We had a great week back after our extra long weekend! Our class is loving our study of the American Revolution, and are already enjoying being my royal subjects! :)
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
Math last week continued to focus on Unit 3, Geometry Explorations and the American Tour. Students explored and classified triangles, and examined vertical and adjacent angles. We also investigated and sorted polygons by their properties, and determined which polygons create regular tessellations.
READING WORKSHOP:
Last week during Reading Workshop we completed our final mini-lessons for our first unit of study! Students learned that readers of poetry build their understanding by using a variety of strategies for inferring. We conducted a close reading of a poem to determine what the poet was really saying. Students also learned that readers of nonfiction have an understanding of the features and structures of nonfiction text. We determined the main idea of a text by using our knowledge of the features and structures of nonfiction. Finally, students reflected on themselves as readers and set goals for their future reading work!
WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Our WEX focus for the week was creating our personal narrative essays. Students were given the opportunity to work on these writing pieces using a laptop, which they all enjoyed! We chose and developed moments for the essay, and revised our paragraphs to include showing details.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Wow, our study of the American Revolution is off to an amazing start! We began the week by documenting our prior knowledge of the Revolutionary War and determining what we want to learn about this topic. As you can imagine, there was quite a range of knowledge, but the enthusiasm for studying the American Revolution was consistent across the board! As a class, we briefly sequenced the war into three categories: before the war (the causes that brought about the tension in the colonies), during the war (the two armies, leaders, key battles, division of Patriots/Loyalists/Neutralists, declaring independence), and the end of the war (war allies, treaties, the aftermath). Next, students individually determined their topic of interest and developed essential questions to guide their research. We looked at the abundance of print resources available and students developed an action plan for their research.
I have to say, I found myself mesmerized many times throughout the week. Their excitement for learning was contagious! At times the classroom was utterly silent, with fifth graders completely engaged in their research...the only sounds to be heard were keyboards tapping and book pages turning. At other times students were literally running up to one another to share an interesting fact, show an important picture, or even lend a helping hand. Many students helped others by clarifying important information of certain events as well!
In addition to our research, students spent the week documenting their findings in their notes. We also reflected at the end of each research session; sometimes on paper and other times with our Tavern Groups.
Overall, this first week was undoubtedly a success, and I can't wait to see what this week brings!
THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
We will finish up Unit 3 in math this week. Students will examine angles of polygons and solve geometry template problems. We will review the major concepts from the unit on Wednesday and take our final test on Thursday.
READING WORKSHOP:
Our next unit of study, Nonfiction, will begin this week! Students will explore types of nonfiction (literary nonfiction, reference nonfiction, and biography) and text features. We will also examine the structure of nonfiction, along with how to read nonfiction and unlock unfamiliar vocabulary.
WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
During WEX we will continue to draft, edit, and revise our personal narratives. Students will experiment with lead sentences and formulate paragraphs. We will meet with writing partners to peer edit our work and celebrate our final drafts on Friday (hopefully) at our Author's Party (more details to follow later this week).
SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our American Revolution research will continue this week! We will also examine the rising tension in our own colonies as my royal subjects begin to experience their own taxes!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Thursday, 10/22....................................................Unit 3 Math Test (Anderle)
Friday, 10/23.........................................................Author's Party
Friday, 10/30.........................................................Halloween Celebrations (PM)
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
MATH:
Math last week continued to focus on Unit 3, Geometry Explorations and the American Tour. Students explored and classified triangles, and examined vertical and adjacent angles. We also investigated and sorted polygons by their properties, and determined which polygons create regular tessellations.
READING WORKSHOP:
Last week during Reading Workshop we completed our final mini-lessons for our first unit of study! Students learned that readers of poetry build their understanding by using a variety of strategies for inferring. We conducted a close reading of a poem to determine what the poet was really saying. Students also learned that readers of nonfiction have an understanding of the features and structures of nonfiction text. We determined the main idea of a text by using our knowledge of the features and structures of nonfiction. Finally, students reflected on themselves as readers and set goals for their future reading work!
WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
Our WEX focus for the week was creating our personal narrative essays. Students were given the opportunity to work on these writing pieces using a laptop, which they all enjoyed! We chose and developed moments for the essay, and revised our paragraphs to include showing details.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Wow, our study of the American Revolution is off to an amazing start! We began the week by documenting our prior knowledge of the Revolutionary War and determining what we want to learn about this topic. As you can imagine, there was quite a range of knowledge, but the enthusiasm for studying the American Revolution was consistent across the board! As a class, we briefly sequenced the war into three categories: before the war (the causes that brought about the tension in the colonies), during the war (the two armies, leaders, key battles, division of Patriots/Loyalists/Neutralists, declaring independence), and the end of the war (war allies, treaties, the aftermath). Next, students individually determined their topic of interest and developed essential questions to guide their research. We looked at the abundance of print resources available and students developed an action plan for their research.
I have to say, I found myself mesmerized many times throughout the week. Their excitement for learning was contagious! At times the classroom was utterly silent, with fifth graders completely engaged in their research...the only sounds to be heard were keyboards tapping and book pages turning. At other times students were literally running up to one another to share an interesting fact, show an important picture, or even lend a helping hand. Many students helped others by clarifying important information of certain events as well!
In addition to our research, students spent the week documenting their findings in their notes. We also reflected at the end of each research session; sometimes on paper and other times with our Tavern Groups.
Overall, this first week was undoubtedly a success, and I can't wait to see what this week brings!
THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
MATH:
We will finish up Unit 3 in math this week. Students will examine angles of polygons and solve geometry template problems. We will review the major concepts from the unit on Wednesday and take our final test on Thursday.
READING WORKSHOP:
Our next unit of study, Nonfiction, will begin this week! Students will explore types of nonfiction (literary nonfiction, reference nonfiction, and biography) and text features. We will also examine the structure of nonfiction, along with how to read nonfiction and unlock unfamiliar vocabulary.
WRITERS' WORKSHOP:
During WEX we will continue to draft, edit, and revise our personal narratives. Students will experiment with lead sentences and formulate paragraphs. We will meet with writing partners to peer edit our work and celebrate our final drafts on Friday (hopefully) at our Author's Party (more details to follow later this week).
SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Our American Revolution research will continue this week! We will also examine the rising tension in our own colonies as my royal subjects begin to experience their own taxes!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Thursday, 10/22....................................................Unit 3 Math Test (Anderle)
Friday, 10/23.........................................................Author's Party
Friday, 10/30.........................................................Halloween Celebrations (PM)
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