February 24, 2014 -  Back from February Vacation and off and running.   I thought I would post some pictures from our Wax Museum night on our blog.  Unfortunately, I am having a difficult time arranging the photos, but I will post it anyways!  

Sacagawea, Rosa Parks, Maria Tallchief

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

 



I couldn't resist posting all these beautiful picture from my incredible scholars!  I am so very proud of each and every one of them!  I know it was a lot of hard work but as you can see, the end product was worth it!

Roald Dahl

Abigail Adams

Dr. Seuss

Annie Oakley

Ernest Shakelton

Walt Disney

Queen Elizabeth 1

The Beatles

Harry Houdini

February 10, 2014

Here we are, one week before February Vacation.  It is hard to believe, isn't it?  We have a very busy week.  Don't forget it is Student Council's Winter Spirit Week.  Monday is Dress Like a Snowman Day.  I have been thinking about this all weekend and this is what I have decided to wear...black leggings with a Men's Large T-shirt.  I am going to put buttons on it and a scarf.  I might paint my nose orange and wear a hat.  Maybe that will help if you were trying to figure that one out too :).  

Wax Museum...I have seen some amazing work going on this week.  I am very excited to see the final projects and costumes tomorrow.  We will work on our bibliographies, speeches and "on" buttons the next couple of days.  Don't forget our Wax Museum is Wednesday from 6 - 7 p.m.  Hope to see everyone there.  

In Math, we will continue work on our fraction unit.  It looks like more work is needed with simplifying fractions and finding common denominators.  Students should continue to practice their multiplication facts.  It is so important for them be able to recall the facts quickly.  

In Reading and Writing, we will work on reading our reports and writing our final speeches for Wednesday.  Editing our work and organization seems to be what we will continue to work on as we move forward.  On Thursday, we will start our our new class book.  It is called, "The Watson's Go To Birmingham."  "The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 is a historical-fiction novel by Christopher Paul Curtis. It tells the story of a loving African-American family, living in the town of Flint, Michigan in 1963. When the oldest son begins to get into a bit of trouble, the parents decide he should spend some time with his strict grandmother (Mrs. Watson's mother) in Birmingham, Alabama. The entire family travels there together by car, and during their visit, tragic events take place that affect them collectively."  This book teaches children about the American Civil Rights movement.


Don't forget to bring in your Valentines.  We will have our party on Friday, February 14th.  I love Valentine's Day.  It is so fun to watch the kids open their Valentines and spread kindness.  It is nice to feel loved :)  

See you all on Wednesday!

Homework Help Videos for the Month of February

Shelby and Liam teaching adding and subtracting of decimals

Homework Help Videos!

Happy February!

Happy February!  I can't say that I am sad to see January go.  I think that was the coldest, iciest, most miserable January I have ever seen.  We had so many days that we couldn't get outside because of the wind chill and low temperatures.  I am a big believer in the need for children to get outside, get some fresh air and play.  Yep, we have all felt pretty cooped up this past month.  I am looking forward to a fabulous February!

We are currently working on fractions!  They are always nervous to start, but I must say they are doing an incredible job!  We spent last week learning how to add mixed numbers with common and uncommon denominators.  This went pretty smooth, but we hit a bump in the road when it came to simplifying fractions.  We will continue to focus on this concept this week.  Lots of great examples with pictures will be used this week to help the students visualize exactly what they learning.  

We are still working on how to upload our video for homework help.  We have been able to download them into a flip program, but we are running into trouble uploading them to the blog.  Thanks for your patience...we WILL figure this out!  I am so excited to get this program up and running.  

Amelia Earhart

This week we will be working on our Wax Museum projects!  I love seeing how excited everyone is!  I think almost everyone has finished reading their biography book.  They can't wait to come to school to share all the fun facts that they are learning.  We will finish up our example on Christopher Columbus tomorrow.  We read the book, researched information, wrote a report, and now we are in the process of finishing our trifold presentation board.  Here are some examples of students projects:

An example of a creative presentation board

Benjamin Franklin

 Have fun with your projects and costumes!  Please let me know if you need help with costume pieces before Friday.  Don't forget to be looking for props/artifacts to add to your display.  For example, if you were Betsy Ross, you might bring in a flag and sewing kit.  Let your creative juices flow!  I have to say this is one of my favorite units in 5th grade!

Don't forget our presentations will take place on Wednesday, February 12 from 12:45 - 2 p.m. and  from 6 - 7 p.m.  

Here are some snapshots of last week's learning!

Juliann Skiing

Tanner and Juliann working paragraph writing!

Romeo

Logan and Shelby working on Christopher Columbus!

Marvel and Brooklyn researching information!

Nadia, Liam and Romeo working hard!

Tanner and Juliann

Julie and Taylor with at Rugrats!

Don't forget next week, February 10th - February 14 is Winter Spirit Week!

Monday is Dress Like a Snowman Day
Tuesday is Milk and Cookies ($1 donation)
Wednesday is Dress like Abe Lincoln Day
Thursday is Pajama Day
Friday is Red, White and Pink Day and our Valentine's Day Party!

A sign up sheet will be sent home for the party this week and a list of names for Valentine's Day!