5-2 Updates ~ 12/8/18

Hello 5-2 Parents ~

We had another busy week in 5-2 today! I hope you all found some time to relax together as a family this weekend.

Important Dates
Class T-shirt Form ~ due Monday, 12/10 ~ The 5th Grade Committee sent home order forms for your child's class t-shirt this week. They are all so excited to receive their t-shirts!! These forms are due on Monday - there is no cost for the first t-shirt, they just need to know your child's size and how you would like their name to appear on the 5th grade memorabilia. If you would like to receive an additional t-shirt, the cost is $6. Please let me know if you child misplaced their order form, and I'll send home another.  They'll receive their t-shirt the day we take our 5th grade class photo, currently scheduled for 1/25. Students are asked to wear their class t-shirts on our 5th grade field trip to Camp Edwards and at the 5th grade breakfast.

MAP testing

Monday, 12/10 ~ 1:15-2:15 ~ Reading 

Tuesday, 12/11 ~ 1:15-2:15 ~ Reading 

**New this year - students will have TWO days to complete each test. We have found that some students felt rushed in past years when only given one time slot to take the test, so all students will be given two blocks to finish the test.

Please encourage your child to take their time and do their best on these tests as they are used for placement in middle school. You can support your child's best effort by ensuring they get a full night's sleep before the test and eat a healthy breakfast and lunch. 

We also ask that you minimize absences on MAP testing days if at all possible.  While we do offer makeups the following week, we have found that students who need to makeup the tests experience more anxiety because they miss instruction during the makeup test.  Anxiety can negatively impact test performance.

Science Behind Drugs ~ Friday, 12/14 ~ 9:10-10:40am

This program outlines different types of drugs including alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants and medicines and their impact on the brain and body.  Students will begin learning refusal and coping skills and become Peer Prevention Specialists.  The Science Behind Drugs program incorporates a comprehensive, blended learning approach to substance abuse prevention education. Tied to both SEL and Health Standards, the program structure includes an interactive e-learning lesson (on Thursday afternoon) prior to the classroom visit from the Robert Crown educators, whole and small group work infused with games, activities and discussions and an app-based post activity to help assessments for teachers.

Robert Crown Health educator facilitates a classroom program that includes:

• interactive learning stations for exploration on alcohol, smoking, marijuana, inhalant abuse and medicines and how they affect the brain and body
• small and large group scenario based activities to explore peer pressure and apply refusal skills
• discussion on how drugs can impact the adolescent brain
• question and answer opportunities with a health educator

For more information about the Science Behind Drugs program, please visit the link:  https://www.robertcrown.org/category/science-behind-drugs/

Math

We continued working hard to master multiplying fractions and mixed numbers in math, and began practicing dividing fractions this week. We're moving a little slower through chapter 4 than originally planned, and with the interruptions to our schedule (MAP testing and Science Behind Drugs), I have decided to move our final assessment one more day.  The Chapter 4 Assessment is currently schedule for Tuesday, 12/18. Please encourage your children to continue to practice multiplying and dividing fractions at home by logging on to Khan Academy and Freckle.

Social Studies

We worked on their Revolutionary War Battle Research all week, and turned in their final poster on Friday. I have been impressed with the progress your children are making in their research skills with each of the projects we've worked on this first half of the year! They are growing in their ability to identify the most important information in the text they read, and they are learning to paraphrase the information in their own words! This is a difficult skill to learn, but one that is essential as they move forward in their education. I'm please with how hard they are working to master this skill!

The final Unit 13 Assessment is scheduled for scheduled for Tuesday, December 11th. To prepare for the assessment, your child could re-read the chapter in their History Alive textbook, review he completed organizer posted on Google Classroom as a study guide, and create flashcards for the vocabulary words in the chapter.

Reading
We finished up our Notice & Note Signposts, and returned to our Schoolwide curriculum in reading this week with a focus on story in historical fiction. We discussed the impact of a historical setting on the different story elements. Next week, we will dive deeper into characters and conflict, focusing on how those story elements influence the overall story. We will finish our Fiction unit before Winter Break, with the Fiction Summative scheduled for Friday, 12/21.

We continue to work on our Cereal Box projects this week - you children have been given a great deal of time to work on this project in class. I'm impressed with the quality and care so many of your children are putting into their cereal boxes! These projects and presentations are due on Monday, 12/17. To review the project descriptor and expectations, please ask your child to show you the assignment on Google Classroom. They are expected to submit the graphic organizer by 12/17, as well as be prepared to present their cereal box to the class with notecards.

Writing
We have been using the nonfiction text George vs George to practice our research and note-taking skills, while adding to our background knowledge of the American Revolutionary War. The conversations during our writing block have been engaging!

Fixed vs Growth Mindset
We dove deeper into Fixed vs. Growth Mindset with Mrs. Watanuki this week, and what a great time we've had learning about the latest brain research and how we learn! Your child should be able to tell you about the different parts of the brain, as well as how neurons impact our learning.  Then we spent the rest of the week learning about GRIT. If you're interested in learning why we're taking so much time to teach your children about GRIT, please watch the short TED talk by Angela Duckworth - I've included the link below. We ended the week by studying some famous failures, and sharing them "speed dating" style. Your children's interest and curiosity during this unit has been contagious!  Next week, we will work on all those things that improve our GRIT, including identifying our learning style and personality, positive self-talk, and strategies for when we get stuck.

Angela Duckworth ~ TED Talk

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.  

Grit is that 'extra something' that separates the most successful people from the rest. It's the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality. 
~ Travis Bradberry

Cheers ~

Theresa Fowler

5-2 Updates ~ 11/30/18

Hello 5-2 Parents ~

What a surprisingly quick and fierce start to the winter season! I hope you are all staying warm and safe, and weren't too inconvenienced by the power outages many of our families experienced as a result of the storm. Though it was a difficult time for many, it was beautiful to see our community pull together to support one another!

Now that we have snow on the ground, please be sure your child is dressed warmly enough to be outside for a 30 minute recess every day. They need boots, snow pants, and gloves to be able to play on the snow. If they do not have the appropriate winter gear, they will stay on the blacktop. I would also encourage you to label all outerwear as we end up with quite a bit of clothing in the Lost & Found this time of year!

Even though it was a short week, we've been busy!  Sit down and get comfy - this is a longer blog post than usual ;)

Important Dates

MAP testing

Monday, 12/3 ~ 11:10-12:00 ~ Math 

Tuesday, 12/4 ~ 11:10-12:00 ~ Math 

Monday, 12/10 ~ 1:15-2:15 ~ Reading 

Tuesday, 12/11 ~ 1:15-2:15 ~ Reading 

Advanced math students will MAP test with our homeroom at the time listed above.

**New this year - students will have TWO days to complete each test. We have found that some students felt rushed in past years when only given one time slot to take the test, so all students will be given two blocks to finish the test.

Please encourage your child to take their time and do their best on these tests as they are used for placement in middle school. You can support your child's best effort by ensuring they get a full night's sleep before the test and eat a healthy breakfast and lunch. 

We also ask that you minimize absences on MAP testing days if at all possible.  While we do offer makeups the following week, we have found that students who need to makeup the tests experience more anxiety because they miss instruction during the makeup test.  Anxiety can negatively impact test performance.

Science Behind Drugs ~ Friday, 12/14 ~ 9:10-10:40am

This program outlines different types of drugs including alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants and medicines and their impact on the brain and body.  Students will begin learning refusal and coping skills and become Peer Prevention Specialists.  The Science Behind Drugs program incorporates a comprehensive, blended learning approach to substance abuse prevention education. Tied to both SEL and Health Standards, the program structure includes an interactive e-learning lesson (on Thursday afternoon) prior to the classroom visit from the Robert Crown educators, whole and small group work infused with games, activities and discussions and an app-based post activity to help assessments for teachers.

Robert Crown Health educator facilitates a classroom program that includes:

• interactive learning stations for exploration on alcohol, smoking, marijuana, inhalant abuse and medicines and how they affect the brain and body
• small and large group scenario based activities to explore peer pressure and apply refusal skills
• discussion on how drugs can impact the adolescent brain
• question and answer opportunities with a health educator

For more information about the Science Behind Drugs program, please visit the link:  https://www.robertcrown.org/category/science-behind-drugs/

Math

We continued working hard to master multiplying fractions and mixed numbers in math. With the break for MAPS testing on Monday and Tuesday, we won't finish Chapter 4 until the following week.  The Chapter 4 Assessment is currently schedule for Monday, 12/17. Please encourage your children to continue to practice their skills at home by logging on to Khan Academy and Freckle.

Social Studies

We began our unit on the Revolutionary War with a tug-of-war game in the classroom on Tuesday. What fun the kids had re-enacting the battle with an actual game of tug-of-war!! The red team represented the British, and the blue team represented the Continental Army - ask your child how unfair the game seemed at first with the largest students on the British side. There were several rule changes to the game that represented the actual events, and the Continental Army was actually able to win the game - ask them how the blue team won!

After reading chapter 13 in their History Alive textbook and completing an organizer this week, we began work on our Revolutionary War Battle posters today. They chose a specific battle to research further and will use the research to create a poster to display on a timeline of the battles of the Revolutionary War. Their research notes and poster are due on Friday, December 7th. The assignment and a few research links are posted on Google Classroom.

The final Unit 13 Assessment is scheduled for scheduled for Tuesday, December 11th. To prepare for the assessment, your child should re-read the chapter in their History Alive textbook, review he completed organizer posted on Google Classroom as a study guide, and create flashcards for the vocabulary words in the chapter.

Reading
We continued our work on Notice & Note Signposts this week - learning about Tough Questions and Words of the Wiser. We have been practicing finding these signposts together as a whole class while reading portions of engaging stories, and they are expected to continue practicing finding these signposts in their novel as exit slips independently.  

Your child should be reading a novel every night for at least 20 minutes - please be sure your child does not skip this most important part of their homework. This week, students chose a specific number of pages their novel groups are expected to read every night - if your child is a reluctant reader, please check in with them to be sure they are reading the assigned pages. The single greatest way to increase comprehension and vocabulary is to read! If they are not reading on their own every night, they will struggle to make progress in their comprehension.

We began working on our Cereal Box projects this week.  These projects and presentations are due on Monday, 12/17. To review the project descriptor and expectations, please ask your child to show you the assignment on Google Classroom. They are expected to submit the graphic organizer by 12/17, as well as be prepared to present their cereal box to the class with notecards.

Writing
We began our unit on Research and Content Area writing this week. This unit is focused on improving their research note taking skills as we read George vs. George, a nonfiction text about King George III and George Washington. This text supports our social studies unit on the Revolutionary War. We will continue for the couple of weeks practicing how to pull the most important information out of a nonfiction text and put it into our own words. Once we finish the text, the students will choose a specific topic from the text to research further, and use to write an editorial (persuasive essay) for a newspaper from the era of the Revolutionary War. 

Fixed vs Growth Mindset
On Thursday, your children were introduced to the difference between a fixed vs a growth mindset through a challenging activity. Ask your child about how they felt through the activity, and some fo the things we recorded them saying!  Mrs. Watanuki joined us to explore the importance of understanding the difference, and pushing ourselves toward a growth mindset. She will be returning every afternoon next week to teach them a little more about the brain, how to develop a growth mindset by learning to persevere through the challenges they encounter in life. 

In a fixed mindset, people believe their qualities are fixed traits and therefore cannot change. These people document their intelligence and talents rather than working to develop and improve them. They also believe that talent alone leads to success, and effort is not required.

Alternatively, in a growth mindset, people have an underlying belief that their learning and intelligence can grow with time and experience. When people believe they can get smarter, they realize that their effort has an effect on their success, so they put in extra time, leading to higher achievement.

Carol Dweck, a researcher at Stanford University, introduced these ideas and wrote a book to describe each mindset in more detail.  According to Dweck, when a student has a fixed mindset, they believe that their basic abilities, intelligence, and talents are fixed traits.  They think that you are born with a certain amount and that's all you have.

People with a fixed mindset always want to appear intelligent because they believe that they were born with a fixed level of intelligence that cannot be modified. These people have a fear of looking dumb to people because they do not believe that they can redeem themselves once other people look at them as being unintelligent.

In a growth mindset, however, students believe their abilities and intelligence can be developed with effort, learning, and persistence.  Their basic abilities are simply a starting point for their potential. They don't believe everyone is the same, but they hold on the the idea that everyone can become smarter if they try.

Character Education

Every week for a month, we spend time in circle discussions and engaging activities focused on one character trait. We've focused on gratitude for the month of November!

Both expressing — and feeling — gratitude are important parts of life. A sense of gratitude can benefit children (and adults!) in a variety of ways. It can decrease stress and has other important emotional health benefits. A person who is grateful tends to spend less time comparing him or herself with others and feeling envious. It also helps people, especially children, step into someone else’s shoes and realize that another person did something nice for them even though he or she didn’t have to. We want our children to be able to relate to other people’s feelings and to feel a sense of belonging in their classrooms and community - cultivating a sense of gratefulness goes a long way toward this goal.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.  

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life, and turns what we have into enough.
~Melody Beattle

Cheers ~

Theresa Fowler