Thursday, December 20, 2012
Newsletter December 20, 2012
What a way to start the break. I am actually bummed that we will not have school Friday; we had such a great day planned. However, the weather definitely had its own plans. Thank you so much for the incredible 2 months back I have had. I am thoroughly enjoying the students and all the great learning that is happening. I am excited for 2013 and all of the great adventures we will have.
Math – We will take the test either Wednesday or Thursday when we get back, I have to finalize a plan with Mr. Getz and Mr. Wichser and will let you know. We will still have a fraction celebration with a pizza lunch, that will probably happen Friday the 4th.
Math – We will take the test either Wednesday or Thursday when we get back, I have to finalize a plan with Mr. Getz and Mr. Wichser and will let you know. We will still have a fraction celebration with a pizza lunch, that will probably happen Friday the 4th.
Science – We did not get to do the super tube challenge so we will find the time when we get back. We have started investigating planes and the students are getting a great grasp of what it means to have a system in a controlled experiment.
Social Studies – We finished the Explorers and now move into Plymouth and the first colony. We will be furthering our knowledge through readers theatre and also start to practice note taking - a great skill needed in life.
Writing – The essay unit finished this week with students needing to share their essays with me via Google docs. Our next unit will focus on writing big stories, so back into fiction. I cannot wait to see my students' imagination at play. There is no blogging challenge over break, although we just got 130 comments today, i do hope the students feel like sharing stories if they have them.
Special Notes –
* What an incredibly special moment it was to have Joel Stave in our classroom last Friday. I wish you could have seen the faces of the kids. Joel was a very gracious and kind presenter, and he even wrote us a very heartfelt thank you email. We sent him a very arge envelope filled to the brim with thank you cards yesterday.
* Geography bee will start when we get back, we did not get to it this week. I keep track of the scores and pass them onto Ms. Weber who will let me know after the 4th whether any kids made it in.
* There will be no homework over break, I hope the students will blog and read but that is it. This is their chance to gear up for the second half of 5th grade.
* How to presentations have been informative so far. It is great to see the diversity in what the students choose to do and how proud they are. We have had really great live and videotaped ones. I do apologize if the media component became bothersome for you as parents, that was not my intention.
* How to presentations have been informative so far. It is great to see the diversity in what the students choose to do and how proud they are. We have had really great live and videotaped ones. I do apologize if the media component became bothersome for you as parents, that was not my intention.
* Thank you so much for the much too generous Christmas presents, I always tell the kids that they are my best presents and it is true.
* MAP testing starts after break on the afternoons of January 7th and January 8th.
* MAP testing starts after break on the afternoons of January 7th and January 8th.
* Thea is actively pointing at every single toy she sees and asking Santa to get it for her, particular anything pink and sparkly. We love the holidays and cannot wait to see her face on Christmas.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Winter break is from December 22nd through January 2nd, new math groups Friday, January 4th, Yahara final versions are due to me Friday, January 4th, MAP testing January 7th and 8th at 1:00 PM, No school Monday, January 21st and Monday, January 28th.
Yahara Cover Contest
If you would like to enter the Yahara River Cover Contest, here are the details:
- Must say Yahara River Writers 2013
- Only on white paper
- Only in black pen/marker
- You can also enter for the inside covers: poetry, short story, editorial, and cartoon - then the cover has to have that name on it.
- All submissions due to Mrs. Ripp by Friday, January 4th.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Joel Stave Visited Us Today
And he even played football with the kids, what a wonderful role model for the kids.
Some Pictures From Our Room Today
All of the wonderful holiday greetings we have received from around the country
A sea of Wisconsin shirts as students do science
Newsletter December 14, 2012
Math – We are almost done
with unit 5, my favorite unit, and will have the test on Friday. If your child will be absent please let me
know so that they can take the test before the break. We will also celebrate the end of the unit
with a pizza lunch on Friday. Please
send in $3 with your child to cover lunch.
The next unit is about collecting and processing data.
Science – We are trying to
figure out lifeboat capacities and will be inspecting each other’s boats today.
Next week, we will have our first
challenge of the year; the super tube challenge. Thank you for sending in all of the paper
tubes.
Social Studies – I
continue to push the students in their expectations for work and projects. We have started presenting our mini-explorer
projects and have discussed how we could make them better. Students are evaluating their peers along
with me, which leads them to think about what makes a great product.
Writing – The essay unit is
winding down and we are looking forward to starting our next big unit; writing
fiction! I love how quickly the students
have become adept at using Google Docs as this will certainly serve them well
in the future. This week’s blogging
challenge has been a great read, please do take a moment to read them and leave
us a comment.
Special Notes –
* We are working hard in 5th
grade and I love seeing how the kids are banding together to form their
community. I have the best job in the
world and it is because of these kids!
* Winter party will take place Friday,
December 21st at 1:00 PM. It
does not look like there will be any snow for sledding so we will figure out
other choices for the kids.
* Geography bee starts next week
during resource time, I keep track of the scores and pass them onto Ms. Weber
who will let me know after break whether any kids made it in.
* There will be no homework over
break, I hope the students will blog and read but that is it. This is their chance to gear up for the
second half of 5th grade.
*
We are reading so many great books in 5th, I have been
passing on all books I am reading to students and will update reviews on our
website as well.
* Congratulations to all of our
students in the spelling bee. 3 of our
students made it in to the district spelling!
* We have our mystery guest coming
today, I hope the kids like his story.
* MAP testing starts after break
on the afternoons of January 7th and January 8th.
* There will be a sub in the
afternoon on Tuesday as I meet with Mr. Getz and Mr. Wichser to plan literacy.
* Thea is actively pointing at
every single toy she sees and asking Santa to get it for her, particular
anything pink and sparkly. We love the
holidays and cannot wait to see her face on Christmas.
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Sub in
the afternoon Tuesday, December 18th, Guest lecturer Wednesday,
December 19th at 1 PM, Winter Party is December 21st
at 1:00 PM, winter break is from December 22nd through January 2nd,
new math groups Wednesday, January 2nd, Yahara final versions are due to
me Friday, January 4th, MAP testing January 7th and 8th
at 1:00 PM, No school Monday, January 21st and Monday, January 28th.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
How To Presentations
One of the goals in 5th grade is to get students ready to present on topics, which definitely counts as a lifelong needed skill. We have therefore decided that the students need to teach each other something through their presentation.
Here are some guidelines:
- The presentations can be either filmed and shown to the class or done live in class.
- All of the presentations will start Wednesday Dec. 19th
- Presentations do not have to be longer than 2 to 3 minutes
- Students will be evaluated on how loud and clear they spoke to their audience, how they presented, and whether they kept it interesting (rubrics will be provided). This will be a combination of peer evaluation and teacher evaluation.
- Topic is student's choice, as long as we learn how to do something.
- Past presentations have been on how to score a hockey goal, how to ice a cupcake, how to fold origami etc.
Here is the rubric we will use to evaluate.
|
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
|
Enthusiasm
|
Facial expressions and body
language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.
|
Facial expressions and body
language sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic
in others.
|
Facial expressions and body
language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat faked.
|
Very little use of facial
expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being
presented.
|
|
Preparedness
|
Student is completely
prepared and has obviously rehearsed.
|
Student seems pretty
prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.
|
The student is somewhat
prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.
|
Student does not seem at
all prepared to present.
|
|
Speaks Clearly
|
Speaks clearly and
distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.
|
Speaks clearly and
distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces some words.
|
Speaks clearly and
distinctly most (94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces several words
|
Often mumbles or can not be
understood.
|
|
Body Language
|
Stands up straight, looks
relaxed and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room
during the presentation.
|
Stands up straight and
establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.
|
Sometimes stands up
straight and establishes eye contact.
|
Slouches, fidgets, and/or
does not look at people during the
presentation.
|
|
Volume
|
Volume is loud enough to be
heard by all audience members throughout the presentation.
|
Volume is loud enough to be
heard by all audience members at least 90% of the time.
|
Volume is loud enough to be
heard by all audience members at least 80% of the time.
|
Volume often too soft to be
heard by all audience members.
|
|
Topic
|
Shows a full understanding
of the topic.
|
Shows a good understanding
of the topic.
|
Shows a good understanding
of parts of the topic.
|
Does not seem to understand
the topic very well.
|
|
Content
|
Successfully taught the
class a skill or showed them how to do something
|
Mostly successful at
teaching or showing the skill to the class.
|
Somewhat successful at
teaching or showing the skill to the class.
|
Limited success in teaching
or showing the class the skill.
|
Yahara River Writers Contest
December is the month students can work on their submissions to the Yahara River Writers Contest. We have gone over the details in class and the deadline for submission is the day we come back from winterbreak, january 2nd.
Formatting Requirements for short story:
Maximum 850 words
Font is Times New Roman, 12 point size
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Double-spaced
Title: Times New Roman, boldface; 14 point
NO NAME should appear on the final version
Formatting Requirements for editorial:
Maximum 475 words
Font is Times New Roman, 12 point size for body
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Double-spaced
Title: Times New Roman, boldface; 14 point
NO NAME should appear on the final version
This is a county-wide contest where 33 school districts in the area send submissions. All entries will be judged and the top ten in each category, per grade level, will be selected. From each top ten group, a first and second place entry will be identified. All top ten entries will be published in the Yahara River Writers Anthology. and all authors of top ten entries will be invited to attend a workshop on the UW Campus.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Maximum 850 words
Font is Times New Roman, 12 point size
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Double-spaced
Title: Times New Roman, boldface; 14 point
NO NAME should appear on the final version
Formatting Requirements for editorial:
Maximum 475 words
Font is Times New Roman, 12 point size for body
Margins: 1 inch on all sides
Double-spaced
Title: Times New Roman, boldface; 14 point
NO NAME should appear on the final version
This is a county-wide contest where 33 school districts in the area send submissions. All entries will be judged and the top ten in each category, per grade level, will be selected. From each top ten group, a first and second place entry will be identified. All top ten entries will be published in the Yahara River Writers Anthology. and all authors of top ten entries will be invited to attend a workshop on the UW Campus.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Newsletter December 7, 2012
Math – We are working our
way through fractions and boy are there a lot of pages to this unit. We have also restarted fact tests with many
students testing out on their first attempt.
To celebrate the end of the fraction unit, we will have pizzas for lunch
on December 21st. Please send
in $3 with your child to cover pizza and juice.
Science – Students have been discussing variables in
their swingers as we try to figure out what it means to control our
experiments. Next week we get to work
with lifeboats and fake passengers as we discover capacity and environment in
variables.
Social Studies – Students
are finishing their self-led explorer inquiries. I love the moments in my room where I am not
needed because all of the students are so engaged in their project. Students will present their projects starting
Tuesday and will also have to have a way to assess their peers’ learning.
Writing – We are conferring,
adding honesty to our writing, and also slowly getting ready to type our
essays. We have discovered more tools
that great writers use such as honest word choices and repeating certain
phrases. We have also blogged about the
one thing we would do this holiday to make someone happy; these are definitely
worth a read as many of the blogs involve our families.
Special Notes –
* We have been hard at work on our
greeting card; I continue to be amazed at the artistry of some of the students
in here. Wow, what creativity! We cannot wait to start receiving some of our
own.
* We have access to Google
apps! All students can now access their Google Drive from
home, all they have to do is go to the district web page, click “For Students”
and then click “Google Apps.” Students
are already sharing presentations and working on them simultaneously, as well
as sharing their finished products with me.
No more losing unsaved work or not being able to work on something at
home if you want to.
* Our holiday party will be a
joint effort by all 5th grades. We will
do treats in here at 1 PM and at 1:30 PM if there is snow we will go sledding,
if there is no snow there will be choices like board games or crafts for the
students to do.
* Something amazing to see is when
the kids teach each other how to do certain things in the classroom. With Voki.com, Animoto.com, and Google Apps
being introduced this week there has been quite a bit of sharing and “Hey,
check this out!” This is my absolute
favorite thing to see in the classroom – curiosity!
* Our cameras, video cameras, and
even a Livescribe pen are on their way and should be ready for us to use after
the holiday break. This is all due to
the grant I received earlier this year from the Meemic Foundation; we are
thrilled to get these tools in our hands to support and show off our learning.
* Thea cannot make up her mind
when it comes to what Santa should bring her so she has decided to also put in
requests from the babies. So far Oskar
really wants a sparkly Barbie doll and Ida wants Polly Pockets according to
Thea.
* It was great to see so many of
you at the Winter Tea, what a great event put on by the PTO!
* I have some dates for you to put on your calendars: Spelling
Bee Monday, December 10th at 8:30 AM, Sub in the morning December
11th, Winter Party is December 21st at 1:30 PM
(we are hoping it will be a sledding party) and winter break is from December
22nd through January 2nd.
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