Weekend and Monday news

I will not be in class on Monday, so there won't be a homework email. Tammie Catherall, who is my regular substitute, will be at school in my place--she is an experienced teacher who knows my procedures and expectations, so it should be a regular day for the kids.

I will be able to check email, so please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the day.

Today was our last day with our visitors from Japan. They were extremely impressed with the hard work shown by your children!

Have a great weekend. Tomorrow morning is my personal triathlon. I plan to spend the afternoon napping. :)

Karen Stratton

Thursday homework

Writing: Finish the second paragraph of the traits essay. It must include a transition from the first paragraph to the second (such as "on the other hand" or "in addition", etc)

Reading: 30 + minutes

Math: Study Link 1-5, try the back side--it's enrichment

Social Studies: State poster project. Please find on the internet or draw two map outlines for your state. (Do not worry yet about coloring them in. Just bring in the outlines ready to work on.)

Curriculum night starts at 6:30.

State Poster project

Parents, 

Please resist the temptation to "help" with this project. It's an opportunity for me to see what your children can do independently.  We will have some work time in class, but some work will need to be done at home. Please monitor their progress and encourage them  to pace themselves and do a little each day. Thanks! 

Karen Stratton

My state: __________________________  Region: _______________________________

Create a poster about your state. Include two maps of the state—

A physical map  (showing major hills, mountains, rivers and colored brown for dry areas and green for forested or rainy areas)

A political map one that shows the state capitol  (marked with a star) and at least two major cities

Show with words, numbers and pictures

·      the major crops

·      the state nickname

·      the total area of the state

·      the total population (either from the atlas or the internet)

Write at least a paragraph about the state. Start with a HOOK! If you have a personal connection to the state or have visited it, you can include that information.

web site for blank state maps

Dear Students,

Here is a website where you can print an outline of your state map for the poster project.

http://www.50states.com/maps/#.UjHmNJKHekZ

Have fun!

Mrs. Stratton

Curriculum Night materials

 This is some of the information I will share at Curriculum Night, minus the cute clip art, which did not import into the blog.

 Curriculum Night—5^th grade

September 12^th, 2013

Dear Parents,

         Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year. We are excited to be working with your family this year. In this letter you will find an outline of fifth grade curriculum, an overview of our classroom expectations, avenues of communication between school and home, and homework responsibilities. We are looking forward to a great year together!

General Overview and Expectations

         During the first week of school we discussed and worked on creating classroom agreements that all students considered essential to a positive, fun, learning environment.  We expect students to be active participants in their education by engaging in classroom activities and discussions, to appreciate each other’s differences, treat each other with respect, and to take pride in their work.

Homework

Nightly your child will read a book that is appropriate for his/her reading level for 30 minutes.  There will be a math assignment almost every night. Other homework will vary depending on the day.  To keep the homework organized, we use a planner book and an expandable file folder. Please check this planner daily until your child can use it independently. We do not usually send homework on weekends.

Communication  

We are most easily reached by email and try to check this throughout the day.  Please also feel free to contact us by phone after school.  We have blogs to keep parents up to date on classroom happenings.

Science

     This year Sexton Mountain fifth graders have the opportunity again to work with the new science program, Interactive Science.  Last year our students enjoyed the digital activities, the in-class inquiry and engineering design, and the textbook.

Social Studies

   Oregon has revised its state standards so that fifth graders focus on explorers, colonies, the Revolution, and our US Constitution. An end of the year highlight will be the “We the People” hearings at school, and hopefully also in the Capitol Building in Salem.

Math

To address the Beaverton School District's math learning targets, as well as the state’s requirements for 5th grade we will be using the “Everyday Math” program.

http://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/home/departments/instruction/k-12-learning-targets/

Every Friday we will also be focus on math vocabulary and include the words in our end of chapter assessment.

Reading

          Fifth grade students are becoming fluent readers, and will read many non-fiction and fiction books, including their science and social studies textbooks, novels, and some selections from Storytown. We also have the National Geographic subscription at school. Our goal is for our students to leave Sexton Mountain for middle school with excellent reading skills and a love of reading.

Writing

           Learning to write well is difficult for many children. Writing is not so much one skill, as a bundle of skills that include sequencing, spelling, re-reading, and supporting big ideas with examples.  Common Core standards ask students to use writing in the “content areas” such as science and social studies. They are asked to support their opinions and assertions with evidence from the text. Regular writing will be integrated into all our studies. Please remember children’s writing is not expected to be perfect. As much as possible, children’s writing should be their own. If you have specific questions about how to support your child at home, please ask us!

Snack     

     We have found that students often need a healthy mid-morning snack. Our snack time is at 9:45 a.m.

Our daily schedule

Mrs. Stratton's 5th grade daily schedule:

8:30-9:00 Warm up (geography, vocabulary, non fiction reading--it varies by the day)
9:00-9:45 Specials (A--Technology, B--Library, C--Music, D-- PE)
9:45-10:00 DEAR and snack (we alternate non-fiction and fiction reading every other day)
10:00-12:10 Science, Social Studies, Writing, Math
12:10-12:50 Recess and lunch
12:50-1:10 Read Aloud
1:10-2:05 Math
2:05-2:20 Recess
2:20 Planners
2:30-3:00 Math, "Study Hall"

What is Study Hall?

Often we have time in the day to get a head start on homework during the last half hour of school. Math usually takes more than an hour, so sometimes we start early (before lunch) or finish after we complete our planners.

When do children leave the class for special services?

Resource Room-- reading support is from 11:20 to 11:50, math support is from 1:00 to 1:30
English Language Development-- 2:30-3:05
Speech is individually scheduled.
RTI  "Response to Intervention" reading services have not started yet, but will be 8:35-8:55.

Hello Parents and Students,

After two days of class, I can already tell this is going to be a great year.

We have started working in our science books, and I will have on-line access codes and user names for the children tomorrow. They will be able to complete or review assignments at home or in Tech class.

We took a "Beginning of the Year" math assessment today, so I can see where we need to start with math instruction. We also started our first Read-Aloud novel, "When you Reach Me."  It's a challenging story, and just right for this group of bright students.

Tonight's homework was to read 30 minutes and write a paragraph about school rules--why we have them, and which one the writer thinks is particularly important. I mentioned that I think being kind and doing your best work are the important ones for me.

I'm off on a bike ride now!

Mrs. Stratton