Friday, December 20, 2013

Happy Holidays!

Thank you to our room parents for coordinating our class celebration yesterday and to all parents for helping to make it happen!  Also, thank you very much for the generous gift card to Portsmouth- it was very kind of all of you and I can't wait to use it.  Enjoy your holiday time with your families and your amazing children.  See you next year!

Friday, December 13, 2013

5V News

We are learning about:

  • Division
  • Persuasive writing
  • Building theories about characters
  • Early European explorers
Some activities we did this week:
  • Practiced long division
  • Interpreted remainders in division problems
  • Brainstormed issues at the school, community and world level for our persuasive writing
  • Chose three topics for our persuasive writing and brainstormed arguments for and against 
  • Created an outline of our persuasive essays 
  • Continued researching our European explorer
  • Began creating an explorer information sheet on Google Docs
  • Explored Google Templates
  • Studied the objects that the characters in our books hold close to them
  • Had some great class discussions after reading Wonder for our read aloud book 
  • Learned about topics of our choice during Genius Hour
Notes and reminders:
  • Our holiday celebration is Thursday, December 19th.  Students should bring in a new, or nearly new, wrapped book for our book swap.  Students are welcome to bring them in anytime before that.  
Have a great weekend!

Friday, December 6, 2013

5V News

It has been a busy week in 5V!  I was out two days this week presenting at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference in Manchester on Chromebooks and using Google Drive for student reflection.  It was a great experience to present and learn from the many others that were there but I always miss being in the classroom.  5V students did a great job while I was out and I love that our technology allows us to share what we are working on while we are not together.

It's hard to believe that we only have two more weeks of school before the holiday vacation!  We will plan our holiday party for 2:00 on Thursday, December 19th.  I would like to do a book swap with the students as part of our celebration.  For the book swap students should bring in a wrapped (with no name) book that is new or gently used.  Each student will leave with a new book to read over the holiday break!  Our room parents will be in touch with you about organizing other parts of our celebration.  As always, please let me know if you need help contributing a book- I always keep a few extra to ready to go.

A few reminders:
Early release- Wednesday, December 11th
Staff performance of the Holiday Butterfly- Thursday, December 19th at 6:30

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Friday, November 22, 2013

5V News

We are learning about:
  • Writing memoir
  • Character study in reading workshop
  • Estimating and multiplying whole numbers and decimals
  • European exploration 
Some activities we did this week:
  • Participated in our first Mystery Skype with a class from Illinois 
  • Began reading Wonder during read aloud 
  • Developed theories about the main characters in our books
  • Continued drafting our memoirs
  • Practiced estimating products
  • Multiplied whole numbers and decimals using the traditional method
  • Rehearsed our "R-word" presentations using a skit from http://www.r-word.org/
  • Visited other 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms to share our "R-word" presentations 
  • Took notes after reading The Age of Discovery about what motivated European explorers 
  • Read about current events on http://www.newsela.com/
Notes and reminders:
  • SMS book fair is December 2nd-5th
  • The school lunch menu is now online and can be found here
Have a great weekend!

Friday, November 15, 2013

5V News

Parent Conferences:
It was so great to meet with all of you to discuss your children!  We have an awesome group of thoughtful and hardworking students with wonderful, supportive families.  As always, please feel free to touch base with me at any time- not just at parent conferences!

Out of My Mind:
We finished our read aloud by Sharon Draper and the students felt moved to take some action.  We brainstormed as a class and decided that next week we will be visiting other 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms to teach other students about acceptance and not using the "R" word.  We have started using the site Spread the Word to End the Word as a resource and we are excited to spread this message.

Mystery Skype:
Our class is preparing for our first Mystery Skype on Monday.  This is when we Skype with another 5th grade classroom somewhere in the world and try to guess their location by asking yes or no questions.  At the same time the other class is trying to guess our location.  Students are excited about this activity and have their jobs ready to go for Monday.  In the past, it's been a really fun way to connect with other students and learn and practice geography skills.

Genius Hour:
We have started our weekly Genius Hour!  This is when students are using an inquiry model to learn about a topic of their choice.  Last week we discussed expectations, good questions and possible presentation choices.  Ask your child to show you their planning sheet for their first Genius Hour topic.

Thank you and have a great weekend!


Friday, November 1, 2013

5V News

Parent conferences:
Parent conferences begin next week.  Please check out the "Parent Conference" tab to view your time or to find a new one.  Please email me with a time you'd like to meet.  Thanks!  

We are learning about:
  • Order of operations
  • The respiratory system
  • Memoir writing
  • Character development in reading workshop
Some activities we did this week:
  • Practiced using the order of operations in math
  • Enjoyed a visit from Mr. Sullivan who showed us what it's like to assist in heart surgeries 
  • Created a model of the respiratory system using cups, balloons, straws and clay
  • Crafted three different leads for our memoirs
  • Noticed how authors show movement through time in stories 
  • Continued drafting our memoirs
  • Discussed character traits
  • Used evidence from our books to support our reasoning for character traits 
  • Enjoyed a Halloween celebration thanks to our room parents!
Notes and reminders:
  • Early release- Thursday, November 7th
  • No School- November 8th and 11th 
Have a great weekend!

Friday, October 25, 2013

5V News

Out of My Mind blog posts:
We have been reading Out of My Mind as our read aloud.  It is about a girl in 5th grade named Melody who has Cerebral Palsy and is unable to walk or talk.  The story is told from her perspective and we learn about her daily struggles.  To connect this to real life we watched a video on Rick Hoyt, who is a 48 year-old man with Cerebral Palsy.  The video is the story of Rick and his dad and how they participate in races together and inspire others with disabilities to do the same.  I have been very impressed with the students' maturity and their thoughtful reflections on this topic.  Please take a few moments to check out our blog posts on the topic: http://kidblog.org/5Vclassroom/tag/oomm/

We have been learning about:

  • Adding, subtracting and problem solving with decimals
  • The respiratory system
  • Memoir writing
  • Reading comprehension strategies
Ask your child to show you the planning and drafting they have done on their own memoirs.  Remember, everything students are accessing at school on their Chromebooks is accessible at home!  Check out my diigo page for any links that students may need: https://www.diigo.com/user/msvalenti.

Also, please check out the parent conference tab on our blog to check your conference time or to choose a time to meet.

Thanks and have a great weekend!  

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Parent Conferences

The fall parent conference schedule can be found on our blog as a new tab.  Please click here to view it. Please email me with a conference time that works for you and I'll post it to our schedule.  Thank you!

Friday, October 18, 2013

5V News

We are learning about:

  • Place value
  • The circulatory system
  • Memoir
  • Reading comprehension strategies
Some things we did this week: 
  • Explored memoir picture books
  • Discussed different types of memoir
  • Brainstormed turning points in our lives
  • Reviewed and took a math test on place value
  • Planned short movies on the circulatory system in small groups
  • Used iMovie on the iPads to film and edit the movies 
  • Practiced using our schema during reading
  • Looked at examples of how using our schema can help us better understand the text 
  • Shared and discussed our "mis" vocabulary words from this week
  • Commented on class blogs from around the world 
Have a great weekend!  

Friday, October 11, 2013

5V News

We have completed NECAP testing- all eight tests!  The students worked hard and should be proud of their efforts.  We are excited to get back into our regular routine and learning in all subject areas.

We are learning about:

  • The circulatory system
  • Scientific and exponential notation
  • Comprehension strategies and thinking stems in reading
  • Developing characters in our writing- check out the character contest we entered here
Have a great long weekend!  

Thursday, October 3, 2013

5V News

SMS lunch menu:
You can find the school lunch menu on the SMS website here.  We will no longer be sending home paper copies.

NECAP testing:
After Friday we will be more than halfway done with our NECAP testing with three more sessions next week.  Students have been working extremely hard and should be proud of their efforts.

Global Read Aloud:
Did you know our class is participating in a Global Read Aloud?  That means we are reading Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper at the same pace as thousands of other students around the world.  Not only are we reading the same book but we are also connecting with them!  Check out more about the project here.

Curriculum topics this week:
  • Place value in decimals- comparing, ordering, rounding
  • Reading strategies- keeping track of our thinking during reading 
  • Blogging- commenting as a way to have a conversation 
  • The circulatory system- the heart as the main muscle of the system 

Reminders:
  • Picure day is Thursday, October 10th
  • No school on Monday, October 14th 
Have a great weekend!  

Friday, September 27, 2013

5V News

We had a great day at Stratham Hill Park today!  I was impressed with the teamwork, positive attitudes and overall cooperation of all of the students in 5V!

Blogging:
This week students wrote their first blog posts (other than hopes and dreams) and they worked hard on using creative titles and adding details to engage their readers.  Thank you for all of your comments and please keep them coming!
www.kidblog.org/5Vclassroom 

NECAP schedule:
NECAPs begin next week and as of right now our schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, October 1st: Reading
Wednesday, October 2nd: Reading
Thursday, October 3rd: Reading and Math
Friday, October 4th: Math
Monday, October 7th: Math
Tuesday, October 8th: Writing
Wednesday, October 9th: Writing

Friday folders:
This week you will find your child's first math test, some math work and some of the poetry he or she has written.

Have a great weekend!

Friday, September 20, 2013

5V News

It was great to see so many of you last night at our Curriculum Night.  I hope you have a better idea of how things work in 5V and I will keep you updated on a parent technology night soon!

Some activities we did this week:

  • Classified prime and composite numbers
  • Created factor trees to find the prime factorization of numbers
  • Took our first math test
  • Celebrated Dot Day as a whole school
  • Learned about the power of "I" in poetry
  • Experimented with different line breaks in our poems
  • Met with our reading partners to retell our books
  • Practiced summarizing and choosing the most important parts of a story 
  • Wrote our first blog posts on our hopes and dreams
Notes and reminders:
  • Please comment on our hopes and dreams posts: www.kidblog.org/5Vclassroom 
  • The entire fifth grade will be going to Stratham Hill Park on Friday, September 27th for a team building day
Enjoy the weekend and please let me know if you have any questions!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Curriculum Night

I hope to see you tonight in our classroom at 6:30.  We will spend a half an hour in the classroom and then head to the library from 7:00 to 7:30 with the other fifth grade teachers to discuss the 5th grade curriculum.

Friday, September 13, 2013

5V News

Curriculum Night:
I hope to see you this Thursday, September 19th at 6:30.  We will discuss classroom routines, expectations and the 5th grade curriculum.

Some activities we did this week:

  • Practiced finding factors of numbers
  • Played "Factor Captor"
  • Learned divisibility rules for 2,3,4,6 and 9
  • Mapped our hearts during writing workshop
  • Listed our writing territories 
  • Wrote about a pebble (a specific topic) rather a general topic
  • Logged our reading using a paper log or Biblionasium
  • Discussed the importance of choosing "just right" books 
  • Voted on our classroom rules
  • Worked in groups to decide what our rules will look like and sound like in our classroom
  • Continued listening to There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom 
Have a great weekend and I hope to see you Thursday!  

Friday, September 6, 2013

5V News

We had a great second week in 5V!  We began reading and writing workshop, decided on our hopes and dreams for the year and we are working on creating our class rules together.  We continue to discuss and practice working as a team and building our classroom community so that we can have a successful year together!  

Families can expect our homework routine to pick up next week with some reading and math practice.  We will slowly build up to our regular homework routine which will be about 60 minutes Monday-Thursday and includes 20-30 minutes of reading.

Students have homework binders that should be brought back and forth to school each day.  Inside the homework binder is an assignment book and homework folder.  Students are expected to share the contents of their binder with their families each night.  

I look forward to sharing more with you at Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 19th at 6:30.  We are off to a great start! I am impressed with our class and our kind, thoughtful, creative and hardworking students!

Friday, August 30, 2013

5V News

What a great first week we have had!  We have been having fun getting to know each other and the classroom routines and expectations.  Thank you for your cooperation in getting all of the parent paperwork returned!

Here are some activities we did this week:

  • Listened to Chrysanthemum and made name tags 
  • Played games!  (The warm wind blows, four corners and two truths and a lie)
  • Read The Colors of Us and painted self-portraits 
  • Learned a lot about each other from our Artifact Museum
  • Challenged ourselves with team building activities like spaghetti and marshmallows and card towers 
  • Created top ten lists about ourselves 
  • Began using our Chromebooks and discussed what being 1:1 means
  • Discussed digital citizenship and our digital footprint
We have been using Digital Passport to learn about the components of digital citizenship and Edmodo as our online classroom.  Please check out the websites and ask your child about them!  

Upcoming dates:
Picture day- Friday, September 6th
Curriculum night (3-5)- Thursday, September 19th  

Have a great weekend and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!  

Monday, August 26, 2013

Six Day Schedule

We had a great first day in 5V!  We are just beginning to get to know each other and the classroom routines and expectations.

SMS is on a six day schedule this year and our schedule is as follows:
Day 1 (yellow)- Computer
Day 2 (green)- PE
Day 3 (orange)- Art
Day 4 (red)- Library
Day 5 (tan)- Music
Day 6 (blue)-PE (eventually band and chorus, also)

The schedule for the entire year can be found here: SIX DAY SCHEDULE and also on our school website.

Students are welcome to leave a pair of sneakers for PE in the classroom.  Please let me know if you have any questions and look for another post at the end of the week.  Thanks!

Friday, August 9, 2013

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

5V News

What an amazing year we've had in 5V!  Thank you for all of your help and support in making this a great year for the students in 5V.  It has been a remarkable year and I will miss each and every student!

Thank you for your generous gift- we all know it will be put to good use!  I was touched by the homemade box and I will treasure it forever. 

A few things to wrap up...

End of year survey:  I am asking parents to please take a few moments to answer this brief survey.  Your feedback is extremely important to me and I find it very helpful to hear your thoughts at this time of year.  Thank you in advance!  You can find the survey here:
Parent Survey 

IXL: students will still have access to IXL through the summer and it's a great site to practice math concepts.

Google docs: students will have access to their Stratham accounts through the summer.  On Thursday we will also share all documents and folders with their future Exeter Region Coop accounts that they will use through CMS and EHS.  On Thursday, students will access these accounts and check that they are all in working order.

Students are also welcome to share their documents this summer with any other Gmail accounts.  Their new accounts are:  
username: 5firstinitiallastnameYOG@sau16.org
password: same as their current network password
So, my username would be: 5jvalenti20@sau16.org  
Please let me know if you have any questions about these accounts.
  
Again, thank you for all of your help and support!  Have a happy and healthy summer and please stay in touch!  

Friday, June 14, 2013

4 More Days...

...and a lot to do! 

If you have a minute check out these top 10 posts on our blog.  They are funny, well written and (mostly) true!
http://kidblog.org/MsValentisClass/tag/top10/

A few reminders:
Our Odiorne field trip is on Monday.  We are leaving SMS at 9:30 and returning at 2:30 and we will go rain or shine.  Students should bring snack, lunch, water bottle, sunscreen, water shoes or old sneakers, extra shoes and clothes.  All parents are welcome to attend and may meet us there.

Please join us at 11:15 in the classroom on Wednesday, June 19th.  We will be performing our play and parents can view our altered books and judge our toothpick bridges. 

The 5th grade celebration is Wednesday, June 19th in the cafeteria.  Students should plan on arriving at 6:15. 

The 5th grade procession is at 2:30 on the last day of school.  Parents may meet students outside to see them exit Stratham Memorial School for the last time as 5th graders!  

Thank you!  Please let me know if you have any questions! 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Reminders

CMS:
We had a great visit to CMS this morning where students were able to view their pod areas and tour the school!  The students also received a beginning supply list for next year. 

Field day:
Field day is tomorrow!  We will walk over to the park even in light rain.  Students should be prepared with sneakers, a water bottle, layers of clothing, a snack and sunscreen.  It will be a great day! 

"The Talk":
Nurse Lily will be visiting us early next week to teach us about puberty and body changes.  She will cover the same topics as fourth grade and there will be no new information for the students.  

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Friday, May 31, 2013

5V News

We are still going strong in 5V with 14 school days left and a lot to do! 

Here is what we've been up to:
  • Building our background knowledge for The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights
  • Practicing our play- The U.S. Constitution- Revivor: Philadelphia 
  • Formed our construction groups for our bridges project and decided on jobs 
  • Planning our toothpick bridges
  • Writing our persuasive essays 
  • Listening to My Brother Sam is Dead during read aloud
End of year dates:

June 3- Grandparents lunch
June 5- Our trip to CMS
June 12- 2:00 Volunteer Appreciation Tea (more information soon) 
June 17- Field trip to Odiorne Point (all parents welcome to attend- please meet us there)
June 19- 11:15-12:30 Parents invited for play, bridges and altered books
June 19- Fifth grade celebration 6:30 pm
June 20- last day 

Please look for Friday folders two more times- June 7th and June 14th.  Have a great weekend!  

Friday, May 24, 2013

5V News

Thank you:
Thank you to all parents who joined us yesterday in Boston!  We had a great day learning about the American Revolution and the students were excited to see the places we have been learning about!

Math:
Our last math test on unit 8 is today.  We will continue to study parts of unit 9 and then move on to Bridges- an integrated science and math unit.  In this project students will be placed in teams consisting of an architect, accountant and other jobs.  Their task will be to design and create a toothpick bridge to hold the maximum amount of weight.  Students love this project and parents will be invited in at the end of the year to "judge" these bridges.  From this point forward, there will be less math homework (study links) coming home as the Bridges project will be done mostly in class.

CMS form:
Today a blue form is being sent home from CMS.  This form asks you and your child to decide on chorus, band, string orchestra or general music for next year.  Please return this form here by June 7th.

Please join us on Wednesday, June 19th from 11:15 to 12:30.  Students will be performing our Constitution play and parents will have an opportunity to judge our bridges and view our altered books. 

Dates:
June 3- Grandparents lunch
June 5- Our trip to CMS
June 12- 2:00 Volunteer Appreciation Tea (more information soon) 
June 17- Field trip to Odiorne Point 
June 19- 11:15-12:30 Parents invited for play, bridges and altered books
June 19- Fifth grade celebration 6:30 pm
June 20- last day 

Friday, May 17, 2013

5V News

Boston Field Trip:
I hope you are planning on joining us on Thursday, May 23rd.  Students and any parents attending should plan on arriving to school at 7:45 as the bus is leaving 8:00.  Students will need to be picked up at 4:15 at SMS.  The Tea Party museum will cost $21 for adults and the Freedom Trail tour will be $12 for adults.  Please let me know if you have any questions and I hope to see you next Thursday! 

CMS visit:
This week we enjoyed our CMS visit!  We were able to meet two of the sixth grade counselors and learned about how the teams, schedules and lockers work.  We were also able to view some photos of the school and videos from current sixth grade students.  Many students commented that they became more excited after the visit.  We will be visiting CMS on June 5th. 

Upcoming dates
May 23- Boston field tirp
June 3- Grandparents lunch
June 5- Our trip to CMS
June 17- Field trip to Odiorne Point
June 19- Fifth grade celebration 6:30 pm
June 20- last day

Friday, May 10, 2013

5V News

Boston field trip:
Two parents were chosen by lottery to have their admission paid for by the school.  If you were not notified you may still join us on the bus!  Here are links to the two events that include pricing:

Boston Tea Party Museum:
 http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/

Freedom Trail:
http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/

We are learning about:
  • Colonization
  • Multiplying fractions
  • Persuasive Essays 
  • Historical Fiction
Some activities we did this week:
  • Practiced multiplying fractions
  • Made area models for multiplying fractions
  • Brainstormed persuasive essay ideas
  • Chose our audience and voice for our persuasive writing pieces 
  • Researched the New England, Middle or Southern colonies
  • Created postcards to convince our relatives in Europe to move to the colonies
  • Finished Maniac Magee during read aloud
  • Discussed high quality response to reading in preparation for book groups
  • Chose our historical fiction book group books and began reading
  • Enjoyed our school's wellness walk 
Upcoming dates
May 10- PTO fun run at 6:00 (you may see me in the dunk tank!)
May 15- CMS staff visits us in the morning, early release
May 15- Bill Furbush, CMS principal at 6:30 pm will be speaking to parents here at SMS
May 23- Boston field tirp
June 5- Our trip to CMS
June 17- Field trip to Odiorne Point
June 19- Fifth grade celebration 6:30 pm
June 20- last day




Friday, May 3, 2013

5V News

Boston field trip
We are the only class attending on Thursday, May 23rd so we can take as many chaperones as we would like.  The two chaperones that are chosen from the lottery will have their admission paid by the school.  All other parents are welcome to attend either by bus or they may drive themselves and they would need to pay their own admission.  This is a great field trip and I encourage as many parents to attend as possible.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Upcoming dates
I will keep you up to date as we learn more about end of school year dates and activities.  This is a list of what we have so far:
May 8- Wellness walk at 1:30
May 10- PTO fun run at 6:00 (you may see me in the dunk tank!)
May 15- CMS staff visits us in the morning, early release
May 15- Bill Furbush, CMS principal at 6:30 pm will be speaking to parents here at SMS
May 23- Boston field tirp
June 5- Our trip to CMS
June 17- Field trip to Odiorne Point
June 19- Fifth grade celebration 6:30 pm
June 20- last day

We are learning about:
  • Adding and subtracting fractions
  • Writing persuasive essays
  • Reading historical fiction
  • 13 Colonies

Friday, April 19, 2013

5V News

It was great to see so many kids last night at our Jeff Warner event!

We are officially in the last quarter of 5th grade and it will be sure to fly by! We have had a lot of conversations about the importance of keeping organized, checking our assignment books and turning in work.  Soon, we will learn more about CMS when the guidance counselors come to visit and when we take a trip there at the end of May.  We are working on making the transition as smooth as possible by focusing on these organizational skills. 

Our Boston Freedom Trail field trip is scheduled for Thursday, May 23rd.  We are the only class going that day so we can take several parents on the bus.  All parents are welcome to attend and can drive down to Boston.  More details will follow soon. 

Thanks and have a great vacation! 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Jeff Warner

Just a reminder that Jeff Warner will be in the library tomorrow night, Thursday, April 18th at 6:30 pm for a sing-along.  Come by for a few songs or stay for the whole time!  Hope to see you there! 

Friday, April 12, 2013

5V News

We have been enjoying our time with Jeff Warner and we are looking forward to spending the whole morning with him on Monday.  I'm sure you've heard your child singing some of his songs!  I am encouraging students to join us for a sing-a-long on Thursday, April 18th at 6:30 pm in the library.
Jeff Warner
Jeff Warner with the 5th grade
We are finishing up our feature articles and exploring some Google templates to use to format our articles.  We will be posting them on the blog next week to share with a larger audience and we will also create a class magazine.  The students have been working hard on these articles and are looking forward to sharing them!

In Math, we have recently started working with negative numbers and we are spending time using several different strategies to add and subtract.  We have been using positive and negative counters to visualize and soon we will be "walking" the number line as a strategy.  Our unit 7 test will be sometime next week.

Notes and reminders:
  • Memory book pages are due today
  • Early release Wednesday, April 17th
  • Quarter three report cards will be sent home Friday, April 19th
Have a great weekend!

Friday, April 5, 2013

5V News

Parent Conferences:
Thank you for signing up for parent conferences!  I am looking forward to meeting with you.  You can check out the schedule here: SCHEDULE.

Jeff Warner:
Our fifth grade artist in residence will begin next week.  Each afternoon we will meet as a fifth grade to learn about history through song, stories and instruments.  You can find out more about Jeff Warner here:  Jeff Warner Website.  Please join us on Thursday, April 18th at 6:30 in the library for a a sing along with Jeff. 

Ask your child about:
  • Science experiments on matter, mass, volume and density
  • The order of operations 
  • Baseball day 
  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinnelli
  • Our reading lesson that turned into students giving their classmates compliments using character traits and evidence!



Friday, March 29, 2013

5V News

Parent Conferences:
The schedule is up on the blog here: PARENT CONFERENCE SCHEDULEPlease email me with a time you would like and I'll fill in a slot for you.  You can also let me know if there is a better time for you that's not listed on the schedule.  Thanks! 

We are learning about:
  • Matter
  • Exponents
  • Feature articles
  • Character development
Some activities we did this week:
  • Reviewed exponents and how to use them
  • Wrote numbers in standard notation, exponential notation and number and word notation
  • Continued drafting and sharing our feature articles
  • Began listening to Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli during read aloud
  • Noticed how a character's actions can show us a lot about them
  • Linked a character's action with a personality trait during read aloud and in our own reading
  • Visited with author Marty Kelly and learned about the writing and illustrating process
  • Did a class experiment to see how molecules move in liquids
  • Discovered that adding or subtracting energy creates a change
  • Began to compare physical changes and chemical changes
Have a great weekend!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Parent Conferences

The parent conference schedule is now posted under the "Parent Conferences" tab on the blog.  Please check it out and email me with a time that works for you and I will fill in the schedule as I hear back from you.

Click here to visit the "Parent Conference" tab

Thank you!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

5V News

We are learning about:
  • Adding and subtracting fractions
  • Writing feature articles
  • Questioning
  • Matter
Some activities we did this week:
  • Practiced finding common denominators
  • Estimated sums and differences of fractions
  • Played "Fraction Capture"
  • Found how direct quotations can add to a feature article
  • Continued researching and writing our feature articles
  • Discussed the difference between "thick" vs. "thin" questions
  • Read Freefall and Sector 7 to practice questioning
  • Watched a Bill Nye video on the phases of matter
  • Viewed our latest Mystery Chat video
  • Narrowed down our Mystery Chat to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar or U.A.E.
  • Finished reading The Witches by Roald Dahl
Notes and reminders:
  • Be sure to check out our blog posts at www.kidblog.org/msvalentisclass 
  • Memory book pages for your child are due Friday, April 12th 
  • Parent conferences will be April 10th and 17th- more information to follow next week

Thursday, March 14, 2013

5V News

Basketball game:
The faculty vs 5th grade basketball game was a great time!  Thank you for all of your efforts in planning and running the event.  It was well attended and it was wonderful to see all of the kids having fun.  Of course it didn't matter who won, but I was still thankful to score a couple of points! 

Blogging:
Last week was our first round of blogging using our rubrics as a guide.  In your child's Friday folder you will see the rubric and we are already noticing more quality blog posts as students self-assess their writing.  

Mystery Skype:
We participated in another Mystery Skype this week with a class from Florida.  I'm impressed with students' planning and preparation and cooperation during these calls.  Students are noticing how quickly they are improving with questioning and their knowledge of United States geography.  You can ask your child to show you our shared folder "Mystery Skype" in Google Drive to see all of our collaborative work.  Check out Flickr to see what our classroom looks like during a Mystery Skype call. 

Here's what we are working on:
  • Collecting and interpreting data 
  • Writing feature articles
  • Questioning during reading
  • Building our schema for states of matter
Parent Conferences:
Spring conferences will be April 10th and 17th.  Last year I created a Wiki for conference sign ups and I'm looking for the best web based way you can view and choose available conference times.  I will send something out in the next week or two. 

Have a great weekend!




Friday, February 22, 2013

5V News

We have been busy in 5V!  We just completed unit 5 in math and we are becoming more familiar with fractions, decimals and percents.  IXL has been a great resource for practicing these skills and challenging students in other areas.  We have been focused on research in writing and social studies and how to paraphrase, take notes and cite sources.  The students are working on creating Glogs of their explorers and have started planning their articles on topics of their choice.  Our work in reading has complemented our research work as we have been focusing on nonfiction text features and differentiating between fact vs opinion.

As a reminder, your child should be writing one blog post per week on a topic of their choice that should be at least two paragraphs long.  After vacation we will begin using a rubric to evaluate these posts.  Students are also required to comment on at least three posts and these should be at least three sentences.  Additionally, students should be spending at least 20 minutes per week on IXL practicing math skills.  

As we enter the second half of fifth grade we are focused on students' independence, responsibility and organization and any support at home to foster these skills is appreciated.

We have a wonderful group of kids in 5V and I'm always impressed with their hard work, creativity and enthusiasm for learning.  It truly feels like a family in our classroom and I'm always proud of how they help and support each other.  5V is an amazing place to be!

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful vacation!
Untitled
Building a fort after snowshoeing

Friday, February 15, 2013

5V News

Mystery Skype:
Do you know our class has Mystery Skyped with four other fifth grade classes?  So far we have met classes in Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin and Arizona.  Mystery Skype is when we connect with another class through Skype and ask yes or no questions to try to guess where they are located.  It's a great way to connect with other students and work on our geography skills.  We are also Mystery Chatting with another class through video since they are too far away to Skype.  So far we know they are East of the Prime Meridian, North of the equator, English isn't their first language and their citizens don't vote for their leaders.  We can't wait to find out where they are!

We are learning about:
  • Circle graphs
  • Feature articles
  • European explorers
Some activities we did:
  • Practiced reading and creating circle graphs
  • Interpreted bar graphs and line graphs on IXL
  • Experimented with Glogster
  • Researched our individual explorers 
  • Began creating Glogs on our explorers
  • Created questions for research on our feature article topic
  • Decided on an audience for our feature article 
  • Started planning our feature articles
  • Celebrating Valentine's Day by exchanging valentines and eating some treats
Notes and reminders:
  • Feburary vacation: February 25-29
  • Faculty vs 5th grade basketball game: March 12th 

Friday, February 1, 2013

5V News

We are learning about:
  • Fractions, decimals, percents
  • Early explorers
  • Nonfiction feature articles
Some activities we did this week:
  • Converted between mixed numbers and improper fractions
  • Converted between fractions, decimals and percents
  • Played Frac-tac-toe
  • Ate homemade pie as a fraction lesson
  • Explored text features in feature articles
  • Practiced activating our schemas using text features
  • Predicted big ideas of feature articles before we read
  • Began listening to Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen during read aloud
  • Read about why Europeans explorers wanted to explore
  • Made a mystery chat video for a class that lives on the Eastern side of the Prime Meridian
  • Created a page in our altered books about where we think we will be in ten years
  • Blogged about our week in 5V
 Notes and reminders:
  • Students may choose to bring in Valentines for classmates on Thursday, February 14th.  If they choose to, they should be sure to bring one in for everyone in the class.
  • Report cards go home today
  • 5th grade vs faculty basketball game has been rescheduled for March 12th 

Friday, January 18, 2013

5V News

Link to Mr. Fosher's "Principally Speaking" can be found on our school website and here

We are learning about:
  • Fractions
  • Mystery
  • Personal Narrative
  • Respiratory System
Some activities we did this week:
  • Took our unit 4 math test
  • Reviewed fractions
  • Worked on IXL with equivalent fractions 
  • Used report cards to self-assess
  • Created short videos on the respiratory system using the Educreations app
  • Enjoyed a visit from Dr. Lamm who taught us more about the circulatory and respiratory systems 
  • Made models of our respiratory system using cups, balloons and straws 
  • Finished our mystery book groups
Notes and reminders:
  • Second quarter closes today, report cards go home on Friday 2/1
  • 5th grade vs faculty basketball game is Thursday 2/21 

Friday, January 11, 2013

5V News

We are learning about:
  • The respiratory system
  • Division
  • Mystery
  • Personal narrative
Some activities we did this week:
  • Practiced long division in word problems
  • Decided what to do with the remainder- ignore, round the answer up or report it as a fraction or decimal
  • Used map scales to find distances between cities in the United States
  • Participated in a Mystery Skype with a class from Wisconsin
  • Continued to meet with our book groups
  • Used "save the last word for me" as a way to discuss our mystery books
  • Conferenced with Ms. Valenti and a classmate about our personal narrative
  • Learned about how the respiratory system works
Notes and reminders:
  • Memory book photos are due by Monday to our room parents
  • 2nd quarter closes Friday, January 18th and report cards go home Friday, February 1st
  • Family Game Night is Friday, January 18th 
  • 5th grade vs faculty basketball game is Thursday, February 21st 
Find us on Twitter: @5Vclassroom
We would love some comments on our blog!  http://kidblog.org/MsValentisClass/
Check out our photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/msvalentisclass/

Friday, January 4, 2013

IXL

We have transitioned from a free trial to a subscription on IXL.  We have a special log in site for our school that can be found here: https://www.ixl.com/signin/stratham. It is also now on our diigo page.  Each student's username is the first letter of their first name and their last name with the number 20.  For example, mine would be "jvalenti20".  Their password is their regular school password. 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Follow us on Twitter!

We are learning to tweet in 5V!  We hope to share our learning and connect with our 5V families and other students around the world.  Each day we will have a class "tweeter" that will share information with our followers.  I encourage all families to follow us @5Vclassroom

In other news...
  • We have started our mystery book groups
  • We are now studying the respiratory system
  • We are growing confident with long division!
  • We are finishing up our personal narratives- ask your child to show you on Google Docs