A Special Thank You!

Thank you all for the wonderful gifts you sent in this week! I appreciate all that you do for me and our 5th grade class!  I hope each of you have a safe and happy winter break!

Curriculum Connections January 2015

When we return from winter break we will hit the ground running!  It will be very important for students to be focused, to study daily, and actively participate in class.  Here is what we will be studying when students return from the break:

Reading:  We will begin reading the novel Lyddie by Katherine Paterson.  This is a story of an orphan girl, separated from her siblings, and her struggle to earn money to reunite them, along with her struggle for better working conditions in the Lowell, Massachusetts mills.  This story ties in with our Industrial Revolution unit of study in Social Studies.
  

Math: We will continue to work on division with an emphasis on dividing with decimals.

Science:  We are moving right along with our landforms unit of study.  Students will learn all about oceanic landforms and how they compare to continental landforms.

Social Studies: Students will begin to study the Progressive Era.

Writing: Expository writing- Stepping into a New Year- 5 paragraphs

Please be sure to check the side for all tests and quizzes!

Immigration Day

Immigration Day was a huge success!  Students were able to rotate through various stations to experience what immigrants had to go through as they entered Ellis Island.  A special thank you to Madi for being our class photographer and taking pictures of the class as they participated in each station!

Health Inspection

Health Inspection

Let's Build Something

Taking the Citizenship Test

Unpacking Goods

Unpacking Goods

Students have also been working hard this week to complete their Immigration VoiceThread project before the winter break!  Check out some of our projects!

Immigrant from Mexico - Terry

Immigrant from India - Simran



Immigrant from Scotland - Michaela

The Creation of the Grand Canyon

We have been busy studying all about weather, erosion, and deposition and how they all work together.  To help the students understand WED we went back in time millions of year ago to what the Grand Canyon looked liked before it became a canyon.  We discussed how the Colorado River has helped form the Grand Canyon.  The students built a replica of a plateau and then rain a river through it to get a better understanding of how the Grand Canyon was formed.  Students were able to see weathering, erosion, and deposition taking place!  What a great learning experience for the students!

Building our plateau.

Building our plateau.

Watching the Grand Canyon form.

Having meaningful discussions!

Before

After

This activity really helped students to understand how weathering, erosion, and deposition work together to wear away Earth's surface.  They were also able to see how deposition builds new landforms!  Be sure to ask you child which new land from they see in the after picture!

Joining the Twitter Scene

Our 5th grade class has joined the Twitter scene!  If you are on Twitter and would like to follow us you may do so @ScrivensGators.  We are up to 34 followers!  

Happy Thanksgiving

I would like to wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy your time with family and friends!  I am so thankful to have such a great group of students and parents!  

Students Speak Out

This week students have been busy learning about multiplication properties in math, point of view vs perspective in ELA, and Westward Expansion in Social Studies.  Scan the QR code to listen to what students have learned about this week!

         

              
             

Social Studies by Madi

           

                                                                         
Math by Aryanna

           

                                                                           
ELA by Malik

Ecosystem Unit Test

We will have our Ecosystems end of unit test, Monday, November 24th.  Please make sure your child spends some time studying over the weekend.  Study guides were emailed to students last week. If students have not already made flashcards to help them study, they can do so using Funnelbrain.  This is a website Ms. Skinner, our school's guidance couselor, introduced to the students when she did a lesson on how to study.   We created accounts in class, so all students will need to do is go in and create their flashcards to help them prepare for the test!

Blogging in the Classroom

Last week some of the students began blogging in the classroom!  This is a great way for students to share with parents and their peers what they are learning in class.  We are using Weebly.com, which is a very easy to use website that hosts student blogs.  Click on some of the links to check out some of the blogs and what students have been learning in class!

Click here to visit Breanne's Blog

Click here to visit Madi's Blog

Click here to visit Malik's Blog

Once the rest of the students get their blogs up and going, I will share their URL address with you so that you can keep up with what they are doing in class!

Camp Discovery Field Trip

We had such a great time at Camp Discovery!  The students were able to explore a forest ecosystem!  A special thank you to Mrs. Barrs and Dr. Davis for serving as chaperones!  

    

          

Even Mrs. Barrs had a great time!

Love this bunch of gators!!!

Magnet School & Choice Information

This year all Middle School Magnet interviews, writing samples and activities will be scheduled on February 7, 2015 at Spring Valley High School. Students will be asked to bring a personally meaningful artifact to the interview. This artifact is primarily used as a prop to put the student as ease and give the interview team a way to personalize the interview.  Students will participate in a 15 minute individual interview with a team of two teachers and then move to the auditorium to complete the writing sample.  From there, students applying to certain magnets will move to another area for a hands-on activity.  More details will come out soon, but for now, please be aware of the upcoming important dates listed below.

• Choice Fair (featuring Magnet Programs, Westwood High School, 6:30 - 8:00  - December 2, 2014
• Choice Application Process Begins On-Line at www.richland2.org - January 6, 2015
• Choice Application Process Ends On-Line:  All applications are due by 5:00 pm on January 30, 2015.
• Choice Acceptance/Non Acceptance Notifications Posted On-line - March 18-24, 2015
• Parents Accept or Declinge Choice On-Line - March 18-24, 2015

The Choice Fair and the school information meetings are highly recommended for students changing schools, school levels, applying to magnet programs or students new to Richland Two.  Information regarding individual school and magnet programs will be provided during informational meetings.  Please refer to the schedule listed below.  All informational meetings begin at 6:30 p.m.

• January 6, 2015 - Blythewood Middle, Gymnasium - School Information Meeting
• January 7, 2015 - Dent Middle, Cafeteria - School/Magnet Infomation Meeting: TLC & FAME
• January 8, 2015 - Longleaf Middle, Gymnasium, LEAP & ZooBot
• January 12, 2015 - Dent Middle, Cafeteria - Single Gender & FAME
• January 13, 2015 - Summit Parkway Middle, Gymnasium - SIDI
• January 14, 2015 - Muller Road Middle, Gymnasium - Leadership Academy at Muller
• January 21, 2015 - E.L. Wright, Gymnasium - LAW & International Program
• January 22, 2015 - Kelly Mill Middle, Gymnasium - Kelly Mill, INC.

If you have any questions, please contact our school's guidance counselor, Mrs. Skinner.

Morning Work Math Quizzes

Each morning for morning work students have to complete 5-6 math problems.  These are review skills that we have covered in class or they have learned in 4th grade.  On each Friday, students will be given a quiz on problems that will come directly from their morning work.  We go over all problems each day.  As we are going over the problems the students should be making corrections in red, if necessary.  Please make sure your child is studying his/her morning work each night so that he/she will be prepared for Friday's quiz.