Update from Room 21

Our first full week of school was a success! Students are settling into classroom routines and working harder than ever.  This week we begin homework!

Homework in a nutshell-- Weekly essays will be assigned every Monday and are due Friday.  Students are REQUIRED to turn in an outline AND a rough draft.  They should be stapled to the back of the final draft. All 3 essay elements are due on Fridays.  When math homework is assigned, it is due the following day.  We will correct the homework at the beginning of our math period and students will keep the corrected math sheet in their binder.  All math homework will be collected on Fridays.  Students should be reading for at least 30 minutes every night.  I do not require them to keep an at home reading log.  The reading log, found in the reading section of their binder, is for in class use only.  We are not starting the weekly essay for a few weeks.  

Math Update-- When teaching how to solve long division, I noticed that most students do not know their multiplication facts! Ahhh! A fifth grade teacher's nightmare :)  Students NEED to have multiplication facts MEMORIZED!!!  In order for students to be successful in long division, factoring, etc., those facts need to be completely memorized.  Please make sure your children are memorizing these facts at home!

S.S. Update-- Students are learning U.S. States and Capitals.

Students will have weekly quizzes dedicated to a particular region and then a final test on all 50!  This week students are memorizing the Western Region of the U.S.  Please reference their map, located in the S.S. section of their binder.  

Back-to-School Night is on Tuesday, Sep. 15 at 6:00 pm. I look forward to meeting those of you that I have not met and checking in with those of you that I have!  Don't forget to return the registration packets and please visit our classroom blog to view and fill out a survey regarding 5th Grade Science Camp http://lewisroom21.blogspot.com/.