Mr. Schumann's Class

ISAT Information and Testing Schedule

2012-02-13T18:29:00.001-06:00

February 2012
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):
During the two-week period beginning Monday, March 5th and ending Friday, March16th, Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204 students enrolled in thirdthrough eighth grade will be completing the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).Alternatively, students with significant educational needs will complete the IllinoisAlternate Assessment (IAA) within the Wednesday, February 22nd through Friday, March16th window.

The ISAT is a group-administered achievement test designed to assess the extent towhich students are meeting the Illinois Learning Standards. As mandated by the NoChild Left Behind Act of 2002, the collection of this assessment information is requiredand used to determine whether the district and schools are maintaining Adequate YearlyProgress.

Students in third through eighth grade will be assessed in the achievement areas ofreading and mathematics. Additionally, students in fourth and seventh grade will beassessed in the achievement area of science.

Assessment sessions will likely be scheduled during the morning and distributed acrossmultiple school days. Please contact your child’s school directly should you have specificschedule or assessment questions.

Given the critical importance of optimal student performance on these assessments,please encourage your child to demonstrate his or her academic skills and knowledgethrough these tests.
Thank you for your positive support of our district during the administration of theseimportant assessments.

Regards,
Patrick W. Nolten, Ph.D.
Director of Assessment, Research and EvaluationIndian Prairie Community Unit School District 204

5th Grade ISAT Schedule

TUESDAY, MARCH 6

Session I Reading 45-55 minutes

Session 1 Math 45-55 minutes

WEDNESDAY MARCH 7

Session 2 Reading 45-55 minutes

Session 2 Math 45-55 minutes

THURSDAY, MARCH 8

Session 3 Reading 45-55 minutes

Session 3 Math 45-55 minutes

Spelling for the Week of 2-13

2012-02-12T11:09:00.000-06:00

subtract, digital
distract, devised
contract, persuaded
complex, deceive
distrust, dictionary
extra, punctuation
improve, unstressed
instead, abbreviation
Congress, approve
English, substance
conflict, parsley
exchange, puncture
pumpkin, hatchet
sandwich, laughter
election, purchase
construction
luncheon
complaint
transform
although

These words will be on both lists:
a lot
your
you're
there
their
they're

Homework for the Week of 2-13

2012-02-12T11:01:00.002-06:00

Monday: 5S Math will bring home a study guide for the unit 7 test that we will take on Tuesday. Bring your Valentines and the box/bag you created at home to school tomorrow. Please send in the permission form and the check for $5.50 made out to May Watts School for the living history assembly we will see on 2-27.

Tuesday: Work on your book reports. I would also like you to look up all of the spelling words in the dictionary and write the definition in your own words.

Wednesday: Work on your book reports.

Thursday: Work on your book reports.

Friday: Book reports are due next Wednesday. Remember there is no school on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

There will be a few assignments added to the blog on Tuesday. I forgot my flash drive with this week's plans at school, oops!

Harriet Tubman Living History Assembly

2012-02-06T09:54:00.003-06:00

The kids in 5th grade will be bringing home a yellow permission form for an in-school field trip to take place on 2-27-12. Harriet Tubman will be coming to May Watts to present an hour and a half living history experience for the kids to learn about the underground railroad and what life was really like for slaves in the south. The cost is $5.50, we are working on bringing the people to us to reduce the high cost of transportation on field trips, two busses add over $1,000 to the cost of a field trip. Please send the form in signed with a check made out to May Watts for $5.50 this week sometime. Thanks.

Just a few Reminders

2012-02-05T12:08:00.002-06:00

Here are a few things going on this week:

The book exchange is this week at Watts. You can bring in gently used books for other students to swap.
On Friday we will be going to Robert Crown. No hot lunch will be available, but sack lunches will be available once we return to school for our regular lunch time at 1:05.
Book reports are due on 2-22.
We are going to switch over to social studies this week. Our focus will be learning about the 3/5ths compromise and the genesis of slavery.
My flex group will begin a two week long project this week where we will take over two displays in the LMC to highlight under-read novels and brand new books that have been added to the Watts collection.
Our time travel project will continue this week. The kids did a great job last week with developing their ideas, selecting an event to change, and researching online to gather facts for their time lines.
Have a great week everyone...enjoy the Super Bowl!

Homework for the Week of 2-6

2012-02-05T11:58:00.001-06:00

Monday: Don't forget to bring the four food labels to class today for our science activity. Everyone should be reading their book report books and planning the project that is due on 2-22. 5S Math has an extended response problem to write tonight for homework.

Tuesday: Everyone has an 11 question TFK quiz and 5S Math will have two ISAT style math short answer questions to complete tonight.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 7.9 and an extra credit opportunity that is due tomorrow. Everyone needs to write a paragraph using all of the spelling words on this week's list.

Thursday: Study for the spelling test and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 7.10.

Friday: Keep working on your book reports this weekend. 5S Math will also have a two page Study Link, 7.11.

Spelling for the Week of 2-6-12

2012-02-05T11:50:00.000-06:00

wondering, triggered
fastened, pretended
permitting, commenting
controlled, delaying
listening, squatted
regretted, complained
suffered, permitting
admitted, remained
bothered, profiting
referred, selling
submitted, supplying
whispered, obtaining
transferred, omitted
occurring, preferred
canceled, profited
developing
scrubbing
upsetting
wondered
quarreled

LMC News

2012-02-05T11:39:00.000-06:00

Naperville Reads 2012 – Antonio Sacre

Free tickets are available for a presentation at Wentz Hall, North Central College, on Thursday, Feb. 9th at 7:00. Tickets are available at any Naperville Public Library or Anderson’s Bookshop. (If you would like an autographed book, order forms are available on the May Watts Website.)

May Watts Book Exchange
This week! Bring in gently used books, and receive a tickets for “Shopping” on Thursday and Friday. I will distribute tickets to you to pass out to your class.

February Reading Incentive
Kane County Cougars May Watts Night on May 24th.

Extra Homework

2012-02-02T11:40:00.000-06:00

All of the kids in 5S are going to have some extra homework that will be due on Monday. Relax...it's simple. Every student needs to find four different food labels and bring them to class on Monday for a science activity I have planned on how to read food labels, what they tell us, and some of the secret ways that sugar can be hidden. Try to bring in four labels that are from things you really like to eat.

This Week in 5S

2012-01-29T12:08:00.003-06:00

Here is what we will be doing this week in 5S:

Last week's spelling test will be given in class on Monday. I gave the class some extra time to work on their A to Z books on Friday instead of taking the test.
Everyone should be finished with their final copy of the A to Z book through the letter U by the time class begins on Monday.
Open House is on Tuesday night from 6:30-8:30. I hope to see you all.
On Monday in class the kids are going to be writing a proposal for a new book report. Their idea needs to include some sort of writing about the book and a visual. I've decided to let the kids come up with their idea because everyone had such great ideas when we met as a class to come up with a group idea. I will review and approve and/or modify all of the ideas on Monday before the kids come home from school. This individual or group project is going to be presented in class on 2-22.
In science we will continue to learn about the digestive system. I have a few fun experiments planned to show the class how important smells are when tasting, we will learn about what different types of foods do for our bodies, and we will learn about how the tongue and teeth work together when we chew. Ask your son or daughter about the lesson we learned on Friday about the importance of lips!
Our time in reading and writing will be spent in the computer lab this week researching an event that changed the course of history. Once each child finds an event that is of interest in the area of history, science, sports, entertainment, or even war, we will begin a very interesting project. The class is going to make two time lines. The first showing how history really evolved with all of the major events before and after the event selected, but then a parallel timeline will be created showing how the world might have been different if your son or daughter could go back in time to change the event. Imagine if JFK would have lived because you stopped Oswald...what would the next few decades have been like? Would the US have gone to war in Vietnam? Would RFK have run for president and been killed like his brother? The final project is going to include the two time lines showing what the world was like and how it would be different, a written plan explaining how your son or daughter would actually succeed in stopping the event chosen, and a Prezi that shares all of the information. If any of the parents out there are reading Steven King's new book 11-22-63 you'll understand the genesis of the idea.
My math class will continue to learn about exponential notation, expanded notation, ISAT style math extended response writing, and we will be exploring line graphs and learning how to add and subtract positive and negative numbers.
The kids will be reading a TFK this week and writing an extended response about honey bees and the mystery of colony collapse in the bee populations.
I hope everyone has a great week!

Homework for the week of 1-30

2012-01-29T11:44:00.003-06:00

Monday: 5S Math will need to go online to review some of the ISAT math sample questions we reviewed in class today. Share your book report proposal with your parents tonight.

Tuesday: Open House is tonight from 6:30-8:30 and 5S Math will have Study Link 7.6.

Wednesday: Tonight everyone has a few science questions to answer and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 7.7.

Thursday: The spelling test is tomorrow and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 7.8.

Friday: Keep reading your book for the book report which is due on 2-22-12.

Spelling for the Week of 1-30

2012-01-29T11:39:00.001-06:00

Prefixes pre and pro

precede, ceramic
predict, opponent
prefer, resources
pretend, acquaintance
pretest, prearrange
prevent, prefix
preview, preparation
previous, preserve
proceed, presume
process, process
proclaim, profound
professional, productive
program, prohibitive
progress, aquarium
project, proportional
promise
pronunciation
property
propose
protect

Social Studies Extra Credit

2012-01-23T08:30:00.000-06:00

This week on Monday and Thursday nights there are Republican debates in Florida between the 4 remaining candidates for President. On Tuesday night President Obama will give the State of the Union Address. Any student who watches one of these events and writes a page reflection that explains what they learned about our country and our political system will earn extra credit in social studies. Yes...you can watch one of the debates and the State of the Union address and get double extra credit...but not all three.

Homework for the Week of 1-23

2012-01-22T12:03:00.001-06:00

Monday: 4S Math will bring home the Family Letter for unit 7 and have Study Link 7.1. The whole class will need to review for tomorrow's science quiz on electricity. We will make the study guide in class for this essay quiz.

Tuesday: 5S Math has Study Link 7.2 tonight and everyone should be reading and logging their minutes. Begin thinking about the new book report that will be due on 2-10.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 7.3 tonight and some of you may want to work on the final copy of your A to Z book which is due on 1-31.

Thursday: Keep reading and logging your minutes and get ready for tomorrow's spelling test. 5S Math will bring home Study Link 7.4 tonight and everyone will have an 11 question TFK quiz as well.

Friday: Enjoy the weekend and make sure you will have your A to Z books completed by Tuesday.

Spelling for the Week of 1-23

2012-01-22T11:44:00.001-06:00

engineer, historian
dentist, performer
librarian, volunteer
director, disaster
customer, spectator
pioneer, electrician
counselor, custodian
tourist, aviator
scientist, chemist
visitor, philosopher
investigator, pharmacist
senator, comedian
astronomer, orator
character, veneer
refrigerator, genealogist
guardian
commander
physician
politician
leader

Spelling for the Week of 1-17

2012-01-15T12:45:00.001-06:00

VCCV Words
pretty, determined
service, autobiography
thunder, disease
blanket, eternal
effort, composition
fellow, percussion
subject, malignant
perhaps, elastic
attack, silkworm
entire, signal
chimney, suburban
tunnel, warranty
effect, yielding
suspended, perfection
challenge, language
pretzel
survive
pillow
hunger
college

This Week in 5S

2012-01-13T10:36:00.000-06:00

I hope that everyone is out enjoying the snow today! Here is what we will be working on next week in 5S:

There will be no school on Monday for the Dr. King Holiday.
The permission form for the Robert Crown filed trip will come home on Tuesday. Please send it back to school by the end of the week. The trip is scheduled for February 10th.
5S Math will be finishing up unit 6 this week. The class has been learning about adding and subtracting fractions along with data collection. This week on Monday and Tuesday we will be reviewing fraction and data skills and using the clock to help with understanding fractions. A study guide will come home on Thursday night for Friday's test. The entire class period on Thursday will be spent reviewing everything we have learned. The test will be taken on Friday.
The Invention Open House will be on Friday morning. All of the fifth graders will be browsing the creations and voting on one as their favorite. The teachers will tally the votes and we will announce the winner of the Target gift card. The kids will have some time in class to finish their work, but some students may need to put the finishing touches on at home.
Our writing time this week will be spent completing the draft of our "All About me from A to Z" books. I will be teaching mini-lessons on peer conferencing and sentence fluency. Everyone will need to finish their drafts over the weekend.
Our grammar focus this week will be learning about pronouns and prepositions.
Time in reading will be spent looking at a non-fiction story about the great forest fires at Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 1988. The class will be working on writing thoughtful ISAT style extended responses. On the ISAT these written answers make up 10% of the total reading score. The format of these answers will include answering the question with a blanket statement, finding all of the evidence in the text to support the answer and interpreting the evidence with a sentence that explains what it means, and a conclusion sentence that restates the answers using a synonym to avoid repetition. We will be writing the answer as a class, but everyone will need to develop their own answer using a TFK on Thursday evening for homework.
My flex group will be working on a project this week using the novels that we began last week. The triads are going to be selecting the three characters from the books that would be most likely to get along. The evidence for their choices will be pulled from the novels and turned into a collaborative essay that is due on Friday. There will be lots of great discussions this week!
In science we will continue to learn about electricity, this week kids will be creating circuits and learning about insulators.

Homework for the Week of 1-16-12

2012-01-13T10:13:00.000-06:00

Monday: No School.

Tuesday: The permission form for our field trip to the Robert Crown Center will come home tonight. Please send it back to school by the end of the week. 5S Math will have Study Link 6.9 tonight and everyone needs to continue to read for a minimum of 20 minutes each night and log your times online.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 6.10 tonight. Keep reading as well!

Thursday: Tonight everyone needs to read the TFK on the top images of 2011 and write a thoughtful extended response answer to this question, "What was the picture you remember most from 2011 and why?" Remember the format that we have been learning at school and be sure to write between 10-12 sentences in your answer. 5S Math will bring home the study guide for the unit 6 test we will take tomorrow. The spelling test is tomorrow as well kids.

Friday: The draft of your "All About me from A to Z" book needs to be completed for Monday.

Lincoln and Kennedy Connections

2012-01-13T10:04:00.003-06:00

I shared this information with the class on Thursday and they all wanted me to pass it on. This is pretty spooky!

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.

John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincolnwas elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their Husbands while living in the White House.
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln 's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln .

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.
Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford'.
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford.'
Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

Hill Course Selections

2012-01-09T09:41:00.001-06:00

I wanted to let everyone know that the course selections for Hill are due on January 31st. The kids will be bringing home the packets tonight, and there is a parent meeting on Wednesday evening @ Hill, 7:00 in the commons to share more information.

Welcome Back!

2012-01-08T13:41:00.002-06:00

I hope that everyone had a great two weeks off and is ready to get back to work this week as we begin 2012. Here is what we will be working on:

Administrators from Hill Middle School will be speaking to the fifth graders on Monday afternoon to explain the different options for schedules next year. The kids will bring home information that needs to be reviewed at home and sent back to school by the end of the week. A parent meeting is scheduled for 7:00 on Wednesday evening in the Hill commons to explain everything.
Thanks to all the gift cards for local merchants that you shared with me we have a bunch of new books for the classroom. I will share these with the class tomorrow!
In science this week we will begin learning about static electricity with a variety of hands-on experiments. Next week we will begin building circuits.
The fifth graders will all be reading about the best new inventions of 2011 as selected by Time For Kids this week. After reading and some discussion, kids will be creating their own inventions in class. The inventions will be reviewed by classmates, anonymously, and voted on to reveal what the favorite invention for the grade level was. The winning invention will earn a gift card for Target.
During our writing time this week, the kids will begin a book titled All About Me from A to Z which will be completed by Open House at the end of the month. We will learn more about paragraphing, word choice, using the thesaurus, and mixing up sentence starters as this book is developed. Time will also be spent reviewing parts of speech which will lead into more complex grammar in the coming weeks.
My flex group will begin new student-selected novels this week. The kids will be put into triads to compare plots, author's style, and how suspense is created.
This week we will also begin our school-wide bullying lessons. Time will be spent learning about empathy and disrespectful behaviors.
My math group will begin the week reviewing skills that were focused on before the break and then we will move into adding and subtracting fractions. We will also learn more about data collection and methods of sharing data.
There is NO SCHOOL this Friday and NO SCHOOL on Monday of next week. Please check out the calendar on the side of the blog as I updated it to include all of the third quarter of school.
Have a great week everyone,

Homework for the Week of 1-9-12

2012-01-08T12:40:00.002-06:00

Monday: Tonight everyone will come home with a TFK on Mars and a two-sided activity to complete based on the reading. 5S Math will have a two-sided fraction review.

Tuesday: Many of you will have to complete the questions on static electricity we began today and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 6.6.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home a two-sided addition and subtraction of fractions practice activity. The spelling test is tomorrow as well.

Thursday: 5S Math will bring home a two-sided addition and subtraction of fractions practice activity.

Friday: No School

Spelling for the Week of 1-9

2012-01-08T12:32:00.003-06:00

This is the same spelling list from the week before break, but we ran out of time and the class did not take the test. The spelling test will be given on Thursday this week.

capable, decorations

careless, reciting

desirable, memorized

admirable, tongue

restless, precious

available, agreeable

debatable, hopelessness

tasteless, changeable

helpless, approachable

senseless, acceptable

priceless, adorable

useless, profitable

reliable, valuable

undeniable, thoughtless

excitable, fruitless

believable

bottomless

comfortable

dampness

understandable

Happy Birthday Garrett!

2012-01-04T22:53:00.001-06:00

Only one of my students this year had his birthday over our winter break, and that day was today. Happy Birthday Garrett! If today were a school day I would have said it in person and not posted it on the blog, but since we are still on break, I had to say something! I hope you had a great day and that your basketball team did well in the tournament this weekend at my old high school, Glenbard West. From one Capricorn to another, happy 11th!

Young Authors

2011-12-18T15:43:00.002-06:00

This information will come home tomorrow via backpack mail with the necessary forms. Mr. Schumann

YoungAuthors Program- 2012

May Watts Elementary School

December 19, 2011

Dear Students andParents,

May Watts will once again be participating in the YOUNGAUTHORS PROGRAM co-sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education and theIllinois Language and Literacy Council. It was designed as a celebration to honorexceptional writing by Illinoisstudents in kindergarten through eighth grade. All children are encouraged toparticipate in the program by submitting an original story, essay or acollection of poems.

1^st, 2^nd,and 3^rd Placewill be awarded at each grade level. Theoverall school winner will be eligible to attend the Young Authors Conferenceat Illinois State University.The student will have the opportunity to work in small groups, sharing ideaswith other young authors, educators, and noted children’s authors. All District #204 Young Authors will receiveparticipation ribbons to recognize their efforts. We will celebrate all of ourYoung Author participants at May Watts with abreakfast reception.

Dec. 19th Information letters sent out, and postedon the May Watts’ website

Fri., Jan. 20th Letter of intent to participate returned to LMC

Thurs. March 1^st Final manuscripts must be submitted to theLMC

Fri., Mar. 17th May Watts’ Young Author Conference participant is announced

April (date TBD) In-school May Watts’ YoungAuthor’s Celebration

Sat.,May 19^th The schoolwinner attends the Illinois Young Author Conference at Illinois StateUniversity, Bloomington, IL

To be eligible forjudging the entry must include:

§ A substantial cover with pages securelyattached and a title page.

§ A rough draft

§ A detachable title page including thechild's name, grade, and title of the book. (This page will be removed for anonymous judging.)

Please follow theseguidelines:

§ The final manuscript should reflect thestudent’s writing ability and developmental stage. (For example, an excellentkindergarten submission may use very basic language and may have grammaticalerrors.)

§ Dictated books may be typed or handwrittenby an adult, but the language and voice should be the child’s own.

§ Illustrations are optional.

§ Only one entry per student will beaccepted.

§ Two students may collaborate on a piece.

If your child plans to participate, pleasereturn the permission slip on page 3 to the LMC by Friday, January 20th. Keep this page and the attached evaluationrubric for reference. If you have any questions, please email or phone me.

Sincerely,

Laurie May

May Watts LMC Director

laurie_may@ipsd.org

630-428-6707

The Final Week of 2011

2011-12-18T10:15:00.000-06:00

We made it! Although this year it didn't feel nearly as long as other years of school, we made it to our winter break. I hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday theme to the blog this week. I had a student last year who used an iPhone app to turn me into Santa. Several of the kids asked when I had time to go out and pose for the picture...really kids? Really? There is no way that I would ever do that, you should know that by now! Opening the emailed version of the picture is about as far as I would go! Remember that we have four days of school this week, Friday will begin our winter break. Classes resume on January 9th.

This week the class is going to finish up their marketing plans for the products we looked at last week. The collaboration, creative thinking, use of technology, writing, and design that I have seen from every group has been impressive. The groups will share their plans with the class on Thursday. The kids will have time on Monday and Tuesday, just under two hours total, to complete all of the work and rehearse their presentations which will be graded. The class will also be presenting their picture book mash-ups which are all completed. I have read all of the books and the class did a really nice job! There are some truly talented writers in this mix of kids!

For reading this week we are going to dive into another text by Graeme Base, author of The 11th Hour, which resulted in some of the best creative thinking, text analysis, and communication between peers about a text that I have seen in my classroom over the past few weeks during flex. This week we will explore the book Animalia, a wonderful book that takes alliteration to a new level. Teams will be working to create their own page for our class version of the book where the text shows what alliteration means, but the pictures make it explode. Every single item on the page must begin with the letter the team is assigned, everything! Literally 100's of images so there's no time for slacking. The teams will be working with a variety of print and online sources to generate a list of items that could be included in their final copies.

So far this month 5S students have logged 7,951 minutes! Good job kids, but the winning class last month logged 18,000 and they are well above our total so far for December. It's time to pick up the pace and read even more!

There is a science test tomorrow, a study guide on magnetism and atoms was reviewed in class on Friday and sent home for review. The kids will also be constructing an electromagnet in class this week! After the break we will begin learning about electricity.

The Citizenship Celebration for the fifth grade will take place on Wednesday morning. We are rewarding the grade level for an amazing first half of the year and all the gold tickets they have earned thus far. I emailed everyone the four movies that will be offered, one in each room, kids can wear PJ's and relax with their friends...until it's time for math and science, then the relaxing is done...Bahh Humbug!

Thanks in advance to the parents who are planning the holiday party on Thursday from 2:30-3:15. The kids always love this day. I hope that everyone has a wonderful winter break, that your families enjoy spending time together, and that if you celebrate this holiday...have a very Merry Christmas!

Homework for the Week of 12-19

2011-12-18T09:51:00.001-06:00

Monday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 6.4 tonight and a practice activity on converting between fractions and decimals. Everyone should continue to read and log their minutes...we want the alien!

Tuesday: 5S Math will have Study Link 6.5 tonight and another practice activity on converting between fractions and decimals. Remember tomorrow is the Citizenship Celebration, wear your PJ's!

Wednesday: Keep reading and logging your minutes tonight. The spelling test is tomorrow as well.

Thursday: Sleep!!!

Friday: Enjoy the Holidays!

Final Spelling List of 2011

2011-12-18T09:32:00.002-06:00

suffixes -able and -less

capable, decorations
careless, reciting
desirable, memorized
admirable, tongue
restless, precious
available, agreeable
debatable, hopelessness
tasteless, changeable
helpless, approachable
senseless, acceptable
priceless, adorable
useless, profitable
reliable, valuable
undeniable, thoughtless
excitable, fruitless
believable
bottomless
comfortable
dampness
understandable

This Week in 5S

2011-12-11T10:21:00.001-06:00

Here is what we will be working on this week in 5S:

Everyone should continue to log their reading minutes online. The kids read an impressive 12,800 minutes in November, but another class read over 18,000 minutes and won the coveted blow-up alien. We want the alien to begin the new year!!!
A snack permission form will come home this week for hot chocolate. Its a very 2011 thing to have a permission form for hot chocolate, but with all of the severe food allergies we have to be extra careful. Please review the note and the complete list of ingredients, then sign the form indicating if your child will be able to have this treat at school. The fifth graders are going to have a bit of a celebration for all of their amazing hard work and great behavior so far this school year on the 21st of the month.
I am, sadly, going to out of the classroom again this week. On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Raczak has asked me to go to Hill to observe the 6th grade PA program so I have a better understanding of the types of learners who will be most successful in the program and will be better able to assist in the identification process here at May Watts. On Thursday, I will be joining 11 other Watts staff for day two of training for a school-wide program we are going to implement next year called CHAMPS.
5S Math will take the unit 5 test on Tuesday. A study guide will come home tomorrow.
The class needed a bit of extra time to complete their picture book mash-up writing last week so we did not begin the marketing project we had planned. The mash-ups are due on Monday morning and then the kids will be put into groups, given their items for the marketing project, and the collaborative learning will begin. I imagine you will be hearing about this project all week long. Really...who needs a set of $60,000 speakers or a $12,500 trip to St. Andrews to play golf? If your house gets any crazy catalogs with items that blur the line between needs and wants feel free to clip them out and send them in!
In science we will continue to learn about magnets. This week we have five more hands-on activities to work on, but Friday is going to be really cool. We are going to create a device that allows a pencil to be suspended in the air using the power of magnets! There will be a test on atoms and magnets next week and the class will be given a study guide in advance.
Some of our reading time this week will be spent analyzing the impact illustrators have on a variety of texts and how their talents assist in comprehension.
I hope everyone has a great week.

Homework for the Week of 12-12

2011-12-11T10:15:00.001-06:00

Monday: The study guide for tomorrow's unit 5 test in 5S Math will come home tonight. The test will begin tomorrow.

Tuesday: Everyone has an alphabox due on Friday for their independent reading book and you should be logging your reading minutes every night...we want the alien!!!

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home the Family Letter for unit 6.

Thursday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 6.1 tonight, the spelling test is tomorrow, and your alphaboxes are also due tomorrow.

Friday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 6.3 this weekend.

Spelling for the Week of 12-12

2011-12-11T10:11:00.001-06:00

suffixes -ant and -ent

absent, efficacious
servant, orbiting
present, continent
instant, magma
accident, magnetism
assistant, embarrassment
current, magnificent
moment, amendment
resident, resident
ignorant, pungent
pleasant, expedient
distant, resilient
innocent, immigrant
intelligent, incident
restaurant, consonant
patient
government
statement
migrant
participant

This Week in 5S

2011-12-04T13:08:00.001-06:00

Here is what we will be doing in 5S this week:

The 5th Grade Musical is on Wednesday. Mrs. Dunafin has done an amazing job with the program this year...you are going to love it!! The kids should be back at school, in the classroom, at around 6:30 for the 7:00 show.
5S Math will continue to work on developing our understanding of fractions and how they relate to decimals and percents this week. I am going to be sending home a lot of extra practice sheets for homework as the class ALL need to work on specific new skills we are learning.
In science we will continue our work in the computer lab learning about atoms, but we will also begin a series of hands-on science experiments with magnets.
My flex groups will continue our work with the picture book The 11th Hour as we try to solve the mystery of who ate the feast! The rest of the fifth graders will also have an opportunity to use this book in flex in the coming weeks.
Our reading time this week will focus on connecting mains ideas in different stories and non-fiction texts. The video book reports will be shared with the class on Wednesday and you can see them at home on the book blog as well. The kids and I will also spend some time learning more about metaphors.
During writing the class will finish up their picture book mash-ups and then we are going to begin a project on needs and wants using a variety of catalogs with products ranging from $20.00 to $60,000! Groups of kids will be developing and writing a marketing campaign for an item that will be shared with the class in the coming weeks. This is going to be a blast!
Have a great week everyone!

Homework for the Week of 12-5

2011-12-04T13:01:00.001-06:00

Monday: Your video book reports are due on Wednesday, bring them to school on a flash drive. Remember to log your reading minutes at www.maywattsreads.com and 5S Math will bring home some fraction practice tonight.

Tuesday: 5S Math will bring home more fraction practice tonight and everyone needs to go to www.freerice.com to work on vocabulary development. Bring in a note card showing what level you reached and how many grains of rice you earned.

Wednesday: The Fifth Grade Musical is tonight, be back in the classroom at 6:30. 5S Math will bring home more fraction practice and Study Link 5.9 tonight. I also have a science extra credit activity that will be due on Friday.

Thursday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 5.10 tonight and the spelling test is tomorrow.

Friday: Enjoy the weekend!

Spelling for the Week of 12-5, silent letters

2011-12-04T12:58:00.001-06:00

island, orchids
design, slaughter
calm, clambered
column, knowledge
sword, habitat
half, colleague
yolk, acquaintance
walked, potpourri
talk, pneumonia
chalk, jeopardy
wrinkled, gauge
wrong, handkerchief
autumn, foreigner
solemn, mnemonics
aisle, receipt
foreign
lightning
benign
glistened
resign

Back to School...

2011-11-27T12:51:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone enjoyed the "mini-break" we had last week and is ready to get back to a normal schedule. This is what's going on in 5S this week:

We will begin a four week study of atoms, magnetism, and electricity this week. The class will be focused on atomic structure this week and learning all about the periodic table of elements. We will be in the computer lab researching a few different elements for part of our science time.
5S Math will continue to learn more about fractions this week. We will be focused on converting between fractions, decimals, and percents, using calculators with fractions, finding common denominators and creating equivalent fractions, renaming mixed numbers as fractions, and converting improper fractions to mixed numbers. There will be a game coming home on Thursday to help your son or daughter memorize basic conversions between fractions and percents.
On Friday afternoon the kids will have an extra long dress rehearsal for the music performance next week. Mrs. Dunafin has done an amazing job on this program!!! The sound of 92 5th graders drumming in unison is pretty cool!
I will be out of school on Tuesday, along with 10 other Watts staff, at an all day training seminar for a school-wide program we plan on implementing next year called CHAMPS.
Our reading time this week will be focused on a great story about the Iditarod dog sledding race in Alaska. We will discuss the ethics of the race, charter traits, and practice outlining using the tale.
All of the 5th graders will be taking a standardized reading test this Friday called the Gates. This test assesses overall reading ability and the results are used for a variety of internal purposes and placements in advanced programs at the middle school.
Our writing time this week will be spent on our picture book mash-up project. Partners are going to take two well known picture books and mash them up into a completely new story!
I will finish our read aloud, The Girl Who Owned a City, on Monday and then we will begin a great thriller titled Found by Margaret Petersen Haddix. Check it out: http://www.haddixbooks.com/books/found.html# There are already three sequels in this series...maybe some kids will be inspired to read on?

Homework for the Week of 11-28

2011-11-27T12:45:00.001-06:00

Monday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 5.5 tonight. Work on your book reports as well kids.

Tuesday: 5S Math will bring home the math game we played in class. I would like all of the kids to play this game tonight, and everyone will have an activity on atoms.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 5.8 tonight.

Thursday: The kids in 5S Math will bring home Study Link 5.6 and the spelling test is tomorrow as well.

Friday: Book reports are due next week on Wednesday so this is your last weekend to work on the project.

Remember that video book reports are due on December 7th, Wednesday of next week. If I am going to film your project at school, you need to be ready to film on Monday the 5th. Please bring the video to school on a flash drive to turn in.

Spelling for the Week of 11-28

2011-11-27T12:41:00.001-06:00

Compound Words

basketball, breathtaking
seventy-five, thunderstruck
rock band, runner-up
everybody, half hour
fireplace, paper clip
anything, extracurricular
take-off, cold-blooded
skateboard, headache
homework, counterclockwise
two-thirds, merry-go-round
high school, awestruck
railroad, overexposure
motorcycle, time-consuming
vice president, nonetheless
strawberry, spreadsheet
freeway
car pool
comic strip
fine arts
forty-two

A Short Week in 5S

2011-11-20T13:40:00.001-06:00

This will be a short week of school as we only have class on Monday and Tuesday because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Our main focus this week will be finishing up our five week social studies unit with an open book test on Tuesday. The class and I will review every question that will be on the test on Monday, we will mark important passages in the text, and then it's up to all the students to review the information on Monday night. The 9 question open book test will be given on Tuesday.

Tuesday is also going to be a comfortable day in the 5th grade hallways as we are declaring it Pajama Day! The kids may wear their PJ's and bring in a good book to snuggle up with. While we will be taking the social studies test and having regular math class, the rest of our time will be spent working on independent reading. There is a writing project that we will begin right after the short break that will require the kids to all have read a variety of new picture books so they will have time to read them at school along with an independent novel of their own choosing. I hope the kids will be talking about this writing project after the intro I have planned for tomorrow!!!

Homework for the week is simple, study for the social studies test and make sure that you are all planning for video book reports which are due on 12-7.

Thanks for all the sweet emails kids! I am slowly feeling a bit better and am looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday. A special thanks in advance to Jason's mom for the art awareness lesson that we will have tomorrow at 11:00. Have a wonderful week and enjoy the holiday!

Under the Weather...

2011-11-16T18:04:00.001-06:00

So, the cold that I thought I had is a bit more than a cold and my doctor has ordered me to go to bed for the next few days. I fought her on this one, but she even wrote a note to Mr. Raczak that said I had to stay home. So kiddos, I will be out for the next few days. Be good and have fun! I should see you all again on Monday and I want to hear great reports about how wonderful you all were. I'll miss you guys.

This Week in 5S...

2011-11-10T16:10:00.002-06:00

It was really nice sitting down with everyone at conferences yesterday and today. All of the kids in 5S are really working hard and sharing some of the great things I have seen these past 12 weeks has been quite fun. Now our week:

There is a book review due on December 7th. The kids all have their novel checked out and should be reading nightly. I am going to meet with everyone next week to check in on how the book is going and have a conversation about what they are planning for the report. The class and I developed the directions for this video project last week. Some of the kids want to film the video outside of school, with a parent's help, and bring it into school on a flash drive while others are going to film it here at school using one of our Flip Cams. The directions for the project will be posted on the book blog this weekend. I would like to post some of the videos on the 5S book blog, so please send me an email if you DO NOT want your child's video posted and I will leave it off.

5S Flex are all working on a novel study in groups. This week we will be working on synthesizing information from summaries developed by group members, visualization, character traits and making inferences.

During our whole group reading time we will be working with a few issues of Time For Kids to build and support plausible interpretations with evidence from the text through collaboration with partners, we will be reading with our 1C book buddies, we will work on vocabulary development, and kids will begin planning their video book projects.

In social studies we will be playing catch up, our colony projects took a bit longer than expected...but they were really excellent!!! The class will be learning about the pilgrims, the puritans, and the 13 original colonies. We will be working with our social studies text as well as a selection of video clips to compare which media provides the best information in the best way. It will be interesting to see what the kids have to say about this!

5S Math did amazingly well on the unit 4 test. The class average was 91%! We will begin unit 5 this week as we dive into fractions and mixed numbers. I am also planning a bit more division practice and a review of some of the more difficult concepts the fifth grade team has identified through a variety of assessments the kids have taken this year.

For writing we will continue to develop our multiple paragraph writing, this week with the topic "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, and Sydney Poitier have nothing to do with this! The kids can pick any person, living or dead, to come join your family for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone will be developing a five paragraph essay using this theme.

Have a great week everyone!

Spelling for the Week of 11-14-11

2011-11-10T16:02:00.002-06:00

American, desperate
frozen, frostbitten
button, laden
chapter, emergency
tractor, straighten
golden, forbidden
taken, sovereign
harbor, battalion
father, examine
color, amplifier
ancestor, renovator
hidden, reverberate
hamburger, calendar
theater, interpreter
weather, wanderer
beckon
cannon
comparison
elder
turban

Homework for the Week of 11-14-11

2011-11-10T15:53:00.002-06:00

Monday: Everyone will need to bring home their social studies books tonight to answer questions 2, 3, and 4 on page 173. 5S Math will bring home a two-sided division practice sheet and the Family Letter for Unit 5, and everyone should be reading the book for the video project that is due on December 7th. The directions will be on the book blog soon.

Tuesday: 5S Math will bring home their SMJ to complete Math Box 5.1 tonight. Everyone should keep reading the book for the video project and don't forget to log your minutes.

Wednesday: Read your book for the video project and begin to plan what you are going to do.

Thursday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 5.2 tonight and everyone needs to go back to http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1541 to continue to work on vocabulary development. Bring in a note card showing how many grains of rice you earned and what level you reached.

Friday: Keep reading your book for the project and really work on the plan for your project.

This Week in 5S

2011-11-06T11:38:00.003-06:00

The best news for the week is that we are going to have a new student in 5S. Cole will begin his adventure in 5S tomorrow kids! Here is the rest of the week's information:

Colony presentations will be given Monday in class.

The kids and I are going to develop the directions for a new book report on Monday. This book report will be a video shot at school using our flip cams. I have a bunch of ideas for this project, but I'm going to see what the class comes up with before I share my thoughts.

The final copy of the writer's workshop story we have been working on is due on Tuesday morning.

5S Math will review for the unit 4 math test on Monday and a study guide will come home. On Tuesday, we will review everything on the test and the kids will begin taking it in class.

The book fair is going on this week, please think of picking up a few of the titles while you are here for conferences.

Parent teacher conferences are this week on Wednesday evening from 4:00-8:00 and from 8:00-8:00 on Thursday. I am looking forward to our conversations.

We will begin learning about the Pilgrims this week in social studies.

5S Flex is going to begin a book club project with novels from the LMC.

In reading we are going to be finishing up some of the things we were learning last week with nonfiction reading strategies.

Our writing time this week will be spent with developing multi-paragraph opinion pieces.

No school for the kids on Thursday or Friday.

Have a great week everyone!

Homework for the Week of 11-7

2011-11-06T11:29:00.002-06:00

Monday: Remember that we are going to be taking the spelling test from last week today, review last week's words kids. 5S Math will bring home the Study Guide for the unit 4 test tonight. The test will begin tomorrow after we review everything on the study guide. For those of you who didn't bring home your writer's workshop stories over the weekend, finish up the books tonight because they are due tomorrow.

Tuesday: Read your book report books and log your minutes, remember 20 minutes each night and you will earn the reward for the school wide reading program. This month is a free ticket to a Chicago Wolves game and a free pizza.

Wednesday: Keep reading your book report book and enjoy the long weekend.

Thursday: No School, conferences.

Friday, No School, Veteran's Day.

Picture Retakes

2011-11-01T16:39:00.001-05:00

School pictures will come home tomorrow. Picture re-takes will be Wednesday, November 8. Parents are to call the office to get their student on the re-take list, return the original packet of photos and we will put them on the re-take schedule.

Thanks,

The May Watts Office

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T13:20:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Halloween and we are going to have a fun day capped off by the parade around the school that will begin once we come back from lunch, around 1:50ish, and the classroom party from 2:30-3:15. The class will also all have an opportunity to share the spooky story written for the contest that has been going on for the past two weeks. The kids and I will all vote on our favorite and the winner will be able to get any item from the book fair on me...not that there are any books about me...I'm simply buying the item! I truly love that the class has gotten so excited about their writing. We have been doing a lot of creative writing this month and the stories that have been shared so far all show great promise. On Friday, one creative writing piece, published in class, will be turned in for a grade. This might be the spooky story, the Mysteries of Harris Burdick story, an extension of a doodle writing activity, one of the picture stories written, or a new piece. I will be having writing conferences with everyone this week to go through your creation. The class will also begin planning a five paragraph opinion paper using the May Watts four square graphic organizer.

I bought a new tool for the classroom this weekend that will help me share things with the class during our time at school. It is a USB camera that will show real time video of anything on my cart in the front of the room. We will be using this in every subject we learn and I am really excited to try it out on Monday. I anticipate using this camera a lot during writing time to model editing using student work, to show a great paragraph up on the Smartboard, to show a unique way someone solved a problem in math, to highlight a passage in a text we are reading or a current event from a publication, and to show video of student presentations on the Smartboard as they happen. There are a lot of instructional possibilities!

Here are the rest of the important things to know about our week:

Please send back the report card envelopes this week. Sign the front and keep all of the contents at home.

The social studies colony development project will come to a conclusion this week on Friday. The teams will have a lot of class time to complete their work, make sure they all have the items on their checklists completed, and get their presentations ready to go for Friday.

5S Math will continue to learn more about division this week. We will review the friendly number strategy for mental division we learned last week, practice the partial quotients and traditional algorithms, and learn how to divide decimals.

In reading this week we will practice a pre-reading and during reading strategy called SCAN and RUN that will give tips on how to attack a new text. I have bookmarks for all the kids to keep as a reminder of the steps involved. We will use this strategy for both fiction and non-fiction texts.

The class will have an opportunity to preview the Book Fair during their LMC time this week. This is a wonderful event organized by Mrs. May that gives back a lot of money for books and technology for the whole school so please think about stopping by to purchase a few titles!

I have a few spooky Mad-Libs that the class will use to enhance their grammar skills and have a laugh or two this week and the vocabulary homework hit with the free rice website is on the calendar again this week!

No homework Monday except to have fun!!!

Homework for the Week of 10-31

2011-10-30T13:04:00.002-05:00

Monday: Have a safe and spooky Halloween!

Tuesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 4.3 tonight.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 4.4 tonight and everyone should go back to http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1541 to see how many grains of rice you can earn. Bring in a note card showing how well you did just like last week.

Thursday: I would like you to turn in a paragraph tomorrow that uses all of your spelling words, study for the spelling test, and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 4.5.

Friday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 4.6 tonight to complete this weekend.

Every day this week you should be reading for a minimum of 20 minutes and entering your minutes online. Last month you guys read for 8,001 minutes! Many if you will also have social studies work to do at home this week for your group's colony project which will be presented this Friday.

Spelling for the Week of 10-31-11, Plurals

2011-10-30T12:59:00.002-05:00

crises, foxes
knives, breaths
media, tragedies
roofs, buses
pianos, skis
waves, hypotheses
wishes, analyses
armies, phenomena
briefs, vertebrae
videos, antennae
heroes, arteries
data, monkeys
bacteria, journeys
oxen, hooves
tomatoes, heroes
canoes
berries
loaves
lives
messages

Homework for the Week of 10-24

2011-10-23T10:32:00.002-05:00

Monday: 5S Math will bring home the family letter for Unit 4 in math and everyone who did not finish the final copy of their stuffed animal memoir will need to complete the final copy as homework...it is due tomorrow.

Tuesday: 5S Math kids will be bringing home a game called Angle Tangle to play with an adult. Please make sure that you bring a protractor from class and have the adult you played with sign the bottom of the game. I would also like everyone to play an online vocabulary game tonight, the one we played in class that earns free rice for hungry families. Go to http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1541 and play. Bring in a note card showing how many grains of rice you earned signed by Mom or Dad.

Wednesday: Tonight you have a writing assignment. Look for something in your house that could come to life, like the gargoyles in the book we read today, and have this in mind when you come to class tomorrow. Imagine if Snap, Crackle, and Pop or the little bear with the honey inside were real!!! 5S Math will bring home Study Link 4.1.

Thursday: Study for the spelling test and 5S Math has Study Link 4.2 tonight.

Friday: No homework, rest up for Halloween on Monday.

Spelling for the Week of 10-24

2011-10-23T10:28:00.002-05:00

level, brindle
double, possible
metal, personality
evil, wilderness
travel, humorous
couple, morsel
needle, superficial
battle, inseparable
candle, indomitable
article, astronomical
equal, indispensable
civil, impeccable
capital, beautiful
original, technological
individual, hysterical
material
angel
camel
illegal
stencil

This Week in 5S

2011-10-15T18:41:00.004-05:00

Before I share what our week will look like, I need to say how wonderful this class has been for the first eight weeks of school! There is really something great about going to spend a day with my class when I know it is filled with hard-working, respectful, sweet, kind, compassionate, and creative little people. We are having a great year and I am excited about getting this week started.

The class is going to be working in teams for the next two weeks developing a colony from scratch. This has been our focus in social studies for the past few weeks, and after the test on Monday that will cover everything on the study guide that the kids wrote on Friday, we are going to put all that new learning into practice. The teams will have to develop a plan for a new settlement somewhere in the world in the year 1600. This plan will include a system of government, a rationale for the location of the colony that will include possible trade routes, an economic plan to pay back the charter they were given by King James using commodity prices of the era, a name, a flag, natural resources available, and anything else the kids come up with. The detailed plans will be presented in two weeks. Don't you want to be in 5th grade this week!

Yes it is true, all of the kiddos in 5S can bring their favorite stuffed little buddy/doll to school this week. We are going to be writing a memoir from the point of view of the stuffed animal who knows us all best. I will be bringing Tedzo, my best bud from childhood, to school and sharing his memory story of a time my mom and dad kidnapped him and kept him in their room for a week after a bad choice I made as a child. I am sure this was an extreme overreaction on their part as I was clearly a perfect child? The stories will be due this Friday, and we are going to have time to share them with our stuffed friends.

We will be reading a story titled Dear Mrs. Parks during some of our reading time this week. This is a story about Rosa Parks and how she would communicate with children via letters during her final years of life. I will be sharing some of the ceremonies from Washington showing the opening of the Martin Luther King Memorial that will be on TV tomorrow to connect to the theme of the story. Any student who watches all or part of the event on TV tomorrow and writes a thoughtful reflection saying what they thought of the moment will earn extra credit in social studies. To help build background knowledge, please visit http://www.mlkmemorial.org/ with your child. The class will be focusing on character traits and developing extended response answers to open-ended reading questions using the text about Mrs. Parks.

The class will also be creating a word graveyard this week. We are going to send a few words from our vocabularies to their final resting places. 5S kids will no longer be using words like happy, good, bad, or sad when they could use thrilled, extraordinary, horrid, and melancholy. It's time to work on vocabulary and meet a new friend...the thesaurus and it's online cousin shift + F7. Enjoy the weekend and I'll see everyone on Monday.

Homework for the Week of 10-17

2011-10-15T18:33:00.002-05:00

Monday: This week all of the kids need to complete an alphabox, due on Friday, on the biography that was checked out during an LMC lesson. Everyone should be reading for a minimum of 20 minutes each night and recording the minutes online. 5S Math will also bring home Study Link 3.7.

Tuesday: 5S Math has Study Link 3.8 tonight, work on the alphabox, and keep on reading!

Wednesday: Everyone needs to go back to www.puzzlemaker.com to make a spelling puzzle using this week's list and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 3.9.

Thursday: The spelling test is tomorrow and your alphabox on the biography is also due. 5S Math will bring home Study Link 3.10.

Friday: 5S Math will bring home the study guide for the unit 3 test which we will take on Monday.

Don't forget about the Scary Story contest!!! You kids are so creative...I cannot wait to read all of the stories together on Halloween!

Spelling for the Week of 10-17

2011-10-15T18:25:00.002-05:00

charged, approval
spied, glimpse
moving, braggart
trying, sufficient
practicing, qualities
injured, angered
carrying, sympathizing
tasted, whimpering
receiving, ricocheted
becoming, crocheting
lying, dyeing
dying, murmured
realized, panicking
provided, identifying
fried, resembling
created
tallied
carried
revising
wearing

Scary Story Contest

2011-10-15T15:12:00.003-05:00

Scary Story Contest

What: Write a one to two page scary story using the reading and writing skills we have studied in class this year. Try to:

1. Know your purpose of writing
2. Include dialogue in your story
3. Know the character goals and conflicts
4. Incorporate the scary mood through your story.
5. Know which audience you are writing this for.

Make sure that the mood is scary.

Where: Write in class during writing time after you have finished your required memoirs. You may also write at home.

When: Anytime between now and Sunday, October 30th. The due date is Monday, October 31st. We will share our stories that day.

Why: It’s important to write with purpose and in this case you are writing for a contest. The 1st place winner will win a prize!

Who: The story is for your audience and for yourself as a contestant.

Homework for the Week of 10-11

2011-10-10T17:36:00.002-05:00

Monday: No School

Tuesday: Keep adding your reading minutes online all this week. If you read 400 minutes this month, you will earn a free pizza. 5S Math will bring home an extra credit opportunity and Study Link 3.4.

Wednesday: 1/2 Day, dismissal is at 12:15 today. Bring home your social studies books, read pages 164-167 and write a thoughtful answer to question number four on the last page of the reading.

Thursday: 5S Math will have Study Link 3.5 tonight and the spelling test will be tomorrow as well.

Friday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 3.6 for the weekend.

Spelling for the Week of 10-11-11

2011-10-10T17:29:00.002-05:00

treasure, recruited
capture, persistent
feature, league
pleasure, devastation
measure, inspiration
creature, caricature
picture, assure
adventure, cashier
mixture, immeasurable
structure, posture
pasture, overture
culture, compromise
literature, lethargic
furniture, beneficial
temperature, appreciative
legislature
immature
leisure
premature
signature

PBS Colonial House

2011-10-07T15:29:00.003-05:00

In class today we learned a bit about what it would have been like to live in a colony like Jamestown in the 1600's. PBS did a reality show called Colonial House in 2003 which put modern day people into the roles of an English colonist for four months. I highly recommend checking out this web site and looking for online episodes on You Tube. Check this out over the long weekend.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonial/

This Week in 5S

2011-10-02T10:45:00.003-05:00

Here is what we will be working on this week in 5S:

Monday is our make-up date for Track and Field Day, dress for the morning and bring a water bottle.

Picture Day is this Thursday, the order form will come home on Monday. Please be sure to send it to school on Thursday with your child.

A new online reading incentive will begin this week in 5S. Directions for accessing the site and how to login are detailed in a post below this one.

Flex guided reading classes will begin this week. The kids will find out who their flex teacher will be tomorrow, and then let the reading begin.

PA kids will all be a part of the guided reading time this year, but only for the final 15 minutes of the 55 minute block. I will be meeting with the 13 kids in PA during this time, working on literature extensions that will mirror the PA curriculum they learn with Mrs. Tobin.

Reading skills this week will be a balance of fiction and non fiction strategies. The first three issues of Time for Kids will be used this week to make connections to real world situations before, during, and after reading as well as making inferences in a non fiction text. The same strategies will be used with fiction texts on during our guided reading time. How do the same skills change based on whay type of text you are reading?

5S will partner up with 1C on Friday for some reading time. The fifth graders are going to focus on word attack skills younger students use when they come to an unknown word.

Our time in social studies this week will quickly take us from 1492 all the way to Jamestown, Virginia. Our main focus this year in social studies will be from The American Revolution through The Civil War. This week we will set the scene quickly, build important background knowledge and investigate what happened to the people of The Lost Colony of Roanoke.

5S Math will take the unit 2 test on Monday and then move into unit three where we will start by looking at census data, begin angle measurement, discuss angles in polygons, and explore how to use a protractor.

Our writing time this week will be split between writing a memoir and writer's workshop pieces. Your son or daughter is going to come home on Monday with an idea for their memoir to share orally with you hoping that you may be able to add some sensory images and details to their memory.

New Reading Incentive Program Starts this Week!

2011-10-02T10:38:00.002-05:00

Remember those paper reading log calendars that kept getting lost and forgotten until the end of the month? May Watts is now part of the digital age! Our new online reading log is called Reading Stars, and it is available at maywattsreads.com To log in, your student needs their student ID number. (This was on the LMC brochure sent home at Curriculum Night. If you don't have that, Mr. Schumann can supply it.) The password is their class (i.e. 3A).Each month, there will be a reward for reaching the required number of minutes for your child's grade level. In 5th grade our goal is 400 Minutes each month, or twenty minutes per night. These minutes can be fulfilled by home independent reading or being read to by an adult. The reward for the October, November, and December will be coupons for a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. You can access the site by typing in www.maywattsread.com or go in through the May Watts website/LMC/Reading Log.

All of the kids were shown how to access this new program by Mrs. May during their LMC time last week, so finding the site and logging in should not be a problem at home. At the end of the month I will be checking to see who reached their goal. Part of the homework in 5th grade every night is an expectation that the kids are reading for at least twenty minutes, so this should be an easy goal to achieve. If every child in class reaches their goal we will earn a special reward...and no I'm not telling you what it is yet!

Homework for the Week of 10-3

2011-10-02T10:31:00.002-05:00

Monday: Today in class we began prewriting our memoir, I'd like you to share your idea with a parent tonight and see if they can help add some sensory images or details to your story. Read for 20 minutes and log your progress at: http://maywattsreads.com/

Tuesday:5S Math will bring home the Family Letter for unit 3 tonight and everyone needs to complete the Alphabox on the TFK we read today in class. Read for 20 minutes.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 3.2 tonight, everyone needs to write a paragraph that uses all of the spelling words on your list, and you need to continue reading for the new reading incentive program.

Thursday: 5S Math will bring home their SMJ to complete Math Box 3.3, everyone has an 11 question TFK quiz, the spelling test is tomorrow, and you need to continue to read and log your progress online.

Friday: Have a great long weekend.

Spelling for the Week of 10-3

2011-10-02T10:26:00.002-05:00

percent, sincere
absence, tissue
years, resident
refused, magician
ancient, appreciate
pressure, atrocious
machine, innocence
notice, interpret
scene, asymmetrical
station, symmetry
social, cemetery
special, ceremony
parachute, scenic
specialty, permission
detention, medicine
constitution
advertisement
advise
cities
chalet

Family Self Defense Night from Mrs. Andrews

2011-09-29T18:31:00.001-05:00

Dear Parents,

The safety of our children is of great importance to all of us. We can do our best to keep them safe at home and school, but situations may arise that we can not control. These incidents can happen anywhere, at any time, and with anyone. It is not just an issue in the big cities or always a “stranger danger" attack. Parents are often unsure of what to say to their young children and how much information they should provide to them. Mrs. Andrews will provide an age appropriate, hands on self-defense workshop in which you may participate with your family. When parents are in attendance, they can hear and see first hand what she plans to cover. Your child can practice these techniques on their parents or adult family members. Competence and confidence in self- defense techniques can relieve anxiety and is a good resource for your child. The majority of self -defense is avoidance of dangerous situations and good information. That will be her focus. We will be practicing physical defenses, though, so please have your child wear comfortable clothing and safe gym shoes. Older siblings and all family members are encouraged to participate. Permission slips have been sent home, but Mrs. Keene has them in the office and Mrs. Andrews as well. The number of participants will be limited due to safety and space needs, so be sure to return this slip promptly. This event will be held Wednesday, Oct 5 from 6:30-8:30 for K-5 students and parents. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Andrews at terri_andrews@ipsd.org or 428-6709.

Family Reading Night

2011-09-27T18:00:00.001-05:00

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Family Reading Night for 2-5 grade students and parents!

Family Reading Night will take place on Tuesday, October 11 from 6:15-7:45 with the theme of Reading is for Meaning! The purpose of this evening is to be introduced to the different stages of reading and to understand that reading goes beyond word recognition. The primary focus will be on Newly Fluent and Truly Fluent readers through exploring text complexity in the various genres of literature. Matching readers to text that supports interactive and engaged reading is an important part of building student comprehension. Plan to come and attend 3 different breakout sessions throughout the evening. Registration will be required. (A form will be sent home by Friday, September 20.) I hope to see you all at the event.

This Week in 5S

2011-09-25T12:28:00.003-05:00

Here is what we will be doing this week in 5S...

Monday is Track and Field Day from 9:15-10:30 so be sure to dress appropriately and bring a water bottle.

Tuesday author Michael Grant will be at May Watts talking to the class about being a writer.

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week all the fifth graders in District 204 will be taking a standardized test called the CoGat. This is a new test for the district that will replace the OLSAT that kids in second and fifth grades have traken in past school years. The scores will be used for a variety of purposes including entrance into accelerated math and Project Arrow.

We will begin a new read aloud titled The Girl Who Owned a City by O. T. Nelson. This is a tale about a fictitious plague that kills every person in the world over twelve years of age. The novel is set in Glen Ellyn, IL where I grew up, and was a rite of passage for every kid in town to read. It sounds ominous, but is is really a book about an incredibly strong girl named Lisa who uses her mind to save her neighborhood and survive in a world with no adults.

In writing this week we will begin learning about memoirs by reading a few examples that will lead to writing our own memoir next week in class. We will also write an argument piece based on the study that came out a few weeks ago about Sponge Bob Square Pants being bad for kids...what will your position be?

There will be a weather test in science on Tuesday and then we will move into social studies where we will investigate the era of exploration that led to European settlements in North America.

Our reading time this week will be spent focusing on narrative story elements, vocabulary strategies, and asking/answering open ended questions.

Flex groups, small guided reading classes where the kids will switch rooms, will begin next Monday.

5S Math will finish up unit 2 with more work using the statistical landmarks of maximum, minimum, median, mode, mean and range. We will learn more about comparing large numbers, the vocabulary of chance events, adding and subtracting decimals as well as multiplication and division using decimals, and number stories. The study guide for unit 2 will come home on Friday and the test will on Monday of next week.

This is an amazing video of the earth...just for fun: http://gizmodo.com/5842671/this-fluid-fly+by-video-is-the-most-astonishing-view-of-earth-ive-ever-seen

Homework for the Week of 9-26

2011-09-25T12:23:00.002-05:00

Monday: Remember your book review is due this Friday, the directions are on the book blog. We are going to have a science test tomorrow on weather so be sure to review the study guide we completed in class. 5S Math has Study Link 2.8.

Tuesday: Keep working on your book review and 5S Math has Study Link 2.9.

Wednesday: Using www.puzzlemaker.com create a word search using your spelling list, print it, and bring it to class tomorrow. If computer access is a problem, create a word search on paper. 5S Math has Study Link 2.10.

Thursday: Your book review is due tomorrow morning and we have a spelling test tomorrow.

Friday: 5S Math will bring the study guide for the unit 2 test that we will take on Monday.

Spelling for the Week of 9-26-11

2011-09-25T11:35:00.002-05:00

Words with long o and u

soul, forehead
smoke, include
move, rehearsal
clue, fourth
fruits, course
lose, conductive
chose, ensue
stole, turbulent
prove, tombstone
produce, suitable
juice, peculiar
drove, acoustic
Tuesday, illusion
rescue, camouflage
continue, surgeon
issue
ego
argue
cruise
toll

5S Parents Needed for Room Parties

2011-09-20T17:10:00.003-05:00

Calling all 5S parents, Mrs. Labarbera would like to invite parents to help plan and run each of the 5S room parties this year. Room parties are from 2:15-3:15pm. The three party dates are: Oct 31, Dec 22 and Feb 14. Interested parents can contact her at suelabarbera@hotmail.com.

This Week in 5S

2011-09-18T09:53:00.002-05:00

Because I have five posts that are new to the blog this week, I am going to keep this one simple. Here’s what we will be working on this week:

• The directions that the kids and I wrote for the first book review of the year will be posted on the book blog tomorrow. This project will be due on 9-29.
• Groups will be presenting their oral arguments for our first research project of the year this week on Friday.
• My math class will explore number stories with decimals, statistical landmarks of maximum, minimum, median, range, mode and mean will be focused on, we will review estimation, and discuss the vocabulary of chance events.
• In Science we will continue to learn about weather through a variety of hands-on experiments.
• Reading skills for the week include revising and confirming predictions, making connections, making inferences, and asking questions before, during, and after reading.
• During our writing time we will continue working on seven word summaries, developing our first workshop piece of the year, and Fortunately stories are all due on Tuesday morning.

Author Visit!

2011-09-18T09:42:00.004-05:00

Auhor Michael Grant will be visiting the fifth graders at Watts on the 27th of September. We are going to begin his latest novel in class this week, an order form for the book was sent home last week. You can read a review of the book below and also check out his website at: http://themichaelgrant.com/mag12/

The first book in Grant's new series, The Magnificent 12, introduces unlikely hero Mack, who has "a serious case of mediumness" and a vast array of phobias. Enter Grimluk, a 3,000-year-old man who informs Mack that he is to be the first of the new Magnifica, a group of 12 kids who must join their talents and inherited-yet-unknown powers to fight the evil Pale Queen and her vicious daughter. Reluctant and frankly freaked out by this news, Mack and former bully, now guardian friend Stefan team up to evade deadly attentions from a seriously creepy set of insect-like monsters and demonic elves. The author keeps the story moving at a brisk pace with suspenseful action and laugh-out-loud humor. The juxtaposition of chapters that recount Grimluk's ancient adventures in times when math wasn't even invented against those when the young protagonist is equipped with an iPhone and receives text messages from his golem produces a lighter-than-usual fantasy action-adventure that is sure to win many fans and fly off the shelves. (Fantasy. 10-14)

PTA Coat Drive and Reflections

2011-09-18T09:39:00.002-05:00

Fall is the time to clean out our closets. During the month of October, Project S.H.A.R.E. is participating in a district-wide Winter coat collection. Due to the growing need in our district, we are collecting new and gently-used, warm, clean coats of all sizes from pre-school to high school. The coats will be distributed to families in need within our district in early November. Please drop off your donations at May Watts in the large box located in the lobby. We will also be teaming up with Walk to School Day on October 5th. We will have wagons at the designated corners to collect your donated items. If you have any questions about the coat drive, please contact Heather Petrille, Project S.H.A.R.E. Chair at 630.369.2959 or hpetrille@yahoo.com Project S.H.A.R.E. ( Students Helping and Respecting Everyone) is a PTA committee in which we help students reach out to those in need in our community.You can get more information about PTA events and activities at www.wattspta.org

PTA REFLECTIONS: Remember that students can begin to work on their submission for the Reflections Program. This year's theme is "Diversity Means . . ."

The Project Turn In deadline for May Watts' students is October 7. For more information, please go to www.wattspta.org. Also, information, rules, and entry forms can be downloaded at www.ptareflections.org/cs/rules_and_documents or contact our Reflections Chair, Amy Toepper, at amytoepper@hotmail.com

Homework for the Week of 9-19

2011-09-18T09:30:00.003-05:00

Monday: You should be almost finished with your award winning book, keep reading. The Fortunately books are due tomorrow with all illustrations complete.

Tuesday: Keep reading your award winning book, you should finish in the next day or so. 5S Math will bring home Study Link 2.4 tonight.

Wednesday: Finish your award winning book and begin planning your book review. Everyone will have spelling homework tonight, 5S Math will bring home Study Link 2.5, AND ALL 5S MATH KIDS NEED TO BRING 10 COINS TO MATH TOMORROW!

Thursday: Begin planning your book review. 5S Math will bring home Study Link 2.6 tonight, everyone needs to study for the spelling test, and practice your role in tomorrow's research presentations.

Friday: Your book review is due one week from today. You might want to use the weekend to get your writing done so you can revise your work next week. Directions are on the book blog.

Spelling for the Week of 9-19

2011-09-18T09:19:00.002-05:00

Words with vowels before r

parts, correspondence
history, discouraged
warning, generations
declare, constitution
despair, literature
shirt, assurance
learning, pressure
backward, charisma
border, aerobic
prepared, archery
harsh, boundary
research, architecture
carnival, familiar
particular, pleasure
squirrel, gesture
harmful
charms
disorder
favored
remark

This Week in 5S

2011-09-11T10:02:00.003-05:00

This week will begin on a somber note in 5th grade as we look back to the events that took place ten years ago this morning. The entire fifth grade will meet tomorrow afternoon to learn about what happened on this day, when our students were just beginning their journeys in life. The four teachers will share their stories of the day, we will take the kids though the morning and show them what we all saw live on television using news footage and video clips from citizens on the streets of New York City, and we will discuss the heroic actions of the NYFD and NYPD who selflessly risked everything to save others. This will be a moving hour, a difficult hour, but an important hour. We will end with this video clip showing a letter written by a fifth grade boy who lost his father, a firefighter, on 9/11: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/911-anniversary-boys-letter-dad-14477850

This week the class will begin our first mini-research project of the year. The kids will be working in teams of four to research an innovator from the last 100+ years. The team has been given a specific structure to follow for their speech that will include an opening argument, the key reasons why their individual is the most influential, and a closing argument. The six teams will all give their presentation to a guest panelist who will make a decision on which group made the best case, and declare a winner. We will be using a variety of source material for this work and we will be learning about source reliability. Other lesson topics will include how to critically read and analyze information, writing a succinct seven word summary, writing reading responses focused on key points that will be used in the final arguments, how to create a visual for the presentation that will assist in the group's argument, and how teams need to work together. The KIDS will be assessing each other daily using a rubric that looks at collaboration and how each individual contributed to the common goals of the team. These daily grades will be added to a rubric we designed for the project that the teachers will complete while the kids make their case, probably on Friday of next week.

The class will also work on polishing their fiction reading skills this week with lessons on drawing conclusions, making inferences, and making connections using their award winning chapter books. On Friday, the kids and I will create the guidelines for our first book report of the year. This will be an online book review that I will post on our class book blog, http://www.5sbookblog.blogspot.com/ I always involve the kids in the creation of the project so they have some say and ownership of the work they will do. This project will be due on 9-29 and the guidelines will be posted on the Book Blog this Friday. I'll send an email when they are up.

Science is going to be great this week with several hands-on experiments that will illustrate that air takes up space, air expands and contracts because of temperature, how to read a barometer, how air pressure increases and decreases, and how hot air moves. We will also spend one day in the computer lab researching types of clouds and what types of weather they create.

5S Math will come home with the unit 1 study guide on Monday. The study guide will cover everything that will be on Tuesday's test. On Tuesday, the class and I will review every problem on the study guide, I will reteach and troubleshoot with the group, and then the class will begin the test. On Wednesday we will begin unit 2 with a review of adding and subtracting decimals. Friday, and I know the kids will love this, we are going to give an assessment that reviews all of the major concepts from 4th grade math. All of the fifth graders will be taking this test so that the fifth grade team can identify gaps in instruction and areas where additional teaching is needed. This data will be combined with data from our CBM math tests to create small guided math groups, combining students with similar needs for focused math instruction that will take place throughout the year.

Curriculum Night is this week on Thursday evening, I hope to see you all. Here is the schedule:

Kindergarten through 2nd grades 6:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Kindergarten through 5th grades 7:05 - 7:35 p.m.
Grades 3, 4, 5 may visit math teacher 7:40 - 7:50 p.m.
3rd grades through 5th grades 7:55 - 8:25 p.m.

Have an excellent week.

Homework for the Week of 9-12

2011-09-11T09:49:00.002-05:00

Monday: The study guide for the unit one 5S Math test will come home tonight. The kids should complete the study guide and bring it to class on Tuesday, we will review all of the problems, and then begin the first math test of the year. Everyone in 5S should be reading the award winning chapter book checked out last week from the LMC.

Tuesday: Keep reading your award winning chapter books and 5S Math will bring home the Family Letter for unit 2.

Wednesday: Keep reading your award winning chapter books and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 2.2.

Thursday: Keep reading your award winning chapter books, study for the spelling test, and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 2.3.

Friday: Today in class we developed the directions for the first book review of the year, an online book review that will be posted on the 5S Book Blog www.5sbookblog.blogspot.com This project is going to be due on 9-29 and the directions will be posted on the book blog today.

Spelling Words for the Week of 9-12

2011-09-11T09:43:00.002-05:00

Words with long a, e, and i

stayed, tight
brain, type
thief, remain
meat, chief
flight, pleaded
style, accommodate
delighted, decreased
daily, intermediate
breathe, league
meanwhile, decisive
believes, indicate
tonight, propane
increased, righteous
explained, acquaintance
slightly, relieved
payment
brief
tray
byte
raise

Angie's Hope

2011-09-07T09:35:00.003-05:00

Many of you neighborhood veterans know about Angie's Hope, a community garage sale that was started to raise money for SMA. I've attached a link to the website created by two former 5S students for everyone to check out. This year there is not going to be a garage sale, but a fundraiser at The Fox and Hound on 9-24. This is a great neighborhood with amazing people...look what a few kids can do!

www.angieshope.org

5S Specials Schedule

2011-09-02T14:05:00.002-05:00

Monday we have Computer Lab and PE
Tuesday we have Music and PE
Wednesday we have Music
Thursday we have LMC and PE
Friday we have Art

Our week...cooler we hope...in 5S

2011-09-02T11:01:00.005-05:00

I am so happy that the kids were able to stay at home today! The temperature in the classroom was extremely uncomfortable yesterday, so the District made the right call. The May Watts staff is at school today using our time to get ready for the weeks to come. Remember that there is no school on Monday for Labor Day and Tuesday for a Building Articulation Day. Here is what we will be doing next week.

There will be no spelling list for the three day week, but we will take the spelling test that was to be given on Friday, on Wednesday morning. Our time in reading this week will be spent learning about making connections, working on understanding fluency, and I will continue working on individual reading assessments with everyone to prepare for our small group guided reading classes that will begin soon.

On Friday, the fifth graders are going to get an introduction to a mini-research project that we will be working on for the next two weeks. The kids are going to be working in teams researching business leaders and innovators from the last 100+ years. The class will work with their team to research this person's accomplishments and inventions using a variety of print and electronic sources, develop an oral argument that will detail why their person was the most innovative person, and create a visual (drawn or electronic) that will highlight the innovations made. The individuals that will be looked at are: Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Steve Zukerberg, Levi Strauss, and the team behind Google named Page and Brin. The groups will be giving their presentation to a panel of experts at May Watts who will make a decision on which team made the best case. This is going to be a lot of fun and a lot of hard work!

In science we are going to continue learning about weather and investigating the tools used by weather forecasters. The kids in 5S Math are going to have weekend homework this week, because of the heat day, and the unit one test is going to be given on Tuesday September, 13th. A study guide will be sent home for this on Monday. Our time in writing will be spent turning the drafts of the story titled Fortunately that we wrote last week into final published copies.

I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend! I am looking forward to getting back to the AC!

Homework for the Week of 9-7

2011-09-02T10:57:00.003-05:00

Monday: No School, Labor Day

Tuesday: No School, but the teachers will be working. The spelling test from last week will be given tomorrow morning so review the words one more time.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 1.7 tonight.

Thursday: 5S math will bring home Study Link 1.8 tonight.

Friday: The kids in 5S Math are going to have weekend homework, Study Link 1.9.

Spirit Day Friday

2011-08-30T09:29:00.000-05:00

This Friday is our first Spirit Day...wear blue and grey!

This Week in 5S

2011-08-28T12:46:00.004-05:00

We had an amazing first week of school. This is a great group of little people with such spunk! The butterflies seemed to fade quickly and the class settled down and were authentically themselves. This usually takes a lot more time, but this group seems at ease already. This is an excellent omen for our year! Here is what we are going to be working on this week in 5S.

Writing: Last week the kids worked on the beginning of a story using two very divergent pictures. The peices may become published peices as a part of the Writer's Workshop we will work on all year long. The class will continue to develop these stories this week. We are also going to create a class book titled "What I've Learned So Far" that will explore little nuggets of knowledge gleaned from their 10 years of life. My favorite from past years was, "What I've learned so far is to never go down the stairs in a box with your friend." Kids do some odd things while learning what to do, and what not to do...this project will dive right into those lessons learned. I will have this to share at Curriculum Night on 9-15. We will also begin a story titled "Fortunately" based on a picture book. The kids will continue this into next week as well.

Reading: This week I will be meeting with every student to work on independent reading conferences so I can begin to know your son or daughter as a reader. If your child has a book at home that they are currently reading, please send it to school each day this week. I will also be working on some assessments with everyone to gauge their reading levels. There are going to be a variety of reading response journal entries written during our reading block this week as well.

Math: For those kids in 5S Math we will continue with chapter one. Our main focus this week will be developing our understanding of rectangular arrays, fact families, factors and products, rules for divisibility, and square numbers. If your child has Mr. Vaid or Mrs. Bennick for math you can check out their blogs for updates for the week and the homework assignments. Both blogs are linked on the right side of the blog under 5th Grade Teachers.

Science: We are going to continue our investigation of weather this week. I hope that many of the kids were asking questions about Irene this weekend as we learned all about hurricane formation, structure, and we looked back at some of the major storms that have made landfall in the US over the years. This week we will learn about the layers of the atmosphere, weather fronts, and tools used in forecasting the weather.

Don't forget that the "Me in a Bag" speeches are due on Wednesday. I will give my speech on Tuesday to model what I am looking for. Have a great week everyone. The spelling list and homework for the week are posted below.

Homework for the Week of 8-29

2011-08-28T12:40:00.003-05:00

Monday: Everyone in 5S needs to prepare their "Me in a Bag" speech, they will be presented on Wednesday. 5S Math will bring home Study Link 1.3.

Tuesday: Continue working on your "Me in a Bag" speeches, practice a few times tonight, and 5S Math has Study Link 1.4.

Wednesday: 5S Math has Study Link 1.5 tonight.

Thursday: Our first spelling test is tomorrow and 5S Math will bring home Study Link 1.6.

Friday: No Homework, enjoy the long weekend and remember there is no school on Monday or Tuesday!!! The teachers will be working on Tuesday...lucky!

Our First Spelling List

2011-08-28T12:07:00.002-05:00

Each week I will post two lists for spelling. The first list of twenty words is the base list which is made up of words that generally follow one spelling pattern. The second list of fifteen words is the alternate list made up of words that are a bit more challenging and sometimes stray from the pattern. The list your son or daughter chooses is up to them and you. If your child wants the challenge, take the alternate list. I will make suggestions to certain students based on performance in class, but for now it is their call. A set of flash cards with all the words will come home every Monday.

Short Vowel Words

master, activity
ahead, building
build, heavy
front, biscuit
meant, purpose
bread, astonish
ready, symmetric
busy, cyclical
quit, abandon
mother, subsequent
above, expository
does, abundant
advantage, accomplish
business, mishap
sweater, extraordinary
plastic
balance
limit
among
dozen

Our First Week in 5S!

2011-08-21T12:16:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year! This first week of school is all about setting the stage for success. The class and I will be organizing supplies and setting up binders so that materials will be easily organized and stay organized this year. We will also be discussing expectations students have for me as their teacher, and the expectations that I have of my students. These expectations will be discussed as a group and posted in the classroom. The kids and I will also spend some time reviewing behavior expectations around the building and in the classroom. Much of our time will be spent getting to know each other this week, but with a few twists!

I love pictures books! I will use them all year long to introduce a variety of topics and skills, and this week I have several to read to the class to help set the tone for the year. We will discuss rumors and gossip, following your dreams, making new friends, and how to make an impact at the beginning of the school year.

There will be no spelling list this first week of school, but next week the lists will be posted here and your son or daughter will come home every Monday of the school year with flash cards for each new word on our list to use at home.

Math will begin on Wednesday. Most of the regular math students will stay with me for math, but a few will go to Mr. Vaid as well. Mrs. Bennick will be teaching some of the accelerated math students , but Mr. Vaid will be teaching a new split class with some accelerated math students and some regular math students. He is excited for a new challenge this year. All of the kids in 5S will be creating a complete set of triangle flash cards for multiplication and division practice in the classroom this week.

Look for some information on our band, orchestra, and chorus to come home this week. The fifth graders will see a presentation on Tuesday that will introduce all of the instruments and welcome them to become a part of the Prelude program. This program allows kids to explore instruments and make a thoughtful choice about what might be the right fit for them.

If your son or daughter needs a few items from the supply list, I will send home an index card on Monday with anything that was left off. If you could try to bring these extra supplies this week it makes a big difference. Starting the year off with everything that is needed helps. I am going to ask for one item that was not on the supply list, one more notebook. This can be a composition notebook, but it can also be "cute" as the girls would say. It does not have to be the standard size, it can be one of those 1/2 sizes as well. This will be your child's reflection journal that will be written in each day of the school year. If the board game Scrabble happened to fall into your cart while shopping and come to school I could add it to the four copies I have in the classroom...I have a new idea about spelling work this year! Thanks, and I look forward to a great first week of school! Homework for the week is posted below, and your child will have all of these assignments written in their assignment notebooks on Monday as well.

Homework for the week of 8-22

Monday: Bring home the email request letter and have your parents fill it out and bring it to school tomorrow.

Tuesday: Band and orchestra information will be coming home tonight, share it with your family.

Wednesday: The "Me in a Bag" speech note will come home tonight. This speech is not going to be given until next week on Wednesday...get started.

Thursday: Work on your "Me in a Bag" project.

Friday: 5S Math may bring home Study Link 1.3 if it is not finished in class, and everyone should work on their "Me in a Bag" project.

Shooting Star

2011-08-15T17:59:00.003-05:00

The picture up top was taken on Sunday during the Perseids Meteor Shower by astronaut Jake Garan aboard the space station. Shooting stars, that's who I hope to see every day in my classroom, 23 shooting stars ready to fly.

This got me to thinking of a poem sent to me last year from a former second grader who is now a Junior at UIC studying International Law. This is what she sent...

The Star Polisher

I have a great job in the universe of occupations. What do I do? I’m a star polisher.

It’s a very important job. If you want to know how important my job is, just go out at night and look up at the stars twinkling and sparkling.

You see, I’m a teacher. The stars are the children in my class. My job is to take them in, in whatever shape they come, and shine and buff them and then send them out to take their places as bright little twinkling beacons in the sky.

They come into my room in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they’re bent, tarnished, dirty, crinkly, and even broken. Some stars are cuddly soft and sweet. Some stars are prickly and thorny.

As I buff, polish, train and teach my little stars, I tell them that the world cannot do without them. I tell them they can do anything they set their minds to do. I tell them they can be the brightest, shiniest stars in the sky and the world will be a better place because of them.

Each night as I look at the sky, I’m reminded of my very important job and awesome responsibility. I go and get my soft buffing cloth and my bottle of polish in preparation for tomorrow and for my class of little stars.

By Leah Becks

I'll see you all on Wednesday from 1:15-2:00 at the Meet and Greet.

Welcome to 5S!

2011-07-31T18:04:00.007-05:00

Welcome to 5S! I know that we do not start school until the 22nd of August, but I also know that class assignments go out on August 10th and there will be many inquiring minds wanting a sneak peek into what 5th grade is going to be like! This blog will be the place to go for all of the information you will need during our year together. In the past three years the 5S Blog has had over 27,000 hits and kids as well as their parents have found it to be a great resource. I hope you will too. Each week all of the homework will be posted along with the spelling lists and information about what we will be learning about. I am looking forward to meeting everyone at the "Meet and Greet" on August 17th from 1:15-2:00. This is a time to say hello, sweat profusely, and drop off all the gear your child will need at school each day. Keep your fingers crossed for some nice late August snow! The kids will simply drop off their stuff and say hello to their new teacher...many of you I already know from short visits we've had over the years! I will do the sorting and arranging of everything with the kids on the first day of school. If you need the supply list click on this link: http://ipsdweb.ipsd.org/News.aspx?id=37130 just scroll down to the bottom and you can open the file with the supply lists for the whole school. There will be a lot more information posted here as the year gets started, but for now just know that I'm working hard to get the 2011-2012 year off to an amazing start for your son or daughter. This will be my 15th year in the classroom, and I am still excited to get another year off to a great start. Enjoy the final days of summer. Check out the link below to a video that I always watch before the school year begins and know that I do believe that your child is going to have an excellent year!

http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=50647&title=Do_You_Believe_In_Me

This Week in 5S

2011-05-22T12:06:00.002-05:00

10 days and 1 hour remain of fifth grade...where did the time go? Let's make our final days of fifth grade amazing! Here is our week:

Research presentations will be made all week long following the schedule posted below.

All LMC book are due this Friday so please be sure to sweep the house looking for anything with a bar code.

We will have an open book test on chapter 14 in social studies this Friday...many of you need to make sure you take home the social studies book each night this week to read and reread the sections we will cover in class. I sent home a study guide for the last test which was closed book, but for this open book test I am not going to send home a study guide.

On Wednesday morning for an hour the entire fifth grade is going to take a break on the hill behind the school to read. Be sure to bring a good book and a pillow or blanket that is okay to bring outside.

Writer's workshop stories you have been working on are going to be due on Friday.

The entire fifth grade will watch the 1959 film The Diary of Anne Frank on Friday. The film will be preceded by a few lessons on her life and the context of the film.

5S Math will have the unit 12 test next week.

Thank you to all the parents who helped make last week's teacher appreciation a great week to be a teacher. All of us at Watts were again spoiled rotten by this wonderful neighborhood!

Homework for the Week of 5-23

2011-05-22T12:00:00.002-05:00

Everyone will be presenting their research project this week so make sure you have gone through your narrative several times before it is your turn.

Monday: Everyone needs to turn in spelling sentences this Friday, please be sure to write one sentence for each of the words on your list. Tonight you will also need to reread social studies pages 476-482 and answer questions 2-4 using your best fifth grade writing. 5S Math will being home Study Link 12.4 tonight as well.

Tuesday: Everyone will need to reread pages 484-487 in your social studies book and answer questions 2-5. 5S Math will bring home Study Link 12.5 as well.

Wednesday: 5S Math will have Study Link 12.6 tonight, and don't forget about your spelling sentences that are due on Friday.

Thursday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 12.7 tonight and everyone will have an open book test on chapter 14 in social studies...don't drop the ball on this one!

Friday: We're almost there guys! Enjoy the long weekend!!!

Final Spelling List of the Year

2011-05-22T11:50:00.002-05:00

describe, exception
description, explanation
nature, ambassador
natural, delegate
televise, convention
television, adequate
apply, categorize
application, strenuous
compete, phobia
competition, irritation
divide, satisfied
division, symptom
beauty, distribution
beautiful, excursion
collide, jeopardize
collision
multiply
multiplication
bounty
bountiful

Research Presentation Schedule

2011-05-17T15:49:00.007-05:00

Monday 5-23 11:45-12:55

Sydney

Alice and Janhavi

Charlie and Jakob

Amruth and Humza

Brianna and Lucretia

Tuesday 5-24 10:15-11:00

Alex and Jonathan

Allison

Allie and Rachel

Maeve and Elena

Wednesday 5-25 2:45-3:30

Emma

Julie

Keyonce

Nick and Peter

Thursday 5-26 11:45-1:00

Kameron

David

Bella

Angel

This Week in 5S

2011-05-15T12:58:00.003-05:00

The fifth grade farewell party is going to take place this week on Tuesday. The kids will be participating in a wide range of games and activities so make sure to wear gym shoes. Thanks again to all the families involved in making this happen for the fifth graders at May Watts.

I am going to post the dates and times of the research presentations early this week. All of the presentations will take place next week and you are welcome to come and see your son or daughter if your schedule allows. The digital presentation is going to be worth 80 points that I will record as a writing grade and the speech is going to be recorded as an 80 point speaking grade. I have gone through all of the notes made by the class and graded them as well. The presentations are really quite good and reflect a month of work! Due to the power outage, we will have one more hour in the computer lab to complete and polish the presentations. I cannot wait to see these kids shine!

Remember there is no school this Friday as the staff will be working with colleagues to refine our instruction and plan for the upcoming school year.

Homework for the Week of 5-16

2011-05-15T12:54:00.002-05:00

Monday: Your paragraph on a great summer read is due today. Everyone will have an 11 question TFK quiz, 5S Math will bring home the Family Letter for Unit 12 and have Study Link 12.1 tonight as well.

Tuesday: No homework in honor of your farewell party.

Wednesday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 12.2 tonight.

Thursday: Everyone will bring home another TFK quiz that will be due on Monday. You should also go through your research presentation at home this weekend to be ready to go next week.

Friday: No School, school improvement day.

Spelling for the Week of 5-16

2011-05-15T12:52:00.002-05:00

There will not be a spelling list this week due to the short week of school. With the fifth grade farewell party and the SIP day on Friday we only have three and 1/2 days of instructional time.

Social Studies Chapter 10 Study Guide

2011-05-09T08:27:00.002-05:00

This Friday we will take the chapter 10 social studies test. Here are the important concepts that will be covered:

What was the purpose of The Articles of Confederation? How did this affect relationships with Europe?

Strengths and weaknesses of The Articles of Confederation, and why did we draft a new plan for our government?

What caused Shay's Rebellion and how did it affect the government?

What was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?

What was the purpose of the Constitutional Convention?

Why was it important for people to be able to change their minds at the Constitutional Convention?

What was in the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan and how were they different?

What was the Great Compromise?

What were Federalists and Antifederalists?

What is the Bill of Rights?

Who were the authors of The Federalists Essays and what was their goal?

Homework for the Week of 5-9

2011-05-08T11:19:00.002-05:00

Monday: Bring a water bottle to school today for Jump Rope for Heart. 5S Math will have Study Link 11.4 tonight. Everyone needs to begin thinking about a book that would be an excellent summer read tonight. Next Monday I would like you to turn in a paragraph about this book which explains why it would be a great book to read over the summer.

Tuesday: 5S Math has Study Link 11.6 tonight.

Wednesday: 5S Math has Study Link 11.7 tonight. I am also going to send home a list of topics that will be on the social studies test on Chapter 10 we will take on Friday. Review the three sections in this chapter and get ready for the test.

Thursday: A study guide will come home for the Unit 11 math test we will take tomorrow. The chapter 10 social studies test is tomorrow as well as the spelling test.

Friday: The paragraph about an excellent summer read is due on Monday.

Spelling for the Week of 5-9

2011-05-08T11:17:00.002-05:00

This week everyone will be creating their own spelling lists based on new vocabulary words from Chapter 10 in our social studies books and the play we will work on this week titled "Name That American." A copy of the list will come home on Monday.

Homework for the Week of 5-2

2011-05-01T13:40:00.002-05:00

Monday: Practice your 60 second advertisement for your invention. You will be timed for this one. You will give the speech tomorrow. 5S Math will bring home the Family Letter for unit 11 tonight and I need all my math kids to bring in a few cylinders (cans of all sizes) from your house for a lesson we will do on Wednesday.

Tuesday: Wear RED to school today and 5S Math has Study Link 11.2 tonight.

Wednesday: Everyone will have a TFK quiz to complete tonight.

Thursday: 5S Math will bring home Study Link 11.3 tonight and the spelling test is tomorrow as well.

Friday: Be nice to your mom all weekend!

Spelling for the Week of 5-2

2011-05-01T13:36:00.002-05:00

industry, numerous
buffalo, exhaustion
exciting, customary
terrible, hamburger
electric, persistent
dangerous, reunion
exercise, toboggan
horizon, editor
favorite, computer
library, practical
substitute, beverage
typical, spaghetti
dinosaur, poetry
curious, syllable
average, frequency
period
amazement
bicycle
conference
family

Want to Ask an Astronaut a Question?

2011-05-01T13:29:00.002-05:00

A 5S parent sent this to me and I wanted to give the kids an opportunity to check it out. Check out this link to submit a question to the crew of the Endeavour: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/04/you-talk-to-endeavour-ask-nasa-crew-questions-for-a-live-interview-from-space.html

A Note from Mr. Raczak

2011-05-01T13:24:00.001-05:00

Walk on Tuesday -- May 3

In anticipation of Jump Rope for Heart, let’s take a heart-healthy walk on Tuesday, May 3! Let’s WEAR RED! Don’t forget to turn in your Heart Healthy quiz to your teacher by May 9, because it will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a prize from the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart.

All walkers, remember to meet your friends and neighbors at your meeting corner at 8:40 a.m. Let’s try to wait for our friends to gather and start walking all together at 8:42. A designated parent wearing red will be at the following corners:

Sequoia & River Sequoia & Sanctuary
River & Oakton Book & Whispering Hills
Ada & Sanctuary Oakhurst & Whispering Hills

Michael Raczak
Principal