I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend! We have been hard at work this last month as we began the second semester!!
In writing, we are continuing to work in our "Research-Based Argument Essay" unit. In this unit, the students are researching a topic of importance to them and using research they find to write a strong argument. We have learned that an argument contains a claim, evidence, and reasoning that explains the relevance of the evidence. We have learned the importance of note-taking, how to cite sources, and how to organize all of the research we found in our essay. We are going to continue this unit throughout the next few weeks.
We have completed our work in social studies this year, and we are in the midst of our first science unit, "Motion, Force, and Models." We are working on this unit in our own classroom before we go into the science lab in the next few weeks. In this unit, the students are learning how to conduct controlled experiments. We have conducted controlled experiments with pendulums, and we are now going to move into experiments involving balls and ramps. The students are really enjoying their working in this unit!!
You may have heard about our current read aloud book, Sophia's War, by Avi. This read aloud is a part of our current reading unit, "Historical Fiction Book Clubs." The students are absolutely loving this story about a young girl and her family during the time of the American Revolution in New York City. We are using this story to help us better learn different tools we can use to navigate through historical fiction books and analyze them on a deeper level. We have closely examined theme, symbolism, and why authors make certain choices when writing their stories. We are continuing to learn to share our thoughts not only in book clubs but also in our writing. We have continued to write entries about our reading by making a claim, or a thought we had about our reading, supporting the claim with evidence, and then explaining our reasoning. We will continue this work throughout the remainder of the school year.
In math, all classes have continued work in Chapter 9: "Multiplication and Division of Decimals," and students will then continue into Chapter 10: "Percent." In addition to work in these units, please continue to encourage your child to go on XtraMath, xtramath.org. This is a website students can use to practice their basic facts in all operations. The students are expected to spend about 10 minutes each night on this program. It is similar to the FASTT Math program we had used for many years. The students received all information necessary to run the program at home at the beginning of the year, and they have their student pin numbers to access the program. If there should be any questions regarding XtraMath, please let me know!!
It is hard to believe that we are nearing Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences! I have included a link for Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences in this blog as well below. Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held starting Monday, March 14, 2016 through Thursday, March 17, 2016. Conferences will be held before school and after school Monday, March 14, 2016 through Thursday, March 17, 2016. On Thursday, March 17, 2016, there will be an early release from school for students at 1:15 p.m. Conferences will begin that day at 1:30 p.m. There will be no school on Friday, March 18, 2016, and neither students or teachers will be in attendance this day. Spring conferences are scheduled for a thirty-minute time period. Students will also be asked to attend. For the first part of the conference, students will lead the conference and reflect on their growth so far this year. Please use the link I have included to select a time from the times I have offered for your conference. However, please let me know if another time would be best, and I would be happy to set a time that would work better with your schedule. I look forward to meeting with all of you in March!
Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences Sign Up:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0848a9ab22a6ff2-mscrowleys
Lastly, I do have a request in regards to our end of the year Promotion celebration. At our Fifth Grade Promotion, held the last day of school, there is a wonderful slide show at the ceremony that celebrates the students' growth. This slide show will include baby pictures of the students. We are lucky enough to have Mr. Mark Lynn, Captain's Technology Specialist, put this slide show together for students and their families. We are asking all families to send in a baby picture of your child for this slide show. Please send a baby picture to Mr. Lynn no later than May 1, 2016. You may submit pictures in two ways. First, you may attach a picture to an email to Mr. Lynn. His email address is marklynn@claytonschools.net. This is the preferred method of picture delivery. Secondly, you may drop a picture to Ms. Patti at the front desk. Please place it in an envelope with Mr. Lynn's name on the front and your child's name so that we can return the picture to you. No matter how you deliver the picture, please put your child's name on it. Thank you so much for your help, and please contact us with any questions you may have!!
Thank you all so much, and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!! I look forward to seeing you all at Black History Night at the Clayton High School Auditorium this Thursday, February 18, 2016. It will begin at 7:00 p.m. It will be an amazing night!!
Please continue to let me know if I can answer any questions or be of any support!!
