Hello Parents and Students:
Here we are....the final week before Winter Break. This year seems to be moving by very quickly.
Just a couple of reminders this week. First, we will be having our Citizenship Celebration this Thursday, December 20th. The following movies will be shown: Elf, A Christmas Story, Finding Nemo and Frosty/Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. If there is a movie that you'd prefer your child NOT see, please let me know and I will point them in another direction. Thank you. :-)
Also, on this day, the students can wear their pajamas and bring in a stuffed animal from home, but this is optional. Hot chocolate will be served. Please remember to return the permission form as soon as possible.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We are on Unit 14 this week. The spelling pretest will be on Monday and the test will be on Friday, as usual. The words have been posted to the blog.
Language Arts: This week, we will continue to focus on our historical fiction genre. We will be reading a Reading A-Z book entitled, Historic Peacemakers. This book discusses people from around the World who promoted peace during their lifetimes. This is a higher level book with challenging vocabulary, therefore, we will also be completing a vocabulary word-meaning map to go along with it. Open-ended questions will be asked toward week's end and the students will work in groups to complete discussion questions. In writing, the students will be doing a structured writing piece. The topic will be given to them (Plans for Winter Break) and they will need to complete a five paragraph essay which will include an introduction, three main body paragraphs, and a conclusion. I will model one in class. We discussed simple and complete predicates in grammar last week and will continue to integrate grammar into our writing lesson this week, most likely focusing on comma usage.
Math Accel: We are moving along in Unit 3. We have studied algebraic expressions and dependent and independent variables. Moving forward, we will be working on rate and ratio reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems. We will also be doing some review with adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals. We will do a fun, real-world math problem with these skills.
Science: We just switched back over into science a couple of days ago. Atom structure/vocabulary has been introduced and we will be doing some research on elements this week during science. The students are excited to be back into science and are very enthusiastic about using the online interactive periodic table. We will be drawing and labeling atoms this week.
That's it for now. Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Enjoy the weekend!
Delissa Bennick
Picture
Asheville, North Carolina
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
5B News for the Week of December 10th
Hello Parents and Students:
We have a lot going on in 5B these last two weeks before Winter Break. First, our marble jar is filled to the brim again, so it is time for a reward. The students agreed to have a Talent Show.....and, of course, they can chew gum as well. The Talent Show will be this Thursday, December 13th. Most of the kids are planning to participate, but it is optional.
Secondly, for those students who met and recorded their 800 Book Club MayWattsReads minutes, the celebration for them will also be Thursday, December 13th, during lunch. Please return your child's permission form if you plan to have them eat the brownies.
Finally, on Thursday, December 20th, we will be having a Citizenship Celebration to reward the students for their hard work these first two quarters of school. We will be showing movies and will serve hot chocolate to the kids. Wearing PJ's and bringing in a stuffed animal is optional. Permission forms for this activity will be coming home this week.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We are on Unit 13 this week. The new list has been posted to the blog. The pretest will be on Monday and the test on Friday, as usual.
Language Arts: During language arts this week we will be doing a variety of things. We will be reading a story from our anthology entitled, Rosa Parks, going along with our historical fiction theme. We will be studying vocabulary, main idea, conflict and common themes in literature. We will also be reading a TFK this week, as we had no time last week to fit in current events. We will also continue to work on grammar, silent reading and writing journal entries in our writing response journals.
Math Accel: We just finished testing Unit 2 and have begun the first few lessons of Unit 3. Currently, we are working on Algebraic Expressions. Expect a short quiz or exit slip later this week.
Social Studies: We will be presenting our historical fiction projects this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will have some classtime on Monday to finish up the final details of the project. We will also be creating a timeline of major events that occurred throughout chapter six and seven in our social studies book. We will write six word summaries to describe each event. We also discussed Pearl Harbor yesterday and watched a short video about it. The kids were all very interested in this topic. It was such a sad day in US history. There is an extra credit opportunity to go along with this that is listed under the 5B homework section, if interested.
Science: The Fifth Grade Team decided to squeeze in some science prior to our Winter Break. We will be discussing chemistry which will include atomic structure. We will be doing some research on various elements which will include characteristics and uses. We will also be drawing models of atoms.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Delissa Bennick
We have a lot going on in 5B these last two weeks before Winter Break. First, our marble jar is filled to the brim again, so it is time for a reward. The students agreed to have a Talent Show.....and, of course, they can chew gum as well. The Talent Show will be this Thursday, December 13th. Most of the kids are planning to participate, but it is optional.
Secondly, for those students who met and recorded their 800 Book Club MayWattsReads minutes, the celebration for them will also be Thursday, December 13th, during lunch. Please return your child's permission form if you plan to have them eat the brownies.
Finally, on Thursday, December 20th, we will be having a Citizenship Celebration to reward the students for their hard work these first two quarters of school. We will be showing movies and will serve hot chocolate to the kids. Wearing PJ's and bringing in a stuffed animal is optional. Permission forms for this activity will be coming home this week.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We are on Unit 13 this week. The new list has been posted to the blog. The pretest will be on Monday and the test on Friday, as usual.
Language Arts: During language arts this week we will be doing a variety of things. We will be reading a story from our anthology entitled, Rosa Parks, going along with our historical fiction theme. We will be studying vocabulary, main idea, conflict and common themes in literature. We will also be reading a TFK this week, as we had no time last week to fit in current events. We will also continue to work on grammar, silent reading and writing journal entries in our writing response journals.
Math Accel: We just finished testing Unit 2 and have begun the first few lessons of Unit 3. Currently, we are working on Algebraic Expressions. Expect a short quiz or exit slip later this week.
Social Studies: We will be presenting our historical fiction projects this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will have some classtime on Monday to finish up the final details of the project. We will also be creating a timeline of major events that occurred throughout chapter six and seven in our social studies book. We will write six word summaries to describe each event. We also discussed Pearl Harbor yesterday and watched a short video about it. The kids were all very interested in this topic. It was such a sad day in US history. There is an extra credit opportunity to go along with this that is listed under the 5B homework section, if interested.
Science: The Fifth Grade Team decided to squeeze in some science prior to our Winter Break. We will be discussing chemistry which will include atomic structure. We will be doing some research on various elements which will include characteristics and uses. We will also be drawing models of atoms.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Delissa Bennick
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Winter Class Party Info.
December 10,
2012
Dear Parents,
On Friday, December 21, we will be
holding our holiday parties from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. for all our
students. Two room parents or their
designees will run the parties for the children. Due to space limitations, we ask that you
refrain from attending these parties.
The PTA will be providing the
students with cupcakes and a Capri Sun during the party. The cupcakes are from * Whole Foods Market in
Naperville. The ingredients are as
follows for the cupcakes: vanilla cupcakes contain eggs, milk, soy and wheat,
sugar, enriched wheat flour, dry egg whites, palm oil, leavening, dextrose,
modified food starch, dry egg yolk, natural flavor, salt, non-fat milk solids,
sorbitan monostearate, soy lecithin, soybean oil, cellulose gum, xanthan gum,
water, and canola oil. The frosting
consists of powdered sugar, palm oil shortening, unsalted butter, vanilla
extract, sea salt and annatto (natural plant based food color).
If your child is unable to have the
treat provided because of allergies, please send the school nurse a note
informing us of this no later than
Thursday, December 13, 2012. She
needs to compile a list of what students cannot have the cupcakes. You are asked to provide your child with a
treat that he/she can have if they have allergies to the cupcakes being
served.
Please do not send in any other
treats for the classrooms because of possible food allergies. Treats brought to school will be sent home.
Finally, alternative activities will
be planned for children whose families choose not to participate in this event
beginning at 2:30 p.m. Please contact
Mr. LeCrone through email in order that appropriate activities can be arranged
no later than Monday, December 17, 2012.
His email address is: brian_lecrone@ipsd.org.
As a reminder, winter break begins
on Friday, December 21, and classes will resume on Monday, January 7,
2013.
We wish you and your family a safe
and restful winter break.
Sincerely,
The
May Watts Staff
*We would like to thank Whole Foods
Market in Naperville for partnering with the PTA. Whole Foods offered a tremendous price break
in order to provide our children with a healthier, more natural and delectable
party treat. – Mrs. Moranchek, Room
Parent Coordinator.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
5B News for the Week of December 3rd
Hello Parents and Students:
Just a reminder that Family Math Night for grades 3-5 is this Monday evening, December 3rd, from 6:30-8:30 and Family Math Night for grades K-2 is on Wednesday, December 5th, from 6:30-8:30.
Walk to School Day is this Friday and it's also Spirit Wear Day!
Here's what's going on in 5B this week.....
Spelling: We are on Unit 12 this week and the words have been posted on the blog. This week in spelling, we will be taking a look at compound words and words that we may think are compound words, but are not. Look closely.
Language Arts: This week in language arts we will be doing a combination of reading, writing and social studies. We will begin the week working on our new social studies project of portraying a person in history. The students have the guidelines for this project and have already chosen the person that they will be researching. On Monday, we will be using the laptops to begin researching our historical person and we will be deciding how to do our visual. Most students have already chosen to do a poster, Prezi or Powerpoint presentation. Also during our language arts time, we will be doing some group work using a Reading A-Z book and the students will be given discussion cards to talk through with their group and also answer in writing. Grammar and independent reading will continue to be a focus this week. We will try to squeeze in a TFK late in the week for current events.
Math Accel: Our Unit 2 test will be this Monday. The students should be using their study guide and the other work we did during class to prepare for the test. We have already started Unit 3, which does NOT focus on Geometry like I had mentioned last week. Unit 3 focuses on variables, formulas and graphs. I apologize for the misinformation. We have already studied using variables to describe number patterns and will begin discussing two variable patterns and algebraic expressions.
Social Studies: During our regular social studies time, we will continue on in Chapter 6. The topics of discussion will include cities, towns and farms in the colonies, everyday life in the colonies and slavery in the colonies. I will be sending a Chapter 6 study guide home late in the week. The Chapter 6 test will most likely be the following Tuesday. We will finish Chapter 6 by Wednesday of this week and then we will be doing group work to cover Chapter 7 the last two days of this week. We are almost to the Revolutionary War and taxing! We have a lot going on in SS currently!!!
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Delissa Bennick
Just a reminder that Family Math Night for grades 3-5 is this Monday evening, December 3rd, from 6:30-8:30 and Family Math Night for grades K-2 is on Wednesday, December 5th, from 6:30-8:30.
Walk to School Day is this Friday and it's also Spirit Wear Day!
Here's what's going on in 5B this week.....
Spelling: We are on Unit 12 this week and the words have been posted on the blog. This week in spelling, we will be taking a look at compound words and words that we may think are compound words, but are not. Look closely.
Language Arts: This week in language arts we will be doing a combination of reading, writing and social studies. We will begin the week working on our new social studies project of portraying a person in history. The students have the guidelines for this project and have already chosen the person that they will be researching. On Monday, we will be using the laptops to begin researching our historical person and we will be deciding how to do our visual. Most students have already chosen to do a poster, Prezi or Powerpoint presentation. Also during our language arts time, we will be doing some group work using a Reading A-Z book and the students will be given discussion cards to talk through with their group and also answer in writing. Grammar and independent reading will continue to be a focus this week. We will try to squeeze in a TFK late in the week for current events.
Math Accel: Our Unit 2 test will be this Monday. The students should be using their study guide and the other work we did during class to prepare for the test. We have already started Unit 3, which does NOT focus on Geometry like I had mentioned last week. Unit 3 focuses on variables, formulas and graphs. I apologize for the misinformation. We have already studied using variables to describe number patterns and will begin discussing two variable patterns and algebraic expressions.
Social Studies: During our regular social studies time, we will continue on in Chapter 6. The topics of discussion will include cities, towns and farms in the colonies, everyday life in the colonies and slavery in the colonies. I will be sending a Chapter 6 study guide home late in the week. The Chapter 6 test will most likely be the following Tuesday. We will finish Chapter 6 by Wednesday of this week and then we will be doing group work to cover Chapter 7 the last two days of this week. We are almost to the Revolutionary War and taxing! We have a lot going on in SS currently!!!
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Delissa Bennick
Saturday, November 24, 2012
5B News for the Week of 11/26
Hello Parents & Students:
I hope that you all had the opportunity to rest, relax and visit with friends and relatives over Thanksgiving Break. Welcome back!
The students in 5B will be participating in Gates testing this week on Thursday.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We are on Unit 11 this week. This week's words are very difficult. There are a lot of silent letters. We will be reviewing the word meanings in the classroom as there are some words that the students may not be familiar with.
Language Arts: We will be finishing up our "Lemonade" poem books by Tuesday. They are looking good! Some students took them home over the long weekend to work on them. We will be reading a story from our anthology entitled, Sees Behind Trees. Our test for this story will be on Thursday or Friday and it will be open book. We will read and discuss the story in class, however, I always encourage the students to reread the story at home for extra practice and understanding. As always, we will be reading our TFKs for current events. This week's focus is on the environment. The students have been doing a nice job of keeping track of the books they've read for their 40 book requirement. Their genre graphs and reading logs are current, for the most part. We will also try to fit in some grammar this week as well.
Math Accel.: The Unit 2 study guide will be coming home on Monday. The Unit 2 test will either be on Friday or Monday depending on how things go this week. We will begin Unit 3 which focuses on Geometry.
Social Studies:We will continue our work in Chapter 6, Life in the English Colonies. We will also be starting a project either late this week or early next week in which the students will choose someone in history to portray. They will research this person and discuss what times were like when this person was alive. For example, what clothes were worn, foods eaten, work, setting, language, common words used at that time, and any other pertinent information the students can find out about the person that they choose. We will discuss this project in more detail in class.
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Delissa Bennick
I hope that you all had the opportunity to rest, relax and visit with friends and relatives over Thanksgiving Break. Welcome back!
The students in 5B will be participating in Gates testing this week on Thursday.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We are on Unit 11 this week. This week's words are very difficult. There are a lot of silent letters. We will be reviewing the word meanings in the classroom as there are some words that the students may not be familiar with.
Language Arts: We will be finishing up our "Lemonade" poem books by Tuesday. They are looking good! Some students took them home over the long weekend to work on them. We will be reading a story from our anthology entitled, Sees Behind Trees. Our test for this story will be on Thursday or Friday and it will be open book. We will read and discuss the story in class, however, I always encourage the students to reread the story at home for extra practice and understanding. As always, we will be reading our TFKs for current events. This week's focus is on the environment. The students have been doing a nice job of keeping track of the books they've read for their 40 book requirement. Their genre graphs and reading logs are current, for the most part. We will also try to fit in some grammar this week as well.
Math Accel.: The Unit 2 study guide will be coming home on Monday. The Unit 2 test will either be on Friday or Monday depending on how things go this week. We will begin Unit 3 which focuses on Geometry.
Social Studies:We will continue our work in Chapter 6, Life in the English Colonies. We will also be starting a project either late this week or early next week in which the students will choose someone in history to portray. They will research this person and discuss what times were like when this person was alive. For example, what clothes were worn, foods eaten, work, setting, language, common words used at that time, and any other pertinent information the students can find out about the person that they choose. We will discuss this project in more detail in class.
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Delissa Bennick
Saturday, November 17, 2012
5B News for the Week of 11/19
Hello Parents & Students:
The upcoming week will be a short one for us. We HAVE school on Monday and Tuesday this week. Thanksgiving Break begins Wednesday, 11/21. There is NO SCHOOL on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday this week. I hope that you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. Gobble, Gobble!
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Saxena who came into our classroom this past Thursday to do a powerpoint presentation on the Indian culture and how it is similar and different to the American culture. We learned so much from you. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to educate us.
Just a reminder that there is a PTA Tea Chat/Meeting this Monday evening that begins at 5:00. I will be there!
Also, during the school day on Monday, there will be a PTA assembly for the students. Fun times!
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Since there are only two days of school this week, we will be tying up some loose ends. First, we will continue to work on our "Lemonade" projects which includes poetry writing. The kids are enjoying this activity. We will work on this during our language arts block. We will also continue our Time For Kids magazines for our current event focus.
Secondly, there will be NO SPELLING this week! Enjoy the time off! Spelling will resume the week of November 26th.
We will continue our read aloud book, Night of the Twisters, and the students will be adding summaries to their "Twister" books.
We will also be finishing up our grammar packet from last week which focused on prefixes, suffixes and root words.
During social studies on Monday, we will be testing chapter 5. I will also be collecting the study guides on Monday. Please bring them to school so that I can give you credit for doing them!! On Tuesday, we will begin chapter 6 which discusses life in the English colonies.
In math accel. this week, we will be finishing up Unit 2. The Unit 2 study guide will be going home on Monday, November 26th. The Unit 2 test will be on Friday of that week.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. If you have any questions, please email me.
Thank you!
Delissa Bennick
The upcoming week will be a short one for us. We HAVE school on Monday and Tuesday this week. Thanksgiving Break begins Wednesday, 11/21. There is NO SCHOOL on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday this week. I hope that you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. Gobble, Gobble!
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Saxena who came into our classroom this past Thursday to do a powerpoint presentation on the Indian culture and how it is similar and different to the American culture. We learned so much from you. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to educate us.
Just a reminder that there is a PTA Tea Chat/Meeting this Monday evening that begins at 5:00. I will be there!
Also, during the school day on Monday, there will be a PTA assembly for the students. Fun times!
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Since there are only two days of school this week, we will be tying up some loose ends. First, we will continue to work on our "Lemonade" projects which includes poetry writing. The kids are enjoying this activity. We will work on this during our language arts block. We will also continue our Time For Kids magazines for our current event focus.
Secondly, there will be NO SPELLING this week! Enjoy the time off! Spelling will resume the week of November 26th.
We will continue our read aloud book, Night of the Twisters, and the students will be adding summaries to their "Twister" books.
We will also be finishing up our grammar packet from last week which focused on prefixes, suffixes and root words.
During social studies on Monday, we will be testing chapter 5. I will also be collecting the study guides on Monday. Please bring them to school so that I can give you credit for doing them!! On Tuesday, we will begin chapter 6 which discusses life in the English colonies.
In math accel. this week, we will be finishing up Unit 2. The Unit 2 study guide will be going home on Monday, November 26th. The Unit 2 test will be on Friday of that week.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. If you have any questions, please email me.
Thank you!
Delissa Bennick
Friday, November 9, 2012
5B News for the Week of 11/12
Hello Parents & Students:
Thank you to all of the parents who came to Parent-Teacher Conferences! It was a pleasure to meet all of you and I hope that you found it helpful and informative.
A big CONGRATULATIONS to all of the students in 5B! We earned the big purple alien to keep in our class this month! 5B had the most students who met their reading goals. Also, several students qualified for the 800 Minute Book Club treat for the month of October. Permission forms went home last week for those students who read 800 minutes or more during the month of October. Please return them at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
Here are a couple of reminders for this week's upcoming events:
Spelling: We are on Unit 10 this week. The pretest will be on Monday, and the test will be on Friday.
The words have been posted on the blog.
Language Arts: The reading projects were presented earlier this week and all groups did a great job. Most groups created power points, others created Prezis. They were all persuasive and would definitely make our World a better place if they were enforced. Next week, we will be reading a book entitled, Lemonade. This is a book of poems that have been created by using only the letters from one large word. This will be a challenging activity, but one that I hope the students will enjoy. We will be making our own mini books of "Lemonade" poems. We will also continue reading our TFK magazines this week for our current event focus. In grammar, we will be working on root words, prefixes and suffixes.
Math Accel.: We are currently working on multiplication and division with decimals. We are creating our own menus and then plan to use them in a mock restaurant activity. The students will work in groups and then order from one menu. They will then be responsible for totaling the cost of their meal, and adding on tax and gratuity. We will then move onto powers of 10 and exponents.
Social Studies: We have been discussing the original thirteen colonies these past few days. We have watched a couple of informative videos and taken notes. We also labeled the thirteen original colonies, on a map, and identified the three regions which include the New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. We will have a quiz on this on Tuesday. The students will be responsible for labeling the thirteen colonies and identifying which region each colony is in.
That's it for now. Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Enjoy the weekend!
Mrs. Bennick
Thank you to all of the parents who came to Parent-Teacher Conferences! It was a pleasure to meet all of you and I hope that you found it helpful and informative.
A big CONGRATULATIONS to all of the students in 5B! We earned the big purple alien to keep in our class this month! 5B had the most students who met their reading goals. Also, several students qualified for the 800 Minute Book Club treat for the month of October. Permission forms went home last week for those students who read 800 minutes or more during the month of October. Please return them at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
Here are a couple of reminders for this week's upcoming events:
- Nov. 12-16 Diversity Week (If you would like to come into our classroom to present information about a cultural tradition of yours, please contact me.)
- November 15-Picture Retake Day and Culver's Night (I will be at Culver's night...hope to see you!)
- Nov. 21-25 Thanksgiving Break-No School
Spelling: We are on Unit 10 this week. The pretest will be on Monday, and the test will be on Friday.
The words have been posted on the blog.
Language Arts: The reading projects were presented earlier this week and all groups did a great job. Most groups created power points, others created Prezis. They were all persuasive and would definitely make our World a better place if they were enforced. Next week, we will be reading a book entitled, Lemonade. This is a book of poems that have been created by using only the letters from one large word. This will be a challenging activity, but one that I hope the students will enjoy. We will be making our own mini books of "Lemonade" poems. We will also continue reading our TFK magazines this week for our current event focus. In grammar, we will be working on root words, prefixes and suffixes.
Math Accel.: We are currently working on multiplication and division with decimals. We are creating our own menus and then plan to use them in a mock restaurant activity. The students will work in groups and then order from one menu. They will then be responsible for totaling the cost of their meal, and adding on tax and gratuity. We will then move onto powers of 10 and exponents.
Social Studies: We have been discussing the original thirteen colonies these past few days. We have watched a couple of informative videos and taken notes. We also labeled the thirteen original colonies, on a map, and identified the three regions which include the New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. We will have a quiz on this on Tuesday. The students will be responsible for labeling the thirteen colonies and identifying which region each colony is in.
That's it for now. Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Enjoy the weekend!
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, November 3, 2012
5B News for the Week of November 5th
Hello Parents & Students,
Parent-Teacher Conferences are this week. The times are as follows: Monday-4:30-8:00, Tuesday-8:00-3:00 (There is no school for students this day.) and Thursday-4:30-8:00. Thank you for signing up in advance and I look forward to speaking with all of you.
Report cards went home yesterday. Please check your child's backpack.
Thanks to Mrs. Straub for creating our 5B Shutterfly website. The site is password protected, so you will need to contact Mrs. Straub to gain membership access. Her contact info. was sent out in a previous email. Halloween pictures have been posted and I just posted some pictures of the campfire/marshmallow reading activity, kindergarten buddies and 5B math accel. class. Enjoy!
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling- We are on Unit 9 this week. The words have been posted. The pretest will be on Monday and the test will be on Friday, as usual.
Language Arts- We will be finishing up our current reading project, How to Make the World a Better Place, on Monday and some groups will present on Monday and others will present on Wednesday. Our reading skills this week will include determining the main idea, explaining relationships between events, ideas or concepts in a historical text, drawing inferences, and word analysis when using content specific vocabulary. Basically, we will be comparing newspapers and events from long ago with today's newspapers and events.
We will continue to focus on grammar with commas, pronouns, prefixes and suffixes as our focus. This past week the class published the 2nd edition of the Bennick Biz...our class newspaper. Great teamwork is occurring to make this newspaper a reality.
Math Accel- Decimals will continue to be our focus this week. We will begin multiplying and dividing decimals and we will also be studying exponents and powers of ten. We will have a short quiz on Wednesday on adding and subtracting decimals.
Social Studies- We will continue on in social studies for the next 4 1/2 weeks of school. Then, we will switch back over to science for the last 4 1/2 weeks of the second quarter. The 5th grade team decided that this approach would work best as we are currently working our way to the Revolutionary War and we felt that the material would be a bit too choppy if we started the unit, then stopped to work on science, and then returned. The curriculum will have a better flow to it this way.
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Delissa Bennick
Parent-Teacher Conferences are this week. The times are as follows: Monday-4:30-8:00, Tuesday-8:00-3:00 (There is no school for students this day.) and Thursday-4:30-8:00. Thank you for signing up in advance and I look forward to speaking with all of you.
Report cards went home yesterday. Please check your child's backpack.
Thanks to Mrs. Straub for creating our 5B Shutterfly website. The site is password protected, so you will need to contact Mrs. Straub to gain membership access. Her contact info. was sent out in a previous email. Halloween pictures have been posted and I just posted some pictures of the campfire/marshmallow reading activity, kindergarten buddies and 5B math accel. class. Enjoy!
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling- We are on Unit 9 this week. The words have been posted. The pretest will be on Monday and the test will be on Friday, as usual.
Language Arts- We will be finishing up our current reading project, How to Make the World a Better Place, on Monday and some groups will present on Monday and others will present on Wednesday. Our reading skills this week will include determining the main idea, explaining relationships between events, ideas or concepts in a historical text, drawing inferences, and word analysis when using content specific vocabulary. Basically, we will be comparing newspapers and events from long ago with today's newspapers and events.
We will continue to focus on grammar with commas, pronouns, prefixes and suffixes as our focus. This past week the class published the 2nd edition of the Bennick Biz...our class newspaper. Great teamwork is occurring to make this newspaper a reality.
Math Accel- Decimals will continue to be our focus this week. We will begin multiplying and dividing decimals and we will also be studying exponents and powers of ten. We will have a short quiz on Wednesday on adding and subtracting decimals.
Social Studies- We will continue on in social studies for the next 4 1/2 weeks of school. Then, we will switch back over to science for the last 4 1/2 weeks of the second quarter. The 5th grade team decided that this approach would work best as we are currently working our way to the Revolutionary War and we felt that the material would be a bit too choppy if we started the unit, then stopped to work on science, and then returned. The curriculum will have a better flow to it this way.
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Delissa Bennick
Sunday, October 28, 2012
5B News for the Week of October 29th, 2012
Hello Parents & Students:
Just a reminder to please return the Parent-Teacher Conference half sheet, if you haven't already done so. I need to know if the time works for you or we can make other arrangements.
Halloween is Wednesday. The parade will begin at 2:00 and the parties will follow. Also on Wednesday, the fifth graders will be having a pretend campfire with marshmallows and spooky stories to read. A treat permission form went home on Friday. Please return it, by Wednesday, if you plan to have your child eat the marshmallows...or not.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We will be on Unit 8 this week. The words have been posted. The pretest will be on Monday and the test will be on Friday, as usual.
Language Arts: Mainly, we will be doing research on our new project....how to make the World a better place. This will take the majority of our language arts time this week. However, we will be doing some grammar which will focus on comma usage and placement and also a couple of TFK articles which will focus on U.S. voting requirements and comparing the Presidential candidates. In writing, we will continue to work on our persuasive writing skills. We had a great debate last week on whether or not children ages 8-12 should have cell phones. The arguments were quite impressive. Then, we all enjoyed the debate between Mr. Vaid and Mr. LeCrone on year-round school and whether or not it's beneficial.
Math Accel: We are currently working on large numbers (trillions, billions, millions, etc.) and small numbers which includes working with decimal points. We will also begin multiplying with powers, exponents, and multiplication of decimals this week.
Social Studies: We completed our colony projects last week and they were terrific! All of the groups presented and they were all very unique and informative. All groups worked very hard to include all of the requirements. It was a great job by all! This week in SS, we will continue to discuss the first colonies and move onto the thirteen colonies.
Looking forward to another great week! Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Mrs. Bennick :-)
Just a reminder to please return the Parent-Teacher Conference half sheet, if you haven't already done so. I need to know if the time works for you or we can make other arrangements.
Halloween is Wednesday. The parade will begin at 2:00 and the parties will follow. Also on Wednesday, the fifth graders will be having a pretend campfire with marshmallows and spooky stories to read. A treat permission form went home on Friday. Please return it, by Wednesday, if you plan to have your child eat the marshmallows...or not.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We will be on Unit 8 this week. The words have been posted. The pretest will be on Monday and the test will be on Friday, as usual.
Language Arts: Mainly, we will be doing research on our new project....how to make the World a better place. This will take the majority of our language arts time this week. However, we will be doing some grammar which will focus on comma usage and placement and also a couple of TFK articles which will focus on U.S. voting requirements and comparing the Presidential candidates. In writing, we will continue to work on our persuasive writing skills. We had a great debate last week on whether or not children ages 8-12 should have cell phones. The arguments were quite impressive. Then, we all enjoyed the debate between Mr. Vaid and Mr. LeCrone on year-round school and whether or not it's beneficial.
Math Accel: We are currently working on large numbers (trillions, billions, millions, etc.) and small numbers which includes working with decimal points. We will also begin multiplying with powers, exponents, and multiplication of decimals this week.
Social Studies: We completed our colony projects last week and they were terrific! All of the groups presented and they were all very unique and informative. All groups worked very hard to include all of the requirements. It was a great job by all! This week in SS, we will continue to discuss the first colonies and move onto the thirteen colonies.
Looking forward to another great week! Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Mrs. Bennick :-)
Saturday, October 20, 2012
5B News for the Week of October 22nd
Hello Parents and Students,
Time is flying by! The end of the first quarter is this Friday, October 26th. Report cards go home on Friday, November 2nd.
Also, remember that this Wednesday, October 24th, is Family Reading Night at May Watts from 6:30-8:00pm. Stop by for a fun night of reading!
On Friday, we will be meeting up with our Kindergarten buddies, for the second time this year, for a fun Halloween project!!
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We will begin Unit 7 this week in spelling. The base word pattern is -ed and -ing endings.
Language Arts: We just recently finished our first read aloud book, Because of Mr. Terupt. This was an awesome book and many of the students could relate to the characters in it. The sequel to this book, which was just recently released, is entitled, Mr. Terupt Falls Again, and we will not be reading it as a read aloud in class because it gets into more teen-like topics. However, many of the students have expressed interest in reading it on their own. Our next class read aloud book will be, Night of the Twisters. Our next project will be discussing how we can change the World to make it a better place. This project was introduced to the students, in great detail, earlier this week. On Monday, the students will be split into groups where they will discuss which idea they will choose and how it will positively affect the World.
We will also continue with Time For Kids this week. We will be having a debate as to whether or not children need cell phones. Of course, during this time we will also do some silent reading, reading conferencing and newspaper work.
Math Accel: The students took the Unit 2 pretest last Thursday and on Friday we started the first lesson in Unit 2, which was reading and writing large numbers. We discussed place value, trillions, billions, millions, etc. and we will continue to work on this Monday. Mrs. Tobin will be visiting our class on Monday and she will introduce problem solving to us. We will then move on to reading and writing small numbers and adding and subtracting decimals.
Social Studies: Our colony projects are coming along very well. Many groups are bringing in clay, posterboards, etc. to showcase their projects. All colony projects should be completed by the end of the day Tuesday and presentations will be on Wednesday and Thursday. We are also working in our social studies textbooks and our focus is on Jamestown.
That's it for now. Enjoy this beautiful day!
Delissa Bennick
Time is flying by! The end of the first quarter is this Friday, October 26th. Report cards go home on Friday, November 2nd.
Also, remember that this Wednesday, October 24th, is Family Reading Night at May Watts from 6:30-8:00pm. Stop by for a fun night of reading!
On Friday, we will be meeting up with our Kindergarten buddies, for the second time this year, for a fun Halloween project!!
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We will begin Unit 7 this week in spelling. The base word pattern is -ed and -ing endings.
Language Arts: We just recently finished our first read aloud book, Because of Mr. Terupt. This was an awesome book and many of the students could relate to the characters in it. The sequel to this book, which was just recently released, is entitled, Mr. Terupt Falls Again, and we will not be reading it as a read aloud in class because it gets into more teen-like topics. However, many of the students have expressed interest in reading it on their own. Our next class read aloud book will be, Night of the Twisters. Our next project will be discussing how we can change the World to make it a better place. This project was introduced to the students, in great detail, earlier this week. On Monday, the students will be split into groups where they will discuss which idea they will choose and how it will positively affect the World.
We will also continue with Time For Kids this week. We will be having a debate as to whether or not children need cell phones. Of course, during this time we will also do some silent reading, reading conferencing and newspaper work.
Math Accel: The students took the Unit 2 pretest last Thursday and on Friday we started the first lesson in Unit 2, which was reading and writing large numbers. We discussed place value, trillions, billions, millions, etc. and we will continue to work on this Monday. Mrs. Tobin will be visiting our class on Monday and she will introduce problem solving to us. We will then move on to reading and writing small numbers and adding and subtracting decimals.
Social Studies: Our colony projects are coming along very well. Many groups are bringing in clay, posterboards, etc. to showcase their projects. All colony projects should be completed by the end of the day Tuesday and presentations will be on Wednesday and Thursday. We are also working in our social studies textbooks and our focus is on Jamestown.
That's it for now. Enjoy this beautiful day!
Delissa Bennick
Saturday, October 13, 2012
5B News for the Week of 10/15
Hello Students & Parents!
We enjoyed a fun time yesterday with our electronic devices and musical instruments. It was nice to have a little bit of time to relax and unwind after a busy week. A huge thanks to the parents for supporting this reward day and allowing your child to enjoy their electronic devices/instruments at school. We are all looking forward to earning our next reward day!
Just a reminder that there is a half day of school this Wednesday, October 17th. Students will be dismissed at 12:15. Students will not eat lunch at school on this day.
Also, earlier this week, the students completed the first edition of the 5B Bennick Biz Newspaper! They did an incredible job! The newspaper includes information on current events, sports, surveys, fun pages, information on the "Animal of the Week" and other interesting topics. We also have excellent cover artists! The students work on the class newspaper, on their own time, after all classwork has been completed. Many of the students in 5B volunteered to be part of the newspaper and they are learning excellent time management skills because of it. The students plan to publish the Bennick Biz twice monthly.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We will be on Unit 6 in spelling this week. The words have been posted. Despite the kids having one less day to study last week, most seemed to do very well. I am proud of them!
Language Arts: We will be taking our TFK quiz this Monday on our current TFK issue. We finished reading it on Friday, but ran short of time to fit the quiz in. Then, we will begin the next TFK issue. We will be reading a story in our anthology this week entitled, Woodsong. We will preview the vocabulary early in the week and then listen to the story on CD. We will take a test on this story later in the week. We will also begin doing research on two upcoming research projects, one social studies and the other a reading project. The reading project will involve working in cooperative groups and the topic will be how we can make the World a better place. Researching both of these projects will involve a lot of time and will be done during both language arts and social studies times. The research project will be introduced to the students midweek.
Math Accel: We just completed the Unit 1 test on Friday and the results were encouraging. All students worked diligently to finish their study guides and did quite well on the first test. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, we will be studying area and perimeter and then we will begin Unit 2 which mainly focuses on computation skills.
Social Studies: As I mentioned earlier in the language arts section, the students will soon be involved in a couple of different research projects. The social studies project will have the students developing a colony. Research will include geography, location, cost of goods that will be imported/exported, natural resources, native people in the area, climate and form of government. Each group will do research on these topics. The groups will then present their colony to the class and present a persuasive argument with facts and reliable sources as to why their colony would survive the longest. (This ties into why the colony of Roanoke did not survive, which we discussed earlier this week.) However, before we begin this colony project, we will still need to build some background knowledge about colonies and will be discussing Jamestown and other colonies as well.
Have a wonderful weekend!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Delissa Bennick
We enjoyed a fun time yesterday with our electronic devices and musical instruments. It was nice to have a little bit of time to relax and unwind after a busy week. A huge thanks to the parents for supporting this reward day and allowing your child to enjoy their electronic devices/instruments at school. We are all looking forward to earning our next reward day!
Just a reminder that there is a half day of school this Wednesday, October 17th. Students will be dismissed at 12:15. Students will not eat lunch at school on this day.
Also, earlier this week, the students completed the first edition of the 5B Bennick Biz Newspaper! They did an incredible job! The newspaper includes information on current events, sports, surveys, fun pages, information on the "Animal of the Week" and other interesting topics. We also have excellent cover artists! The students work on the class newspaper, on their own time, after all classwork has been completed. Many of the students in 5B volunteered to be part of the newspaper and they are learning excellent time management skills because of it. The students plan to publish the Bennick Biz twice monthly.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We will be on Unit 6 in spelling this week. The words have been posted. Despite the kids having one less day to study last week, most seemed to do very well. I am proud of them!
Language Arts: We will be taking our TFK quiz this Monday on our current TFK issue. We finished reading it on Friday, but ran short of time to fit the quiz in. Then, we will begin the next TFK issue. We will be reading a story in our anthology this week entitled, Woodsong. We will preview the vocabulary early in the week and then listen to the story on CD. We will take a test on this story later in the week. We will also begin doing research on two upcoming research projects, one social studies and the other a reading project. The reading project will involve working in cooperative groups and the topic will be how we can make the World a better place. Researching both of these projects will involve a lot of time and will be done during both language arts and social studies times. The research project will be introduced to the students midweek.
Math Accel: We just completed the Unit 1 test on Friday and the results were encouraging. All students worked diligently to finish their study guides and did quite well on the first test. On Monday and Tuesday of this week, we will be studying area and perimeter and then we will begin Unit 2 which mainly focuses on computation skills.
Social Studies: As I mentioned earlier in the language arts section, the students will soon be involved in a couple of different research projects. The social studies project will have the students developing a colony. Research will include geography, location, cost of goods that will be imported/exported, natural resources, native people in the area, climate and form of government. Each group will do research on these topics. The groups will then present their colony to the class and present a persuasive argument with facts and reliable sources as to why their colony would survive the longest. (This ties into why the colony of Roanoke did not survive, which we discussed earlier this week.) However, before we begin this colony project, we will still need to build some background knowledge about colonies and will be discussing Jamestown and other colonies as well.
Have a wonderful weekend!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Delissa Bennick
Saturday, October 6, 2012
5B News for the Week of October 8th
Hello Parents & Students:
There's a lot going on in school this week. First, there is no school this Monday, October 8th, due to the Columbus Day holiday.
Interim Assessments will take place this week Tuesday through Friday in class. A form was sent home earlier in the week that described these assessments which will be used to guide the ongoing evolution of our curricula of the recently adopted Common Core State Standards.
On a happier note, the students of 5B recently earned their first reward of the year by filling the class marble jar!!! On Friday, October 12th, the students may bring in an electronic device (with a signed permission form that was sent home), their musical instrument to play for us, and some gum. The students will have time during the day on Friday to use/play with these items.
Also, the author, Annie Barrows, will be visiting May Watts on Thursday, October 11th. She is the author of the Ivy + Bean book series. If you would like to purchase an autographed copy of one of her books, please click on the following link for more information.
http://watts.ipsd.org/News.aspx?id=45683
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We will be on Unit 5 this week. The spelling pretest will be on Tuesday since there is no school on Monday. If you feel your child may have difficulty learning the words having one day less to study, they may stay on the base list this week if it works best for them. Also, I encouraged the students to visit my blog over the weekend and look at the spelling words so that they could get a jump start on learning them.
The test will be on Friday.
Language Arts- We recently finished up our book hooks, which turned out very nice and also our Writer's Workshop projects. I was so impressed with the level of preparation that all of the students put forth for the Writer's Workshop Project. They were all very well done and it was a pleasure to listen to all of them. This is a very creative group of kids! This week in reading some of the skills that we will be focusing on will be locating information in text, finding facts to support your thinking and fact vs. opinion. We will be using TFKs and, most likely, a story from our anthology to concentrate on these skills. I will continue my next round of reading conferences with the students and we will continue to write in our Reading Response Journals for writing practice. We also covered some grammar this week in class which included prepositions and simple subjects.
Math Accel.- Unit 1 study guides were sent home on Friday. The Unit 1 test will be this Thursday. The students are to begin working on their study guides and we will review them in class Tuesday & Wednesday to clarify any questions that they may have.
Social Studies- We finished our discussion of Christopher Columbus late this week and took a short quiz about his life and expeditions on Friday. Next in social studies, we will begin discussing Jamestown and the colonies. Once we cover this material, we will begin our colony project the following week. Social studies is starting to become alive! The colony project should be a lot of fun for the kids.
That's it for now. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Enjoy the long weekend!
Mrs. Bennick
There's a lot going on in school this week. First, there is no school this Monday, October 8th, due to the Columbus Day holiday.
Interim Assessments will take place this week Tuesday through Friday in class. A form was sent home earlier in the week that described these assessments which will be used to guide the ongoing evolution of our curricula of the recently adopted Common Core State Standards.
On a happier note, the students of 5B recently earned their first reward of the year by filling the class marble jar!!! On Friday, October 12th, the students may bring in an electronic device (with a signed permission form that was sent home), their musical instrument to play for us, and some gum. The students will have time during the day on Friday to use/play with these items.
Also, the author, Annie Barrows, will be visiting May Watts on Thursday, October 11th. She is the author of the Ivy + Bean book series. If you would like to purchase an autographed copy of one of her books, please click on the following link for more information.
http://watts.ipsd.org/News.aspx?id=45683
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: We will be on Unit 5 this week. The spelling pretest will be on Tuesday since there is no school on Monday. If you feel your child may have difficulty learning the words having one day less to study, they may stay on the base list this week if it works best for them. Also, I encouraged the students to visit my blog over the weekend and look at the spelling words so that they could get a jump start on learning them.
The test will be on Friday.
Language Arts- We recently finished up our book hooks, which turned out very nice and also our Writer's Workshop projects. I was so impressed with the level of preparation that all of the students put forth for the Writer's Workshop Project. They were all very well done and it was a pleasure to listen to all of them. This is a very creative group of kids! This week in reading some of the skills that we will be focusing on will be locating information in text, finding facts to support your thinking and fact vs. opinion. We will be using TFKs and, most likely, a story from our anthology to concentrate on these skills. I will continue my next round of reading conferences with the students and we will continue to write in our Reading Response Journals for writing practice. We also covered some grammar this week in class which included prepositions and simple subjects.
Math Accel.- Unit 1 study guides were sent home on Friday. The Unit 1 test will be this Thursday. The students are to begin working on their study guides and we will review them in class Tuesday & Wednesday to clarify any questions that they may have.
Social Studies- We finished our discussion of Christopher Columbus late this week and took a short quiz about his life and expeditions on Friday. Next in social studies, we will begin discussing Jamestown and the colonies. Once we cover this material, we will begin our colony project the following week. Social studies is starting to become alive! The colony project should be a lot of fun for the kids.
That's it for now. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Enjoy the long weekend!
Mrs. Bennick
Friday, September 28, 2012
5B News for the Week of October 1st
Hello Parents & Students:
Just a reminder that Track and Field Day is this Monday during P.E. time and PICTURE DAY is this THURSDAY, October 4th.
Here's what's going on in 5B this first week of October:
Spelling- We are on Unit 4 this week and the words have been posted on the blog.
Language Arts- We will continue to work on our Writer's Workshop projects. Some students have already presented their projects to either the whole class or a small group. All of them have been excellent up to this point. The students are having a lot of fun with this activity. All projects will be presented by Wednesday. We will continue our focus on grammar this week as well, discussing nouns, verbs, adjectives, simple subjects and adverbs. Some of these will be review, others are new. Our next Time For Kid's topic will be on drought. We will discuss what a drought is and how we can solve the problems associated with this. We have also been discussing creating the 5B newspaper. The kids are very excited about this and what their role will be. Hopefully, by the end of this week, we will have a better idea of how to organize this. Of course, we will continue our silent reading time, reading conferences, and reading response journal entries.
Math Accel.- These past few weeks we have been discussing various types of graphs. That will continue this week as well. On Monday, step graphs will be introduced followed by circle graphs. We are getting fairly close to the end of Unit 1 in our new math curriculum. Watch for the Unit 1 study guide to come home later this week or early next week.
Science- We just took our weather test this past Thursday. The results were amazing! The tests will be sent home this Monday along with the other graded work.
Social Studies- We will continue our discussion of Christopher Columbus this week. We are currently reading a Reading A-Z book about his life and expeditions. We have had some excellent discussions regarding Columbus and the kids are taking notes in their journals about him.
That's it for now. Enjoy the weekend!
Mrs. Bennick
Just a reminder that Track and Field Day is this Monday during P.E. time and PICTURE DAY is this THURSDAY, October 4th.
Here's what's going on in 5B this first week of October:
Spelling- We are on Unit 4 this week and the words have been posted on the blog.
Language Arts- We will continue to work on our Writer's Workshop projects. Some students have already presented their projects to either the whole class or a small group. All of them have been excellent up to this point. The students are having a lot of fun with this activity. All projects will be presented by Wednesday. We will continue our focus on grammar this week as well, discussing nouns, verbs, adjectives, simple subjects and adverbs. Some of these will be review, others are new. Our next Time For Kid's topic will be on drought. We will discuss what a drought is and how we can solve the problems associated with this. We have also been discussing creating the 5B newspaper. The kids are very excited about this and what their role will be. Hopefully, by the end of this week, we will have a better idea of how to organize this. Of course, we will continue our silent reading time, reading conferences, and reading response journal entries.
Math Accel.- These past few weeks we have been discussing various types of graphs. That will continue this week as well. On Monday, step graphs will be introduced followed by circle graphs. We are getting fairly close to the end of Unit 1 in our new math curriculum. Watch for the Unit 1 study guide to come home later this week or early next week.
Science- We just took our weather test this past Thursday. The results were amazing! The tests will be sent home this Monday along with the other graded work.
Social Studies- We will continue our discussion of Christopher Columbus this week. We are currently reading a Reading A-Z book about his life and expeditions. We have had some excellent discussions regarding Columbus and the kids are taking notes in their journals about him.
That's it for now. Enjoy the weekend!
Mrs. Bennick
Friday, September 21, 2012
5B News for the Week of 9/24/12
Hello Parents and Students,
Here we are moving into the last week of September! Happy Fall. Time is flying by.
Just a reminder that CoGat testing will occur on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week for all 2nd and 5th graders.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: Unit 3 will be our focus this week. The spelling words for this week have been posted to the blog. Remember, pretests are on Mondays, tests are on Fridays.
Language Arts: We accomplished a lot this past week in reading, writing and grammar. Our writing workshop pieces are coming along nicely. Many groups have chosen to write scripts/plays and will perform them in front of the class. Other students are working diligently on writing essays, comic strips, recipes, and stories. Everyone has been working hard and showing great creativity. Possibly, later this week, some students and groups will be ready to present their projects. In reading, we will continue to discuss current events through our Time For Kids magazines. Our current TFK issue is about the upcoming Presidential election and we will finish discussing it on Monday followed by a quiz. During reading this week we will be making our own book hooks. We will also be doing a blurb pass, in which students read the back cover of a book and tell a quick blurb about it to inspire other kids to read it. Our forty book program seems to be going well for many of the students. They are keeping track of the books they read on their reading logs and are checking off the genre on their genre charts as they finish each book. Our read aloud book continues to be, Because of Mr. Terupt, and it is getting very good now. Something surprising is about to happen.
Math Accel: This week we finished stem and leaf plots and box and whisker plots. We watched a couple of very informative videos about creating these types of graphs and why they are useful. The students visited a couple of interactive websites to practice their skills with these graphs as well. They then created their own graphs either independently or in a group. All is going well in math. This week, we will begin doing research on the weather. The students will then learn about broken line graphs and will construct their own based on realistic weather data that they gather from their research....real life learning.
Science-We are just about finished with our first science unit, weather. The students have been doing some research on the laptops on various types of clouds. The students have defined the type of cloud, indicated what kind of weather that particular cloud brings, and sketched what the cloud looks like. They are required to research four different clouds. However, many students have opted to do even more cloud research at home for extra credit. The science weather test will be this Thursday. Study guides were sent home both via email and in your child's backpack.
Social Studies-About midweek, we will be switching over to social studies and our first topic of discussion will be Christopher Columbus. We will be using a couple of different books to introduce Columbus, one of them being Encounter by Jane Yolen and Howard Zin's, A People's History of the United States.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! As always, if you have any questions, please email me.
Mrs. Bennick
Here we are moving into the last week of September! Happy Fall. Time is flying by.
Just a reminder that CoGat testing will occur on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week for all 2nd and 5th graders.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: Unit 3 will be our focus this week. The spelling words for this week have been posted to the blog. Remember, pretests are on Mondays, tests are on Fridays.
Language Arts: We accomplished a lot this past week in reading, writing and grammar. Our writing workshop pieces are coming along nicely. Many groups have chosen to write scripts/plays and will perform them in front of the class. Other students are working diligently on writing essays, comic strips, recipes, and stories. Everyone has been working hard and showing great creativity. Possibly, later this week, some students and groups will be ready to present their projects. In reading, we will continue to discuss current events through our Time For Kids magazines. Our current TFK issue is about the upcoming Presidential election and we will finish discussing it on Monday followed by a quiz. During reading this week we will be making our own book hooks. We will also be doing a blurb pass, in which students read the back cover of a book and tell a quick blurb about it to inspire other kids to read it. Our forty book program seems to be going well for many of the students. They are keeping track of the books they read on their reading logs and are checking off the genre on their genre charts as they finish each book. Our read aloud book continues to be, Because of Mr. Terupt, and it is getting very good now. Something surprising is about to happen.
Math Accel: This week we finished stem and leaf plots and box and whisker plots. We watched a couple of very informative videos about creating these types of graphs and why they are useful. The students visited a couple of interactive websites to practice their skills with these graphs as well. They then created their own graphs either independently or in a group. All is going well in math. This week, we will begin doing research on the weather. The students will then learn about broken line graphs and will construct their own based on realistic weather data that they gather from their research....real life learning.
Science-We are just about finished with our first science unit, weather. The students have been doing some research on the laptops on various types of clouds. The students have defined the type of cloud, indicated what kind of weather that particular cloud brings, and sketched what the cloud looks like. They are required to research four different clouds. However, many students have opted to do even more cloud research at home for extra credit. The science weather test will be this Thursday. Study guides were sent home both via email and in your child's backpack.
Social Studies-About midweek, we will be switching over to social studies and our first topic of discussion will be Christopher Columbus. We will be using a couple of different books to introduce Columbus, one of them being Encounter by Jane Yolen and Howard Zin's, A People's History of the United States.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! As always, if you have any questions, please email me.
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, September 15, 2012
5B News for the Week of 9/17
Hello Parents!
It was wonderful to see many of you at curriculum night last Thursday evening. Thank you for coming out! Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: The new spelling words have been posted to the blog. Please take a look at them when you get a moment. The base words will always be posted on the left side, alternate words on the right. The spelling pretest will be on Monday morning and the spelling test will be on Friday.
Language Arts: This past week, we finished up our Fortunately books. We also participated in a written writing interview, similar to the reading interview we took a couple of weeks ago. The writing process for our writing workshop was introduced on Friday along with our new writing project. The students will have a choice as to what they want to write during writing workshop time over the next three weeks or so. We brainstormed many writing activities and they are very enthusiastic about all of their choices. Some are choosing to write scripts for plays, a book of recipes, a collection of lists, an essay, a compilation of poems, comics, etc. This should make writing fun for the students. In reading, we continued our class read aloud, Because of Mr. Terupt, and wrote summaries and letters to me about the chapters we covered. We also read and discussed our first Time For Kids magazine this week. TFK always sparks great conversation in the room! Reading conferences will be complete, with all students, on Monday. I just have three students left to conference with. This upcoming week we will read a story from our anthology entitled, We'll Never Forget You, Roberto Clemente. We will have a test on this story later in the week. We will also continue our grammar focus on nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and simple subjects over the next few weeks.
Math Accel.: We finished up our Histograms at the end of last week. We were able to spend some time on Friday in the computer lab playing math games, which the students always love! On Monday, we will begin Stem and Leaf Plots and then move into Box Plots and a refresher on landmarks...such as mean, median, mode, range, etc. Math class is going very well!
Science: After discussing the Scientific Method last Thursday and Friday, we got to test our hypotheses by going outside and doing the soda/Mentos experiment. It worked wonderfully! It was a lot of fun. We collected the data, analyzed it and came up with our conclusions. Ask your child about it! This week in science, we will begin the week discussing barometers and their uses. We will do a short experiment, with barometers, on Monday and then make our own. We will then learn how to read a barometer and how they are used to predict the weather. Fun times!
That's it for now. Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Bennick
It was wonderful to see many of you at curriculum night last Thursday evening. Thank you for coming out! Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Spelling: The new spelling words have been posted to the blog. Please take a look at them when you get a moment. The base words will always be posted on the left side, alternate words on the right. The spelling pretest will be on Monday morning and the spelling test will be on Friday.
Language Arts: This past week, we finished up our Fortunately books. We also participated in a written writing interview, similar to the reading interview we took a couple of weeks ago. The writing process for our writing workshop was introduced on Friday along with our new writing project. The students will have a choice as to what they want to write during writing workshop time over the next three weeks or so. We brainstormed many writing activities and they are very enthusiastic about all of their choices. Some are choosing to write scripts for plays, a book of recipes, a collection of lists, an essay, a compilation of poems, comics, etc. This should make writing fun for the students. In reading, we continued our class read aloud, Because of Mr. Terupt, and wrote summaries and letters to me about the chapters we covered. We also read and discussed our first Time For Kids magazine this week. TFK always sparks great conversation in the room! Reading conferences will be complete, with all students, on Monday. I just have three students left to conference with. This upcoming week we will read a story from our anthology entitled, We'll Never Forget You, Roberto Clemente. We will have a test on this story later in the week. We will also continue our grammar focus on nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and simple subjects over the next few weeks.
Math Accel.: We finished up our Histograms at the end of last week. We were able to spend some time on Friday in the computer lab playing math games, which the students always love! On Monday, we will begin Stem and Leaf Plots and then move into Box Plots and a refresher on landmarks...such as mean, median, mode, range, etc. Math class is going very well!
Science: After discussing the Scientific Method last Thursday and Friday, we got to test our hypotheses by going outside and doing the soda/Mentos experiment. It worked wonderfully! It was a lot of fun. We collected the data, analyzed it and came up with our conclusions. Ask your child about it! This week in science, we will begin the week discussing barometers and their uses. We will do a short experiment, with barometers, on Monday and then make our own. We will then learn how to read a barometer and how they are used to predict the weather. Fun times!
That's it for now. Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Bennick
Friday, September 7, 2012
5B News for the Week of 9/10/12
Hello Parents!
Curriculum Night/Parent Orientation will be held this Thursday, September 13th, from 6:30-8:30 pm. Please read the earlier posting on my blog, about this evening, for specific times. A letter was also sent home with your child about this evening. Hope to see you all there.
Also, the spelling lists have been posted. The pretest will be this Monday. If your child gets two words or less wrong on the pretest, he/she will be on the alternate list for the week. If they get more than two words wrong on the pretest, they will be on the base word list.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Language Arts-During language arts this week, we will continue our read aloud book entitled, Because of Mr. Terupt. The students are really enjoying this book. The author's second novel will be released in October and we are anxious to read it. The students have been reading their personal books and writing "letters" to me about them. I will soon begin to respond to these "letters" in their reading response journals. Individual reading conferences also started this week and will continue through next week. I have enjoyed chatting individually with the students about their books and their favorite genres. In writing, the students have been working diligently on their own Fortunately/Unfortunately books. They are coming along nicely. They should be ready for you to see at curriculum night.
Spelling- Spelling begins this week and the words have been posted on the blog. Check them out!
Math Accel.- We are moving right along in the new Common Core Math curriculum. This week, we discussed statistical questions and how they differ from non-statistical questions. The students formulated their own statistical questions and surveyed the population (students in our class). The next day, we plotted this data on our dot plots/line plots and then interpreted the data. We learned a lot of new vocabulary words related to these topics. On Monday, we will begin discussing histograms.
Science- We've been very active in science. We have been discussing the weather and how weather instruments are used and what their purpose is. We learned that an anemometer measures wind speed and we made our own. We then went outside to test them. They worked great! Then, we made weather vanes, which involved a lot of measuring. On Monday, we will be discussing states of matter and will be watching a short video on this topic. We will then move into air pressure and will be conducting an air pressure experiment either Tuesday or Wednesday.
That's it for now. Enjoy the week!
Mrs. Bennick
Curriculum Night/Parent Orientation will be held this Thursday, September 13th, from 6:30-8:30 pm. Please read the earlier posting on my blog, about this evening, for specific times. A letter was also sent home with your child about this evening. Hope to see you all there.
Also, the spelling lists have been posted. The pretest will be this Monday. If your child gets two words or less wrong on the pretest, he/she will be on the alternate list for the week. If they get more than two words wrong on the pretest, they will be on the base word list.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Language Arts-During language arts this week, we will continue our read aloud book entitled, Because of Mr. Terupt. The students are really enjoying this book. The author's second novel will be released in October and we are anxious to read it. The students have been reading their personal books and writing "letters" to me about them. I will soon begin to respond to these "letters" in their reading response journals. Individual reading conferences also started this week and will continue through next week. I have enjoyed chatting individually with the students about their books and their favorite genres. In writing, the students have been working diligently on their own Fortunately/Unfortunately books. They are coming along nicely. They should be ready for you to see at curriculum night.
Spelling- Spelling begins this week and the words have been posted on the blog. Check them out!
Math Accel.- We are moving right along in the new Common Core Math curriculum. This week, we discussed statistical questions and how they differ from non-statistical questions. The students formulated their own statistical questions and surveyed the population (students in our class). The next day, we plotted this data on our dot plots/line plots and then interpreted the data. We learned a lot of new vocabulary words related to these topics. On Monday, we will begin discussing histograms.
Science- We've been very active in science. We have been discussing the weather and how weather instruments are used and what their purpose is. We learned that an anemometer measures wind speed and we made our own. We then went outside to test them. They worked great! Then, we made weather vanes, which involved a lot of measuring. On Monday, we will be discussing states of matter and will be watching a short video on this topic. We will then move into air pressure and will be conducting an air pressure experiment either Tuesday or Wednesday.
That's it for now. Enjoy the week!
Mrs. Bennick
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
May Watts Parent Orientation/Curriculum Night
MAY WATTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
800 S. Whispering Hills Drive
Naperville, Illinois 60540
Phone: 630 428-6700
FAX: 630 428-6701
September 6, 2012
Dear Parents,
Welcome to a new and exciting school year. The opening of the 2012-13 year went very smoothly here at May Watts due to the hard work of the dedicated teachers, office staff and parents who contribute to the rich life of our school community.
On Thursday, September 13, 2012, you are invited to visit your child's teacher during Parent Orientation/Curriculum Night. This informational night is designed for parents only to attend. Each classroom teacher will make a presentation regarding the district's curriculum and will provide information specific to his or her classroom.
The following schedule should allow for parents of more than one May Watts student to visit more than one classroom. The schedule is as follows:
Parent Orientation/Curriculum Night Schedule:
Kindergarten through 5th grades, Session 1 6:30 – 6:55 p.m.
Whole School Session (CCS Math/Citizenship/CHAMPS/ Introduction of Specials teachers) in Gym 7:05 – 7:25 p.m.
Kindergarten through 5th grades, Session 2 7:35 – 8:00 p.m.
Please remember that due to the large number of parents in attendance it is not possible to discuss individual student progress. There will be a sign-up for conferences in November in the multi-purpose room on this night. (As a courtesy, those parents who have more than three students enrolled at Watts will be contacted by the office to set up their conference times.) The staff and I look forward to seeing you on September 13th.
Sincerely,
Brian LeCrone
Principal
Sunday, September 2, 2012
5B News for the Week of 9/3/12
Hello 5B Parents!
I hope that you are enjoying the long weekend. Just a reminder, there is no school on Monday, September 3rd, due to Labor Day and no school on Tuesday, September 4th due to Building Articulation Day for staff. School is back in session on Wednesday morning (late start).
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Language Arts: We will continue to discuss book genres and will be watching a very informative powerpoint about the different genres and subgenres. The students will then participate in an activity in which they will categorize books into the different genres. During this time, I will also begin having individual reading conferences with the students so that I can get an idea of the types of books they enjoy reading and how their fluency and comprehension skills are progressing. This week, I will also introduce a writing activity based on the book, Fortunately. The students will then begin writing their own version of this story.
Math Accel: Last week, the students took the Unit 1 pretest, which was quite difficult. Pretests are given so that I can get an idea of what skills the students may already know, so that I can form guided math groups within the classroom. Pretests will never be graded. Once I have gone through the pretests, I design my lessons based on the students' needs. We will start this week with a lesson from the Every Day Math Student Resource Book. The students will participate in a scavenger hunt in which they will work in groups to find which pages specific information is on. Moving forward, the first unit focuses on graphing. We will begin this unit studying line plots/dot plots.
Science: We just finished up our discussion of the layers of the atmosphere. The students were asked to take their layers of the atmosphere books home to work on them a little over the weekend. We will only have about 15 minutes to finish them up in class on Wednesday. Please return them on Wednesday as I would like to hang them up in the classroom. Next in science, we will be talking about weather instruments and what the different instruments do. The first instrument we will discuss is the anemometer. We will work in groups and make our own anemometers. After that, we will move onto barometers. We have had some great discussions about Hurricane Isaac. We have been following the storm on CNN daily and the students are really into it.
Spelling: We will begin spelling the week of September 10th....next week!
Have a great week everyone!
Mrs. Bennick
I hope that you are enjoying the long weekend. Just a reminder, there is no school on Monday, September 3rd, due to Labor Day and no school on Tuesday, September 4th due to Building Articulation Day for staff. School is back in session on Wednesday morning (late start).
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Language Arts: We will continue to discuss book genres and will be watching a very informative powerpoint about the different genres and subgenres. The students will then participate in an activity in which they will categorize books into the different genres. During this time, I will also begin having individual reading conferences with the students so that I can get an idea of the types of books they enjoy reading and how their fluency and comprehension skills are progressing. This week, I will also introduce a writing activity based on the book, Fortunately. The students will then begin writing their own version of this story.
Math Accel: Last week, the students took the Unit 1 pretest, which was quite difficult. Pretests are given so that I can get an idea of what skills the students may already know, so that I can form guided math groups within the classroom. Pretests will never be graded. Once I have gone through the pretests, I design my lessons based on the students' needs. We will start this week with a lesson from the Every Day Math Student Resource Book. The students will participate in a scavenger hunt in which they will work in groups to find which pages specific information is on. Moving forward, the first unit focuses on graphing. We will begin this unit studying line plots/dot plots.
Science: We just finished up our discussion of the layers of the atmosphere. The students were asked to take their layers of the atmosphere books home to work on them a little over the weekend. We will only have about 15 minutes to finish them up in class on Wednesday. Please return them on Wednesday as I would like to hang them up in the classroom. Next in science, we will be talking about weather instruments and what the different instruments do. The first instrument we will discuss is the anemometer. We will work in groups and make our own anemometers. After that, we will move onto barometers. We have had some great discussions about Hurricane Isaac. We have been following the storm on CNN daily and the students are really into it.
Spelling: We will begin spelling the week of September 10th....next week!
Have a great week everyone!
Mrs. Bennick
Sunday, August 26, 2012
5B Weekly News
Hello 5B parents,
Here's a snapshot of what's going on in 5B this week. Remember, Monday night is the May Watt's Ice Cream Social from 6:00-7:30. I will be there. I hope to see you!
Language Arts: This year, we are fortunate to have a good chunk of time which will allow us to do many things with reading and writing. We plan to read 40 chapter books! Yes, that's right. We will be focusing on many different genres in hopes of inspiring the students to read, read, read! This will give the students the opportunity to choose their own books (with the help of me and Mrs. May) and conference with me on a regular basis. Also, the students will be keeping a reading journal in which they will write "letters" to me about their books. Forty books is just a goal. Some students will surpass it, and others may not reach it. Other things we will be doing during this time will include skill practice, read alouds, silent reading, grammar focus, and guided reading groups. This will begin next week as we will be checking out books from the library this Wednesday. THIS week in language arts, we will be making a couple of class books related to some read alouds that I will be doing during class.
Spelling: We will begin spelling the week of September 10th. This is due to the short week next week.
Spelling pretests will be given on Monday mornings. If you get more than two words wrong on the pretest, you will be on the base word list. If you get no more than two words wrong on the pretest, you will be assigned the alternate list. Both lists will be posted on my blog weekly. Base words will be on the left, followed by the alternate word on the right. I will go over this with the class before we start on September 10th. Tests are on Friday mornings. We will have a spelling activity each morning to start our day. Students should be expected to study their lists nightly for at least 15 minutes. I have found the 5th grade words to be somewhat challenging and some students who have never studied for spelling in the past, find themselves studying this year. If you find your child struggling on the base list, please let me know and I will modify their list.
Science/Social Studies: In 5th grade we alternate between science and social studies throughout the year. As a team, we have decided to start the year teaching science and our first unit will be weather. We will begin discussing types of weather which will lead into the layers of the atmosphere. We will watch a couple of weather videos this week on the SmartBoard and then begin a project on the layers. We will discuss weather for 4-5 weeks, and then begin our first unit in social studies.
Math Accel.: Mr. Vaid and I will be teaching Math Accel. this year. Mr. Schumann and Ms. Happy will be teaching regular 5th grade math. We will begin switching for math this Wednesday. Math will not look the same as it has in the past. EDM (Every Day Math) will no longer be taught daily, it will only be used as a resource, along with many others. Our district has adopted the Math Common Core Standards. This means that teachers have been given a list of standards that we will be teaching and using a variety of different resources to teach each skill. Do not expect to get homework on a nightly basis as before. We will be pretesting and then using the information from pretests to design our instruction for guided math groups. We will still use quizzes, tests, exit slips, study guides, etc. for math assessments. Mr. LeCrone will be going over this in more detail at curriculum night.
I know that this is a lot of information. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you and have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Bennick
Here's a snapshot of what's going on in 5B this week. Remember, Monday night is the May Watt's Ice Cream Social from 6:00-7:30. I will be there. I hope to see you!
Language Arts: This year, we are fortunate to have a good chunk of time which will allow us to do many things with reading and writing. We plan to read 40 chapter books! Yes, that's right. We will be focusing on many different genres in hopes of inspiring the students to read, read, read! This will give the students the opportunity to choose their own books (with the help of me and Mrs. May) and conference with me on a regular basis. Also, the students will be keeping a reading journal in which they will write "letters" to me about their books. Forty books is just a goal. Some students will surpass it, and others may not reach it. Other things we will be doing during this time will include skill practice, read alouds, silent reading, grammar focus, and guided reading groups. This will begin next week as we will be checking out books from the library this Wednesday. THIS week in language arts, we will be making a couple of class books related to some read alouds that I will be doing during class.
Spelling: We will begin spelling the week of September 10th. This is due to the short week next week.
Spelling pretests will be given on Monday mornings. If you get more than two words wrong on the pretest, you will be on the base word list. If you get no more than two words wrong on the pretest, you will be assigned the alternate list. Both lists will be posted on my blog weekly. Base words will be on the left, followed by the alternate word on the right. I will go over this with the class before we start on September 10th. Tests are on Friday mornings. We will have a spelling activity each morning to start our day. Students should be expected to study their lists nightly for at least 15 minutes. I have found the 5th grade words to be somewhat challenging and some students who have never studied for spelling in the past, find themselves studying this year. If you find your child struggling on the base list, please let me know and I will modify their list.
Science/Social Studies: In 5th grade we alternate between science and social studies throughout the year. As a team, we have decided to start the year teaching science and our first unit will be weather. We will begin discussing types of weather which will lead into the layers of the atmosphere. We will watch a couple of weather videos this week on the SmartBoard and then begin a project on the layers. We will discuss weather for 4-5 weeks, and then begin our first unit in social studies.
Math Accel.: Mr. Vaid and I will be teaching Math Accel. this year. Mr. Schumann and Ms. Happy will be teaching regular 5th grade math. We will begin switching for math this Wednesday. Math will not look the same as it has in the past. EDM (Every Day Math) will no longer be taught daily, it will only be used as a resource, along with many others. Our district has adopted the Math Common Core Standards. This means that teachers have been given a list of standards that we will be teaching and using a variety of different resources to teach each skill. Do not expect to get homework on a nightly basis as before. We will be pretesting and then using the information from pretests to design our instruction for guided math groups. We will still use quizzes, tests, exit slips, study guides, etc. for math assessments. Mr. LeCrone will be going over this in more detail at curriculum night.
I know that this is a lot of information. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you and have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Bennick
Monday, August 13, 2012
Welcome to the 2012-2013 School Year!
Welcome to the new school year in 5B! I trust that you all enjoyed a wonderful Summer vacation and are anxious to get this school year rolling! I look forward to meeting all of you very soon! Please check my blog often as I will post important information on it. See you all soon and enjoy the last few days of Summer break!
Mrs. Bennick :-)
Mrs. Bennick :-)
Monday, May 28, 2012
5B News for the Week of 05/29/2012
Hello Parents:
Here we are. The last week of school. It is amazing how quickly this school year went by.
This week we plan to finish up some things that we have been working on over the past couple of weeks. First, we will finish presenting our inventions. We will continue to discuss the Civil War in social studies and finish up a brochure that we're working on in reading about the rainforest in Ecuador.
Remember, on Tuesday, the students can bring in a pillow or stuffed animal. Grades 3,4 & 5 will be watching a movie on Tuesday morning as part of their Citizenship Celebration. Also, we will visit our kindergarten book buddies for the last time this week.
It has been a great year in 5B. I wish you all a safe, fun and relaxing summer!
Mrs. Bennick
Here we are. The last week of school. It is amazing how quickly this school year went by.
This week we plan to finish up some things that we have been working on over the past couple of weeks. First, we will finish presenting our inventions. We will continue to discuss the Civil War in social studies and finish up a brochure that we're working on in reading about the rainforest in Ecuador.
Remember, on Tuesday, the students can bring in a pillow or stuffed animal. Grades 3,4 & 5 will be watching a movie on Tuesday morning as part of their Citizenship Celebration. Also, we will visit our kindergarten book buddies for the last time this week.
It has been a great year in 5B. I wish you all a safe, fun and relaxing summer!
Mrs. Bennick
Friday, May 18, 2012
5B News for the Week of 05/21/2012
Hello Parents & Students:
Here's what's going on in 5B this week!
Reading: During reading this week, we will be working on a combination of things. First, we will be exploring the picture book, Courage, by Bernard Waber. We will read it, list some awesome kinds of courage and everyday kinds of courage. We will discuss the types of courage that we have read about in books this year. Finally, we will write our own version of Courage in which we will list ways that we have personally shown courage. We will also continue to read our Time For Kids magazines which focus on current events. We may need to squeeze in some social studies time during reading to tie up some loose ends.
Flex: We will be flexing on Monday and Tuesday this week. We will be watching a couple of interesting videos that tie into the topics we've discussed these past few weeks. We will also have some game time to celebrate our reading successes!
Writing: We will be using our reading time to do research on inventions that changed our lives. During social studies this week, we have been talking about the Industrial Revolution and how inventions during that time changed our lives. The students will be presenting information about at least one of the inventions that they researched.
Math Accel.: We will be finishing up Unit 9 soon and students will be receiving a study guide on Monday. The Unit 9 test will be on Thursday of this week.
Science: We are moving right along with our microscope unit. On Tuesday this week, the students will be quizzed on the parts of a microscope. They have a study guide and we have also been reviewing it in class. This week, the students learned how to properly prepare a slide for viewing. We cut out tiny letters from papers and magazines and placed them onto the divet on the slide. We used a medicine dropper to put water on it. Then, we placed the protective cover on top. The students practiced viewing the speciman through the lens, which wasn't always easy to find. Next week, we will continue to view specimans under the lens which will include hair, thread, and an onion. This is a fun unit. The kids are really enjoying it!
Social Studies: We finished up Chapter 12 this week. We will be having an open book test on Tuesday.
It's a packed week in 5B! We're getting there! Enjoy the weekend!!
Mrs. Bennick
Here's what's going on in 5B this week!
Reading: During reading this week, we will be working on a combination of things. First, we will be exploring the picture book, Courage, by Bernard Waber. We will read it, list some awesome kinds of courage and everyday kinds of courage. We will discuss the types of courage that we have read about in books this year. Finally, we will write our own version of Courage in which we will list ways that we have personally shown courage. We will also continue to read our Time For Kids magazines which focus on current events. We may need to squeeze in some social studies time during reading to tie up some loose ends.
Flex: We will be flexing on Monday and Tuesday this week. We will be watching a couple of interesting videos that tie into the topics we've discussed these past few weeks. We will also have some game time to celebrate our reading successes!
Writing: We will be using our reading time to do research on inventions that changed our lives. During social studies this week, we have been talking about the Industrial Revolution and how inventions during that time changed our lives. The students will be presenting information about at least one of the inventions that they researched.
Math Accel.: We will be finishing up Unit 9 soon and students will be receiving a study guide on Monday. The Unit 9 test will be on Thursday of this week.
Science: We are moving right along with our microscope unit. On Tuesday this week, the students will be quizzed on the parts of a microscope. They have a study guide and we have also been reviewing it in class. This week, the students learned how to properly prepare a slide for viewing. We cut out tiny letters from papers and magazines and placed them onto the divet on the slide. We used a medicine dropper to put water on it. Then, we placed the protective cover on top. The students practiced viewing the speciman through the lens, which wasn't always easy to find. Next week, we will continue to view specimans under the lens which will include hair, thread, and an onion. This is a fun unit. The kids are really enjoying it!
Social Studies: We finished up Chapter 12 this week. We will be having an open book test on Tuesday.
It's a packed week in 5B! We're getting there! Enjoy the weekend!!
Mrs. Bennick
THANK YOU STUDENTS AND PARENTS!
Dear Parents and Students,
Words cannot express how grateful I am to all of you for making Teacher Appreciation Week so special for me. Throughout the week, students continued to shower me with thoughtful notes, flowers, and kind words.
It was overwhelming! Every morning when I arrived at work, a special gift awaited me on my desk. I felt like the luckiest girl in the World! The gift basket from the students was amazing! It included many of my favorite things such as Cub's apparel and memorabilia, coffee, travel mug, peanut butter everything :-), a candle, a book light, and a gift card. THANK YOU! You know me so well! I took a picture of the giftbasket and posted it on the blog for all to see. Again, I can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me this school year.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Bennick
Words cannot express how grateful I am to all of you for making Teacher Appreciation Week so special for me. Throughout the week, students continued to shower me with thoughtful notes, flowers, and kind words.
It was overwhelming! Every morning when I arrived at work, a special gift awaited me on my desk. I felt like the luckiest girl in the World! The gift basket from the students was amazing! It included many of my favorite things such as Cub's apparel and memorabilia, coffee, travel mug, peanut butter everything :-), a candle, a book light, and a gift card. THANK YOU! You know me so well! I took a picture of the giftbasket and posted it on the blog for all to see. Again, I can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me this school year.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, May 12, 2012
5B News for the Week of 05/14/2012
Hello Parents:
Just a reminder, there is no school for students this Monday, May 14th, due to a School Improvement Planning Day. School resumes on Tuesday for students.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Reading: During reading this week, we will be presenting our Lewis & Clark power point presentations and prezis. The students have been researching Lewis & Clark's route, their encounters with the Native Americans and the Trail of Tears. These presentations will take at least two days during reading, maybe longer. When we have completed that, we will begin reading another story in our anthology entitled, Name That American. We will be focusing on cause and effect and vocabulary usage.
Flex: During flex. this week, we will be focusing on current events. We will be discussing an article about animals and how they interact with people and become their best buddies. Time for Kids' magazine articles always stimulate great classroom discussions.
Writing: We will continue to work on social studies during our writing time this week. We are currently about midway through Chapter 12. We recently discussed the Trail of Tears and watched a video about this topic on Friday. We also discussed Andrew Jackson's Presidency and the decisions made by the government during this time in history.
Math Accel.: We finished lesson 9.3 on Friday and will begin lesson 9.4 on Tuesday. Expect either an exit slip or short quiz on Thursday or Friday this week.
Science: This week we will begin utilizing the microscopes. First, we will be learning the parts of the microscope and how to use them. Later in the week, we will be having a quiz on the parts of the microscope. Your child will be coming home with a study sheet. When the students are comfortable using the microscopes, we will begin observing various cells.
Have a great week. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mrs. Bennick
Just a reminder, there is no school for students this Monday, May 14th, due to a School Improvement Planning Day. School resumes on Tuesday for students.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week:
Reading: During reading this week, we will be presenting our Lewis & Clark power point presentations and prezis. The students have been researching Lewis & Clark's route, their encounters with the Native Americans and the Trail of Tears. These presentations will take at least two days during reading, maybe longer. When we have completed that, we will begin reading another story in our anthology entitled, Name That American. We will be focusing on cause and effect and vocabulary usage.
Flex: During flex. this week, we will be focusing on current events. We will be discussing an article about animals and how they interact with people and become their best buddies. Time for Kids' magazine articles always stimulate great classroom discussions.
Writing: We will continue to work on social studies during our writing time this week. We are currently about midway through Chapter 12. We recently discussed the Trail of Tears and watched a video about this topic on Friday. We also discussed Andrew Jackson's Presidency and the decisions made by the government during this time in history.
Math Accel.: We finished lesson 9.3 on Friday and will begin lesson 9.4 on Tuesday. Expect either an exit slip or short quiz on Thursday or Friday this week.
Science: This week we will begin utilizing the microscopes. First, we will be learning the parts of the microscope and how to use them. Later in the week, we will be having a quiz on the parts of the microscope. Your child will be coming home with a study sheet. When the students are comfortable using the microscopes, we will begin observing various cells.
Have a great week. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, May 5, 2012
5B News for the Week of 05/07/2012
Hello Parents:
Last week proved to be a very productive week in 5B. We got a lot accomplished! Great effort shown by all of the students. Well-done!
This week we will be visiting Hill Middle School on Wednesday morning. The students are looking forward to this trip! Also, on Wednesday afternoon, the students will be participating in Jump Rope for Heart.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week.
Reading- During reading this week, we will be reading at least one story from our anthology. One story is about Lewis and Clark and it coincides with what we're studying in social studies currently. Another story is about the American West. We will also try to fit in at least one TFK, which always focuses on current events.
Writing-This week in writing we will be finishing up our lunch/recess graphs and summaries. Following this activity, we will begin a research activity on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The students will be researching the route that Lewis & Clark took and will be making advertisements to convince people to move West in America.
Math Accel: The students took their Unit 8 test last Friday. On Monday, we will begin Unit 9. We will also continue to work on some group problem-solving activities.
Social Studies: We will be taking our open-book Chapter 11 test this Monday. On Tuesday, we will begin Chapter 12 and continue working our way to the Civil War. Next week, we will add science back into our day as the microscopes become available.
Enjoy your week! As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to email me.
Mrs. Bennick
Last week proved to be a very productive week in 5B. We got a lot accomplished! Great effort shown by all of the students. Well-done!
This week we will be visiting Hill Middle School on Wednesday morning. The students are looking forward to this trip! Also, on Wednesday afternoon, the students will be participating in Jump Rope for Heart.
Here's what's going on in 5B this week.
Reading- During reading this week, we will be reading at least one story from our anthology. One story is about Lewis and Clark and it coincides with what we're studying in social studies currently. Another story is about the American West. We will also try to fit in at least one TFK, which always focuses on current events.
Writing-This week in writing we will be finishing up our lunch/recess graphs and summaries. Following this activity, we will begin a research activity on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The students will be researching the route that Lewis & Clark took and will be making advertisements to convince people to move West in America.
Math Accel: The students took their Unit 8 test last Friday. On Monday, we will begin Unit 9. We will also continue to work on some group problem-solving activities.
Social Studies: We will be taking our open-book Chapter 11 test this Monday. On Tuesday, we will begin Chapter 12 and continue working our way to the Civil War. Next week, we will add science back into our day as the microscopes become available.
Enjoy your week! As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to email me.
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, April 28, 2012
5B News for the Week of 04/30/2012
Hello Parents,
Here we are going into the last full month of school, May. We only have twenty something days of school remaining, however, there's a lot of material left to cover. Please remind your child to try and stay focused as best they can during these final weeks. We're all getting a little antsy at this point. Thank you.
Here's what's going on this week in 5B:
Reading: We completed our character memoirs for the book, Because of Mr. Terupt. The kids did a great job on these and they are currently hanging up in the classroom. However, we did not get to our environmental project of making a trash monster, so we will work on this during the upcoming week. Also, I plan to get through at least one TFK this week for our current event focus.
Flex: During flex. we will be discussing the book entitled, Miss Rumphius. This book describes how a woman makes the World a more beautiful place through her volunteer work and travels. It goes along with what we have been discussing with keeping our World clean. We will make predictions, discuss the woman's successes, and things that we want to achieve in our own lives.
Writing: We wrote summaries of our survey findings about the lunch/recess topic. Some students still need to finish this up. Other students will be creating a circle graph to display our survey results. The classroom debate about this topic was intense! It was awesome! The students were really engaged and had very strong feelings one way or another. Ask your child about it. It was very interesting!
Math Accel: We completed lesson 8.10 yesterday. Look for a study guide to come home on Monday covering Unit 8. The Unit 8 test will be on Friday of this week. We will also be reviewing the study guide throughout the week so if your child has any questions or concerns, we will cover it prior to Friday's test.
The students really stepped it up for the last quiz which covered 8.4-8.7. Many students had a perfect paper and those who didn't still received a high score. I appreciate their efforts! Great job!
Science: Our next unit of study in science will be microscopes which will begin in about two weeks. Mr. Schumann's and Miss Pedersen's classes will be using the microscopes first. Then, they will pass them on to 5B and 5V to use. In the meantime, we will be getting a double dose of social studies.
Social Studies: Currently, we are on lesson 11.3 in our social studies book. We will continue on in Chapter 11 which discusses the Westward Movement, Lewis & Clark, etc. Our plan is to get as far along in the book as possible by the end of the year. We have some social studies enthusiasts in the classroom. Our discussions have been incredible!
Have a great week, everyone! Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Mrs. Bennick
Here we are going into the last full month of school, May. We only have twenty something days of school remaining, however, there's a lot of material left to cover. Please remind your child to try and stay focused as best they can during these final weeks. We're all getting a little antsy at this point. Thank you.
Here's what's going on this week in 5B:
Reading: We completed our character memoirs for the book, Because of Mr. Terupt. The kids did a great job on these and they are currently hanging up in the classroom. However, we did not get to our environmental project of making a trash monster, so we will work on this during the upcoming week. Also, I plan to get through at least one TFK this week for our current event focus.
Flex: During flex. we will be discussing the book entitled, Miss Rumphius. This book describes how a woman makes the World a more beautiful place through her volunteer work and travels. It goes along with what we have been discussing with keeping our World clean. We will make predictions, discuss the woman's successes, and things that we want to achieve in our own lives.
Writing: We wrote summaries of our survey findings about the lunch/recess topic. Some students still need to finish this up. Other students will be creating a circle graph to display our survey results. The classroom debate about this topic was intense! It was awesome! The students were really engaged and had very strong feelings one way or another. Ask your child about it. It was very interesting!
Math Accel: We completed lesson 8.10 yesterday. Look for a study guide to come home on Monday covering Unit 8. The Unit 8 test will be on Friday of this week. We will also be reviewing the study guide throughout the week so if your child has any questions or concerns, we will cover it prior to Friday's test.
The students really stepped it up for the last quiz which covered 8.4-8.7. Many students had a perfect paper and those who didn't still received a high score. I appreciate their efforts! Great job!
Science: Our next unit of study in science will be microscopes which will begin in about two weeks. Mr. Schumann's and Miss Pedersen's classes will be using the microscopes first. Then, they will pass them on to 5B and 5V to use. In the meantime, we will be getting a double dose of social studies.
Social Studies: Currently, we are on lesson 11.3 in our social studies book. We will continue on in Chapter 11 which discusses the Westward Movement, Lewis & Clark, etc. Our plan is to get as far along in the book as possible by the end of the year. We have some social studies enthusiasts in the classroom. Our discussions have been incredible!
Have a great week, everyone! Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, April 21, 2012
5B News for the Week of 04/23/2012
Hello Parents:
Here's what's going on in 5B this week. It's going to be a busy one! Just a reminder, we do have our field trip to the WVHS Planetarium on Monday. We plan to leave Watts at about 11:00 and return at 1:00 just in time for lunch.
Reading: During reading this week we will be doing a couple of different things. First, we will be completing an Earth Day project in which the students will be going outside to pick up trash (using rubber gloves) and will then make the trash into a "Trash Monster", in groups. The groups will then formulate a memoir/adventure story about their "Trash Monster" and write their opinions. These will be shared in front of the class. We will also be reviewing the book, Because of Mr. Terupt, to continue our memoirs about each character. We had minimal time to work on this activity this week, due to the amount of time we spent on science.
Writing: Our focus in writing this week will continue to be on writing memoirs. This coincides with what we're doing in reading....cross-curricular work. Also, another project that we will be doing is debating the topic of whether or not it's more beneficial to have lunch or recess first. We will do some research on this topic, formulate some questions and then actually observe/interview some students during recess and lunch. After compiling the data, the students will then write a summary of their findings.
Math Accel: Currently, we just completed lesson 8.8 in our Math Journals. We will continue to move forward in Unit 8 this next week. We should complete this Unit late in the week. Look for a study guide to come home as we near completion of the Unit. Also, I purchased a couple of math problem-solving books and have just started to use them with the students. The students will be working in groups to complete some of these problems and will share their answers. We have a quiz on Tuesday that will cover lessons 8.4 through 8.7.
Science: We have been very busy in science this week! We have taken pages and pages of notes on the many informative videos that we have watched. Also, the students have added many science vocabulary words to their journals. We completed our study guide yesterday and I encouraged the students to review their notes and especially their study guides for the upcoming science test. The test will be on Tuesday and the questions will be very similar to what they have on the study guide. Study!!
Social Studies: We finished Chapter 10 mid week and then we took a couple of days to review. The social studies test will be on Monday and it will be open book. The students should have brought home their social studies books to look over Chapter 10. The test is lengthy and by reviewing the chapter, it will help them to locate the information more efficiently. After Monday's test, we will move on to the Westward Movement.
Have a wonderful week! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mrs. Bennick
Here's what's going on in 5B this week. It's going to be a busy one! Just a reminder, we do have our field trip to the WVHS Planetarium on Monday. We plan to leave Watts at about 11:00 and return at 1:00 just in time for lunch.
Reading: During reading this week we will be doing a couple of different things. First, we will be completing an Earth Day project in which the students will be going outside to pick up trash (using rubber gloves) and will then make the trash into a "Trash Monster", in groups. The groups will then formulate a memoir/adventure story about their "Trash Monster" and write their opinions. These will be shared in front of the class. We will also be reviewing the book, Because of Mr. Terupt, to continue our memoirs about each character. We had minimal time to work on this activity this week, due to the amount of time we spent on science.
Writing: Our focus in writing this week will continue to be on writing memoirs. This coincides with what we're doing in reading....cross-curricular work. Also, another project that we will be doing is debating the topic of whether or not it's more beneficial to have lunch or recess first. We will do some research on this topic, formulate some questions and then actually observe/interview some students during recess and lunch. After compiling the data, the students will then write a summary of their findings.
Math Accel: Currently, we just completed lesson 8.8 in our Math Journals. We will continue to move forward in Unit 8 this next week. We should complete this Unit late in the week. Look for a study guide to come home as we near completion of the Unit. Also, I purchased a couple of math problem-solving books and have just started to use them with the students. The students will be working in groups to complete some of these problems and will share their answers. We have a quiz on Tuesday that will cover lessons 8.4 through 8.7.
Science: We have been very busy in science this week! We have taken pages and pages of notes on the many informative videos that we have watched. Also, the students have added many science vocabulary words to their journals. We completed our study guide yesterday and I encouraged the students to review their notes and especially their study guides for the upcoming science test. The test will be on Tuesday and the questions will be very similar to what they have on the study guide. Study!!
Social Studies: We finished Chapter 10 mid week and then we took a couple of days to review. The social studies test will be on Monday and it will be open book. The students should have brought home their social studies books to look over Chapter 10. The test is lengthy and by reviewing the chapter, it will help them to locate the information more efficiently. After Monday's test, we will move on to the Westward Movement.
Have a wonderful week! As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, April 14, 2012
5B News for the Week of 04/16/2012
Hello Parents:
Here's what's going on this week in 5B:
Reading: Our focus will be on non-fiction this week. First, we will be tying up a couple of loose ends such as reading the story entitled, The World of William Joyce Scrapbook. We will focus on word analysis and vocabulary strategies. Midweek, we will be taking a comprehension test on this story which will be open book. We will also review a couple of TFKs for our current event focus.
Flex: Stars will be our focus this week for science. We are creating a science journal in which the students are adding science vocabulary. They are writing the definition of the words, drawing a small illustration to describe it, and writing a brief description. The students have also started to take notes on the various science videos that we have been watching. Up to this point, we have studied the solar system, the sun, star sizes and distances and colors of stars. This week our focus will be on star birth and death, galaxies and constellations. We will be watching a couple of awesome videos this week on The Milky Way.
Writing: During writing this week, we will begin writing our six word memoirs. First, we will look at some examples of six word memoirs so that we can get a better understanding of what they are. Then, the students will write six word memoirs for characters from a shared reading experience. For 5B, we will be writing our memoirs based on characters from a read aloud book that we read earlier this year entitled, Because of Mr. Terupt.
Math Accel.: PA math testing results were mailed home on Friday. You should be receiving them in the next day or so. This week in math, we will continue in Unit 8, which focuses on proportions. Currently, we are on 8.5. We are reading food labels and determining percentages from these labels based on our proportions.
Social Studies: We will be finishing up Chapter 10 late this week. Most likely, there will be an open book test on Chapter 10 the week of the 23rd. Then, we will move onto the Westward Movement.
Have a wonderful week! If you have any questions or concerns, please email me.
Thank you!
Mrs. Bennick
Here's what's going on this week in 5B:
Reading: Our focus will be on non-fiction this week. First, we will be tying up a couple of loose ends such as reading the story entitled, The World of William Joyce Scrapbook. We will focus on word analysis and vocabulary strategies. Midweek, we will be taking a comprehension test on this story which will be open book. We will also review a couple of TFKs for our current event focus.
Flex: Stars will be our focus this week for science. We are creating a science journal in which the students are adding science vocabulary. They are writing the definition of the words, drawing a small illustration to describe it, and writing a brief description. The students have also started to take notes on the various science videos that we have been watching. Up to this point, we have studied the solar system, the sun, star sizes and distances and colors of stars. This week our focus will be on star birth and death, galaxies and constellations. We will be watching a couple of awesome videos this week on The Milky Way.
Writing: During writing this week, we will begin writing our six word memoirs. First, we will look at some examples of six word memoirs so that we can get a better understanding of what they are. Then, the students will write six word memoirs for characters from a shared reading experience. For 5B, we will be writing our memoirs based on characters from a read aloud book that we read earlier this year entitled, Because of Mr. Terupt.
Math Accel.: PA math testing results were mailed home on Friday. You should be receiving them in the next day or so. This week in math, we will continue in Unit 8, which focuses on proportions. Currently, we are on 8.5. We are reading food labels and determining percentages from these labels based on our proportions.
Social Studies: We will be finishing up Chapter 10 late this week. Most likely, there will be an open book test on Chapter 10 the week of the 23rd. Then, we will move onto the Westward Movement.
Have a wonderful week! If you have any questions or concerns, please email me.
Thank you!
Mrs. Bennick
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Proofs of Residency
Parents,
Please send in three proofs of residency at your earliest convenience. These need to be obtained in order for you to register your child at Hill Middle School.
Thank you!
Mrs. Bennick
Please send in three proofs of residency at your earliest convenience. These need to be obtained in order for you to register your child at Hill Middle School.
Thank you!
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, April 7, 2012
5B News for the Week of 04/09/2012
Hello Parents,
I hope that you are all enjoying the long weekend. Here's what's going on this week in 5B:
Reading: We will have a variety of things going on in reading this week. First, we will continue to analyze songs as poems. We're having a great time doing this. Thanks to all of the suggestions! We will also continue to discuss metaphors, similes, symbolism, hyperbole, and any other figurative language that we come across. Next, we will read a story from our anthology entitled, William Joyce and the Scrapbook. We will be working on vocabulary development and comprehension. We will have an open book test on this story at the end of the week. If time allows, we will also discuss non-fiction using Time For Kids.
Flex: During flex., we will be focusing on science. We will be learning about stars including star birth and death, hydrogen to helium conversion and different types of galaxies and constellations. This is in preparation for our upcoming field trip to the Waubonsie Valley High School Planetarium.
Writing: During writing, we will continue to write free verse poetry. Mrs. Dunafin, the music teacher, will be working with the kids to have them turn one of their poems into a song. They will be using the ukulele to do this. The poems should follow a verse, chorus, verse pattern.
Math Accel.: During math, we will continue working on Unit 8. Currently, we are on lesson 8.4. We will have a short quiz on Tuesday that will cover lessons 8.1-8.3.
Social Studies: On Monday, we will be discussing Shay's Rebellion and a weak government which is the beginning of Chapter 10. On Tuesday, we will be having an open book test on Chapter 9. Please have your child read through Chapter 9 this weekend.
Report cards went home Thursday. Please sign and return the envelope next week.
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Bennick
I hope that you are all enjoying the long weekend. Here's what's going on this week in 5B:
Reading: We will have a variety of things going on in reading this week. First, we will continue to analyze songs as poems. We're having a great time doing this. Thanks to all of the suggestions! We will also continue to discuss metaphors, similes, symbolism, hyperbole, and any other figurative language that we come across. Next, we will read a story from our anthology entitled, William Joyce and the Scrapbook. We will be working on vocabulary development and comprehension. We will have an open book test on this story at the end of the week. If time allows, we will also discuss non-fiction using Time For Kids.
Flex: During flex., we will be focusing on science. We will be learning about stars including star birth and death, hydrogen to helium conversion and different types of galaxies and constellations. This is in preparation for our upcoming field trip to the Waubonsie Valley High School Planetarium.
Writing: During writing, we will continue to write free verse poetry. Mrs. Dunafin, the music teacher, will be working with the kids to have them turn one of their poems into a song. They will be using the ukulele to do this. The poems should follow a verse, chorus, verse pattern.
Math Accel.: During math, we will continue working on Unit 8. Currently, we are on lesson 8.4. We will have a short quiz on Tuesday that will cover lessons 8.1-8.3.
Social Studies: On Monday, we will be discussing Shay's Rebellion and a weak government which is the beginning of Chapter 10. On Tuesday, we will be having an open book test on Chapter 9. Please have your child read through Chapter 9 this weekend.
Report cards went home Thursday. Please sign and return the envelope next week.
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Bennick
Saturday, March 31, 2012
5B News for the Week of 04/02/2012
Welcome back! I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Spring Break. Here's what's going on this week in 5B:
Reading: To start the week, we will be attending a bike assembly. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will continue to analyze poetry and begin to write our own poetry. Later in the week, we will be listening to various songs and analyzing them. This will continue into next week as well.
Flex: During flex. we will continue to discuss communities and neighborhoods. This topic was briefly introduced to the students the day before Spring Break. The students will be designing a folder that will include components of a community and will share them with others in the group late in the week. This was a popular project that 5B just completed and I thought my flex. students would also enjoy it. However, it is a different topic.
Writing: We will continue writing poetry during our writing time. The students will read their poems aloud and then decide which of their poems is the best to display on the bulletin board in the hallway. We will also be writing six word memoirs...always a fun activity.
Math Accel: We will continue in Unit 8 which will cover rates and proportions. We will also be participating in a fun activity which came from a book we just recently read in class entitled, Because of Mr. Terupt. The activity will include going outside (weather permitting) to estimate how many blades of grass are in May Watts' field. The students will be working in groups. The students will need to figure out a way to find the area of the field and approximately how many blades of grass are in it.
Social Studies: We will continue our discussion of African Americans and the Revolution, patriots of war and the Constitution.
Have a great week, everyone!
Mrs. Bennick
Reading: To start the week, we will be attending a bike assembly. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will continue to analyze poetry and begin to write our own poetry. Later in the week, we will be listening to various songs and analyzing them. This will continue into next week as well.
Flex: During flex. we will continue to discuss communities and neighborhoods. This topic was briefly introduced to the students the day before Spring Break. The students will be designing a folder that will include components of a community and will share them with others in the group late in the week. This was a popular project that 5B just completed and I thought my flex. students would also enjoy it. However, it is a different topic.
Writing: We will continue writing poetry during our writing time. The students will read their poems aloud and then decide which of their poems is the best to display on the bulletin board in the hallway. We will also be writing six word memoirs...always a fun activity.
Math Accel: We will continue in Unit 8 which will cover rates and proportions. We will also be participating in a fun activity which came from a book we just recently read in class entitled, Because of Mr. Terupt. The activity will include going outside (weather permitting) to estimate how many blades of grass are in May Watts' field. The students will be working in groups. The students will need to figure out a way to find the area of the field and approximately how many blades of grass are in it.
Social Studies: We will continue our discussion of African Americans and the Revolution, patriots of war and the Constitution.
Have a great week, everyone!
Mrs. Bennick
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