Mrs. Lester's Shining Stars

Marching Forward, Fifth Grade

This week fifth graders will study spelling words that alternate vowels from long to short. That sounds complicated, I know, but you will recognize the pattern in these words: nature-natural, nation-national, mine-mineral. Check out SpellingCity for tests, games, and spelling practice.

http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=7822724&x=23a74

Fifth grade is practicing skills needed to write a persuasive composition. One fifth grader wants to abolish homework on the weekends. What do you think? Why?

Fifth grade math is beginning to study how to calculate the area of geometric figures. Students have terms in their notebooks. We will be adding to the notebook often in this unit. If you don't see the notebook and/or the textbook coming home, ask your student about it.

Coming soon!

Here is our new spelling unit for 4th grade: prefixes. The list words for the next test are a combination of two spelling sorts, Sort 27 and Sort 28. These lists teach the students to look for prefixes in reading and spelling words, a skill that will help them now. Use this link for spelling games and practice:

http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=7797698

Fourth grade writers are learning to recognize and write effective positions and reasons. No more whining or begging is allowed. Students must use thoughtful reasons with examples to persuade you to do their wishes.

We have begun to study fractions in math. This week we are discussing the numerator and denominator, equivalent fractions, improper fractdions, and mixed numbers. This is a wonderful time to enlist a little help with cooking!

Check the blog in on Friday for math games and more!

Happy New Year, Stars!

We’re baaack!  Happy New Year from Nicholson Elementary!  The second half of our year is underway.  Here’s what’s happening in our classroom. 

Math:  The tables are turned.  Now fourth grade is studying fractions, and fifth grade will study geometry.  Both grades will continue to practice their math facts so they will meet the math criteria for membership in the Hundreds Club.

Writing:  Both 4^th and 5^th grades needed to review sentences/fragments/and run-on sentences this week.  We will begin to explore persuasive writing soon.  Watch out, parents!  Who knows what students will try to persuade you to do!  Make sure they state their position well and give you good solid reasons, with examples to back up their reasons.   

Reading:  We are in a new unit now in the Language! program.  This unit focuses on the topic of twins as we learn about reading multisyllable words, third person singular words, pronouns, and practice our fluency.  Psst:  Guess what famous singer from Tennessee had a twin!

Spelling:  4th Grade will study words with the r-influenced o in the accented syllable. I like to call it the bossy r because the r sound in these words takes over the regular vowel sound.  I'm thinking of words like order, forty, record, etc.  Below is a link to games and word practice for this lesson:  http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=4584188&x=aac1a

5th Grade will study words with the suffix -ation (with drop e and no spelling change.)  This lesson includes words like adopt/adoption and explore/exploration.  Below is a link to games and word practice for this lesson: http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=7647829&x=8278c

By now you probably have read your child’s report card.  I am very proud of the progress some of the students made.  If you are not thrilled with your student’s report card, start the new year off right by setting regular homework times, including 20 minutes each night for reading.  Practice math facts in the car.  Expect your student to do regular chores at home.    The payoff for these great habits is tremendous!

Updates for 12-12-11

Both grade levels will study spelling this week.  Fourth grade will study r-influenced a in accented syllables.  Check out the words with this link:

http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=4584089&x=d1429

 Fifth grade is studying adding -ion with predictable changes in consonants.  Below you will find the link:

http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=7392973&x=03540 

 Our school chorus concert is set for December 15 at 7:00 p.m.  Come hear our great chorus sing!

Candy Cane grams will be sold in the front of the school near the media center on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. The sweet holiday messages will be delivered on Thursday, Dec. 22, so get your orders in to make sure you don’t miss out on taking part!  Look for pre-order forms coming home this week.

Doing December

Festive music playing, bells ringing, friends laughing, oven doors creaking:  we must be getting close to the holidays!  We're all eager to enjoy our two weeks off from school, but I am thankful for parents who continue to support our academic work, even during the hectic season that is upon us.  Thank you for making sure your children get enough rest and good food and (of course) their homework. 

Indeed, we are still hard at work.  As you know, we completed our unit on division.  We will continue to practice division, but our instruction is now focused on new topics.  Fourth grade is studying geometry:  lines, angles, rotations, etc.  Fifth grade is studying fractions.  Both grade levels have lots of new terms which are glued into their math composition books.  I am encouraging students to take their composition books home to study the vocabulary words, so if you don’t see it coming home, you should ask, “Where is it?” 

Here is a web site that will help fourth grade with math vocabulary:

 http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/rubber_geometry_vocab_match/

I am sure you have heard of IXL, the math practice web site based on our Georgia math standards.  Your students can practice the math topic we are covering in class, basic number operations like addition or division, or a topic you know needs improvement.  When a students misses a problem, there is an explanation to help him/her get it right the next time.  My students have logged on 500 minutes of practice so far.  Can we make it 1,000 minutes before the holidays? 

https://www.ixl.com/signin/nicholson

Our informational drafts are nearly finished, and we finish Unit Three in our Language! series tomorrow.  Our new unit, unit four, focuses on the theme of twins.  If you have any family history of twins, please share it with your student.  We want to know!   So far the post test work students have completed has been very good.  Hooray for them! 

The next two weeks will be a busy time of final checks on goals and objectives, finishing units, and completing projects.  Thank you so much for making sure your student is here every day.   

Into December!

Celebrate!

What an extra blessing it was to me to grade some wonderful math fact tests during the Thanksgiving holidays!  Those students who’ve been working on their math facts are making progress.  Some are passing tests in five minutes, some in seven minutes.  I am a happy teacher.  Other students are steadily improving; keep them practicing, and they will get to taste success, too. 

December is just around the corner.  We all look forward to the holidays, but please make sure your student keeps working hard until then.  We have important content to cover, county assessments to take, and tests to take, too.   Here’s what’s coming up in class.

Spelling

Fourth Grade:  Sort 7 in WTW:  au, aw, al in accented syllables.  Practice the words on Spelling City at the following address:

http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=4352419&x=e3ad6

 

Fifth Grade:  Sort 8 in WTW:  adding –ion to words ending in –ce or –te.  Practice the words on Spelling City at the following address: 

 http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=7235417&x=e3ad6

 

Writing:  Both fourth and fifth grades are practicing note-taking skills using nonfiction information.  We will put a draft paper together as practice for writing their final informational piece.  Fourth grade is researching colonial life.  Fifth grade is researching earthquakes.

 

Math:  We will all wrap up our study of division by the end of November.  Expect a quiz on Wednesday, November 30.  Fifth grade will take up fractions next while Fourth grade will be studying geometry:  angles, rectangles, triangles. etc.

 

Reading:  Students are working on the final lessons in Unit 3.  This week they will study direct objects, reading for information, and taking notes after reading nonfiction.

Divide and Conquer!

Division, here we come!  We have worked on our preliminary skills:  fact families, multiplication skills, and basic facts.  Now it's time to divide.  Parents, our problems may look a little different than when you learned division.  Hang in there; the method we will use works!  How can you help?  Encourage your student to learn the multiplication facts and practice the division facts. Facts can be practiced at this site:

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/thats_a_fact/english_4_6.html 

This week both fourth and fifth grades will have spelling.  Here are the web sites for practice.

4th grade:  http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=4352213&x=3c77a

5th grade:  http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=7017843&x=825d8

In writing, fifth grade is publishing a fantasy story this week.  Fourth grade is beginning to study writing a research paper. 

Reading students are more than half-way finished with Unit 3.  In fact, they're already taking a few unit tests, doing very well.  Do you know what AR book your student is reading?  Ask him/her; you might be surprised at the answer.

November!

November is here:  leaf piles, football, fragrant, busy kitchens, family times.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and I can barely wait.Speaking of Thanksgiving, I am reminded of how thankful I was to meet with each of you last week.  Thank you for coming to conferences!

Here is what we're doing this week.

4th/5th Grade Math:  We are studying data this week.  Yesterday and today we studied using coordinates on a grid to plot data.  Here is an online game I think you and your children will enjoy: 

http://oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/BillyBug/bugcoord.html

Tomorrow we will have a quick check on using coordinates on a grid and line graphs.  Then we move on to bar graphs and pictographs for 4th grade.  Fifth grade will spend the rest of the week studying mean (the average of a group of numbers), median (the middle value in a set of data), mode (the number occurring most often in a set of data), and range.   Each morning we will have a quick study on division, so that next week when we jump into division full force we will have a little head start. 

4th/5th Grade Reading:  We continue to use a unit on an archaeological dig in Niger, Africa to practice answering questions, fluency, and word meanings and functions in sentences. 

 A note about reading homework:  students should be reading AR books they can read independently.  Response sheet questions should be answered in complete sentences.

4th/5th Grade Grammar:  Both grades are studying verbs right now.  We've already studied action, helping, and linking verbs.  We begin a study of verb tenses tomorrow.  Here is a simple verb game.  Try it!

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/hme-quiz-directions.cgi?Grade=4&Unit=3&Topic=Verbs

 5th Grade Writing:  Students are exploring fantasy writing.  Watch out!!  Anything might happen.

4th Grade Writing:  Students are studying informational writing, learning what its characteristics are. We'll learn how to do research and how to use research in our writing.  

Ahh, October!

October is a great month:  sunny skies, turning leaves, cool, dry air, football, and on and on.  It's also a time for report cards, conferences, and self-examination.

Despite a strange schedule last week, we are pushing on ahead.  We're taking the benchmark tests in math, as well as the IMI pretests for the second nine weeks. Fifth grade is getting an overview of multiplication of decimals and what is meant by percent.  Fourth grade is honing its multiplication skills as well as its math reasoning skills.  Students should continue to practice multiplication at the following web site:

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/mmath/mmath_knack.html 

Reading has been lots of fun this week.  We're using the Smart Board with our Language! program, so the students are participating in new ways.  This week we will go to the media center for a lesson about choosing books wisely so students can enjoy their books more and improve their AR scores. 

Fourth grade is learning about helping and linking verbs this week.  They have learned a new song about helping verbs.  Ask them to sing it for you! 

Fifth grade has spelling this week:  base words ending in -ss or -ct as well as the words they form when -ion is added to the base words.  Students may practice at the following link:

http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=6720307&x=7b8c3

 

 

Wrapping It Up

Can you believe it? The first nine weeks is ending this Friday. Wow, does time ever fly!

This last week of the first grading period brings my Language! reading students to the end of Unit 2. I will share the results of the end-of-unit testing with you at conferences. I think you will like it!

Math students are covering their last topics before taking the benchmark assessment at the end of the grading period. Fifth graders are studying the area of decimal numbers. Here is a link to an explanation from the Harcourt math web site:

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/show_me/e546.htm

Fourth graders are studying the order of operations with special help from Mrs. Langosch and Ms. Martin this week while I administer the ITBS to fifth graders. I have noticed that poor multiplication skills are slowing down my students' progress. Here is a great place to have fun while strengthening these skills: http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/mmath/mmath_knack.html

Fifth grade language arts students are studying helping verbs and finishing up their narratives. Fourth grade students are also working on narratives. Most are about ready to revise and edit their papers.

Fourth grade has spelling words based on the ai, ee, and ea vowel pairs in accented syllables. Here is the Spelling City link for entertaining practice: http://www.spellingcity.com/view-spelling-list.html?listId=4119795&x=e1e02