Update 1/31

We will review for our Chapter 3 and 4 Social Studies test today. The test will be tomorrow afternoon.

Trading card projects (assigned last week) are due Friday, February 11. Although the information sheet does not require a presentation, I DO NOT want the projects to be handed in with a simple rubberband binding the cards together. We brainstormed a few ideas in class on the presentation of the projects: Powerpoint with pictures of the cards, poster-sized prototypes, tri-fold board with samples of the cards, etc. (I will attach the information sheet to an email today, as well).

Math tests were pretty good overall last week! I encouraged the kids to correct any math problems they might have missed on the test to help them better understand their mistakes. Each student, no matter the number of problems to correct, will receive $5 Brown Bucks and a piece of gum for their efforts! It's that important to me that EVERYONE walks away from this unit understanding fractions and graphs.

The family letter for Unit 7 will go home today, too, via email,

Explorer Picture Books

All authors had their drafts edited at least one time. Therefore, authors are ready to begin constructing their explorer historical fiction books.

I am asking each student to bring home the drafts, blank books, and information sheets with criteria today. I AM NOT REQUIRING THIS AS HOMEWORK TONIGHT, but with the weather possibilities over the next few days, I'd like the kids to get some of their books completed by the week's end--work we'll be doing in class if the weather holds out.

The due date and author celebration will be coming up soon (TBA), so the sooner the books are final published by the author/illustrator, the better!

Notes for Monday

We have our Chapter 3 and 4 Social Studies test on Monday. A study guide went home today with the kids. It might look like a lot of information, but it's ALL information we've discussed and worked with over the last few weeks. Students were reminded this evening to take home their Social Studies books to study this weekend if given a chance.

Trading Card projects are due February 11. That is two weeks from today! Please don't wait until the last minute to work on this!

Have a super weekend!

Service Learning with the Dicesquad

Brown fourth and fifth grade students will once again collect shoes in conjunction with the Hendricks County Solid Waste Management District’s “Recycle Heart and Sole” shoe recycling program. We are planning to collect used shoes for reuse February 7 through February 11.


We hope to keep worn shoes out of our landfills, while at the same time, helping those that are less fortunate. Last year, along with other schools in the surrounding area, we collected about 7,000 pairs of shoes. We hope to collect even more this year.


Just have your child bring in used shoes, placing them in the shoe collection containers in front of the main office. It’s just that easy. The fourth and fifth grade students will do the rest.


Thank you for helping the fourth and fifth grade Brown students with their service learning project.

This week: 1/24-1/28

Unit 6 Math Test on Thursday--study guides went home today. I will send home, either electronically or paper form, the answers to the guide so the kids can best prepare for their test. We WILL go over the answers on Wednesday as review.

Readers Theater plays will be Thursday afternoon beginning at 2:30.

Caribbean Cove Indoor Water Park Night--see blog post for Thursday night! Flyer coming home tonight.

No spelling or vocabulary tests this week.

Have a great week!

Caribbean Cove Fundraiser

Brown PSG is selling tickets Tuesday and Wednesday mornings of this week for a fun-filled evening strictly for Brown guests at Caribbean Cove, Holiday Inn off Michigan Road. A flyer and permission slip will be going home today with all Dicesquad members. Please take a look and plan to attend as a family this Thursday evening from 4-9pm.

If this week does not work out for your family, there will be an additional night for Brown guests: Thursday, February 3. These tickets will be purchased next week. However, if you wish to be ahead of the crowd, you would need to get your family name on the waiting list for next week by Wednesday of this week.

Classroom Magic Voting

http://www.weareteachers.com/ideas/partnerask/teachingidea?app=%2010989&grantId=46

I am participating in a contest sponsored by Classroom Magic and an online community called WeAreTeachers. I submitted a teaching idea explaining how I use multimedia technology like projectors and interactive whiteboards to enhance lesson plans. The 10 teachers with the most votes win a Flip Video Camera and $200 for the classroom. I am currrently in 6th place out of over 500 entries!!!!!!



The recipients are selected through an online voting process. SO -- If you have a moment (really, it only takes a moment), I'd really appreciate you going online and voting for my idea. It would really mean a lot to me to have your vote and support! Just go to the link above and follow the directions. Thank you!

1/20 Update

We have a vocabulary test tomorrow over the words for Dear Mrs. Parks story in our basal reader. There are seven words this week.

Book Club assignments are due again on Monday, January 24 and each Monday for the next few weeks. Each club has a different assignment. The Ida B. Book Club group is required to do a Moodle post, too. It can be accessed from the links below.

We have a math test coming up next Thursday, January 27. The Unit 6 Study Guide will go home on Monday. If you would prefer your child bring the study guide home this weekend, please have him or her ask me for the papers before the end of the day tomorrow.

We will be wrapping up Chapters 3 and 4 in Social Studies next week. That means it's test time again! We will test over these two chapters during the week of January 31-February 4--midweek probably. We will also review in class for the test.

We WILL NOT have a spelling or vocabulary list next week due to the number of other tests coming up.

Read to Succeed with Six Flags Amusement Parks

A parent letter and student reading log will be coming home on Friday this week regarding a reward program just for reading! Every student who completes six hours of recreational reading and logs the hours, will receive one ticket to a Six Flags Amusement Park nearby. I will submit the reading hours for each student participant by March 4, 2011. Please encourage your 5th grader to begin a lifetime of reading!

Notes for 1/18-1/21

We WILL NOT have a spelling list this week. We WILL have a vocabulary list, however, that will come home today.

We are wrapping up unit 6 this week in Math. We will test over this unit next week--Tuesday or Wednesday. I will be sending home a study guide on Thursday of this week.

Thank you to everyone for the Hershey Kisses and prizes for our reward box. We are still in need of more small prizes for our Postive Behavior System program to be successful. Thank you for helping us out!

Thank you to Mrs. Gillespie for bringing donuts for our December Breakfast Club last Friday! The kids were thankful to have delicious Hilagos (not sure if I spelled that one correctly) donuts for something different!

Study Link 6.2

It's been brought to my attention that Math page 123 (6.2 Study Link) was graded incorrectly. I do apologize for this and promise to correct it as soon as possible. If you have your 6.2 Study Link paper at home, please return it to school by Friday, and I will make the necessary changes. Thanks for understanding!

E-Readers

Many students received an e-reader (Kindle, Nook, iPod Touch with Kindle App, etc) for Christmas, as I did! (Thank you to everyone for this amazing, most exciting, and best gift EVER!) I encourage students to use any media for reading, and if it means the students will read more, I encourage them to bring their e-readers to class. Some already have started this trend, and it seems to be quite beneficial and motivating to work extra hard to get some extra reading time in during the day!

Please keep in mind, I, however, am not responsible for the device, the student will take on that responsibility.

Happy Reading!

Book Club Update: Moodle

All Book Clubs are now on Moodle. Please link to the site at http://moodle.brownsburg.k12.in.us/ and log into the site. It's also a link at the bottom of this blog.

Your username is the same as your SRI username. Your password is either my last name or your third grade teacher's last name. (We created/changed these, if necessary, with Mr. Grimes before break.) The "enrollment key" is [media] without any brackets.

Please plan to complete your reading assignments for the week by Monday, January 10. You must also complete at least 10 sticky notes or notes in a notebook by Monday, too, over the chapters you've read for the week. DO NOT READ AHEAD!

Please plan to complete your Moodle post for this week, too. I will provide time in class on Friday to complete the post should you not have access to the Internet over the weekend.

1/4/11 Update

Happy, Happy New Year! After a whirlwind of a vacation, a bit too fast for me-I'm sure many of the students agree, but nonetheless, we're back at it here in 5th grade in 2011 with 18 weeks of school remaining!

Colts spirit day on Friday! Wear as much blue as you can to show your spirit for their big playoff win against the Jets on Saturday!

TONIGHT'S HOMEWORK:

• Math--Study Link 6.1 page 121, due Wednesday
• Spelling--Packet due Wednesday and test on Wednesday
• Reading--See below regarding book clubs

NWEA:
We will take our winter NWEA test on Wednesday morning for reading. My hope is that the scores improve from the fall, however, we still have many skills to cover before May!

Collages:

We are working on collages from our last ten years of life. We will incorporate these works of art into a monologue-type speech during this month. Today was the last day for cutting out pictures and printing pictures from the computer. If more are needed, this is now a homework assignment for the students.

Book Clubs:
We started reading book clubs yesterday. One group is reading Ida B.with Mrs. Lengerich. Another group is reading Maniac Magee with Mrs. Low. And a third group is reading Eve of the Emperor Penguin with Mrs. Hill. Each book club has a separate reading assignment on the homework board at school. I will do my best to post it here, as well, just to keep everyone informed. All assignments listed below are due Monday, January 10.

Ida B.: Read through Chapter 6, use at least 10 sticky notes and ideas from bookmarks while reading, and check Moodle for a posted assignment (Internet access required, but can be accessed at school if needed).

Maniac Magee: Read through Chapter 8, use at least 10 sticky notes and ideas from bookmarks while reading, and check Moodle for a posted assignment (Internet access required, but can be accessed at school if needed).


Eve of the Emperor Penguin: Read through Chapter 2, use at least 10 sticky notes and ideas from bookmarks while reading, and check Moodle for a posted assignment (Internet access required, but can be accessed at school if needed).