News From 5-4 11/12/13

News From 5-4
November 12, 2013

I hope you all had a relaxing Veteran's Day weekend.  I had the chance to take two of my favorite vets out to lunch to personally thank them for their service.  I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon to discuss your child's strengths, achievements, and goals at parent/teacher conferences.

Dates to remember:

11/13  Second Grade Musical 2:30 PM & 7:00 PM
11/14  Monday Schedule
11/15  Dads and Doughnuts 8:00 AM
11/21  Non-Fiction Book Reports Due
11/22  Report Cards Go Home
          Silly Hat Day
11/25  No School
          Conferences
11/26  No School
          Conferences
11/27- No School-Thanksgiving Break
11/29

Here's what will be happening in 5-4 the next couple weeks:

Literacy:
We finished up our informational texts about Energy. These leveled texts gave students the chance to practice close reading skills with challenging non-fiction texts. Students used graphic organizers, as well as bubbl.us to organize ideas about energy. Each group examined the pros and cons of a particular energy source to present to the rest of the groups. Students had to use this information to decide which source of energy is best for America.
This week we are beginning new novels in guided reading. We will continue to practice signposts and discuss words worth noting. Our skills the next couple weeks are identifying problems and solutions in literature and making inferences.
In vocabulary we have been exploring Greek and Latin root words. While this is a challenge for the students, they are benefitting already. Many students have recognized the roots we have already studied in texts they are reading. This week we are studying the root "man or manu."

Math:
We took our Unit 4 tests last week. Hopefully you had a chance to see your child's test in his/her Friday Folder. In Unit 5 we will be exploring fractions, decimals, and percents. This unit includes: mixed numbers, comparing fractions, equivalent fractions, improper fractions, relationships between fractions and decimals, converting fractions to percentages, bar and circle graphs, and percent circles. We will finish Unit 5 the first week back after Thanksgiving Break.

Science:
The students created fantastic animated movies on Animationish to demonstrate their knowlege of energy types, energy transfers, and chain reactions.  These will be available for you to view at conferences. Our Energy Unit Test is Thursday, with a review Wednesday.

Social Studies:
We'll be diving into Chapter 12 in our history books these next two weeks. During this chapter on the Declaration of Independence, we will identify the major events that led to the creation of the Declaration and examine key passages from the document.

Writing:
In grammar this week we will be working on possessive nouns. The grammar packet will be completed here at school this week. Spelling homework is posted on Edmodo and is due Wednesday.  
This week we started translating our personal narratives into a picture story using Comic Life. Students recorded their narratives using Vocaroo.com and created QR codes to add to their Comic Life posters. These will be up in the hallway, so get your QR code reader apps ready so you can listen to your child reading his/her story. We'll also have links to the recordings on our class website under "STudent Gallery."
In WEX the next couple weeks we will also focus on showing sequence and showing cause and effect.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns. I'm looking forward to seeing you in a couple weeks!

Sincerely,
Kelly O'Kelly

Student Reflection 11/8

This week, we had to make human sculptures in WEX. We has to write directions on how to recreate the sculpture. We handed our directions to another group to see if they could follow them to make the exact same sculpture. We found out whether we have enough details in our writing or not.

We used Bubbl.us to create idea webs for our energy books. Each guided reading group researched a specific energy source and created a web to show the main ideas and details. Take a look at the webs and decide which energy source you think is best!

Student Reflection 10/31

This Halloween, we had an awesome party. Thank you to Mrs. Giannopoulos for planning our party and to Mrs. Colias, Mrs. Slifierz, and Mrs. Rule for helping out. Thanks to all of the families who contributed to the party. We had a blast! Which costume is your favorite?