Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, March 15th is a half day for students....

This is NOT day to stay home from school... instruction will be taking place!

Students will have lunch from 10:45 - 11:15 AM

Students dismissal at 11:20 AM

Afternoon Conferences are from 12:10 - 2:20

Evening Conferences are from 4:30 - 7:30

Shared Writing - Getting Ready for PBA

We are co-writing to model what the body paragraphs for the PBA will look like.

As an editorial about WHY you should become an explorer in the 1500's... you have to persuade me to join  you... your writing needs to make me want to go!

Topic 1 is WHY you should be an explorer...

Topic 2 is WHAT you should pack for the trip...

This Week in ELA

• We will be spending the last 30 minutes of each period working on Test Prep.  We will be going over the tests questions from the MOCK, rereading the text, dissecting the questions, and making sure students understand why each question is right.
• We will be doing this RIGHT up to the ELA State Test in Early April!

This Week:

• Monday: ReadyGen 4B.11 - Students will be using context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase and determining two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text while reading Chapter 3 of Explorers of North America.
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• Tuesday: ReadyGen 4B.12 - Students will be determining the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area as well as Determining two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text while working with Chapter 4 of Explorers of North America.

• Wednesday: ReadyGen 4B.13 - Students will again be determining the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area as well as Determining two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text while working with Chapter 5 of Explorers of North America.  Students will show mastery of the text by taking the AR Test on the book.  

• Thursday: ReadyGen 4B.15 - Students will again be determining the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area as well as Determining two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize the text while working with the story New Beginnings from our Text Collection.  Students will show mastery of the text by taking the AR Test on the book.  
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• Friday:  Skill Review Friday - Students will complete the work from last weeks Time for Kids.   We will also be going over the MidWinter Break Vacation Packet to check for understanding for our Test Prep.  Students will also present their MidWinter Cereal Book Reports to the class and get filmed.  Be ready to talk for 1-2 minutes about your cereal box!

Homework:

1. Homework Packet #22 will be passed out on Monday.  Each day, students should read the first article and do ONE page of the homework packet.  Packets are due Friday, March 2nd!
2. Reading Response Journals are to be completed 5 nights out of the 7 days of the week.  Students are expected to read for 30-45 minutes on their own.  Then they should spend 5 minutes writing a brief summary of what happened in the pages they read.  They should spend another 5 minutes writing a reflection toward what they read.  What it meant to them.  What they felt.  How they can connect and relate to it.  This is part of STUDYING to be a better reading, writer and thinker. 
3. Permission Slips for The Paley Center field trip are passed out on Monday and are due back on Friday.  If you don't bring it in by Friday, you will not be going on the trip, March 5th.  It is a great field trip that will help preview our next unit on HEROES and a great wrap up to Black History Month!

Next Week in ELA - Short Week!

• Monday
• We will be starting a new text in ELA.  Students will work on ReadyGen Lesson 4B.9.  In this lesson, students will read Chapter 1 of Explorers of North America with a reading focus of analyzing the role of visuals and a writing focus to Revise an editorial to address and reinforce the demands of the form.
• Tuesday
• We will be celebrating the 100th  Day of School by reading for 100 minutes!  During that 100 minutes of reading, our goal (between the 2 classes) is to take 100 AR Reading tests and hopefully reach or reading goals!  Students will also write a letter like they are on an explorers ship home to their families.  They have to use exactly 100 words to tell their parents about time on the ship and what they have discovered.
• Wednesday
• Happy Valentine's Day!!! Students will work through ReadyGen Lesson 4B.10. In this lesson, students will read chapter 2 of Explorers of North America with a reading focus on analyzing the relationship between individuals and events in a text and a writing focus on  conducting research from multiple sources to develop an understanding about a topic.
• Thursday
• Fifth Grade Behavior Incentive Bowling Trip!  Students who have met the criteria for attending the trip ($5 dollars) will take a school bus to the bowling alley for a few games of bowling before returning to PS8 in time for lunch.  Students who didn't reach the points needed to attend will do skill review work back at school.   Progress reports, as well as Promotion In Doubt letters go home today!  
• Friday
• No School - Mid-Winter Break
• School resumes on Monday, February 26th!

Homework:

• Homework Packet #21 will be passed out on Monday.  Each day, students should read the first article and do ONE page of the homework packet.  Packets are due Thursday!
• Reading Response Journals are to be completed 5 nights out of the 7 days of the week.  Students are expected to read for 30-45 minutes on their own.  Then they should spend 5 minutes writing a brief summary of what happened in the pages they read.  They should spend another 5 minutes writing a reflection toward what they read.  What it meant to them.  What they felt.  How they can connect and relate to it.  This is part of STUDYING to be a better reading, writer and thinker. 
• Vacation Packets:  The packet involves two short articles that are similar.  Students will have to make comparisons between the two articles.  They will also have to read a chapter book and create a cereal book report project.  

Up Next in ELA

Looking at the week ahead in ELA:

• Monday, February 5
• Class 501:  ReadyGen Lesson 4B.6 : read pp. 36–43 of The World Made New with a reading focus to analyze cause effect relationships to understand consequences of a historical event or movement and a writing focus to address an opposing viewpoint.
• Class 502:  ReadyGen Lesson 4B.7: read pp. 44–49 of The World Made New with a reading focus to analyze cause-effect relationships within and among sections of a text to understand a historical event or movement and a writing focus to add transitions to strengthen an editorial.
• Tuesday, February 6th
• Block A - Math Mock Test Day 1
• Block B:  Class 501:  ReadyGen Lesson 4B.7: read pp. 44–49 of The World Made New with a reading focus to analyze cause-effect relationships within and among sections of a text to understand a historical event or movement and a writing focus to add transitions to strengthen an editorial.
• Wednesday, February 7th
• Block A:  Math Mock Test Day 2
• Block B:  Social Studies Catch Up Day:  Chapter 3 Section 2 and small group projects
• Thursday, February 8th
• ReadyGen Lesson 4B.8: read pp. 50–58 of The World Made New with a reading focus to analyze text structures throughout a text and a writing focus to write a conclusion that develops a solution or answer to the issue in an editorial.
• Friday, February 9th
• Friday Skill Review through the use of Time For Kids. The focus article is A Monumental Fight.   After reading the cover article and one other article in this edition of Time for Kids, students will practice skills used in ELA and take a short assessment to test for understanding.  
• Social Studies:  End of Chapter 3 Assessment as well as a look ahead at Chapter 4.

Homework:

• Homework Packet #20 will be passed out on Monday.  Each day, students should read the first article and do ONE page of the homework packet.  By Thursday, they should have practiced close reading well enough that they can show mastery by reading the last article and doing 8 multiple choice questions and one written response (this models the state test!)
• Reading Response Journals are to be completed 5 nights out of the 7 days of the week.  Students are expected to read for 30-45 minutes on their own.  Then they should spend 5 minutes writing a brief summary of what happened in the pages they read.  They should spend another 5 minutes writing a reflection toward what they read.  What it meant to them.  What they felt.  How they can connect and relate to it.  This is part of STUDYING to be a better reading, writer and thinker. 

FYI: The 2018 Math State Test

Day 1:  30 Multiple Choice Questions

Day 2:  8 Multiple Choice Questions, 6 Short Response Questions, 1 Extended Response Question

In Grade 5, the Learning Standards focus on three critical areas: (1) developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, and developing understanding of multiplication of fractions and of division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions); (2) extending division to 2-digit divisors, integrating decimal fractions into the place value system and developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, and developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations; and (3) developing understanding of volume.

1. Students apply their understanding of fractions and fraction models to represent the addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators as equivalent calculations with like denominators. They develop fluency in calculating sums and differences of fractions, and make reasonable estimates of them. Students also use the meaning of fractions, of multiplication and division, and the relationship between multiplication and division to understand and explain why the procedures for multiplying and dividing fractions make sense. (Note: this is limited to the case of dividing unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.)

2. Students develop understanding of why division procedures work based on the meaning of base-ten numerals and properties of operations. They finalize fluency with multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They apply their understandings of models for decimals, decimal notation, and properties of operations to add and subtract decimals to hundredths. They develop fluency in these computations, and make reasonable estimates of their results. Students use the relationship between decimals and fractions, as well as the relationship between finite decimals and whole numbers (i.e., a finite decimal multiplied by an appropriate power of 10 is a whole number), to understand and explain why the procedures for multiplying and dividing finite decimals make sense. They compute products and quotients of decimals to hundredths efficiently and accurately. Grades 3–8 Mathematics Test Guide 4

 3. Students recognize volume as an attribute of three-dimensional space. They understand that volume can be measured by finding the total number of same-sized units of volume required to fill the space without gaps or overlaps. They understand that a 1-unit by 1-unit by 1-unit cube is the standard unit for measuring volume. They select appropriate units, strategies, and tools for solving problems that involve estimating and measuring volume. They decompose three-dimensional shapes and find volumes of right rectangular prisms by viewing them as decomposed into layers of arrays of cubes. They measure necessary attributes of shapes in order to determine volumes to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

The Mock was Hard

The kids were champs!  The Mock was hard...or, well, should I say LONG!

• Day 1 had 35 multiple choice questions.  
• Day 2 had 7 multiple choice questions, 7 short response questions (we call them RACE questions), and 2 extended response questions.

The actual state test is a little less LONG....

• Day 1 - students will answer 35 multiple choice questions from 5 different texts they will read.
• Day 2 - students will answer 6 short response (RACE) questions and 1 extended response question from 3 different texts they will be reading.

FYI: The ELA State Test

Reading 

To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students:

• must read widely and deeply from among a broad range of high-quality, increasingly challenging literary and informational texts. Through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems, and myths from diverse cultures and different time periods, students gain literary and cultural knowledge as well as familiarity with various text structures and elements (Shift 1: Balancing Informational & Literary Text; Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines; Shift 3: Staircase of Complexity). 

By reading texts in history/social studies, science, and other disciplines, students:

• build a foundation of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all content areas. Students can only gain this foundation when the curriculum is intentionally and coherently structured to develop rich content knowledge within and across grades. Students also acquire the habits of reading independently and closely, which are essential to their future success (Shift 1: Balancing Informational & Literary Text; Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines; Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary).

Writing 

To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students need to:

• learn to use writing as a way of offering and supporting opinions, demonstrating an understanding of the subjects they are studying, and conveying real and imagined experiences and events (Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines; Shift 5: Writing from Sources);
• learn to appreciate that a key purpose of writing is to communicate clearly to an external, sometimes unfamiliar audience, and begin to adapt the form and content of their writing to accomplish a particular task and purpose (Shift 4: Text-based Answers; Shift 5: Writing from Sources); and
• develop the capacity to build knowledge on a subject through research projects and to respond analytically to literary and informational sources (Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines; Shift 5: Writing from Sources).

Language

To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students:

• must gain control over many conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics, as well as learn other ways to use language to convey meaning effectively;
• must also be able to determine or clarify the meaning of grade-appropriate words encountered through listening, reading, and media use (Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary); and
• come to appreciate that words have non-literal meanings, shadings of meaning, and relationships to other words, and expand their vocabulary in the course of studying content (Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary).

Speaking and Listening

To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students:

• must have ample opportunities to take part in a variety of rich, structured conversations—as part of a whole class, in small groups, and with a partner. To be productive members of these conversations requires that students contribute accurate, relevant information (Shift 4: Text-based Answers);
• respond to and develop what others have said; and
• make comparisons and contrasts, analyzing and synthesizing a multitude of ideas in various domains (Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines)