Happy Friday, Families! 

First and foremost, I wanted to wish you and your family a very happy and healthy holiday season!

We persevered through the month of December & we've finally made it to winter break! During our morning meetings we've enjoyed so many team builders and cooperative activities that continue to foster the important connections that the kids feel to our classroom and with each other.

Reading:

In reading, we most recently finished up the story of Angel Island and the story of Chinese immigrants who entered the country through this immigration station.  We used our text to talk about the author's point of view in an informational text. The students also enjoyed learning about the history of Angel Island and the poems that were carved on the walls by immigrants who spent time there. Today we read a first-hand account of a woman named Li Keng Wong, who recalled her own experiences at Angel Island in a very personal way.

Writing: Currently, we are working on a writing project about a natural disaster. Students will report on the formation of their natural disasters, warning signs, and ways to prepare for when they occur. After winter break, students will be using Book Creator or Key Note to share their information.

Math:  This week, our class took the Unit 3 Post Test. This test covered all things decimals-- comparing decimals, decimal addition, and subtraction, and rounding decimals. After winter break, we will begin Unit 4, where we will learn the traditional method for multiplying multidigit numbers. Those students who are already mastering these targets will be provided with extensions and alternate activities.

Social Studies:  Students are currently learning about probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history, with a focus on Westward Expansion.  In the coming weeks, our discussions will focus on the California Gold Rush, as well as answer and defend the argument of whether or not they would have traveled West.  

Science:   We have been continuing our learning on the topic of the Earth, Moon, and Stars. Within this unit, we explored concepts such as gravity, how distance affects the brightness of stars, and how day and night occur. 


Important Dates
Monday, Jan. 4th - School Resumes after Winter Break

Wednesday, Jan 13th - Asynchronous Planning Day until 10:15 am (more info to come on this at a later date). 

Monday, Jan. 18th - No School, MLK Day 
Tuesday, Jan. 26 - Early release @ 2:00 p.m.

 Good Afternoon Families!

I hope everyone enjoyed some quality family time over our short break! It was nice to be able to re-charge our batteries and relax a bit!

School Progress Reports

A note about Progress Reports that were issued yesterday:

Your child’s progress report indicates his or her current progress toward an expectation. When a standard repeats in more than one trimester–as is typical in literacy instruction, for example–we do not expect students will master the knowledge and skills indicated until the completion of the last trimester in which the standard is reported on. In fact, it’s likely that many students will earn a score of Developing.

For example, we assess students using text we expect they will be able to master by the end of the school year. For a literacy course standard that repeats, we report each trimester based on your child’s progress toward those end-of-year expectations. This practice gives you consistent information regarding where your child is performing currently, compared to where he or she should be later in the school year or at the year’s end. 

What might you expect to see for a standard that repeats in more than one trimester? You might expect to see a steady progression, such as Not Mastering (1) or Developing (2) in Trimester 1; Developing (2) in Trimester 2; and Mastering (3) in Trimester 3.

NWEA MAP Testing

Today we completed our Winter MAP testing. More information about scores will be forthcoming once the testing window for make-ups is closed. If your child was absent for either test, he/she will be scheduled for a make-up opportunity next week.

Here's What's Happening in Class:

Literacy

This week read a chapter from the story, Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. It is an exciting realistic fiction novel about a young boy who struggles to survive in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. Although this excerpt is the only chapter included in our Ready-Gen Text Collection Book, I highly encourage students to read the book in it’s entirety. Copies are readily available at your local library. As we read, we practiced skills in summarizing and quoting accurately from a text.

Writing

Our students are currently engaged in analytical writing. After researching the topic of whether video games have a more positive or negative effect on kids, students have formed a personal opinion on which to base their essay. Once completed, these essays should include well-developed introductions, body paragraphs inclusive of text evidence and an impactful conclusion.

Math

Our students are continuing their work with decimals.  They are currently refining their skills in the area of using expanded decimal notation, comparing decimals, adding and subtracting decimals, and rounding decimals. 

Science

We have been studying the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. We’ve been learning about the attributes and characteristics of each, as well as how they interact with each other. At this point, your child should be able to tell you what each Earth system contains. In the past week, we finished up our learning by reading and discussing what individuals, corporations, and communities can do to protect the Earth systems. 

Important Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, Dec. 15—Early release @ 2:00

Friday, Dec. 18—Last Day before Winter Break

Monday, Jan. 4-School resumes after Winter Break

 

Happy Friday Families!

I hope everyone is staying warm during this early November cold!  But as we deal with the weather, our students continue to work hard, wrapping up the grading period.

Here's What's Happening in Class:

Literacy

We just wrapped up our story whole-class reading book,  The Road to Freedom.  It was narrated from the point of view of a young girl who traveled on the Underground Railroad with her mother in hopes of making it North to freedom. We had many valuable discussions related to topics raised within the story. We have been also been reading many nonfiction articles as well, in order to practice finding the author's main point, reasons for the main point, and evidence to support the reasons.

Writing

Our students finished their first analytical paper and will be sharing them with their classmates.  The topic was whether or not students should be allowed to bring and use cellphones during the school day.  Their focus was to write engaging introductory and concluding paragraphs, as well as working to add evidence to support their key ideas.  They made quite compelling arguments!

Math

Our students are continuing their work with decimals.  They are currently refining their skills in the area of using expanded decimal notation, comparing decimals, adding and subtracting decimals, and rounding decimals. For those students who had not reached mastery level on our previous fractions targets, I have been meeting with them in order to practice those skills individually or within small groups.

Social Studies

We are wrapping up our discussions about the various responsibilities and powers of different types of governments.  Our discussions continue to revolve around the pros and cons of democracy, a parliamentary government, a monarchy, and a dictatorship.  Of the four governments, students are working to decide which government uses their powers and responsibilities for the benefit of its citizens. On Monday, the students will be creating posters to reflect the research they've been doing. Please make sure your student comes prepared to class on Monday with one or two plain sheets of paper (white printer paper is fine!)

Science

After our cycle with Social studies, next week we will return to learning about earth systems in science. The unit discusses the four main systems of Earth: the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. In addition to learning about their attributes and characteristics, we are also identifying interactions that occur between the systems. Our most recent investigation involved creating a clay model of the Earth, showing each Earth's system. 

Upcoming Events

**Wednesday, November 25-Friday, November 27: No School - Thanksgiving Break

**Friday, December 17th - Start of Winter Break

Friendly Reminders

** Please remind your student to turn his or her camera on during class.  This will help your child to stay engaged at the same level they would be during in-person instruction.

** If your child is experiencing issues with his or her iPad, please email our district tech department at elearningsupport@d96.zendesk.com.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.  Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

 Happy Fall Friday Families!

We had a wonderful time today celebrating the season! It was nice to take time to have some fun! 

Literacy

*We have just finished up another text, The Road to Freedom, about a mother and daughter’s journey to Canada to escape slavery in the South. We used this text to continue to talk about how a character's perspective influences their point of view. We have also continued working on summarizing stories while including a character's response to the events in the story. As we closed out this week, we moved back to nonfiction with a new text about Cesar Chavez, a migrant worker who made a significant impact on the rights of workers. We are using this text to continue our work on identifying an author’s main point and their supporting reasons and evidence.   

Writing

*We are wrapping up our first analytical piece of writing. Students read two nonfiction articles and analyzed the information. In doing so they decided whether they personally felt that cellphones should be allowed in school. Surprisingly, not all students felt that they should! As we planned for the paper, we focused on the key parts of an essay: the introduction, conclusion, and choosing key details and text support. Students should be working to finish these essays next week and will submit them for review. At some point they will be sharing them with you at home!

Math

*We are at the end of our second unit in Math which focused on fractions. The Unit 2 targets included addition and subtractions of fractions with unlike denominators and solving fraction story problems. We did a fun google form review with a Toy Story theme to help prepare for our test, which was given this morning. Feedback will be provided soon for students and families. Next week we will begin our work with Unit 3 which focuses on decimals. We will be writing decimals in standard form, word form, and expanded form, rounding decimals, and solving addition and subtraction of decimals problems.

Social Studies

*When Social Studies resumes after our science cycle, we will continue to learn about different types of governments found around the world: Democracy, Dictatorship, Parliamentary System, and Monarchy. Students will be deciding and defending which government they feel is most effective and best for the people. 

Science

*We have moved on from our work with ecosystems and have been learning about the four Earth systems: the hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. Students began by learning about what types of things are found in each system. Then this week we looked closer at how the systems interact to form various types of weather. 

Other Notes

If your students are involved in band or orchestra, please make sure that they have checked their schedule on the days they attend and are aware of their designated lesson time.

Upcoming Events

Nov 2 - No School - State-allocated planning day 

Nov 3 - No School - Election

Nov 11 - Veteran’s Day

Nov 13 - Half Day

Nov 20 - Trimester 1 Ends

Nov 25-27 No School

 

Happy Friday Families!

It was so great to see many of you at conferences! I really enjoyed the opportunity to speak with you! Going forward, although parent and student office hours will no longer be a part of the new schedule, I am always happy to communicate with you via phone or email!

Please reference the Principal's Message and the Superintendent's message regarding schedule changes & in-person safety procedures. 

Literacy

*We have just finished up another text, Operation Clean Sweep. We are using this text to talk about how a character's perspective influences their point of view. In this particular test, the story was told from the point of view of a young boy in the early 1900s when women had recently won the right to vote.  We have also been working on summarizing stories while including a character's response to the events in the story. Next week we will begin another text titled Road to Freedom. We will continue to focus on how point of view influences how the story is told, as this story is told from the perspective of a young girl who is escaping slavery with her mother.

Writing

*Next week, we will begin our first analytical piece of writing. During writing lessons this week we learned how to analyze a prompt in order to respond effectively.  Students will read an article titled  "Cell Phones in Schools" and will choose a perspective from which to respond to the question, "Should students be able to carry their cellphone with them throughout the school day?" We will focus on the key parts of an essay such as the introduction, conclusion, and choosing key details and text support. 

Math

*We are currently working within the second unit in Math which focuses on fractions. The Unit 2 targets include addition and subtractions of fractions with unlike denominators and solving fraction story problems. Students have completed two checkpoints on these targets, and are receiving instruction based on the needs identified on the assessments. The end of unit assessment will be given at the end of this month. 


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. We will begin to focus specifically on the responsibilities and roles of the branches of the U.S. government. Starting on Monday with our new schedule, Social Studies will no longer be taught asynchronously, but will now be instructed directly.


Science
Once our cycle of Social Studies is complete, we will once again begin to work on Science. We will continue our focus on ecosystems. Over the next few weeks, students will be learning more about how the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers contribute to a food chain, and ultimately, a food web. 

If your students are involved in band or orchestra, please make sure that they have checked their schedule on the days they attend and are aware of their designated lesson time.

Upcoming Events
Oct 19- Hybrid Schedule Begins 
Oct 20- Early Release Day@2:00

Nov 2- No School - District-allocated planning day 

Nov 3- No School - Election Day

 Happy Friday Families!

We just wrapped up another productive week of learning! Students have been adjusting well to our schedules and routines. The flow between synchronous and asynchronous learning is smooth, and students have become quite adept at submitting assignments and making use of the resources available to them.

Did you know that each day of the week we have a special routine that we incorporate into our class meeting? Today was "First Chapter Friday" where I just the first chapter of a book to the kids, hoping to entice them into wanting to read the rest on their own! Be sure to ask your student what I read today, and also have them tell you about our other daily routines!

If your students are involved in band or orchestra, please make sure that they have checked their schedule on the days they attend and are aware of their designated lesson time.

Literacy

*We finished 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 several reading and writing learning targets thus far, such as summarizing text and identifying a theme in what we read. 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!

Writing

*Students are in the process of writing their first narrative stories of the year! After utilizing graphic organizers to plan, students have started to develop their stories through the use of a detailed sequence of events and effective character development. Encouraging students to infuse dialogue into their writing has also continued to be an emphasis. 

Math

*Our students are continuing their work with writing and evaluating numerical expressions with parentheses as well as demonstrating their understanding of how to find the volume of rectangular prisms. We have also started “dabbling” in division, although mastery is not yet expected. We also began our “Number Corner” routine during asynchronous work. 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 last several weeks, the focus of asynchronous social studies lessons has revolved around why America declared its independence from Britain. 

Science

*We are continuing our focus on ecosystems. During asynchronous learning, students will be learning more about how the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers contribute to a food chain, and ultimately, a food web. 

Upcoming Events

Sept. 28 - No School/District Holiday

Sept. 29-Picture Day (see Principal’s message for details)

Oct. 8-Family/Educator Conferences

Oct. 9-Family Educator Conferences (No school)

Oct. 12-Columbus Day (No School)

5th Grade Blog for 9/13

Happy Sunday Families!

The link you clicked on is our classroom Blogger page, which will have bi-monthly classroom updates.  Included in the updates will be our current target concepts in all academic areas, classroom events, and important upcoming dates.  An email with a link to our classroom Blogger page will be pushed out every two weeks when our Blogger page is updated.

It was an absolute pleasure seeing many of you last week at our virtual curriculum night. I hope you found it to be an informative and useful evening.  Your involvement and support are greatly appreciated!  If you were unable to attend, please refer to the presentation, which was emailed to you, or feel free to contact me with any questions!

Here are the targets we are currently / planning on working to master over the next couple of weeks:

Literacy

* Our students are currently working on summarizing fiction texts, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges.  We are also greatly enjoying our first chapter book, Night of The Spadefoot Toads. Because some of the chapters are quite lengthy, students are being required to read portions outside of school hours. They are welcome to use their print copy (which can be be picked up at the Ivy Hall office during the week from 7:45am to 4:00pm) or read the story on their iPads using either the Peaarson site, Epic, or a PDF version that can be found in Schoology .  Just a reminder, the Epic app shuts down at 3:00pm unless you have a home Epic account.

Writing

* Our students are off to a great start to learning and refining their narrative writing skills.  We are currently learning the ins and outs of how to write narrative pieces.  Soon, our students will plan their own narratives, which will include an effectively written introduction, well-developed body paragraphs, and a clear and concise conclusion. 

Math

* Our students are currently working on writing and evaluating numerical expressions with parentheses as well as demonstrating their understanding of how to find the volume of rectangular prisms. The first few weeks have also involved getting used to our remote math routines.  

Science / Social Studies

* Our students just wrapped up their first lessons utilizing our TCI online science curriculum.  Our focus was on understanding the various ecosystems around the world. This unit has tied nicely into the Night of the Spadefoot Toads chapter book we are currently reading in Literacy.

*Our students are starting their government unit in Social Studies, which focuses 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 will revolve around why America declared its independence from Britain. Be sure to ask your students about the "break up" email I read to the class!

Upcoming Events

** Monday September 14th - MAP Testing (we will begin as soon as we can in the morning)

** Tuesday, September 15th - Early Release @ 2:00
** Monday, September 28th—District Holiday—No school

Friendly Reminders

** Please remind your student to turn his or her camera on during class.  This will help your child to stay engaged at the same level they would be during in-person instruction.

** If your child is experiencing issues with his or her iPad, please email our district tech department at elearningsupport@d96.zendesk.com.

** I am available during parent office hours for communication via Zoom on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:45am - 8:15am.  If the office hours are not convenient for you, please send me an email and I will reply as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you for your continued support and partnership and have a fantastic Sunday!

Julie Holzhauer

Happy Friday Families,

This week trimester 2 has come to and end and we are ready to kick off our third and final trimester next week! This week the kids have taken several literacy/writing assessments to demonstrate their progress on T2 learning targets. We also took our unit 5 math post test on multiplication and  division of fractions. 

Literacy

Next week we will start a new module in literacy with a theme of "Exploring New Worlds". To guide our learning we will use a nonfiction text called “Explorers: Triumphs and Troubles”. In this text we will learn about different explorers throughout history and the positive and negative impacts their explorations had on society. While reading, we will be looking closely at how authors use reasons and evidence to support their points. We will also continue to work on identifying multiple main ideas within a text and the supporting details.

Math

We started our new unit in math this week. It will focus primarily on geometry concepts that involve graphing & patterns, classifying quadrilaterals, and finding volume. 

Social Studies

For the last few weeks our learning has focused on analyzing the effects of specific catastrophic and environmental events as well as technological developments that have impacted our nation. We primarily focused on the effects of hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and wildfires, and how technology has been used to help warn and protect citizens from the aftermath of such disasters.

Science

Our next unit will explore the topic of Matter. Students will start by identifying, comparing and contrasting the various states of matter.

Upcoming Events

Monday, March 2 -- No School

Wednesday, March 4--Math Placement Test

Thursday, March 5 -- IH PTO Pizza Bingo @ 6:00pm

March 9,10, 11--Illinois Science Assessment

Tuesday, March 10—PTO Special Lunch

Thursday, March 12—Early Release, Family/Educator Conferences

Friday, March 13—No School, Conferences

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 12.

**Don’t forget to sign up for your collaborative conference. Students are working hard to prepare for these conferences and are excited to tell you about their learning and progress in 5th grade. 

5th Grade Blog post for 1/31/20

Happy Friday Families!

How can it be the last day of January already? Hopefully February will bring some sunshine! Please read below to find out the specifics of what we've been working on!

Reading:

We've been very busy in literacy! Almost all of the kids have presented their current events slide show presentations. We have a few more to squeeze in on Monday. Here, the students were evaluated on integrating three or more sources in order to create a powerpoint presentation about a current topic. It was a great way to practice our oral communication skills as well! This week students also finished reading a book called "Real-Life Superheroes". This nonfiction book taught students about the amazing lives of four "superheroes": Raoul Wallenberg, Richard Martin, Thomas Barnardo, and Rosa Parks. As we have read this book we have been practicing various nonfiction targets such as finding main idea, summarizing, identifying an author's point of view and the evidence they use to support their points, and comparing and contrasting. Today we played a "four corners" game to share our ideas and feeling about the book as well. We even discussed which real life hero we'd like to have over for dinner! Next week we will  work on nonfiction targets as we read "The Great Migration by Jacob Lawrence.  

Writing: Along with reading "Real-Life Superheroes", students have been writing about a real life superhero of their choice! Students have selected an individual in history who they feel has made an outstanding contribution to society--someone who they feel portrays the characteristics of a real-life superhero. After researching about this individual's life, students have been writing an essay which highlights the important biographical info, as well as the reasons this person should be considered a hero. Upon completion, students will share their essays with each other so that we can all hear about the amazing accomplishments of these remarkable people!

Math:  We recently wrapped up our unit on multi-digit whole number multiplication and have shifted our focus back to fractions. Last week students learned how to multiply a fraction by a whole number. Students learned that when you multiply a fraction by a whole number, the answer is smaller than the whole number in the problem because when you multiply you are finding a fractional piece of that whole number. Students played the workplace game "Target One Fractions" where they used number cards to create whole number times fraction problems that had products, as close to 1 as possible. We are now moving into multiplying a fraction by another fraction. Students will learn how to create models to represent the product of these fraction times fraction problems.

Social Studies:  Students are currently learning about probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history, with a focus on exploration of the Arctic.  Students will be reading articles and watching videos about arctic exploration to continue to hone their research skills and their use of multiple sources to support their thinking. We practiced techniques to use in order to narrow the focus of internet searches and improve the quality of the sites we find.

Science:   We have continued to work on our unit on the Earth, Moon and Stars. We recently completed a section of this unit on the perceived movement of stars in the night sky. Students learned that the stars in the sky seem to move because the Earth is moving. We modeled this movement with students in a circle with various pictures of constellations, a globe, and a person representing the sun. Students saw that in different times of the year different stars and constellations are visible due to the position of the Earth in relation to the sun. In the final section of this unit, students will be learning about the different tools scientists use to observe space. 

Important Dates

Feb 3 - Author Visit, Book Fair Preview for our class at 10:00

Feb 4-6 Book Fair 

Feb 6 - Ivy Hall Celebrates Giving Back 6:30-8:00pm

Feb 14 - Valentine's Day! Parties at 2:00. Bring your Valentines to school this day!

Feb 17 - No School

Friendly Reminders

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

**Please continue to have your child practice his or her multiplication facts up to 12.

**If students want to play in the snow outside, they must have the appropriate snow gear in order to do so. Please make sure to send your student with snow pants, snow boots, jacket, gloves, and hat. 

**Band and orchestra students should remember to be prepared with their instruments and music books on the days that lessons take place. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Happy New Year Families!

We've hit the ground running into the new year! We enjoyed sharing our winter break adventures with each other, and now we are ready to resume the school year with renewed energy and enthusiasm!

Please read below to find out the specifics of what we've been working on!

Reading:

Next week wee will focus on practice in some of our literacy targets such as summary writing, theme, and analyzing poetry. We will take a district CFA towards the end of the week which will test students on several of these skills. In two weeks, we will continue our theme of "Finding Courage" and start to delve into a nonfiction book entitled Real Life Superheroes.  Be sure to ask your student about some of the amazing individuals which will be highlighted in this book! We will use this text as a springboard to work on literacy targets in the areas of finding main idea, summarizing and comparing and contrasting texts of similar topics.

Writing: We are currently working on opinion papers. Students have been asked to decide whether or not they believe homework is necessary and/or beneficial. Students have then found research to support their opinion in order to compose a paper which highlights the most important points of their argument. After we have finished with these opinion papers, we will move on to expository writing. Along with reading about Real-life superheroes, we will also be writing about them! Students will select an individual in history who they feel has made an outstanding contribution to society--someone who they feel portrays the characteristics of a real-life superhero. After researching about this individual's life, students will be writing an essay which highlights the important biographical, as well as the reasons this person should be considered a hero. Upon completion, students will share their essays with each other so that we can all hear about the amazing accomplishments of these remarkable people!

Math:  This week we're continuing the work we started prior to break with multi-digit multiplication. Upon completion of our unit, students should feel comfortable in utilizing the traditional method, as well as other algorithms such as partial products and the area model. Ideally, students will show proficiency in being able to solve two and three digit multiplication problems with accuracy. Those students who have already demonstrated mastery of such skills have been working on extending their skills with related challenges. Today we spent some time applying our skills to real-life situations. Ask your student about the Amusement park activity! It was so much fun!

Social Studies:  Students are currently learning about probable causes and effects of events and developments in U.S. history, with a focus on Westward Expansion.  In the coming weeks, our discussions will focus on the California Gold Rush, as well as answer and defend the argument of whether or not the trip Westward would have been a personal choice for them during that time period.  

Be sure to ask your student about some of the reasons people had for moving West!

Science:   We are continuing our unit on the Earth, Moon and Stars. Within this unit we are exploring such concepts as gravity, how distance affects the brightness of stars, and how day and night occur. 

Important Dates

Friday, Jan. 17  Student Council Spirit Day--College Day

Monday, Jan. 20th - No school Martin Luther King Day

Tuesday, Jan. 28 - Early release @ 2:00 p.m.

Friendly Reminders

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

**Please continue to have your child practice his or her multiplication facts up to 12.

**If students want to play in the snow outside, they must have the appropriate snow gear in order to do so. Please make sure to send your student with snow pants, snow boots, jacket, gloves, and hat. 
**Band and orchestra students should remember to be prepared with their instruments and music books on the days that lessons take place. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a wonderful weekend!