Highlights from Last Week:
What an adventurous week! The fifth grade enjoyed a wilderness extravaganza at Hale Reservations swinging from ropes, scooping critters from the pond, eating plants, building fires, and much more. It was a great way to appreciate nature and learn teamwork.
 
On Friday, students squirmed through the puberty video. They learned what to expect as they slowly morph into their adult forms.
 
In writing, students wrapped up their last project –personal narratives with visual elements. Whitney, Maggie, Julia, August, and Ben shared their entertaining and powerful presentations of their stories. It’s almost like watching a movie!
 
Social Studies continues to thrill with the story of the American Revolution. We learned about George Washington’s struggle to lead an army that’s not really an army, and how the British make a number of missteps that enable the rebels to avoid defeat.
 


This (Final) Week's Plan


Monday, June 20:

• Promotion rehearsal, 10-11am
• Wrap up as much as possible with the read aloud, American Revolution, and Writing shares.
• Compile portfolios.

 
Tuesday, June 21:

• 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony and Reception, families invited, 9:00-11:00am, auditorium and cafeteria.
• Field Day for 4th and 5th grades, 12:30-2:30pm.

 
Wednesday, June 22:

• Half day, last day of school.
• All School Meeting, 5th grade slideshow at 8:45am.
• Fifth grade-wide reunion speech share at 9:15am.
• Memory Book Signing at 10:00am.
• Dish out report cards.
• Share memories, clean out cubbies and classroom spaces, say farewell (for now).

 
 
On Thursday, Mister Kimball and I are off to Portugal for a much needed vacation. Saúde!
 
Thank you for a wonderful school year students and parents! Have a most fabulous summer!

Highlights from Last Week:
Students visited the middle school on Thursday, touring the halls and peeking in classrooms. It was a great way to gain some slight familiarity with the building, as well as to meet some sixth graders.
 
Our Citizenship Expo was a big hit. Students showed off all of their hard work raising money and awareness for their chosen charities. Thanks to all of the parents and family members who listened to students’ spiels. The chorus and band concert that followed was spectacular, and a special thanks goes to Mrs. Hodge and Mr. Davis for their great musical leadership.
 
5K had the honor of welcoming Superintendent McAlduff to our classroom for Reading Day to read aloud from some funny Jon Scieszka picture books. We still owe him a thank you note!
 
We wrapped up Math for the year with the end of year assessment. Percentage scores ranged from the 50s to the 90s. It can be challenging to remember every math technique you learn in a year! One part of the test goes to the middle school, the other part goes home for parent signatures.  
 
In other subjects, students did a great job staying engaged and working hard despite the end-of-year excitement. Students have written some stellar stories that I hope to find time this week and next to share and celebrate.

What we didn't get to:

• In Social Studies, we covered up to the Battle of New York.
• We briefly discussed verb tenses, but didn’t get in depth.

This Week's Plan
 
Special:

• Hale Reservation Field Trip: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Please see below for more details.
• Fire Safety: Friday. The fire department visits on Friday to teach students how to avoid trouble with fire.
• Puberty Video: Friday at 1:30pm. Students split by gender. They’ll learn about all of the lovely perks and pains of morphing into an adult.

 

Hale Reservation Information: 
80 Carby Street Westwood, MA 02090
Phone: 781-326-1770
www.HaleReservation.org
 
What to bring:

• Backpack for all belongings.
• Sneakers
• Refillable, plastic water bottle
• Lunch and snack – no nuts please!  
• Sunscreen and bug spray
• Hat
• Layers – it may be cool in the morning but hot in the afternoon.  Wear clothing that can adjust with the temperature.
• Rain gear, if the possibility of rain is in the forecast.

 
We leave school by 9am. We return to school at 4:45pm, depending on traffic. Pick up is at the Bus Loop. Please arrive by 4:45pm. Carpooling is encouraged!
 
 
Writing:  
Personal Narrative Celebration!

• Students share their personal narratives and the media presentations they created to go with them.

 
Reading:

• Read Aloud: We are enthralled by Rebecca Stead’s novel, “When You Reach Me.”
• Wrap up group readings: We’ll say goodbye to our info text book groups. They were a fun experiment!

Social Studies:
American Revolution.

• We’ll continue watching excerpts from the PBS miniseries, “Liberty.”

 
Homework:
Homework is minimal this week!

• Reading: I encourage students to continue reading 25 minutes per day. They do not have to log it.
• Reading Response Blog: Students must reply to the student who responded to their prompt on Blog #18 from last week.

Preview of the Last Week of School
Monday, June 20:

• Promotion rehearsal, 10-11am
• Wrap up read aloud, and other activities.
• Compile portfolios.

Tuesday, June 21:

• 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony and Reception, families invited, 9:00-11:00am, auditorium and cafeteria.
• Field Day for 4th and 5th grades, 12:30-2:30pm.

Wednesday, June 22:

• Half day, last day of school!
• Share memories, clean out cubbies and classroom spaces, say farewell ...for now :)

Highlights from Last Week:

Students shared presentations of their Global Citizenship projects with the class. We admired the work and dedication each student did for their chosen charity, and applauded their efforts, big and small. Students have their posters displayed in the library for the whole school to admire.
 
On Tuesday, newly published author Elinor Teele visited the 5th grade to share about her storytelling technique. Students learned a bit about integrating STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) into stories.
 
In Writing, students are skillfully composing personal narratives using more complex sentences (with the help of conjunctions) and more emotion (with the help of interjections). The stories are so exciting to read, especially now that students are building tension throughout their writing using a climactic story structure.


What we didn't get to:
Oh boy, A LOT. I didn’t budget enough time in the plan last week for Citizenship Project presentations. We also earned some bonus recess time where we played a thrilling class game of “Infection.” Combined, these additions prevented us from getting to the following:

• In math, Volume.
• In Writing, yet again, Verb Tenses.
• Social Studies… all of it.

This Week's Plan
 
Special:

• Reading Day: Monday. Superintendent of Schools, Bill McAlduff, visits our classroom to read to students for 30 minutes. Lucky us!
• Early Release Wednesday
• Fifth Grade Open House: Citizenship Expo in the Library and classrooms at 6:00pm, Chorus & Band concert in the auditorium at 7:00pm.
• Step Up to Middle School: Thursday, 9:00-10:30am.
• 5th Grade Chorus & Band at All School Meeting: Friday at 8:40-9:30am.

 

Math: 
End of Year Assessments. Review.

• Assessments: Students will take a couple of assessments, one placement test for middle school, and another end-of-year assessment for report cards.
• Review Important Concepts: Depending on the time remaining this week, we’ll review things like division, decimals, volume, and fractions with some games, activities, and mini lessons.

Writing:  
Personal Narrative

• Language Skills in Action: Students use their knowledge of commonly confused words, conjunctions, commas, and interjections as they write a personal narrative.
• Enhancing a Text with Media: Students who complete their narratives will create a multimedia presentation of their story using images and sounds through a slideshow.
• Verb Tenses: We learn about the various versions of the past tense.
• Spelling Review: We'll review some common words that some students are still struggling with, such as "excited," and learn the pattern.

Reading:
Informational Reading Groups.

• Read Aloud: We are reading aloud from Rebecca Stead’s novel, “When You Reach Me.” Students are enthralled by the mystery, the constant use of foreshadowing, and the amazing grammar skills of the author!
• Informational Reading Groups: Students read about an informational topic, then meet in groups to discuss and analyze.
• Reflections and Revisions: After students meet with me in a one on one conference, they will revise their reflections on their blog writing.

 
Social Studies:
American Revolution.
We pick up the story after the Battle of Bunker Hill and learn about:

• The Declaration of Independence and its meaning
• The Battle of New York and Washington’s Struggling Army
• Trenton and Princeton and American Morale

 
 
Science:
We have wrapped up Science and now focus on Social Studies for the remainder of the year.
 
Homework:
Please visit the Homework Page for more details.

• Homework Project: None.
• Reading: 25 minutes of daily independent reading is expected. Students should log it in their Planners. 
• Reading Response Blog: Students will be assigned to respond to another student’s prompt from Blog #18. Each student will read the assigned prompt and follow the instructions given. Due by Friday.
• Other: Students may have some classwork that needs to be finished at home.

Thanks for Reading!
So that's the plan for the week. Please feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or feedback.