Ack News 2/19

ACK NEWS
 Week of February 19

HOMEWORK

Monday-Thursday  -Math sheet -Reading Response -Read 20 minutes -Words Their Way Monday--word sort.  Have your child sort their words and teach someone at home their pattern Tuesday--speed sort.  Time your child and see how fast they can correctly sort their words. See if they can beat their time. Wednesday--blind sort. Give your child their headings and read the words aloud individually so your child cannot see the word. They must tell you the appropriate heading it goes under. Thursday-- choice!  I have sent home a packet of all the homework guidelines. On the last page, there is a list of different choice options for a Thursday activity. FRIDAY THIS HOMEWORK IS DUE.  Someone at home must sign off on the homework sheet that your child completed an activity each night.

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING

MATH

It's all about Fractions Now! Students began the unit last week understanding the power of 1. A fraction multiplied by 1 is the same amount but will look different.  We tend to call this Wonderful One.  3/4 x 2/2 is 6/8.  2/2 being the Wonderful One.  Students compared models to create a concrete understanding of this concept and will start to have a more abstract understanding this week.   Students took an 8 week assessment this past week. I twas on division, multiplication and algebra.  I will be working with students in small intervention groups to support them on skills they are struggling with during the next few weeks.

READING, WRITING, and WORDS THEIR WAY

READING: In reading this week we will continue to work on identifying the theme of a fictional text.  Students have also now all been reassessed with their guided reading level.  A reminder that the range for fifth grade is T, U, V.  Be sure to ask your child about current level!  They should be choosing "just right" books according to this level, as this is where they can read independently.  I will also be starting new guided reading groups/book clubs, this week! WRITING: Last week, we began constructing the body paragraphs to their opinion writing piece.  This week, we will be working to construct their final body paragraph. WORDS THEIR WAY: Students will receive their new sort/pattern for the week.  As always, their homework will be due Friday.  Students should be completing at least one activity per night to reinforce their pattern.

SOCIAL STUDIES

This week, we will be focusing on the establishment of the 13 original colonies and working on some mapping activities to learn about them.

SCIENCE

We continue to work on separating material using different material.

REMINDERS

-No ELL Homework Club or 21st Century This week. -Vacation Next Week

Ack News 1/31

ACK NEWS
 Week of January 31

HOMEWORK

Monday-Thursday  -Math sheet -Reading Response -Read 20 minutes -Words Their Way Monday--word sort.  Have your child sort their words and teach someone at home their pattern Tuesday--speed sort.  Time your child and see how fast they can correctly sort their words. See if they can beat their time. Wednesday--blind sort. Give your child their headings and read the words aloud individually so your child cannot see the word. They must tell you the appropriate heading it goes under. Thursday-- choice!  I have sent home a packet of all the homework guidelines. On the last page, there is a list of different choice options for a Thursday activity. FRIDAY THIS HOMEWORK IS DUE.  Someone at home must sign off on the homework sheet that your child completed an activity each night.

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING

MATH

Students are working so hard on their fluency and are showing great growth in both multiplication and division. Keep working with them at home! In math this week, students will divide three- and four-digit dividends by two-digit divisors resulting in two- and three-digit quotients.  Tonight they should have only worked on their math for no more than half hour.  We will continue with division through the rest of the week and then start on our fraction unit next week.  I will continue to work on division during intervention for the next couple weeks to ensure mastery in this skill.

READING, WRITING, and WORDS THEIR WAY

READING: The past two weeks we have been working on making inferences--using context clues and background knowledges to make predictions about what would happen next, etc. etc.  This week, we will be using similar skills to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.  We will be taking a look at some more challenging texts (with a higher level vocabulary) in order to learn strategies to use when coming across new words.  The idea is to have students use words/phrases around the word, any background knowledge about prefix/suffix/root word meaning, etc. in order to figure our what the word means--instead of skipping over it. WRITING: Last week in our writing workshop, we took a look at the opposing side of our chocolate milk debate.  It was interesting to watch many of the kids start to change their minds about their initial stance.  Students also started to collect further evidence (for both sides of the argument) to add to their notes by watching videos and reading other articles on the issue.  This week, we will be sharing the evidence they collected and adding it to our class evidence chart.  By the end of the week, based on the evidence collected, students will be taking an official stance on the argument and work to create an outline of their claim. WORDS THEIR WAY: Students will receive their new sort/pattern for the week.  As always, their homework will be due Friday.  Students should be completing at least one activity per night to reinforce their pattern.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Continuing with our civics/government unit, this week we will be taking a closer look at the first 10 amendments to our Constitution (Bill of Rights) and what they mean for an individual's rights.  We will also look at the preamble to the Constitution and dissect the meaning of that as well.  This will eventually lead us into taking a look at the body of the Constitution.

SCIENCE

Chemistry is the study of the structure of matter and the changes or transformations that take place within those structures. Learning about the properties and behaviors of substances and systems of substances gives us knowledge about how things go together and how they can be taken apart and gives us the opportunity to use and develop models that explain phenomena too small to see directly. Learning about changes in substances can lead to the development of new materials and new ways to produce energy and resources such as clean drinking water. The Mixtures and Solutions Unit we are doing has five investigations that introduce students to fundamental ideas about matter and its interactions. Students come to know that matter is made of particles too small to be seen and develop the understanding that matter is conserved when it changes state—from solid to liquid to gas—when it dissolves in another substance, and when it is part of a chemical reaction. Students have experiences with mixtures, solutions of different concentrations, and reactions forming new substances. They also engage in engineering experiences with separation of materials. Students gain experiences that will contribute to the understanding of crosscutting concepts of patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; and energy and matter. They are super excited to start this unit this week and can't wait to share what they have learned.

REMINDERS

-Dental Insurance paper work went home this week. If you did not receive it, let me know and I can send another one home. -Most finished iReady and they worked so hard to show what they know!  I will send home their results with progress reports next week, but please ask your child how they did because I know they are excited to share their news. -Chorus is cancelled for tomorrow.

Ack News 1/21

ACK NEWS
 Week of January 21

HOMEWORK

Monday-Thursday  -Math sheet -Reading Response -Read 20 minutes -Words Their Way Monday--word sort.  Have your child sort their words and teach someone at home their pattern Tuesday--speed sort.  Time your child and see how fast they can correctly sort their words. See if they can beat their time. Wednesday--blind sort. Give your child their headings and read the words aloud individually so your child cannot see the word. They must tell you the appropriate heading it goes under. Thursday-- choice!  I have sent home a packet of all the homework guidelines. On the last page, there is a list of different choice options for a Thursday activity. FRIDAY THIS HOMEWORK IS DUE.  Someone at home must sign off on the homework sheet that your child completed an activity each night.

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING

MATH

Last week students worked on 2 to 3 step word problems that included adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing with decimals, along with converting.  This week we will work on estimation when dividing. Students will find out very quickly this is difficult if they do not know their facts. Please work with them to master their fact fluency, many have done this and many are almost there.  I will be out Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for a conference. The students will be completing iReady math during this time on Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday they will be going to Beaver Brook, so they will finish up their iReady Monday.  I will be in contact with the students through Google classroom and have spoken to them about expectations. They have assigned seats and will be stopping when they complete about 30-35% a day so that they stay focused and on task. Let me know if you have any questions.

READING, WRITING, and WORDS THEIR WAY

READING: This week we will finish up inferencing (the kids have been doing great with this!) and they will be given an exit ticket on making inferences and using evidence to support their claim. I only have a small handful of students finishing their reading i-ready test.  They have really taken their time and have made some amazing gains.  Looking forward to Trimester 2! As always, their reading homework will be to read a minimum of 20 minutes each night and complete their reading response sheet. WRITING: Last week we dove into our argument writing unit.  We discussed that with argument writing, taking a stance on an issue means more than just following your "gut reaction".  Good writers suspend their judgement and look at evidence from BOTH sides before taking a stance.  As a class, we are looking at the argument should chocolate milk be served in school?   Last week, we looked at and analyzed an article that supported the claim that chocolate milk should be served in schools.  We dissected the argument and gathered evidence to support this side.  This week, we will be looking at an article that examines reasons it should not be served in school.  Students will also have the opportunity to look at other resources (articles, videos, etc.) to gather evidence on this issue. WORDS THEIR WAY: Students will receive their new pattern/sort this week.  As always, students should be completing an activity at home each night to reinforce their pattern.  Homework is due back to school on Friday.

SOCIAL STUDIES

This week, we will be examining all the reasons colonists wanted to break away from King George III and Great Britain, as well as the events leading up to the Revolutionary War.  We will also begin to examine the Bill of Rights.

SCIENCE

This week, students will continue to solve the Mystery, “How could you save a town from a hurricane?” They will collaborate in groups to figure out how to prevent their town from flooding, while also staying within the town’s budget.  You can encourage your child’s curiosity this week at home! Watch this quick 1-minute video together about how hurricanes get their names: http://safeYouTube.net/w/ouTb. It’s also a great time discuss any hurricanes that may have happened recently.

REMINDERS

Students have a field trip to Beaver Brook Friday! They need to bring the permission slip back in order to attend, there is no fee.  They will also need to dress appropriately, boots, jackets, gloves, because unfortunately there is no snow for snowshoeing but they will go outside for short hike on animal adaptations.  Mrs. Bodden, our ELL teacher, will be attending this trip with Miss Chrusciel to support the substitute. Mrs. Bodden has a great relationship with all the kids and will make sure students are safe and following expectations.

Ack News 1/16

ACK NEWS
 Week of January 16

HOMEWORK

Monday-Thursday  -Math sheet -Reading Response -Read 20 minutes -Words Their Way Monday--word sort.  Have your child sort their words and teach someone at home their pattern Tuesday--speed sort.  Time your child and see how fast they can correctly sort their words. See if they can beat their time. Wednesday--blind sort. Give your child their headings and read the words aloud individually so your child cannot see the word. They must tell you the appropriate heading it goes under. Thursday-- choice!  I have sent home a packet of all the homework guidelines. On the last page, there is a list of different choice options for a Thursday activity. FRIDAY THIS HOMEWORK IS DUE.  Someone at home must sign off on the homework sheet that your child completed an activity each night.

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING

MATH

Math was all about converting! They worked hard on this and we had some extra practice of converting feet to inches with our guest teacher Mike Anderson.  I worked with small groups on word problems due to the difficulty of these multi-step problems.  I will do an exit slip on this and word problems by Wednesday and complete some intervention in smaller groups if needed.   So many students are working on division and making some great gains in learning their table!  Please take time to practice with your child every night and it can be as easy as tell me what is 4x9... Students should be on lesson 15 in zearn.  iReady Math will be next week: 1/24, 1/25, 1/26

READING, WRITING, and WORDS THEIR WAY

READING: Last week, the kids worked SO HARD on their reading i-Ready test...to the point where they are still going!  I have a small handful who have finished and the gains are more than I could have hoped for!  We will still need to allocate some time this week to finish up testing for those who have not completed the test yet.  As soon as we finish up, I am happy to share the results with you. This week in reading, we will also continue to work on inferencing.  We will be taking a look at different passages and by using context clues and background knowledge, the kids will be working to make inferences with supported reasoning. Finally, I will be starting our second round of guided reading assessments, as this takes awhile to get through each child.  Back in September, your child was assessed and given a guided reading level on a scale of A-Z based on their fluency, retell, vocabulary, and comprehension.  The range in which we hope our fifth graders to be reading in is T, U, V.  This week, I will start our second round of assessment to determine your child's new reading level.  This will determine what books they can be choosing to read independently, as well as, their placement for guided reading groups this trimester. WRITING: Moving into argument writing, this week, we will be focusing on the idea that opinions should be based on evidence and not initial gut reactions.  We will also be discussing that when composing an argument, writers need to collect evidence in order to think through the various sides of the argument.  Much of the strategies in this unit will be modeled and taught through composing a piece debating whether chocolate milk should or should not be served in schools. WORDS THEIR WAY:Last week, your child was reassessed on their phonics and either put into a new group based on a major jump in their progress, or kept in the same group to keep moving forward with their patterns.  This week, we will resume business as usual-- they will receive their sort on Tuesday and homework will be due back on Friday.  Please make sure your child is completing at least one activity at home each night!!  It helps to reinforce their word pattern and give them additional practice.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Last week, we completed preliminary rounds for the National Geographic Geography Bee.  Congrats to all of our students who gave their best effort in competing!  This Wednesday morning, our class winners will be competing in our school bee to determine our school champion.  The school winner will meet with me by the end of January and take an online test through National Geographic to see if they qualify to move on to the state bee at Keene State College. In class, we will be continuing with our civics/government unit and taking a look at what rights all people should have, as well as, talking about the Declaration of Independence.

SCIENCE

This week, students will solve the Mystery, “How could you save a town from a hurricane?” They will collaborate in groups to figure out how to prevent their town from flooding, while also staying within the town’s budget.  You can encourage your child’s curiosity this week at home! Watch this quick 1-minute video together about how hurricanes get their names: http://safeYouTube.net/w/ouTb. It’s also a great time discuss any hurricanes that may have happened recently.

REMINDERS

Geography Bee is Wednesday! Our winners are: Daniel, Hunter, Natalie, and Cecilia Our Nashua Sings representatives: Mariah, Meredith and Micayala

Ack News 1/2/2018

ACK NEWS
 Week of January 2

HOMEWORK

Monday-Thursday  -Math sheet -Reading Response -Read 20 minutes -Words Their Way Monday--word sort.  Have your child sort their words and teach someone at home their pattern Tuesday--speed sort.  Time your child and see how fast they can correctly sort their words. See if they can beat their time. Wednesday--blind sort. Give your child their headings and read the words aloud individually so your child cannot see the word. They must tell you the appropriate heading it goes under. Thursday-- choice!  I have sent home a packet of all the homework guidelines. On the last page, there is a list of different choice options for a Thursday activity. FRIDAY THIS HOMEWORK IS DUE.  Someone at home must sign off on the homework sheet that your child completed an activity each night.

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING

MATH

Math this week continues to practice estimating and multiplying decimals.  We then jump into using multiplication to express equivalent measurements.   I will send a math Newsletter home that will give information about measurement conversions with multiplication tomorrow.  Some Videos that will help this week: Lesson 12: https://youtu.be/3M5nHME_nzg  Lesson 13: https://youtu.be/vDzOOLjH8h4  Lesson 14:https://youtu.be/LAIwQ7YMsXI

READING, WRITING, and WORDS THEIR WAY

READING: This week, students will be given their checklist and overview of our new unit--fiction!  Here are the skills we will be learning: ​Quoting accurately when making inferences Determining the meaning of unfamiliar words within a text Identifying theme Summarizing different genres of text Comparing/contrasting characters, setting, and events in a text Identifying how story elements contribute to the overall structure of a text Students will also work to finish up their hurricane website performance task from unit 1. Finally, as always, their homework will be to read a minimum of 20 minutes each night and complete a reading response. WRITING: We are also moving out of narrative writing and moving into opinion/argument writing!  To start this unit this week, students will complete an on demand writing prompt of an opinion topic.  This will give us a starting point to see where they are at. WORDS THEIR WAY: Students will be given their Words Their Way sort this week--even though it is a short week.  Next Monday, I will be reassessing the kids and regrouping them based on their progress, so in the weeks to come (hopefully!!), you may be seeing some more challenging word sorts coming home!

SOCIAL STUDIES

Continuing with our civics/government unit, we will be looking into what life might be like in a state of nature (no rules/laws/government) and discussing what rights we believe all people should have. **We will also be starting our preliminary rounds for the National Geographic Geography Bee!  All students will participate in these rounds in order to determine each class' top 2 (or 3) winners.  The class winners will then participate in our school bee in a couple weeks to determine our 1 school winner.  This winner will then take an online test through Nat Geo to see if they qualify to participate in the NH State Bee at Keene State College.  For those students who want to continue to practice, I have posted links to practice sites/activities on their Google Classroom account they know how to access this).

SCIENCE

This week we continued our unit about the importance of Earth’s fresh water. Our lesson was called, “Can we make it rain?” We learned about the processes of evaporation and condensation, and the role they play in replenishing our fresh water.  You can encourage your child’s curiosity at home!  Invite your child to observe what happens when the hot water is turned on for a shower or bath. After 5 minutes or so, what happens?  You should both be able to notice not only how windows and mirrors fog up, but also the way that it feels to breathe the air. Some of the hot water is evaporating and filling the room with water vapor—this is what you’re feeling as you breathe in. As the water vapor comes in contact with the cool surface of a mirror or window, it condenses back to liquid water again, which is why these appear foggy. You can observe that the "fogginess" is actually tiny droplets of water.

REMINDERS

Friday- Yankee Swap and finish Star Wars Movie

Ack News 12/3

ACK NEWS
 Week of December 12/3

HOMEWORK

Monday-Thursday  -Math sheet -Reading Response -Read 20 minutes -Words Their Way Monday--word sort.  Have your child sort their words and teach someone at home their pattern Tuesday--speed sort.  Time your child and see how fast they can correctly sort their words. See if they can beat their time. Wednesday--blind sort. Give your child their headings and read the words aloud individually so your child cannot see the word. They must tell you the appropriate heading it goes under. Thursday-- choice!  I have sent home a packet of all the homework guidelines. On the last page, there is a list of different choice options for a Thursday activity. FRIDAY THIS HOMEWORK IS DUE.  Someone at home must sign off on the homework sheet that your child completed an activity each night.

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING

MATH

Due to be sick I will be making up these lessons this week. Last week students worked coordinated grids and expressions while I was.  This week will continue to be working on multiplying and dividing this week. Students will be connecting area model and distributive property with partial products and standard algorithm. They will continue to work on their multiplication and division tables along with filling the gap with IReady lessons. Here are some links to support lessons learned this week: Lesson 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DfTwwGHYpc  Lesson 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGknTYYufQo Lesson 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHwxH617pKs

READING, WRITING, and WORDS THEIR WAY

READING: This week, students will have an assessment on identifying main idea and key details of an informational text.  Over the last two weeks, we have done a lot of practice regarding the difference between a topic (the overall subject) and the main idea of a passage (the specific focus about that topic in the article).  We have also discussed that main ideas can be stated directly in the passage OR they can be implied--where the reader needs to look at the key details in order to determine what the main idea is.  They will show what they know about all this by reading an informational article about constellations and will need to identify the main idea and key details from this passage. **Students should be reading a minimum of 20 minutes each night and completing a reading response to what they have read on their homework log.** WRITING: Last week, students started to add figurative language into their narratives--specifically similes and metaphors.  This week, we will wrap up figurative language by working to add onomatopoeia and hyperboles into their pieces. WORDS THEIR WAY: As usual, students will receive their new sort/pattern for the week.  They should be completing a practice assignment each night to reinforce their sort.  These are due on Friday.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Last week, students started their performance task for unit 1.  For this task, they are being asked to create a journal of Columbus' first voyage from the perspective of either Columbus himself, a crew member, King Ferdinand/Queen Isabella, or a Native American (Taino).  Students will continue to work on and develop their pieces this week.  These are (ideally) due on Friday. ** A reminder of some interactive sites the kids can use to practice for the Geography Bee in January!! ​http://outline-maps.world/ http://world-geography-games.com/ https://www.nationalgeographic.org/bee/study/quiz

SCIENCE

Due to being sick last week I am starting this lesson this week instead of last week.  Students will answer the question "When you turn on the faucet, where does the water come from?". In this mystery, students construct an explanation about a surprising phenomenon: the existence of underground water. Then they will play a game in which they must obtain and combine information and groundwater in order to select the best site to build a town.

REMINDERS

-Field trip tomorrow, December 5!! So excited! -Early Release is Wednesday!

Cranberry Day 2017 was Amazing!!