Room 13 News

58 degrees!! in February!! Where are our snow days?  The weather is certainly up to its unpredictable tricks, and as I look at my students wearing shorts and T-shirts, I know that our New England weather may yet give us a dose of winter!

Inside, however our work remains focused and on target!  February is African American History Month, and we will be exploring and reflecting on the contributions of African Americans throughout the month. We begin with a poem written by an African American poet each day in our ELA class. The first poem is “On Liberty and Slavery” by George Moses Horton, born a slave on a tobacco farm in North Carolina. As students identify themes in these many diverse poems I am hoping they will see the unique voice each poet brings to his or her experience as a person of color in America.  Our Social Studies classes will also read articles and look at primary source documents that reveal the history of African Americans in colonial times and the Revolutionary War.  

Students are passionate about so many issues. They did a great job researching topics for their informational pieces in my ELA class.  We have learned about chocolate, leopards, different dog breeds, WWII, electricity, and the water cycle thanks to our class of writers. They used various formats to communicate information, including posters and digital books.  Next, we will look at writing as a way to persuade.  Of course, careful research and note taking are essential parts of this work, so we continue to hone those skills.   I am also hoping to have students contribute more guest posts to this blog. The more authentic writing kids can do the more invested they are in the process.  This, of course, makes the writing more purposeful and engaging!

In Math we have finished Topic 7 which was division of decimals.  We are onto fractions next after some pretesting to assess what students know and what they need.  One thing I noticed while we were working with decimals was that many students seem to lack experience with money.  In these days of gift cards and online shopping, children don’t always know what coins are worth, or how many nickels are in a dollar, (or even what a nickel is).  When was the last time you used coins?!  It may be helpful for kids to break open their piggy banks and count the coins, or help you go through your pockets and sofa cushions and roll those coins!

I am very proud of our fifth grade for stepping up to the many responsibilities they have.  We have noticed better behavior lining up in the morning, and afternoon, as well as at lunch. Many have volunteered to be tutors, and still others are committed to work on the Student Council’s Kindness Committee which is working to raise money to adopt an endangered animal.  You will be hearing more about that in days to come!

Happy February!

Mrs. Lee

January Newsletter

Happy New Year!!

I hope you all enjoyed the break from school!  Now we are ready to jump into the new year, and some new learning, but first I'd like to mention the wonderful the winter concert performance.  I was moved to hear the amazing voices of our chorus, and delighted by all the wonderful songs and spirit they conveyed.  I know parents and the rest of the Fox Hill family thoroughly enjoyed the performance.  I can't wait for the spring concert!
December also had us working on explorer projects which are just about ready to be shared in Social Studies classes.  This week students are using the rubric to evaluate their own work, and make any revisions they see.  I am proud of how hard all my students have worked on these projects and I am excited to see the finished product!  As we move forward in Social Studies we will be looking at colonization as a result of European exploration. One of the unfortunate effects was the displacement and death of many Native Americans.  King Philip's War is one example of the conflict between Europeans and Native People, so we will be watching an American Experience program called "We Shall Remain; After the Mayflower."

We continue writing informational pieces in ELA.  Students had many lessons and conferences to help guide them through the explorer piece, so now they are going to try an informational piece on their own.  We have many varied interests in our ELA class, from octopus to geothermal energy! I am looking forward to learning about all these topics from my fellow writers! My own piece is about Iceland and how it is has become such a popular vacation destination.
To support this work in our writing class, now that we have finished Number the Stars, we will spend some time reading about and researching our topics in reading class. We will hone our note taking skills, and turn notes into running text. Each writer will also decide what form his or her writing will take.
Our next novel will be Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and I expect to start that by the end of January.  In the meantime please continue to encourage as much outside reading as possible.  Since we discussed theme, plot structure, setting, characters, mood, figurative language, and foreshadowing, I have asked students to read their independent books with some of these elements in mind.  As they read they should be jotting thinking on a post it, so they can write informed and thoughtful weekly reflections in their Reader's Notebook.  This is a major component of our reading work, and it gives me a clearer idea about what, how often, and how deeply students are reading on their own.

In Math we are finishing Topic 6, multiplying decimals, with a test on Friday, January 8.  Topic 7 is about dividing decimals.  Please take a look at the Home School Connection sheet that will come home at the start of the unit.  This resource can help explain the concepts and skills being taught in this topic.

As you know our student council Kindness Committee got things rolling in December with two successful fundraisers.  They are at it again and have some wonderful ideas.  I have also been impressed by the number of children willing to give of themselves in other ways.  Our tutoring program will begin soon.  Student council members are working on a survey that will help place fifth grade tutors with younger kids who need a little help in their schoolwork.  Other student council members are working on a poster to help make our Recess Rules clear, and still others are working to organize a Fox Hill clean up crew. We are working together at Fox Hill!

Some Fun Before Vacation!

Mismatch Day is Coming!!
Wednesday, December 23 is our last day before winter vacation. The entire fifth grade is celebrating their creativity by participating in what has become a greatly anticipated tradition- Mismatch Day.  A flyer was sent home Friday with the necessary information, but basically your child may feel free to wear the most mismatched clothes possible (without you having to buy anything!) At the end of the day there will be music and dancing and staff members will judge students' outfits.
Small prizes will be given for the most creative, colorful, and mismatched outfits.  This will be a fun way to say goodbye to 2015 and creatively welcome 2016!  Happy New Year!