Word Choice

Yesterday...voice. Today...word choice.

We spent a good deal of time after lunch today discussing word choice in our memoirs.  This is not the first time students were taught about word choice, we spent a lot of time exploring and using strong word choice in our adventure stories.

This round though, whew! They nailed it.  I saw thesauruses out all over, resources shared among tables, and pink highlighter filling rough draft pages.

Our mini-lesson was on the floor the last two days, close together, where they can truly focus on what I'm doing. We usually meet at my "blue carpet" in the back of the room where there is a bit more space, but this worked just as well, if not better.  I love feeling the closeness of us when I teach like this.  I plan to do it more often for Writing. 

Modeling what strong word choice looks like in my own personal memoir I'm writing along with my 5th graders.  They enjoy hearing my personal stories and like that I apply the skill they are learning to the writing piece I am working on.  

You'll notice the notebook on the floor.  That is my mentor "Mini-Lesson Notebook". I use notebook inserts for all of my literacy lessons. Here are the three inserts for Voice, Word Choice, and Message (we will hunt for Message on Monday)

Students are expected to have their Mini-Lesson Notebooks out whenever they are working on a writing piece. Keeping the notebooks purposeful and teaching students how to use them as a tool for learning has greatly enhanced my students' writing skills. 

Students at work today... I'm so proud of their stamina and attention to detail. 

As you can see, I'm loving this Memoir writing unit, and writing in general right now.  We are having fun, learning a lot, and displaying great writing ability.

Voice, Word Choice and Message

In Writer's Workshop, we are working on developing a few of the 6 traits of writing that we are scored on multiple times per year as well as on the report cards.

For our Memoir writing piece, we are focusing on Voice, Word Choice, and Message.  There are three areas that greatly enhance the interest of our stories and add great detail.

We are breaking these three skills apart and focusing on one per day this week. We are done with the first draft of our Memoirs (5 paragraphs total) and are now going through them, hunting for each skill.

Today we hunted for Voice.  When I first taught the 5th graders about Voice, I used the song "You've Got a Friend".  We listened to three versions of the song and discussed the differences we noticed in each.  The way we thought the singer was feeling and how they sang is voice! This lesson went better than I could have hoped for.  Every student was focused and listening to the singer so carefully. The image below are the words that came to mind when students were listening.

The 5th graders did a fantastic job noticing the voice in the songs and were able to then understand what voice means for their own writing.

We took time today to go through our Memoir drafts and highlight all of the voice in their pieces. They were given a hand out that states voice is noticed through a writers use of; dialogue, inner thought, and font style.

WOW! I was impressed by all the voice student's found in their drafts.  (Photos to come)



My 5th graders are looking forward to hunting for word choice and message this week.

Scholastic Book Order

Reminder: 

Our December book orders are due this week Thursday (December 9th).  They are guaranteed to be delivered before Winter Break which is great if you are thinking of ordering any gifts for your child or family members. 

You can use the order form that came home, or order online at scholastic.com using my code: MDHBW

November Update

 The Month of November

By: Lily (with some additions from Mrs. Kangas) 

MATH

In his unit we are learning how to multiply 

fractions. We know how to multiply a fraction by a whole number, a fraction by a fraction, and a fraction by a mixed number. 

READING

                                                          

We just finished learning about signposts and on your child's reading log they have to fill in whtat signposts they notice in their chapter books.  They must then explain what signpost and part of their book made them think. ALSO! Our class has just finished our Adventure unit and finally our  read aloud Hatchet. Mrs. Kangas brought in some dehydrated food for us to try since the main character, Brian, in the book ate some towards the end.  We had beef stew and an ice cream sandwich! 

WRITING

               

We have started Reader's Responses in class! A Reader's Response is a journal between Mrs. Kangas and your child about the book they are reading. The students in our class are required to do this. If your child uses their time wisely in class it will not be homework. The due dates are:

Monday: Bennett, Kelsi, Stephanie, Brady

Tuesday: Makaila, Aria, Quaron, Mateos, Samantha

Wednesday: Chloe, Javion, EJ, Latasha, Kayla 

Thursday: Mackenzie, Vincent, Lily, Paul

Friday: Adam, Wynter, Rece, Ajiona

Here are Mrs. Kangas' expectations for our Reader's Responses and her example. 

                              

Leadership- The 7 habits:

We have spent this month learning how to "Begin with the End in Mind" We talked about how important setting goals are for our selves, but even more important is making a plan to reach our goals.

Social Studies

In social studies we are starting our Latin America projects with Mrs. Daily!

School Events

This month we had our HoHot Night, Fuddruckers Night, Movie Night, and Culture Night and they were all very successful! And also don't forget about the 2 day break from school!

And Also

A November Note

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are enjoying our classroom blog.  I am loving what my classroom bloggers are posting for us (I, of course, preview their work before I officially post it).

Here is our November Newsletter.  It will come home tomorrow with my students as well, but I wanted to share an electronic version with you.

It's the end of October already!

This October We Are Learning... 
Written by Aria and Lily (5th graders in Mrs. Kangas' class_

Math

 We are learning how to add, subtract, and compare decimals.

Reading

In reading we are learning how to summarize and log our reading on our reading logs. 
We also reached a new record! 23 out of 25 reading logs were turned in complete this week!

Writing

For writing, we are learning how to use dialog and add more powerful words to our adventure stories.
We have also learned when to put new paragraphs in our stories.

Social Studies

We just presented our territory or province slide shows about Canada. 
On Tuesday Nov. 3rd we are going to Mrs. Daily's classroom to learn about Latin America 

And also

We have a new teacher Mrs. Kangas (Miss.Cornell) 
Well, not really new. Just a new name. 

-

WE LOVE YOU MRS. KANGAS!!!

HERITAGE HILL 

Field trip Monday November 2nd after our long 4 day weekend Thursday - Sunday

   HAPPY 

 HALLOWEEN!!!

This Weeks Learning Experience

     This week we are learning...

Blog Post by: Aria and Lily 

Math: We are learning about adding, subtracting, and estimating fractions. Finish your unit test and hope to get a good grade!

Reading: We are learning about adventure books. We are also reading a book called Hatchet. And also turn in those reading logs COMPLETELY FILLED OUT.  All you have to do is have your parent/guardian sign it but don't forget the most important part... READ!!!  The back side is simple your thinking anyway all you have to do is write down your thinking.  Read read read because we also have a 40 book challenge with lots of fun field trips!

Writing:   We are writing our draft for our adventure stories. Also how to use punctuation in our story's and not just how to use them but how to use them correctly. 

Leadership - The 7 habits:  We are learning about proactive and reactive and how we want to fulfill the duty of being proactive.

 Growth mindset:  We are learning about our minds and to know how the brain helps us everyday  

  

       

                                                       And also...

Canada Link

We are starting to study Canada in Social Studies.  Students will be using this website to do a little individual research on the Chromebooks on Friday.

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/canada/#canada-playing-hockey.jpg

If any families have a connection to Canada, please share with me! I am looking for fun, interactive, hands on ways to teach this unit.

Thank you,
Miss Cornell

WE WON!

That's right! 
Our classroom won the color war yesterday! Students were asked to wear blue for spirit week and every single student did. We were rewarded with an ice cream treat at the end of they day.  

Way to show your school spirit!
Tomorrow is crazy hair/hat day. 
Friday is Blue and Orange day. 

Parents, 
Be on the look out for some important mail coming home this week: 

• Conference request form
• Classroom newsletter

Please read and return necessary items.  

**Special note about conferences: 

With conferences fast approaching, I wanted to let you know of a change to my conference schedule.  I will be getting married that Saturday and will be taking Friday, October 16^th off.  I will also be leaving right after school on Thursday, October 15^th to finalize some items.  With this, I will be hosting my conferences Monday, October 12^th, Tuesday, October 13^th, and Wednesday, October 14^th.  You will see this change on the form attached.  If you have two or more children at Badger, please select the Monday or Tuesday option for your conference, as the other teachers in the building will not have conferences on Wednesday, just me. 

If you have any questions, please call or email me.

Important Dates and Information

Hello Families,

By now, you should have received a packet of information about our upcoming Civil War reenactment on Friday, May 1st. In this packet was; the permission slip, information letter with the student's regiment, an informational pamphlet stating the events of the day, and a sheet explaining how to write a Civil War letter.

There have been a handful of students that have turned in their permission slip and fee ($6.00) already! I have a reminder on the agenda board that will stay up all week to help students bring the signed form back with the money.

The other most important piece of information that came home was about a Civil War letter.  Each family was asked to have someone write a letter to their "soldier" that they will open the day of the reenactment.  A parent, grandparent, or sibling can write the letter.  The informational page in the packet gives ideas about what to include in the letter.  The day of the reenactment, there will be a "mail call" station that all students visit.  At that time, each student will be given the letter from their family member(s).  If a student does not have a litter from their family, they will receive one written from a student at Badger.
**But as I'm sure you can guess...it would be more exciting to read a letter that someone from your family wrote.

Please complete the Civil War letter for your child, put it in an envelope with just their name, and return it to school by Monday, April 27th! 

Upcoming dates:

Thursday, April 23 = MAP Reading Test (9:45am)

Friday, April 24 = MAP Math Test (9:00am)

                               Movie Night at Badger

Monday, April 27 = Civil War letter from family due

Friday, May 1 = Civil War Reenactment at Erb Park (all day)

Spring is in the air

Is it too soon to be thinking spring?  I don't think so, it is going to be in the 40's next week after all - talk about a heat wave.  

This past Monday, the intermediate students started a two week incentive challenge.  When March hits, things start feel a bit long and the teachers want to keep our students motivated and working hard.  To do this, we decided to have a reward on Friday, March 13th at the end of the day.  In order for students to participate in the incentive, they have to have two or less "checks".  Students get a check by either going to the homework room or displaying inappropriate behaviors.  After three checks, they are not invited to the Friday reward.  

I have been very impressed by our class this week.  We are staying focused and working very hard.  Lets keep up the GREAT work! 

Along with our two week incentive.  Our class has started a new round of "50 Point Challenge".  This is our 5th round and things are going very well.  If you have not heard about this challenge, it is quite simple.  Students get individual points (tracked by me), for following expectations in all settings (classroom, specials, school events, etc).  After a four week period, if students have earned 50 points they receive a classroom reward.  The first two challenges ended in a pizza party during lunch.  For the last few, students have voted on different rewards - electronic time, treats, movie at lunch.  We are going strong and already have a student up to 19 points over the last 4 days!! 

Please sign and return the conference confirmation form that came home with your child today.  If the time does not work for you, please write a note or send me an email. We kept families locked into the time slot they chose at the beginning of the year for fall conferences.  I am looking forward to seeing you all in two weeks! 

Missing Book!

           

          For the last four weeks our class has been reading Historical Fiction books in book clubs (a group of students is reading the same book).  Our book club books come from; our school library, my personal library, and our ELL (English Language Learner) teacher’s library.  Unfortunately, we are missing one of the books that belongs to the ELL teacher.  These books are not checked out in student’s name, they are responsible for keeping the book in a safe place and returning it when they are done. 

            Could your family please do our classroom and ELL teacher a favor and check out around your home for our missing book. It is called WWII: An Interactive Adventure.  It is a rather thin book with a blue and red spine.  Your child knows what it looks like. 

            Because the book is accessible to all students (they sit out on the counter in bins), our next step would be replacing the book for the ELL department.  The book costs $7.00, which means each student would owe $0.25 if we do not find it. 

Please take a look at home.  It would be greatly appreciated!

Hello again...

We are fully into the swing of semester two.  With increasing my expectations on students (we are now doing more to prepare for 6th grade), I have also increased the expectations I have for myself. One of those increased expectations is to be better at posting online grades.  During the first semester, I was learning our new online grading system on infinite campus.  I am now feeling comfortable and have been adding/updating grades on a weekly basis.  Please log into your infinite campus site to check up on your child's progress.  

I, along with two other teachers at Badger, am an Internal Site Coordinator for school wide PBIS. Twice a year, we have a planning day.  Our second day is this Tuesday, Feb. 17th.  I will have a sub for the whole day.  Students know that I will be gone and that the expectations stay the same.  Please remind and encourage your child to be kind and respectful.  Subbing is a difficult job, and my hope is that our class is inviting and welcoming to any adult that comes into our classroom.  

On Monday, we will be starting Unit 6 for Math.  We will not be learning any new mathematical operations.  However, we will be using everything we have learned so far to problem solve our way through different situations and math problems (real world story problems).  Your child is assigned homework every night. Some days, they are given work time at the end of our Math period to complete the homework.  Or, if they use their WIN time wisely, they may be able to complete the Remembering side.  I am going to require that students bring their math work home even if they finish. That way, you as the parent will be able to see their progress and have a better understanding of what we are working on day-to-day.  Be on the look our for stapled papers of math on a daily basis.  One page will be the homework and the other will be any activity pages we completed during class.  This will help with homework completion at home. 

Tuesday, Feb. 17th, Badger School is hosting a McDonalds (on Bluemound) night to support the upcoming performance of Annie.  Please stop by between 4-8 and a portion of your purchase will go to the production.  I will be cleaning tables and delivering food from 4:30-5:00. :-)

     

Have a wonderful week!