I was very pleased with the progress reports that went home last Thursday. So many of the students are really putting forth their best effort everyday in class. We are beginning to get our schedule down as students should now be organized with their materials and know the routines and expectations in the classroom. Please remember if you ever have any questions write them in the planner as I check it every morning and can answer questions quickly then!
Reading
This week our focus in Reading will be categorizing and classifying. This is a skill most used in nonfiction texts to help students keep up with facts in the passage. However it can be applied in fiction by listing facts about characters that fall into categories like how they look, how they act, things they like etc.
The text we will use this week is Volcanoes in the reading textbook. Students will be assigned the vocabulary on pg 82-82 along with the words eruption, magma, and summit. This week students will answer the questions at the end of the story on pg 100 for homework on Wednesday night. This can be completed in their reading log folder as their read and log in response.
Language
Spelling
This week's focus is the long o sound and the oo sound as in boo. Look for a pretest from Monday with a focused list of words to study that they missed.
Writing
This week students will continue the narrative writing genre. We will focus on the editing and publishing steps of the writing process. By the end of the week students should have a narrative piece of writing to turn as the first of two narratives due.
Please continue to monitor your child's planner and reading log folder for assignments and sign it nightly.
September 30......reading tests and published story due
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Updates September 19-23, 20011
Last week students took the Reading and Math benchmark tests. The Science booklets didn't come in so they will still need to take that test when it is rescheduled. Students will also be taking the F.A.I.R test this week as well as their DRA. This should conclude beginning assessments.
You should see your child bring home their reading textbook from now on reading a text selection to practice the weekly focus. Students should reread this text through the week as they will have a comprehension test on the text at the end of the week.
Reading
This week students will focus on the text organization authors use when they write their stories or articles. Text organization in the way an author chose to present their writing. The different ways to organize text we will be studying are: main idea and details, sequence, compare/contrast, and cause and effect.
They will use their independent reading book as well as the text selection Eye Of the Storm to practice identifying how the texts are organized.
The vocabulary words for the week are located on pg 54 of the text along with these extra words: jagged, prairies, severe. Students need to define their words and study throughout the week for the test on Friday.
Spelling
This week students will work with long vowel patterns in words. A pretest will be given on Monday so they will have a focused list to study for the test on Friday.
Writing
We will continue our study and writing of narratives or stories. Ask your child what they are writing their story about.
Important Dates
Progress reports.......Thursday, September 22
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
You should see your child bring home their reading textbook from now on reading a text selection to practice the weekly focus. Students should reread this text through the week as they will have a comprehension test on the text at the end of the week.
Reading
This week students will focus on the text organization authors use when they write their stories or articles. Text organization in the way an author chose to present their writing. The different ways to organize text we will be studying are: main idea and details, sequence, compare/contrast, and cause and effect.
They will use their independent reading book as well as the text selection Eye Of the Storm to practice identifying how the texts are organized.
The vocabulary words for the week are located on pg 54 of the text along with these extra words: jagged, prairies, severe. Students need to define their words and study throughout the week for the test on Friday.
Spelling
This week students will work with long vowel patterns in words. A pretest will be given on Monday so they will have a focused list to study for the test on Friday.
Writing
We will continue our study and writing of narratives or stories. Ask your child what they are writing their story about.
Important Dates
Progress reports.......Thursday, September 22
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Updates September 12-16, 2011
Last week we began working in the reading textbook with Theme 1 Nature's Fury. Students had their first Spelling, Vocabulary, Skills, and Reading selection tests. Look for those tests to come home Friday in their yellow Friday folder this week. Please be sure to sign the folder, keep any informational handouts, and return all tests the follow Monday.
This week we will not be working in the reading textbook. Students will be taking the Reading, Math, and Science benchmarks on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Therefore I will not be giving the spelling and reading tests on Friday. Students will however still need to read and log in nightly Monday through Thursday.
Reading
This week we will focus on writing good summaries using relevant details from the text. Students will also learning how to write a good topic sentence for the summary through an IVF statement. Ask you child what and IVF statement is...they should be able to explain it to you by the end of the week.
Writing
Students will continue to focus on the writing process using the narrative writing. We will be practicing the rough draft step through the week. Ask your child what their story is about.
Important Dates:
Monday.........Reading benchmark
Wednesday......Math benchmark
Thursday.......Science benchmark
Friday.........No tests this week
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
This week we will not be working in the reading textbook. Students will be taking the Reading, Math, and Science benchmarks on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Therefore I will not be giving the spelling and reading tests on Friday. Students will however still need to read and log in nightly Monday through Thursday.
Reading
This week we will focus on writing good summaries using relevant details from the text. Students will also learning how to write a good topic sentence for the summary through an IVF statement. Ask you child what and IVF statement is...they should be able to explain it to you by the end of the week.
Writing
Students will continue to focus on the writing process using the narrative writing. We will be practicing the rough draft step through the week. Ask your child what their story is about.
Important Dates:
Monday.........Reading benchmark
Wednesday......Math benchmark
Thursday.......Science benchmark
Friday.........No tests this week
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Updates September 6-9, 2011
What a great Open House!!! I was so glad to meet all the families who were able to come out last week to learn more about what we will be focusing on this year in fifth grade.
By now you should be seeing planners, reading logs, and reading textbooks coming home nightly. Students should be reading a book of their choice and logging in responses from assigned reading activities in a reading log folder. Parent signatures are required and part of the grade.
This week we have begun Theme 1 in our reading textbook. The theme is Nature's Fury with stories centered around some kind of natural threat to the characters. You should see the reading textbook coming home from now on so the students can complete assignments throughout the week.
Reading
This week's focus is sequence. Students will practice reading and looking for sequence words in stories to help keep track of events in the text. Some examples of sequence words are: then, later, after that, as soon as, and, now, while.
Students also received their first vocabulary word list. They should have written definitions for the words on page 26 along with 4 others they copied from the board.
Students will have a test on their vocabulary words on Friday.
Spelling
Students also received their first spelling list this week. They were given a pretest so they would have a focused list of words to study throughout the week. This week's spelling focus is short vowels-short vowels that stand alone usually have a short vowel sound.
Writing
We are currently working on the narrative genre. Specifically students are learning how to write a story while using the writing process. Throughout the narrative genre study students will focus on characteristics of a good story.
Important dates
Classroom reading, vocabulary, spelling tests September 9
Benchmark testing begins September 12
F.A.I.R. September 21
Progress Reports September 22
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
By now you should be seeing planners, reading logs, and reading textbooks coming home nightly. Students should be reading a book of their choice and logging in responses from assigned reading activities in a reading log folder. Parent signatures are required and part of the grade.
This week we have begun Theme 1 in our reading textbook. The theme is Nature's Fury with stories centered around some kind of natural threat to the characters. You should see the reading textbook coming home from now on so the students can complete assignments throughout the week.
Reading
This week's focus is sequence. Students will practice reading and looking for sequence words in stories to help keep track of events in the text. Some examples of sequence words are: then, later, after that, as soon as, and, now, while.
Students also received their first vocabulary word list. They should have written definitions for the words on page 26 along with 4 others they copied from the board.
Students will have a test on their vocabulary words on Friday.
Spelling
Students also received their first spelling list this week. They were given a pretest so they would have a focused list of words to study throughout the week. This week's spelling focus is short vowels-short vowels that stand alone usually have a short vowel sound.
Writing
We are currently working on the narrative genre. Specifically students are learning how to write a story while using the writing process. Throughout the narrative genre study students will focus on characteristics of a good story.
Important dates
Classroom reading, vocabulary, spelling tests September 9
Benchmark testing begins September 12
F.A.I.R. September 21
Progress Reports September 22
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Holiday Weekend!
No school on Monday, September 5th! Hope everyone has a great three day weekend!
Student don't have their reading logs with them since I collected them on Friday to grade. I did, however, assign students to continue reading in their independent chapter books over the weekend practicing the strategies we focused on this week in class just in their head and not on paper. Reading for pleasure is something I want them to enjoy also :-)
Have a safe holiday weekend,
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
Student don't have their reading logs with them since I collected them on Friday to grade. I did, however, assign students to continue reading in their independent chapter books over the weekend practicing the strategies we focused on this week in class just in their head and not on paper. Reading for pleasure is something I want them to enjoy also :-)
Have a safe holiday weekend,
Until next time,
R. O'Steen
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