The Putney Post
West Homer Elementary--5th Grade
Dates to Remember
November 8- Artist Showcase Assembly 1:15-2:00
November 8- Homer Electric Assembly 2:15-3:00
November 10- Read-a-Thon Ends
November 18- Read-aThon Pledges are due
November 22- Read-a-Thon Activity Night 6:30-8:30pm
November 28 and 29- Thanksgiving Break
Classroom Happenings
It was great to have a full five days together this week after two short weeks in a row. In math this week we continued to develop our understanding of division by building models, playing division games with our partners, dealing with zeros in our quotients, and practicing dividing 4-digit dividends. On Halloween we incorporated candy corn into our division understandings. Who can't be enthusiastic about division when sugar is involved? In writing we developed our "seed" stories by expanding a previously written narrative. Throughout this process of expanding and revising our writing we asked ourselves what we wanted our reader to feel and remember about our story. In reading we practiced answering literal and inferential questions while reading Blood on the River. We discussed the difference between questions that are directly stated in the text and questions that require the reader to be thoughtfully engaged (and making connections) while reading. Finally, in social studies we explored the seven Native American cultural regions. Through our discussions about the various regions we discovered that the environment in which people live impact their lifestyle.
What's Next?
This coming week we will be transitioning from social studies into science. Students will begin an electricity unit with Mrs. Bynagle. In reading students will be introduced to the literature circle process. Students will be placed in groups, given specific roles, and asked to respond meaningfully to their reading with Blood on the River. In math we will continue our work with division by exploring remainders. First, we will build models to show remainders. Then we will learn how to interpret remainders. In writing students will be using published writing to explore the importance of a strong hook at the beginning of a story. Students will then use the published writing as a model to write their own hooks for their narratives.
Artist in the Schools
Read-A-Thon 2013
Students are doing a great job keeping track of their reading on their Read-a-Thon sheets. Thank you for taking the time to sign off as your child tracks their reading minutes. Our school as a whole has read over 20,000 minutes! On Monday I will check student's records and hand out prizes for every six hours read.
Also, keep in mind that I allow students to check out one book from my classroom library to take home. As soon as that one book is returned they may check out another. If your child is running out of reading material at home you may want to remind them that they have many books to choose from within our classroom library as well as our school library.
KEEP READING! RIGHT NOW OUR CLASS IS IN 2nd PLACE. WHOOT WHOOT!
Read-a-Thon Activity Night
On Friday, Nov. 22 from 6:30 – 8:30, West Homer Elementary will be holding the Read-a-thon Activity Night. It’ll be an Egyptian(ish) themed night to celebrate all the reading and fundraising our students have done for the read-a-thon. There will be 8 different activities students will have the option of completing. They will have an activity tracker that gets stamped at each station they complete. If they complete 6 of the 8 (in any order) they get to choose a book.
The stations still needing volunteers are:
1. Egg Drop
2. Tessellations
3. Paper Airplane
4. Bookmaking
5. Code Breaking
6. Float a boat
We need volunteers to run each of these stations. If you are able to cover a station or want to team up with someone so you share responsibility, please let me know ASAP.
Halloween
Thank you for making our Halloween party possible. We had lots of food and a variety of game stations. It was all all-around great time.
5/6 Teachers- "The Band"
Our SPOOKY Class Picture
Halloween Writing Time
Home Practice
This week in grammar we discussed the difference between: THEIR, THERE, and THEY'RE.
THEY'RE- Contraction for they are
THEIR- Possessive
THERE- Location
If the opportunity arises to continue this conversation at home with child, it would be greatly appreciated.
IXL- Math Practice Site
To get your child started on your home computer, please follow these steps:
1. Go to www.IXL.com/signin/westhomer
2. Enter your child’s username and password and click Sign in.
Username: firstinital,lastname@westhomer (EX: eputney@westhomer)
Password:firstinital,lastname (EX: eputney)
3. Choose 5th grade.
4. Find a skill to practice that relates to what we have been covering in class.
IXL Skills to Practice This Week: H3, H4