5th Grade News
September 18, 2014
Mrs. Crenshaw's and Mrs. Lillich's Class News
Mrs. Lillich
Mrs. Crenshaw
Mrs. Crenshaw
Email: screnshaw@westlakecharter.com
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/westlakecharter.com/mrs-crenshaw-s-class/
Location: 1985 Pebblewood Drive, Sacramento, CA 95833
Phone: (916) 928-3987
Mrs. Lillich
Email: tlillich@westlakecharter.com
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/westlakecharter.com/mrs-lillich/
Location: 1985 Pebblewood Drive, Sacramento, CA, United States
Phone: 916 928-3987
Important Dates
9/26 - Progress Reports Come Home***Please check Engradepro.com for current grades!
9/27 - Fall Festival from 2-6 at the Del Paso Campus
10/14 - NWEA Testing Begins
10/23 - Pebblewood Chili Cook Off - 6:00 pm
11/17 - 11/21 Parent Teacher Conferences (Minimum Days)
11/21 - Academic Awards Ceremony
Supply Donations
Supply Donations of $25 are payable on PAY PAL at this link:
http://westlakecharter.com/about/supply-field-trip-and-t-shirt-donations/
(Sorry, the office asks that you do not send checks).
Crenshaw's Homeroom/Language Arts/ Social Studies News
Mrs. Crenshaw's News
Technology
Students are learning Google Presentation as they create their slide show for their Geography Project! They are becoming experts at adding links, images, video and music! They also continue to practice their keyboarding skills on Typing Web and Dance Mat Typing.
Reading
Students should be working toward their trimester AR reading goals. They have about 20-30 minutes each day for AR reading in class and should be reading an additional 30 minutes every night. The average of their AR reading quizzes are part of their Reading for Literature grade in Engradepro.com.
We are continuing our novel study on Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare and working on our literature packet for Chapters 5 -10. Students are improving their skill in writing summaries and complete, detailed responses to "short answer questions."
Writing
As part of our Narrative Writing Unit, students have been focusing on the following elements:
- including a "hook"
- sharing the "whole story"
- including essential details; not superfluous ones
- having a consistent voice
Students first closely examine a piece of writing demonstrating or focusing on the given element or strategy. The strategy is then modeled with input from the entire class before students go back to their journal entries to revise and improve their writing. Students seem to enjoy sharing their "new and improved" work with their classmates!
Language Arts
Students reviewed the following in their Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics workbook:
- past, present, and future verb tenses
- subject and object pronouns
- apostrophes with contractions and possessives
Students are "owning" the weekly academic vocabulary words by creating a non-linguistically representation of the word and by playing charades!
Social Studies
Our first PBL Unit is coming to a conclusion. Students are anxious for me to laminate the maps so they can form them into globes. They have also been busy creating a short corresponding presentation about the continents. They will also reflect on how well they did on the 21st century skill of collaboration as well as areas for growth.
Fall Festival
Mrs. Lillich's Homeroom - Reading and Language Arts
Accelerated Reading - Independent Reading: We are halfway through the first trimester. Today I gave students a slip of paper that documents the points they've earned so far and identifying the quizzes they've taken in AR and asked them to obtain your signature and return it on Monday.
We are enjoying reading our class novel Sign of the Beaver. We have looked at the literary element Setting and have done a few mini-lessons on Point of View and Characters. Books and reading notebooks and folders must come back to school each day.
Reading for Information - We have started to learn about Expository text and features that you find in non-fiction. Students have taken some notes. We are also reading our Time for Kids magazines as an introduction to Reading for Information. Reading for Information grades will start to be posted after Progress Reports.
Spelling and Vocabulary - We have taken our first two Spelling and Vocabulary Word tests. You will find grades for these under Language Usage.
Lillich's Math and ScienceNews
Science - We are reviewing the 4th grade standards on Electricity. Next week students will experience Static Electricity and Series and Parallel circuits. Please encourage your student to review and master science vocabulary in their Science Notebook and check agendas for important dates and future tests.
EnGradePro - Online Grading for your Student
Your student has a user name and password in their agenda to check their grades on-line at any time. A good rule of thumb is to check in with your student weekly and check grades together so that they can communicate information about assignments, grades, how they did, and find associated graded papers to share with you. Please do not wait until the trimester ends to begin to check grades. Checking EnGradePro daily will create more questions than answers and we do not recommend it. We do not usually enter grades every day. Check backpacks for graded work and go over it with your student, that is often much more productive.
A few bits of information to know about EnGradePro and Grading:
- There are some grade categories that have no grades and may not have any for the first trimester because we have not yet covered those standards.
- An “M” means a missing assignment. Your student did not turn in their assignment and this counts as a zero. Have your student check the “NO Name” bin in their classroom as a first way to problem solve this or perhaps check their backpack to see if they forgot to turn the paper in. Most of the time we would take their paper and grade it for a few points off.
- An empty spot in the grade book can mean we just have not gotten to grade a particular paper.
- Be sure when your child is absent to encourage them to complete and return all work so that it can be graded and entered in the grade book. Many times when students are absent they forget to return their work.
BOOK ORDERS for Mrs. Lillich's Class
Mrs. Lillich's Class Booth at Fall Festival iSilly String Booth and Family Fun Basket
We are still looking for many more items for our Fall Festival Family Fun Basket. You may sign up on Volunteer Spot or email Mrs. Lillich about donations. A flyer went home this week with items we still need. All basket items are due to Mrs. Lillich by Wed., 9/25. I really appreciate your contributions and support!