Highlights from Last Week:
Even though we had a short week last week, we still worked hard on our learning. Students finished up their personal narratives, experimented with hot and cold water, compared decimals, and discussed hypothetical endings of a story. 

One of the most exciting highlights was our launch of Science. Students investigated what happens when you combine hot water with cold water by designing their own experiment. To everyone's amazement, they could clearly see a reaction --hot water rose up, cold water sunk down. We began applying that concept to weather, but Thanksgiving cut us off!

On Wednesday, we crafted our class letter to UNICEF to accompany our donation toward helping the children of Syria. We were so excited to send off $1,326 ($100 of which was donated online). What an amazing charitable effort students committed to. I am in awe! We know our donation is small in comparison to the help that's needed, but we hope our efforts made a difference.

What We Didn't Get To:

• In Math: Adding & Subtracting Decimals.
• In Science: Uneven heating of earth.
• In Writing: Narrative Share.

This Week's Plan


Upcoming Special Events: ​​

• Monday, Teacher Professional Day --No school for kids (lucky!)
• Wednesday, Early Release 

Special Activities:

• DARE Class --Last class this week!
• The Kimball Class Newsletter --The deadline is Thursday for students to submit their next section.

Math:
Decimal Operations.​

• Round Decimals --To a given place value.
• Adding and Subtracting Decimals –Students will learn how to add and subtract decimals using models and the standard algorithm.
• Decimal Patterns --Through an open response where students must explain their thinking is step-by-step detail.

Reading:
Close Reading.

• Character Analysis --We'll read "Stray" by Cynthia Rylant this week and meet in groups to discuss one of the characters and his motivations.
• Teacher Read Aloud --We're reading There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar. We're getting close to the end! As I read, I model fluent reading and literary analysis skills.

Writing:
Finish Personal Narrative Writing.​​ Begin Fictional Narrative Writing.

• Narrative Share --We'll celebrate the publishing of our personal narratives with a class share of our favorite excerpts.
• Ideas for Fiction --How to brainstorm scenarios and characters for a fictional narrative.
• Developing Believable Characters --How to give characters realistic features, as well as external and internal struggles.
• Personal Narrative Assessment --Students will go through the writing process to write an on-demand personal narrative in 50 minutes, showing off their new skills. We'll compare these stories to their initial on-demand narrative from before the Unit.

Social Studies:
We switch to Science now.

Science:
Weather and Climate. 

• Why Weather? --We will continue our study of weather by investigating its causes, conducting experiments to explain the uneven heating of the earth and convection currents.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details. There is no new at-home blog this week.

1. Decision Making with DARE Homework Project -due Wednesday, Dec 7
2. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
3. There will be a math page for homework each night.
4. Students should finish on their segment for the class newsletter by Thursday.

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

Highlights from Last Week:
Students presented their projects on the US Government. Overall they were great! In addition to learning about a part of the government, students learned a lot about divvying up work, staying focused on personal responsibilities, and collaborating with a variety of people. The presentations were informative and enjoyable to watch!  

• Legislative Branch -Ellie, Caly, and Owen 5
• Executive Branch -Isaiah, Anika, Wyatt, and Thomas 3
• Judicial Branch -Kate, Alex, Katie, and Nadya
• Political Parties -Willie, Owen, and Caroline
• Voting and Elections -Thomas 8
• Rights -Emma, Jacob, and Max

We brought in our money for UNICEF this week. Students totalled up their amount and as a class, we far exceeded our goal of $500... We raised $940! I promised to donate an additional 20% of what students raised, and an anonymous donor offered to do the same. So when everything is included, students were able to raise $1,316!!! In class we will write a letter to UNICEF expressing our compassion for the crisis in Syria and our hopes that the money can somehow be used to help the suffering children there.

Students presented their imaginative Government in Outer Space projects this week. I thoroughly enjoyed reading students' stories, advertisements, and songs about an alien civilization that uses our US representative democracy. Students were so creative and clever. We'll post stories this week for your reading pleasure; for now please check out some of the presidential candidate posters on the Student Work Page. Click here.

What We Didn't Get To:

• With homework project shares and Social Studies presentations, were didn't get to start Science.
• In Writing, we didn't get to fictional writing.
• In Math, we spent extra time on Numerical Expressions, so we didn't get to comparing decimals nor adding and subtracting decimals.

This Week's Plan


Upcoming Special Events: ​​

• Early Release --Wednesday.
• Thanksgiving Break -Wednesday afternoon thru Monday, November 26 (though teachers are back on Monday for training).

Special Activities:

• DARE Class --Only 2 classes left! 
• The Kimball Class Newsletter --Students are working on the next edition.

Math:
Decimal Operations.​

• Comparing Decimals –Students will learn how to order decimals from least to greatest.
• Adding and Subtracting Decimals –Students will learn how to add and subtract decimals using models and the standard algorithm.

Reading:
Close Reading.

• Story Analysis --We'll practice close reading strategies on a story called, "A Pet," by Cynthia Rylant. Students will read the story, underlining the important details related to "who, what, where, when, and why."
• Teacher Read Aloud --We're reading There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar. We're getting close to the climax! As I read, I model fluent reading and literary analysis skills.

Writing:
Finish Personal Narrative Writing.​​ 

• Publishing --Students will work to publish a personal narrative that aims to meet the requirements set forth on our writing rubric.
• Narrative Share --We'll celebrate the publishing of our personal narratives with a class share of our favorite excerpts.

Social Studies:
We switch to Science now.

Science:
Weather and Climate. 

• Science Journals --We launch into Science this week by setting up our Science Journals and learning how to make scientific drawings.
• Why Weather? --We will begin our study of weather by investigating its causes, conducting experiments to explain the uneven heating of the earth and convection currents.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details. There is no new homework project or at-home blog this week.

1. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
2. There will be a math page for homework each night.
3. Students can work on their segment for the class newsletter at home.

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

Highlights from Last Week:
Kiddos had a blast with the Marshmallow Challenge. Teams of students had to work together to attempt to build the tallest structure they could with spaghetti, tape, and string in 18 minutes. The biggest challenge --the (heavy) marshmallow needed to sit on top of the structure. Three teams were able to create a structure that didn't break.

Students completed the Unit 2 Math Assessment on Multiplication, Division, and Powers of 10. They will be coming home for parent signatures. The average grade was an 89%. 

In Social Studies, students worked together to create presentations about their chosen topics on the US Government. They learned how to divvy up responsibilities and turn knowledge into something entertaining and informative. I can't wait to see their final presentations this week.


What We Didn't Get To:

• In Math, we didn't get to Grouping Symbols.
• In Writing, we didn't get to Building Characters.

This Week's Plan


Upcoming Special Events: ​​

• Picture Retakes --Tuesday Morning.
• Early Release --Wednesday.

Special Activities:

• DARE Class --Officer Smith is back this week to teach students about positive decision making.
• The Kimball Class Newsletter --Students will be working on the next edition.
• Fundraising for UNICEF --If you participated, please bring it in on Tuesday.

Math:
Expressions and Decimal Operations.

• Grouping Symbols --Solving problems that contain parentheses, brackets, and braces.
• Decimal Models –We will learn about the first three decimal place values and draw models using base-10 blocks to help up visualize decimal numbers.
• Comparing Decimals –Students will learn how to order decimals from least to greatest.
• Adding and Subtracting Decimals –Students will learn how to add and subtract decimals using models and the standard algorithm.
• Open Response --We'll practice our skills with decimals by using them in a real world problem.

Reading:
Close Reading.

• Figuring Out 'What's Going On' --We will use our close reading strategies (questioning, connecting, visualizing, and word analysis) to figure out what's going on in some challenging texts. 
• Group Discussions --Students will meet in small groups to discuss our shared text "Boar Out There." We'll use our close reading strategies to dig deep into the meaning of the story.
• In-Class Reading Response --Students will read an excerpt of text, use strategies that we learn in class, and respond in writing on the blog. We will review our responses in small groups next week.
• Teacher Read Aloud --We're reading There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar. We're getting close to the climax! As I read, I model fluent reading and literary analysis skills.

Writing:
Finish Personal Narrative Writing.​​ Begin Fictional Narrative Writing.

• Review of Editing Techniques --We'll review rules for capitalization, punctuation, paragraphing, and commonly confused spelling words.
• Publishing --Students will work to publish a personal narrative that aims to meet the requirements set forth on our writing rubric.
• Building Fictional Characters --We'll learn how to use dialogue and description to bring characters in a fictional narrative to life.

Social Studies:
Finish Inquiry Investigation of the US Government & Elections:​

• Government Project --Student teams finish their projects on the US Government and present to the class.

Science:
Weather and Climate. 

• Science Journals --We launch into Science this week by setting up our Science Journals and learning how to make scientific drawings.
• Why Weather? --We will begin our study of weather by investigating its causes, conducting experiments to explain the uneven heating of the earth and convection currents.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details. 

1. Students finish their Homework Project, "Government in Outer Space." It is due Tuesday. 
2. Students will be assigned a partner and will need to respond to their Blog #4 post by Friday.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There will be a math page for homework each night.
5. Students can work on their segment for the class newsletter at home.

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

Highlights from Last Week:
We had some great guest speakers this week.

On Tuesday, author Greg Mone visited with the fifth grade to share about his writing process and how he gets his ideas. Each 5th grade class welcomed Greg into their classrooms for a writing workshop on revising. 

On Monday, Sherborn town clerk Carol Marple spoke to fifth graders about how she runs the town's elections. Fifth graders will get a taste of what that's like this week when they run a mock election at Pine Hill on Tuesday.

Students worked in teams this week to research a topic related to the US Government. They read through kid-friendly resources, watched BrainPop videos, and played simulation games on iCivics, all while taking notes. The next step is to use the knowledge they gained for a real purpose --teaching others!

In Math, we're wrapping up our unit on multiplication and division of whole numbers. Students have a good grasp of how to tackle work with multi-digit numbers, which frightened most of them at the beginning of the school year.


What We Didn't Get To:

• In Math, we didn't start reviewing for the assessment yet.
• In Writing, I added a lesson on bringing forth meaning in our stories instead of teaching how to add scenes from the past and future.

This Week's Plan


Upcoming Special Events: ​​

• Pine Hill Mock Election --Tuesday, November 8th. Grade five is running the polls.
• Veteran's Day Friday --No school. Thank you, veterans, for your service!

Special Activities:

• Thursday: Marshmallow Challenge --As a fun engineering project, students will work in teams to build a structure using given materials that holds a marshmallow the highest distance possible off of a surface. This project is part of a nation-wide STEM initiative.
• DARE Class --No DARE class this week.
• The Kimball Class Newsletter --Students will be working on the next edition.
• Fundraising for UNICEF --Students have one more week to raise money for UNICEF in hopes of reaching our class goal of $500. We plan to donate the money to help children in Syria.

Math:
Finish Place Value, Estimation, Multiplication, and Division.​
Begin Expression and Grouping Symbols.

• Review of the Unit --Here is the Study Guide in preparation for the assessment on Tuesday/Wednesday.
• Unit 2 Assessment --We will test our knowledge of place value, powers of 10, estimation, multiplication, and division. I have students correct much of their own assessments so that they get immediate feedback on what they know and don't know.
• Numerical Expressions --Using numbers, variables, and operations to represent mathematical situations.
• Grouping Symbols --Solving problems that contain parentheses, brackets, and braces.

Reading:
Close Reading.

• Figuring Out 'What's Going On' --We will use our close reading strategies (questioning, connecting, visualizing, and word analysis) to figure out what's going on in some challenging texts. 
• In-Class Reading Response --Students will read an excerpt of text, use strategies that we learn in class, and respond in writing on the blog. We will review our responses in small groups this week.
• Teacher Read Aloud --We're reading There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar. We're getting close to the climax! As I read, I model fluent reading and literary analysis skills.

Writing:
Personal Narrative Writing.​

• Adding Scenes from the Past and Future --We'll learn when and how to incorporate flashbacks and flashforwards to enhance our stories.
• Using Commas with Transition Words --We'll learn an important editing techniques for inserting commas after dependent clauses that begin with transition words.
• Building Characters --We'll learn how to use dialogue and description to bring our characters to life.

Social Studies:
Inquiry Investigation of the US Government & Elections:​

• Government Project --Student teams will start their presentations on their chosen government topics. Students will compile their research from last week and collaborate to share their knowledge with the class. 
• Elections --Students will learn how elections operate by running the polls at the Pine Hill mock election on Tuesday. In class we'll explore the electoral college and the importance of voting.

Homework:
Please check the Homework page for more details. 

1. Students continue working on their Homework Project, "Government in Outer Space." It is due Nov 15th.
2. There is a new At-Home Blog #4 for students to respond to by Thursday. This one is a shorter one.
3. Read 25 minutes at home per day and log the title, author, and time in the planner.
4. There will be a math page for homework each night.
5. Students can work on their segment for the class newsletter at home.

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