Valentine's Day

Hi I'm Omar. Last week we were celebrating Valentine's Day. We had chips, popcorn, cupcakes, chocolate milk and drinks. We were working on an art project for our families or for the retirement home. We used water paint, crayons and rubber segment glue. When we were working on the art project we were eating. Some people were working on the story board. It was a very good time.

 

 

 

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Edmodo Gives 5th Graders the Opportunity to Share Their Thoughts on Figurative Language

During the 3rd quarter all the 5th graders are exploring what figurative language is and why an author uses it in hopes of them incorporating more figurative language into their own writing as well as understanding all texts they read at a deeper level.  With the new iPads,  all the students that are in Mrs. Haskell's smaller skill groups, are getting the opportunity to create their own message board and they will then be able to share their thoughts on figurative language with the others in their group.  It has the appeal of a social networking site but it is a safe and secure environment in which only students who are in our groups communicate with each other.  We just started this last week and there is an eagerness on everyone's part to see how it can enhance our learning.  If you would like to check out the website and see how it works for you self just go to:  edmodo.com.  There is a nice video that explains how it works.  Students will even be able to submit assignments to me through the website.  We are going to have a blast using this tool to enhance our understanding of text and becoming better writers. 

Students Eyllin, Mariah, Felicia, Bibi, Jarod, and Roberto eagerly work on their new iPads.  There is no stopping them!

Felicia is caught engaged.  Nothing else matters.

5th Grader Eagerly Use iPads to Show Their Math Thinking

Our group is daily using the new iPads to practice math facts and to show our mathematical thinking.  Instead of using our same old white boards we now have an iPad app that functions as a chalkboard.  Once we draw our thinking we can send it to Mrs. Haskell and she can take a peek to make sure we are on the right track and give us quick feedback.  We are working on a division unit and below is  picture of what we have drawn to show our mathematical thinking.This is just the beginning of what we will be able to do.  We plan to start using Kahn Academy very soon to reinforce and get extra practice on what we are learning in class.

Special Guest Blogger

From the beginning of the year, it has been our goal to have the students more involved in the blog's production. Using the sticks of opportunity (or doom, depending on how you look at it), we will now be choosing one student a week as our "guest blogger". On Friday afternoon they will create a blog post, complete with picture, to share with families. This week, the lucky winner was Riley. While nervous at first, I think she did a great job. Please scroll down to see her work.

Special Guest Blogger: Riley

Hi, I am Riley. Here are some things we have been working on class.
We always start the day with math. In math we are taking about water use. When you wash your hands 4 times a day you are using 8 gallons of water! After math, it's writing. we are writing opinion papers. Mostly everyone is done with their rough draft.

In science we are working on sound. Mrs. Dow showed us how sound travels with a slinky. When you hold it back at different lengths, it vibrates at different rates. In reading we are working on spelling fun sheets and language review. Mrs. Kinsman has been working with kids in groups at reading time. We also went to the computer lab and to look at wolf timelines. Here is a picture...
 

 

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Tableau

Today is our last visit with Jan Abramovitz, our Artist in Residence for the year. He provided a wonderful experience for our children, teaching them various strategies to help focus and clear the mind through the use of movement.

One of the many activities that the students had the chance to explore was Tableau. Not only is this a hard word to spell, but it is a fun way to demonstrate understanding of a topic without taking a test or finishing a worksheet. Mr. Abramovitz had the students work in groups to create a scene in which a family on the Oregon Trail has just spotted the Columbia River. Each group member had a specific role, which was to be shown through facial expressions and body placement. In addition, the students needed to have at least three levels, or heights, represented in their frozen state. Here at the results! We have some wonderful actors in our group.

Mrs. Haskell Becomes Part of the Whole Array

Let me introduce myself.... All of 5th grade knows who I am but some of you parents may not.  I am a learning specialist and this year I am co-teaching with both 5th grade classrooms.  I split my time between both the classrooms and get to see students in smaller groups and work on specific skills that they need extra help with.  

Last month Ms. Kinsman noted that their class was a recipient of a technology grant.  I also wrote a grant for our 5th graders and am happy to report we now have 10 iPad minis to use for both math and language arts.  They arrived today!   All of us are excited about the doors this opens up for us.  To start with,  we will be utilizing an app that allows the students to build their reading fluency as well as comprehension. And in math we are excited about exploring the depths of fractions at Khan Academy.  

We all have lots to learn about these amazing tools and my addition to the blog site tonight is a first for me.  The first blog of many!  I hope to get more info posted in the next few months showing all of you how the students are growing in math, reading, writing, and their use of technology.   

Below is my first attempt at adding pictures to the blog.  These photos are of some our smaller group work.

Alyssa just finished giving her interpretation of "Tillie", one of the characters in the book we had been analyzing.

                                Spencer, Roberto, and Eric work together as a team to create a character analysis.