A Gorgeous Autumn!

Scientists At Work--Our Variables Unit

Our Nature Center Field Trip

Our First Math Unit

On Tuesday, we will be taking our first math unit test. You will have the scores and test to celebrate with your student by the end of the week. We had a great start to our math. The kids did a great job learning about prime and composite numbers, factors, and square numbers. We also enjoyed several games including Factor Captor. This game and many others are available to play on the Everyday Math website.

Helpful Links

On the right hand side of our blog, you will see our first four helpful links of the year.

One is for our Everyday Math Website so that your child can log it to play games, use resources, etc.

Another is for you to place a book order, if you choose to do so by the 30th. We will have many more opportunities to purchase books. When you do it online, you can use a credit card and earn our class a free book.

The two math sites are resources for games, flashcards, and math practice worksheets for basic facts. They both offer free practice sheets for your student.

One Million Words?! Math Fact Practice

Did you know that if you read just one 200-page book per month that you will have read for over 60 hours in one year? You will also have encountered over one million words! Remember that the minutes you read are not what matters. What does matter is that you start to create a daily routine that includes reading. Our class is working together to read one million words. Don't forget to fill out a star for every hour you read!

Beside reading, you also started seeing math fact practice on your homework. Just 3-5 minutes of practice on your facts will keep you in shape. We did some practice timings this week in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Our goal for you is to get at least 72 out of 80 problems in three minutes. We'll share the results with you and your family so that you can establish some practice routines at home for math, too.

I think we are becoming a great fifth grade family!

Writing Is Like Sculpting?

I see the story as a lump of clay.

The story is more or less there. I need to bring in the detail.

The first stage then, whether we are short story or a 80,000 word plus novel, is to slap it down. Here comes the outline of the basic idea. It already looks like a story.

First, I check, does it really have the right balance. Have I got the right shape in my clay?

Then we go into detail. Is my story using the right voice for its reader? Is the sculpture right for its purpose? But whatever I do at this stage or late, I must not alter the basic shape.

Then comes a whole process which involves putting extra bits in and taking other bits out. Tinkering. Does the dialogue work? Would people really say that? Is it adding to character or plot? Am I writing enough with my senses? It feels like sculpting because I have to had and subtract and smooth over.

Finally, there is the last read through, the reading out loud, which slows you enough to notice clunky sentences, basic spelling and grammar mistakes and typos. You finally step back and take in the whole of your sculpture and look for any jagged lines. You smooth and make now minor adjustments which serve the integrity of the whole.

The sculpted story is complete.

We explored these similarities and discussed the writing process as we sculpted with Play Doh today.