Fifth Grade State Recipe, Biography Reports, Book Logs, and Good Friday!

FIFTH GRADE NEWS AND INFORMATION
March 30-April 2, 2015

We did not use our inclement weather days this year for snow, so...
NO SCHOOL FRIDAY APRIL 3, GOOD FRIDAY!

It's almost here- Spring Break and a joyful Easter as well!

Please check your child's folder for a paper indicating your conference time for the week after next.  If it doesn't work for you very well, please let me know and I will see about rearranging. If you've already contacted me, please know I am working on rearranging a bit and will let you know if I was able to find someone to switch with you as soon as possible.

ITBS testing is also just after Spring Break.  We are doing review this week on map skills, science methodology, and reading strategies.  We are also doing a series of practice tests.  Please make plans to have a well-rested and breakfasted child the week of testing in order to give them success.   It's a different sort of thinking and activity during test week.

READING:
 Students are presenting biography book reports.  They have prepared note cards, done research, and are ready to give a brief overview to their peers. They are also going to grab a costume or  series of props directly related to their subject.  Most are opting for the costume because it's still pretty fun to dress up!

BOOK LOGS are due tomorrow.   PLEASE read over Spring Break- next month's goal is the same, 4 books of at least 100 pages, no graphic novels until the first four are met.

BIBLE: Test over Ephesians 1:5 this week.

Ephesians 1:5    In love,  5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.

State recipes are due this week.  I have a lovely rubric that went home, but it was not created by me so it isn't yet on the computer as a shareable document! I will scan it in to my hard drive soon but if you need specifics, let me know.  I will have the copy on hand to help you.   You do not cook the recipe until preparing for state fair day on May 13.  I will send home a detailed list created by Mrs. Solie on how to get things prepared for the state fair after spring break. 

Spelling Test 28 this week, no back page required due to short week. 

States and Capitals review this week 1-39.  We will not do the normal test, but have a review for three weeks until moving on to the New England states and neighbors.   So a little review would be good at home, but it will be a mellower  task than normal due to the short week. 

Your kids are fantastic!  I will try to get pictures of their presentations, but I am also grading as they present, so we will try...

March 23 News and Notes

Classroom news Fifth Grade

March 23-30

 A million thanks to Sarah Lankford and Martina Moffett for setting up our tween study spot.  It went  really well. Our hand art went for a nice bidding war as well!   Thank you to all who contributed to the class project and came to the auction and bid, and thank you to all the parents I saw volunteering on Saturday night! Much appreciation is given to you and all the time you invest in our school.  It is an honor to partner with you.  

CLASS PICTURE WEDNESDAY MARCH 25  
Our slot is right away that morning before chapel, please be on time.

ICE CREAM PARTY! Fifth grade garnered more items than any other class in school for the auction, so they get to host an ice cream party for all!  And there may be a pie in some teachers' faces...

Bible Memory Verse

Isaiah 61:10

I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Reading/Language Arts

We finished Frankweiler today and we will take the open book test tomorrow.
BIOGRAPHIES should come to class on Wednesday as we prepare to give our oral reports using notecards. Students have a worksheet to help them gather info.  These are lovely to fill out as they read! We will work on preparing for our reports by creating notecards next week in class. Right now, they should be finishing reading their biography. They will dress up as their biography subject to present their findings from reading the last few days of the quarter (March 30-April 1).  We will draw names to establish in which order we will present our reports.

Social Studies

Government by the people: Continuing with the three branches  of government, the Bill of Rights. Lesson 19 from Studies weekly, Ch. 12-13 in book.

State Song due Thursday

State Song Expectation Due 3/26/2015

1. Title
2. Author and Composer or Arranger (may be all the same person, may be different)
3. Year Chosen to be State Song
4. Typed Lyrics of State Song (you can cut and paste, but make sure all your fonts match!)
5. Display your state song in an artistic manner
6. Incorporate the following items into your assignment in a decorative way:

• Colored paper background
• An image of a person, place, or thing from the song’s lyrics
• Music notes, treble clef, bass clef

These may be hand-drawn or clip art.  If hand-drawn, please use fine-point sharpie to outline for a nice finished look.

     7.  Be creative and have fun!

*** If you sing or play the song for us in class, there are 2 points available for you as bonus!

States and Capitals 28-39 (from list) quiz Friday

28 Little Rock Arkansas
29 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
30 Frankfort, Kentucky
31 Nashville, Tennessee
32 Jackson, Mississippi
33 Montgomery, Alabama
34 Charleston, West Virginia
35 Richmond, Virginia
36 Raleigh, North Carolina
37 Colombia, South Caroline
38 Atlanta, Georgia
39 Tallahassee, Florida

Science

Endocrine System, digestive System

March 16-20 Parent News

Classroom news Fifth Grade

March 16-20

OJP Tomorrow!  Schoolhouse Rock Live

Girls away game at 2:00

The wearing of the green will get you a treat tomorrow!

Auction this week!  Our art piece is amazing!   Our class parent-led project is very hip for our soon to be middle schoolers and their near-peers.

Bible Memory Verse

I John 4:14-15 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,God lives in them and they in God.

Reading/Language Arts

Spelling Lesson 26 Due Friday

We should finish “From the Mixed Up Files” in the middle of next week.  If your student would like to participate in a soap sculpture contest this Friday, they should bring a bar of soap and a plastic knife or clay/playdough tools to work with. No pocketknives per school policy. We will also be doing illustrated vocabulary this week.

We will also begin working on our biography reports.  Your student should have their report rubric this week.  These are lovely to fill out as they read! We will work on preparing for our reports by creating notecards next week in class. Right now, they should be reading their biography. They will dress up as their biography subject to present their findings from reading the last few days of the quarter (March 30-April 1).  We will draw names to establish in which order we will present our reports.

We continue to work on the nuts and bolts of grammar.  Our grammar book is extensive and some of it will come home this summer, and it is an excellent tool for review or bolstering skills.  We are working on verb tense agreement, linking verbs, and action verbs.  We alternate between writing projects and grammar practice.

Social Studies

Government by the people: Continuing with the three branches  of government, the Bill of Rights.

State timeline due Thursday

States and Capitals 28-35 from list quiz Friday

Science

Endocrine System

News from this week in class- Frankweiler movies

The dreaded stomach bug hit the Steele household and it got me, the teacher and mom!  I usually don't get sick but this was one pesky little germ.  After lots of sleep, tea and some crackers, I am feeling much better.  I apologize for being gone, and hope no one was inconvenienced or worse, got sick as well.   I did not want to share the germs with students when I began to run a fever so thankfully Mr. Roller was able to come teach our class for our last hour of the day.

 Here's this week's news, plus links to a couple of movie trailers of our current novel.  I prefer the older one!

FIFTH GRADE NEWS AND COMMUNICATION

MARCH 9-16, 2015

UPCOMING DATES: Auction March 21

OJP  March 17, 12:30

No school March 16- Teacher Inservice

We will be watching Trial by Ice, the story of Ernest Shackleton and the endurance over the next two weeks on Wed/Fri at lunch.

Bible: Romans 12:9-10  Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

READING:   From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - this is such a fun book!  It also has incredible vocabulary. Our next book is Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Students also should be reading a biography of their choosing. We’ll do a book report where we dress as the subject of our biography the last three days of the quarter. Students were pretty thoughtful as they chose their subject- they were deliberate about choosing someone interesting to them personally rather than just grabbing a short one!  A student or two still need to pick a biography.  Check with your student to discover their subject!

 

Reading logs for March: goal is 4 titles that are fully text (no graphic novels, etc.) and at least 100 pages in length. Biographies count in this total.

LANGUAGE ARTS:  Verb tenses- past, present, and future, state of being verbs.  

SPELLING: Lesson 25 review, Test 25 Friday

SOCIAL STUDIES: The first few decades of our country were marked by growing pains as we tried to determine what kind of country we were going to be!  This is a neat section of history!

State notebooks- Statehood Writing Assignment due Thursday

STATES AND CAPITALS:

#28-33

SCIENCE:  We’ll be learning about the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.  

PE : T, TH, F

MUSIC: M, W

ART : TH, F

Spring Break April 5-9

Conferences/ITBS April 12-16

Science Fair April 22

State Fair May 13   **Note date change

newer but with massive changes in story


http://www.artistdirect.com/video/from-the-mixed-up-files-of-mrs-basil-e-frankweiler/73805


older but with different title
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlyxXO3J9-I

Statehood writing expectation

Statehood Writing Expectation    Due 3/12/2015

1. Use the supplied paper to create your statehood writing assignment. It should be written in the style of a newspaper article.  Use internet resources, books about your states, or books about the states to find information.
2. The article must have an attention grabbing headline and a date on the top which is the date (day,month, year) that your state became part of the United States. Include your state’s name in the headline.
3. A hand-drawn illustration must be part of the article drawn large in the space provided.  Use non-smearing media like colored pencils.  Draw a scene, person, or building important to the day when your state became part of the United States. Write a caption of about 5  words to describe your drawing just under the picture.
4. The article should tell the story about how your state became a state.  Include all important information like date, place, time if known, and people present at the signing.
5. Include interesting information such as whether or not the state was a territory or colony before it became a state.
6. The number order in which it became part of the United States.  Was it first, twenty-third, last?  Delaware was the first state to join.
7. Include your name at the end in a byline.  (By Petunia Pickelbottom)
8. Have fun!  Sometimes the path to statehood was wild and crazy - you might find some funny information.

Here's the state flower expectation!

Here's a photo of the "expectation"  for the state flower project due this Thursday.  Your child should have one just like it in their planner.