Popcorn/reading time

As the Friday afternoon crept by, we had a little treat; popcorn at reading time!  As it just so happens we (5th graders ) get our treat last, we had it at the end of the day. It was a lot of fun!

Thanks for reading!

Ben

Personal Narratives

Today, we talked about personal narratives. Mrs. Bryhan showed us one about her trip to Puerto Rico and we found out that it wasn't up to 5th grade standards. We helped her fix it to narrow it down into a small moment. It turned out much better than when she started. We told her to talk about less but also to describe more about that moment. Then we took one of our own narratives and did the same thing by either making a new draft or narrowing it down to include less by talking more about the part we wanted to focus on.

Thanks for reading about our day!

Ben

Fractions!

Whew! It has been a busy couple of weeks! With everything that is new in math, it has been a learning experience for all of us. One strategy that we really did well with was halving and doubling. Ask your child what that means :) We just started a new module (or unit) today that kicked off with some good ol' fractions! 

A note about Dreambox came home this week. Dreambox is something special for your child and truly allows us to see where they are with the math concepts. I know this next part may be difficult, but please refrain from helping your child on Dreambox! This is something we want them to own and take pride in as their own work, and it will only do them a disservice if they don't truly understand a concept. The great thing about Dreambox is, if they are struggling, it will scaffold the support they need based on how they answer questions. That's right, Dreambox analyzes exactly how a child answers a question and the strategies they use along the way. Once again, feel free to WATCH your child on Dreambox, but do not help them!

They are learning so much at this time and we truly thank you for all of your support!

~ Mrs. Lengyel

Happy Friday!

We made it, week 2 complete! Everyone is really loving our read aloud book, Among the Hidden. Whenever we have to close the book, there are a lot of groans of disappointment.

A couple notes for parents and guardians. Don't forget to send your brag letters back to school! We have truly enjoyed reading each and every letter to learn a little more about your child through your eyes. Also, the Mr. Z fundraiser has begun! Look for the packets being sent home today. There was a little surprise for the kids in the envelope as well. See if you can tell what is different about our class in the picture below...

Wonderful Writers and a Cool Down!

We have a room FULL of wonderful writers!!! We have been amazed at how dedicated and engaged everyone has been during writing time. Often it is difficult to write, and writing is usually a "least favorite" subject. However, I do have to say that I truly love how much effort is being put towards writing.

Here we are, hard at work!

We have also been inspired by the amount of writing our students generate in one sitting. Our writing motto is "The only mistake you can make is to NOT write!" and we have taken that motto to heart. By then end of 5th grade, a student should be able to write 2 full, single lined pages in one half hour sitting. Some were doing this (the 4th and 5th days of school) in a 15-20 minute sitting. Keep up the great work, writers!

On a slightly different note, I sure am looking forward to this cooler weather! It has been a little toasty the past few days and it will be a great change to get the cool breeze wafting through the classroom.

~ Mrs. Lengyel

First Days!

We successfully made it through our first few days of school! It has been so much fun to get to know everyone in our class, and to see all of the different, shining personalities. I know this is going to be a great year! 

We've already been working on our netbooks and creating a Top Ten Things From Summer presentation.

We also have been getting back into the reading routine, and they look forward to reading their books during independent reading time. It's comforting to see a room full of readers, and all excited to dive in and read!!!

Today we decorated our writing notebooks. Thank you, parents and guardians for sending supplies to school with your child! They turned out great and everyone is very proud of their notebooks!

I can't believe tomorrow is already Friday! This week has gone so quickly and I am looking forward to the rest of the year! 

~ Mrs. Lengyel