Here's What We Are Working On This Week (March 21-25, 2011)

Reading: We will start the novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins! YAY!!!!! Great book! We are also working on nonfiction passages and using our test-taking skills to find the correct information to answer SOL formatted questions.

Math: 2-D shapes, line of symmetry, transformations, congruent/similar, subdividing and combining shapes, and review of previous skills during POTD (problems of the day)

Monday is also the SOL Writing Test (prompt).

CONTEST to earn some Team Day Points!!!

Ok I'd really like to see how many students are checking this blog. So....here's a contest to earn 5 Team Day Points. You have to:
1. Leave a comment in the guestbook and tell me what your favorite part of the blog is.
2. You can also tell me what your favorite thing is that you've learned in Math class.
3. The first 10 5th-graders to do this will get the 5 Team Day Points.
Have fun!

This Week's Skills Covered In Class: March 7-11, 2011

Reading: Practicing and reviewing for the SOL Writing Test (The testing days are Tuesday and Thursday!) We will also be reading some passages and practice test-taking skills for Reading! Students will also have time to take AR tests!


Math: Measuring length (inches) and (centimeters), measuring length examples involving inches, feet, yards, miles (U.S. Customary Units) and millimeter, centimeter, meter, and kilometer (Metric System Units), 2-D plane figures, review.

SOL Writing Test Next Week!!!!!

The SOL Writing Test will be given next week. The multiple choice part will be on Tuesday, March 8 and the Direct Writing (Prompt/Paper) part will be given on Thursday, March 10. Students are encouraged to practice writing papers, and looking over all of the multiple choice practice tests that have been given. Many of these will come home in their folders on Monday. Be sure to save them, and PRACTICE. Here are some other helpful tips to get ready for testing dates:
1. Get a good nights rest the night before.
2. Eat a healthy breakfast that morning.
3. Come to school with a good, positive attitude! You KNOW you can pass this test if you take your time and THINK. Miss Dudley has taught you EVERYTHING you need to know and you can do it!
4. Take YOUR time on the test! It is not timed and you can really do your best!

Good luck 5th-graders! Your teachers believe in you and know you can ace this test! Now it's your turn to SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!!!!!!!!

Here's What We Are Working On This Week (Feb. 28th-March 4th)

This week we are not going to be reading a book or selection because we will be practicing for the Writing Test during Reading time. Please encourage your child to take these preparations seriously and do his/her best! They will count as GRADES in the gradebook!

Math: Types of Triangles (classifying by angles AND by sides:right, acute, obtuse, equilateral, scalene, isosceles), Measuring Length (centimeters and inches), 2-D plane figures, 3-D solids, congruent and similar figures, line of symmetry, review of elapsed time).

Interims go home on Monday (February 28th). A lot of students are not studying and practicing at home with their notes and old papers. They need to take Math seriously and do a lot of work AT HOME! Tutoring one or two days a week will start in the middle of March to allow me to tutor those that need it the most BEFORE the SOL test in May.

Thanks Donors Choose!!!!!!

We are so happy to have received our latest DonorsChoose project that was funded. We now have 21 copies of each of the last 3 Diary of a Wimpy Kid novels (The Last Straw, Dog Days, and The Ugly Truth)! These are some really nice hardcover books and we are reading like crazy!!!!! Mrs. Appleton's homeroom has already reached our Class AR Goal in the Library but a few students need to still reach their goal so we can have our pizza party soon! Mrs. Appleton is now waiting to see how many of her wonderful readers will DOUBLE their AR Goals!!!!! These new books are definitely helping us love reading more and more. Thanks to our kind donors who picked our project and sent us these GREAT books!!!!! Now we have ALL 5 books!!!!!

Here's What We Are Working On This Week (Feb. 21-25th)

Reading: We will be reading the book, "Who Was Harriet Tubman?" and doing a unit of study on Harriet Tubman. We will also be discussing elements of nonfiction text.

Math: We will be Measuring Angles using a protractor and identifying angles as acute, right, obtuse, and straight. We will also work on measuring length using inches AND centimeters. We are starting back this week with our Math Problems of the Day after taking a break for a couple of weeks to review some material and get caught up with our pacing guide. The POTD will review ALL skills covered so far for the year, so make sure you are looking over your Math Journals every night and practicing with graded papers sent home.

This Week's Skills Covered In Class: Feb. 14-18

1. Reading: We read the fiction story, The Marble Champ, and talked a lot about plot. Students made a plot outline of the events of the story. They organized the events into the introduction, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the conclusion. Students also had time to take AR tests every morning and we did SuccessMaker Reading for 30 minutes in the Computer Lab. The test on the story and vocabulary is tomorrow. Students should also have 4 AR points every week! The more they read, the better readers they become.
2. Math: We covered introductory notes in Geometry including point, line, line segment, ray, plane which are a review from 4th grade and temperature notes about Fahrenheit and Celsius measurements for freezing temperature, boiling temperature, and normal body temperature. Students should memorize the six temperatures and be able to answer questions about them. We took a quiz on this and a LOT of students did NOT do well. We will be remediating this! We also took notes on the types of angles (acute, right, obtuse, straight) and we will be measuring angles with a protractor on Friday. Please remind your child to bring his/her protractor to class.

2nd Nine Weeks Is DONE..........Now Onward We Go!

Well half of the school year is over and we are heading into the second half of it! With that comes LOTS and LOTS of SOL Test Prep! We have a lot of Math left to cover and there are many weak areas that students need to practice and work on outside of the classroom. After school tutoring has begun and soon in school tutoring will also go on during Activity Time. Please encourage students to study EVERY night and to READ EVERY NIGHT! The best way to become better at reading is to read more and more and more and more..........The first SOL Test will be in March and will be the Writing Test. Students should be writing and writing and writing and writing........The more you write, the better you ALSO get at reading. The two skills go together and help each! Reading improves Writing and Writing improves Reading!
As for Math.........students have a MATH JOURNAL that should be coming home every single night! Papers that I send home with grades on them should be used as study materials and worked over and over to ensure that students don't lose their skills! Students are also told to see Mrs. Appleton during AR time in the mornings if they need extra help with a Math skill. So far, not many students have been coming to get help! Now is the time to prepare and learn and study and get yourselves ready for those tests! We KNOW that everyone can pass but you have to be willing to work at it! Don't disappoint yourselves! You can do it!

Math Benchmark Test TOMORROW! (Jan. 14th)

Make sure you are studying and practicing Math for the benchmark test tomorrow. It goes in the gradebook and the top 3 in each class will get special treats! The grades are turned in to Mrs. Tucker who then goes over them with our superintendent so do your BEST! Take your time and work out EVERY SINGLE problem before choosing an answer on the computer! You get ONE SHOT!!!!! Let's see some 100's!!!!!! You can do it!

The Newest Tool In Our Math Classroom!

Thank goodness for kind donors out there who have donated a HIGH VOLUME pencil sharpener to our classroom! We just got it today and it is getting the job! Just a reminder to students to take care of it.....it is the last pencil sharpener I am getting this year for the classroom and THIS ONE SHOULD LAST or you'll be on your own to get your pencils sharpened. Let's all work together to take care of this one.

A NEW YEAR Has Started! Set YOUR Goals High!!!

Welcome to 2011 and back to school!!!!! Now is the time to set your goals and think about things to come in the future. I am SURE that many of you are thinking ahead to SOL Testing and the scores you hope to make on those tests. You can't wait until the last minute to prepare. You have to start NOW! Here are some things you should be doing to get ready:
1. Do ALL of your homework and come to class ready to ask questions if you don't understand something.
2. Study your notes EVERY night! Those Math Journals should be going home with you every night so you can review the skills that you still are struggling with. Use your OLD papers that have been graded and sent home to review and practice too.
3. Schedule a time to talk to your teacher if you need some ONE-ON-ONE help with a certain skill. AR Time is 8:05-8:40 so while my homeroom students are working on AR, I am free to help students, but YOU have to let me know what you need help with and come to me to schedule a time! I am here for you!
4. Come to school ready to LEARN! Many students are not coming with that "learning attitude." We are noticing that some are coming just to socialize and play with friends. There is a time for socializing, talking, and playing but class time is NOT that time. Save your conversations for Lunch, Recess, and other free time that may come up. Use class time for asking questions, listening carefully, and doing your best on your assignments.
5. Make yourself some study aids such as flashcards, study posters, practice tests, etc. You LEARN when you DO SOMETHING with the information.....not just by looking at it. The more you work with information and use it, the better you LEARN it! Be an ACTIVE learner!!!
6. ENCOURAGE each other.....we're all one big 5th-grade Family and everyone needs encouragement and friendship. When people feel better about being at school, they LEARN better!
7. Follow directions and DO YOUR BEST......no one can MAKE you succeed. You have to choose it for yourself and WANT to be a winner! Your teachers are here to teach you, guide you, and help you. But in the end.....it's up to YOU!

Mrs. Appleton's Baby Girl

So many of my students and former students who have not seen my baby girl have asked me to please post a picture of her.......so here she is.....Miss Rebekah! We traveled to China to adopt her last April and we just love her soooooooooooooooooooo much! She is such a smart, sweet little baby!!!!!

FALL BREAK!!!!!

After 2 weeks of Intersession, it is now time for everyone to kick back and enjoy Fall Break for a week! WOOHOO! Rest up good now and be ready to learn learn learn when we come back on Monday!

Math Benchmark Test On Tuesday: September 28th

Make sure you are studying your Math Journal and practicing with any old papers that I have graded and sent home. Make sure you also get a good night's sleep and that you come to school with a winning attitude ready to work hard on every single problem! Your score will go in the gradebook AND all A's will get a sticker on the Hall of Fame and a "special" treat! I KNOW you can do it!

Picture Day: September 23rd!!!!

Just a quick reminder to everyone that picture day is Thursday, September 23, 2010. Be ready to smile pretty and look nice for your pictures!!!!

Save Those Labels From Sunny D To Earn Free Books For Our Classroom!

Hey everyone! I am collecting Sunny D labels (the UPC codes) to try to earn 20 Free Books for the classroom! If any of your families drink SunnyD, please bring the label to school. It has to be labels from the larger containers. (Excludes Proofs for 6.75, 8.0, 11.3, 12.0 oz SunnyD® bottles/cans.) Every label that is brought in will earn you 10 Team Day points!!!! I only need 20 labels so the first 20 will earn the Team Day points and the class will get to read some new books!!!!

Learn Those Multiplication Facts!!!!!!!!

We have found something that a LOT of our 5th-graders need to work on EVERY SINGLE night: MULTIPLICATION FACTS!!!!!!! There are so many skills that we do in 5th-grade and at the Middle School that REQUIRE that you KNOW your multiplication facts so we are working on a set EVERY week and taking a TIMED test of them. We have already covered 0,1,2,5,10 and 11 and taken the Quiz on those last week. Tomorrow we will be adding our 3's facts to the list and reviewing the ones already covered. At the end of learning all of the facts, we will have a BIG competition to recognize our TOP 10 Multiplication Winners in 5th-grade. Students should be memorizing the facts and be able to recall the correct answers QUICKLY!!!!!

Bring "Boxtops For Education" To School!

Remember that for every "Boxtop For Education" you bring in, our school gets 10 cents! So make sure you check the food containers that you use at home to see if you have any of these, clip them out, and bring them to class. I have a baggy hanging on the bulletin board for you to put them in.

First Day of School Is Monday!!!!

We had a wonderful time at Open House on Thursday and I met a LOT of our new 5th-graders and their parents! We are now ready to start a new year. That always means a LOT of work, but it also means we get to build our new 5th-Grade Family out in the annex building. I am looking forward to seeing all of the smiling faces of our new group bright and early on Monday morning. Be ready to learn how 5th-grade works and to get started on a new year! Students should bring their enthusiasm for learning and winning attitudes in order for us all to get off to a brand new start TOGETHER!