Room 114 Homeroom News
May 30, 2016
Ms. Kirkwood & Mrs. Piccirilli Homeroom Calendar & Events
It's hard to believe we only have a month left of school. This next month will be very busy and exciting with all of the end of the year events. Please see the dates to remember below so you know what is going on here at school. We will be starting our maturation program next week. A letter will be coming home this week explaining it in more detail. You only need to turn the slip into your teacher if you are opting your child out of the program.
Our 5th graders had a great trip to the Clinton River Water Festival where students learned about our Great Lakes, water conservation and protecting our Michigan waters. All of the students received a tree to plant in the yard or a nearby park. At Stony Creek, we will visit the Nature Center and park. During the nature walk, students will learn about native plants, insects and animals.
Important Dates to Remember:
Monday May 30th Memorial Day- No SchoolWonder Years Maturation Program- June 1-7
Field Day- June 9
Fun Fair- June 10
PTA Bagel Sale- June 17
Stoney Creek Field Trip- June 20
5th Grade Graduation- June 21
Reading - Non Fiction Reading Unit
Students have been working on online collaborative projects during their Non Fiction Reading Unit to better establish their research skills. We tied this in with our persuasive writing unit by researching topics and creating an online debate.
Consider checking out your child's online Tweentribune account. All students have logins and passwords. You can check out their assignments and quiz scores online at home. Students assignments for Tweentribune must be done online. They are given time to work on assignments in class, however any that are not finished should be completed as homework. If a student does not have access to the internet, he or she may make arrangements to complete their work at school. All quizzes and comments made on Tweentribune will count toward their reading grade. Students may count their Tweentribune reading for their May Reading Log.
We will be finishing up our read aloud Because of Mr. Terupt soon. This book has brought thoughtful discussions and reflections as we analyze the many characters in the book. This book hits home to many of us in many ways!
Writing- Persuasive Essay & Class Newspaper
We have been very busy working on our class newspapers. Each class is designing their own newspaper with reporters, editors, publishers, interviewers, typers, cartoonists, drawers, photographers, and layout designers. The students have enjoyed taking on this task and have stepped it up to help each other complete the required jobs. We are hoping to have it published soon. Students are recognizing how all their writing skills are helping them with this project.
Students have completed their Persuasive Writing Essay and moved onto the final persuasive on demands. In an on demand, students are required to use all the techniques they learned during this unit to complete a writing sample in a shorter amount of time. They have to write their claim (opinion) about the topic, and include three reasons to support it. With each reason, writers have been expected to give evidence (from websites, books, etc.) to support their reasoning. This on demand completes the final part of our persuasive writing unit.
Spelling
Planners
Homework Update
- Daily Language Review (DLR) if it is not completed in class - Assigned Monday-Friday
- 3 Spelling Activities due each Monday
- Study for the spelling test- given each Monday
- Math- given Monday-Thursdays
- Reading Calendars - Students log 30 min. of reading per day/ 5 days a week (Consider reading Tweentribune.com nonfiction articles.)