Spotlight on Specials
Fifth Grade -First Quarter 2016-2017
Exploratory Team
Library
I truly enjoy being the Library Media Specialist here at Riverview Elementary! We have an amazing school filled with eager-to-learn, wonderful students and dedicated, caring staff! It is so much fun getting to work with former students again and getting acquainted with all the fantastic kindergarten through fifth graders here at Riverview. I love getting kids excited about reading, introducing them to new books and authors they may not have read before, and researching with them! My goal is to develop lifelong readers!
This year is my 26th year of teaching. I taught second grade a total of 12 years, first grade for 2 years, and Tutorial Math Grades 3-6 for 1 year. I also was a substitute teacher for 5 years after taking time off to raise my own children. This will be my eleventh year as the Library Media Specialist at Riverview.
In our library classes we reviewed rules and appropriate voice levels in the library, identified ways to care for our books, and discussed the proper use of shelf markers. We also discussed our safety procedures at RE, where we would go, and what our jobs are. We talked about different acronyms to help us in choosing a “good fit” book such as “I PICK” and “CAN IT BE FOR ME?” We reviewed library and reading vocabulary terms by playing a fun game called, “Library Lingo.” We took a look at the nominees for the William Allen White Award. Students are encouraged to participate in the William Allen White Reading Program for 3rd-5th graders by reading books off the lists. Students are able to vote on the book they want to win the WAW award as well as read some different authors they might not have read otherwise. More information is available on my website at: http://riverviewlibrary.weebly.com/ We watched a preview of some of the books coming to our Scholastic Book Fair which will be in the library on October 27th and 28th.
Art
I'm very excited to be teaching art at Riverview Elementary and I'm proud to say I work for the DeSoto School District. I have my BA in Studio Art and my MA in Curriculum and Instruction. I most recently taught middle school art for 11 years in Lawrence, KS. My family and I live in Lenexa, so I'm happy to be teaching very close to home now.
It is my philosophy that all Riverview students are artists. I teach art so my students can experience the art process of creating, using critical thinking, and developing problem-solving skills.
5th grade has been working on a culminating project of a unique dream-like setting. Students created blind contour drawings of a partner that made for lots of silliness and giggles. We took personal photos for the art piece in a pose of their choice and brought the pieces together in an original and unique scene. In addition, we spend one class period watching a PBS movie about a lost work of art by Leonardo Da Vinci that follows the forensic, scientific, historical and artistic evidence used to attribute this work of art to Leonardo Da Vinci.
Music
I’m so excited to be teaching Music at Riverview! This is my 23rd year in education, my 18th as a music teacher, and my 9th here as a Falcon! I received a Bachelor of Music Education from Louisiana State University, and Level 1 Certification for Orff-Schulwerk Music Education from Baker University.
Fifth grade students started the quarter with some creative movement and “mirroring” with partners. This helps students focus and create intentional movement. They also learn to step outside their box and try something new! After learning a fun layered drumming piece, we expanded our knowledge of rhythm to include sixteenth note patterns. Students created a rhythmic composition and, after combining compositions to create a new group, they performed for the class. Seeing these kind of class performances is one of my favorite parts of my job! Time was also spent singing to create harmony, and singing in rounds. While singing to create harmony, we also learned about accompaniments and how they change to fit the melody of a song. Throughout the 2nd quarter, 5th graders will be starting to make decisions about their program and fine-tuning their instrument playing skills! Each year, I try to incorporate different musicians or styles of music in our lessons. This year we started with Frank Sinatra! Students listened to some of his music, like “Fly Me to the Moon,” and had a chance to share their ideas of what they’d like to do if they flew to the moon! Throughout the year, we will continue to build students’ listening stamina and discover new ways to describe the music we hear. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!
P.E.
I am so thankful I get to be the P.E. teacher at Riverview Elementary! This is my 2nd year in education, and I am so glad I was able to begin my career at Riverview. I absolutely love it! I received a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of Kansas -- Rock Chalk! I love teaching the students the importance of physical activity, as well as how to live a healthy lifestyle, all while having tons of fun in the process!
It has been a great start to what is shaping up to be a great year for 5th grade! We began the year reviewing the importance of P.E. and how to live a healthy and active lifestyle outside of school. We spent a good portion of the quarter learning about cooperation and how important teamwork and sportsmanship is, not just in P.E., but also in life in general! The students have showed such great understanding and knowledge of sportsmanship and teamwork. I am constantly proud of them! They participated in many activities where their teamwork and sportsmanship was tested, such as “Capture the Flag”, “Yoshi”, “Pass the Chicken”, “Scavengers”, “Rocket” Attack”, and a few more! We were also able to reflect on how the students felt about their teamwork, and they were very proud of their class and how they worked together. It is such a special time being able to teach the 5th graders. I am excited to be able to help them grow during their last year in elementary school. They will be setting goals throughout the year that are relevant to P.E. and will work to achieve their goal throughout the school year. I am very excited to see what goals the students set for themselves! They ran their first Pacer Test for the year and I am so proud of them! Each and every student did so amazing. It is a great way for students to set goals and also a great way to practice pacing themselves (to learn to not just run as fast as they can!). It is incredibly important to me to make sure the students know that this is not a race and that all I am looking for is for them to try their hardest and do their best. I will be proud of them no matter the amount of laps they run. We will learn a new “Word of the Week” each week. So far the words we have learned about are: sportsmanship, cooperation, responsibility, encourage, self-control, and compromise. This is going to be a great year, and we’ve just gotten started!
Technology
In Fifth Grade, we started out the year reviewing the basics and the Acceptable Use Policy. Our first project is focused on the Scientific Method. We learned how to create a flow chart in Inspiration software to map our progress through out the experiment. Our main objective was to create a case design that would protect a raw egg from a drop as tall as our school building. We began the unit brainstorming what prior knowledge we had about materials and designs. Then we started our research in groups. Students utilized various type of online media to find out what other students had done in the past as well as their results. Based upon our findings we created a hypothesis and a plan to create the perfect design. After our designs are built we will test them out. Be on the lookout for a volunteer opportunity in computers!