Week of 9/29/09 - 10/2/09

Where did the week go? In the blink of an eye, Friday is here and I am writing my blog. Next week also starts the fabulous month of October. Amazing... Please remember that Tuesday is the last day to turn in magazine orders. They are a great value and help the school tremendously. It is entirely a win-win situation!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 4, Prefixes and roots. Test Friday.

Reading: We have started the novel The Kid in the Red Jacket this week and have met Howard Jeeter. He is a sad boy because he must move from Arizona to Massachusetts just because his dad has a new job. They never even consulted with him! This week, Howard will meet Molly, who is a royal pain, and refers to him as Howard “Jeeper.”

Language Arts: I was very pleased with the results of the Chapter 1 test in English. I can tell there was a lot of studying going on! This week we are skipping ahead to Chapter 5, Capitalization and Punctuation. The students must bring in a picture this week in order to write a pyramid poem. I will explain this on Monday. Furthermore, we will study proper nouns and adjectives.

Social Studies: We continue to read about and discuss Jamestown. The students will be making a Jamestown study guide before we begin Lesson 3, “The First Colonies.”

Science: Our test on the very first Science chapter will be on Wednesday. We will play a review game on Tuesday. I then plan on starting Chapter 5 on energy and ecosystems.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
I am very pleased with the progress the students have made on their mad minutes (2 minutes, actually!) Many have already met their goal. It is so important that they know their multiplication facts, especially since we are doing multi-digit multiplication. I have included some websites your child might want to visit to practice their facts using e-flash cards. There will be a quiz on Lessons 4-6 on Tuesday followed by a Chapter 2 test on Thursday. The students may use their notes on Tuesday, but not on Thursday.

http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html

http://www.aplusmath.com/flashcards/multiplication.html

http://www.primarygames.com/flashcards/multiplication/multiplyflash.htm

Important Notes:
9/29 – Last day to turn in magazine orders
10/12 – Columbus Day (no school)

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/21/09 - 9/25/09

I'm happy to report we had a very busy and productive week. The students took their first social studies test (and lived to tell about it) and a science quiz. Please make sure to check your child's grades from time to time and email me if you ever have a question or concern.

Your child will be bringing home a flyer from one of our librarians, Mrs. Walsh-Rock, about a program for 5th graders called "Lunch in the Library." I encourage my students to give it a try!

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 4, Prefixes and base words. Test Friday.

Reading: After being introduced to summarizing, we began reading Elena from our textbooks. It takes place in the early 1900's in Mexico during the revolution. We will finish the story early this week and complete an assessment on Wednesday. On Thursday, we will start our novel The Kid in the Red Jacket. Summaries will be written for each chapter. The students must remember to include only the most important parts of the chapter and not the details.

Language Arts: We finished Chapter 1”The Sentence” and will review Monday-Wednesday. Our test will be on Thursday. A “How to Study” sheet will go home on Tuesday.

Social Studies: We will begin Chapter 5 this week “The Struggle to Found Colonies.” We will try to solve the mystery of Roanoke. After we solve that mystery, we will begin the study of Jamestown.

Science: We will read and take notes on Lesson 3 which discusses the scientific method. I have a test on the three lessons planned for Wednesday, September 30.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
We've begun our chapter on multiplication and each day we are taking timed tests on “mixes.” The students have each set their own personal goals. Some wish to complete the whole sheet in the required 2 minutes. Others hope to get half of it completed. We'll see how they do... I am giving a quiz on Lessons 1-3 on Tuesday. We will then continue a few more lessons with another quiz planned for Tuesday the 29th on Lessons 4-6. A test will follow on Thursday, October 1.

Important Notes:
9/22 – Early Dismissal
9/22 – Magazine turn-in day
9/24 – Magazine turn-in day

9/29 - Magazine turn-in day
10/12 – Columbus Day (no school)

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/14/09 - 9/18/09

I always feel like the four day weeks are jam packed and very busy. Next week will be a nice, normal five day week. I hope your child is feeling comfortable here in fifth grade. If you have concerns or questions, please let me know.

Please make sure you check your child's backpack for the packet regarding our magazine drive. This is a huge fundraiser for our district and we all appreciate your support.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 3, Singular possessive nouns. Test Friday.

Reading: This week will end our unit on predicting. Can you predict what skill we will study next? If you guessed summarizing, you are correct! The beginning of the week will be devoted to finding out how much we really know about the story The Fear Place. We will also work in our ISAT workbooks and have some fun with synonyms and antonyms. At the end of the week, we will begin to read Elena from our reading text books. After that short story, I will introduce a new novel to the class which goes along with summarizing, but more on that next week!

Language Arts: We continue Chapter 1 in our English textbooks entitled "What is a Sentence?" We have met Mr. Morton, and will soon learn about a place called Conjunction Junction. After we finish the chapter (this coming week,) there will be several days of review before our Unit 1 test on 9/24.

Social Studies: I've moved back the Chapter 4 test to Friday, 9/18. This will give us an extra review day on Thursday. Please be on the look out for a “How to Study” sheet. Ask your child about it!

Science: In your child's binders today will be directions for the on-line textbook. I demonstrated using it and it will come in handy for Tuesday's open note quiz on science tools and safety in the science lab.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:

After taking a pretest Monday on Chapter 1, the students will be taking the Chapter 1 test on Tuesday. We will start Chapter 2 on Thursday. Multiplication, here we come!! If your child is rusty on his or her math facts, it may be a good idea to get out the flash cards and practice. There are also great games they can play on-line.

Important Notes:

9/11 - Magazine drive begins
9/22 – Early Dismissal
10/12 – Columbus Day (no school)

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza

Week of 9/7/09 - 9/11/09

We have completed our first full week of academics in fifth grade. I feel it has been a successful week! Furthermore, it was wonderful seeing so many parents at curriculum night yesterday; we have very supportive parents here in District 66. I understand there were some conflicts at that time for some families, so I've sent home with your child an information sheet that needs to be filled out and returned to school. It is either pink for my homeroom students or blue for my math students. I have received many already, so disregard this message if you've returned yours already :)

Your child may have informed you that we have a hand sanitizer in our classroom now. The children know that they only need one pump and that there are appropriate times to use it.

Coming up this week:

Spelling: Lesson 2, Suffix -able. Test Friday.

Reading: We will continue the skills of predicting and previewing this week with the story The Fear Place. Other activities involving predicting will also be done, as will activities involving antonyms and synonyms. The students are using their predicting skills frequently throughout the day, particularly when I read Marley and Me during snack time!

Language Arts: We continue Chapter 1 in our English textbooks entitled "What is a Sentence?" We have met Mr. Morton and have sung along to his song. We will study simple subjects and predicates this week. Please remind your child to bring in a snapshot-sized picture from a magazine or your photo album to use for an activity on Tuesday.

Social Studies: Lesson 2 continues with the conquering of the Aztecs by the conquistadors in what is now Mexico. The students made their own version of the Aztec masks. We will start Lesson 3 at the end of the week, “Life in New Spain.” I am planning a Chapter 4 social studies test for 9/17.

Science: We will continue reading our chapter, “Getting Ready for Science.” We are learning about the various tools scientists use for their experiments. We will get the tool kits out next week for an experiment.

Mrs. Klacza's Math Class:
Another open book and notes quiz will occur on Tuesday. I apologize for letting it land on the day after the long weekend, but we discussed it in class and I gave them the option of pushing it off to Wednesday, but still working ahead on the next lesson, and they chose to "get it over with" on Tuesday if they could use their notes. There are only 2 more lessons to go in Chapter 1 and they involve adding and subtracting of whole numbers and problem solving. After reviewing on Friday and Monday, I have a Chapter 1 test planned for 9/15.

Important Notes:
9/7 – Labor Day – no school
9/11 – Magazine drive kick-off
9/11 – Back to school Bingo 7:00-8:30
9/22 – Early Dismissal

Have a great weekend! Mrs. Klacza