Room 20 Classroom Notes December 16-20

Good Week!
As we prepare for our winter break, I wanted to thank all of you for supporting your children in fifth grade: the blood, sweat, and tears! Thanks also to classroom volunteers and extra support, such as the parents who signed up for preparation of our ginger bread village materials. We will construct our village (using our new-found geometry knowledge) on Friday of this week. Speaking of Friday, we will also watch a video in the afternoon: "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief." We will compare and contrast plot lines and character development with our read aloud from previous months. In math, we will continue to work on geometry through the new year, ultimately tackling surface area and volume. In writing, we will say goodbye to imaginative writing pieces and delve into informational. In science, we will begin a unit on scientific variables in January. In Social Studies, we will begin to explore "Explorers." We will finish up our Native American unit this week presenting our homework projects on Thursday and our in-class research presentations about our specific tribes. Once again, thank you for your support and your encouragement!

Chinese Family Traditions

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MwhgaIt3PsQbp4pBizisf37eHIbCiW0e8Glaolv8Ck4/viewform

Gingerbread Village Sign-up

Please come in and sign up to bring in materials for next week! It will be posted outside room 20!

Room 20 Classroom Notes December 9-13

The book reports were very excellent! The kids showed much creativity in how they presented their story. The next book reports will be assigned in January and will be based on a graphic novel. Stay tuned! I just wanted you all to know that I write my notes a week ahead because notes go out on Wednesdays. So, our last week of school (December 16-20) before winter break will include a few deadlines: All imaginative writing will be due. Most students will finish before this. Also, we will have a math geometry quiz, but will not finish our geometry unit until January, so the post assessment will happen in early January. Finally, our Native American home project are due Thursday, December 19th. These are dwellings, a tool, and a representation of a sacred animal from your child's tribe. We are working on an essay in school now about the variety of tribes throughout what we now call the United States. After we finish the essay, the students will begin a research project in class based specifically on their chosen tribe. The last day before break, we will be watching a video based on the audiobook we listened to while making our maps. We will watch "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief." It is rated PG. Speaking of maps, students will be taking home their states but not with the display boards. The display boards will be used for future presentations and projects, namely our science fair in late winter/early spring. Students will now be taking their spelling tests online. Students may also do digital homework on spelling city for 20 minutes per night instead of the spelling worksheets along with their math and nightly 30 minutes reading.

Essay of the Week (300 words or more):
*Imagine you find an old letter tucked inside a library book. The letter reveals that there is a hidden passageway somewhere at your school. Write about your search for the passageway and where it leads.

Fwd: Mandela Project

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Paul Colvin <pvcolvin@comcast.net>
Date: December 7, 2013 at 9:58:32 AM PST
To: Matthew Marchyok <mmarchyok@gmail.com>
Subject: Mandela project

Matt,
Did your class do the Mandela project in the hallway? I'm betting yes. If so, nice job!

Paul

Nelson Mandela Quotes

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2013/12/05/nelson-mandela-quotes/3775255/

Peer Editing

Room 20 Classroom Notes December 2-6

I had a wonderful time at conferences. I learned much and will implement strategies to better serve your child due to your insightful perspectives. I wanted to thank the kiddos for working so hard last quarter and hope they can push even harder as they approach their final three quarters of elementary school. This is why students must be prepared and responsible with their classwork, homework, and any school communications that must get home. I wanted to let you know we have implemented three new online supplements. Please ask your child about Newsela (high-interest online language arts articles), SpellingCity (spelling and vocabulary work), and MobyMax (an online reading and math curriculum). These tools are just a few items we have been using, aside from our staple GoogleDocs. We have a walking field trip next Thursday, December 12th! I very much need chaperones for this walking field trip to the Reed Cooley Art Gallery. Please contact me ASAP to help out from 8:50am-11:30am that day. It will be a very interesting focus on Soviet Graphic Arts. For the next three weeks before winter break, we will be learning about Native Americans of what we now call the United States. A homework project will be going home at the beginning of this week and will entail creating a Native American dwelling, a tool (artifact), and creating a symbol for a sacred animal of a tribe that will be assigned this week. For instance, if a student is assigned the Cherokee tribe, they will be creating a dwelling, tool and depicting a sacred animal for the Cherokee tribe. In class, students will be summarizing readings about native peoples and creating a presentation based on the said assigned tribe. It should be a lot of fun!!! See you soon.