Monday, September 30, 2013

Dreams and Reflection in Week Seven

Here's a quick update on our past week in class.  But, first, take a look at a note from the office regarding dropping off students in the morning.


ATTENTION FAMILIES:  Please talk to your students about arriving to school in the morning. Unless special arrangements have been made to have students enrolled in KidZone, in a special program during the week like, Strings, coming to Fast Forward, meeting with a teacher, or going to the wifi room (again all must be prearranged), students are not allowed on the school property. There is no one outside to supervise students.  The doors open at 8:30 a.m. each day.  If your student eats breakfast, they may enter the building at 8:25 a.m.  Students should not wait on the steps out in front of the building or in the back by the playground.  If they are coming for a special arrangement, they are to come to the front of the building and ring the buzzer.  KidZone will know if they are approved to enter the building and where they are to go.  Thanks.  


DreamBox
Last week, our class started to work on a new program called DreamBox.  This program is similar to our ELA program called iReady.  DreamBox meets each student where they are at.  It has individualized instruction based off the level of each student in each sub area.  So, some students may have extra lessons in Comparing Fractions to Decimals, while other may have more practice with understanding Multiplication and Arrays.  We are able to monitor student progress and look to see their gains as their lessons progress.  Students are very excited about this new program, and we can't wait to see the results as we continue working within DreamBox.

Here is a sneak peak into our new program, DreamBox.  Have your student login and show you around, as well!

DreamBox Homepage
After the completion of a lesson, a student's screen will show their coins and badges earned.

A sample lesson; Comparing Fractions and Decimals
 


Class Meetings
During the past week, we spent some time having class meetings with each of our classes.  We met as a whole and also as our three individual classes, as well.  We used this time to reflect on our classroom setting and the pilot as a whole.  At the beginning of our meetings, as an entire 5th grade, we looked at what our classroom looks like as compared to a typical 5th grade classroom in our district. We shared which parts of our classroom is the same as any other classroom in our district, and which parts are strictly "pilot" based. 





Then, after our whole group meeting, our classes broke out and shared the things we really loved about the pilot so far, and the things that we wished were a little different. 

 




 



As teachers, we were so excited to have this time of reflection with our students.  Here are a few things that our students absolutely love about our current 5th grade classroom.
  • I love iReady, because I like having a lesson that is right on my level.
  • I like having the Chromebook, because all my tools I need I can access at home.
  • I love having the blended classroom, because I can get much more help with having more teachers in my classroom.
Here are a few thoughts from a few of our students sharing some possible suggestions for our classroom.
  • I wish we could have more iReady, and that it did not stop and start over when we close our lids.  It also freezes up sometimes.  I wish it didn't do that.
  • Sometimes I feel distracted in our classroom, but I know I was distracted in other classrooms too.
  • I'd like to try a different type of computer other than the Chromebook, like maybe a Mac.



Upcoming Events
October 1 - Special PTA Meeting @ 7pm- Informational Meeting regarding Levy
October 4 – Running Club @ 8am
October 4 - AD Tailgate @ 5pm
October 4 - 5th graders sing at William Jewel in the evening (for those that signed up)
October 19 - KC Kids Marathon
 

Our students had an amazing week 7! We feel so blessed to get to spend our days with these fabulous young scholars. Every day is filled with a brand new exciting adventure!

Thanks for all you do at home!  :)

~Mrs. Rhea

Friday, September 20, 2013

Sightings from Week Six

We are six weeks in and still going strong!  The students are really doing great work and are applying their skills learned in their everyday practice.  Here's a look into a few things this week in class.

Journey's
Students worked with a new "Anchor Text," or passage of reading, in their Journey's book this week. The reading this week had some new vocabulary words that were also tested at the end of the week's lessons.  Today's assessments in reading focused on understanding key ideas and details within this week's text, understanding the author's craft and structure of the text, integrating their knowledge and applying it, and grasping the new vocabulary words for the week.  The student's did a great job on their assessments.  They can show you how they did on them by logging on to "Think Central" and looking at their test scores.  Have them show you how they did this week.




Cartographer's Challenge
Student's have made great progress on their social studies Cartographer's Challenge project.  They will be making their finished products next week.  Here are a few rough drafts and some compass roses the students made this week.  We can't wait to see their finished projects next week!

A student's Cartographer's Challenge rough draft.

Audrey putting finishing touches on her rough draft.


Patrick working on his "Chicken" country.
Jesse coloring in his compass rose.

  
Great compass rose, Jalen!

Kindergarten Buddies
We've had a couple weeks off from Kindergarten Buddies due to our field trip and the early out last week.  We were so excited today to get a chance to work with them on their letter/sound recognition.  It's always a great time when we get together.  Here's a few pictures of our gathering today.








Independent Reading
Our classroom really encourages our students to have freedom of choice in their reading.   During our days, the students always have independent reading time when they get the chance to choose what to read for a certain amount of time.  We encourage this not only at school, but they should also be reading 20 minutes at home nightly.   We have some great readers in our classroom!








Upcoming Events
September 20th  AD PTA Movie Night @ 5:30pm
September 26 - Culver's Night  @ 5pm
September 27 – Running Club @ 8am
October 4 - AD Tailgate @ 5pm
October 4 – Running Club @ 8am
October 19 - KC Kids Marathon

 
It was another great week in 5th grade!  Thanks for all you do at home.
~Mrs. Rhea

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Top Five for Week 5


Looking back at the past week, here are five great features from this week’s happenings:

5.  Journey’s
This week the students were able to use our new digital ELA component, Journey’s.  Each week the students will have a reading piece that we will work with throughout the week.  Vocabulary will be embedded into the piece that we will work with, as well.  Have your student login to “Think Central” on their Chromebooks and show you their Journey’s reading piece for the week. 

4.  Cartographer’s Challenge
Students have been working hard on their new Social Studies project.  We are focusing on landforms.  Students are creating their own make believe country in their “Cartographer’s Challenge.”  Students are basing their country around a theme.  Ask your kiddo what their theme is for their country!  We have candy countries, NFL countries, and so much more!  Such creative minds in the 5th grade.  "

3.  Personal Narrative
Our writing focus right now is on a personal narrative.  Students are writing about a personal experience, which we will continue to go through the writing process with.  Throughout our writing curriculum, students will build their craft, grammar, vocabulary, and other writing skills. 

2.  Patricia Polacco
On Friday, our school had the amazing opportunity to be visited by one of our all time favorite authors, Patricia Polacco.  She shared such amazing stories and a beautiful message with our students.  What an honor to have her with us on Friday!












1.  September 11th Whole School Pledge
Flags were flying as our wonderful AD students stood outside our school early Wednesday morning with their right hand over their hearts proudly saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag flying at half staff in honor of those who lost their lives on September 11th, and those service men and women who keep our country safe.  It was such a beautiful tribute to our country. 





Upcoming Events
September 16th - End of PTA Fundraiser
September 18th - Fall Picture Day
September 20th - Running Club @ 8am
September 20th  AD PTA Movie Night @ 5:30pm
September 26 - Culver's Night  @ 5pm
September 27 – Running Club @ 8am
October 4 - AD Tailgate
October 4 – Running Club @ 8am
October 19 - KC Kids Marathon


It was another marvelous week in 5th grade!  Thanks for all you do at home.

~Mrs. Rhea

Friday, September 6, 2013

Team Building and More in Week 4!

You are Clear for Take-off!

The students put their science skills to the test this week as they worked through the entire scientific method during their first science investigation.  Students made observations, formed a question, created a hypothesis, carried out an experiment, collected data, and formed a conclusion.  Here are a few thoughts of reflection from a few of our 5th graders.

"My plane didn't fly as far as I expected, because it was inside.  If we were outside, we would have more air current."  --Owen Carrillo, 5R

"I thought it was interesting how my plane somehow made it 20 ft.  I think it went so far, because I made a trick plane.  I bent the paper a little so the air would push on the back and make the plane go up when I threw it." --Nick Porter, 5P

"I learned that my hypothesis may not always be correct, even if it is a good hypothesis.  That's why it is important to maybe test again with another hypothesis." --Ashton Maloney, 5R









Radical Challenge
We had an amazing day at Radical Challenge today!  We were so lucky to have beautiful weather while we were out going through one challenge to the next.  Students worked on team building, problem solving, and being active, respectful, positive members of a group.  A big thank you to all of our parent volunteers who went through the course themselves at 7:00 in the morning today!  You all are awesome!  The kids had a fabulous time, and it was a successful field trip full of smiles and laugher.












Greetings from India
One of the amazing things about our pilot program this year is how involved students can still be in our classroom on days they are unable to attend school.  Our very own Trishul is out of the country in India visiting family.  He is able to still keep up on school work through the use of his Chromebook.  How awesome is that?!  Here is Trishul working on school work in India.







Upcoming Events
September 9th  - AD CiCi's Night @ 5pm
September 13th - Running Club @ 8am
September 13th - Early Release @ 1:35 pm for Professional Development
September 16th - End of PTA Fundraiser
September 18th - Fall Picture Day
September 20th - Running Club @ 8am


It was another great week in 5th grade!  Thanks for all that you do at home!  :)

~Mrs. Rhea