I am not even sure where to begin....what an amazing week we had! This was the kind of week that makes me leave school laughing and giggling because we had so much fun with our learning this week. I want to start our newsletter by thank all of the parents who GENEROUSLY donated food for our All You Can Eat Buffet. Word could never do justice for how excited the kids were, and how sweet it was to watch them eat and dine together while enjoying their favorite foods. I also know how busy the weeks are, and adding another meal to the week, or another item to the grocery list doesn't make that any easier. THANK YOU for all you continue to do so support us in 5V. We started this week off with the Computer Based Math test. The students did a fabulous job rising to the occasion, as the program is new, and aside from requiring students to solve many different types of math problems, it required students to use all kinds of technology skills. I was SO impressed with the way students dove into a new situation head on. We also had a special guest speaker, Mr. Wiles (better known as Ben's Dad!), in class this week. He came and shared how he uses research in his job, and how he used his writing and research skills to open new doors in his career--making work, FUN! The kids loved hearing about his experiences at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and all the amazing people he has gotten to meet through his work. We even read and learned about the poem "Casey at Bat", and watched a special rendition of the poem performed by Mr. Wiles himself. Thank you, Mr. Wiles! Finally, we ended the week with ACES day, which gave us a chance to walk around the neighborhood behind school as an entire school community. The weather was perfect, and it was great to get outside as an entire school. Some important dates to keep in mind in the coming weeks:
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Happy Friday 5V Families!A few dates to keep in mind during the upcoming weeks:
Here is a look at what we covered this week:
Reading: In reading, we have started writing our own poetry after examining several elements of poetry (figurative language, personification, rhyming, rhythm, etc.) We began by writing Haiku poems, and List Poems. Students will be getting a document with all of their classmates poems, and will add that to their Poetry Anthologies. We also examined the life and works of two well known children's poets, Douglas Florian and Bryan P. Cleary. Writing: In Writing, we continued our examination of chocolate milk, researching to make a decision about if we think chocolate milk should be served in schools or not. We are using what we learned about researching and evaluating sources for credibility. We talked about bias, and how bias can impact how a writer reports information on their topic. We also talked about knowing when certain information is being somewhat "twisted", and exaggerated, and when to use our judgement on if that is information we want to include in our argument or not. This project is NOT to leave students feeling that milk is bad for you. We know that there are some really good things about milk, and some things that might not be ideal for milk drinkers, but I have been clear that we need not go home and dump out the milk cartons in our refrigerator, or worry if we are big milk drinkers, that we are going to get sick. I have reminded the class I still serve milk to both of my own children throughout the day! There is no right or wrong answer to this question. What makes it "right" or "wrong" is if you can back it up with substantial and relevant information and clearly explain your argument. It's great to hear the student debate on this topic, and how the defend their position. We might have some future lawyers in this group! Math: In math, we are covering two chapters at the same time. We began our Geometry unit, which requires us to classify polygons, triangles, quadrilateral and polyhedrons. Students are doing a great job getting used to this vocabulary, and what it all means. We also began talking about measurement by learning how to convert standard units of length and capacity. We will continue to practice this next week, as it is a tricky subject! Science: In Science, we began talking about the Nervous System and the parts of the nervous system, specifically the brain, brainstem, spinal cord, and nerves. We watched a few videos on the brain, and learned how nerves send messages throughout our body. We will begin reading and researching the parts of the brain next week to think about what we want to do for our in class project on The Brain. |
Classroom NewsUse this page to keep up to date on what we are doing in the classroom. Also, don't forget to check out See Saw for student posts and stories. (We will set this up in September) Archives
February 2019
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