Plans Week of June 15, 2015

Students working in partnerships on a math challenge in algebra.

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.

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