Week 8, Quarter 4

TWO WEEKS TO GO!!!!

ONE MORE TEST LEFT!!

Wednesday, we will complete our final test for 5th grade which is Science! Yay!!

You should have all received an email from Mrs. Mori last week regarding what will be going on Wednesday after the test:) If you didn't receive the email please let me know and I will forward it to you!


This week: 

Monday: We will work on completing our projects of the Native American Museum Displays. (Presentations on Thursday afternoon). Students will go to Math at normal time. The River Wranglers will come to our classroom in the afternoon to wrap up our field trip from last week.

Tuesday: Projects need to be completed today and students will go to Math as normal schedule.

Wednesday: Science test in the morning! We will wrap up projects if we have time. Please refer to Mrs. Mori's email in regards to the rest of our day on Wednesday. There are a few specific instructions that we need you to read over BEFORE Wednesday  :)

Thursday: We will go to the view the middle school projects. The middle schoolers are also creating museum displays, but theirs are on WW2. We want students to see what will be expected of them in middle school, Students will then come back and make any changes they feel they should make and get ready to present. They will go to Math as scheduled Thursday as well.

Thursday, May 18, @ 2:30- We will be presenting our Native American Museum Displays in the cafeteria! We are inviting ALL parents and we will be inviting other students as well. We hope to see ALL of you there! 

I hope you ALL have a fantastic week!

Week 7, Quarter 4

3 MORE WEEKS TO GO!!

Testing Days for the Week (only 3 more to go..2 this week and 1 Science test next week)

Tuesday (May 9th) and Thursday(May 11th) ELA Part 1 and 2

Thank you to all who have signed up for snacks this week:)

To SUM UP OUR WEEK: We will be practicing for SBAC, reviewing Science and working on our Native American Museum Displays.

AND ON WEDNESDAY: 
We are going on another walking field trip to the Carson River on Wednesday. We will be walking down Venturacci and across Coleman Rd. We will leave around 9:15am and should be back around 1:00pm. We will be learning about "Conserving the Carson River." Hotdogs, apples, and chips will be served for lunch. Please have your child pay attention to the weather that day so they can dress accordingly. 

They have asked that your child bring the following: 

-a small backpack

-a refillable water bottle(no plastic)

-hat

Some other suggestions:

-sunscreen

-mosquito spray

Please let me know if you have any questions:)

I hope you all Have a GrEaT week!

Quarter 4, Week 6

Only 4 weeks left!!

Testing Days this week: Tuesday and Thursday SBAC Math Part 1 and Part 2.
Thank you to those of you who are sending in snacks for testing, we really appreciate it! There still are a few openings to sign up for snacks if you want to :)

In between testing: We will continue to practice for SBAC and work on our Native American Museum Displays.

Just an FYI: On Wednesday, May 10th, we get to take another field trip! We will walk to the Carson River (on the other side of Coleman Rd) and spend the morning learning about how we can "Conserve the Carson River." I will send more details as this gets closer.

I hope everyone has a GREAT week!

Quarter 4, Week 5

Testing starts this week for us on Wednesday......

On Monday, we walked to the museum to kick off our new project. The kiddos are studying Native American Tribes and will be creating their very own museum display. Thank you to my Mrs. Kelsey and Mrs. Miller for walking over and back with us! Also, thank you for sharing pictures with me:)

To sum up our week:  We have two tests this week. The ELA ACT is tomorrow(Wed) and the Math/Science ACT is on Thursday. Please make sure that your kiddos have their own headphones. Also, thank you to those of you who have signed up for the snacks:)

In between testing: We will be practicing for SBAC and starting our new project. This is a BIG project and we only have a short amount of time in between testing to get it done.

Reminder: Don't forget our presentations this Thursday from 2:15-3:15 in our classroom. Students will be sharing their Wonder presentations and their very own owner's manuals. We hope to see you all there!

Here are some pics from the museum...

Week 4, Quarter 4

Writing: We will continue with the owner's manuals, these will be due on Thursday.

Projects: We will present the erosion projects tomorrow (Tuesday). We will start a new economics project on Wednesday where the students will learn how to write a check and use a check register.

4th Grade Writing: We will finish our informative paper for our state writing assessment practice. We will then practice and review language standards with IXL. Students will then practice their inferencing skills with reading different passages and answering questions.

Reading: We will continue working on our Wonder movie trailer where the students are focusing on changing the mood and the tone. We will record these on Thursday. Students will also finish study jams this week.

Testing is starting NEXT WEEK.. We will test on the following days..
4/26/2017 (Wed)
4/27/2017 (Thurs)
5/2/2017 (Tuesday)
5/4/2017 (Thursday)
5/9/2017 (Tuesday)
5/11/2017 (Thursday)
5/17/2017 (Wednesday)

 I will send out an additional email if you would like to sign up to bring snacks in on one of these days. 

Week 3, Quarter 4

5th Grade Writing: We are working on making an owner's manual about ourselves! This will give the students a chance to be creative and have some fun with their Writing.

Projects:Students will continue on with their projects on erosion.

4th Grade Writing: Students are working on their last practice test for the state assessments. This paper is an informative paper.

Reading: I am continuing on assessing the students. Students will be finishing study jams, working on IXL review, and also working on their movie trailer for Wonder, where they are focusing on having to change the mood and tone of the actual book. They have all come up with some great ideas!

Just a Reminder: The following days are when your child will be testing. We encourage your child not to miss these days. I will send more info about testing as it gets closer. 

4/26/2017
4/27/2017
5/2/2017
5/4/2017
5/9/2017
5/11/2017
5/17/2017

I hope you all have a fabulous week!

Week 1, Quarter 4

I can't believe we are in the 4th quarter already!

Writing: We will continue to practice for the state testing with writing an informative paper about living at the South Pole.

Projects: Students will learn about the different types of erosion and pick from a menu of how they want to present it to the class.

4th Grade Writing: We will continue to practice for the state testing.

Reading: We will prepare for the Student Led Conferences and work on our Precepts from Wonder. 

Auctions: Will take place this week because we only were able to have them a couple times before spring break.

Below is the information for conferences, looking forward to seeing you all on Friday:)

Student-Led Conference Information

******************************************************

Dear 5th Grade Family,

Our class has been working hard this year on personal responsibility, work ethic and building community through our academic achievements.  As parent-teacher conference time approaches, I would like to implement a student-led style of conferencing.  Your child will take you through their achievements, difficulties, reflections and goals. I will be in the room as an observer, but not leading the traditional conference.

Their report cards will be available on this day as well.  Your child will go through their report card with you, as well as other work we have gathered.

These conferences will take place on the following day:

Friday, March 31. (Time- 7:30am-3:30pm)

There is NO set schedule; you may come in at any time mentioned above, unannounced, at your convenience.  Each conference will take about 20 minutes.  If you feel that you would like a separate conference with me after your child has presented their packet, I will have a signup sheet.  Those conferences will be held at a later date.

I am excited to watch them take control of, and be responsible for, their conferences and work.  They have made so much growth this year.  Their reflections are meaningful and their achievement has strengthened their confidence and self esteem.  I look forward to seeing you

As always, if you need to contact me, I am available!

Thank You,

Jenna McElhannon

Week 10 Quarter 3

It is the last week of quarter 3!! Wow, time is flying by!!

Writing: We will continue on with practicing for the State Writing Assessment. Your kiddos are working really hard on these, I know this makes for long days, but their work ethic is so GREAT!

Projects: We will learn and create our own fossils!

4th Grade Writing: We will continue on with practicing for the State Writing Assessment.
These kiddos are also working hard on these!

Reading: We will continue on with Wonder, practicing our reading strategies. We also are going to start preparing for our student led conferences and I will continue assessing all students.

A FEW REMINDERS:

-Spring Break is next week(yay!) March 20-23
-Conferences - March 31 (Student Led-must bring in your child with you) All information is on my blog. I will send a hard copy home with students on Thursday and will send out a couple email reminders the week of.
-Auctions! It is that time again, please send in at least one item so your child can participate:)

Also, thank you for letting me hang out with your kiddos everyday, I enjoy each and every one of them and will miss them next year!

I hope you all have a fabulous week!

Student-Led Conference Information

******************************************************

Dear 5th Grade Family,

Our class has been working hard this year on personal responsibility, work ethic and building community through our academic achievements.  As parent-teacher conference time approaches, I would like to implement a student-led style of conferencing.  Your child will take you through their achievements, difficulties, reflections and goals. I will be in the room as an observer, but not leading the traditional conference.

Their report cards will be available on this day as well.  Your child will go through their report card with you, as well as other work we have gathered.

These conferences will take place on the following day:

Friday, March 31. (Time- 7:30am-3:30pm)

There is NO set schedule; you may come in at any time mentioned above, unannounced, at your convenience.  Each conference will take about 20 minutes.  If you feel that you would like a separate conference with me after your child has presented their packet, I will have a signup sheet.  Those conferences will be held at a later date.

I am excited to watch them take control of, and be responsible for, their conferences and work.  They have made so much growth this year.  Their reflections are meaningful and their achievement has strengthened their confidence and self esteem.  I look forward to seeing you

As always, if you need to contact me, I am available!

Thank You,

Jenna McElhannon

Quarter 3, Week 9

We only have 2 weeks left of the third quarter! Time is flying by!

Writing: We are practicing for the state writing assessment that will take place this spring.

Projects: We are building and conducting our "Save the Egg" project. We will drop eggs on Thursday.

4th Grade Writing: We will start learning and practicing for the state writing assessment this spring.

Reading: We will continue with Wonder discussions in our reading groups while also practicing our reading strategies. We will also learn about how to identify the tone and mood of a story.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be on Friday, March 31, these will be student led.  I will be sending out more information on these in the next few weeks. 

Quarter 3, Week 8

5th Writing: We are starting to practice for the State Writing Test in the Spring. We will go through one assisted and then students will do one on their own.

Projects: We are starting our new "Save the Egg" project.  This is where students will engineer an egg drop protective device. I will supply all supplies Except a pair of socks and an egg. I will partner students this week and the students can decide which item they want to bring in.

4th Grade Projects: We will continue with our state research project. Presentations our this Thursday in the Dungeon from 11:15-12:00.

Reading: We are continuing on with Wonder in their book clubs. They will also continue practicing their reading strategies and independent stamina.

Maverick: We will go this Thursday during our PE time! Your child will be limited to TWO items.

I hope everyone has a FANTASTIC week! 

Quarter 3, Week 7

5th Writing: We worked on finishing our Ecosystem papers. Every single student should be proud of these papers, I am excited to grade them!

Projects: We finished our natural disaster projects and learned about food chains. Next week,we will start a new engineering project where we try to save an egg. I will supply all supplies Except a pair of socks and an egg. I will send more information out about that next week.

4th Grade: We are still working on our state research projects and will finish them and present next Thursday.

Reading: We continued with Wonder and our various reading strategies. We also worked on Science Study Jams and IXL.

Maverick: Our class has earned another trip to Maverick!! I want to take this trip next Thursday. It was suggested to me, by some of my students, that instead of limiting the amount of money, I should just limit the amount of items because sometimes two items could cost like $5.50. So this time, I will let you decide how much money you want to send with your child, BUT they will only be allowed to get TWO items. We will try this and see how it works :) It is totally up to you how much you want to send with your child.

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

Week 6, Quarter 3

5th Writing: We will continue on with our informative paper on the ecosystem and its 4 spheres.

5th Projects: We will continue on with our natural disaster project, these will be due on Thursday.

4th Writing: We will continue on with our State Research Projects. Thank you to those parents that were able to come help on Thursday.

Reading: We will continue on reading and discussing Wonder in our Book club groups, inferring and connecting to the text, and also practicing our independent stamina.

Valentine's Day-We will be celebrating this tomorrow afternoon from3:30-4:00 by exchanging Valentine's between the students. Please refer to Blog post below that has our class list.

I hope you all have a GREAT week!

Week 5, Quarter 3

5th Grade Writing: We will continue on with our ecosystem paper.

Projects: Students will start a new project where they will be assigned a group and a sphere. They will research this sphere and choose a natural disaster that can occur in that sphere. They will then plan and eventually develop a model of that natural disaster.

4th Grade Writing: We will continue on with our state research project.

Reading: We will continue on with our reading book Wonder. Also working on our independent stamina and our various reading strategies.

Candy Grams are for Sale! 

Sales start Monday(today) and go through next Monday. Cost is .75 a piece or $10 if you buy for a whole class. Kiddos will deliver on Tuesday.

Sales will be during 3-5 lunch and 6-8 lunch in the cafeteria. We aren't selling in the office or in individual classrooms. 

I hope everyone has a fabulous week! 

Valentine's Day

This year, since Valentine's Day is on an actual school day, we are able to celebrate it!:)

On February 14th, starting at 3:30, we will be exchanging Valentines with our classmates. 

Here is a list of our students: 

Sere

Bryce

Anehli

Emily

Rafe

Andrew

Madison

Colin

Preston

Lily

Jessalyn

Hunter

Carson

Sarah

Corbin

Anna

Gabby

Drew

Sofia (Sofie)

Aubrey

Also, I thought for those of you who knew Bella, I thought it would be fun to each send her one. If you would like to put her name on one, I will send a package to her. 

Quarter 3, Week 4

5th Grade Writing: Students will continue working on their informative paper on the 4 spheres of the Ecosystem. This week, students will finish up their T Chart and start their rough drafts while conferencing with me each step of the way. 

Projects: Students will learn all about photosynthesis on Monday and then create their very own rap song about Photosynthesis and perform to the class. On Tuesday we will construct our terrariums. On Wednesday, students will recognize how much of the earth is covered in water and then draw a picture showing this representation, and on Thursday they will construct a bar graph using the picture they drew on Wednesday. 

4th Grade: We will finish up our T Charts of our state project, type up sentences about our states using the T Chart. Once we finish typing, we will start to mount our sentences to make it look professional on our floats. If we finish all of that, we will then be able to start building our floats. 

Reading: We will continue to read and discuss Wonder while also working our independent reading strategies. 

Carson City Pictures-I have been trying to upload my picture so that I can share them with you, but my phone is not cooperating. I will share as soon as I can figure that out. 

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Quarter 3, Week 3

5th Writing: This week we will start another informative paper. This paper will go right along with our new project on the ecosystem. Students will have to explain how all 4 spheres play a vital role in our ecosystem.(hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere)

Projects: As was stated in the email you received from Mrs. Mori, we are starting a new project on the ecosystem. This project is 4 weeks long because it is covering a lot of standards. This week, we will learn all parts of the ecosystem, learn our vocabulary(Quiz will be on February 9th), and we will finish up the week learning about photosynthesis.

4th Writing: We are going to start a fun state research project. Students will pick a state out of a bag and have to research certain things about this. This is a fun way for me to get to know your kiddos doing a fun project and not just Writing..Please send in shoe boxes :)

Reading: We will continue reading Wonder and working on our reading standards and strategies.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION-PLEASE READ: 

1)We will be creating terrariums to go along with our ecosystems unit. This entire unit is 4 weeks long and this is just a small part of it. 

Your child will need the following:

*1 wide mouthed, quart mason jar with a lid 

*small pebbles, colored if the want

*live moss or one other SMALL plant (make sure your plant will fit into your jar)

*Optional larger rocks for decoration

***If someone is willing to donate a large bag of potting soil to each of our classes we would really appreciate it. 

Many thanks!! 

2) Nonrenewable and Renewable resource quiz this Thursday, have your child STUDY! :)

3)Please turn in the permission slip for the Carson City field trip that is THIS WEDNESDAY. Please circle if your child MAY or MAY NOT go. Without a permission slip, your child will be unable to attend. I emailed you a copy of the permission slip if you need an extra one. 

I hope everyone has a great week!

Week 2, Quarter 3

5th Writing: We will be working on various grammar standards such as root words, dialects, and learning how to constructive a complete meaningful sentence.

Projects: We will be learning about shadows, parts of a plant, and internal organs of an animal such as heart, lungs, brain, and skin. Students will learn about the different parts and then construct their very own model. 

4th Grade: We will be learning and practicing relative pronouns. 

Reading: We will continue reading Wonder, working in our various groups, and practicing our different reading strategies. 

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!:)

Week 1, Quarter 3

Welcome back 5th grade families!!

We are off and rolling in our third quarter.

In Writing: We are learning about Science and renewable and nonrenewable energy. Students will have a quiz on this in two weeks on January 23rd. They should be studying at home on quizlet starting Tuesday night. 

Projects:We are reviewing and learning about gravity, air resistance, Earth and our universe and lastly, we will be learning about shadows. 

4th Grade Writing: We are learning all about helping verbs this week. 

Reading: We will be reviewing our reading strategies that we learned before break and will be learning new ones starting next week. We will be starting a new class novel called Wonder. This is a great novel and I can't wait to start reading it with your kiddos.  

A Couple Important Announcements:

• Our class is going to start a nightly reading log. Your child will come home with a reading log. They are to read for 15 minutes and spend 5 minutes writing a short summary on what they read. This is basically who, what, why, when, where, and sometimes how. If you could just initial this after your child reads and fills this form out that would be great. 
• I sent out an email from Mrs. Barton. If you could please send in a flashlight with your child for a fun music project that would be great. 
• Auctions! We never did auctions for 2nd quarter because of all the craziness. If you could send your child in with one item that would be great. This can be any small item that you wish, something from the Dollar Store, something laying around the house that doesn't get used, or if your child wants to make something. I have contributed to this as well. Thank you in advance for sending in items. 

I think that wraps up our 1st week back, please email me if you have any questions or concerns:)