G5 Life

Happy Halloween!!

  

Have a great day everyone! If you are going out tonight, have fun and be safe!  Please save the Kit Kats for me.... :)

G5 T.V. "Week 8 & 9"

 

Studying resource for geography!

To help study and prepare for our Europe capitals and countries quiz in a few weeks, I introduced students to this fabulous, free resource (website below) to help them study and learn about the continent.  Our focus for this week (and next) is Europe, to help us learn and make connections to our studies about European explorers of the 1400s and 1500s in Social Studies.  While we are focusing on Europe right now, students are welcome to quiz their knowledge with this website focusing on other areas of the world.

Happy Studying! http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/European_Geography.htm

Current Events! From Mrs. Stover

Today, your child was assigned his/her first Current Event of the year.  The write up and article will be due next Friday, November 6th.

Generally speaking, your child can expect to have a Current Event (C.E.) assignment about once a month.  For many students, this task can seem quite overwhelming and difficult at the beginning of the year. There are several components which require students to work hard, pace themselves and think deeply about some of the topics presented.  With practice, this assignment will get easier and easier throughout the school year.

Today, your child came home with their C.E. packet, including the assignment sheet, graphic organizer, sample article and sample writing piece.  I am also emailing these documents to you. There are several components which are required from the student, making this task challenging, but doable!  The assignment teaches many lessons within the realm of social studies, reading, writing, planning and organizational skills. There is much value to this assignment as it embeds so much that will help your child this year and beyond!  I hope that the topics selected over the coming nine months provoke enlightening discussions at the dinner table, as there is much to be learned and much to be discussed.

It may take some time for your child to get used to the expectations and the rigor of the assignment; this is completely normal.  In the coming months, this assignment will get easier and by the end of the year, you’ll be amazed at how much your child has grown. Year after year, I get the same response from children and parents alike.  It is tremendous to see how much they grow; becoming interested about the world around them. Their ability to think critically and form an opinion (with supportive reasons) increases and helps them develop as we prepare them for middle school.

There are three major components to this assignment, which will be further explained on the assignment sheet. First, is the article selection. This tends to be the toughest part for many kids, as I am wanting students to select an article of interest, however, it needs to be a relevant news story; not sports, entertainment nor of violent nature. In addition, the article should not just be a paragraph or two; it needs to be of substance. The car accident on I-405, the shooting in Seattle, Kim Kardashian’s pregnancy or the Seahawks football win will not make for a good news selection. Picking the right article is difficult, we discussed this at length today in class. I will be listing some good resources below; this list is not complete, please feel free to use other credible news sources. By Monday, I would like for all students to have an article–either one they have found on their own or chosen from the list of articles I have given as examples below.  This will help them learn to pace themselves with the tasks of the assignment.  Choosing one of my sample articles is totally optional, but might be a good place to start if your child is having a tough time finding one. Because this is current events, I ask that the article is no older than two weeks old (from when the assignment was given).

The second component is reading the article and understanding what it really says. This is where your child might need help. Sit down and read aloud the article with them (maybe several times, highlighting and taking notes, jotting down ideas as you go), help them process the information, ask questions. Remember, this is a learning process and they’re not expected to fully understand everything!

The third component is the write-up. There is a summary component to the write up, but the interest that I have in the write up is more along the lines of relevance and opinion. In 5th grade, we spend a good portion of writing learning to persuade or influence. One of the major state-wide assessments for the year is a persuasive essay. Your child will be expected to form an opinion about a topic and more importantly, be able to back it up and give reason as to why he/she thinks a particular way.   This is part of the developmental process in which you will see tremendous growth this year; just think they’ll be growing into unruly teenagers soon with their own opinions, this is a good year for them to practice! :)  There is a useful graphic organizer in their C.E. packet to help them organize their information and thoughts. Encourage them to use it!  The final draft that will be submitted can be typed or hand-written.

Time management is a huge lesson learned from this assignment. It is tough to start this assignment at the last minute and turn it in on time expecting to get a decent grade. Students will learn to practice time management skills so that they’re not procrastinating and waiting until the night before to start the assignment. Sometimes, this is a hard lesson learned. Students will only receive one copy of the assignment, so please remind them not to lose it! They were told numerous times today to keep it in the Social Studies section of their binder.  If they lose it, I am sending it to you in an email so they can access it.  They will not be given another assignment packet.

I look forward to talking and ‘debating’ with them in class; learning more about their interests and their opinions!

Sample articles for C.E. #1:

• “Are You Brave Enough to be a Lion Guard?” Smithsonian Tween Tribune:http://tweentribune.com/article/tween78/are-you-brave-enough-be-lion-guard/
• “Meat is linked to higher cancer Risk, W.H.O. report finds” NY Times:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/health/report-links-some-types-of-cancer-with-processed-or-red-meat.html?_r=0 ORhttp://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/processed-meat-linked-cancer-red-meat-risky-34732308
• “Initiative seeks to stem slaughter of elephants, other threatened wildlife” The Seattle Times: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/initiative-seeks-to-stem-slaughter-of-elephants-other-threatened-wildlife/
• “Cutting sugar improves kids health in just 10 days” NY Times: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/cutting-sugar-improves-childrens-health-in-just-10-days/?smid=fb-share&_r=0
• “Puget Sound orca whales looking good” The Seattle Times:http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/killer-whales-enjoy-rebound-in-health-5-more-orcas-counted-in-seattle-area/
• “Many schools failing on Type 1 diabetes care” NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/health/many-schools-failing-on-diabetes-care.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
• “Next year could mark the end of polio” NPR:http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/10/26/451908297/next-year-could-mark-the-end-of-polio
• “Earthquake rocks Afghanistan” Time (for Kids):http://www.timeforkids.com/news/earthquake-rocks-afghanistan/297901

Some general resources (online or hard copy):

• seattletimes.com
• bellevuereporter.com
• http://news.discovery.com/
• nytimes.com (tends to be very challenging early on in the year)
• latimes.com
• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/
• bbc.co.uk

Students will only be receiving one copy of the CE packet this year.  If they lose it, you may print off another copy here: CEPacket

Tea Time

Students created this to share their love for tea... :)   Enjoy...

 

Top 100 Books for kids 9-14. List from NPR

To see the list, click on the image above.

G5 Halloween 2015

Our classroom Halloween party will be Friday, October 30th (12:50-1:45pm).  Here are some of our school wide expectations and reminders from Principal Steere regarding Halloween and costumes:

*If your child would like to wear a costume to celebrate, the costume should be worn to and from school.  It is difficult for us to find adequate changing space and adult help in assisting students with costume apparel.

*Costumes may not include any blood, guts, gore, or weapons.  Students may not wear a face mask of any kind, but face paint is acceptable.  Students who arrive at school with a costume that does not meet our requirements, or a costume that detracts from the learning environment, will be asked to call home for a change of clothes.

Thank you to those of you who are helping plan, coordinate and prep everything for our big event!  We so appreciate your time and energy; grateful for you to help us make this last elementary Halloween party a success!

Oct 20, 2015

Wear ORANGE and make it end! What are your true colors when it comes to bullying? If you care about safe and supportive schools and communities make your color ORANGE on Unity Day. That’s the day everyone can come together—in schools, communities, and online — and send one large ORANGE message of support, hope, and unity to show that we are united against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.

Get Involved

Go ORANGE

Wear ORANGE. It can be an orange T-shirt, tie, hat, wristband, socks, or even shoelaces. Show your support beyond the school—wear ORANGE in the workplace, home and community.

Using PowerPoint and science

Students learn to use PowerPoint to share what they have learned.

The Force is Strong...