WHAT'S NEW
Holy guacamole, how are we already in trimester three!? This year has been flying by!
Here's what you can expect in the final, few months....
We have just finished up our research papers and I am thrilled with how well they have come out! Our students stepped up to the plate and took on this intimidating assignment fearlessly. I am truly impressed with their enthusiasm and commitment with these research assignments. Their papers are well-written and informative (I learned so much!!) I'm looking forward to our Curriculum Fair Night on Thursday, April 5th when students will present their lessons learned from this experience.
Our next writing assignment is one of my favorites. Students will be writing business letters to corporations of their choice, with either a compliment or complaint. This assignment is fun because most companies/corporations/businesses write back to students and it is so fun to see the class's excitement each time we get mail. This teaches students how to write in a different format and how to use formal voice to express their opinion.
Another fun unit we will be doing this spring is on figurative language. These are things like idioms, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, alliteration, etc. We will be teaming up with science to write some poetry on biomes and nature during this unit. We will have to take some trips out to our school's garden and greenhouse with Mrs. Coleman!
As always, grammar & vocabulary will be continuing their usual course.
Here's to a strong finish!
As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
-Ms. Grand
[email protected]
Here's what you can expect in the final, few months....
We have just finished up our research papers and I am thrilled with how well they have come out! Our students stepped up to the plate and took on this intimidating assignment fearlessly. I am truly impressed with their enthusiasm and commitment with these research assignments. Their papers are well-written and informative (I learned so much!!) I'm looking forward to our Curriculum Fair Night on Thursday, April 5th when students will present their lessons learned from this experience.
Our next writing assignment is one of my favorites. Students will be writing business letters to corporations of their choice, with either a compliment or complaint. This assignment is fun because most companies/corporations/businesses write back to students and it is so fun to see the class's excitement each time we get mail. This teaches students how to write in a different format and how to use formal voice to express their opinion.
Another fun unit we will be doing this spring is on figurative language. These are things like idioms, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, alliteration, etc. We will be teaming up with science to write some poetry on biomes and nature during this unit. We will have to take some trips out to our school's garden and greenhouse with Mrs. Coleman!
As always, grammar & vocabulary will be continuing their usual course.
Here's to a strong finish!
As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
-Ms. Grand
[email protected]
About writer's notebooksFor my class, I asked each student to come to class prepared with a composition notebook. These are being used as Writer's Notebooks where we do our "Do Nows" a.k.a. quick writing prompts, free writes, daily edits, & some rough drafts for projects/assignments. These are checked once or twice a month and are given a participation grade (one of our Habits Of Work scores- H.O.W.s) These are always so fun to read because students are allowed to use them for creative writing and to try new techniques & styles that they may have typically shied away from! These notebooks stay in my classroom unless given teacher permission to bring home. |
Binders Binders are organized in three sections: Notes, Practice, & Quizzes/Test. There will be occasional binder checks that count as a H.O.W. Score (Habits of Work) to ensure students are responsible & organized. This skill helps students be more successful in school both now and as they get older/more independent. Please allow for papers & work to stay in their binder as it will act as a portfolio for all of your student's hard work. |
VocabularyThis year, fifth graders will be working with our new vocabulary program that focuses on etymology (Greek & Latin roots). Students learn the definition of roots, prefixes, and suffixes which helps them decode harder, unknown words they may come across. Quizzes are every two weeks. |
OUR GOALLanguage arts makes us better communicators! |