Equivalent Decimals and Fractions

Make sure that you use your flashcards we made today in class to memorize the 7 equivalent decimals and fractions. These will help you when you have to put fractions and decimals in order AND will help you later in the study of fractions. It really is worth the time to learn them. Make sure you know them from fraction to decimal and then from decimal to fraction. Here they are:
1/2 = .50
1/4 = .25
1/10 = .10
1/3 = .33
1/6 = .16
1/5 = .20
1/8 = .125

AR Started This Week!

Well, they got our AR working and this week is the first week that we are starting to gather our points. 5th-Grade students have been given their levels AND their year-long AR goal. Here are the pointers about how we do AR in 5th-grade:
1. Students are expected to ALWAYS have an AR book with them so if they finish assignments in class early, they can read their books.
2. Students are expected to get 4 AR points every week.
3. Students who get NO AR points for the week will lose 5 points off of their team day points. There is no reason a student should get ZERO points for the week.
4. Students who earn at least 10 points for the whole month will get a special reward at the end of the month.
5. Students are expected to read books ON THEIR LEVEL. If they read a book below their level, the test will be deleted and the student will lose 5 team day points for not following directions.
6. Students must make an 80 or higher on AR tests in order to pass. This means they must get 4/5 or 8/10 correct. If they make below this, the test will be deleted and they will have to take it again. They can not move on to another test until they have passed this one.
7. Students are expected to read the book BEFORE taking the test. Do not go by what your friend may tell you about a book. The teacher MAY ask you questions about your book so make sure you have read it.
8. You will get a grade each nine weeks in Reading for your AR participation. Failed tests deduct points.
9. If our class meets their class AR goal, then the students who met their individual goals will get to participate in a pizza party at the end of the year. Make sure you are working towards your goal!

What Do You Do With All Of Your Old Papers???

When I send home Math papers that are graded I expect you to KEEP THEM and use them to study for the rest of the year! They are to become your study guides and practice papers to use over and over during the year so you don't forget any of the material we have covered in class. Do NOT throw them away or put them somewhere and never look at them again. And remember: anything we do in class, you MAY see again one day as a POP QUIZ! Don't forget how to do things!!!!

First Day of School!!!!!!!!!

Well, today we started a new year of school at Taylor! It was so nice to meet and talk with all of our new 5th grade students. Many of them seem very motivated to learn and have promised to be on their best behavior! We explained all of the rules, procedures, and passed out all of the paperwork for parents to fill in and return to us. Tomorrow we start on the real work! I am excited about this year and hope that all of our students will work hard, behave, and have a wonderful year!

Open House Tomorrow (Thursday 07/31/08)

Well, it's time to meet my new 5th graders! I hope they are excited and ready to WORK and LEARN lots!!!!!!! Open House is from 4-6 p.m. tomorrow! I'll see you there!
Mrs. Appleton

It's Almost Time To Meet My New 5th-Graders!

Well, today I went to my classroom to unpack a bunch of stuff and start organizing my classroom for the new year. I am so excited!!!! Next Thursday, July 31st, is the Open House for parents to bring the students to the school to meet their new teachers. Another year is about ready to start!!!!!!!! I am hoping that my new students will come to class with enthusiasm and ready to learn a LOT of new material!!!!!!! There's a lot of work to do in 5th grade, but hopefully we will have a well-behaved group and can have lots of fun learning everything!!!! I hope they KNOW their multiplication tables!!!!!!!

Supply List For 2008-2009 5th-Grade Students!

Here's a list of the supplies that new 5th-grade students should be getting ready to start the new year:
Needed on the first day of school:
*3 inch ring binder
*(8) dividers for the binder (do not write on them yet)
*glue sticks
*pencils for personal use (no mechanical pencils please)
*1 pack of 12 pencils for classroom use
*(10) packs of notebook paper
*colored pencils
*crayons
*erasers for the pencils
*(5) boxes of tissues
*scissors
*10 multicolored highlighters
*pencil box or pouch
*ruler
*protractor (the clear, cheap kind)
*(6) packs of 3X5 index cards
*Index card file box
*1 box of gallon-sized ziplock bags
*1 box of quart-sized ziplock bags
*optional: 1 spray can of Lysol disinfectant spray

END OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, today our 5th graders were promoted! We held our awards ceremony and our students looked soooooooooooooooooooooo nice! We had made little "paperdolls" of each student with their future goals on it to display in the foyer and they turned out really cute.
Good luck to our new "6th graders" as you go forward in life! We love you all and wish you well. Never stop learning and growing and always remember to be respectful, kind, and hardworking! We look forward to hearing good things about you when you're in Middle School and even when you're all grown up!

Don't Forget Our Party On Monday!

Please remember to bring party food and something for YOU to drink for the party on Monday at 1:30! (My homeroom) We are also going to be practicing your songs and the promotion ceremony so come prepared to practice, practice, practice!

Tuesday is the promotion ceremony so remember to dress nicely (church attire) and remind your parents that you can leave right after the promotion ceremony and after you have your report card! This is soooooooooooooooooo exciting!!!! Only one and a half days left!

Field Day Today!

Well, today was field day and we sure had a lot of fun! Even the teachers participated in the game where you had to have a team of six walking in sync on two platforms! What fun! The students got snow cones, slid down the water slide and participated in many athletic competitions in the gym. Thanks to Coach James for organizing it all for us. We're going to miss him when he retires at the end of this year!

A FUN FUN FUN Fieldtrip To Amazement Square!

Well, today we had a BLAST! We took 37 fifth-graders, 8 parents, and 3 teachers to Amazement Square in Lynchburg, VA followed by a SCRUMPTIOUS buffet lunchon at Golden Corral! Everyone had a great time and we had the BEST behaved group there! Several people complimented our Taylor Toucans and I was sooooooooooooo proud of them! They went to two workshops on Cells and Light/Sound and demonstated that they knew A LOT!!!! Good job!!!! We had a ball playing with all of the displays and then sliding down tunnels and riding the zip line! Miss Dudley even got Mrs. Appleton to slide down a couple of tubes......you can see by the picture that Mrs. Appleton had a rough time with that one tube!hahahahahhahahahahaha What a fun day!!!Thank you to all of the WONDERFUL chaperones who went with us and had a ball with their kids! You all were so supportive and we appreciate you taking the day to be with all of our students! Now, check out all of the pictures of our fun day!

We Are Reading Hatchet And Loving It!

This will probably be our final novel of the year but what a WONDERFUL book to be reading together! It is a book of survival and finding strength deep within yourself to face your challenges........what a great lesson for our 5th grade students to be reading as they get ready to leave elementary school and face the new journey in life of middle school and beyond! One of my students today came up to me after class and said, "Mrs. Appleton, we all are kind of like Brian because we all face hard times and have to survive by being strong." YES! I'm glad my students can make those connections between books and their own lives. GREAT JOB!!!!!!!

Orientation At Bonner Today

Today all of the 5th-graders went to O.T. Bonner Middle School to attend an orientation that helped them get acquainted with the school that they will be attending next year. Bonner is MUCH bigger than Taylor and going to middle school can be a little scary at first so this will hopefully help them feel a little more comfortable about attending. We met with a team of 6th grade teachers who went over the dress code, rules, procedures, etc. It was interesting to learn that in 6th-grade all students must wear their shirts tucked in, pants at the waist with a belt on, no logo shirts, etc. We then took a tour of the 6th grade classrooms to see where things like band, computers, art, home and family life, etc. are taught. We saw the HUGE gym, the beautiful auditorium, etc. All of the students seemed to really get a lot out of the visit and they represented Taylor very well! Our students were sooooooooooooooooo well-behaved, mature, and we were proud to see how well they reacted to the experience!

We finished reading Island of the Blue Dolphins

My homeroom class finished reading the novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins. What a wonderful story of survival! All of the students LOVED the book and enjoyed comparing and contrasting the book and the movie. I'm so glad they enjoyed it. Many students agreed that the book was MUCH better than the movie!

Orientation Trip To O.T. Bonner On Friday

The 5th-Grade students will visit O.T. Bonner on Friday morning to get an orientation about the school and how things work so that they can be better prepared for next year. This is an excellent opportunity for students to get to know the school a little better in preparation for going there next year. You are to be on your best behavior!

SOL TESTS ARE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, 5th Grade finished their SOL Tests today when they finished the Science test. We hope that all of the students took their time, read the questions and answers carefully and showed what they have learned all year. The results will not be back until probably after they are out of school for a few weeks! Good work 5th Grade!!!!

Math SOL is OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! We took our Math SOL Test today and it is officially OVER!!!!!! All of you seemed to take it seriously and work hard! I am so proud of you and I hope that when the scores come back over the summer, I will see TONS of perfect scores and EVERYONE passing!!!!!!!!!

Math SOL Test TOMORROW!!!!!!

First of all I want to say that I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo proud of all of my students in 5th grade who have worked so hard this year in Math class! WOW, look at everything you have learned!!!!! You have developed a stronger understanding of Math concepts! You have notes, graded papers, folders of problems of the day, your finished SOL Coach book, your Math journal, and a head full of knowledge! Tomorrow when you sit down to take that test, just relax, think about what you are reading in the problems, work carefully, and get that PERFECT SOL score on that test that you deserve!!! I have so much faith in your abilities and I hope you do too! I love you all and I want you to be so successful on the test and for the rest of your lives! I expect great things from all of you and I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo happy that I was your Math teacher this year!!!!! Now show them what you can do!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Mrs. Appleton

The Reading SOL Test Is DONE!!!!!

One test down; two to go!!!!! Ok 5th-graders now it's time to start thinking about the next test: our MATH test!!!!!!!!!!! We are going to finish the released test for a grade and to give us practice. Then we are going to go over the Algebra Test, your homework page from Tuesday night and add the review notes to our Purple Math Journals! ASK QUESTIONS!!!!!!!! Get the last minute help you need and let's see TONS of perfect scores!!!!!!!!! I know you guys can do it! I saw how hard all of you were working today on the Reading Test and I was soooooooooooooooooooo proud of you. Make me proud next Thursday too and show everyone what you can do in Math!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST SOL TEST ON THURSDAY!!!!!!

Well, here's the moment that we've been working towards all year. The chance for you to "SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!" The first SOL Test is Thursday in Reading. Students will be given reading passages to read, comprehend, and answer questions about. Please remember to:
1. Take your time reading and read passages MORE THAN ONCE!
2. Ask yourself questions about the passages as you read.
3. Highlight key words in the passage AND in the questions.
4. Eliminate answers that you KNOW are wrong.
5. Check ALL answers before picking the correct one.
6. Take a "mental break" in between passages if you need to. It's ok to put your pencil down, stretch at your seat, close your eyes for a minute, and take some deep breaths. Then you pick up your pencil and start on the next passage with renewed strength.
7. When you read a question, FIND THE ANSWER IN THE PASSAGE, and not just from memory.
8. You can take your shoes off during the test if it helps you to relax and take your time.
9. Remember that taking YOUR time is not somebody else's time....you have all the time you NEED!
10. Remember that you only get ONE SHOT to make that passing score, so don't guess or give up. You can do it!!!!!!!