Trailer E Info

This week, we will be wrapping up our narrative writing. Next week we will be publishing those pieces and beginning a quick, fun Monster Narrative.

In reading, we have been working in small groups for intervention and skill practice. I have noticed a lot of students really getting excited about the reading groups. Yeah!

 In math we have been practicing long division, finding factors and solving word problems. Ask your student about the acronym to help them remember the steps of long division.

 In social studies we are finishing up our Native Americans project this week. We have been completing our research in class and recording our information in a group google presentation.  This week students will be working on creating an artifact to share as well.  Students may need to bring some supplies from home for this project. It is awesome to see the creativity and knowledge altogether in one big project.

 Don't forget the Chicken BBQ is this Saturday!! Come check out the silent auction at the Chicken BBQ! Be sure to check out the “Teacher Table” that will have prizes like a day long experience on the STEAM bus for one class, to a grade level picture that will be sold for $5.00, and a chance to win a Lazer Tag game against all the 5th grade teachers! Please consider donating or pitching in with other parents in our class to make the day-long STEAM bus possible for our class. The kids LOVE it!

Pictures coming soon!!

News from Trailer E

Reading & Social Studies:

We've been questioning as we read. We defined the difference between explicit and implicit questions and applied those questions to the book The Stranger. This week we also started reading about Native Americans. We introduced our Native Americans group research project. Students will be researching and presenting about the culture, government, geography, and history of Native Americans. The students seem really excited about this project!

Writing:

After lots of brainstorming and planning, we've finally started drafting our personal narrative. Your student had a lot of great stories to tell, so I'm really looking forward to reading their pieces. They have particularly enjoyed our writing stations and creating a "book cover" for their piece. I'm really impressed with the narrative leads I've seen from the students.  They are doing a great job of "showing" and not just "telling" what happens in their story.  I can't wait to share their writing with you in October.

Math:

In math we are working on multi digit multiplication.  Students are reviewing strategies we learned last year and are applying these strategies to larger numbers.  This week we will be learning about exponents and multiplication expressions.

ATTENTION!  HELP WANTED!

Our music teacher, Mrs. Sharp, is looking for some parent volunteers to help her put together a slide show of pictures for the Veteran's Day Performance.  Please let me know if you are interested in helping!

Check out some pictures of what we've been up to!

Science, Kindergarten Buddies, and Dot Day Fun

Which brand of paper towel is the best? In science this week, we used experimental design to develop a test to help us answer this question.  We identified independent, dependent, and controlled variables in order to ensure our test was fair.  Ask your child which paper towel brand you should buy!

We have been busy in 5th grade!  Last week we met our Kindergarten Buddies and helped them build circuits during MakerSpace.

In celebration of Dot Day, we learned how we can all make our mark on the world.  We can be creative, hard working, and helpful.  We can share our talents and our kindness with others to make our mark.  Here are some pictures of helping our Kindergarten Buddies today.

This week we set up our Ipads!!  We are learning together how and when to use them in class.  So far, they have helped us all to learn to be patient. :)  Today we used an art app called Quiver.  The students designed and colored a "dot".

Then we used the Quiver app to turn our art into a 3D design!  Check it out!

Wow!  Our first full week is already behind us!  The students are already beginning to settle into the routine.  This week, we celebrated the fact that all of us are unique and special in different ways.  While celebrating our differences, we also recognized that when use our individual talents and abilities to help each other, our possibilities are endless.  Here are a few pictures of our student profiles.  See if you can pick out your child's work! (some students' profiles aren't completed yet)

Today, students took their first States and Capitals Test.  Look for those coming home next week.  We spent 15 minutes everyday studying together to learn the states and capitals of the southwest region.  We also found a pretty catchy song (its been stuck in my head all week!) to help us remember the states and capitals.  We will be practicing the states and capitals every week by region until we know all 50 states!

Don't forget to check your child's Friday Folder this weekend!  There is important info from the office, as well as info about clubs such as Safety Patrol and Mrs. McKinzie's Book Club.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Welcome Back!!

Happy Monday!  We are off and running in 5th Grade out in Trailer E!  Tonight your child will bring home their first weekly homework packet.  We talked about and went through these together, so your child should know what is expected of them.  Everything in the weekly packets will need to be completed and turned in on Friday mornings.  For the first couple of weeks, this will be your child's only homework responsibility, but as the year continues they may have occasional homework in addition to the packet. It will seem different at first, but after a few weeks I know they will adjust to the new expectations.  If you have any questions, please send me an email.

A couple of reminders:

• We have library checkout on Wednesdays
• P.E. is on B days
• Please bring a snack and a water bottle daily

4th Grade News

April and May are very busy months in 4th grade!  Be sure to mark your calendars for our upcoming field trips and activities.  April 18-22nd will be RBE's Outdoor Classroom Week.  We will do activities throughout the week to learn how to help improve our school and how we can be involved in our outdoor classroom.  April 22nd is our next spirit day, Be Green.  Students can dress up to show their love for our planet!  Be creative!

Reading Week Fun!

Teachers Dress Up for Book Character Day!

We had such a great Reading Week at RBE!  It was fun seeing teachers and kids dress up for the themed days.  The kids loved hearing books read by our Mystery Readers all week.  Thanks to our volunteer mystery readers!