11/25

We had a great craft day today!  Thank you to everyone who was able to help and/or send in delicious goodies.

We are going to complete a winter holiday research project in December.  Students selected a holiday topic in class today so that they can begin their research.  (We will go to the library on Monday.)  They have to write a report about the holiday and present their information to the class.  They can choose how they present their holiday to the class, and we will develop a presentation schedule to begin around 12/11.  (Food is a bonus but certainly not required.  These kids love to eat!)  Watch the agenda for specific dates.

HW:
Study for 1920s-30s test tomorrow.  There will be a notes check (4 total sets of notes).

Finish reading your historical fiction and finish your genre travel brochure.

Tomorrow is an early release day.  Have a very safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!  Count your blessings!

CHAMPS Graduation

Congratulations to our CHAMPS graduates!  Our class roll model is Malachi, and Hannah T. is not only our class essay winner, but she was selected as the overall 5th grade essay winner.  All of the 5th graders were very well behaved.  Great job!

11/20

Our Champs graduation is tomorrow at 9 AM in the gym.  Parents are invited to attend!  (Please sign in at the office first.)  Be sure to wear your jeans and sneakers for the ceremony.

Finish spelling & vocabulary choices.

Math WB p. 107-108 is due Friday.  Students must complete the two word problems on p. 107 PLUS five other problems of their choosing.  They need to complete all of p. 108.

The social studies 1920s-'30s test will be next Tuesday.

Have you finished your historical fiction?  The genre project is due Tuesday also.

11/19

Students have their signed papers today.  If you do not see the WWI social studies test, the Unit 3 math test, and/or the Ch. 3 science test in the packet, it is because your child has chosen to make corrections to improve his/her grade.  We will not send home signed papers next Tuesday, but rather on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, so it should catch up with you then.

If you can't access PowerSchool to check grades, stop by the school office to sign up.  Unfortunately, I do not have the authority/access to help with Parent PowerSchool.

For homework tonight:
Finish sci. WB p. 64-68.
Finish final draft of My Favorite Special persuasive writing.

*Don't forget that your historical fiction travel brochure is due no later than next Tuesday!
*The 1920s/1930s social studies test will be next Tuesday.

11/18

Finish your spelling chart.  Be sure to know when to use each form of the verb (especially that the past participle form is used with has, had, and/or have).

Finish vocabulary definitions ON YOUR OWN PAPER!

Work on your historical fiction novel if you haven't finished it, and your genre project travel brochure if you have finished.  These are due NO LATER THAN 11/26.

*Don't forget that our CHAMPS graduation is this Thursday at 9 AM in our gym.  Parents are encouraged to attend.  Students should wear jeans and sneakers to school.  They will be receiving a CHAMPS t-shirt to wear and keep.  (We talked about wearing a long-sleeved shirt and then slipping on the CHAMPS shirt over our own shirts.  The CHAMPS t-shirt is light blue with a red, white, and blue logo.)

Hooda Math

Hooda Math is a really fun math website with lots of free games.  I hear that it runs well on an iPad too.  You can find games by math domain (such as fractions) and by grade level (K-8).  Check it out!

You can easily find this math website and many more up in the Math Website tab, above.

Craft Day Coming Soon!

If you can volunteer your time for our Craft Day this coming Monday, 11/25, please let me know.  I welcome your ideas and/or materials even if you can't attend.  We will start crafting around 8:30, and my goal is to be finished by 11:00. 

This Week's ELA: 11/18-22

Out of the Dust, Week 2

Spelling: Irregular Verbs

Some verbs do not form the past tense and the past participle by adding -d or -ed. (The past participle is used with the helping verbs have, has, and had. For this week's spelling, you need to know how to spell all three forms of the verb. You will be tested on the past and past participles. Complete this chart Monday (due Tues.). Your spelling choice activity is due Thursday.

verb	past tense	past participle have, has, and had
go	1	2
write	3	4
bring	5	6
see	7	8
choose	9	10
teach	11	12
speak	13	14
know	15	16
take	17	18
draw	19	20

Vocabulary: Out of the Dust, Summer 1934, Autumn 1934, and Winter 1935

On your own paper, look up the definition and part of speech for each word (due Tuesday). Don't panic if you can't immediately find the word. You may need to drop a suffix, especially the past tense -ed. Your vocabulary choice activity is due Thursday.

1. chafed
2. stupor
3. writhed
4. tufts
5. octaves
6. grizzled
7. excavating
8. revue
9. festered
10. biddies

This Week's IRA: Suffix Hunt

Find at least 10 words with 10 different suffixes. Explain what the suffix means and what the word means (due Friday). Include your book title and the page number where you found each word.

*Your historical fiction book and travel brochure needs to be completed no later than next Tuesday, 11/26.  Please don't forget!

 

11/13

Today Ms. Sheila from Smithgall Woods came to our school and gave fifth graders a terrific snake presentation!  Some of the things were learned are:

• Snakes' teeth point back into their mouths so the prey goes down easier and can't escape easily.
• For every one snake you kill, you're allowing 200 rats or mice to live!  (YUCK!  Long live the snakes!)
• Some snakes can grow to be 6-8 feet long, but they don't live up here in Blairsville.
• Snakes are more afraid of us than we are of them.
• Some snakes play "dead" as a form of defense or protection.
• Venomous snakes cannot climb trees.  They're too fat!  If you see a snake in a tree, it is nonvenomous.
• It is illegal to kill nonvenomous snakes in Georgia.

Ms. Sheila showed us the importance of snakes in our food chain.  The sun (Eli) produces energy to make the corn (Rob) grow.  The mouse eats the corn, and then the snake eats the mouse.

Tonight's homework:
*Study for science Ch. 3 test (Friday).
*Finish spelling & vocabulary choices.
*Have you read your historical fiction for this month's genre project?  If not, get it and read!  If so, work on your brochure.

11/12/13

Can you believe today is 11/12/13? 

Please sign & return progress reports and signed papers.

Work on sp/vocab choices and IRAs.

Read!!!!!

Please be sure to dress very warmly tomorrow!  It will be the coldest day we've had in a long time.

11/11

Happy Veterans Day!  We paused at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to remember how this day came to be and why we celebrate it.

Tonight's homework:
Finish math WB p. 97-98.
Finish science WB p. 42-48 & p. 50-55.
Finish vocabulary definitions if you didn't finish them in class.

*Unit 3 (multiply & divide decimals) math test will be Wednesday.
*Spelling & vocabulary choices are due Thursday.

This Week's ELA: Nov. 11-15

Spelling: TransitionWords

One way to improve your writing and to move your audience through your piece is to use transition words. These words can be classified according to their usage: contrasting, comparing, sequencing, introducing, and concluding/summarizing. (These categories would make a great spelling choice!) Your spelling choice activity is due Thursday.

1. although
2. otherwise
3. however
4. likewise
5. similarly
6. generally
7. afterward
8. furthermore
9. meanwhile
10. in the meantime
11. certainly
12. obviously
13. consequently
14. finally
15. in conclusion
16. therefore
17. simultaneously
18. hence
19. currently
20. immediately

Vocabulary: Out of the Dust, Winter 1934

On your own paper, look up the definition and part of speech for each word (due Tuesday). Don't panic if you can't immediately find the word. You may need to drop a suffix, especially the past tense -ed. Your vocabulary choice activity is due Thursday.

1. crouched
2. fierce
3. fidgety
4. riled
5. bounty
6. whittled
7. spindled
8. achievement
9. locomotive
10. ratcheted

This Week's IRA: Prefix Hunt

Find at least 10 words with 10 different prefixes. Explain what the prefix means and what the word means (due Friday). 
Include your book title and the page number where you found each word.

This Week's Grammar Focus: Vivacious Verbs and the Past Participle

This Week's Writing Focus: Persuasive Writing and Transition Words

Which special is the best? Convince your reader that your favorite special is indeed the best. Be sure to use transition words to help move your reader through your persuasive piece.

11/7

FINISH CHAMPS ESSAYS!

Finish math WB p. 93-94.

Study for spelling & vocabulary tests.  I recommend rereading "Up and Away.

*Please dress warmly tomorrow!  We're encouraging you to wear red, white, and blue in honor of our veterans for our 10:00 assembly.  The weather forecast is predicting chilly winds, so dress warmly please.

Science Fun

We have been having lots of fun studying physical science! We made solutions of common kitchen substances (sugar, brown sugar, salt, sea salt, baking soda, etc.).  We ate a fun snack mixture.  We explored chemical reactions and "magically" blew up a balloon (vinegar and baking soda).

Today, we made "oobleck," a cool mix of corn starch and water.  (Each child has their own bag to take home.)

Thank you, Ms. Britt (our Young Harris College practicum student), for your help!

Scholastic's Study Jams

Here's another new-to-me site that might be helpful and fun!  It's Scholastic's Study Jams, which has math and science videos.  Cool!

11/6

We will take our SS WWI test tomorrow since our science lab took longer than expected.

Finish sp/vocab choices.

Work on math WB p. 93-94 (due Friday).

11/5

Finish science WB p. 36-39.

Study for WWI test!

Please sign and return signed papers in the orange communication folder.

11/4

Finish reading "Up in the Air" (Treasures p. 714-730) if you didn't finish in class.

Work on your CHAMPS essay (due Friday).

Start on spelling & vocabulary choices.

This Week's ELA: Up in the Air

Spelling & Vocabulary, Unit 6, Week 4: “Up in the Air”

Spelling: Number Prefixes uni-, bi-, tri-, and cent-

*Spelling choice is due by Thursday.

1. tripod
2. triplet
3. unicorn
4. uniform
5. unison
6. biweekly
7. triple
8. bicycle
9. tricycle
10. unicycle
11. triangle
12. bisect
13. trio
14. unify
15. centipede
16. centimeter
17. century
18. binoculars
19. universe
20. university

*bilingual, trilogy

Vocabulary:

*Vocabulary choice is due by Thursday.

1. launched: (v) sent off or started in motion

2. particles: (n) small bits and pieces of an element

3. dense: (adj) packed closely together

4. inflate: (v) to cause to swell by filling with air or gas

5. anchored: (v) being held in place by a heavy metal device or object

6. companion: (n) a person or animal who keeps someone company

7. hydrogen: (n) a gas that has no odor, color, or taste, and burns easily

8. scientific: (adj) having to do with or used in science

GRAMMAR: Review of prepositions/prepositional phrases

*CHAMPS essay is due by Friday. NO IRA again this week.

FLU FORMS

Flu forms are due by this Friday, 11/1, if you'd like for your child to receive a free vaccination at school.  Info went home Tuesday.