Welcome to my weekly plans for the 2014-2015 school year. On the right under Archive by Month, you can click a month to see plans from that particular month, or just scroll down to browse through them all.

Highlights from Last Week:

Color Day was a blast. Students cooperated in teams to chase victory in a number of fun events, such as tug-o-war, the sack race, and Battleship. It was a tiring but delightful day.

We started some fun projects last week. In Math, students could choose to either create their own end-of-year math assessment, or create a brochure of all of the topics we studied. Another project we embraced was creating a Fifth Grade Survival Brochure. Students are each working on a brochure designed to inform my next class what to expect and how to be successful in fifth grade. I can't wait to post student work so you can chuckle along with me at students' creative, clever, and humorous designs.

Here is the plan for the LAST 3 DAYS of school:

Special:
Fifth Grade Moving On Ceremony:  Monday, June 22 at 1:30pm in the gym. Students can bring their fine clothes to school to change into if they would like.

End of Year Assembly:  Wednesday, June 24 at 9:00am in the gym.

Reading: 

• I will finish reading aloud of The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neil Shusterman.

Writing:

• We finish our Opinion Essays. Students will publish their essays and engage in a debate.
• We also finish our Fifth Grade Survival Guides.

Math: 

• We will finish our end-of-year math assessments or brochures and share them with a partner.

Social Studies:

• We briefly learned about the US Constitution last week. I will show students a fun video on the three branches of government. We didn't have time for the mock government to run, unfortunately.

Thanks for reading! 

It's been a wonderful year with students. They truly are the BEST CLASS EVER. I wish them nothing but the greatest happiness and success in middle school and beyond.

Have a great summer, students! You deserve it! #BCE

Highlights from Last Week:

Students visited Bigelow Middle School for Step Up Day on Friday. They got a sampling of what to expect, got to meet teachers, and ran through an accelerated schedule. Excitement for the transition is in the air!

Our Rube Goldberg Machine project was a great success! Although there were a few glitches, those glitches were small and if we had more time, we could have made the adjustments that would have made the machine run flawlessly. Students learned about the importance of team work and determination. They also learned to test and retest their simple machine functions many times to iron out all the potential kinks. We had a great day and students agreed: it was better than Ware's Cove!

We wrapped up our unit on Algebra with the frog jumping contests. Students learned how to use algebraic expressions to represent a situation, and how to substitute variables for equivalent algebraic expressions in order to solve a problem. Most importantly, students learned how to persevere through complex challenges and use creative strategies and visual models.

It's our last full week of school!! Here is the plan:

Special:
Fifth Grade Spring Concert: Monday, June 15. Day show at 10:00am, evening show at 7:00pm.

Color Day: Tuesday, Jun 16th. Students will participate in fun athletic activities in their color teams.

Reading: 

• This week I will finish conducting Reading Assessments to gauge students' progress in their reading skills.
• We continue our read aloud of The Eyes of Kid Midas by Neil Shusterman. Students are wary of the powerful sunglasses that main character Kevin Midas found on a mysterious mountain top. What crazy incidents will he conjure up next? Will he be able to survive their power?

Writing:

• We continue our unit on Opinion Essays. Students have written strong thesis statements and clear, unique reasons that support their opinions. Our next step is to gather enough evidence to complete a draft.
• Students will learn how to write a rebuttal and debate with the opposing side.

Math: 

• This week we will review math concepts from the year in a fun way. Student partnerships will choose to either create their own end-of-year math assessment that contains problems from each unit we've studied, or a curriculum map that details all the different concepts we've learned.

Social Studies:

• This week we learn about the outcome of the American Revolution, the US Constitution, and the three branches of government. Students will run a mock classroom government where they will try to pass laws and question the constitutionality of current laws.

Thanks for reading! As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback.

Highlights from Last Week
Spring Carnival was a blast! Students surprised me with a giant inflatable basketball hoop that could barely fit through the classroom door, as well as cute new friends such as a snake and a stuffed dog. Thanks kiddos!

Students enjoyed a thrilling set of math classes where we combined concepts from algebra, coordinate grids, and multiplication to solve problems related to a Frog Jumping Contest. We also used algebra and double number lines to find out which of three frogs had the furthest jump in relation to single steps. The perseverance in problem solving that students demonstrate is remarkable!

In Writing, students chose a controversial topic to argue in their opinion essay. We have a wide range of topics: gun control, equal pay for women, prevention of animal cruelty, reduction in parent business trips, mandatory electric cars, and marriage equality, just to name a few. Each student developed a strong thesis began researching for evidence related to his or her topic.

In Reading, Ms. Faucon taught lessons to improve students' summarizing and synthesizing skills. She read aloud from some fantastic literature. The class adored the picture book, "An Angel for Soloman Singer," by Cynthia Rylant with it's gorgeous and intriguing illustrations by Peter Catalanotto.

Here is the plan for this week:

Special:
Tuesday, June 9th: Rube Goldberg Project Day --We'll attempt to create a giant class Rube Goldberg Machine inspired by OK Go's music video. The goals are to explore the physics of simple machines, to use engineering design to solve force and motion problems, and to effectively collaborate as a team player.

Friday, June 12th: Step Up Day --The fifth grade visits Bigelow, meets teachers, explores the classrooms, and gets a taste of the middle school schedule. 

Reading: 

• This week I will conduct Reading Assessments to gauge students' progress in their reading skills.
• Students will write a short response about their reading to practice their summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing skills.

Writing:

• We continue our unit on Opinion Essays. Students will learn how to be persuasive and more analytical, able to weigh evidence, to follow lines of logic, and draw evidence-based conclusions. 
• Students have chosen a topic to argue in an essay. Once students have gathered evidence to support both sides of the issue, they will draft, carefully select and unpack quotes that support their reasons, and compose rebuttals.

Math: 

•  We wrap up our "Frog Jumping Contest" Algebra unit this week.
• We will operate on algebraic equivalencies to create new equivalencies and solve for unknown quantities. 
• If we have time, we will review some of the tricky concepts that we've covered this year, such as decimal operations and fraction operations.

Social Studies:

• This week we wrap up our study of the American Revolution. We have been watching PBS's "Liberty" series, and will learn next about the battle at Yorktown and the end of the war.

Science:
On Tuesday, while the rest of the grades are at Ware's Cove, we create a giant Rube Goldberg Machine composed of simple machines and clever design and engineering.

Thanks for reading! As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback.

Note: My apologies for the delayed update in plans for this week. My father is in the hospital for a broken ankle that he stupidly sustained from falling off of his roof while trying to clean gutters in a rainstorm. He's doing well! His slogan for this experience is, "If you're going to be stupid, you better be tough." Hopefully he learned the valuable lesson to be careful and always prioritize "Safety First."


This week's plan is very similar to last week's plan, as we continue our journey through these units of study.

Special:
Friday, June 5th: Spring Carnival from 3-7pm

Reading: 

• We are still wrapping up a couple of guided reading book groups. Students have been reading a book that has survival and resilience as a theme.
• This week we will learn strategies for summarizing and synthesizing what we read.

Writing:

• We continue our unit on Opinion Essays. Students will learn how to be persuasive and more analytical, able to weigh evidence, to follow lines of logic, and draw evidence-based conclusions. 
• We begin writing argument essays about issues that we feel strongly about.

Math: 

•  We continue our fun yet challenging unit on Algebra centered around a frog jumping competition (we won't actually be using frogs).
• Students will learn how to use variables and algebraic expressions to represent objects.
• We will operate on algebraic equivalencies to create new equivalencies and solve for unknown quantities. 

Social Studies:

• We continue our study of the American Revolution by watching PBS's "Liberty". We will learn about important battles and actions of the revolutionary war, such as Bunker Hill, Trenton & Princeton, Saratoga, Valley Forge, and Yorktown. We will also learn about important revolutionary figures, such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and more. 

Thanks for reading! As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback.

Highlights from Last Week:

PARCC and MCAS are finally done for the year! Students worked through 10 sessions of testing this year with focus, rigor, and endurance. We had a giant 5th grade sing-a-long on Thursday to celebrate.

On Wednesday, Ms. Mullarkey gave us the opportunity to play the last flowers in the community garden in front of the school. Students got to smell and taste some interesting plants such as catnip and chives.

Students are learning how to write an effective argument essay. Although they don't care much for the designated topic of "chocolate milk in schools," they are working hard to accurately use quotations, transitional phrases, and powerful evidence to support their arguments.

Here is the general plan for the week:

Special:

• Monday, May 25th: Memorial Day, no school.

Reading: 

• This week we finished our guided reading book groups. Students have been reading a book that has survival and resilience as a theme.
• This week we will learn strategies for summarizing and synthesizing what we read.

Writing:

• We continue our unit on Opinion Essays. Students will learn how to be persuasive and more analytical, able to weigh evidence, to follow lines of logic, and draw evidence-based conclusions. 
• We will finish our argument essays about whether or not schools should serve chocolate milk to students.

Math: 

•  We begin a fun yet challenging unit on Algebra centered around a frog jumping competition (we won't actually be using frogs).
• Students will learn how to use variables and algebraic expressions to represent objects.
• We will operate on algebraic equivalencies to create new equivalencies and solve for unknown quantities. 

Social Studies:

• We continue our study of the American Revolution by watching PBS's "Liberty". We will learn about important battles and actions of the revolutionary war, such as Bunker Hill, Trenton & Princeton, Saratoga, Valley Forge, and Yorktown. We will also learn about important revolutionary figures, such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and more. 

Thanks for reading! As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback.

Highlights from Last Week:

Our field trip to the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum was a blast! What a fantastic experience. We learned about colonists' motivations for dumping the tea into Boston Harbor, as well as the aftermath that led up to the start of the Revolutionary War.

We had a celebration on Friday to recognize the over 200 books we've read as a class this year. Mrs. Kimball and Mrs. Roeder wrote students a song and we all sang along happily. (I had the song stuck in my head all weekend!)

Students took session one of the Science MCAS on Friday. To prepare for the test, we spent some time conducting experiments with magnets and electric circuits. I created a practice packet of questions from previous MCAS tests for students to work through. Students collaborated with one another and researched unfamiliar concepts using BrainPop.

We launched our writing unit on Opinion this week. Students investigated the issue of whether or not to serve chocolate milk in schools. Many students suspended their judgement, looking for evidence supporting both sides of the issue before forming their own opinion. They are such thoughtful critical thinkers!

Here is the general plan for the week:

Special:

• Monday, May 18th: Science MCAS Session 2 at 9:00am
• Wednesday, May 20th: PARCC Math Session 1 at 9:00am
• Thursday, May 21st: PARCC Math Session 2 at 9:00am

Reading: 

• We continue guided reading book groups. Students will be reading a book that has survival and resilience as a theme.
• This week we will learn strategies for summarizing and synthesizing what we read.

Writing:

• We continue our unit on Opinion Essays. Students will learn how to be persuasive and more analytical, able to weigh evidence, to follow lines of logic, and draw evidence-based conclusions. We begin by analyzing the following: Should schools serve chocolate milk to students? Or should chocolate milk be banned? We will research both sides of the issue, collect evidence for our arguments, and draft a research-based argument essay. 

Math: 

• We practice with Algebra by analyzing patterns and relationships. We will write algebraic expressions to represent real-world situations and problems.
• We will review important math concepts in preparation for the PARCC test, which we take Wednesday and Thursday.

Social Studies:

• We continue our study of the American Revolution. We will learn about important battles and actions of the revolutionary war, such as Bunker Hill, Trenton & Princeton, Saratoga, Valley Forge, and Yorktown. We will also learn about important revolutionary figures, such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and more. 

Science:

• We take the Science MCAS on Monday, then we'll have a review of what students confronted on the test so they can learn from it. After that, we take a little break from Science to switch back to social studies. We'll pick up Science again next week.

Thanks for reading! As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback.

Highlights from Last Week:

Students completed their memoirs this week. We had a lovely celebration on Friday where students shared their favorite excerpt with the class. Ms. Faucon taught this entire unit and did a marvelous job, which is clear when you read students' thoughtful, entertaining, and reflective writing. Bravo! Students had the opportunity to circulate and read one another's memoirs as well. The silence in the room as everyone was deeply engaged with another student's life story was impressive.

Our coordinates, area, and volume unit was a success. Students took an assessment on Friday and scores were very high. Some students even scored an all time high grade! We then started learning how to convert between measurement units in both the US Customary System and the Metric System. Students learned how to solve conversions using a structure that resembles fractions and ratios.

In Reading, groups are deeply engaged in book discussions. Students offer remarkable insights and questions that push even the teachers to think critically about the text. Students really know how to have respectful, thoughtful discussions.

Here is the general plan for the week:

Special:

• Monday, May 11th: Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum & Freedom Trail Field Trip
• Thursday, May 14th: Thursday Afternoon Program
• Friday, May 15th: Science MCAS session 1
  

Reading: 

• We continue guided reading book groups. Students will be reading a book that has survival and resilience as a theme.

Writing:

• We begin our unit on Opinion Essays. Students will learn how to be persuasive and more analytical, able to weigh evidence, to follow lines of logic, and draw evidence-based conclusions. We begin by analyzing the following: Should schools serve chocolate milk to students? Or should chocolate milk be banned? We will research both sides of the issue, collect evidence for our arguments, and draft a research-based argument essay. 

Math: 

• We continue our study of Measurement Conversions in both the US Customary system and the Metric system. We will solve real-world, multistep problems using these conversions.
• We practice with Algebra by analyzing patterns and relationships. We will write algebraic expressions to represent real-world situations and problems.

Social Studies:

• Due to the approaching Science MCAS, we have put Social Studies on hold and will pick it back up next week in order to allow students to study and experiment with Science concepts.

Science:

•  We are working on studying for the Science MCAS on Friday and next Monday. I made students a giant study packet that has questions organized by topic from the previous four Science MCAS tests. Students are self-guiding their study. They can set up experiments, research concepts they don't understand, and share their knowledge with the class. It's a little bit like a science study fair!

Thanks for reading! As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback.

May the fourth be with you...
Highlights from Last Week:

Ms. Faucon completed her two-week take-over. She did a fabulous job planning, managing, and teaching. Students agree, she will be an outstanding classroom teacher!

Students learned about Bigelow Middle School on Monday. Mr. Harrison, the principal, came to Underwood to share about the life of a middle schooler and to answer questions. 

Ms Faucon ran some very exciting activities this week. Students investigated simple machines by experimenting with pulleys during science class on Thursday. In math on Tuesday, students explored volume by filling a variety of mini-sized boxes with cubes and estimating. 

We began book groups this week. Students are reading books about survival and resilience and discussing them in small groups. It's amazing to hear students share their critical thinking and insights about the texts with each other.

Here is the general plan for the week:

Special:
Thursday, May 7th: PARCC test on ELA session 1. 9:00am. It is also an early dismissal at 12:30pm.

Reading: 

• We continue guided reading book groups. Students will be reading a book that has survival and resilience as a theme.
• We will also learn some reading strategies to improve our inferring and visualization skills.

Writing:

• We wrap up our Memoir writing. Students will revise and edit their types memoirs, making sure they have a mix of narrative storytelling as well as big ideas and opinions.

Math: 

• Students take a math assessment on Coordinate Grids, Area & Perimeter, and Volume.
• We will study Measurement Conversions and how to go from units such as meters to centimeters. We will solve real-world, multistep problems using these conversions.
• We practice with Algebra by analyzing patterns and relationships. We will write algebraic expressions to represent real-world situations and problems.

Social Studies:

• We continue learning about The American Revolution. Students will read, watch videos, create skits, and write journal entries to study this epic event. Since we didn't get to it last week, we'll learn about Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill this week.

Science:

• We are studying Simple Machines. Students will investigate uses for things like: a wedge, a lever, an inclined plane, a screw, a wheel & axel, and a pulley. We will also look at force, effort, and work.

Thanks for reading! As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback.

Highlights from Last Week:

The week before the break, Ms. Faucon completed week 1 of 2 for her take-over. She did a fantastic job! She will complete her take-over this week and continue teaching select units and lessons the rest of the year.

On the Monday before the break, students learned about puberty. They handled this often awkward subject with immense maturity.  

On Thursday, students learned about Simple Machines through a cool presentation by Henry Massar, former Bigelow school science teacher. Students had some hands on action with hammers, see-saws, clippers, and other tools that make work easier.

Friday presented an interesting challenge. Since the lights were to be replaced over the break, we had to move everything our from under them (desks, chairs, etc!) and cover all of our stuff in plastic tarps. Students united through teamwork to make this unpleasant task easy and painless.

Here is the general plan for the week:

Special:
Bigelow principal Todd Harrison meets with students on Monday, April 27th to share about middle school and take questions from 5th graders.

Reading: 

• This week we begin guided reading book groups. Students will be reading a book that has survival and resilience as a theme.
• We will also learn some reading strategies to improve our inferring skills.

Writing:

• We continue our Memoir writing. Students will focus on a theme or big idea for their memoir and write with detail and depth. Students will also study published memoirs and look for ways to structure their own writing.

Math: 

• This week in math, we review area and how to use unit squares as well as the dimensions of a 2D rectangular shape to find the area. 
• We begin our study of Volume by investigating how many unit cubes can fit into different 3-D spaces.
  
• Students will learn how to use the formula for finding volume (length x width x height).
• We will also find the volume of combined rectangular prisms.

Social Studies:

• We continue learning about The American Revolution. Students will read, watch videos, create skits, and write journal entries to study this epic event. We learn about the Intolerable Acts as the final cause of the American Revolution. Then we learn about the first few battles. This week, we'll learn about Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill.

Science:

• We are studying Simple Machines. Students will investigate uses for things like: a wedge, a lever, an inclined plane, a screw, a wheel & axel, and a pulley. We will also look at force, effort, and work.
  

Thanks for reading! As always, please contact me with any questions, comments, or feedback.