Week of January 13

Welcome back from Winter Break!

I apologize for not updating last week... my family surprised me with a week long trip to Florida and the Caribbean to celebrate my 30th birthday.

 

I had a blast touring NASA's Kennedy Space Center and am inspired to teach a Science/Social Studies unit of space exploration!  So fun! But I missed all of my fabulous students and am happy to be back for a great school week.

This week we are starting a new novel called The Dollhouse Murders. Don't let the title scare you! It's an intriguing mystery story and you can read a synopsis here. Students will be completing a book report on it over the next few weeks, so make sure to check their progress as there will be several homework assignments pertaining to the reading.

In Math we are still working with fractions. Our class is putting forth great effort with the challenging concepts of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing by fractions. We will be spending a few more weeks on this subject. I am doing my best to keep it enjoyable bringing snacks for the class to divide into fractions. :)

 

Band has ended for the 5th grade school year and I am so proud of my students who performed in the concert. You guys rock and you are so talented!

 

We continue to learn about early colonization in Social Studies and are reviewing states and capitals.

Enjoy your 3 day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend!

Week of December 16

One more week until Winter Break! 

We have a fun week ahead of us...

 

Tuesday is our school's pajama day.  Coincidentally Friday is also 5th grade pajama day. so wear your cozy, school appropriate pajamas two days this week :)

In math we are converting between fractions, decimals, and percents.

 

 

 

Friday is our cookie exchange so bring in your favorite home-made or store bought cookies to share with the class. We will be drinking snowman soup (hot coco with marshmallows and a candy cane) and watching The Polar Express.

 

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

Week of December 9

Thank you for checking in! 

 

This week we are learning about culture and traditions in Social Studies.

 

We are working on comparing fractions in math.

 

 

We are reading about a vision impaired woman and her guide dog in Language Arts.

 

 We are working on structural organization of essays in writing.

We are making poinsettias in art on Friday.

 

 

Make sure your child is reading 100 pages each week. Our library day is Thursday, so they should be checking out 2 books each week. Most students are right on track, so keep up the good work!

Week of December 2

Welcome back from Thanksgiving Break! Our class is very thankful and everyone shared what they are most grateful for on our wall of thanks.

We had a great send off before our week off with a class nacho party

(good job earning your party students!) and a special visit from my maltese, Maddie.

Everyone got to hold her and dress her up. The class also wrote character poems about her.

Maddie is officially our classroom mascot :)

This week we are writing personal narratives about significant events in our lives.

 



In Social Studies, we are studying the colonial time period and the settling of our country.

 

In math we are working with multiplication and division of decimals.

 

Our school's talent show is this Friday at 5:00 in the multipurpose room. Hope to see you there!

Week of November 18

Last week was very eventful and full of fun!

We had our first field trip to Balboa Theatre for Carnival of the Animals.
Here are a few photos:

We also had our first trimester awards assembly.
Congratulations to all of our students who received awards for perfect attendance, outstanding effort, and academic achievement at Friday's assembly. I am so proud of you! It was nice to see so many parents come out to support their kids also!

 

In Language Arts we are working on Inference

 

 

and reading strategies.

 

In Math we are finishing up dividing with partial quotients.

 

In Social Studies we are learning about the American Revolution and reading about James Forten.

 

 

 

I sent home a note reminding parents of your scheduled conference time this week and look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's accomplishments and goals thus far in the school year.

 

Remember this week is minimum day schedule to allow for conferences

so student dismissal is at 12:20.

 

Just a reminder, Thanksgiving Break is November 25-29. Enjoy that week with your family!

Week of November 11

This week our class is going on a field trip to see the play Carnival of the Animals at Balboa Theatre downtown.

This will be a great event! Please make sure to pack your child a lunch if

they did not select one from the cafeteria.

In math we are working on long division and division fact families.

 Our class also plays Math Jeopardy each week for table points.

It is very fun to see the students get so excited to solve problems and work as a team!

 

It is hard to believe the first trimester of the school year is almost over. This week we are finalizing student grades and our awards assembly will be in the cafeteria on Friday, November 15 at 2:00. I will be making phone calls this week to let you know if your son or daughter is receiving an award. Please keep it a surprise!

I look forward to seeing you on Friday at the Awards Assembly, or next week during conferences!

Week of November 4

Happy November!  I hope everyone had a safe, fun Halloween last week.

My husband is a college English professor and came in to teach the class a lesson on poetry.  We called it "Halloween haikus with Mr. Hoag." The students were very creative and completed an art project along with their haiku.

This week we are learning about Author's Purpose pertaining to persuasive, informative, and entertaining writing.

 

 

In math we are working on tessellations and patterns.

 

 

Please make sure to sign up for a parent teacher conference time (sign up sheet is on the back of Friday's parent bulletin). I look forward to meeting with you and discussing your child's progress thus far in the school year!