Friday, May 12, 2017

Post # 35

We're almost there!
The girls enjoyed their trip across The Green. The excitement on Wednesday morning was palatable. They came back from the Middle School excited and a tiny bit nervous. You can read their reflections here

Three Word Thursday included the name of a fifth grade teacher. So we decided to share the 3WT with the Middle School teachers. I know the fifth grade team will appreciate your daughters' writing as much as I do. 


We wrapped up Unit 7 in math and the girls took their assessment on Wednesday. Look for these in next week's work folder. The tests are graded numerically and with traditional grades. The girls asked for a taste of middle school grading. Test corrections were made and we discussed the power of learning from mistakes and making corrections. Growth mindset, growth mindset, growth mindset! The new math unit centers on area and perimeter. We will begin a HUGE project next week. The girls will design their dream bedroom. This class will hit it out of the ballpark with their creativity. Math problem solving taught the girls a very important life lesson if they ever encounter an alligator. Your daughter can explain.
We are chugging through the Great Depression. We read several picture books that helped the girls visualize what life was like for children during this time period. They learned about the Dust Bowl and practiced essay writing about FDR and the New Deal. Our novel study The Home-Run King by Patricia McKissak is also set in the 1930's.

The girls had fun writing a plot summary of a movie starring their moms. This is one of my favorite writing activities. The girls get a kick out of creating the movie posters and writing about their families.
And a very Happy Mother's Day!


A Few Notes.....
Special Week Sign-up Anne will be our Special Week girl 
Carpool Helper Calendar- Isabelle will represent our class next week. 
* Homework-Homework is posted for family planning
* Book Fair is on May 17th (our class goes at 3:10).
  • June 5 Early Dismissal for grades JK-2, 11:30 a.m. and grades 3-4, noon.
  • June 6 Lower School Final Assembly, 1 p.m., Kenny Center Grades JK - 4 should not arrive at school until 12:15 p.m for the Final Assembly. Dismissal immediately following the Final Assembly from classrooms. Grade 4 reception on the Kenny Center Patio.
* Robotics applications (for those interested) are due on 5/19.

Required Summer Reading for rising fifth graders:
The rising fives will all read Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia 
Then, they will choose (at least) one of the following to read: 
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Savvy by Ingrid Law
Wildings by Eleanor Glewwe
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Many girls have started their required summer reading and were asking if they needed to summarize, take notes, etc. We checked with Taryn Chesshire (5th grade English teacher) and here's her response:
What we'll do is use them as common texts next year when we introduce the elements of literature, before we start reading a (very exciting, engaging) novel together as a class. The only thing I would recommend is that they look back over the novels toward the end of the summer to refresh on the details. 

Girls- Your mystery blog question... Who has the best mom in the world? Post your answer here.

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