Classroom Updates

Happy Wednesday!  It was so great seeing all of you at Back-to-School Night!  If you were unable to make it, don’t forget to stop by the classroom to sign up for conferences.  Conferences are in November this year so they’ll be here before you know it. We are hard at work here in 5th grade so here are a few updates...

Social Studies-- As we begin our study of U.S. geography, students are memorizing U.S. States and Capitals. Students will have weekly quizzes dedicated to a particular region and then a final test on all 100!  Last week students memorized the Western Region and this week they are studying the Southwest Region. If you have questions about the regions, please reference the map located in the S.S. section of their binder.  *State Float Project is due next Tuesday, September 26th.  You can find examples on our classroom blog.

Math--We are learning to use Google Sheets to create classroom graphs. Students worked with a partner to measure their current height and they are now graphing the results. We also began some work with multi-digit multiplication and I noticed that several students do not have their multiplication facts memorized. Uh oh!

This can be tricky for students, especially when their multiplication facts aren’t fully memorized.  Please spend time at home practicing those facts with your children.  They need to be MEMORIZED!

Writing-- Students worked with a partner to create a Partner Poem.  These poems are posted under their self portraits this week so stop by and check those out.  We are now working on a Tour of the States Project.  Students are researching the same state that they are using to create their State Float.  They will then create a presentation using Google Slides to “show off” their state and attract travelers.

Literacy--This week we continue setting up routines for Reading Workshop. We are focusing on selecting “just right” books and building our reading stamina. We are also running through our Word Work routine as a class so students have experience with all aspects before they move into small group work.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @LewisRoom21 and visit our classroom blog for weekly updates http://lewisroom21.blogspot.com/.