Newsletter for the week of January 9

Reading: This week in reading, the students will be creating their own inventions.  On Monday, we will read through a Time for Kids magazine which focuses on the coolest inventions of 2011.  Then the students will individually create their own invention that will be presented on trifolds.  This project will be worked on in class from Tuesday - Thursday and the following Tuesday of the next week.  On Wednesday, January 18, we will have an invention open house.  The students will be able to go from classroom to classroom to see all the inventions.  The students will need to include the following: the reason why it was invented, how it will help people/rationale, who will benefit from it, and a diagram/image of the item

Book Report: Your book report for January must be a mystery. The presentation will be Tuesday, January 31. For this book report you will create a detective's report and treasure map.  This should be done as you read.  Don't wait until after you are finished with the book.  You will be identifying clues of solving the mystery that is unfolding in your story.  Keep notes.  You will use your detective's report to create a treasure map.  You will later turn in notes (detective's report) and the map.  The notes do not have to be in final draft form.

You need the following information in your notes:  the place where the main character starts (beginning setting), a list of where he or she goes, what clues are found there, where he or she ends up with the climax and solution of the story

You will use your dectective's report to make your map.  Draw out your character's path.  As the path on your map continues, your readers will be unraveling the main events and the mystery! 
Places and clues are marked with something to open.  It could be a door, tree, book, or something that represents a clue.
On the door:  the setting where the clue was discovered (ex. bookcase, a tree, a desk, an underground city)
Behind the door: phrase, picture, or word that represents the clue (ex. candlestick, "ran away")
Under the door: why it is important to the story (ex. "finds a note" or "locates a sound")

Math: In math we started unit 6. The first couple of lessons focused on using landmark data, which is minimum, maximum, median, mode, range, and mean and organizing the data. They organized the data by using graphs, line plots, and stem and leaf plots.  Next week, the students will work on identifying mystery line plots.  They will also investigate the relationship between sample size and reliability.  On Thursday, they will work on adding and subtracting fractions.

Writing: This week in writing the students will be working on a book about them.  The book is All About Me From A to Z.  The mini lessons that will be focused on are word choice, voice, paragraphing, matching illustrations to text, editing and revising, and the use of a thesaurus and dictionary.

Science: In science we will focus on electricity. On Wednesday of this past week, the students learned about static electricity. Static electricity occurs when extra electrons collect and stay in an object for a period of time. Electrons move from object to object through friction. As the electrons move between two objects, one object gains electrons and becomes negatively charged. The other object loses electrons and becomes positively charged.  On Monday and Tuesday the students will do two experiments focusing on static electricity.  Then on Wednesday, the students will learn that electricity flows and the materials needed to light a light bulb.  This week the students will also learn what conducts electricity and what does not conduct electricity.

Social Studies: We finished our social studies unit and will move on to science for the rest of the quarter.

Spelling:
There are no words this week.

BOX TOPS:
The PTA is always collecting box tops. They can be found on many different products such as: Progresso soups, Kleenex boxes, Suddenly Salad, Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, and many more products. Check all of your purchased goods and send in your box tops. This is an easy way for the school to make money to enrich our children at May Watts.

HEALTHY SNACK LIST:
Due to life-threatening peanut/nuts/sesame allergies at every grade level and the fact that we change classes for math and flex groups, we are asking that no peanut/nut/sesame products be sent in for a nutritional snack. Also a list was sent home that stated the food items that will be allowed for snacks. The following items can be brought in: fruit, vegetable sticks, pretzels, cheese slices or cubes, raisins, cereal mix (i.e. Chex Mix), rice cakes, and crackers.

NEW READING INCENTIVE PROGRAM:
There is a new reading incentive program that Mrs. May is doing. To earn the prize, the fifth graders will need to read 400 minutes in a month. That is 20 minutes a night. Minutes will be checked on January 9.

Important Dates:
December 23 - January 8 No School - Winter Break
January 9 Classes Resume
Hill Parent Night Wednesday, January 11 at 7:00 p.m.
End of 2nd Quarter Thursday, January 12
Paw Print Redemption Day Thursday, January 12
No School Friday, January 13
No School Monday, January 16

Homework for Dec. 22

Reading - Read 20 minutes

Homework for Dec. 21

Reading - Read 20 minutes

5P Math - Study Link 6.3

Science - Worksheet

Homework for Dec. 20

Reading - Read 20 minutes, Book Report due on Dec. 21

Spelling - Contract & Test for Wednesday

5P Math - Journal pages 166 & 172 #s 1, 3, 4, & 6

5B Math - Study Link 5.7

Homework for Dec. 19

Reading - Read 20 minutes, Book Report due on Dec. 21

Spelling - Contract & Test due on Wednesday

5P Math - Study Link 6.1

5B Math - Study Link 5.6

Science - Test tomorrow

Newsletter for the week of December 19

Reading: This week in reading, we will do a variety of activities.  On Monday, we will work on using comprehension strategies and define unknown vocabulary words using a Time for Kids magazine.  For the rest of the week, we will be working on a fun project using alliteration.  I will read the book Animalia, and the students will look for examples of alliteration in other texts.  Then they will create their own alliteration.  We will also be presenting our wordless picture books and our mash up books.

Book Report:  Your book report for December must be a biography, memoir, or autobiography.  The presentation will be Wednesday, December 21.  For this book report you can select from one of my examples, or you can come up with your own idea.  You need to provide a detailed account of the person’s life, have a visual, and give a presentation. 

Here are a few examples:

Example #1:

     Illustration of your person

     5 character traits that relate to your person and evidence

     Write a summary about your person's life

     Do you think it was a good idea to write a biography about this person?  Why or why not?

Example #2:

     A timeline of the person's life
     5 character traits that relate to your person and evidence

Example #3: Power Point
     Photo Collage
     Birth & Childhood
     Education
     Adulthood - Family and jobs they had before becoming famous
     What made them famous
     Interesting facts about your person
     Later Years/Death

Math: In math we will start unit 6.  The first couple of lessons will focus on using landmark data, which is minimum, maximum, median, mode, range, and mean and organizing the data.  They will ogranize the data by using graphs, line plots, and stem and leaf plots.  On Thursday, the students will work on identifying mystery line plots. 

Writing: This week in writing we will be finishing our marketing plan. The students have been put into groups, and their group picked one item to develop a marketing plan and advertise the item.  They can select how they would like to present this item: TV ad, radio ad, billboard, print ads, a web page, or Prezi.  The students need to think about who is your target and develop a marketing plan to reach the audience.  These will be presented in class on Tuesday.

Science: In science we have focused on the atom and magnets. The students learned that an atom is made up of protons, neutrons, electrons, and a nucleus. They also learned about ions. We discussed the periodic table of elements, and the students learned how to read it. After learning about the periodic table of elements, the students drew atoms. They also learned the difference between an element and a molecule.  We used the interactive periodic table of elements to learn more about each element, and we built a salt crystal using play-doh.  In the first lesson for magnets, students observed three different rocks looking at their similarities and differences.  In this lesson they learned that there is a type of rock with magnetic qualities called lodestone.  In the next lesson, students learned how magnets got their name, and they did an experiment to see if a one unit magnet or a two unit magnet held more paper clips.  Last week in science we continued to do experiments with magnets.  On Monday, the students learned how to make a magnet.  Then the students saw the magnetic field around different magnets.  On Wednesday, the students learned where a magnet is the strongest and which magnet is the strongest.  They also saw what objects magnets attract and what substances magnetism can pass through.  This week we will review for the magnet test on Monday, and their test will be on Tuesday.  On Wednesday and Thursday, the students will learn about statice electricity.  Static electricity occurs when extra electrons collect and stay in an object for a period of time.  Electrons move from object to object through friction.  As the electrons move between two objects, one object gains electrons and becomes negatively charged.  The other object loses electrons and becomes positively charged.

Social Studies: We finished our social studies unit and will move on to science for the rest of the quarter.

Spelling Unit 14:
absent     servant     present     instant     accident     assistant     current     moment     resident
ignorant     pleasant     distant     innocent     intelligent     restaurant     patient     government
statement     migrant     participant     efficacious     orbiting     continent     magma     landforms
embarrassment     magnificent     amendment     resistant     pungent     expedient     resilient
immigrant     incident     consonant     electricity     traitor     static     map scale     Congress

BOX TOPS:
The PTA is always collecting box tops.  They can be found on many different products such as: Progresso soups, Kleenex boxes, Suddenly Salad, Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, and many more products.  Check all of your purchased goods and send in your box tops.  This is an easy way for the school to make money to enrich our children at May Watts.

HEALTHY SNACK LIST:
Due to life-threatening peanut/nuts/sesame allergies at every grade level and the fact that we change classes for math and flex groups, we are asking that no peanut/nut/sesame products be sent in for a nutritional snack. Also a list was sent home that stated the food items that will be allowed for snacks. The following items can be brought in: fruit, vegetable sticks, pretzels, cheese slices or cubes, raisins, cereal mix (i.e. Chex Mix), rice cakes, and crackers.

NEW READING INCENTIVE PROGRAM:
There is a new reading incentive program that Mrs. May is doing. To earn the prize, the fifth graders will need to read 400 minutes in a month. That is 20 minutes a night. Minutes will be checked on January 9.

Important Dates:
Science Test Tuesday, December 20
Spelling Test Wednesday, December 21
Book Report due Wednesday, December 21
December 23 - January 8 No School - Winter Break
January 9 Classes Resume