We had an amazing first day of fifth grade together!  Here are some of our highlights:

* Megan loves how we have an amazing class!
*Bailey wants to come back tomorrow!  (Mrs. Bullen thinks that is a good sign :))
* Leah liked the owl project and our "brain breaks!"
*  Mari likes the owl project too and to wants everyone to remember their sneakers on Wednesdays and  Fridays for P.E.
* Julia can't wait to do the brain breaks when her mind needs a rest!
* Zachery wants you to remember music is on Thursday!
* Leah is excited for homework and tomorrow!
* Jacky likes that we have gym on Wednesdays and Fridays!

Have a great night tonight and I am already looking forward to tomorrow!  It will be much cooler!

Welcome to the first day of FIFTH GRADE!

"When schools flourish, all flourishes." Martin Luther

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to Mrs. Bullen’s 5th grade class! I am pleased to be your child’s teacher this year and I look forward to meeting each of you at our Open House, if not sooner. I believe all children are full of remarkable possibilities and I look forward to helping each student reach his or her potential. My two most important rules are:

#1 Always put forth your best effort

#2 Be kind to everyone.

I believe that each student is responsible for his or her own learning. Therefore, I expect my students to do their best regarding both schoolwork and behavior. With the guidance and direction of both teacher and parents, this can be accomplished.

Goals

My highest goal is to cultivate a passion in my students for learning and growth. Learning is one of the most important things in life and I hope to make this process fun, engaging, and accessible for all students.

Expectations

I will be putting forth my best effort and I will expect the same from all of my students. Even though each student brings different strengths and weaknesses in various subject areas, I expect the work turned in to be their best quality. Assignments need to be handed in when they are due. All students will be given a student planner this year.  We will be teaching students how to record homework each night.  This will be a great step in getting them ready for middle school.  We will go over this planner each day in class and this should be done at home as well.

Our class will have a blog again this year to keep parents and students informed of homework, procedures, announcements, upcoming events, and much more. Our blog can be found at bullenh.blogspot.com.  This website will help support learning in the classroom.  This is a great spot to check out all the fun learning happening each and every day.  One thing that I started last year to help support students during homework time, was recording “Homework Help Videos.”  These are small lesson taught by the students.  It was a big hit last year!  

As your child’s teacher I work with them to build a positive, safe, nurturing environment where your child feels comfortable taking risks.  We will be  understanding, caring, respectful and supportive of one another. These characteristics are of the utmost importance.

Homework

Students will record homework each day in their daily planner.  Any work that is not completed during class time, will be sent home for homework.  My goal for each student is for them to learn to manage their time and put forth their best effort during school.

I look forward to an excellent year filled with learning, growth and fun. If you should have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at 578-8151, or you can e-mail me at bullenh@sad44.org.  I am available most days after school to go over your child’s progress, or to answer questions you may have. Please remember to just call ahead of time so that I may plan accordingly. Thank you for sharing your children with me and let the learning begin!

Mrs. Bullen

5th Grade Teacher

April 27,2014

Here we are at the end of Spring Break and heading into our last stretch of fifth grade.  I already feel teary just thinking about having to say goodbye to this amazing group of children.  Okay, I am not going to think about that yet.  I am going to focus on the time we have left together and continue to push each one of my incredible scholars to reach for the stars.  Let's end our year together with a great, big bang!

I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing vacation.  I know some traveled to warmer weather and some stayed put.  I did not go away for April vacation this year.  I stayed at home.  I read, relaxed, and worked on college stuff with my daughter Lexi. I went to my camp and worked in my gardens.  I love working in my gardening and it was refreshing to see the flowers sprouting, even thought the garden was still surrounded by snow!  We were lucky to have some beautiful days as well!  The ice had not gone our of the lake yet, but it was very close.    I love listening to birds sing and the peepers peep.  A sure sign that spring is here! 

Oh, I did get to go to a Yankee/Red Sox game.  I was lucky enough to see the game that the Red Sox won.  

As we head into the final weeks of school, we will be reviewing what we have learned so far, as well as learning lots of new things.  Homework will be focused on lots of review to get ready for NWEA's in a couple of weeks.  Everyone will need to put on their thinking caps, as some of the skills were learned way back in September.  I believe in each and every student.  I know that if they focus and do their very best they will rock the tests!  

In Math, we will continue to work on our Geometry Unit.  In Reading, students will be starting their Gary Paulsen book.  They will be reading a book of their choice independently and recording their thoughts in their journal.  Students will be expected to write in complete sentences, use proper capitals and punctuation, and their neatest writing.  We will be writing an "I wonder..." statement each day.  In Science, we will continue our work with plant and animal cells.  In Social Studies, we will be focusing on the Revolutionary War.  As you can see, we have lots of material to still cover.  

Even though it feels like a long time ago, I want to say how incredibly proud I was of how well the students performed in Spring Concert.  I would say....Yes, Fifth Grade Has Talent!

I am having a tough time uploading the video, but I will keep trying.  My phone is not an iphone, so it doesn't work well with my MacBook.  

Here are a few snapshots of our learning!

April Fool's Day Hot Fudge Sundaes!

The messier the better!

Mrs. Card and her new baby boy came for a visit!

Shelby teaching us how to make Lake Lava Lamps

Book Buddies

Special Chinese Luncheon with me.
All part of our incentive program.

Romeo sharing his Keynote on his famous explorer.

Hard at work!

Student Council with backpacks and Crocs for the children in Tanzania

Liam sharing his showing us his
knowledge on the Scientific Method!

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS!

We have had a very busy third quarter.  Here is an overview of what we have been working on in each subject area!

Math:  

In math, we have been focused on fractions.  Along with this unit, we have been working on understanding all the key vocabulary words that go along with it.  Some of our math vocabulary words were factors, multiples, prime numbers, composite numbers, least common multiple, greatest common factor, reciprocal, denominator, numerator, improper fraction, mixed number, simplest form,  and reducing.  As you can see, it was a lot to learn!  They did a great job learning the new skills!  One thing that slowed some down was not knowing their multiplication facts fluently.  Keep on practicing!  It is such an important skill to have before moving onto to middle school.  

Reading:

This quarter we read, “The Watson’s Go to Birmingham.”  We learned about the Civil Rights Movement through this wonderful piece of historical fiction.  We focused on how to answer comprehension questions by reading the questions before we read the chapter so that we would know what we were looking for.  We worked on restating the question, answering in complete sentences and using information from the text to support our answers.  We also focused on understanding the elements of the story.  The beginning/setting, rising action, the climax, the falling action and the resolution.  We also read and interpreted a great deal of poetry.  We even spent a bit of time trying to understanding some Shakespeare.  I must say, they blew me away with their interpretations!  

Writing:

We have been reading and writing poetry this quarter.  We have written adjective poems, cinquains, limericks, haikus, bio-poems, and lots more.  We worked on understanding specific patterns and interpreting the meaning of each poem.  Students especially did a wonderful job painting a picture with their words when writing their color poems.  They finished it off by painting a beautiful watercolor picture.

Science:  WE have been learning all about the Scientific Method and how to write a lab report!  Many students were able to show their understanding of the Scientific Method during their science presentation to the class.  We had a fun time participating in all the experiments!

Social Studies:  We have been learning about the explorers and how changes in transportation technologies have affected trade over time. Each student prepared a keynote presentation or a poster to teach us all about the life and adventures of an explorer.

As you can see, we have been very busy!  As we head into our final quarter together in fifth grade, I am going to hold the students accountable for truly becoming a thoughtful thinker.  I want them to think on their own and work hard to retrieve information what they have learned this year, before they automatically raise their hand to ask a question.  Our goal is to bring it all together and find key strategies that allow us to apply our learning.

Here’s to our fourth quarter together!  I love my group of scholars!

In Like a Lion....Out Like a Lamb?

March 17 -

I love the winter, but enough is enough!  I  have to say, I am ready for spring!  I honestly can't believe this forecast.  Oh well, at least the temperature is a bit warmer.  Let's hope March goes out like a lamb.
I am very proud of everyone coming to school being prepared for the weather. Not one student today complained about going outside to play in the snow last week.

It is hard to believe, but grades close for the third quarter at the end of the month.  It makes me sad to think that I only have about 60 days left with this truly amazing group of students!  I get up each morning eager to see each and every one of them.  They have made this one of my best years ever.  Parents, you should all be so proud of raising such a sweet, kind and compassionate group of students.  We, as teachers can teach the skills needed to learn, grow and move forward, but what really matters is the heart and passion of each child and that comes from loving parents and is learned from the moment they are born,  Well done parents!

We have been working hard in math focusing on mixed numbers, improper fractions, multiplying fractions, multiplying fractions by a whole number and drawing models to represent the concept being taught.  I will be assessing students on these standard this week.  Some will continue to work on these skills and those that have grasped the concept will be moving onto division of fractions.

In reading, we are reading, The Watson's go to Birmingham and learning about the Civil Rights Movement.  We are focusing on reading fluently and with expression.  We are also working on how to answer each question thoughtfully and using details from the text to support our answers.  The first step is to slow down and take the time to write all those great ideas that are in their heads.

In Social Studies, we are working on our Explorer Unit.  Each student is researching an explorer and creating a presentation for the class.  Many students are creating slideshows and Keynote presentations to teach their lesson.

In writing. we are reading and writing poetry.  We have just finishing writing beautiful Color poems and creating watercolor pictures to highlight our work.  Students should also be practicing their chosen poem for Mrs. Raymond's poetry contest this week!

In Science, we are learning about the Scientific Method.  I have posted some great picture of some fun experiments we have done in class.  I think our favorite was "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"  Although our results were inconclusive, we learned a lot along the way.  This week, students will come up with a lesson to teach the class.  I have enclosed the guidelines in their homework folder.  This should be a fun time for all!

Marvel and Henry

Shelby

  

Tanner busy collecting data!

Taylor

Logan and Liam.."How many paper clips can we get to float?"

Why do some sink and some float?

 

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

A visit from Andrew Siegel

Gould Academy helps out for the day!

A group photo!

Brooklyn trying to see how many drops of water she can fit on a penny!  Such concentration!

Shelby!

Henry!

A finished experiment!

Such concentration!

Liam

Taylor!

Lilla and Romeo hard at work!

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!