What's happening in room 34?

What's happening this week in room 34? Aug. 29th-Sept. 2

This week in 5th grade....

Science: This week we are discussing tools that scientists use and  participating in several activities where students will classify, compare, contrast, and think like a scientist.

Writing: This week will continue to work on our writing unit, personal narrative. We will look at other author's words to inspire our own, set goals, and flash draft our first piece. We have been busy the last week brainstorming ideas to write about and building our stamina in our "home journal". This composition notebook will go home every Tuesday and Thursday for their writing homework. They are to free write for 10 minutes.  This is a great opportunity for them to write about a topic they are passionate about, and I get a chance to get to know them even more through their writing:)

Reading: This year, 5th graders will be pushed and encouraged to read more than ever!! We will be tracking our reading by completion of books, as well as minutes read. Each student has a goal to finish up to 40 books. This is a very BIG challenge, and I  am going to cheer them on every step of the way. The entire school also has a goal, to read 1,000,000 minutes by the end of the school year. We will track the 40 book challenge in our student data binders, and the minutes in their planners. They will use the monthly view to record at least 20 minutes of reading Monday-Thursday. Parents, please sign their planner at the end of the month. They will tear this out and turn into me. 

Math:  We will focus on writing decimals through the thousandths place  as well as ordering and comparing them. Students will be asked to work on ALEKS ( our individual online program) every Monday and Wednesday night for 10 minutes as part of their homework.

Social Studies: We are excited this year to extend our workshop model, that we use for every other subject, into social studies. Students will collaborate in stations and small group instruction with me each week. This week we will dive into navigating our textbook, defining and understanding geography, political maps, and our states and capitals.