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!