Student Reflection 12/20/13

In math this week we learned that a larger sample gives us a better estimate of the data.

After a week of clues, our Secret Santas were revealed today!

News From 5-4 12/20/13

News From 5-4 12/20/13

News From 5-4
December 20, 2013

We've been so busy these past three weeks! The fifth graders have been hard workers and have been focused on their second trimester goals. Today we had a chance to work on a fun holiday math challenge, identify signposts and figurative language in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and reveal our Secret Santas.  As always, I was impressed by the kindness 5-4 expressed toward one another throughout these special activities. They have so much fun together! I sure am one lucky teacher. :)

Dates to remember:

1/6   Return from Winter Vacation

1/14  PTA Meeting

1/16  School Board Meeting

1/20 No School MLK Jr. Day

1/21 No School Institute Day

Here's what has been happening the past few weeks:

Literacy:
We have been practicing close reading strategies in the informational text, Freedom Walkers. This book had given the fifth graders insight into the what led up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and about the civil rights leaders who led the fight for equality. We've been using this text to practice making a claim and supporting it with evidence from the text. We are practicing quoting the text in a meaningful way and looking at the assessment rubric for claim and evidence.
We are more than half way through our guided reading novels. In addition to noticing and noting the signposts in literature, we are also working on recognizing figurative language and problems and solutions in these novels.
In vocabulary we are back to working on prefixes.

Math:
We've been working on Unit 6: Using Data & Adding and Subtracting Fractions. We've covered measurement, probability, stem and leaf plots, mystery plots, and circle graphs. After break, we'll begin working on adding and subtracting fractions and finding common denominators. Many students have been passing from levels to level on the fast fact tests. Thank you so much for encouraging and helping your child study! 
Social Studies:
We studied the Declaration of Independence, including the events that led to its writing, the Second Continental Congress, Common Sense, and Thomas Jefferson's role.

We also studied the Revolutionary War. We compared and contrasted the American and British forces, key factors that allowed the American colonies to defeat the more powerful British, and the major provisions of the Treaty of Paris.

Writing:
In grammar, we've been focusing on verbs. After break, we'll continue with verb tenses, main and helping verbs, and linking verbs.
During Wex, we are  using the novel The Liberation of Gabriel King to practice writing in response to fiction. We have been focusing on the main characters, Gabe and Frida, to help us learn to develop characters in our own writing. We have also been using this book to help us compare and contrast the different view points and structure of two texts related to the same topic.

I'll be thinking of each of your fifth graders over break. They are such a light in my life! Thank you for sharing them with me. Enjoy family time and celebrating the holidays these next two weeks.

Sincerely,
Kelly

Student Reflection- 12/6/13

In social studies, we played tug-of-war to help us understand the Revolutionary War.  There was a larger, stronger team versus a smaller team. This represented the British army being larger, more organized, and stronger than the colonies' army. The smaller team was told they would be given candy if they won (representing the prize of independence), except one person who didn't
receive the prize (representing the slaves and indentured servants who fought).  An extra team came in to help when the smaller team was struggling, which represented our allies, The French. Half of the large team had to stand further back to represent the distance between the colonies and Britain. The larger team had to pull the rope 20 feet toward their side, representing that the British had to claim new land, while the colonists were just defending and holding their own territory.

Mrs. Lytle organized an amazing service project for the fifth graders. We created placemats for the Meals on Wheels program. During this holiday season, the recipients of the meals will also be surprised by a colorful, cheerful placemat to put it upon. Think of all of the spirits we are lifting! We're so proud of ourselves for making people smile and "filling their bucket."

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?

Student Reflection-10/25/13

In science this week, we learned about insulators. We discovered that aluminum foil and polyester batting were the best insulators because they kept the heat in the bottle. Then we designed our own insulation for the bottles and tested them out in groups. Table 4's design proved to be the best because the temperature didn't drop at all in 10 minutes.

 Our mystery book reports are proudly displayed in our classroom.

Bloggers: Alexander and Nick.

News From 5-4 October 21

News From 5-4
October 21, 2013

I can't believe we are nearing the end of October already! Mother Nature seems to have gotten the message that it is Fall, so please remind your child to wear a jacket and other gear to stay warm at recess. We are still waiting for a couple yellow conference forms to come in. Be on the lookout for another form coming home to let you know what time your conference will be.
Dates to remember:

10/31 Halloween Parade after lunch
         (Students may go home for lunch to change into costumes, or stay at school and change               here.)
          Halloween Party after the parade
11/1    Camp Duncan Field Trip
          Mrs. Giannopoulos and Mrs. Reed will be our chaperones.
          Bring a sack lunch and dress to be outside!
          Pick up your fifth grader at Dryden at 5:15 pm

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

Literacy:
Last week the students were introduced to another signpost, "Again and Again." We wrapped up our historical fiction novels as well. As a culmination, students worked on end-of-book comprehension questions and ABC books as a group.
For the next few weeks we will be working on non-fiction in our guided reading groups. We'll begin by reading high-interest, leveled books about energy. These books are the ideal text to practice our close reading skills in informational text. We'll also be focusing on identifying main idea and detail.
In vocabulary the next two weeks we are looking at suffixes. This week's suffix is -able and next week's is -less. The vocabulary Quizlet is posted on Edmodo. Students are asked to complete three activities by Friday. After next week, we will be looking at some Greek and Latin root words for word study.

Math:
Our Unit 3 test will be on Wednesday. Tomorrow will be a review day and the study guide will be coming home tomorrow. The answer key will be posted on Edmodo tomorrow night. Unit 4 will begin on Thursday. We'll be woking on division facts, different division algorithms, division of decimals, and interpreting remainders in Unit 4. Continue to practice those multiplication and division fast facts. The students know which level they are on and have a quiz each Friday in hopes of moving to the next level of facts.

Science:
We are loving our Energy science unit! Our recent experiments have showed us which materials are good conductors of heat energy and which materials are good insulators. Tomorrow the students will begin working in groups to design and create an ideal insulator for a plastic bottle. We'll then perform an experiment to test out their insulators. We'll also be exploring energy efficiency through wattage of light bulbs.

Writing:
In grammar this week we will be working on singular and plural nouns. The grammar packet will be completed here at school this week. In spelling we are looking at plurals and the rules for adding s, es, and ies. Challenge words are the vocabulary words.  Spelling homework is posted on Edmodo and is due Wednesday.
In WEX, the students worked extremely hard on their personal narratives. They revised their rough drafts, went through both the self-edit and peer-edit stages, revised again, and then published a polished piece. I look forward to sharing those with you. In the next few weeks, we will focus on strong verbs,dialogue, and varying sentence structure.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Kelly O'Kelly

Student Reflection 10/18/13

Last week we went to a historical reenactment. We went to 10 different stations that taught what life was like at the time of the start of the Revolutionary War.







In science this week we did an experiment about heat conductors. We used rods made of different materials to test which materials were the best conductors. We discovered that aluminum and copper are the best conductors of heat. We also leaned about insulators.

Weekly Reflection 10/4/13

This week in science we learned about energy transfers .This energy ball is an energy transfer because the energy is flowing through our bodies.This is happening  because we are all linking fingers so its a closed circuit. If we were not, the energy ball would not work because it would be an open circuit. 

This is our second week  doing a new vocabulary program. This is two kids doing a word sort. This is one of the many ways we study for our new tests!!








Kaitlyn and Ava 
k

News From 5-4
September 30, 2013

Hello 5-4 parents and students! Mrs. Sessler is sending home invitations to 5-4 to join her for lunch this week and next. The class is split into three groups that will be eating lunch with her this Friday, and next Tuesday and Friday.

Dates to remember:

10/3 Picture Day
10/4  Lunch Bunch
        Just Jump Fundraiser

10/8  Lunch Bunch
10/9  Walk to School Day

10/11 Field Trip AM

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

Literacy:
This week the class will be introduced to another signpost, "Words of the Wiser." We will practice taking note of this signpost both during our class read-aloud and during guided reading time. When the students notice a "Words of the Wiser" moment in the text, they should ask themselves, "How might this affect the character?" The students are digging back into the text to answer these anchor questions and cite evidence from the text to support the answers.

We are reviewing plot this week as well. Next week, the students will work on inferencing and examining photos and captions in informational text. 

Math:
We're beginning Unit 3 in math this week. We'll be working on data collection and interpreting data. We'll also practice measuring and naming angles and line segments. We will classify triangles and measure the angles in triangles and other polygons. We will also classify quadrilaterals. Math fast fact tests are each Friday. Your child knows what set of multiplication or division facts he/she should be studying each night.

Science:
The students are enjoying our first science unit, energy. We went on an energy hunt throughout the Dryden grounds. The students took pictures of items to represent the eight different forms of energy and turned those photos into Explain Everything video presentations. We will be working on mapping energy transfers in a solar powered fan experiment and in different toys. Next week, we'll be building energy boats!

Writing:
This week is a review week for both spelling and grammar. We are taking time to revisit each of the spelling rules and grammar ideas that we've worked on up to this point.
In WEX, we are continuing to focus on "showing" rather than telling. Next week we will begin writing a personal narrative that the students will take through the writing process to end up with a polished piece of writing.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Kelly O'Kelly

Student Reflection- 9/27/13

This week in science we took an energy walk around the school. We  made videos of the 8 different types of energy. This is one of the videos, but you can see all of the videos on mrsokellysclass.weebly.com.  





The past month in art we have been making clay bears. 
In this picture we are touching up our bears so they look nicer. 
Now they are ready to go in  the kiln. 
We are really eager to see how they turned out. 

Bloggers: Jamie & Ava
Photographers: Alex C. & Kaitlyn

The author of Ch

  

eesie Mack, Steve Cotler, came to Dryden school to talk to us about his book. In the picture  Steve Cotler is reading a few pages of the book, Cheesie Mack Is Not a Genuis or Anything. We were being "reading detectives." After he read we had to come up with character traits for Cheesie and Georgie. We had a really fun time listening to him talk to us. 

 


 On Friday, we went to the Naper Settlement. We learned what life was like for the early settlers in our area. One of our favorite parts were learning what school was like back then. Boy, that teacher was STRICT! We also really liked seeing how the blacksmith works. He made us a cool hook while we watched. Did you know that if you wanted to be an apprentice to a blacksmith, you had to start at age 9?
   

Monday, September 16, 2013

News From 5-4
September 16, 2013

Hello 5-4 parents and students! Our field trip to Naper Settlement is coming up this Friday, September 20.  Please remind your fifth grader to dress appropriately and to bring a sack lunch in a disposable bag.  Thank you to Mrs. Slifierz and Mrs. Giannopoulos for joining us as chaperones and thank you to everyone who volunteered to come along. There will be a few more opportunities for the rest of you to chaperone throughout the school year.

Dates to remember:

9/18 Chapter 11 History Test

9/19 Cheesy Mack author visit

9/20 Fifth Grade Field Trip To Naper Settlement

       Spirit Wear Orders Due
       Student Council Forms Due

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

Literacy:
We are excited to begin a new vocabulary program that focuses on prefixes, suffixes, and greek and latin root words. Not only will this program help the fifth graders to understand word meanings, it will also help them with spelling. These vocabulary words will be used as "challenge" words on the weekly spelling tests as well. Vocabulary word lists will come home on Mondays along with the spelling lists. The students will also have the words here at school and will be doing sorts and games with them each day during "word work" time. Vocabulary quizzes will be on Fridays and will be multiple choice. This will take the place of the vocabulary section on the Treasures tests that are currently given on Fridays, and will not be an additional test for students. The first two weeks will look at the prefixes pre- and post-.
In the next two weeks we will be focusing on the skills cause and effect and making inferences as a whole class. These skills will be introduced through whole class texts, but will be reviewed throughout the week during guided reading groups. The students will be assessed on these skills each week through a quick comprehension check, which will take the place of the comprehension portion of the Treasures tests.
Guided reading groups are going along smoothly. The students are doing an excellent job of recognizing contrasts and contradictions and aha moments throughout their novels.

**After this week, Friday Folders will not contain a weekly Treasures Test. In its place, I will be using a weekly vocabulary quiz and a comprehension skill question sheet to assess reading each week. Most weeks will also contain a high-interest non-fiction article and questions.

Math:
This week in math we will continue with estimation. Next week we will work on multiplication of whole numbers and decimals and look closely at the lattice method of multiplication. Students will be allowed to use their favorite method for all operations on the test.We'll also be looking at comparing millions, billions, and trillions next week. We'll use my bank account statements to help us with that. ;) Right now it looks like our Unit 2 test for math will be next Friday, September 27.

Social Studies:
Our Chapter 11 history test is tomorrow. Please encourage your child to use his/her study guide, binder notes, and the review posted on Edmodo to study for the test. Next week, we will begin Chapter 12 and our study of the Declaration of Independence. We will study the major events that led to the creation of the Declaration of Independence including: the Second Continental Congress, the popularization of Common Sense, Thomas Jefferson's first draft, and the Patriots signing of the final document.

WEX: During the next two weeks we will focus on showing, not telling in our writing. We will work on ways to use words to show readers how we or the subject is feeling, rather that come right out and tell them. I will be modeling this skill, as well as using excellent samples of student writing to give the class a good idea of what this looks like and how to do it.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Kelly O'Kelly

Reflection 9/13/13

  This week Lexi brought her hermit crabs, Hermie and Destiny, for a vacation from the corner in her mud room. The class really enjoyed having them and checking in on them.  Hermie and Destiny were more active in room 128 then they ever were at Lexi's house. They must really love loud, whiny 5th graders. In the picture you see a hermit crab with a red shell, and that's Hermie. Hermie has enjoyed climbing the cage and seeing the view off these working students! I bet Hermie and Destiny have been loving all the attention they've been getting! Destiny even changed her shell in this very room. During "Just Read Time" and guided reading everyone pulls their chair up to read with them! We can't wait for them to come back next week!

Our class spent this week researching loyalists and patriots. We learned about their views toward independence and about their strengths and weaknesses. We learned what things they did to fight for or against the colonies becoming independent. We had a debate between loyalists and patriots starring Thomas Hutchinson, Jonathan Boucher, Lord Dunmore, Samuel Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, and Benjamin Franklin. Boy, did the debates get heated!

During the school day we have a "Just Dance" break to refresh our minds and to get loose.We get together and then we start to dance for about 5 minutes between writing and reading. After we are done we get back to our regular school day.

 This week we started guided reading groups.The books we are reading are historical fiction and are all about the Revolutionary War.  The titles are: My Brother Sam is Dead,Gorge Washington's Socks, Toliver's Secret, and Chains.  We have been practicing recognizing signposts in these novels. So far, we've practiced Aha Moments and Contrasts and Contradictions. All of the groups meet to discuss their thought about the books too.                                           

News From 5-4
September 3, 2013

Hello 5-4 parents and students! We've had an awesome start to fifth grade the first two weeks of school. For the next couple weeks, we'll continue that excellent learning. Please note that I will be updating the assignments page on our website each night for those who may not have written down all of their assignments. Parents, if you think your child may be missing something, please feel free to look under "For Students" and click on assignments.

A couple reminders:
Field Trip Forms Due- 9/16
Field Trip- 9/20
(We already have 6 parent volunteers for the trip. We can only bring 2, so I will pull names from a hat and let you know. Others can have a chance to chaperone later in the year.)

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

Literacy:
The students are super-excited to begin guided reading. This week they will be introduced to the novel they'll be reading in guided reading groups, as well as routines for all of the key components to our literacy block including: read to self, read to someone, listen to reading, and write about reading. We will focus on the signpost we learned last week, Contrasts and Contradictions, and learn a new signpost, Aha Moments. The students will use these signposts to identify when the author is trying to tell them something important. The will use the anchor questions associated with the signposts to write about what they've read.
During whole class literacy instruction time, we are focusing on plot, setting, story structure, and compare/contrast. These ideas are introduced or reviewed whole class and then used in guided reading groups as well. We are working on subject and predicate including simple and complete subjects and predicates and compound subjects and predicates. We are also working on using commas in a list.

Math:
This week in math we are taking a test on Unit 1: Number Theory. We will finish up this unit working on factor strings and prime factorization. Please don't forget about the wonderful resource www.everydaymathonline.com. Our test will be on Friday, with a review on Thursday. Next week, we'll begin Unit 2: Estimation and Computation. We'll begin with estimation, adding and subtracting whole numbers and decimals, and addition and subtraction number stories.

Social Studies:
Our Chapter 10 history test is tomorrow. Please encourage your child to use his/her study guide and the resources posted on Edmodo in the "Fifth Grade" group to study.  Friday we will begin Chapter 11. We will look closely at several prominent Loyalists and Patriots, as well as examine their key arguments either for or against independence.

WEX: We are continuing to work on "focus" in our writing. The students have been introduced to the four point focus rubric and working to narrow their topic and write about a specific moment. These next two weeks we are working on focusing on details, perspective, setting and sounds. I use outstanding student samples as examples for the class. I also use my own samples to have the class grade using the rubric so they get a better idea of how to score well on the focus rubric.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Kelly O'Kelly

Friday, August 30, 2013

This week during social studies we learned about the growing tensions between the colonies and Britain. The colonist didn't like taxation without  representation.We learned how they felt during a simulation called The King's Skittles. Each of us (the colonists) got ten Skittles to start for money.The Parliament made us pay tax for things like wearing gym shoes or having more than three pencils in our desks. After we payed all our taxes some of us ended up with no Skittles but King George III ended up with fifty Skittles! We were so enraged we wanted to protest. The tax collectors were so mad because they did all of the hard work for the King and only got three Skittles. We realized how the real colonists felt.
This is a picture of our fabulous reading corner. Everyday after lunch we have "Just Read" time when we can read any book we want to for fun. Tables take turns getting their "Just Read" time in the reading corner. Doesn't it make you want to curl up with a good book? Ever our class pet, Sir Leaves, wants to hang out in the reading corner. Maybe next week Sir Leaves!

Bloggers: Alex & Jade
Photographers: Lexi & Jack