Each week there are students in charge of a current event. I have sent home a reminder with these students but I will also list them here.
Monday - Simon
Tuesday - Trey
Wednesday - Zehra
Thursday - Pablo
Friday - Norika
Here are some student friendly sites for Current Events.
http://gimundo.com/news/
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/pages/search.asp?catid=7
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/wr/article/0,27972,1888376,00.html
We have been busy preparing for our Colony Day this coming Thursday. It will start after recess about 11:30am and the colony luncheon will start about 12:20. There will be presentations by groups of students and a town meeting in which students will be given a problem and have to solve it. Should be an interesting event - hope you can all make it.
Students can bring a costume to school on Thursday for Colony Day. We have looked at pictures of what the possibilities are and gone over what they need to look for at home. Basically clothes back then were fairly bulky and loose (fathers shirts) and most wore socks to cover pant legs. Vests or jackets usually rounded off the outfit. Some of the trades people had aprons to protect their clothing. Shoes were usually black and similar to what today we call dress shoes. Women wore long dresses, again, usually bulky. Any hep you can give your student will be greatly appreciated I am sure.
For the luncheon I have asked all families to supply the following;Students with last names A-J please supply a main course dish for 15 people. (we do have a microwave).
Students with last names K-N please supply a dessert dish for 15 people.
Students with last names O-V please supply drinks (no sodas) for 12 people (tetra-paks or cans please).
Please let me know if you have any questions about this or don't know what to send. We are not trying to make this authentic other than a time for the colonists to have a luncheon together after completing their presentations. Mostly I would like to ask parents to send food that will be enjoyed by Grade 5 students - I think you know what this means. Parents are welcome to stay and join the luncheon if they wish. We will open the grassed area if the weather holds out for us.
The students have now completed their first writing piece and it is up on their portfolio websites. I have made getting to all the students electronic work easier by putting links to it on a single page. Here is the page and you might want to bookmark it for easy access throughout the year.
http://sites.google.com/site/dawcomgrade5/studentblogsandsites-1
Our next writing unit will not start until later in the week and will be Realistic Fiction. I expect it to take a month or so.
We have also completed out first reading unit and now move on to learning about inference and synthesis. This unit will also see the start of Reading Responses which will be posted on their reading blogs. Students will have about two responses due per month. I have some lessons to go over first so students will start with the next day 6 rotation which starts on Friday.
I am concerned about the reading at home that students are doing. This takes two forms. First is the time being spent on reading. It should be 20-30 uninterrupted minutes per evening for at least 6 days a week. Presently this is only happening in about 15% of my students. Secondly, students are to be reading story (fiction) books as this is what we are learning about in class. When we move to non-fiction later in the year I will then give them the chance to read these books. All students have a library day once in the six day rotation but they can also go to the library at lunch and recess to return and sign out books. This means there is no reason for students to not have books to read at home. These books should also be at their reading level. Please help by finding the time for students to read every day and record their progress.
We will start the next math unit on Geometry later in the week when we wrap up our current unit. The family letter was attached to the weekly email I sent home on Sunday. Delete the one I sent about a month ago and replace it with this one. You can also get it on our school website under grade 5.
As always, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Harold Daw
