Review
This week students got used to working in rotations, focusing on independence and personal drive.

Highlights:

• We heard from a representative from UNICEF about Trick or Treat for UNICEF. Fifth graders lead the school-wide fundraising effort, and it doesn't have to be involved in Halloween excursions.

• Books groups launched this week. Students read and discuss their inferences in small groups.
  
• We finished Unit 2 in Math on estimation and computation and look forward to an assessment this upcoming week.
  
• Our microscopes activity was a blast. Students loved zooming in on the pond critters, especially the leeches and nymphs.
  
• In Writing, students read through the comments I left them on their personal narratives. They made revisions and edits. I let them take their time on this rather than rush into the next writing assignment. We'll do that this week.

What We Didn't Get To:
In Writing:

• Studying an excellent piece of writing and trying to emulate techniques we admire.
• Targeting sections of our writing to improve character development.

In Math:

•  Comparing millions, billions, and trillions.
  

Special
Our first All School Meeting will be held on Monday, October 20 in the gymnasium at 8:37am. 


Reading
We'll continue reading and discussing our books. As we read, we'll continue to focus on the following:

• Making "just right" inferences and quoting accurately from the text.
  
• Determining character traits of the main characters and comparing and contrasting them.
• Explaining how a narrator's point of view influences how events are described.

Writing
We will hopefully wrap up our unit on personal narrative writing this week. We'll work on the following techniques:

• Studying an excellent piece of writing and trying to emulate techniques we admire.
• Targeting sections of our writing to improve character development.
• Giving our stories structure by stretching out the tension and telling it bit by bit.
• Zoom in to the exact sequence of actions and images of an experience and write in a way that allows readers to have the same reactions you had.

Math
Here is the math plan this week:

• Review concepts from Unit 2, such as adding and subtracting decimals, estimating products, multiplying decimals using the traditional algorithm and the partial products algorithm, and multiplying and dividing by powers of 10.
  
• Take the Unit 2 math assessment.
  
• Begin Unit 3 on geometry explorations. We will look at measuring angles and properties of triangles, quadrilaterals, and other polygons.
  

Science

• We will finish our reading on ecosystems.
  
• We will read about food chains.
  
• Students will synthesize their knowledge of ecosystems and food chains in a homework project.
  

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

Review
Boy, did we luck out with the beautiful weather on our Wednesday field trip this week! We had another lovely week with some challenge, team building, and fun.

Highlights:

• Our field trip to the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary was a blast. We saw turtles, snakes, and all sorts of water critters. We learned about a marsh ecosystem and how many animals live and interact within it.

• We read the short collection of stories about a community garden in inner city Cleveland called "Seedfolks". Students worked together to determine character traits and the point of view of a variety of people in the stories.
  
• In math, we learned how to round whole numbers and decimals to a given place value, which helps us estimate sums, differences, and products.
  
• Students analyzed two versions of a story ending I wrote about my first time skiing and learned how to end a story effectively.
  
• As a class, we had a great discussion about the benefits and challenges of being inclusive of a variety of academic, social, and emotional needs. We all vowed to work together to help everyone in our class learn equally. We also said goodbye to the amazing Mr. Sanders, who has been helping our classroom for the past 2 weeks. 
  

What We Didn't Get To:
I was all set to study pond water under a microscope, if only I collected the right pond water! We'll try it again this week.

• Compare and contrast two different points of view.
  
• Be an effective writing partner by asking for specific examples, asking for clarification, giving compliments, and giving constructive feedback.
  
• Add scenes from the past and the future to a story.

Special
On Friday morning, we have a special presentation about Trick or Treat for UNICEF, a 5th grade leadership opportunity to raise money for a good cause.


Reading
This week we'll start reading groups using books focused on the different points of view of the characters. Students will learn their groups on Monday.
In our groups, we'll be working on the following:

• Making "just right" inferences and quoting accurately from the text.
  
• Determining character traits of the main characters and comparing and contrasting them.
  
• Explaining how a narrator's point of view influences how events are described.
  

Writing
In Writing this week, students will make some finishing touches on their personal narratives. They will have the option to publish them to the class website. We'll then begin our last unit of study on personal narrative writing, working quickly through the writing process to produce one more story. We'll use what we've already learned and add some more sophisticated techniques from our study of mentor texts.

We'll learn about the following this week:

• How to be an effective writing partner by asking for specific examples, asking for clarification, giving compliments, and giving constructive feedback.

• Studying an excellent piece of writing and trying to emulate techniques we admire.
  
• Targeting sections of our writing to improve character development.

Math
This week in math, we'll work on the following:

• Multiplying whole numbers and decimals using the partial products method.
  
• Multiplying whole numbers and decimals using the US traditional algorithm.
  
• Using the order of operations and parenthesis and brackets.
  
• Comparing millions, billions, and trillions.
  

Science
We will work on the following in Science this week:

• Examine pond water under a microscope.
  
• Explain how ecosystems function and how animals interact with their environments. We'll read from short books about ecosystems.

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

Review

• From Owls to surprise standardized tests, we had a jam-packed week!
  
• Highlights:
  
• The Eyes on Owls presentation was fantastic! Students learned about owls' adaptations, habitats, and behaviors.
  
• We had surprise standardized testing on vocabulary and comprehension. Students handled the tests like pros.
  
• Our Morning Meetings have been fun. Students are learning everyone's name and becoming more comfortable around one another. We all even sang a ridiculous song together and everyone was into it.

• We started The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo as a class read aloud. Students seem very empathetic to the plight of our main character.
  
• In Writing, we learned some planning techniques to raise the quality of our personal narratives. One was a timeline to get events in order; the other was a story arc designed to heighten the story structure. Many students found them immensely helpful to the writing process.
  
• In Math, we learned about adding and subtracting decimals, as well as the vital step of lining up the decimals.

What We Didn't Get To

• In Writing: how to be an effective writing partner by asking for specific examples, asking for clarification, giving compliments, and giving constructive feedback.
  
• In Math: how to model addition and subtraction number stories using open number models (includes variables).
  
• In Science: how to identify the parts of a microscope and use one to examine pond water.
  
• In Reading, we didn't read the other two Eve Bunting books. I wasn't thrilled by them, so instead we focused on the short novel, The Tiger Rising, which I will continue to read aloud to the class.

Special
The fifth grade will be taking a field trip to the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick (as an extension of our Pond Life science unit) on Wednesday,  October 8th. We will leave Underwood at 9:00 am and will be returning by 1:00 pm.


Reading
This week in Reading, we start our unit on Point of View. We'll be reading the short book, Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, which is a series of experiences told by people living around a community garden. The stories each present a different point of view.

We will learn how to:

• Identify the cultural perspectives that influence a character's point of view.
  
• Recognize that characters can change their point of view over time.
  
• Use critical reading skills such as inferring to determine a character's point of view.
  
• Compare and contrast two different points of view.
  

This week, we'll study point of view as a whole class. Next week, we will break off into book groups to continue our study with individual group novels.

I will also continue reading aloud The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo. I model reading with expression and critical thinking of the text. Students also practice their own critical thinking skills as I read.


Writing
Here are the writing lessons we will work on this week:

• Elaborate on the important parts of a story.
  
• Be an effective writing partner by asking for specific examples, asking for clarification, giving compliments, and giving constructive feedback.
  
• Add scenes from the past and the future to a story.
  

Math
Here are the math lessons we will work on this week:

• Model addition and subtraction number stories using open number models (includes variables).
  
• Gather data on reaction times using decimals to the hundredths place. Compare and order the data and find statistical landmarks. 
  
• Round decimals to a given place value and make estimates for decimal sums, differences, and products.
  
• Use the partial products method (emphasis on place value) to multiply whole numbers and decimals.
  

Science
Here are the Science activities we will do this week:

• Demonstrate understanding of aspects of a pond ecosystem in an illustrated, factual poster.
  
• Visit a pond to learn about a pond ecosystem hands-on.
  
• Study pond water under a microscope.
  

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