Look what we know about verbs!

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A Break is Almost Here!

Last week we began an in class project that will continue through the rest of the quarter. Students are researching either an alternative energy source, electric or hybrid car, or different types of waste and recycling.

We began the research process and students will be finishing up their research when we return from Thanksgiving Break. From this research they will be writing an informative paragraph in Language Arts class followed by a persuasive paragraph in Writer's Workshop. They will be publishing their work and creating a short Public Service Announcement.

This week we will be completing the Unit 4 Vocabulary and Spelling Quiz. Also, the students had their first assignment from their Newbery Award Project due; a bookmark displaying the title, author, and important object from the book. I have been laminating the bookmarks that have already been turned in and am impressed!

As we conclude school before Thanksgiving break, I have been making my rounds with students to discuss their topic, gauging their knowledge of their topic without their notes vs. with their research notes. I have also been discussing with them the benefits and drawbacks of their topic and have played devil's advocate in our conversations to see if they are able to defend what they are saying. While meeting with them one-on-one I've also been going through their notebook and discussing the comments I have made to them through the grading cycles. I've also mentioned any missing assignments I have from them as there are many and lots of no names piling up.

After Thanksgiving the students will continue working on their Recycling and Energy project. There should be little homework from this project unless the students do not use their class time wisely. In that case, they may have a few things to finish up in order to be at a certain starting point the following class period. We will begin Unit 5 in our Vocabulary Workshop and the students should continue to work on their Newbery Award book outside of class.

The Week of 11/11-11/15

This week we began the last chapter in our first Vocabulary Unit. We also utilized an IPad App to write creative stories. The students were able to click on different areas of the IPad that gave them a character, object, situation, and setting. The students then had to write their own story based on the items. 

In reading, we discussed Making Predictions. As a class we read a story about an ancient Egyptian mystery, entitled The Curse of the Mummy's Daddy. We stopped along the way to make predictions and then discussed why good readers make predictions. At the end we assessed whether or not our predictions were right, and what clues in the story could have helped us make a correct prediction. Then, students read another story on their own and make predictions about the story. We read the ending of the story the next day in class to see if our predictions were correct. 

We ended our unit on Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives by reviewing this week and taking the test.

Next week, we will begin a unit on Alternative Energy and Recycling. Students will be assigned a topic and we will complete research in class on our topics. We will be working towards creating a Public Service Announcement informing others about our topic and either persuading them that it is a better option, or persuading them that it is important to be educated on the topic in order to help sustain our future generations. This will be a mostly in class project and if the students use their class time wisely then they should not have any additional work to do at home. It will run the remainder of the quarter with their Newbery Project being their main homework priority. 

I am constantly reminded how wonderful my students are both inside and outside of class. They are driven and dedicated. They have kind hearts, curious minds, and positive attitudes. After attending the Strings Concert last night I was reminded even more that my students have so many other things going on in their lives and as young as they are, are doing a great job at managing it all. 

Grammar Test this Week

To study, look over the notes on Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives. Make sure you know the difference between the different types of nouns, verbs, and adjectives so that you can identify the meaning and type on the test. There are many resources on Moodle with practice and answer keys. There will be 10 matching, two response questions, one short answer, and several sentences where you will be asked to identify nouns, verbs, or adjectives and the type. 

The last week of October 10/28-11/1

This week we focused on verbs. After discussing the different types of verbs, we discussed the importance of using "vivid verbs" in our writing (vivid is also a vocabulary word from this week!). Students were asked to write about their trip to the Henry Ford Museum using vivid verbs.

In addition, we also practiced identifying verbs in a fun way using a few different interactive activities on the SmartBoard. On Halloween, we took a break from focusing on just verbs and instead practiced all different parts of speech by completing Halloween Mad Lib stories with partners. At the end of class we shared our favorite Mad Libs with the class. They were very funny!

Finally, we took a visit to the library to choose our Newbery Award books for our Quarter 2 Book Talk. We did a "speed dating" of sorts with the different book options before choosing a book. The students have one week to change their book if they find they are not interested in the book they initially chose.

Next week we will move into Adjectives, complete Vocab Unit 3 Quiz, and practice some creative writing!

Short week- Oct. 15-18

Although it was a short week, we jumped right into the second quarter! This week I asked the students to combine three skills we had worked on into one cohesive writing. We combined identifying the parts of plot, summarizing, and making personal connections into one writing sample where we could identify the parts of the story, summarize a story, and then make a personal connection to the characters.

Following this, we began our grammar unit with nouns. We are working to identify common or proper nouns and abstract or concrete nouns. We worked on choosing more precise nouns than "thing" to improve our writing. We then moved into plural nouns and the rules for plural endings with the hope that the more familiar we become with noun endings, the more we can consciously improve our spelling.

In addition we also began our next Vocab unit. Next week we are looking to finish up our noun lessons, and begin talking about our next independent reading project before leaving for The Henry Ford Museum!

The Last Week of Quarter 1!

I can't believe it is already the final day of the first quarter! Believe it or not we are a fourth of the way through 5th grade! I was so impressed with the book talks presented this week. Every night I left school wishing I had more time to read because the students introduced their classmates to some really exciting books. By a show of hands after the last presentation, students pretty unanimously agreed that:
- they enjoyed listening to others present their books
- they enjoyed the assignment
- they would be willing to do another book talk
- there were presentations on books they had never heard of before
- there were books presented that they are now interested in reading
- they felt they had enough time to prepare for the presentation (even though some of them opted to wait until the last minute, they felt I assigned it with enough time)
- they still like Language Arts!

My goal for the assignment was that students demonstrate their understanding of the plot of a book, author's purpose, and to organize this information in a way that is relatable to an audience. In addition, there are many avid readers and this was a great way for students to share books they enjoyed with other students so that others could gain ideas for new books to read. While I try my best to make recommendations for students when they come to me looking for book ideas, other students are great resources too!

In addition to the book talk presentations, we finished off the year with our Unit 2 Vocabulary Quiz and practicing finding the main idea in nonfiction and summarizing a fictional story.

For your information, here is a brief preview of what we have coming up in the second quarter!
- Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives
- Vocabulary
-- Newberry Award Book Talk

- Predicting
- Visualizing
- Making Connections in our Summaries

- Recycling Project

The week of 9/30-10/4

This week we continued to review requirements for the Book Talk presentations and worked on our writing skills. Students were given some time during class to work on their plot diagrams, summaries, and presentations as well as ask questions regarding the presentation.

We reviewed the 5 elements of plot that the students were first reintroduced to in Writer's Workshop. We practiced finding each of the different parts of the plot using a book called You'll Grow Soon Alex. We then looked at how to briefly summarize fiction using the 5 parts of the plot. Students had their first "pop quiz" over the 5 parts of plot and the plot diagram.

Finally at the end of the week we moved on to author's purpose and the reasons why author's write books. Students created a 4 window organizer in their notebook to expose "P.I.E" or the three purposes for an author: to Persuade, to Inform, or to Entertain.

The rubric for the Book Talk was discussed and at the end of the week we finally reviewed for their vocab Unit 2 quiz!

Section One had their first round of presentations starting Friday. I was thoroughly impressed!

Outdoor Week- 9/23-9/27

This week was Outdoor week and special schedules for both the pizza party and the Alumni Buddy event.

We started talking about Main Idea and Summarizing Nonfiction. We read a paragraph about colorful expressions like "feeling blue" or "turning green" and made a web with the main idea in the middle and supporting details on the outside. Then, we practiced writing a summary using the web. Students practiced the same concept of making a web with main idea and details and then turning the web into a summary on their own with a paragraph about the differents ways a GPS can be used.

We went outside this week and created skits using our Unit 2 Vocabulary words. We then performed them for the class and had the class guess which vocabulary word we were describing with our actions. Some of the classes were able to read outside with the nice sunny weather.

Next week we will be talking more in depth about the requirements for the Booktalk and answering any questions the students may have about their project. We will also briefly discuss summarizing fiction for our booktalk summary and begin author's purpose.

Booktalk Visual option- Wordle

Check out the VISUAL I made for Language Arts class. Would you be interested in doing something like this for your booktalk visual? If so, check out Moodle for more information or other resources.

www.Wordle.net

Week at a Glance- and a short week to come!

September 9-13:

This week, we finished up the Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies Pretests. We also worked on our very first unit in Vocab.

This week we really focused on Reading Strategies- we talked about "what is a strategy?" and "what is a reading strategy?"

We dove into Building Background knowledge using the an example of expository text: The article "What makes Pogo Sticks Bounce?" They students then had to practice the skill on their own using an article either about shooting basketballs or water freezing.

The week of September 16-20 is short-- Conferences on the 19th and 20th mean no Language Arts class. The students this week will work on a second reading strategy: Questioning. We will talk about Thick and Thin Questions and practice writing them using our own independent reading books. We also will have a quiz over Vocabulary Unit 1.

Our first "project" of the year will be introduced on Tuesday or Wednesday. The students will complete a "book talk" on an independent reading book they have read this year. The requirements will be given to them in class and are also posted on Moodle.

Pictures are scheduled through the LA classes- Section 3 has their pictures Tuesday while Sections 1, 4 and 5 have their pictures on Wednesday.

Student work- wonder

Our "Open Mind Portraits" of four different characters in Wonder. Students were asked to write what the character was thinking and feeling during three different events as well as what they were thinking and feeling while reading the event. The assignment asked students to consider the characters perspective as well as their own. We discussed how the book doesn't rely on outward appearances to describe characters, but rather focuses on the character's character. The students could be creative in their portrait of their character after a briefly viewing some Picasso. I really enjoyed reading them!

Shelfari!

I am currently in the process of uploading all of the books each section of 5th grade LA is reading onto Shelfari.com. It is a website that shows a bookshelf of all of the books we are currently reading or have read. Shelfari is powered by Amazon, so it gives us the ability to click on a book we are interested in, read the Amazon description, read reviews, post reviews, and some offer a chance to read the first chapter for free. This is a great resource if you are looking for a new book to read or are interested in what other 5th graders are reading!

If you are interested in accessing this website there are three different options you can do:
1. E-mail me that you are interested and I will respond back with the username and password information
2. Come talk to me in class
3. Comment that you are interested on the post making sure to STATE your NAME and I will give you more details!

Labor Day Week- Sept 3-6

    For a short week, we accomplished a lot. This week we practiced "Read to Self" time and the appropriate expectations for both students and teacher: For students it is:

• reading the whole time
• quiet
• focused
• staying in one spot of the room
• getting started right away

For the teacher it is:

• reading
• checking in with students
• one on ones
• small group work

We also began our project for Wonder stemming from the brainstorming and discussion we had in class on one particular character from the book. Students had class time during each class to work on and ask questions.

We also began our first Vocabulary Unit out of our book Vocabulary Workshop. We read a myth attempting to explain why bears hibernate. We then took the time to talk about all of our vocabulary words and some synonyms and antonyms for each. 

Finally, we began our CARS Pretests. These are Comprehensive Assessments of Reading Strategies. There are 5 pretests total and we will finish all five in the beginning of this coming week!

Just a reminder, for those of you who will not be at school because of the Jewish holiday, the Open Mind Portrait is NOT due Friday. You have the weekend to finish it. I am giving everyone Flex time on Friday to work on it and it is not due until the end of the school day on Friday. Check out Moodle for the assignment and papers if you need another copy.

Rosh Hashana

For those of you celebrating Rosh Hashana this week, I have given two class periods to complete the "Open Mind Portrait" that was assigned either Friday or today (Tuesday). It is due Friday. If you are participating in Rosh Hashana and could not complete the work I ask that you a.) please turn the work in early b.) please e-mail me and let me know that you could not complete it or c.) please come and talk ot me. I am willing to provide the weekend to complete the assignment, but would like to keep track of who comes to see me.

Thanks!

Review of Week Two: August 26-August 29

With our first 5 day week complete, many of us are looking forward to the long weekend and a short 4 day week next week! Middle School classes are starting to gear up and Language Arts is no exception. While we've started to ease into some procedures and topics we'll be discussing in class this year, next year we will start our regular "routine" in class.

This week we discussed how to choose a book that is just right for us. We also wrote letters to ourselves describing how our first week of middle school went and our goals for the year. We will get them back on the last day of 5th grade LA!

We also posted on the Summer Reading section of the blog what other books we read this summer besides Wonder. This will be a great reference for our fellow classmates to refer to if they are looking for a new book to read as we posted whether or not we would recommend the book to others.

On Day 4 of LA this year we began our discussion on our summer reading book Wonder. We chose one of the four main characters and divided into groups. With our groups we discussed what our character was thinking, feeling, and seeing during 6 different events in the novel. We will do an activity next week with our brainstorms.

All of the 5th grade classes also attended a Library Orientation during one class period to learn about the Middle School Library. They had a short "tour" to learn where things were located and what resources were available.  The MS library is open 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM.

Enjoy the long weekend! Remember to bring a book to read independently on Tuesday!

One Week Down!

With one week of school (well, three days at least) almost finished, I wanted to give you a review of what we've accomplished this week!

- What are we going to learn this year?
- Who am I? What am I interested in? What do I like to do? How does reading make me feel?
- Expectations/ Procedures in the classroom
- Set up readers notebook with section for journal, lessons, and writing about reading
- describe what is easy and what is hard about Language Arts and Reading

Next week we will dive into our discussion over the book Wonder we read over the summer (by RJ Palacio). I hope you found it as powerful as I did. I would encourage all of you to share the book with your family members! No one is too old to read the book and experience Auggie's first days of school. You will most likely have to post comments on the blog related to your opinions of the characters and events in Wonder!

First Day of School! August 21st

Welcome to the first day of school!

      As I drove in this morning (much earlier than many of you), the campus was covered in a blanket of thin fog that was quickly dissipating as the sun was rising. I thought to myself that this was perfect symbolism for the beginning of the year. As the sun is clearing the fog from our campus, so will the start of the school year clear the fog from our brains. I hope each of you are entering into 5th grade with a clear and open mind. I want us to strive to clear our minds in order to learn, discuss, challenge, and understand so that we can be open to learning from new experiences, perspectives and opportunities. I am excited to start this journey with you!

Like we talked about in class, your homework is to read through the course description and fill out the last page. It is due the third time we meet in class. The "Who am I?" worksheet is due the next time we meet. Please check the page for your specific section for the correct due dates.

Choosing the right independent reading book

Check out the link to the Five Finger Rule (on right) to help choose the right independent reading book that won't be too easy or too hard!

Welcome!

Welcome to the 5th Grade Language Arts Blog! Here you will find information and links for the 5th Grade Language Arts class.