Field Trip

We are excited to add to the classroom learning of our Life Science Unit on Body Systems by going to the Museum of Nature and Science and experiencing a dissection of a lamb's lung.  Students will first rotate a few experiments and fill out a lab book to record their findings.  After, they will work in pairs to dissect a lung, getting hands on experience of the great things we have been learning in class.

In addition to the respiratory system, in class we will also learn about the circulatory system, digestive system, and excretory.  We will relate all these to Life Processes and show how they all are a part of a larger system that keeps us alive.  Students will look at this system and analyze its interdependance and functions of each part.  Students will also discover how parts and systems are affected when disease, illness, or breakdown occurs.  As we wrap up this unit, students will create a product using technology to demonstrate their learning.

As an extension, students will also get the opportunity to research other systems and discern how they work with the other systems and their functions (bones, muscles, central nervous, etc.).

Student Blogger - Avery

Hello Gold Rush Families

We have been working on many important things is class and
want you to know all about them!

MATH:  In math we have been starting a new unit, fractions.  We are
doing a review on them and then we are going on to the harder
things.  Our last unit was finding the volume on a rectangular prism
and splitting a rectangle in half to find the volume too.

Reading:  In reading we are doing our book club books.  We are also
doing an entry to what we are thinking, themes, why the author put
that, and what problems does the character have.  Almost everyday
we meet with our book club group and have a deep discussion about
what is going on in the book.

Science/ Social Studies:  Right now we are doing science.  In science
we did an energy project about an energy source.(Biomass, Wind
Power, Hydropower, Geothermal.) Also, we will be working on the
digestive system and how it works.

Writing:  In writing we have been doing essays.  In those essays we
have been writing about our new energy source that we chose.  We
have to write about where we want to put it(State), what would the
company need, and How it will effect.  We just finished writing
paragraph of all certain things.

This week parents can come in and see what their kid has been doing
in class.  (“The Celebration Of Learning”) Also we have the
Thanksgiving feast. Parents can come in and but tickets to have
the food that the lunch ladies make.  We are doing the canned food
drive this week and we are helping the Parker Task Force.
Remember this week we also have the BOOK FAIR in the library!

November

Important Dates

11/6 - No School; Election Day!!

11/12 - 11/16 - Fall Book Fair

11/14 - Celebration of Learning & Family Feast

11/19 - 11/23 - Thanksgiving Break (Fall Break #2)

12/21 - No School; Winter Break starts

12/21 - 1/4 - Winter Break

Celebration of Learning (12:25-12:55) & Family Feast (12:55-1:15) See Mrs. Brown's Blog for more information.

Reading

We are continuing our look at theme, however we are constantly trying to dig deeper and analyze our texts that we are reading. Last week, we compared theme between two texts. We also started new book club books. The hope is that we can continue our comparison between two or more texts. The standards in fiction texts we have been working towards are:

• I can compare how two texts from the same genre approach similar themes and topics
• I can identify details in a text that develop a theme
• I can compare characters, settings, or events in a narrative text
• I can describe relationships between events in a narrative text

To help your child, after they finish reading, ask them what is the author trying to teach you in the story. You can start with, "The big lesson is..." or "Sometimes in life..." You can ask them what the big idea of the story is and how the characters or setting influence that idea. Asking them questions like, "What does this book say about (the big idea, ie Friendship, hope, family, etc)?"

After Thanksgiving Break, we will begin a four week study of nonfiction.

Writing

We wrapped up our narrative unit by looking at mentor texts. We dug into the author's craft to study how the author's wrote their stories and then we picked small craft's to work on in our own writing. You will see this writing at the Celebration of Learning. Our next unit has been our paragraph boot-camp getting students ready to write strong multi-paragraphs for the rest of their 5th grade life and beyond. :) In a week, we will begin our study of responding to literature. Students will use short stories and have to formulate a response based on a question this is provided to them.

The standards that we have been working towards and will be working on are as follows:

• I can create event sequences that illustrate a clear causal relationship
• I can use descriptive details to develop settings, experiences, characters, and events
• I can use dialogue to develop character personality and reactions
• I can separate run-on sentences in a draft
• I can edit for subject/verb agreement and inappropriate shifts in verb tense
• I can edit for correct capitalization
• I can use italics, quotation marks, and underlining to indicate the titles of works
• I can use commas to set off elements of a sentence and to form lists
• I can edit for spelling
• I can write for the purpose and task described by a prompt
• I can write for the audience identified by a prompt
• I can integrate information from multiple sources into a text
• I can state clear claims about a topic or text
• I can provide reasons for claims that are supported by evidence

Math

We have finished up our unit on volume and will be taking the test on Wednesday. After that, students will be working with equivalent fractions, ordering fractions, and adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. During the unit, students will work on the following:

Here are some things that you can work on with your child at home:

The standards that we have been working toward and will be working toward are as follows:

• I can multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
• I can divide multi-digit whole numbers using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and the relationship between multiplication and division.
• I can use the properties of place value and multiples of 10 to simplify and solve problems.
• I can shift a decimal value in relation to its decimal point by multiplying or dividing it by a power of 10.
• I can compare decimal values.
• I can determine the volume of right rectangular prisms by packing them with unit cubes.
• I can calculate the volume of right rectangular prisms arithmetically.
• I can calculate the volume of three-dimensional figures composed of right rectangular prisms.
• I can analyze the relationships between numerical patterns.

Science

We have continued our study of living systems. Students have learned about the makeup of cells and soon will be embarking in the study of tissues and organs.  After Thanksgiving we will be sending home information regarding the field trip we will be going on. This field trip to the Museum of Nature and Science will further our understanding of body systems including a dissection of a lung. Students will also learn about the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive system. We will briefly touch on the endocrine, muscle, nervous, excretory, and skeletal systems as well.

Further information:

Please continue to collect box tops. We will have another collection in February or March. Also, if you can spare some more canned foods or non-perishable foods for donations that would be awesome! I am trying to dig through my own pantry for donation. The pantries become bare around holidays and if we fill those pantries at the Parker Task Force, we will be helping our fellow community members! Thank you so much!!

What's going on in class?

Geography
We just concluded our Geography Unit in which students analyzed the different regions of the United States looking for similarities and differences is key concepts.  These included: climate, natural resources, agriculture, products and industry, culture, and major landforms and attractions.  They then extended their knowledge of the region by creating a new NFL franchise for the region.  This showed that they knew their region well and were able to analyze concepts to develop not only a team, but also location and mascot that would be fitting.
What you can do at home?
Ask them why they chose the city they did and mascot they did.  Start having discussions about where products and natural resources come from around the US. 

Reading
We have begun our first book club reading for the year.  Each student is reading a novel that is fitting of their reading level.  We are delving into ideas such as characterization, character motivations, problems and solutions, and deciphering theme.  Students are being asked to not only read deeper, but also to increase their reading volume. 
What you can do at home?
Encourage more and more reading!!  There is a direct correlation to the volume of reading done to all aspects of reading development: fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension.  Also, when students tell you about their book ask more specific questions for follow up: why would that character act in that way?  What does the author want you to think about when they wrote that?  How would you handle the problems arising in this book?

Writing
We are currently finishing up our Personal Narrative Unit where students wrote about not only an important moment of their lives, but also incorporated story elements such as a story arc and theme.  Students are learning that authors not only write often, but write to express an idea or message.
Next we will be moving on to the structures of a well written paragraph and essay.  This will be the foundation for most of the other writing we do this year: research based argumentative essays and historical informational essays.

Math
We are beginning Unit 2 of our math series.  Here we will focus on volume of rectangular prisms and irregular rectangular prisms.  Please view the Family Letter Here

Science
We have taken a brief look at cells, cell organelles, and the differences between plant and animal cells.  This is the basis of all life and will help us understand that every living thing must perform all Life Processes.  Now that we have that concept understood, we will look at the different organs and organ systems of the human body to see how they are imperative to animals performing those life processes.  Our first system will be the digestive system.
What you an do at home?
Talk more about nutrition and how what we eat (or don't eat) affects our organs. 

Upcoming

Hey there!  So much going on this week! Below you will find a schedule for this week along with important information. 

Fall Conferences

The parent-teacher conference schedule has been released. Please sign up here. The password is digger. Gold Rush Conference Nights are Thursday 9/27 and Thursday 10/6. As mentioned earlier, you can sign up for alternative times here.  If none of these work, I completely understand and am happy to email you thoughts and information in lieu of a face-to-face.   

Picture Retakes

Picture retakes are September 19th. If you need to order pictures, please go to Lifetouch.com - Picture Day Id: CG878219Y1.

Digger Dash - 9/20

The GRE annual Digger Dash will be this Thursday. We will be racing from 10:50-11:35. As always, you are invited to come cheer us on as we race. While our race time is still in the morning, it could be very hot by the time we race (provided the rain doesn't decide to show up on Thursday). We are asking students to bring in their own labeled water bottles; PTO will not be providing water this year in order to save money on cups so it can be spent elsewhere. We will be bringing our water bottles outside with us and Parent Volunteers will be setting up a table to house those water bottles. We will resume our normal school day after Digger Dash is over. 

No School this Friday, September 21. Teacher's have an inservice day. 

Also, thank you so much for all who have expressed your congratulations on my upcoming wedding.  20 more days!!  Some have also been curious about any time off I will be taking.  I will have a substitute  for only that Friday before Fall Break: October 5th.

I hope you have a great week and, as always, feel free to email me at any time!

Student Blogger - Sara

Math: We have been learning the difference of factors and multiples.  Also we have been working on number patterns to figure out which number fits all the rules.  That helps us with our math vocabulary.

Reading: In reading we have been learning to jot our thinking on a sticky note, but the sticky note has to be a good detailed sticky note about how you are feeling, questions, metaphors, and responses. We also have been learning about the story plot and the different types of conflict.

Writing: We have been working on an article on 10 questions about ourselves.  We make the questions and we answer them and make it an article about someone interviewing you.    

Social Studies: We have been learning about the 5 themes about geography.

Assessments:  We have been doing a lots of tests these past few weeks.  One of them was called iReady we did math and reading in that test.  Also we did a multiplication test in five minutes and I think that helped us with our multiplication facts.

A few things...

We've had a great week!  I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know these great kiddos.  I love that everywhere I go, teachers stop me and tell me what a great class I have this year.  Thanks for raising such good kids.

A reminder that Reading Logs are due every Friday and should be signed by both your child and you to help foster not only volume of reading but also to build a love of reading. 

Also, thank you for signing the 5 minute Math Drill this week.  As I mentioned at Back to School Night, the math in 5th grade gets quite hard, quite fast.  Knowing multiples and factors will help students grasp concepts faster by seeing patterns and connections between numbers.  We will hit division, fractions, decimals, and algebra this year and knowing these facts will be important to not only their understanding of concepts, but also to their speed of getting through work.

We've done a lot of assessments this week and will continue to do a few more next week.  I'm happy to share information with you at conferences if you'd like.  These assessments are not only required by the state, but also help me reach your child where they are at and help them grow.

CogAT testing his coming up.  Here is more information about what this test is and when we will be taking it.

Finally, Digger Dash packets went home today.  We had a fun assembly to promote our biggest fundraiser of the year.  This year, we plan on using the money in a few ways, but one of the biggest will be to boost and update reading material for the classrooms.  With our new reading program, we feel it is important to have quality books that will truly engage all students.  Thanks for your support.