Mrs. Anderle's Class - Class News 2018-2019

Mrs. Anderle's Class

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

4/23/2019

Happy last (almost) week of April! Fifth grade is as busy as ever...it's hard to believe that we only have a little over 30 days left of the school year!!!

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
In math last week students continued moving through Chapter 9. We practiced multiplying by tens, hundreds, and thousands, and learned how to divide decimals.

READING WORKSHOP:
Poetry continued last week in fifth grade! Students studied the structures and formats of various poems and practiced using context clues to define unknown words.

15 DAY CHALLENGE:
We're in the final stages of our 15 Day Challenge! Students have been busy researching, documenting, reflecting, and giving peer feedback during this Personalized Learning experience! We're all looking forward to sharing projects next week!

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our Pioneer exploration continued last week as we began to move along the Hacker Trail. Students faced frontier fates and their first trail decision, and also composed a diary entry to document their struggles and accomplishments.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
Chapter 9 will continue this week in fifth grade math. Students will practice dividing by tens, hundreds, and thousands, and estimate decimals.

READING WORKSHOP:
Poetry will continue this week, including a celebration of Poem in Your Pocket Day on Wednesday!

15 DAY CHALLENGE:
Our research will conclude this week and students will finalize their presentations.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our daily life and struggles will continue along the Hacker Trail this week!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Wednesday, 4/24: KL Going Skype @ 10am
Friday, 4/26: Robert Crown "Life Begins" (am)
Thursday, 5/2: Garibaldi's Fundraiser Day for Make-A-Wish

Monday, April 1, 2019

4/1/2019

Welcome back! Happy April! I hope you had a wonderful spring break with your families, and enjoyed a restful vacation. Due to our absence last week, this week’s ANDERLE ADVENTURES will only contain our highlights for the week. Look for a regular edition of the ANDERLE ADVENTURES next week!

**REMINDER** IAR Testing begins tomorrow (see schedule below). Students MUST have headphones for testing!

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
This week we will be taking a short hiatus from Math In Focus. Students will practice finding mean, median, and mode, and examine percents.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our next Schoolwide unit will begin this week, Poetry! Students will record what they notice about poetry and pay attention to the sounds of poetry.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
We will also take a short hiatus from Being a Writer beginning this week. Students will be working on a quick personalized learning project, The 15 Day Challenge.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our Pioneers simulation will begin this week as we choose Wagon Train Leaders, assume pioneer identities, and select wagon train supplies!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Tuesday, 4/2: IAR Test- ELA #1
Wednesday, 4/3: IAR Test- ELA #2
Thursday, 4/4: IAR Test- Math #1
Friday, 4/5: IAR Test- Math #2
Monday, 4/6: IAR Test- Math #3

Monday, March 11, 2019

3/11/2019

It's hard to believe that it's March already! Fifth grade activities are in full swing, as the busiest time of year has begun! In preparation for this week's Illinois Science Assessment (on Wednesday morning) please be sure your child has his or her headphones in class.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
Last week in math we wrapped up Chapter 6. Students practiced solving real world problems involving the area of triangles and rectangles. We reviewed the major concepts from the chapter on Wednesday, and took the final test on Thursday.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our Liberation of Gabriel King unit continued last week!. Much of our focus was on making inferences and finding evidence from the text to support our opinions. Students spent time investigating the importance of "integrity" through an in depth look at the relationship between Jimmy Carter and the White Citizens Council Additionally, students examined the vocabulary terms perseverance and oppression, and used text support to predict whether Mr. Evans said something kind or hurtful to Frita.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Last week our writers continued to examine nonfiction topics of interest. We focused on the environment and nature, and explored the format of various nonfiction texts. Students continued to have the freedom to explore topics that peeked their curiosity, and spent time with their writing partners to share ideas for their own, upcoming research project.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our study of Westward Expansion continued last week as we began to explore the Diverse People of the West.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
This week we will begin Chapter 8, Decimals.

READING WORKSHOP:
Sadly, our Liberation of Gabriel King unit will come to an end this week. Students will also begin to explore a nonfiction text that focuses on the Pioneers: The Children of the Wild West.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Our Expository Nonfiction writing unit will continue this week. Students will work with their writing partners to narrow down a topic, design research questions, and begin their formal research.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
This week we will continue to focus on the Diverse People of the West.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Wednesday, 3/13: Illinois Science Assessment (am)
Friday, 3/15: Report Cards!
Wednesday, 3/20: Remember the Titans permission slips due!
Spring Break Begins! (at 3:35)
Thursday, 3/21: Conferences 8:15am-7:45pm
Friday, 3/22: Conferences 8:15am-11:45am
Monday, 4/1: Classes Resume!

Monday, February 25, 2019

2/25/2019

Happy last week of February (crazy)! Just a reminder that we are taking club photos tomorrow morning, so we've asked all of the fifth graders to wear their 5th Grade T-shirts for the pic!

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
Last week in math we finished up our chapter on Algebra. Students learned how to evaluate expressions and solve equations using variables. We reviewed the major concepts from the unit and took our final test on Friday.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our whole class novel study/response to literature unit on The Liberation of Gabriel King began last week! Students are extremely enthusiastic about the story of Gabriel King and his best friend Frita Wilson. Already we’ve had many mature and higher-level discussions as we’ve explored the ideas of liberation, integration, and justification. Students examined point of view, idioms, and character perspectives. We even researched the Bicentennial to provide background knowledge on the setting of the story.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Our Expository Nonfiction writing unit began last week! Students explored nonfiction topics and generated ideas for question/answer books.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Last week, our Westward Expansion unit began as we explored Manifest Destiny and the many land acquisitions of the United States. Students worked in groups to examine the Louisiana Purchase, the expedition of Lewis and Clark, the Florida Acquisition, Texas Annexation, the Acquisition of Oregon Country, the Mexican Cession and the Gadsden Purchase. At the end of this week, each group will present its findings to the class.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
This week in math we will begin Chapter 6, Area. Students will practice finding the area of rectangles and triangles.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our whole class novel study of The Liberation of Gabriel King will continue this week!

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Writing this week will focus on exploring nonfiction nature topics.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Westward Expansion will continue this week as groups finalize and present their research!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Tuesday, 2/26: Club Photos (AM) WEAR 5th GRADE SHIRT
Wednesday, 2/27: Shrek Cast Announcement

Monday, February 11, 2019

2/11/2019

February just seems to be flying by! Thank you in advance to our Room Moms and volunteers for planning our Valentine's Day Party on Thursday! We're all looking forward to it!

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
Last week in math we finished up Chapter 4. Students practiced solving real world multiplication and division fraction problems. We also reviewed the major concepts from the chapter, and took our final test on Thursday and Friday (it was a long one!).

READING WORKSHOP:
Our literacy time last week focused on the nonfiction text, Freedom Walkers. Throughout the week, students examined new vocabulary terms and practiced using various comprehension strategies to better understand this complex text. As we continued to explore this story behind the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, students practiced questioning as they learned about the many boycott heroes. We also identified the main idea of the text and used supporting details to support our claim. Finally, students practiced summarizing using the main idea and details.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Last week's writing time focused on revising and editing our fiction stories. Students examined point of view and conferred with writing partners, before beginning to type their final drafts.

SCIENCE:
Our exploration of matter continued last week as students examined the physical and chemical changes of matter.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
We will begin Chapter 5, Algebra, this week!

READING WORKSHOP:
This week we will begin a whole class novel study on The Liberation of Gabriel King!

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Our writers will be publishing their fiction drafts this week!

SCIENCE:
We will continue our Matter unit this week.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Thursday, 2/14: VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY (2:30pm)
Friday, 2/15: Robert Crown-Linda and Michael (pm)
Monday, 2/18: No School (Presidents' Day)
Tuesday, 2/19: Monday Schedule

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

1/29/2019

Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed the snow day yesterday and are staying warm today! With all the anticipation building around this week's attendance (or non-attendance??), you would think it's the last week of school!

Please note this blurb sent in an email last Friday regarding Shrek auditions:
If a day of auditions is missed, that day’s audition will be bumped to the following audition day. For example, if Monday’s audition is missed, it will move to Wednesday...therefore moving Wednesday’s scheduled audition to Thursday, and so on.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
Last week in math we continued moving through Chapter 4. Students practiced solving real world fraction multiplication problems. We also learned how to divide fractions by whole numbers.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our Freedom Walkers book study continued last week! Students examined the influence of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We also learned about the many boycott heroes and why they were proud to be arrested. Our nonfiction comprehension strategies included determining importance and asking/answering questions.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Being a Writer last week focused on revising our fiction drafts! Students learned how to revise closing sentences, and how to revise to develop their setting.

SCIENCE:
Our Matter unit continued last week during science! Students worked in "matter" groups to investigate changes in their assigned matter state. We also examined demonstrations to show changes in states of matter, and Students incorporated these investigations into their "matter" presentations.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
We are planning (hoping) to wrap up Chapter 4 this week by completing our final lesson on fractions and bar modeling.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our Freedom Walkers study will continue this week as we examine the walk to victory.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Writers this week will continue working on their fiction drafts. We will focus on creating a second draft to include our revisions.

SCIENCE:
Our Matter Investigation will continue this week as we explore changes in states of matter.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Friday, 2/1 Shrek Audition: Gingerbread Man
(Please see above email regarding the Shrek auditions schedule)

Monday, January 14, 2019

1/14/2019

Happy New Year! We had a great week back and are ready for a busy second half of the school year!

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
In math last week we began Chapter 4: Multiplying and Dividing Fractions. Students learned how to multiply proper fractions, and practiced solving real world fraction multiplication problems.

READING:
Our Nonfiction reading unit came to an end last week with the last of our mini-lessons. We focused on the chronological structure of nonfiction text, and learned how to use text features and structures to better comprehend what we read. Students also examined vocabulary and used context clues and inferences to define unknown words within the text. Finally, students compared the main ideas of multiple texts involving birds of prey.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Our Fiction writing unit continued last week! Students reviewed character, setting, and plot and practiced incorporating these components into their fiction work.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our Branches of Government/Bill of Rights unit came to an end last week! Students reviewed many of the first amendments, and put their knowledge to the test while playing an interactive game as an attorney at a law firm!

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
We will continue moving through Chapter 4 this week. Students will multiply improper fractions and mixed numbers, and continue to solve real world multiplication problems.

READING:
This week we will begin an exploration of the nonfiction text, Freedom Walkers. Students will practice using various comprehension strategies and explore new vocabulary terms. This week we will focus on visualizing, comparing and contrasting, and understanding pictures and captions.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Our Fiction unit will continue this week as students focus on revising their drafts.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, 1/21: No School (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
Tuesday, 1/22: Monday Schedule

Monday, December 17, 2018

12/17/2018

Can you believe it's the final school week of 2018??? Wishing each of you and your families a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic New Year! See you all in 2019!

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
In math last week we finished up Chapter 3. Students reviewed adding and subtracting mixed numbers, and solved real world fraction problems.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our study of nonfiction continued last week. Workshop topics included: determining author's purpose, identifying main idea, and monitoring comprehension as we read.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Last week in writing we began our next unit of study, Fiction! Students examined imaginary vs. real events when writing fiction. We also experimented with using messy situations to develop characters and plot. Finally, students examined "what if" questions to further explore fiction writing.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our study of the Constitution and Bill of Rights continued last week, as students learned all about the First Amendment.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
We will finish up Chapter 3 with a final test tomorrow.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our study of nonfiction will continue. This week we'll focus on navigating nonfiction text, and text structures.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Fiction writing will continue this week. Students will begin developing characters, plot, and setting.

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our study of the Constitution and Bill of Rights will continue this week as students examine several additional amendments.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Tuesday, 12/18: Unit 3 Math Test (Anderle)
Wednesday, 12/19: FIELD TRIP TO THE COURTHOUSE (9:15-12:15)
Friday, 12/21: Pajama Day! ELF (pm)
Monday, 1/7: Classes Resume

Monday, December 3, 2018

12/3/2018

Happy December! It's hard to believe that the final weeks of the calendar year are here! Our days are super busy with field trips, author visits, concerts, and even MAP Testing!

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
We continued moving through Chapter 3 last week in math. Students examined fractions as division expressions, and learned how to convert fractions into decimals.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our nonfiction unit of study began last week! Our workshop topics included: Determining Types of Nonfiction Texts, The Look of Nonfiction Text, and Nonfiction Text Features.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Last week our writers moved through the publication process with their personal narratives. Students self-assessed and met with peers for feedback. We also proofread our drafts for correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Our final step of the process will happen tomorrow at our second Gallery Walk!

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
We moved back into Social Science last week as we began our unit on The Constitution and Government. We kicked off the week with an examination of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitutional Convention. Later we formed groups to research the people, responsibilities, and powers of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of Government. Students were excited to share their presentations this afternoon!

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
We will continue moving through Chapter 3. Students will practice adding and subtracting mixed numbers.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our nonfiction study will continue this week. Our topics include: How We Read Nonfiction (asking questions), Unlocking Unfamiliar Vocabulary, Determining the Author's Purpose, and Identifying the Main Idea.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
We will begin our next writing unit, Fiction!

SOCIAL STUDIES:
We're putting our study of the Branches of Government into effect this week with a visit from Representative Jan Schakowsky tomorrow! We'll also continue to examine the balance of power between the branches.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Tuesday, 12/4: 5th GRADE SHIRT DAY
Representative Schakowsky (am)
Wednesday, 12/5: READING MAP TEST @ 9:15
Friday, 12/7: Robert Crown, The Science Behind Drugs, (am)

Monday, November 26, 2018

11/16/2018

Welcome back and Happy (almost) December! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families. Due to last week's absence, this week's Anderle Adventures post will only contain highlights for the week ahead. Look for a regular edition of the Anderle Adventures next week! :)

THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
We will continue moving through Chapter 3. Students will examine mixed numbers and division expressions.

READING WORKSHOP:
Our nonfiction unit will begin! This week's workshop topics include: types of nonfiction texts, the look of reference nonfiction, and the structures and features of nonfiction.

WRITERS' WORKSHOP::
This week we will finish up our Personal Narrative unit. Students will spend time proofreading, conferring, and publishing. We will also hold our second Gallery Walk on Friday!

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our study of the Constitution and Bill of Rights will begin this week! Students will examine the Articles of Confederation, Constitutional Convention, and Branches of Government.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, 11/27: Individual Math Contest Practice (Lunch)
Thursday, 11/28: Team Math Contest Practice (Lunch)