Hello Families,
As I had mentioned on the blog earlier in the week, our class earned oodles of rewards due to significant gains in their MAPs scores. We took our spring Reading, Math, and Language Usage tests at the beginning of the month. The students made whole class point gains of 145, 134, and 242, respectively. Wowzers!
To celebrate, we are having a pizza party/movie afternoon on Thursday, May 26th. Students are allowed to bring in movie options that are G-rated and appropriate. If students would like pizza lunch, I’m asking they bring in $2.00 by Wednesday, May 25th. If they want to bring a bag lunch or get hot lunch and join us in the classroom that is fine also. Drinks and dessert will be provided by me.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
angeama@pewaukee.k12.wi.us
Thanks and have a great weekend! Enjoy this beautiful weather!
Ms. Angel
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Update!
Happy Monday!
First off, please remember that camp materials are due as soon as possible! The camp fee is $49.00 for your student and an additional $49.00 if you are an overnight chaperone. We would love to have you come along and share in this experience!
Secondly, students with missing work will be bringing home a missing work slip. Please make sure you take a moment to have a conversation about keeping motivation and work ethics high as we near the end of the year. These must be signed and returned by tomorrow.
Thirdly! Our students did amazingly on the MAPs tests! Wow. They literally knocked my socks off! Okay, maybe not literally, but I was impressed. Our language usage testing went up, as a class, 242 points from the beginning of the year! WOW. Both Reading and Math also went up well over 100 points as a class. So, as a reward, we will have a pizza party, with a beverage and dessert. I am asking each student to contribute a little money towards the pizza and I will provide the drinks (soda, crystal light) and desserts. This will take place on May 26th starting at 11:50. I will send home more information about this later this week.
Now, on the subject front:
Reading:
We are starting a new unit on Biography. Please be aware of the parameters of this project. Your student will choose a biography subject of their liking, read the book, fill out a planner to organize their ideas, and finally create a final presentation to present to a small group. We will presenting these on Monday, June 6th. It would be wonderful to have parents in our small group audiences! Please let me know if you are interested.
Here is the assignment:
Biography Book Project
Choose a biography or an autobiography for your last book project. You MAY NOT choose a sports figure… find someone else that interests you – a musician, an actor or actress, an author, a president, a politician, historical figure, etc!!
You must have your book selected by WEDNESDAY, MAY 18. You will need to report your title and author Ms. Angel on that day.
Your book and the attached notes sheet must be completed by TUESDAY, MAY 31. You will use some in class time to complete the writing portion of the project using both your book and notes sheet.
The final project will be presented in small groups on Monday, June 6.
Please note that there will be classtime given to work towards the completion of this project. This is independently driven with check-ins. Also, the final project could be done in several ways:
We have completed our formal Spelling units, but will continue with word work and grammar for the remainder of the year. Those of you who received word lists - we will not have anymore! However, on May 31st, we will have a Spelling Achievement test which shows the progress from the beginning of the year.
Math:
We are continuing to work on multiplication and division with whole numbers and decimals. The students are learning new strategies for both operations. Have them show you!
Writing:
Students finished our District Writing Assessment last week. I will have a substitute in on Wednesday while the 5th grade team scores the DWAs. This week, we are working on completing our citizenship papers, sharing how we helped be a good member of our community. The format for this essay is a five paragraph essay, with focus on the 6+1 traits. One of the essays will be chosen and rewarded by Mrs. Carter, based on the community involvement.
Social Studies:
As our year winds down, we are testing on the French-American war tomorrow. We will touch upon the American Revolution with our time left.
Science:
This week we are beginning our new unit on Mixtures & Solutions. It will be exciting to learn about how chemistry works!
Thanks and have a great day!
First off, please remember that camp materials are due as soon as possible! The camp fee is $49.00 for your student and an additional $49.00 if you are an overnight chaperone. We would love to have you come along and share in this experience!
Secondly, students with missing work will be bringing home a missing work slip. Please make sure you take a moment to have a conversation about keeping motivation and work ethics high as we near the end of the year. These must be signed and returned by tomorrow.
Thirdly! Our students did amazingly on the MAPs tests! Wow. They literally knocked my socks off! Okay, maybe not literally, but I was impressed. Our language usage testing went up, as a class, 242 points from the beginning of the year! WOW. Both Reading and Math also went up well over 100 points as a class. So, as a reward, we will have a pizza party, with a beverage and dessert. I am asking each student to contribute a little money towards the pizza and I will provide the drinks (soda, crystal light) and desserts. This will take place on May 26th starting at 11:50. I will send home more information about this later this week.
Now, on the subject front:
Reading:
We are starting a new unit on Biography. Please be aware of the parameters of this project. Your student will choose a biography subject of their liking, read the book, fill out a planner to organize their ideas, and finally create a final presentation to present to a small group. We will presenting these on Monday, June 6th. It would be wonderful to have parents in our small group audiences! Please let me know if you are interested.
Here is the assignment:
Biography Book Project
Choose a biography or an autobiography for your last book project. You MAY NOT choose a sports figure… find someone else that interests you – a musician, an actor or actress, an author, a president, a politician, historical figure, etc!!
You must have your book selected by WEDNESDAY, MAY 18. You will need to report your title and author Ms. Angel on that day.
Your book and the attached notes sheet must be completed by TUESDAY, MAY 31. You will use some in class time to complete the writing portion of the project using both your book and notes sheet.
The final project will be presented in small groups on Monday, June 6.
Please note that there will be classtime given to work towards the completion of this project. This is independently driven with check-ins. Also, the final project could be done in several ways:
- powerpoint, smart notebook, blogger (with parent permission)
- become the character and present as the person
- create a poster, newspaper
We have completed our formal Spelling units, but will continue with word work and grammar for the remainder of the year. Those of you who received word lists - we will not have anymore! However, on May 31st, we will have a Spelling Achievement test which shows the progress from the beginning of the year.
Math:
We are continuing to work on multiplication and division with whole numbers and decimals. The students are learning new strategies for both operations. Have them show you!
Writing:
Students finished our District Writing Assessment last week. I will have a substitute in on Wednesday while the 5th grade team scores the DWAs. This week, we are working on completing our citizenship papers, sharing how we helped be a good member of our community. The format for this essay is a five paragraph essay, with focus on the 6+1 traits. One of the essays will be chosen and rewarded by Mrs. Carter, based on the community involvement.
Social Studies:
As our year winds down, we are testing on the French-American war tomorrow. We will touch upon the American Revolution with our time left.
Science:
This week we are beginning our new unit on Mixtures & Solutions. It will be exciting to learn about how chemistry works!
Thanks and have a great day!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Uno, Dos, Tres!
Hello Families!
Can you believe that your fifth-grader has reached the halfway point of fifth grade? Welcoming our third quarter in is a little bittersweet, as it's evidence of how quickly this year is flying by. Final grades will be posted by Monday morning.
Today, our school had the great fortune of hosting the Ballet Folklorico Mexico performers today. It was an impressive extravaganza of traditional Mexican dancing and ropework. Students and teachers also had the opportunity to join in the fun. Thank you to Senora Swanson for bringing them to Horizon!
Here's the update:
Reading: Today students received their Newbery books and project information. Our focused genre is not only Newbery books, but Historical Fiction. The books span from early 1400s to 1940s. That's quite a span in history. I was extremely excited to see how eager they were to finally have their books in hand. As these books are Newbery winners, they demonstrate strong writing. I hope the students fall into the reading and get lost in the worlds of the past. Click on the thumbnail for more information and DUE DATES.
Math: We continue on in our Unit 3 work. As we near the end of the chapter, I would highly recommend checking out our new "Math Expressions Websites" page up above. I've added some links that might help practice the different concepts we've worked on throughout this unit. As of now, the Math test will be February 4th. This is subject to change dependent on scheduling changes.
Writing: Students just completed their first friendly letter. They will be delivering their letters to the recipients next week. We will continue practicing our friendly letter writing once we are paired up with a 5th class from another school. In addition to friendly letters, we will extend letter writing into the business realm.
Science: We just finished learning about the heart, lungs, skin, and teeth. Ask your student to share some of their new knowledge about one of these areas of the body. Next up, testing foods for fat, protein, and carbohydrates in foods.
Social Studies: The students took their Chapter 6/7 test on the 13th. Now that all of the students have taken the test, they will be coming home on Monday. Please sign them and send them back to school. We will start a more in-depth look at colonial life in our next chapter.
Spelling: Students took the second Achievement test in Spelling.I was thoroughly impressed with the progress the class made! Congrats, students!
Reminder:
MAPs Math Test is first thing Monday morning.
MAPs Reading Test is Tuesday, February 8th.
Can you believe that your fifth-grader has reached the halfway point of fifth grade? Welcoming our third quarter in is a little bittersweet, as it's evidence of how quickly this year is flying by. Final grades will be posted by Monday morning.
Today, our school had the great fortune of hosting the Ballet Folklorico Mexico performers today. It was an impressive extravaganza of traditional Mexican dancing and ropework. Students and teachers also had the opportunity to join in the fun. Thank you to Senora Swanson for bringing them to Horizon!
Here's the update:
Reading: Today students received their Newbery books and project information. Our focused genre is not only Newbery books, but Historical Fiction. The books span from early 1400s to 1940s. That's quite a span in history. I was extremely excited to see how eager they were to finally have their books in hand. As these books are Newbery winners, they demonstrate strong writing. I hope the students fall into the reading and get lost in the worlds of the past. Click on the thumbnail for more information and DUE DATES.
Math: We continue on in our Unit 3 work. As we near the end of the chapter, I would highly recommend checking out our new "Math Expressions Websites" page up above. I've added some links that might help practice the different concepts we've worked on throughout this unit. As of now, the Math test will be February 4th. This is subject to change dependent on scheduling changes.
Writing: Students just completed their first friendly letter. They will be delivering their letters to the recipients next week. We will continue practicing our friendly letter writing once we are paired up with a 5th class from another school. In addition to friendly letters, we will extend letter writing into the business realm.
Science: We just finished learning about the heart, lungs, skin, and teeth. Ask your student to share some of their new knowledge about one of these areas of the body. Next up, testing foods for fat, protein, and carbohydrates in foods.
Social Studies: The students took their Chapter 6/7 test on the 13th. Now that all of the students have taken the test, they will be coming home on Monday. Please sign them and send them back to school. We will start a more in-depth look at colonial life in our next chapter.
Spelling: Students took the second Achievement test in Spelling.I was thoroughly impressed with the progress the class made! Congrats, students!
Reminder:
MAPs Math Test is first thing Monday morning.
MAPs Reading Test is Tuesday, February 8th.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Points of Business
Good Morning Families!
- Students received a list of missing work yesterday morning. Copies are available if students are unable to locate items in their folder. It is up to the students, with parental guidance, to complete any missing work by Friday. As this is their responsibility to want to achieve, I have been prompting the option to complete work, but will not force it. The only case in which I will be making makeup work mandatory is in the case of a test retake. After Friday, I can no longer accept missing work to apply towards the second quarter grades. I do hope students will take this opportunity seriously and work towards their best 5th grade self.
- If your child is doing the Bango Bucks fundraiser, all materials are due TOMORROW (1/19).
- Social Studies tests will be coming home tonight. Please sign it and send it back with your student as quickly as conveniently possible.
- MAPs Math testing is next Monday. Over the weekend, please make sure plenty your child gets plenty of sleep. We are doing them first thing in the morning. A MAPs Reading test may be following the week after, depending on times. I will update you on the date and time of that as soon as it is determined.
- Book Orders are due this Friday 1/21 and will be placed that afternoon.
- As always, please make sure students have the proper winter gear for our snowy weather. Again, we've had many students out in this cold weather with nothing more than a sweatshirt on or without hats, gloves, boots, etc.! Our afternoons get long when they have to sit in wet clothes!!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Update!
Good Evening Families,
A few updates for you:
*Reading: We've completed our Mystery unit. Students are currently working on their final project. They have spent upwards of four hours in the computer lab designing their own glog, a multimedia book review about their mystery book. As they've been glogging, I've been privy to all sorts of creativity! It's fantastic.
*Math: In Math, we're continuing our third unit which focuses on Addition and Subtraction of decimals. We have been working hard at reviewing place value. Not only have students been working on new addition and subtraction methods ~ ask them to show you the Groups Below Addition method or the Subtotal method ~ but we've also been working on finding numbers that work together when paired to make mental math easier. This week, we're tapping back into our brains to find out what we remember about rounding.
*Social Studies: Well, we are just about done with our Chapter 6/7 studies. Students have learned about the first two colonies that survived in North America. Jamestown and Plymouth colonies have many similarities, yet many differences. Our test is this Thursday. Students received the review sheet last Friday. It is due Wednesday afternoon, at which time, we will go over the entire sheet.
In addition to our text work, we are also continuing to build mapping skills.
*Science: Our new unit "You and Your Body" is a hit. So far, we've learned about the human skeleton, reaction time, and most recently, the heart. Ask your students to share some of the facts they've learned about the body so far. Tomorrow we will discuss the lungs.
I've asked students to begin bringing in clean food labels. However, I reminded them not peel off labels from cans in the pantry; otherwise, it's mystery dinner every night!
*Writing: We will begin working on letter formats this week. Our focus will be friendly first and then followed by business letters. My hope is to connect with an area school and set up penpals to practice our friendly writing skills.
*FOLDER CLEANOUT. Please watch for information coming home regarding the Six Flags Reading Incentive program. Students will receive information after a short presentation on Wednesday morning. You also received information regarding selling Bucks tickets. This is due January 19th. Keep selling!
Please remember to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
angeama@pewaukee.k12.wi.us
Enjoy your day!
A few updates for you:
*Reading: We've completed our Mystery unit. Students are currently working on their final project. They have spent upwards of four hours in the computer lab designing their own glog, a multimedia book review about their mystery book. As they've been glogging, I've been privy to all sorts of creativity! It's fantastic.
*Math: In Math, we're continuing our third unit which focuses on Addition and Subtraction of decimals. We have been working hard at reviewing place value. Not only have students been working on new addition and subtraction methods ~ ask them to show you the Groups Below Addition method or the Subtotal method ~ but we've also been working on finding numbers that work together when paired to make mental math easier. This week, we're tapping back into our brains to find out what we remember about rounding.
*Social Studies: Well, we are just about done with our Chapter 6/7 studies. Students have learned about the first two colonies that survived in North America. Jamestown and Plymouth colonies have many similarities, yet many differences. Our test is this Thursday. Students received the review sheet last Friday. It is due Wednesday afternoon, at which time, we will go over the entire sheet.
In addition to our text work, we are also continuing to build mapping skills.
*Science: Our new unit "You and Your Body" is a hit. So far, we've learned about the human skeleton, reaction time, and most recently, the heart. Ask your students to share some of the facts they've learned about the body so far. Tomorrow we will discuss the lungs.
I've asked students to begin bringing in clean food labels. However, I reminded them not peel off labels from cans in the pantry; otherwise, it's mystery dinner every night!
*Writing: We will begin working on letter formats this week. Our focus will be friendly first and then followed by business letters. My hope is to connect with an area school and set up penpals to practice our friendly writing skills.
*FOLDER CLEANOUT. Please watch for information coming home regarding the Six Flags Reading Incentive program. Students will receive information after a short presentation on Wednesday morning. You also received information regarding selling Bucks tickets. This is due January 19th. Keep selling!
Please remember to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
angeama@pewaukee.k12.wi.us
Enjoy your day!
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Updates
Good Morning Families,
A few updates for you:
*Reading: We've started our Mystery unit. Help your student be a reading sleuth by asking questions about their books.
*Math: In Math, we've started our third unit which focuses on Addition and Subtraction of decimals. We have been working hard at reviewing place value. Did you know there isn't a oneths spot? Students have been using something called secret code cards to help them build decimal numbers. Watch for pictures to see these cards in action!
*Social Studies: We are starting to explore Explorers. The past few days, we've discussed a certain Italian sailor who thought he was going to Asia but instead found the Bahama Islands. Any guesses? We will fast forward in history a bit when we head to Roanoke and Jamestown colonies. Watch out for the mosquitoes there! In order to have more discussion time in class, students are bringing home their Social Studies textbooks to read ahead.
In addition to our text work, we are also continuing to build mapping skills. Our next adventure is navigating through elevation colors!
*Science: Our "Rocks & Minerals" test will be coming home by the end of this week. There are still a few students who need to take it. Overall, the students did a nice job on it. Next unit..."Human Body". I've asked students to begin bringing in clean food labels. However, I reminded them not peel off labels from cans in the pantry; otherwise, it's mystery dinner every night!
*Writing: Students are going to start another Writing Circle topic seed today. They will pick a topic and write in any format or genre they choose. On Thursday, the students will pick one of their three seeds to grow into a final draft. I'm excited to see what they will choose! So far, the drafts I've peeked at look great!
*Spelling: We've been working on homophones and homographs. In addition, students have been working on a Greek & Latin root activity. Ask them if they can tell you what the meanings of -phone, -graph, and homo- mean. These were part of a lesson we did last week. I was impressed with how intuitive this bunch is! Nice work, word detectives.
*Progress reports will be posted on Sunday night. I will have missing work reports available on Thursday morning for the students. At this point, it seems most students are sitting well with work. Please watch for the progress reports to arrive at your home next week.
*"Dippin' into the New Year" will be our end of 2010 classroom "party". This will take place from 2-3:15 on Tuesday, December 21st. Please watch for more information on this and how you can be involved early next week.
Please remember to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
angeama@pewaukee.k12.wi.us
Enjoy your day!
A few updates for you:
*Reading: We've started our Mystery unit. Help your student be a reading sleuth by asking questions about their books.
*Math: In Math, we've started our third unit which focuses on Addition and Subtraction of decimals. We have been working hard at reviewing place value. Did you know there isn't a oneths spot? Students have been using something called secret code cards to help them build decimal numbers. Watch for pictures to see these cards in action!
*Social Studies: We are starting to explore Explorers. The past few days, we've discussed a certain Italian sailor who thought he was going to Asia but instead found the Bahama Islands. Any guesses? We will fast forward in history a bit when we head to Roanoke and Jamestown colonies. Watch out for the mosquitoes there! In order to have more discussion time in class, students are bringing home their Social Studies textbooks to read ahead.
In addition to our text work, we are also continuing to build mapping skills. Our next adventure is navigating through elevation colors!
*Science: Our "Rocks & Minerals" test will be coming home by the end of this week. There are still a few students who need to take it. Overall, the students did a nice job on it. Next unit..."Human Body". I've asked students to begin bringing in clean food labels. However, I reminded them not peel off labels from cans in the pantry; otherwise, it's mystery dinner every night!
*Writing: Students are going to start another Writing Circle topic seed today. They will pick a topic and write in any format or genre they choose. On Thursday, the students will pick one of their three seeds to grow into a final draft. I'm excited to see what they will choose! So far, the drafts I've peeked at look great!
*Spelling: We've been working on homophones and homographs. In addition, students have been working on a Greek & Latin root activity. Ask them if they can tell you what the meanings of -phone, -graph, and homo- mean. These were part of a lesson we did last week. I was impressed with how intuitive this bunch is! Nice work, word detectives.
*Progress reports will be posted on Sunday night. I will have missing work reports available on Thursday morning for the students. At this point, it seems most students are sitting well with work. Please watch for the progress reports to arrive at your home next week.
*"Dippin' into the New Year" will be our end of 2010 classroom "party". This will take place from 2-3:15 on Tuesday, December 21st. Please watch for more information on this and how you can be involved early next week.
Please remember to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
angeama@pewaukee.k12.wi.us
Enjoy your day!
Monday, November 01, 2010
Update!
Good Evening Families!
I know it seems there is a barrage of posts heading your way! I just want to keep you updated! Here's the skinny, super agent families:
Reading: We just completed Jerry Spinelli's novel, Crash. It's themes of friendship and sticking up for others resonate throughout the book. We see our main character, Crash (aka John Coogan), face an internal struggle between making friends with Penn Webb, the new kid on the block, or bullying him in an attempt to seem cool with his 7th grade peers. It's a book with a dash of humor, a pinch of sadness, and a handful of messages! Ask your student what they liked best. To complete our unit on Crash, students will be receiving an assignment on Wednesday that will be due Monday, November 15th. Next up...mystery. Dun dun DUN!
Math: In Math, students finished their Unit 1 test. Our class average was a 93.66% Way to go, kiddos! Amazing work. We are setting out to explore Area and Perimeter just a little bit more closely. With WKCE testing this week, we will be moving into our new unit slowly. Get ready!
Social Studies: Do you know what sort of housing the Iroquois lived in? Who was responsible for making the decisions in the Eastern Woodland tribes? If you aren't sure...ask your student! They can tell you. Our class is just finishing up a quick unit on the Eastern Woodland tribes. Today, we did a little quiz review to prepare for Thursday's True/False quiz. Students finding themselves with a question mark popping up above their head were encouraged to take their textbooks home to reinvestigate some of the main points covered today. Next up, Explorers!
Science: We have been busy digging in and learning all about Rocks and Minerals. If you think of it, ask your student to list the types of tests done on minerals...let's see what they remember! In addition to identifying and classifying minerals, we will soon be classifying rock samples into three categories: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. Do you know what the differences are between these rock types? Ask your students to give you a theatrical demonstration of sedimentary rock...very interesting! Today, we began the process of creating crystals. Did you know that the size of the crystal is dependent upon the speed at which it forms? Watch for pictures as we watch them grow!
Other Important Things:
I know it seems there is a barrage of posts heading your way! I just want to keep you updated! Here's the skinny, super agent families:
Reading: We just completed Jerry Spinelli's novel, Crash. It's themes of friendship and sticking up for others resonate throughout the book. We see our main character, Crash (aka John Coogan), face an internal struggle between making friends with Penn Webb, the new kid on the block, or bullying him in an attempt to seem cool with his 7th grade peers. It's a book with a dash of humor, a pinch of sadness, and a handful of messages! Ask your student what they liked best. To complete our unit on Crash, students will be receiving an assignment on Wednesday that will be due Monday, November 15th. Next up...mystery. Dun dun DUN!
Math: In Math, students finished their Unit 1 test. Our class average was a 93.66% Way to go, kiddos! Amazing work. We are setting out to explore Area and Perimeter just a little bit more closely. With WKCE testing this week, we will be moving into our new unit slowly. Get ready!
Social Studies: Do you know what sort of housing the Iroquois lived in? Who was responsible for making the decisions in the Eastern Woodland tribes? If you aren't sure...ask your student! They can tell you. Our class is just finishing up a quick unit on the Eastern Woodland tribes. Today, we did a little quiz review to prepare for Thursday's True/False quiz. Students finding themselves with a question mark popping up above their head were encouraged to take their textbooks home to reinvestigate some of the main points covered today. Next up, Explorers!
Science: We have been busy digging in and learning all about Rocks and Minerals. If you think of it, ask your student to list the types of tests done on minerals...let's see what they remember! In addition to identifying and classifying minerals, we will soon be classifying rock samples into three categories: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. Do you know what the differences are between these rock types? Ask your students to give you a theatrical demonstration of sedimentary rock...very interesting! Today, we began the process of creating crystals. Did you know that the size of the crystal is dependent upon the speed at which it forms? Watch for pictures as we watch them grow!
Other Important Things:
- The end of the quarter is nearing! November 5th is the last day for missing work to be turned in. Students received a list early last week noting any missing assignments. Another list will be passed out Thursday morning with an opportunity to finish work up that afternoon.
- We are still collecting soda tabs this week. The students are collecting them by grade to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. This is a Student-Council organized event.
- AND Box Top collection is up and going again. Keep checking your food boxes and labels for them! Last time, we collected 1, 056. The top winner in the district had 5000! Let's see if we can do it! This runs until December 17, 2010. Get your scissors ready! This is a cute video about some of the products on which you can find Box Tops. Click here.
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