February 29th, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Word Masters Spelling Test on Thursday

MATH

Barber: Math facts review and study strategies.  Review decimal multiplication.

* FACT TEST TBD

Brazier: Subtracting Fractions With Unlike Denominators. Strand 5 Big Idea #2: “I can use benchmark fractions to estimate sums and differences.”

* STRAND 5 TEST TOMORROW

Martinez: Equivalent Fractions.  Fraction Equations.

* FACT TEST TBD

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Readers pay close attention to descriptive passages.”

Brazier: “Readers notice when time jumps back and forth.”  

Martinez: “Book Club members set goals and make plans to meet them.”

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Opinion writers use prompts to connect evidence and reasons.”

Brazier: Work Day / Review Day / End of Bend 1: Get to Know Your Own Opinions

* ASK: “Name some things the author of “Happiness is...a Pet” did to make her writing work.”

Martinez: “Opinion writers have general reasons.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

Wrap up Chapter 10.  Students will create a poster to share their thinking.

         

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

Spelling Sort. Mad Lib. Sparkle. Sentence Strips to show the meaning of one’s Word Masters word.

* WORD MASTERS SPELLING TEST ON THURSDAY

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

Lab: Exploring the relationship between height and the vital capacity of the lungs.

February 24th, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Word Masters Spelling Test on Friday

MATH

Barber: Strand 5 test.

Brazier: Subtracting Fractions With Unlike Denominators

* STRAND 5 TEST ON MONDAY

* STRAND 5 DPP DUE ON FRIDAY

Martinez: Fraction Equations.

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Readers pay close attention to descriptive passages.”

Brazier: “Readers notice when time jumps back and forth.”  

Martinez: “Book Club members set goals and make plans to meet them.”

* HOMEWORK: Ask your fifth grader what their Book Club’s reading plan is.  Groups decide on what they read so your fifth grader may or may not have reading homework.

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Opinion writers find evidence to prove their thinking.” Day 2

Brazier: “Opinion writers study other opinion texts.”

* ASK: “What do you know about the ways in which opinion texts usually unfold?”

Martinez: “Opinion writers have general reasons.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

         

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

* WORD MASTERS SPELLING TEST ON FRIDAY

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

February 23rd, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Spirit Week continues tomorrow with Superhero Day

• Late Start tomorrow

• Word Masters Spelling Test on Friday

MATH

Barber:  Subtracting fractions with unlike denominators review and DPP’s.  

* STRAND 5 TEST ON WEDNESDAY

Brazier: Adding and Subtracting Fractions With Unlike Denominators

* STRAND 5 TEST ON FRIDAY

* STRAND 5 DPP DUE ON FRIDAY

Martinez: Review: “Parts and Wholes.”

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Readers pay close attention to descriptive passages.”

Brazier: “Readers notice key changes in a text.”  

Martinez: “Readers notice when time jumps back and forth.”

* HOMEWORK: Ask your fifth grader what their Book Club’s reading plan is.  Groups decide on what they read so your fifth grader may or may not have reading homework.

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Opinion writers find evidence to prove their thinking.”

Brazier: “Opinion writers study other opinion texts.”

* ASK: “What do you know about the ways in which opinion texts usually unfold?”

Martinez: “Opinion writers have general reasons.”

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

Chapter 10.5 & 10.6 Wrap up the Stamp Act and read the Boston Massacre.

         

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

* WORD MASTERS SPELLING TEST ON FRIDAY (The 25 Word Masters words appear at the bottom of today’s blog entry.)

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

Labeled and colored a diagram of the heart.  Found resting and active heart rate.  Circulatory System Video. (Martinez class only)

THE 25 WORD MASTERS WORDS:

1. lure

2. carom

3. famished

4. decoy

5. gorge

6. ingenious

7. glance

8. ricochet

9. balmy

10. zephyr

11. augment

12. placid

13. cyclone

14. relent

15. shrewd

16. crane

17. quaff

18. mottled

19. trough

20. amplify

21. tempestuous

22. crest

23. yield

24. torrential

25. gaze

February 22nd, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Spirit Week continues tomorrow with Sports Jersey Day

• Late Start on Wednesday

• Word Masters Spelling Test on Friday

MATH

Barber:  Subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  

* STRAND 5 TEST ON WEDNESDAY

* BOOK HOMEWORK FOR SOME: PAGE 180 & 181

Brazier: Subtracting fractions

* STRAND 5 TEST ON FRIDAY

* STRAND 5 DPP DUE ON FRIDAY

Martinez: Fraction Work Continued: “Parts and Wholes.” Textbook pages 153-156.

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Readers learn that characters are shaped by the times in which they live.

Brazier: “Readers collect setting details: What kind of place is this? What does it feel like? How is it changing? Is trouble brewing?”

* ASK: “How is the setting at Uncle Henrik’s house different from the streets of Copenhagen?”

Martinez: Book Club Meetings. Independent reading and jotting.

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Opinion writers sort opinion ideas to find reasons.”

Brazier: “Opinion writers study other opinion texts.”

* ASK: “What did the writer of “Happiness is...a Pet” do especially well?”

Martinez: Work Day

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

Chapter 10.4 & 10.5: The Quartering Act & The Stamp Act

         

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

Book Club meetings. Word Masters research. Sentence Strip assignment. Sparkle.

* WORD MASTERS SPELLING TEST ON FRIDAY (The 25 Word Masters words appear at the bottom of today’s blog entry.)

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

Respiratory System Video (Bill Nye)

THE 25 WORD MASTERS WORDS:

1. lure

2. carom

3. famished

4. decoy

5. gorge

6. ingenious

7. glance

8. ricochet

9. balmy

10. zephyr

11. augment

12. placid

13. cyclone

14. relent

15. shrewd

16. crane

17. quaff

18. mottled

19. trough

20. amplify

21. tempestuous

22. crest

23. yield

24. torrential

25. gaze

February 19th, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Monday Spirit Week day 1: Red, white & blue

MATH

Barber:  Adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  

Brazier: Adding and subtracting fractions.

* ASK: “Use a 3 X 4 rectangle to explain why ⅔ - ¼ = five-twelfths”

* STRAND 5 DPP DUE ON FEBRUARY 26

Martinez: Fraction Work: “Parts and Wholes.” Textbook pages 152-154.

READING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Readers notice key events in a story.”

Brazier: “Readers collect setting details: What kind of place is this? What does it feel like? How is it changing? Is trouble brewing?”

* ASK: “The setting shifted dramatically today in Number the Stars. Talk about that.”

Martinez: Book Club Meetings. Independent reading and jotting.

HOMEWORK: Read your assigned book club reading.  Jot.  Then, prepare a sticky note for tomorrow’s book club meeting.

WRITING WORKSHOP

Barber: “Opinion writers have reasons for believing the way they do.”

Brazier: “Opinion writers write about what they know well (or what they have a burning desire to know more about).”

* ASK: “The focus during the first week of opinion writing is on generating a lot of writing. How has the volume of your writing been this week? Are you writing at least a page a day?”

Martinez: Work Day

SOCIAL STUDIES (Teacher: Mrs. Barber)  

Barber’s class:  Read Chapter 10 introduction and 10.2.  Focusing on the tension between Great Britain and the colonists.  

         

EXPLORE & DESIGN (Teacher: Mr. Brazier)

Word of the Day (pour and pore (homophones)). Book Club meetings. Word Masters research. Sentence Strip assignment. Sparkle.

* WORD MASTERS SPELLING TEST ON FRIDAY, FEB. 26 (The 25 Word Masters words appear at the bottom of today’s blog entry.)

SCIENCE (Teacher: Mrs. Martinez)

Human Body video (Bill Nye) and text (“Go With the Flow”)

THE 25 WORD MASTERS WORDS:

1. lure

2. carom

3. famished

4. decoy

5. gorge

6. ingenious

7. glance

8. ricochet

9. balmy

10. zephyr

11. augment

12. placid

13. cyclone

14. relent

15. shrewd

16. crane

17. quaff

18. mottled

19. trough

20. amplify

21. tempestuous

22. crest

23. yield

24. torrential

25. gaze