We need . . .

Hershey Kisses or mini candy bars
Sugar Free gum
Class snacks (we have 25 students)

The kids really look forward to these special incentive treats and the brain fuel through snacks each day! We've been out of snacks for a  few days, however, we did receive a few today, and Mrs. Hill brought Scrabble Cheez-Its for a Halloween activity.

Thank you in advance for supporting our "nurtritional and motivational" needs!

Update 10/31

We briefly discussed statistics today as a part of our fraction unit. Did you know that the most accidents and/or fatalities of pedestrians happens on Halloween? We used this information from this mornings news show to  discuss ways to be safe tonight.

Trick or Treat with:

• a friend or family members
• on the sidewalk or grass
• in well lit areas
• with a mask on top of your head until you reach the door

There is NO homework tonight! The only opportunity is for extra credit in math. 5.2 handout is due tomorrow for extra credit.

Enjoy a safe and delicious Halloween! November starts tomorrow . . . WOW, how time flies!

Update 10/25

Please see yesterday's post for assignments given out yesterday. I've only added NEW assignments to today's post.

Reading: Island of the Blue Dolphin comprehension questions, vocabulary, and figurative language worksheet due Friday. This handout will help your child study for the book quiz on Friday.

If you would like to purchase an autographed book from Herman Parish, the author of the Amelia Bedila series, those orders are due by Monday, October 31.

Have an enjoyable evening with this beautiful weather!

UPDATE 10/24

Sure sounded like EVERYONE enjoyed a little excitement and relaxation over the break! Now we're gearing up for a fresh start to these nine weeks!

HOMEWORK:
MATH: Unit 4 Test on Wednesday. All students received a Unit 4 Review packet that is due on Wednesday, too. We will review tomorrow, and we will test on Wednesday. ALL STUDENTS WERE GUIDED (2 TIMES) TO PU THEIR MATH BOOK AND JOURNAL IN BOOKBAG.

READING:
1.We will have a reading quiz over the vocabulary and comprehension of the story Island of the Blue Dolphins ON FRIDAY. Some students, in stations, began listening to the story today. Others will read it tomorrow as a class, and they will also listen to it within stations tomorrow or Wednesday.
2. One Reading Counts quiz is due by Monday, October 31 for this month. This is an online quiz taken at school over a book at each student's Lexile level. It can also be used for the Book-It Yummy Reading points!
3. Book-It tracking sheet is due Monday, too.

SPELLING: Test on Thursday. Also, page 39-40 handout is due Thursday.

SOCIAL STUDIES: (For all students NOT in the Reading Lab) Southwest Regions states and capitals quiz on Friday. There are only 4 states in this region, so it should be super easy!

LITERACY STATION WORK: All assignments from last week's Literacy Stations are due tomorrow.
1. Time For Kids: Arctic Animals (front side only)
2. Using Math: Main Idea and Details handout
3. Drawing Conclusions handout
4. Prefixes handout

Update 10/18

I've enjoyed meeting with all of the families over the last week! Thank you for taking the time to come to your child's school to discuss his or her strengths and needs!

Wear Red Wednesday! Let's see if we can WIN the competition! Person with the most red in the class wins a PRIZE!

Homework:
No spelling this week.
No reading story this week.

Explorer posters (mini posters we started at school) are due Wednesday.
Math: 4.6 Study Link is extra credit ONLY.
Reading Counts quiz due by the end of the month (can only be done at school, however the reading can be done at home, too).

All station work (Math Symmetry, Drawing Conclusions, TFK, and Prefixes) are due next week, probably by Tuesday. By the end of the day tomorrow, EVERYONE will have had at least 30 minutes total to work on these tasks during our stations and other various times throughout the day.

Have a great night!

Update 10/14

Red Ribbon Week Begins October 17-19

Monday: "Dream Big" and bring slippers to school. Please wear regular shoes to and from school.

Tuesday: "Keep your head in the game" and wear your favorite sports team items.

Wednesday: "Wear Red and Win!" and wear all the red you can for a class contest!

Homework:

All homework pieces had plenty of time to complete in class today.
Social Studies: Lesson 1 and 2 notes for Chapter 4 in book and explorer poster (2 days to work on) are both due Monday.
Math: None
Spelling: NO SPELLING NEXT WEEK!
Reading: Read for Book-It points-10 points due by 10/31 and one Reading Counts quiz due by 10/31 for one quiz grade in reading

Update 10/11

I will be out tomorrow at a writing workshop will all of the fifth grade teachers in Brownsburg schools. I am anxious for this training session, as I've seen so many amazing mini-lessons come out of the other grade levels so far!

Please continue to return candle orders for BEF. They will accept all orders through Friday, I believe.

If your child has not turned in a white tshirt, please see to that by Friday please.

Homework: Please keep in mind that ALL homework assignments and/or classwork assignments are practicing the skills we've discussed or worked with in class previously. No student should feel as if they are completing assignments using brand-new information. ALSO, please keep in mind that I always give the kids time to work on assignments at the end of each day (most days). I also like to provide time during the subject blocks for asking questions and/or beginning their work.

Reading: Woodsong story quiz and vocabulary on Friday

Social Studies/Reading: Time for Kids "On the Wings of Monarchs" quiz/handout due Wednesday. (This was given out on Monday for Morning Work. Students had at least 10-20 minutes to complete before we moved on.)

Spelling: Test Thursday (No contract)

Math: Study Link 4.1 due Wednesday

Science: Planet mini-poster due Wednesday (Students had 25 minutes to work on this today.)

Literacy Stations: Common and Proper Nouns handout and Vinland comprehension packet due Thursday. (We started these in stations on Monday and Tuesday. Unless students were working on Inquiry Projects, SRI reading quizzes, or progress monitoring reading with me, they had ample time to get the assignments done during stations.)

Change to Math Homework

Starting with tonight's assignment, all math assignments that go home (Study Links, Mathboxes, Unit Reviews, etc.) will all be counted toward ONE or TWO grades in math for the 9 week period, depending on the number of assignments given.

Each day that an assignment is due, I will simply check students off for completing the assignment, but I will not check that they are all correct. We ALWAYS go over our assignments from the night before using pens, so we're still discussing the correct answers; we're just not putting a grade into the gradebook for each assignment.

For example, if Joe completes 9 out of 10 math assignments over the course of Unit 4, he will receive a 90% for one of his math grades. All other math grades will come from various skill checks, mathbox quizzes, and tests. This should highly encourage ALL students to focus during math block and to prepare themselves for each day's skills.

I've changed this for two reasons:

1. Answers to the study link pages are in each unit family letter. The letter went home today for Unit 4 and I've sent all others via email or with your 5th grader.
2. Students receive help from family members at home with their work. I highly encourage this practice, as this is an excellent way to work on the math skills. However, I want your child's grades on Power School to reflect his or her understanding of the skills alone.

Update 10/10

Parent/Teacher conferences started this week! I've enjoyed talking with families today! I encourage you to include your 5th grader in the conference. Some familes have chosen to do so, and others have not. If you are not aware of your conference time, please call me or email me as soon as possible. If you need to reschedule, please notify me as well.
lhill@brownsburg.k12.in.us
852-1060 x2640

White Shirts:
Almost everyone brought in a white t-shirt by today's due date. However, we're still missing some. If anyone has an extra shirt lying around and wishes to donate the shirt, we would be so grateful. Thank you!

Candles:
Only two students turned in completed candle orders today for BEF. Of course, it was not required to sell the candles, but is always helpful to support our schools. Please end the envelopes to school tomorrow ONLY if orders were collected.

Homework:
Reading-workbook page 37 and 38 due Tuesday. We will have a reading quiz over the story Woodsong on Friday, as we usually do.
Spelling: test on Thursday
Math: We tested today over Unit 3, so no homework tonight.
Social Studies: Time For Kids (Butterflies) and handout is due Wednesday.
Station assignments: We will conclude stations tomorrow, so ALL station assignments will be due Thursday. Those assignments include Common and Proper Nouns handout and a Search for Vinland comprehension packet.

Our initiative bucket is very, very low! If you have a chance to pick up anything small such as erasers, pencils, Hershey Kisses, etc., we would really appreciate it!

Book-It Reading Incentive Program

We introduced a new reading incentive program yesterday that begins NOW! Pizza Hut has partnered with us through their "Book-It" program. Students are highly encouraged to read books at their Lexile levels, and to complete quizzes over those books. We are determining new Lexile levels in the next week, however, students all have their previous levels from August.

EACH STUDENT IS STILL REQUIRED TO COMPLETE ONE READING COUNTS QUIZ BY THE END OF EACH MONTH FOR A GRADE IN READING. This book/quiz can count toward the student's goal for earning reading rewards.

Each student is required to read at least 10 points for October. (The point values will change each month.) Each student received a tracking sheet today so he or she can track the books read, Reading Counts quiz scores, and points for each book. This information is on the RC book stickers, or students can look them up here at school. The quizzes can only be taken at school.

If a book your child is reading does not have a quiz here at school, he or she can write a summary of the book, and I will reward him or her with the appropriate point value for that particular book.

We will continue this reading program through March. For each student that meets his or her goal each month, a Pizza Hut pizza certificate for a FREE pizza will go home with each student!  I'm hoping that each student that meets his or her goal for the duration of the program can join me for a walking trip to Pizza Hut for lunch one afternoon in the spring!

Happy Reading!

Update 10/5

Our first annual "Read for the Record" reading afternoon is tomorrow! Kids can bring stuffed animals, pillows, blankets, and slippers if they wish. However, all of the items each person brings MUST fit into the bookbag or a plastic grocery bag.

We will have a chance to shop at the Scholastic Book Fair tomorrow, too! This is a great opportunity for kids to grab a new book for the read-in! Plus, all proceeds go toward our classrooms here at Reagan!

Don't forget the spaghetti dinner is tomorrow night here at Reagan from 6p-8p. The Scholastic Book Fair will also be open during the dinner time, too. Shopping, food, and a new book! What is better than that?

Our first nine weeks' grading period comes to an end on Friday. WOW, how it's flown by! Some kids have been asking me for extra credit to raise their grades for this report card. My advice to them from the beginning of the year was to do the extra credit opportunties throughout the nine weeks as I provide them. That way, if they come to a B+ or a B-, their grades could benefit from the extra credit effort. I DO NOT give out extra credit just to raise a grade. I've told all of the students that have asked, "There will be another report card in about 9 weeks, so shoot for those goals on that report card."

Homework:
Math-we have a test on Monday over Unit 3. We will review tomorrow and Friday.
Reading-we have a quiz over our story this week, "Iditarod Dream", on Friday. We have read the story two times, and played a few vocabulary games together, too.
Spelling-test Thursday and page 33-34 due Thursday, too.
Grammar-Compound Sentences handout p.6 & 13 (front to back) is due Thursday.

FYI: We had over 15 minutes at the end of the day to work on assignments. Many students chose to read quietly around the room, finish their tessellation math art, and work on inquiry posters rather than homework.  However, the grammar sheet is just review.

10/4 Update

If you are out and about, and you're looking for a way to contribute to the classroom, we are in need of Sharpie markers, Fine Point, in all colors, but especially black. In fact, any size or brand of permanent marker would suffice.

Our initiative box (small items such as erasers, Hershey Kisses, etc.) and our prize box (dollar store type things) are running low again. That's an awesome thing, however, since it means we're really focusing on our monthly life skills and mastering them! If you'd like to contribute, this is another way to do so.

Thank you!

Homework:
Writing:

• Personal Narrative Final Drafts due by Wednesday. We have had a lot of time to write these in class, and spent quite some time re-writing them, too. The final draft is due by tomorrow if not already done.

Reading:

• Workbook pages 32-33 due Wednesday.
• ALL students should be reading each night-however, we're starting a new reading incentive program this week to motivate more reading at home: coming home Thursday!

Spelling/Vocab:

• Test on Thursday and page 33-34 due Thursday.

Math:

• Students will have a Study Link due tomorrow. 3.7 and 3.8 Odd #s only.
• We will have our Unit 3 Post-Test next week (date determined by how whether we're ready as a class or not). Please look for a study guide to go home at the end of this week.

Extras:

• Scholastic Book Fair is here-students can shop on Thursday during our Media Center time OR they can shop with families at the spaghetti dinner here at Reagan Thursday night from 6-8pm.
• White t-shirst in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with name on the t-shirt and the bag need to be here by Friday of this week.