Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Tuesday, January 31st

Hello, Families!  I am so sorry for the delayed post this week.  We've had so much going on!

Students worked to complete review of our fraction standards thus far, and completed their mid-point assessments today.  I should have those completed and returned by Friday.  I know that they worked hard and did their best work.

We are finishing up our branches of government.  Students have worked to complete an Explain Everything presentation demonstrating the knowledge and understanding of each branch and the checks and balances they maintain over each other.

We have continued inquiring into sound.  When completed further examination of pitch, using a glass and water.  Students explored through discovery education the many ways that pitch can be changed, including a closer look at the guitar.

After comparing and examining writing examples, the class determined key characteristics of a exemplary closing to their writing pieces.  They are diligently working on their drafts and will begin publishing by week's end.

This week, Ms. Monroe and I have collected several styluses from students.  These styluses have a red laser pointer on them.  We ask that those items are not sent to school as they are distracting and have been being misused.  Thank you for you support with this matter.

We are looking forward to our Night of Expression next Wednesday, February 8th at 6:30.  Students are excited to present their ideas and beliefs to you in either Art, Music, PE, Spanish, or Poetry.  Location information will follow very soon.  Students will be presenting throughout the building, based on their presentation topic.  We are looking forward to having you here!  You may want to come early or stay a little later to visit our book fair.

We will preview the F.AVE Book Fair this Thursday at 10:30, and our class will have purchase time February 9th at 10:00.  Please see the message below from Mrs. Smith regarding the book fair.
Book Fair 2/6 - 2/10
Our Book Fair is beginning next week! Preview days will run beginning this week on February 2nd, and students will be able to purchase beginning next week on Monday, February 6th! Students will be coming with their classes to preview and to purchase, so check with your child's teacher for those specific dates.

Book Fair Hours
Monday, 2/611:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Tuesday, 2/77:20 AM - 3:30 PM
Wednesday, 2/87:20 AM - 3:30 PM & 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Thursday, 2/97:20 AM - 3:30 PM & 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Friday, 2/107:20 AM - 10:00 AM

Volunteers Still Needed!
Meanwhile we need your help! Without parent volunteers, this book fair will not work. So, please sign up below to either volunteer for a shift, help set up or break down, or send in snacks for our our volunteers.

We are especially looking for volunteers to help out during our evening slots while Night of Expressions is happening. We are typically very busy during that time. Parents of 4th graders could help out during our 5th grade Night of Expressions, and vice-versa!

See you tomorrow!

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Wednesday, January 25th

What a nice day we had!

We were fortunate to have around 50 teachers from IB schools around the Atlanta area visiting our school today.  These teacher observed our class and many others to see IB in action.  Our students were wonderful during the visit, working hard to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise, as well as answer a few questions from our visitors.  Way to go Superstars!!

We continued our exploration of figurative language by hunting for it.  Students explored a variety of fiction texts to find examples of different types of figurative language.  They utilized the inferring skills to determine the meaning of the phrase or its purpose.

We began our inquiry into the properties of sound by listening, of course!  I played a variety of sounds for the class, and they were tasked to draw a picture of what they believe the sound would look like if they could see it (not the object making the sound).  We then worked to answer the question, "What is sound?"  The class concluded that sound travels in waves and is created by vibration.  To test our new scientific belief, students were given a bendy straw.  They used their mouth to blow are through the straw while it was tucked under their arm pit (Ew!).  We enjoyed quite a laugh from the results of our vibrating straws!  Check it out in the short video clip below:

Straw Vibrations

We have another busy day ahead of us tomorrow!  See you in the morning!

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Tuesday, January 24th

Happy Tuesday!
We had a fantastic start to our day with a performance by The Atlanta Opera.  The did a spectacular and funny performance of Cinderella.  The students were great and thoroughly enjoyed this nontraditional version of the story.  Afterward, we spent some time discussing the opera and worked to infer the beliefs of the author based on the ideas that were presented in the play.  We are looking forward to exploring the similarities and differences between this performance and our trip to see Cinderella at The Alliance Theater in March.  Please send in your permission forms as soon as possible.  They are due by February 10th.  I am still in need of one chaperone for our field trip in March.  Please contact me at csanders@csdecatur.net if you are available.





We began our inquiry into figurative language.  Students worked to assemble puzzles with examples and definitions of different types of figurative language that is used in poetry and prose to enhance the stories.  We will continue to explore this topic further during our whole class and small group reading activities.

After reading about the government of Egbonia on Monday, and suggesting ways in which to improve their government, students explored the branches of government this afternoon.  They are working to understand not only the powers that each branch posses, but how they work to balance each other.  Ask your child to tell you more!

Ms. Monroe is still in need of her signed permission forms.  Please send those in tomorrow.

Here is our completed interpretation of the preamble:


See you tomorrow!

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Thursday, January 19th

What a fun day we had!

We worked with number lines today to utilize our knowledge of benchmark fractions to determine if two fractions were greater, less, or equal to each other.  Students used 0, 1/2, and 1 to plot a variety of fractions on number lines and compare them.  They also worked to play equivalent fraction matching games!

We enjoyed a visit from Ms. Craig.  She did an in depth presentation about the properties and functions of light.
We continued inquiring into scientific ideas that changed beliefs about light following our visit from Ms. Craig.  As we began inquiring into absorption and reflection, the subject of color came up.  Students shared their beliefs about why certain shirts in our class appeared in a certain color.  Everything from orange, to yellow, to black were explained by the belief that the color we see is reflected and all other colors are absorbed.  We decided to take a closer look at the color black.  Students used three different types of black markers and water to inquire into their belief that black is reflected to our eyes.  After making predictions, the paper towels were dipped in water and the results were interesting.  Ask your child to tell you more!



We continued our inquiry into the meaning of the preamble to the constitution.  Students examined the meaning of their line from the preamble and began working together to design an image that represents their line.  When completed, all of the pictures will be combined to have a working interpretation of the preamble.  Stay tuned for our final piece!
Our light and spelling assessments will be held tomorrow, so don't forget to study!

Parents, please see your email regarding our viewing of the presidential inauguration tomorrow.

See you in the morning!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Tuesay and Wednesday, January 17th and 18th

Hello, Families!!

We have busy week on The Ave. so far!

Students began the week by exploring Martin Luther King Jr.'s I have a dream speech.  They were analyzing the ideas in his speech to infer his beliefs.  They worked to explain and illustrate their interpretation of his beliefs.

We've inquired into refraction by exploring lenses.  Students examined concave and convex lenses to determine their characteristics and function.  We utilized a prism to create a rainbow in the classroom.  Students were excited to see the white light split into the visible spectrum.

We've explored some of the major compromises that our Founding Fathers had to come up with during the creation of The Constitution.  We learned about The Great Compromise, where ideas were combined to make a fair representation for all states in our legislative branch.  We also discussed the Three-Fifths Compromise.  This compromise was made between Northern and Southern states in regards to whether or not slaves could count as part of the population.  Ask your child to tell you more!

Yesterday, Ms. Monroe sent a welcome letter, as well as a form to be completed and returned to her.  Please send those in as soon as possible.

You also received a field trip form for our upcoming (in March) trip to The Alliance Theater.  We will be seeing Cinderella.  As tickets are limited, we are only able to accommodate one chaperone for this trip.  The chaperone will also need to send in the $9 for their ticket.  Because of this, I will need to have the first parent to email be our chaperone.  Please email me at csanders@csdecatur.net if you would like to help with this trip!

We have a lot going on and students are working incredibly hard!  Our light assessment will be this Friday.  I will send home a study guide for our government standards tomorrow.

Have a great night!

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Wednesday, January 11th

Happy Wednesday!!!

We have had a wonderful two days as we dug deeper into some of our concepts for Term 4.

Students completed their class seals that represent the ideas and beliefs of our classroom.  They all turned out amazing.  Everyone voted for an overall class seal, and Connor's was the winner!

We have spent some time inquiring into compromise.  Today, students were told that they were stranded on an island after their cruise ship had crashed, with no hope of rescue.  They have everything that they need for survival on the island, and now their small group has been chosen to come up with the laws of the land.  Groups came up with some great laws and reflected on the compromises made between members of the groups.  From there, students began exploring the first set of laws for the United States of America, The Articles of Confederation.  The are inquiring into their purpose, as well as their weakness.  We will continue this inquiry tomorrow!

Groups were provided with a small bag of materials and asked to sort them any way that they wanted.  Some categories were opaque/transparent/translucent, type of material, color, see through/not see through.  We identified the categories that are related to light.  After being provided the categories of opaque/transparent/translucent, groups resorted their materials and we worked to come up with a definition for each term based on what we put in the categories.
We have had a great two days of rehearsal for our Village Gathering on Friday at 8:00!  All are participating, so we hope you can join us to celebrate our learning from Term 3!!

Have a fantastic night!

Monday, January 9, 2017

Monday, January 9th

Happy Monday!

We had an incredibly busy day!

We are so excited to have Ms. Lillian Monroe with us!  Today was her first day in our classroom as she completes her Master's Degree.  She has been with CSD for 12 years and is a great addition to our class!

Students continued their inquiry into fractions by decomposing fractions into their unit parts and using that to determine fractional equivalence.  Students used tape diagrams to model equivalent fractions.  Homework tonight supports our strategy.

We continued our exploration of poetry by examining the mood of poems.  Students heard two stories and determined worked to interpret the author's mood in the story by giving evidence.  We then inquired into the mood in the books the we are reading.  Students were charged to determine the mood in their own reading, providing evidence to support the thinking.  We added these to the board.

Don't forget that we are beginning to track and reward classes who have limited to no tardies.  Please ensure that your child arrives to school on time each day.

We are preparing for our Village Gathering on Friday.  Our class will be hosting, along with Mr. Luke's and Mrs. Clark's classes.  We hope you can join us at 8:00!

See below from Maestra Wagner:
¡Saludos F.AVE familias!

Welcome back from Winter Break!  As you know, Spanish classes were assessed over Listening and Writing before we went on break.  Please watch for graded assessments in the red Communication folder.  Re-take opportunities for students that received a one on either assessment will take place January 9 – 13.  Looking ahead, we have begun Term Four!  For extra, at-home review, please visit our Quizlet page and practice Term Four activities:


¡Gracias! 
Maestra Wagner

hwagner@csdecatur.net

Have a nice evening!!


Thursday, January 5, 2017

Thursday, January 5th

We had another great day!

Off and on throughout the day, we inquired into the scientific ideas that change beliefs by exploring properties of light.  Students used polymer balls and a glass of water and monitored their changes periodically.  We will continue monitoring them tomorrow.  Check out some pictures and a short video clip below!!





We took a walk through the neighborhood today.  Students worked in teams to locate and take pictures of things that they believe represent the ideas and beliefs of our community.  We had some technical difficulties inserting the pictures into our chart, but they were able to infer the beliefs of our community based on the ideas in the pictures.  Ask your child to tell you more!


 Next Monday, we are thrilled to have Ms. Monroe joining our class!  Ms. Monroe is a para-professional in kindergarten at Westchester and will be completing her student teaching in our classroom.  She will be with us beginning Monday, through mid-April.  She brings many years of classroom experience with her, and we are so excited to have her with us!

Have a great night!!

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Tuesday, January 3rd and Wednesday, January 4th

Welcome back!!!!

We have a fantastic two days back here on the Ave.!  The class has been happy and excited, and I have loved seeing them after being away for so long.

Tuesday was filled with catching up with each other after our long break.  We enjoyed hearing stories about trips and gifts and time with family.  We revisited our class essential agreements and got new seats.  Students spent some time reflecting on their goals from term 3 and setting new goals for term 4.  They also took a math pre-assessment.  Our focus for term 4 is fractions.

Today was spent starting our new genius hour activity.  Some genius hour groups are beginning to draft tiny houses!  They will be working this term to design, build, and create specs for a tiny house.  We are excited to see the outcomes!

We inquired into fractions today by answering three questions:
How do fractions work and what are they for?
What are they like?
How are they connected to other things?
Students worked in small groups to create Y-charts, answering these questions.  They shared their responses and then generated a list of things that they want to learn about fractions.
We are exploring the characteristics of poetry and prose.  Partners worked to sort characteristics on a Venn diagram.  We then read a poem and prose about Harriet Tubman, and worked to move around the characteristics on the Venn diagram as needed.  Teams did a great job and were able to have a great discussion about each type of piece.


Our afternoon was spent dissecting and thinking about our central idea for term 4:
Beliefs can be inferred through the analysis of ideas.
The class did a remarkable job of breaking this idea down, to make it easier to understand.  See our work below!

We've had a fun week, with more to come!
Mark your calendars for next Friday at 8:00.  Our class will be helping to host the Village Gathering with Mrs. Clark's, and Mr. Luke's classes.  We'd love for you to join us!

See you tomorrow!!