Mrs. Holzhauer's 5th Grade Blog 9-27-19

Happy Friday Families!

Please read below to find out about all of the wonderful learning that is going on in 5th grade at Ivy Hall!

Literacy

*After finishing our novel, Night of the Spadefoot Toad, we read a short story called Shells and an excerpt from the book Hatchet. After reading each of these additional texts we have been making connections between all three literary samples. We have been comparing and contrasting characters, settings, and events, within and across the three texts. We have also continued to work on using quoted evidence to support our thinking. Today we played a fun game called "Numbered Heads" to practice finding evidence and quotes within a story.

Our "First Chapter Friday" routine has been going great! Each Friday I've been reading the first chapter of a book aloud in order to entice students to want to read the rest on their own! So far, I've had many students want to do so! Today I read the first chapter of Stone Fox by Robert Gardiner!

*The book fair starts next week with a preview day on Tuesday. Students will have a chance to browse the shells and will bring home a "wish list". If you would like your child to purchase any of those books (or any others at the book fair) you can send money with your student on Wednesday or Thursday of next week and I will find time for them to make purchases. Books can also be purchased on Thursday evening as well.

Writing

*Students have continued to work on narrative writing. They have continued to use graphic organizers to plan, then developed their stories through the use of a detailed sequence of events and effective character development. Students have also continued to be encouraged to add dialogue into their writing to enhance the reader’s understanding of their characters, setting, and events. Last week we focused on writing effective endings. We've been trying to include interesting vocabulary, effective imagery and even some figurative language!

Math

*This week we began our second math unit focusing on addition and subtraction of fractions. This week we have been utilizing money and time to model the operations. The models have provided a springboard for teaching students to make common denominators before adding or subtracting. As we come to the end of this week students determined which models best fit with each fraction equation.

Social Studies

*Last week we concluded our discussions on why America declared its independence from Britain. As we move forward in the next portion of our social studies unit, our focus will be on the responsibilities and powers of officials in the United States after gaining independence. Much of the conversation will center on understanding the powers and responsibilities of each of the three branches of our government. You may have heard that I showed the kids the Schoolhouse Rock video about the Preamble! They were quite impressed that I was able to sing it by heart.!When I told them that I had learned it many, many years ago when I was in elementary school by watching the video, many of them did the same! I was so impressed with their renditions!!

Science

*We have continued our unit on ecosystems by learning about the difference between producers and consumers. When learning about consumers we got an opportunity to dissect owl pellets in class. Students thoroughly enjoyed looking through the pellet at all of the bones to see the animals the owl ate. After dissection we discussed the flow of energy through food chains in ecosystems. We are excited about next week's field trip which will highlight many of the concepts we've been learning in science!

Upcoming Events

Sept. 30 - No School

Oct. 1 - Kirberger / Holzhauer Field Trip - BRING A SACK LUNCH

Oct. 3 - Ice Cream Social / Book Fair - 6pm-8pm

Oct. 4 - Pangilinan / Dalton Field Trip - BRING A SACK LUNCH

Oct. 9-14 No School

Friendly Reminders

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack! Please also remember that we do have students in our room with allergies, so snacks need to be allergy friendly. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding appropriate classroom snacks.

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 12.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you for your continued partnership and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Happy Friday Families!

It was great to wrap up our week with the Fun Run! We didn't let a few puddles get in our way! The kids had a great time at their last (sniff, sniff) Fun Run in elementary school! Our last hour of school today was spent participating in a school-wide SEL (social emotional learning) activity about effective problem-solving strategies. We ended our day with part two of our team building game called THE BEST GAME that we started last Friday. Be sure to ask your child about it! We had sooo much fun!

Literacy

*We are finishing up our first shared reading book of the year—Night of the Spadefoot Toads by Bill Harley. We’ve used this text as a springboard for many reading and writing learning targets thus far.  This book has also connected nicely to our study of ecosystems in science. Be sure to ask your student about what he/she has learned about vernal pools and spadefoot toads! Today we played some culminating Kahoot and Quizlet games that test our vocabulary and comprehension knowledge of the story. 

Writing

*Students are in the process of finishing their first narrative stories of the year! After utilizing graphic organizers to plan, students developed their stories through the use of a detailed sequence of events and effective character development. Encouraging students to infuse dialogue into their writing was also an emphasis.  We will be writing yet another narrative in order to apply what we’ve learned and produce an even higher quality sample.

Math

*Our students are continuing their work with writing and evaluating numerical expressions with parentheses as well as demonstrating their understanding of how find the volume of rectangular prisms. We also began our “Number Corner” routine which takes place each day for about 20 minutes outside of our regular math block. Here, students practice skills in such areas as computational fluency and problem solving (in addition to several others) on a daily basis. 

Social Studies

*We started our discussion on the responsibilities and powers of government officials at various levels and branches of government and in different times and places.  Over the next two weeks, the focus of our discussions will revolve around why America declared its independence from Britain. Today I showed an "old school" Schoolhouse Rock video entitled "No More Kings!" to help the kids understand why the colonies broke away from England. :)

Science

*We are continuing our focus on understanding the characteristics of  various ecosystems around the world. Our first science investigation involved “traveling” to virtual ecosystems and studying the interactions between living and nonliving organisms. This week we also learned what a plant does and does not need to grow and survive. Many of the kids were surprised to learn that soil is not actually required--but sunlight, water and carbon dioxide definitely are!

Upcoming Events

Sept. 30 - No School/District Holiday

Friendly Reminders

** Please remember to send your child with a healthy snack.  Nothing feeds the brain like a healthy snack!  

** Please continue to have your child practice their multiplication facts up to 18. Brushing up on division facts would be helpful too, as we will be learning the process of long division this year!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you for your continued partnership and enjoy the rest of your weekend!