January 26-February 2

Spell-athon

Students will be taking the Spell-athon spelling test this coming Friday, January 31. Please help your child study these words and gather some sponsors. 

AR Goals

Students will be bringing home their new AR goals (Independent Reading)  this coming week.  Because of the written work required of their Poetry assignment due February 14, students will not have a written component associated with their AR goals.

January 22-27

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you had a restful and joyful winter break.  The students returned to school ready go! Thank you for making your child's education a priority.  Below is an outline of current and up-coming classroom studies and events:

Language Arts

We have begun a poetry unit of study in language arts.  Through this poetry unit students will engage in several Common Core Literature Standards.  Students will be reading and analyzing poetry in the classroom and writing poems, too.  They have been given an Independent Poetry Reading assignment designed to reinforce literature/poetry concepts taught in the classroom.  This Independent Poetry Reading assignment is due February 14.  To celebrate the end of our poetry unit, we will be having a Poetry Slam in the afternoon of February 14.  Students will be sharing their favorite poems with their classmates.  More details regarding the Poetry Slam will be coming home.

Math

We continue to investigate fractions in math.  Modeling of fractions is an important Common Core concept, and students have made fraction sticks, used number lines, and drawn pictures to visualize and model fractions.  We will begin modeling addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators in the week ahead.

Social Studies

The American Revolution is our social studies focus for the next several weeks.  Cause and effect relationships will be examined during this unit of study.  Students will also be analyzing primary source images and documents related to the American Revolution.

Science

We continue our FOSS unit, Mixtures and Solutions.  The focus of the third investigation in this unit is concentration.

Spell-athon

Our PTA is holding a Spell-athon fund raiser.  Students will be bringing home their spelling lists this week.  Please support your child in this activity.

MAPs Testing

Students are taking reading and math MAPs assessments this week and next. I will be sending home the results of these tests by the end of the month.

Happy Holidays!

Thursday, Dec. 19, Schedule

The last day before winter break, Thursday, Dec. 19, is going to be fun!  The entire school population is encouraged to wear pajamas that day and sing-along to the Polar Express between 2 and 3. Our classroom's morning activities follows:

• 8:45-9:30--Hot cocoa and muffins
• 9:30-10:30--Students will deposit their $S Bucks and enjoy a good book while they wait their turn to visit a banker.
• 10:30-12:00--Mrs. S.'s Auction.  Students will bid on items and write checks for their purchases.
• 12:15-1:00- Lunch and recess
• 1:00-2:00-Room and personal space organization and clean-up
• 2:00-3:00 All school Polar Express

Winter Break, Dec. 20-Jan. 12, Academics

To keep students mentally active during winter break, students will have four IXL skills to work on: J1 Multi-step word problems, K6 Greatest common factor, K7 Least common multiple, and L2 Equivalent fractions--students may want to use Math  Journal page 206 to help them find equivalent fractions.

I am also asking students to visit Mission-US (the link is to the right) and play the game For Crown and Colony. Engaging in this role-playing game will keep students, reading, writing, thinking, and learning about the Revolutionary War.  Students have been given questions to answer after playing each part.

Students should continue to read over break.  Some students may be finishing up their Book Club books, others may read any books of their choice.

Enjoy your Winter Break! I look forward to seeing you all on Jan. 13!

 

December 9-19

End of Second Quarter Grading Period

The end of the grading period is upon us.  The last day for students to turn in any missing assignments is Thursday, Dec. 19.  Please check Infinite Campus with your child to see if she/he has any missing assignments. 

Reading

Students Mystery Independent Reading Assignment and AR points was due Thursday, Dec. 5.  The next Independent Reading Assignment will focus on historical fiction.  Students will be assigned to a book club. Each member will have his/her own copy of the book and will be required to read a certain amount each night.  The following day, book clubs will meet and discuss the previous night's reading. I would like to have all books finished before break, but the students and I will have to discuss the time table for completion.

Writing

Students are working in class on an essay comparing and contrasting colonial America with modern times. Students will be using the the "chicken foot" pre-writing graphic organizer to guide them.  Details regarding colonial America will come from the students' textbooks, informational books available in class, and their experiences during Colonial Day.

Students are also working a personal narrative.

Math

We are wrapping up our studies on geometry and division and heading into fractions and algebraic thinking.  We will examine more thoroughly the relationship between fractions and division.

Science

Our second investigation in Mixtures and Solutions dealing with saturation is coming to a close.  Students will be given a Saturation Puzzle this coming week.  Our next Mixture and Solutions investigations will focus on concentration.

Social Studies

We will conclude our Colonial American studies with a test.  Students will be given a study guide and tips on how to study for a test. The study guide will be distributed and discussed on Monday, Dec. 9. The test will be Friday, Dec. 13.

The American Revolution looms on the horizon. Focus of this unit of study will be on events leading up to the Revolution.  Students will examine cause and effect relationships as they pertain to this momentous American event.

December 19 Schedule

On Thursday, Dec. 19, the fifth grade will celebrate the arrival of winter break with muffins and hot cocoa from 8:45-9:30.  Following muffins and cocoa, students will snuggle up with books while they wait their turn to see a banker to deposit their S Bucks.  Once all deposits have been made, students will be able to spend their hard-earned S Bucks at Mrs. S.'s Holiday Auction.  Students will be required to write checks for all purchases and keep  track of withdrawals in their check books. 

Students will attend the Polar Express sing-along in the afternoon.

November 18-24

Independent Reading Assignment

Due to popular demand, the Independent Reading assignment due date has been changed from November 22 to December 5.  Many students felt they needed more time to reach their AR point goals.  For those students that will have met their personal goal by November 22, keep reading and taking tests.  Points earned above your goal will earn you extra credit!  So keep reading! 

Don't forget the Independent Reading assignment includes the following:  AR points, Mystery Story Map, Mystery Analysis questions, and Wow! Words.  Take your time when completing the story map and answering questions.  Take pride in your work by paying attention to spelling and punctuation.  Your responses should be thoughtful and supported with evidence from the text. I suggest you type out your responses to the questions to practice your typing skills and enhance the appearance and readability of your work.

Colonial Day is this Friday, November 22

Thank you to all the parents that volunteered to support our Colonial Day! It is guaranteed to be a successful learning experience for all of our Caughlin 5th graders.

November 12-17

Science Carnival

The Caughlin Ranch Science Carnival will be this coming Wednesday, November 13, from 6-7 pm.    Community voluteers whose jobs and careers involve science will be presenting information and activities in science "booths" set-up in the multipurpose room. The Northern Nevada Astronomy Group will have telescopes on the playground, and UNR engineering students will be in the computer lab.

Colonial Day is Coming!

In order to bring American history alive and understand how children of the past lived, Caughlin Ranch 5th grade will be hosting the 12 annual Colonial Day! Colonial Day is an activity to support and enhance our Colonial America unit of study. During the day students will play, eat, and even dance (thanks, Mrs. Jackson!) as children living in colonial Williamsburg in the 1770s. Colonial Day 2013 will be on Friday, November 22.

 

An informational flyer asking for parental help went home in Friday's, November 8, Folder. We will need parents to prepare food, cut cloth, and assist in the rotation activities during the day. In my classroom, students will be making and dressing corn husk dolls, the more helping hands the better! Since we do not have a third 5th grade teacher this year, colonial games will need to be manned entirely by parents. 

To make the event as historically accurate and fun as possible, we encourage students to dress in a colonial fashion. For girls this means a dress or skirt. I will provide each young lady with an apron, and the girls will be making their own mob caps. For the young gents, I suggest they wear football/baseball pants or roll up pants to simulate breeches, knee length pants, and tall socks. A dress shirt and, if possible, a vest or dress coat, will complete their outfit. Boys will be fashioning cravats, precursor to the tie, out of material. Don't rush out to purchase clothing--raid every closet in the house. One of the best dressed colonial lads I ever saw wore his mother's full sleeved blouse and her vest! If you do decide to buy something, try Savers or one of the other used clothing stores. Old Halloween costumes can be fashioned into colonial clothing, too.

Below are some examples of student clothing from last year: 

 

 

 

November 4-12

Conference Week Follow-Up

I greatly enjoyed meeting with you and discussing your child’s assessment data and student skills last week.  But I made a mistake in regards to the SBAC (Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium) computerized test.  The SBAC test will be administered next school year in the spring of 2015, not this year school year.  Students can still take the practice tests which are assessing our new Common Core Standards, but just know the traditional paper and pencil bubble in test will be given in May of this school year.  I apologize for this mistake in dates.

Explorer Presentations

We will discuss necessary skills for giving a presentation to the class on Monday.  Students will be asked to prepare a one to two minute presentations on their explorer.  Students should practice the presentation at home this week.  Presentations will be given on Friday of this week.

Math

The Everyday Math Unit 3 Geometry Checking Progress assessment is tentatively scheduled for this coming Friday.  We will review for this assessment in class during the week.