End of Sept Update!

In writing

 We are officially off to a spectacular start on our narrative pieces. Most students have selected a small moment topic to write about as a full out narrative. This will include taking a moment and writing about it with an introduction, middle and conclusion, as well as using author's craft techniques such as figurative language and dialogue to help make the story interesting. I am also focusing heavily on what type of writer's they are and how they work through the writer's process. If you want to help your child at home, I recommend asking them about the topic and help them remember details from that particular topic. I know they would appreciate the help! 

In reading

we are working on writing a good stop and jot using Kyleen Beer's Fiction Signpost strategy. These signposts help students recognize moments in a story that give clue to larger concepts such as conflict, theme, symbolism, craft, etc. We used common clips from videos to help teach us of these moments, and then looked from them in our own texts. On Friday (today), we took one of those ideas and talked about how to write a good write long about it, as we will be using this technique in reading frequently. 

**Our September reading challenge is finished on Tuesday. Their goal was to read 350 minutes this month(in and out of class) to reach 9,000 as a class. They have a log that does need to be signed and turned in to get credit. If they lost theirs or forgot it, I have extras 

 You read Challenge

For Math (Ignore if your child not in my class or in CC1)

 This first unit is all about teaching routines for Bridges and multiplication strategies. We are just getting into the heavy lifting of the unit by discussing different methods of multiplying larger strategies. If you need any help at home teaching these ideas, please let me know or check it out on the Bridges Website.  With the pacing we are going at, my class will be  looking to take our first Unit test sometime in the first full week in October (not next week but the week after).

In social studies

 we are working on geography basics. We had an informal states and capital test which went very well, and I will continue to give the option to retake the test so students can nail all 50 states and capitals by the end of the semester.  They are also currently working in groups to identify characteristics of the US regions.  I extended the deadline for Monday, which hopefully they will be ready for. If not, I can extended it again if necessary.  

Overall, we've had a wonderful first month together. I have really enjoyed teaching your children so far, and have loved the sense of community they are developing. We have a lot of fun working together, talking things out and sharing ideas.  I have also really loved our classes' sense of humor!

 Things you can ask your kiddos this weekend:

1. What is a metaphor vs. a simile?

2. Who are the Little Rock 9?

3. What's the difference between revising and editing?

4. What is a longitude line and what is a latitude?

5. What was the best post it you had this week about the videos?

6. What is your narrative topic? How do add details to your writing?

7. What did the BFG do with Sophie in the last chapter?

8. When does Mexico celebrate their Independence from Spain?

9. How do you play alibi?

Middle School FAQ

Middle School FAQ

Homework?

A: I generally don't give out a lot of "homework." Most work we do is hands on in the classroom and/or students will have plenty of time to complete in class. The only homework provided regularly is AT LEAST 30 minutes of independent reading time, and maybe a math assignment from your teacher. Eventually, there will also be a short word work activity. 

Reading expectations?

A: Students should be reading 30-45 minutes 3-4 times per week OUTSIDE of school. They will have time daily to read in school. There are no reading lists for them to follow as research shows us that students will be come better readers when given choice. During certain parts of the year, students will be asked to read books that are in the genre we are studying, but they are welcome to continue reading their own texts as well.

Band is when?

A: Mr. Raye sent out schedules during the first week of school and lessons usually start the second week. 

When is Orchestra?

A: Mrs. Kurr should have sent out a schedule during the first week of school, and lessons also usually start the second week.

All small groups are during Literacy and large groups will be during EL time.

What is Bridges Math all about?
Some of the best info you can find is located here:
https://sites.google.com/a/mcpasd.k12.wi.us/math-resources/

How can I be sure my kid is staying on track and not letting things fall behind?
A:  Talk to them - You can always ask students to bring writing, reading, science or social studies home with them and see what we've been up to. One of the goals in middle school is to really get the kids to be more independent for themselves and their actions.

Can you explain more about the device policy?
A:  This year, the ENTIRE SCHOOL is putting devices off and away in lockers until 3:36. This means that students will need to keep them out of sight and out of mind. If you need to get a hold of your child at any time, PLEASE do not text them or expect them to text you during the day. My phone number is at the bottom of all my emails, and you can also call the main office for any messages that need to be relayed.
If students are caught with the device, they will be given one warning before cell phones will be given to the main office and further action is taken.

Device addiction is real, and we are trying to do everything we can to help monitor, support and teach proper device use.
Thank you for your support and understanding.

Happy New Year!

Here's to an amazing start to 2018!

I hope everyone enjoyed the extra family time over break, even though it was shorter than usual! I know mine was filled with a lot of sleep, silliness and kitten cuddles (I know, it sounds horrible ;))  I know the kids were just excited to share with me all of the wonderful things they did over break- and almost all of them said they were happy to spend it with family.

With that said, to help amp up the learning this year, we are finally adding in more word study in class. The last quarter or so we've been using those grammar sheets as word study practice, but now we are finally focusing on some more specific work. It's been a little hectic this week starting on a Tuesday, but here is the procedure:

1. Each group will be meeting once a week with Ms. Davidson during our morning warm ups from 8:30-9:00. This is when the kids are working on Monthly packets and grammar sheets or doing some IR. On those days we will be learning the new sort together, as well as taking a short checkpoint/quiz from the week before.

2. Every day after, they will meet as a group to answer a question about the sort they have. Essentially, they are doing a sort together and writing it down everyday. Some example questions will be: "What are some words that start with the same sound/letter?" or " What words have the same number of syllables"

3. By the next meeting day with Ms. D, they should have all 4 questions answered and have written the words in multiple ways on the sheet in class, as well as homework assignments.

4. For homework, I have assigned the words on Google Classroom that they can look up. The entire book of words is in that google document, so they have access to all their sorts all the time.  Then, on the resource page, if you scroll to the bottom, their is a Word Study  Choice board. They should choose one of these activities to do each night (4 is their goal). Parents need to sign the box on the completed activity for credit, or students need to turn in the page of the completed activity to get credit.

Also, our Informational Unit is finally completed on Friday, 1/12/2018. 

The kids are supposed to be ready for revising and editing this week, but many of them forgot their drafts or did not finish them and are slightly behind.  Please talk to your kiddo and check in with them. I am trying to do some conferring tomorrow and Monday with students, but it might not be enough time to get to everyone.
Those I guess are all the major updates so far this year. The quarter will be ending in about 2 weeks and the 5th graders are officially halfway finished already! Blows my mind how fast we are flying through the school year already!

Thank you!

Also, thank you very much to all of the family members who were able to come in for our holiday Read In! I am positive everyone wanted to come and drink hot cocoa with the kids (because I mean c'mon, who wouldn't!!) and it was a really fun day for both the kids and I . Everyday I am blessed with such kindness and generosity of my students, and I can easily see where they get it from!

Conferences

Happy November everyone!
I can't believe that we are almost completely finished with our first quarter already! Time is flying by fast!  Here are some announcements:

1. Conferences

I apologize in advance for the mess that next week is turning into be. I feel awful I have to reschedule a few due to a mandatory meeting that was brought to my attention earlier this week taking place on Wednesday, as well as a banquet on Tuesday night.  I am showing a screen shot of the layout for the week - so for those of you who need to adjust their times, please let me know and I'll make something work! 

Also, if you could fill out this google form quick, that would be awesome! Should only take a few minutes to give some more feedback for how things are going in general.
As always, thank you in advance for you flexibility.

2.  Wonder Field Trip

The kids should have brought home a lime green permission slip to go to the movie "Wonder" which will be out in theaters quite soon! If you have not paid on FEE PAY, please do so asap. If your child needs scholarship assistance, please turn the form in and make sure you check the box! As of right now, I do not need any parent volunteers, but I will let you know if that changes. 

If they lost the form, here is a link to another copy so you can print it off at home and have it returned. Hopefully the link works. 

            Wonder Permission Slip

3.  Report Cards
 With the end of a quarter comes report cards. They should be available on the Parent Portal sometimes towards the end of next week.

The report cards are standards based and based on a 4,3,2,1 scale. Please do NOT associate the 4,3,2,1 with an A ,B,C,D- as that is not the case at all!

For reference:
4 is given if the student is performing consistently better than grade level
3 is given if the student is performing consistently at grade level
2 is given if the student is understands the skill, but not consistent at performing it just yet
1 is given if the student may not understand the skill or still developing the skill.

4. Website updates
I told you it would be a trial and error period the first quarter to see if the HomeworkApp was worth it- and I decided that it's not applicable to 5th grade necessarily. Great for upper grades with more homework and classes, but not so much now.

Instead, I have updated the Homework tab with a direct link to my Planbook online. Every Sunday when I am planning for the week, I will copy my plans online to the site that allows you to see everything that we will be doing for the week. Keep in mind that the plans change frequently (especially math!) as we may not get to everything, however, most of the information is updated.

I will also try to update the homework listed regularly for reference, but I apologize in advance if I forget to.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Cheers to Fall!
Jennifer

P.S. If the kids didn't tell you, Waunakee Volleyball made it to State for the first time in 24 years!

April Showers and May Flowers!

Sorry for the long delay in updating! There has just been so much going on, and time is FLYING!

After conferences, the students have been doing really well with using their own devices so far. I haven't had to remind them to stay on task too much- in fact, I've noticed a huge growth in productivity in many students.  I am looking forward to seeing what more I can do to include devices into the curriculum.
Some Apps that have been proven useful to download for Classroom purposes:

QR Code Reader
Google Drive/Google Docs
Educreations

We also had a great conversation with our book club groups, and discussed what did and did not go well.  We are hoping to help the clubs be more accessible and more relevant for our fantasy clubs, so keep your eyes posted for a contract that will be signed. Also, take a look at the google calendar, as I updated the month of May, and there are a million things on it for amazing events coming to Kromrey!