Writing This Week - Start Smart

We are finishing Start Smart this week. This unit has introduced the students to the structure of Writing this year and provided steps and strategies the students will use this year in Writing. We reviewed editing and revising and discussed the marks we'll use when we improve our writing. We also looked at several prompts that represent the prompts the students will write on throughout the year. This week they are writing about a neighborhood littered with trash and what they will do to solve the problem. They will read and analyze the prompt, organize their thoughts and respond in their Writer's Notebook. They'll edit and revise their work and have a conference with their teacher. This will match a typical week when we'll be writing to prompt and working on different writing skills. I have provided a link on my teacher page to the resources we've used this week. It will be up by the end of the week.

Reading This Week - Start Smart

This will be our final week of Start Smart. Start Smart is a unit in our Treasures book that introduces the format of our new reading program. It is important that the students get practice with the strategies and skills that they'll be expected to use throughout the year as we read a variety of texts. This week we are working on reading expository texts. Nonfiction will be used throughout the year and it's important that the students know how to use title, headings, pictures and graphics to enhance their understanding of what they read. The students will review five text structures that students will use as they summarize different texts. These can be found in their purple Start Smart books. We will also be reviewing reading strategies that will be a crucial part of what we focus on throughout the year. The students have used these in the past, but we will go over them again and discuss how they are used in our new reading series. Everything that we have gone over can be found on my teacher page. I've attached the files that we used while we were going over this information in class. This link will provide a good explanation of the strategies and skills that the students will use throughout the year.

Math This Week - September 6 - 9, 2011

Last week we spent several days looking through our Student Reference Book. It's a very important resource that I want the students to use throughout this year. We also started looking at rectangular arrays. Arrays are a great way to show multiplication, factors and products. This week we are continuing our unit on factors. On Tuesday, we connected arrays to factors and products. We used these arrays to find factor pairs and all of the factors of a number. Factor rainbows are a great method of finding all the factors of a number. Look for definitions and examples in their Math spiral. We will continue working with factors as we play the "Factor Captor Game." This can be found on page 271 in their Student Reference Book and can be played at home. I will provide game boards to students who would like to play this game with you at home. Look definitions and examples of even number, odd number, and remainder in their Math spiral. We will finish the week by looking at divisibility. The students will learn methods to find which numbers are divisible by another number. These can be found on page 13 in their Math Journal. This is a great lesson to improve their multiplication and division recall. Multiplication recall is a skill that we will be focusing on for the next few weeks. It's increasingly important that they are able to quickly recall multiplication facts. It will help them in many facets of multiplication. We are currently taking multiplication practice tests to see where each students needs improvement.

Room 311 Schedule

Here is our schedule. Notice that there is a schedule for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and another schedule for Wednesday.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

8:15 - 9:21 Specials
9:25 – 9:55 Science with Ms. Hjalmarson
9:55 – 10:25 Social Studies with Mr. Smith
10:25 – 11:25 Writing/Research with Mr. Winchell
11:30 - 12:05 Lunch Recess
12:05 – 12:25 Lunch
12:30 - 1:30 Math
1:30 - 2:30 Reading/Treasures
2:30 – 2:45 Recess
2:55 Dismissal

Wednesday Schedule

8:15 - 9:20 Reading/Treasures
9:25 – 9:55 Science with Ms. Hjalmarson
9:55 – 10:25 Social Studies with Mr. Smith
10:25 – 11:25 Writing/Research with Mr. Winchell
11:30 - 12:05 Lunch Recess
12:05 – 12:25 Lunch
12:30 - 1:30 Math
1:30 – 1:45 Homeroom
1:55 Dismissal

Unit One Math Schedule

Here is the schedule for our first unit in Math. There is always the possibility that lessons may be moved up or back by a day, but this is usually accurate.
Differentiation Stations on Fridays consist of games, review, challenge work and reteaching depending on the needs of the students in the classroom.

Unit One
Monday, 8/29 - Introduction, Unit 1 Pre-test
Tuesday, 8/30 - 1.1: "Introduction to the SRB"
Wednesday, 8/31 - Finish 1.1
Thursday, 9/1 - 1.2: "Rectangular Arrays"
Friday, 9/2 - Differentiation Stations

Monday, 9/5 - NO SCHOOL – LABOR DAY
Tuesday, 9/6 - 1.3: "Factors"
Wednesday, 9/7 - 1.4: "Factor Captor Game"
Thursday, 9/8 - 1.5: "Divisibility"
Friday, 9/9 - Differentiation Stations

Monday, 9/12 - 1.6: "Prime and Composite Numbers"
Tuesday, 9/13 - 1.7: "Square Numbers"
Wednesday, 9/14 - 1.8: "Unsquaring Numbers"
Thursday, 9/15 - 1.9: "Factor Strings and Prime Factorizations"
Friday, 9/16 - Differentiation Stations, Review

Monday, 9/19 - Review
Tuesday, 9/20 - Unit 1 Test

Happy Birthday, William!

Specials Schedule

Mondays
Physical Education from 8:15 - 9:21
Make sure your child wears gym shoes every Monday. You may want to have them keep an extra pair in their locker.

Tuesdays
Spanish from 8:15 - 8:48
Music from 8:48 - 9:21


Thursdays
Art from 8:15 - 9:21
Students are responsible for drawing a sketch in their sketchbook every week. You will see it written down in their assignment notebooks.

Friday
Spanish from 8:15 - 8:48
Music from 8:48 - 9:21

Everyday Math

Though most of you have experience with Everyday Math, I thought I'd include an overview for those who either don't have any experience with it or would like a refresher after a long and restful summer.

Here are several important features of the program:
1. Problem-solving Approach Based on Everyday Situations
By making connections between their own knowledge and their experiences, both in school and outside of school, students learn basic math skills in meaningful contexts so that the mathematics becomes "real."
2. Frequent Practice of Basic Skills
Instead of practice presented in a single, tedious drill format, students practice basic skills in a variety of more engaging ways. In addition to completing daily review exercises covering a variety of topics, patterning on the number grid, and working with multiplication addition act families in different formats, students will play games that are specifically designed to develop basic skills.
3. Instructional Approach that Revisits Concepts Regularly
To enhance the development of basic skills and concepts, students regularly revisit previously learned concepts and repeatedly practice skills encountered earlier. The lessons are designed to take advantage of previously learned concepts and skills and to build on them throughout the year instead of treating them as isolated bits of knowledge.
4. Curriculum Explores Mathematical Content Beyond Basic Arithmetic
Mathematics standards around the world indicate that basic arithmetic skills are only the beginning of the mathematical knowledge students will need as they develop critical thinking skills. In addition to basic arithmetic, Everyday Math develops concepts and skills in the following topics - numeration: operations and computation; data and chance; geometry; measurement and reference frames; and patterns, functions, and algebra.

The students will use their Math Journals as guidance as we learn new math concepts and practice skills every day. Most of their journals will be completed in class and what they don't finish will usually be homework for the following day. The "Math Boxes" are only done in class if they finish their lesson for that day. Otherwise, it is homework. Study Links are homework every night and are rarely done in class. They provide additional practice from the lesson that day and usually connect the lesson to real-life situations.

Everyday Math - Unit One

Unit 1: Number Theory
During the next several weeks, students will study properties of whole numbers. Unit 1 sets up procedures for review and practice of the multiplication facts. The new material in this unit builds on students' prior work with multiplication and division of whole numbers.
We will be using arrays to demonstrate multiplication. We will be looking for arrays (floor tiles, windows, and checkerboards) in our everyday lives. To practice using arrays with your child at home, use any small objects, such as beans, macaroni, or pennies.
You may want to help your child memorize the basic multiplication facts found in the multiplication table. You can work together using the Fact Triangles, or you may play Beat the Calculator, Multiplication Top-It, or Baseball Multiplication. These can all be found in their Student Reference Book (SRB). These are games that were introduced in previous grades of Everyday Mathematics.

Welcome to the Blog!

There are several great ways to keep up with our class this year. This blog will be one of the best sites to find out about what we're studying, upcoming events and birthdays, and other information important to room 311, the 5th grade and Longfellow Elementary.
You will also find information on my teacher page located through the district website. That site has a link to this blog. Make sure you bookmark my teacher page and/or my blog for easy access.
The best ways to talk to me directly are to email or call me. I will provide my email address and cell phone number this week. I am also on the playground every morning before school.
I hope you find the blog and teacher page helpful and I look forward to a great year together.