April-May

I must apologize for not posting in March.  I came down with a case of the shingles and had very little energy for most of the month.  Below is an outline of up-coming events in our classroom for the months of April and May.  Four SHARE lessons will also be taught between April 28-May 6. I did not include the dates and times, but if you need to know, please e-mail me.

Math

We have completed our fractions unit, which is a large part of the Nevada Academic Content Standards for math.  I will have students to continue to practice fractions skills and problem solving as we delve into co-ordinate graphing and converting between customary units of measure.  For fun, we will graph simple linear functions.

ELA/Social Studies

The American Revolutionary War is coming to an end in our classroom studies. Students will be giving PowerPoint presentations on Revolutionary Battles and Events as a culminating activity.  Of course with the end of the fighting, comes the formation of a new government, so our next unit of study will be the Constitution of the United States. We will be using a supplemental textbook entitled We the People.  We the People was created by the Center for Civics Education and is endorsed by Congress.  It is designed to help students understand how the Constitution came to be written, the major principles it contains, and how the Constitution effects our lives today. It promotes reading, writing, and critical thinking.  I will be asking students to discuss Constitutional topics with you as part of their homework.

Science

I am happy to announce that Sierra Nevada Journeys, “a 501(c)3 nonprofit that delivers innovative outdoor, science-based education programs for youth to develop critical thinking skills and to inspire natural resource stewardship,” will be coming to our classroom to guide us in investigating our watershed with their Hands in the River unit. We will also be taking a trip to McCarran Ranch on I-80 East to investigate the health of the Truckee River.

Sierra Nevada Journeys charges a fee of $20 per student, and we must pay for the field trip bus. However, I will be using our classroom PTA money of $15 per student to help off-set the fees.  At this point in time, I have enough money left from our beginning of the year fees to cover the other $5 per student.  I am asking each student to chip in $5 to help with the field trip bus fee to McCarran Ranch.

We will also be finishing up our Mixtures & Solutions unit by investigating chemical changes.

April-May Events

Friday, April 24—5th grade Nevada Legislature field trip.  $5 to cover bus fees.
 
Monday, April 27—Reading SBAC (Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium)
                              CAT (Computer Adaptive Test) 1-2:30

Wednesday, April 29—SBAC classroom lesson

Thursday, April 30—SBAC Reading 9:15-10:45

Tuesday, May 5—Sierra Nevada Journeys lesson Watershed Connections 1-2:30

Monday, May 11—Math SBAC  CAT 10:45-12:15
                           Sierra Nevada Journeys lesson Watershed Inhabitants 1-2:30

Tuesday, May 12—Sierra Nevada Journeys field trip Watershed Health

Wednesday, May 13—Math SBAC classroom lesson

Thursday, May 14—Math SBAC 9:15-10:45

Tuesday, May 19—Sierra Nevada Journeys lesson Case Study of Non-Native    
                             Species 1-2:30

Friday, May 29—Donner Park field trip--focusing on  plant identification & glaciation.

October, November, December

We have just completed our first quarter of school.  Time flies when you're having fun!  We investigated the realistic fiction genre in reading, as well as, diving into informational texts via Newsela, textbooks, and Time for Kids magazine.  Students wrote three five paragraph essays during the quarter, and also practiced writing  comparing and contrasting paragraphs (we need a little more practice with this skill). Math focused on number theory and our wonderful base ten system.  Students honed their skills in  estimation, addition, subtraction, and multiplication of whole numbers and decimals.  Computation skills were embedded in word problems. Social studies began with a study of United States geography and morphed into the settlement of the Americas by the first peoples.  Science began with a unit on atomic theory which dove tailed with identify physical properties of matter, specifically minerals. 

We are now heading into the second quarter, a very busy time of year.  Below is  an outline of up-coming units of study and activities.

ELA

We will be delving in the mystery genre over the next few weeks, and mystery will be the focus of students next Independent Reading Assignment. Students' Mystery Independent Reading assignment and AR points are due Dec. 1.  As a whole class, students are reading the mystery/fantasy children's novel The Dollhouse Murders. Our next genre study will be historical fiction focusing on colonization of North America.

We continue to do close reading activities, most recently with an excerpt from Roughing It by Mark Twain that described Virginia City during its early days. This reading was to support the Virginia City field trip. Students will be writing an essay comparing Virginia City in Twain's time to Virginia City today.  Through this essay, students will be practicing citing sources of information.

Students continue to have weekly Newsela and fluency reading assignment.

Science

We are finishing  up our studies on minerals and physical properties.  Students are currently involved in labs in which they are finding volume of a mineral by displacement, finding mass using a balance scale, and are using these measurement to find density.  Students will further investigate volume and density by finding the volume of blocks of wood of various sizes and calculating density.

Our next science unit will be the FOSS Kit Mixtures and Solutions.  This is wonderful kit investigating  physical and chemical chemical changes of matter.

Math

Students are strengthening their understanding of measurement concepts: perimeter, area of rectangles, and volume. Geometry concepts  and division are focused skills throughout November and December.

Social Studies

Students have completed a jig-saw activity on North American Native American cultures.  Next up is Age of Exploration which leads directly into colonization. 

UNR Field Trip

I am currently in the planning stages of a field trip to UNR scheduled for December 18.  Students will be visiting the Keck Mineral Museum, the Engineering Department's earthquake shaker tables lab, and the Knowledge Center.  When schedule is firmed up, a permission note will be sent home.

 

Conference Week--October 28-November 1

If you have not already done so, please make sure you sign up for a conference the week of October 28.  Confirmation notices and sign-up forms went home in Friday Folders on October 11.  Please make sure your child attends the conference with you.

Virginia City Field Trip

Don't forget the class will be visiting Virginia City on Thursday, Oct. 24 to celebrate Nevada Day. Please make sure you have signed the permission form by Tuesday night as it is due in class on Wednesday. 

 

October 7

Thank You PTA!

Caughlin Fall Fest was a huge success!  Thank you Caughlin PTA for hosting this annual event for our community.

Picture Day

October 11 is picture day. I'm not sure when our class is scheduled for picture taking.  Information about pictures was in the Friday Folder sent home October 4.  If you did not receive this information, please contact the office.

No School Days

In accordance with the school district's new balanced calendar, Fall Break is October 12-20.  Nevada Day is Friday, October 25.

End of the Grading Period and Report Cards

The end of the grading period is October 8. Report cards will be sent home on October 24.

Virginia City Field Trip

In lieu of a Halloween or Fall classroom party, Ms. Johnson's and our class will be celebrating Nevada Day with a trip to historic Virginia City.  Before visiting this famous Nevada landmark, students will use primary sources to glean information about Virginia City's past residents. They will also be introduced to Fourth Ward School before visiting this historical school. We will be touring the Silver Terraces Cemeteries, lunching at Piper's Opera House, and concluding our visit at Fourth Ward School.  Students will need to wear weather appropriate clothing and bring a cold lunch.  A field trip permission form will be coming home this Friday with details about cost (bus and entrance fees).

Math

In the coming weeks, students will have computation practices on the back of their Everyday Math Study Links.  To prepare them for 6th grade and beyond, students will be asked to use the standard or traditional algorithm for division.  We also begin our geometry unit in Everyday Math.

Science

We have finished up Mixtures and Solutions Investigation #1: Making and Separating Mixtures. Students will have a test on Friday, October 11, on vocabulary and concepts studied during this investigation.  A study guide will be provided on Monday and a review will be held on Thursday.

Social Studies

Students began researching their European Explorers last Friday in library and computers.  We will continue researching this coming week.  Students will be given a instructions and a grading rubric for  creating an Explorer Trading Card this week. 

Happy Holidays

In spite of the tragedy that has struck our nation and stained this holiday season with sadness, I wish you and your family a joyous holiday.  Hold your children close and enjoy the upcoming vacation time together. Our break begins on December 22 with school resuming January 7.

Field Trip

Caughlin's fifth graders are going on an Earth Science field trip this Friday, Dec. 21.  This field trip is in lieu of a holiday party. We will be visiting the UNR campus between 9:40-11:15 to tour the Keck Mineral Museum, the DeLaMare Earth Science Library, and seismology lab.  We will then head to the Bowling Stadium and view the Imax movie Ring of Fire. We will return to school in time for students to  participate in the Polar Express.  Students may change into pajamas at school.

Classroom News

Math: Formal division instruction is coming to a close, but the practice will continue. We are  beginning a fractions unit of study, which will continue in the new year.

Reading: In conjunction with our social studies American Revolution studies, we will be reading historical fiction relating to the Revolution and writing of the Constitution. We will also be reading informational text relating to our science study Mixtures and Solutions and Earth science.

Social Studies:  The American Revolution is still being studied.  We have spent a great deal of time analyzing primary source documents relating to the Boston Massacre.  The purpose of this intensive study to have students formulate an opinion on the "massacre" and cite the documents to support their opinions.  This is an activity that supports the critical thinking and writing aspect of Common Core Standards. 

We the People: We have begun one of the most important studies in our fifth grade curriculum, We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution program.  This program  is a supplemental social studies unit on the Constitution.  The program was created by a Supreme Court Justice in 1987 because he felt students were not receiving adequate civics instruction. He realized that in order to sustain a democracy, the citizens must be knowledgeable and informed on Constitutional topics. The program is designed to be used in fifth grade, with programs for eighth grade and twelfth grade, as well.  The highlight of the program is a mock Congressional Hearing at which students showcase their Constitutional knowledge and speaking abilities in front of a panel of judges.  Twelfth graders' Congressional hearing is a competitive event with the winning teams from each state competing in Washington D.C. Our mock Congressional hearing is tentatively scheduled for the first week in March. To learn more about this program visit the Center for Civics Education: http://new.civiced.org/programs/wtp

Science: We have started the FOSS unit Mixtures and Solutions.  This unit is activity based with several labs.  We will also be investigating Earth sciences in conjunction with our field trip.

Writing: Students have be using the writing process to write a personal narrative. I am sure you will enjoy reading them! And of course they continue to write in the content areas and to the prompts in their spelling books.

 

October 22-25

I greatly enjoyed meeting parents during conference week.  The commitment and support you have for your child's education is truly appreciated and inspiring!  An outline of our week ahead is below.

Nevada Day

Nevada's statehood  birthday will be celebrated on Friday, October 26.  There will no school that day.

 

Virginia City Field Trip--Monday, October 29

Our Virginia City field trip to celebrate Nevada Day and in lieu of a Halloween party was originally scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25.  That date has changed due to a busing issue.  The new date for our Virginia City field trip will be Monday, October 29. A permission slip will be sent home on Monday, October 22.  To prepare for the field trip, students will be learning about the history of Nevada and Virginia City this coming week. We will not be having a Halloween Party in our classroom.

Atoms to Minerals Science Unit Wrap-up

Students were given a study guide on Thursday, October 18 for the up-coming test Atoms to Minerals.  The test was originally scheduled for Wednesday but has been rescheduled to Thursday, October 25. We will review for the test on Wednesday. A successfully completed study guide earns a student extra credit points on the test.

To further their appreciation for minerals, students are investigating a mineral of their choice and creating a Most Wanted Mineral poster.  Students were given an outline of the requirements for the poster, a list of suggested minerals, and website sources of information on Thursday. We discussed a due date, and students felt 2 1/2 weeks was sufficient time.  So the poster will be due on Friday, November 9.

Independent Reading

Students were given a new Independent Reading assignment on Friday.  Story map, book review, WOW! words, and AR points will be due on November 20.  I suggest you question your child as to what she/he is reading and how he/she feels about.  If your child is not happy with a book choice because it is too difficult, encourage him/her to find a more appropriate book.

Spelling Book

Due to the Friday holiday and field trip on Monday, October 29.  Unit 7 in our spelling book will not be due until Thursday, Nov. 1.  We will begin the unit this coming week.