Short Weeks and High Expectations

Although we have had 2 short weeks in a row, I must say that I am very proud of how this class has stepped up to the plate. In only 8 school days, we have completed 2 spelling tests, 2 Harcourt test, and a Math test. Not only that, but we have gotten through virtually the same amount of instruction as we do on a normal week. I have some high expectations for this class, and I definitely showed that the past two weeks. There is no doubt that the students met those expectations. Great job students and parents!

This week in reading, we completed “Elena” in the Harcourt anthology. Next week we will move onto “We’ll Never Forget You Roberto Clemente.” As a class, we have been doing very well on the tests, and I expect the same results for the rest of the year. Each student should be reading the story a minimum of 3 times a week: twice in class (Tues. & Thur.), and once at home (Thur. night). Not only that, but there are focus strategies with each story that the students will be practicing. We have been taking care of most of that in the classroom, but once in awhile there might be some homework for a strategy. Each week, the class has also worked on completing an “extended response” for each story. The ISAT data shows that we need to improve in extended response, so that will be a major focus for much of this year. Thus far, the students are really doing well working together on an extended response, but soon they will have to do them alone! As for the read aloud, we finished Roald Dahl’s “The Twits,” and the students loved it. I have already noticed a number of students reading some Roald Dahl’s other titles. Great job students and let me suggest a few other titles: “Matilda,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator,” “Witches,” “Georges Marvelous Medicine,” “Boy: Tales of Childhood,” and “The Enormous Crocodile.” Those are some of his more popular, and grade-appropriate titles that you would probably enjoy. We started a new read aloud, and it is one of my favorite books of all-time. It is Lois Lowry’s “The Giver.” Although it is a little higher level, and starts off a little slow, when the book gets going I know the students will love it. We have been doing great in reading, and we will continue to progress at the same pace throughout the rest of the year.

In writing, we are all done with the introduction unit! We will start working in our writers’ workshop this week on a piece that is connected to what we are learning in Social Studies. We have been covering exploration and Christopher Columbus, so we will be writing a piece on the “Parrot’s Point of View of Exploration.” It should make for interesting piece of writing, it links to Social Studies, and it will allow us to get some practice in the writing process. Students will begin to bring their journals home a few times a week and will be assigned to do some free writing on their own. This writing can come in the form of whatever they want. However, we are starting Cool Cat Press soon, so I would encourage the students to start working on a piece they would like to eventually publish. We have been sharing some of the students’ work, and there are definitely some students out there who should be highly considering publishing some work with the Cool Cat Press. The students have done a great job in the first unit of writing and now we will begin to transition into the next one.

All other areas, Math, Spelling, etc. are going great and we will continue to move . along as planned. However, I did want to make note of a few things. One, the parent volunteer schedule is being coordinated by Mrs. Archey. She has already been in contact with a number of you to see how much you would like to be in the classroom. Mrs. Archey will serve as a relative liaison between all the volunteers and myself. She should be able to answer most of your scheduling questions. However, I want to make it clear that if you can not make it to your scheduled time, it is not a huge deal. I am lucky to have such willing parents, and it really is a privilege. Therefore, don’t feel like coming in needs to be an obligation for you. If you can’t make it in, we will be just fine. Another thing I wanted to mention is that pictures are on Monday! Please come in something suitable for pictured day, and don’t forget your order forms. Lastly, I would like to start posting some “Celebrations” on my blog. These will consist of a variety of accomplishment the students in 5J have achieved. They could be anywhere from getting an A on a test to winning a football game. There is always so much to celebrate, and I’m sure I won’t get to everyone and everything. However, if you feel you (or your student) have something worth “celebrating,” let me know and I will post it.

Here are the “Celebrations” for this week:
-Hannah Ferguson’s B-day was on Tuesday
-Cooper Sargent had a great football game last weekend
-Avarie Wilson will be in Florida this weekend
-Nathan Cardona completed a 600+ page book last week
-100% on Spelling Test: Aimen, Megan, Kara, Hannah C. & F, Dominic, Gabby, Lanie, Julia, Landon, Nick, Kevin, Matthew R., Brenna, & Ally
-Mr. Johnson won wk. 1 of Fantasy football 106-104