I'm Back From My Hiatus

You haven't missed too much..

...

...bah, just kidding!  Actually, you've missed too much for me to share in one blog post (my fault), but here's my best summary of the last month.

     The past month we wrapped up multi-digit multiplication and division, and started adding, subtracting, and multiplying decimals, which will eventually lead us into fractions.  In the past month we also studied the American Revolution, and the students completed their biggest project yet.  They picked an area of interest from the American Revolution, researched, recorded/organized the most important details, wrote a rough draft, edited with me, wrote a final draft, created a poster, and presented to the class.  It was lengthy but worth while--and definitely impressive!  This project met both E.L.A. and social studies standards.  A sample of student work can be found at the bottom of this post.

     Second trimester ended last Friday, February 27.  Conferences were held and report cards were given this week.  A big THANK YOU to all of YOU who value education and encourage your children to believe the same.  I feel like I've typed this a million times, but EDUCATION OPENS DOORS TO OPPORTUNITIES! (I don't type in all caps that often; that's how passionate I am about this.)

Let's have a great third tri!

An example of the snacks that the students enjoy during classroom celebrations.  Yogurt, water, and vanilla cookies--food is for energy!

And a little just because photo.  A friend's new puppy: Link.

Fill-in-the-Blank Test

Hmm...what do you think all of these images have to do with our school week?

Image 1:  The Iowa Core standards that we are currently focusing on.  As the standards change I change our "I can" statements.  If you've ever worked with or visited the Iowa Core (if not, check it out, it's very user friendly), then you know the standards aren't always written in the most common language.  For that reason, I summarize the standard and put it in fifth grade friendly language.

Image 2:  In ELA we have been working on analyzing and comparing texts and multimedia.  This week we used the story "The Tortoise and the Hare;" we looked for similarities and differences between a short story, video (our favorite part was at minute:second 7:45), and book.  We also discussed the visual images each form of the story created in our minds and the emotions/ideas that they evoked from within us.

Image 3:  Right now we are actually studying long division, but our previous math standard was to master 3 digit by 2 digit multiplication.  In fifth grade students must know the process of the standard algorithm, but they are also taught other strategies, such as decomposing.

Image 4:  I'm sure many classes experience this same struggle...sometimes my students needed to be reminded of the cost of negative words and actions.  "Paper" is one of my favorite activities to act out to my students.  Basically, I put a paper person on the board and tear him down and crumple him up while I say not-so-nice things to him (you're a slow reader, no one wants to be on your team in P.E., your shoes are old and dirty, and etc.).  I then ask students to say kind things to paper as they put him back together.  We soon find out that once you've mistreated "Paper" he is never the same again.  It's meant to be an analogy for the idea that once you mistreat another person they are never the same again.

Also in this image is the picture book The 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey.  I followed up the "Paper" activity with a story about teamwork.  If you've never heard of "the 7 habits" it's definitely worth a look!

Image 5 & 6:  Our coin jar was full!  So we spent about one hour on Friday celebrating with a game day.  As you can see most students brought electronic devices, but others played Risk (a game I extremely enjoy!).  Sometimes it is great to just kick back and relax...especially when you've earned it.

Stay warm and watch out for the immense amount of snow we are expecting!

Yours truly, 

Miss Grell

Here's Our Dream

     In honor of his birthday and MLK Day, my fifth grade class spent a week studying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life & life mission for racial justice.  The studying consisted of text and video research, recording information in an organizing table, and writing a short biography or essay responding to whether they believed MLK was a positive or negative influence.  I observed my students be sincerely engaged as they listened to MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.  For that reason, we created our own (condensed) version of MLK's dream by singling out our favorite lines and adding a few lines of our own!  Please enjoy our work!

Cold Day Science Experiment

     SAFETY FIRST!  This experiment MUST be completed with an adult because it involves boiling water.

     I had a little bit of fun with my sister and nephew today; science and this freezing weather helped us turn boiling water into "snow!"  I asked my nephew and sister if it felt like snow when the wind pushed it into their faces, but they said it felt more like steam.  And that's because it is steam (water vapor)!  Although the result appears to be snow-like, the reaction between the hot water and cold air temperature creates vapor.  If you're interested in the science behind this experiment then visit this website http://www.livescience.com/32951-how-can-boiling-water-turn-snow.html; it should answer your questions.

Winter Break Has Arrived

     Program...check.  Rounding decimals math test...check (and ALL passed with proficiency!).  "Santa" letters...check.  "If I Was a Gift" writing...check.  Last day of school before winter break...check.

     Today we had a "snow in" for an afternoon celebration.  We pretended the electricity was out.  We curled up in blankets next to a "fireplace" and enjoyed the story Santa is Coming to Iowa.  We munched on popcorn and candy canes and sipped on hot chocolate and marshmallows. The students played board games and enjoyed each other.

     Yesterday students responded to the prompt: "If you were a gift, what would you be?  Who would you give yourself to and why."  This prompt created discussion about holidays, traditions, cultures, and celebrations.  We acknowledged all holidays that we were aware of: Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Diwali, New Year, and Chinese New Year.  We concluded that this time of the year isn't all about presents.  Rather, it's about love, family, friends, goodwill, and the fun of giving and receiving.  When students responded to the prompt they were told that they needed to choose a gift that would improve the well being of one of their family members.
     I proofread a variety of responses, such as shoes (because their mom only has one quality pair), a car (because their mom's car is unreliable and causes stress), a book (because getting lost in a good book is relaxing), a big dog (because the family misses their dog and they would feel safer with one), a door (because their sister deserves privacy), a vacation (because their family needs a break), a college education (so they can have a house and their mom can have a good job).  Their answers were thoughtful and delightful to read.

     We did a little roll playing and responded to first grade Santa letters.  When we delivered our letters we went into the classrooms above first grade, stomped our feet, jingled bells, and dropped our envelope out the window.  This is a holiday tradition our school has enjoyed for many years.  Below you can see some examples of letters.  They are absolutely adorable!

What have we been up to, you ask?

     I feel like a broken record...we have a lot going on...or maybe it just always feels that way?!  Monday and Tuesday were business as usual.  On Wednesday Mrs. Zahs came to visit our classroom to observe me teach an E.L.A. lesson on main idea.  She was pleased with the student-to-student interaction that was present.  She complimented both student and teacher roles, so we all have something to be proud of!  On Thursday we had hearing checks, fifth grade music program rehearsal, and most importantly, high school students came to teach us Spanish.  Fridays are always madness (good madness...yes, that exists in my room).
     This coming week we are looking forward to our winter program dress rehearsal on Monday and the BIG show on Tuesday; we are hoping you'll be able to join us.  The students are sooo proud of the work they did to memorize songs, lines, and what not.  Honestly, I can't wait to see them perform!  After the excitement of the program fizzles we have two days to jam in some learning before we celebrate with an assembly and classroom parties on Friday.
     There were so many times that my students made me smile this week, and I am truly thankful to have a bunch of talented, fun-loving, adorable, and capable fifth grade students.  Is everything always sunshine and rainbows?  (That's totally a fifth grade thing of me to say; I try to make them giggle with comments like that.)  No, but together we make it work.  And they make me work!  Really, I wonder if they're as tired as I am right now (again, a good kind of tired)...
     Below are some pictures/captions that gives you a little view of our week:

     1.  Fitness Brain Break!  I meant to take a picture of this, but it slipped my mind.  Every morning around 10 o'clock we take a 10 minute fitness break.  During our fitness break we pick six different exercises/stretches to practice.  For example, today we moved around our classroom "track" (around our desks).  Today one meant side shuffle, two = mall walk, three = karaoke, four = lunges, five = jump, and six = slow mo.  We listen to one or two songs on our CD and I roll the die to switch up the movements.  Everyone gets their heart pumping and there is usually a lot of laughter involved.  Sometimes I even join the fun!  We work hard enough that they beg for a drink afterward.
     Although this is a "break" it a valuable, teachable time.  The students are relieved from work with a few minutes to relax, exercise, and learn new movements with their peers.  Our exercises range from burpees to yoga poses.  Ask your child about their favorite exercise!

2.  Here are some of the activities the Spanish students prepared for our class.

3.  Literacy, literacy, literacy.  I want my students to interact with reading grade level texts as frequent as possible.  I want my students to gain research skills.  I want my students to have a solid writing foundation.  I want my students to be comprehensive readers.  I want my students to have an extensive vocabulary.  I want them to learn these skills in a meaningful way so I try to make activities as relatable and powerful as possible.  Here are some techniques I used this week...

It's Good to Be Back in Action!

We were worker bees this week!  We started studying main idea in E.L.A.  Here are our observations for the week:

In science we explored the water cycle.  

We used the following resources: our science textbooks, a website, a short video, an experiment, and finally we created individual "mini projects" (diagrams using craft materials to represent the different components of the water cycle).  Here are some examples of student work...

We aren't currently studying multiplication but as a reminder here is what math looks like in our classroom.  Students are encouraged to find a variety of strategies to solve.  Using the most efficient strategy is preferred, and ultimately the goal is to master standard algorithms.

Also!  We made our classroom craft for Jazzy Jamboree.  Jazzy Jamboree is this coming Tuesday, December 9th.  Come celebrate and fundraise with us!  There will be many family friendly activities and raffle baskets.  The fifth grade basket has a "family fun night" theme.

Bonus pictures for my faithful followers.  A little light into my life...