What a busy second week of school! We are starting to get right into the thick of it. "It" being EVERYTHING!
Instrumental Music: Mr. Seeberger came by Monday to introduce the 5th graders to the instruments offered for band and orchestra this year. Students were able to obtain a sign up form that Mr. Seeberger would like to have back by Monday. Sign ups can be turned directly in to me. If you need another, let me know!
Math Puzzles This week, we have been looking at our beliefs in math ability. We know now that everyone can be a math person and that our brains grow as we learn, practice, and study new concepts. With this belief in mind, we took on a few math challenges this week. We tried to fit the fewest number of squares inside an 11X13 rectangle. (See Clara's group's demonstration below.)
We also tried to solve a puzzle that Mackenzie presented. (I was even stumped!) See if you can guess the pattern in the image below!
Instrumental Music: Mr. Seeberger came by Monday to introduce the 5th graders to the instruments offered for band and orchestra this year. Students were able to obtain a sign up form that Mr. Seeberger would like to have back by Monday. Sign ups can be turned directly in to me. If you need another, let me know!
Math Puzzles This week, we have been looking at our beliefs in math ability. We know now that everyone can be a math person and that our brains grow as we learn, practice, and study new concepts. With this belief in mind, we took on a few math challenges this week. We tried to fit the fewest number of squares inside an 11X13 rectangle. (See Clara's group's demonstration below.)
We also tried to solve a puzzle that Mackenzie presented. (I was even stumped!) See if you can guess the pattern in the image below!
Math Assessments In order to see where we need to start and what we need to review, we have been taking a few math assessments this week. We tested our fluency with multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction facts and then took an review quiz covering concepts from 3rd and 4th grade. There was even some 5th grade content on the quiz to try! These assessments are used purely to inform our instruction and see which concept areas need a boost. We're all able to make mistakes, learn from them, and try again...and again....and again as we work toward mastery. Math is a marathon - not a sprint!
Class Guidelines This week, our class created and then edited the guidelines that we will follow this year. This discussion took days as we worked out what is important in our learning, our 5th grade experience, and the friendships we are continually developing in class. Work on our Kind, Safe, and Fair guideline even sparked our class name. We are Mrs. A's Fawkeses (pronounced "foxes"), named after Dumbledore's pet Phoenix, Fawkes, in Harry Potter. This animal really spoke to the kids as they discussed resiliency, perseverance, grit, and the ability to make mistakes and come back stronger. Way to go Fawkeses!
Fawkeses Guidelines:
1. We will be awesome learners who encourage others, respect the classroom, pay attention, and use our natural curiosity to persevere.
2. We will have an awesome fifth grade year by working hard and playing harder. We want to participate, cooperate, and play while we learn.
3. We will be fair, respect others, stand up for what is right, and always be who you are.
Parents: welcome to the crew!
Wild Readers This week and next, we're taking a look at different genres, making book recommendations, and setting reading goals. Soon, we'll be starting our first book clubs using Diverse Fantasy books! Students used synopses, jacket clues, and the cover blurbs to sort a set of books into several different genres.
Book Buddies On Friday, we had our first session with our Book Buddies! We are lucky enough to be partnering up with Ms. Dickens' class again this year. It was so much fun getting to meet so many siblings! Book Buddies will occur (almost) every Friday from 11:55-12:20.
Class Guidelines This week, our class created and then edited the guidelines that we will follow this year. This discussion took days as we worked out what is important in our learning, our 5th grade experience, and the friendships we are continually developing in class. Work on our Kind, Safe, and Fair guideline even sparked our class name. We are Mrs. A's Fawkeses (pronounced "foxes"), named after Dumbledore's pet Phoenix, Fawkes, in Harry Potter. This animal really spoke to the kids as they discussed resiliency, perseverance, grit, and the ability to make mistakes and come back stronger. Way to go Fawkeses!
Fawkeses Guidelines:
1. We will be awesome learners who encourage others, respect the classroom, pay attention, and use our natural curiosity to persevere.
2. We will have an awesome fifth grade year by working hard and playing harder. We want to participate, cooperate, and play while we learn.
3. We will be fair, respect others, stand up for what is right, and always be who you are.
Parents: welcome to the crew!
Wild Readers This week and next, we're taking a look at different genres, making book recommendations, and setting reading goals. Soon, we'll be starting our first book clubs using Diverse Fantasy books! Students used synopses, jacket clues, and the cover blurbs to sort a set of books into several different genres.
Book Buddies On Friday, we had our first session with our Book Buddies! We are lucky enough to be partnering up with Ms. Dickens' class again this year. It was so much fun getting to meet so many siblings! Book Buddies will occur (almost) every Friday from 11:55-12:20.
5th Grade Build Challenge Throughout the year, the whole fifth grade gets together to participate in different challenges. The first challenge (one of my favorite activities of the year) was to use 10 sheets of newspaper and a predetermined length of tape to build a structure that could withstand "hurricane force winds" (my hair dryer). The structure that was the tallest and most stable won.
Looking forward to next week...
We'll be finishing up our genre discussions, starting a new read aloud, applying for class jobs, completing some beginning of the year reading, writing, and math assessments, and having tons of fun with our first science unit, Models and Designs!
Thanks for reading!
We'll be finishing up our genre discussions, starting a new read aloud, applying for class jobs, completing some beginning of the year reading, writing, and math assessments, and having tons of fun with our first science unit, Models and Designs!
Thanks for reading!