster is due on Friday, October 4th.  This is a change from last week!  The students will learn about minerals and the characteristics that help to identify them.  Last week the students started working on a Think-Tac-Toe board with activities that cover all of the ideas presented in this unit.  Students will choose three activities that promote nine different learning styles.  The final products will be graded with the due date to be announced.  We will have a quiz on the three types of rocks and the rock cycle on Thursday, September 26th. Your student has notes on all of the concepts learned so far in their Interactive Notebook, study cards in their back pack, and a study guide in the back of their purple folder.  There are also many resources on the Science page of this blog to help with preparation.  The final unit test is tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 4th.

SOCIAL STUDIES

The students will present their Henrico County History posters on Monday.  The students in the audience will take notes on each presentation.  There will be an open book assignment as well as an open note quiz on this information.  We will then move on to Henrico County economy.

IMPORTANT DATES

9/24 – Integers Quiz

9/26 – Rock Cycle Quiz

9/27 – Math MAPS test

9/30 – Student half day/5th Grade Technology Day

10/4 – Rock Cycle Poster due

10/4 – Rocks Unit Test

10/5 – Glen Allen Day

10/31 Mystery Book Report due

Our second week of fifth grade was very successful!  We are flowing with the schedule and the students are adjusting to the expectations.  We are definitely having fun!  🙂

The Reading MAPS test will be given on Thursday, September 19th.   Please make sure your student has a good night’s sleep, a nutritious breakfast, and a stress-free morning.

Back to School Night is Thursday, September 19th.  The first session starts at 6:30.  Hope to see you there! 🙂

 

MATH

We will begin whole number computation (5.4) this week.  The students will need to recall computation skills developed last year as well as learn double digit divisor division.  Whole number computation will be primarily assessed through word problems on the fifth grade SOL test so our practice will be focused on word problems as well.  There will be a test on integers on Tuesday, Sept. 24th.  There are notes for this test in the students’ math notebooks and websites to review on the Math page of this blog.  Please encourage your student to use these resources to prepare for this assessment.

The class has been assigned their first Weekly Math (white colored logic puzzle).  We are working together, as well as independently, to complete this assignment.  Throughout the year the students will be given a Weekly Math assignment on Wednesdays that is due the following Wednesday.  In fifth grade this assignment is graded and expected to be completed at school.  The students are given a significant amount of time to work on it and ask questions in class throughout the week.  If the assignment is not complete on Tuesday evening they are expected to complete it at home.  Parental assistance is permitted in the form of clarifying what the question is asking along with talking through strategies that your child suggests.  Please do not give them the answers or cue them to make corrections if they don’t see the mistake.  The students should be working independently with fifth grade problem-solving ideas and should be showing all of their work on the assignment or a separate sheet of paper.  The goal of Weekly Math is to develop the students’ individual approaches to solving problems using critical thinking skills that are age appropriate.  I will often be grading their processes rather than correct answers.  Please let me know if you have questions regarding this assignment. 🙂

LANGUAGE ARTS

We will continue working with nouns this week for our grammar skill.  We will also work with the spelling of singular and plural nouns.  The students will also begin pre-planning using graphic organizers.  The Henrico County focus for the first nine weeks is pre-planning with graphic organizers so we will be practicing this skill for mastery.  We will also begin developing the Glen Allen newsblog in the next couple of weeks.  The students will come up with the name and pick jobs first.  This is such a fun activity!  🙂

READING

This week the students will continue reading Running Out of Time.  We will also work with summarizing skills using Uncle Jed’s Barber Shop and Running Out of Time.  The students will use stickie notes to come up with main details and then compose a summary with a small group.  Book report information will come home this week.  The genre for this book report is mystery.  It should be at least fifth grade reading level and at least 100 pages long.  I need to approve the books for this book report.  The first book report is due on Thursday, October 31st.  Please let me know if you have questions.

SCIENCE

We will continue with the Rocks Unit this week. We talked about weathering, erosion, and deposition at the end of last week.  Next, we will begin exploring the rock cycle.  We will begin with the three types of rocks and how they are formed.   There will be a quiz on Tuesday, September 17th on the layers of Earth, plate tectonics, and weathering and erosion.   Your student has notes in their Science notebook to review for this quiz.  There are also lots of resources on the Science page of this blog to use as well.  The students will be assigned a Rock Cycle Poster this week.  It is due on Friday, September 27th.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will continue exploring Henrico County this week.  The students started working on their Henrico County history projects last week.  They will develop a poster or project that they will then use to teach their assigned content to the group.  This is called a Jigsaw activity.  These are going to be awesome!

IMPORTANT DATES

9/17 – Layers of the Earth and Plate Tectonics Quiz

9/ 19 – Back to School Night at 6:30 (parents only)

9/19 – Reading MAPS test

9/24 – Integers Test

9/26 – Math MAPS test

9/27 – Rock Cycle Poster due

9/30 – Student half day

10/5 – Glen Allen Day

10/31 Mystery Book Report due

We had a marvelous first week back to school!  The students and I spent this first week getting to know each other and learning our new routine.  Thanks so much for filling out the many forms that come with a new year! 🙂

SCHEDULE:

Resources  8:50-9:30

As you have probably already heard our class is split up between the other fifth grade classes for resources.  So they are all going different places each day.  Students should have their library books in their backpacks every day to be sure that they have a book to read every day during our silent reading time.  This will also ensure that they have their books on their scheduled library day.   Students should also wear sneakers every day.

Recess 11:30-12:00   Lunch 12:55-1:20

MATH

In Math we worked on divisibility rules, prime factorization, and prime and composite numbers (5.4) this week.  There will be a quiz on these concepts on Thursday, September 12th.  Your student has notes and a study guide to help prepare for this quiz.  We will also start stations this coming week.  The students will be working in small math groups daily using hands-on materials, technology, and problem-solving skills.

This week we will explore the world of integers (6.3).  We will start with understanding what integers are and how to graph them on a number line.  Then we will begin comparing and ordering integers.  Finally, the students will learn the concept of absolute value.  Throughout, we will also find ways that positive and negative integers are used in daily life.  Your student will have notes on all of these topics in their Math notebook.  They should be using their notes when completing homework.

I will be giving the students my home phone number to call when questions arise.  You will find this in their homework agenda next to the initials LD. Please encourage them to call.  It only takes a minute or two to get them on track and often avoids undue frustration.  🙂

We will complete a “Back to School” logic puzzle together this week.  So fun!  This is one of the many problem solving situations that we will be experiencing this year.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Our first Word Trek lesson begins this week.  The students received their weekly assignment on Friday.  This assignment is due on Thursdays.  The test will be given on Fridays.  The students should be keeping their Word Trek lists in their Word Study binder throughout the year in order to prepare for review units.

We will be focusing on grammar this year.  This week we will review nouns and introduce the concept of concrete and abstract nouns.  The students will do an editing pre-assessment this week.  Editing passages will be an area that we will work on throughout the year as we review previously learned skills and tackle new skills.

The students will also complete a writing prompt on Friday.  This is another pre-assessment meant to see where the students are with their writing skills.  Fifth grade focuses heavily on writing essays for a variety of purposes.  The students will complete specific writing tasks to be placed in their county writing portfolio.  These items will be scored according to county specifications.

READING

This year in Reading we will often use novel studies to explore and hone comprehension skills.  We will utilize fifth grade appropriate novels while practicing middle school level literature analysis skills.  This week we started reading the novel Running Out of Time.  This coming week the students will be working on recognizing theme, identifying synonyms and antonyms, and exploring characters traits while supplying evidence that supports their choices.

SCIENCE

We began our Rocks Unit (5.7) this past week.  This week we will explore plate tectonics and what results these movements produce.   The layers of the earth are on the agenda as well.  We will also consider weathering and erosion as a changing force on the crust of the Earth.  There will be a quiz on the layers of the the Earth and plate tectonics on Tuesday, September 17th.  The students have a study guide in the back of their purple folders and notes in their Interactive notebooks.  There are resources for review on the Science page of this blog.

On Friday, the students engaged in a totally fun children’s engineering activity where they worked on building the highest tower possible out of spaghetti and marshmallows.  It was a super great time!

SOCIAL STUDIES

We began our study of Henrico County last week.  We talked about the geography of the county.  Surrounding counties, characteristics of the land, and water features were explored.  Your student has notes in their Social Studies notebook.   There will be a quiz on the counties that surround Henrico on Wednesday, September 11th.  The students will need to recognize the surrounding counties and spell their names correctly.  They should use the map graphic in their notebooks to help prepare for this quiz.  I am encouraging them to bring their notebooks home every day to assist them.  This week we will begin diving into the history of Henrico County.

VOLUNTEER INFORMATION

If you are interested in volunteering for us at GAES please let us know!  This is the procedure for all parents and family members who are interested in spending time with us.

Glen Allen Volunteers

1. Fill out a volunteer form
2. Watch a safety video (on the computer in the front office)
3. Complete a sign off sheet
4. Place completed documents in the basket in the front office
5. You will receive an email when you have been approved

Thank you for your time and commitment to Glen Allen students.

** The forms can be found under parent resources on the Glen Allen website.

IMPORTANT DATES

9/11 – Surrounding Counties Quiz

9/12 – Prime and Composite Quiz

9/17 –  Layers of the Earth and Plate Tectonics Quiz 

9/19 – Back to School Night at 6:30 (parents only)

9/19 – Reading MAPS test

9/26 – Math MAPS test

9/30 –  Half Day for Students

10/5 – Glen Allen Day, Parade at 9:00, events from 10:00 – 4:00