Announcements:

11/8: I have been doing some reading assessments this week to see what level the students are reading at. Most of the kiddos are telling me that they're not reading at all when they get home :-( Please know that they have READING HOMEWORK every night!! The homework is as follows:

• Read 45 minutes in a book that is ON THEIR LEVEL!
• STOP AND JOT in their readers notebook (at least 2 reading responses M-F).

11/6: Today was the second day with the kiddos and they were absolutely amazing again! They had library and Spanish today and had perfect reports. I am very proud of them. Here is what we have been working on:

• LA: Writing well-constructed responses when asked a literary question. Here is the link to the slides the students looked at to help them: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RJ2dXx8Wp31Ef8317vZevKkpImdOtiD4Mo-h1-qEwoo/edit
• Please encourage your child to use these steps when they are writing about their reading each night for homework.
• Math: We are working on rounding numbers after the decimal point.

10/16: Our math test will be on Friday. These are the concepts students will need to know:

• Create equivalent fractions
• Determine if fractions are equivalent
• Draw models showing that two or more fractions are equivalent
• Compare and order fractions
• Convert improper fractions and mixed numbers
• Add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators
• Add and subtract mixed numbers with like and unlike denominators
• When subtracting mixed number, borrow and regroup when necessary
• Real world problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions and mixed numbers

Students can prepare at home by:

• Completing any unfinished Unit 1 pages in their Homework & Remembering books (pg 1 - 26)
• Khan Academy - look up concepts, watch videos, complete practice problems
• Completing the Review Test in their Activity books on pages 31 - 36
• Re-reading math notes in math notebook and redo practice problems

10/12:

Harvest Festival: The Harvest Festival is coming!!! It will be at Sargeant on October 18th from 4:30pm-6:30pm.

In order to make our harvest festival successful we need your help!

Please check out the sign up genius and volunteer to help work at one of the booths at the festival. There are still slots open for the 5th grade booth.

Harvest Festival Sign Up Genius

We also need donations of small prizes and candy for our booth! If you are unable to sign up to help run the event that evening, please think about donating a bag or two of candy or small prizes (pencils, stickers, small Halloween toys, etc)! There will be a box in the classroom to collect donations in.

10/4:

• Field Trip: Thank you for sending in Field Trip donations and permission slips. We received enough donations! Yay!
• Writing: This week, students have selected a topic for their personal narratives. They started outlining their stories by creating a story mountain. Today, some students were ready to draft. We will continue drafting into next week. Please ask you child about their narrative. They should be telling a true story about something that happened in their life.
• Reading: Our big focus this week has been summarizing literature. Please see the language arts tab for my presentation about summarizing. Students can practice this skill at home by summarizing their reading each night for the stop and jot.
• Math: Students have been working very hard this week with fractions. We have been adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators. Students will take a short quiz on Friday to show if they are ready to move on to word problems. Please check out the math tab for more resources.
• Social Studies: Students have been learning about the Age of Exploration. We are focusing on what motivated explorers and what discoveries were made. Students have been researching early explorers like, Marco Polo and Amerigo Vespucci.

9/25:

• New IB Unit: This week we are kicking off a new unit all about "Where we are in Place and Time". We will be focusing on how exploration leads to discoveries. Throughout the week we will look back in time to the 1400's and discuss why europeans sailed to new places. Eventually, I will add a new page to my website all about our IB units. So stay tuned!
• Assessments & Progress Reports: On Friday all students will take home a folder with some assessments they have completed. Please spend some time looking these over. Once you have viewed them, sign the envelope and please return them.
• Writing: Over the next couple weeks, students will be working on a personal narrative, a true story about something that has happened in their lives. This week we are brainstorming ideas of what to write about. It would be great if you could discuss this at home with your child. They should be thinking of interesting events that they remember well and would be willing to write about. I hope students have a topic selected at the start of next week. Great narrative topics include:
  • first times (riding a bike, going somewhere)
  • vacations or trips
  • broken bones or injuries
  • getting a new pet
  • family parties or celebrations, birthdays

9/17:

• Powerhouse Science Center Field Trip: Thank you for sending in your $20 donations for the science field trip. If you have not donated, please do so by Friday 9/21. Thank you!
• Language Arts: This week we will continue our work with summarizing informational texts. Please see the language arts page for additional information!
• Math: This week we are working on how to compare fractions, write equivalent fractions, and simplify fractions.
• Stopping & Jotting: Every night for homework students should be reading for at least 30 minutes and writing something in their Reader's Notebook about what they read. They do not need to do stop and jot over the weekend, but it would be great if they read. Students should be completing at least 8 stop and jots per week (4 in class and 4 at home). I've started checking notebooks and many students are not completing their stop and jots.
• Assessments: Students have completed a few math and language arts assessments so far this year. I typically keep these and use the data to drive my instruction and form small groups. If you would like to see the assessments, please message me and I can send them home with your child. Please return them with your child when you are done with them.

9/5:

Blue folders should be coming home today! In it you will find information about the cookie dough fundraiser, Watch Dog program, and an upcoming field trip. Here is a link to the information about the field trip. Thank you for turning in donations as soon as possible.

Math: Students are continuing to make progress on their math fact tests! Some students are already on their 12s! Please check in with your child about this to see which level they are at. If they have been stuck on a level, I have encouraged them to do more studying at home. This week we have also started working with fractions! Today we learned about unit fractions and will continue on to equivalent fractions later this week.

Language Arts: We are continuing to focus on identifying main idea of a paragraph or passage. We have also been identifying key details that support the main idea. Students will take a short quiz on Main Idea/Key details on Friday.

Writing: This week we are working on writing topic sentences and using transitions in our writing. The students will be showing what they have learned by writing a "How To" paragraph. Today we wrote a paragraph together on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Tomorrow they will select a topic that they are an expert at and will write their own "how to" paragraph. This work is done in the writer's notebook. Students typically leaves these at school, but if you want to check it out, ask your child to bring it home.

Reflection Walk Tickets: As we get more settled into the school year, negative behaviors start to show a little more. I have started handing out reflection walk tickets to students who are not meeting the class expectations. I usually write the reason they got it on the ticket, and I tell students to bring it home and get it signed by a parent. Please check in with your child to see if they have received one. Thank you for your support!

8/29: Blue folders should be coming home today! Please be on the lookout for these. Book order are also coming home! If you would like to order book, you can do so online. Please use our class code RGV8P. You can also send in your order with cash or check, and I will complete the order for you. Book orders are due by Friday 9/21.

Language Arts: We are wrapping up our sign post lessons and starting to work on Main Idea and Key Details in non-fiction/informational texts. Please see the Language Arts tab for more information.

Math: Students are working so hard on their math facts! Keep up the good work and remember to study these at home. This week we are working on greatest common factor and least common multiple. These topics will help us as we move into our first official unit on FRACTIONS!

Science: We are continuing to learn about all the parts of the scientific method. This week's focus is on collecting data and ways to display it (tables, graphs). We have also started learning about MATTER and the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.

8/23: Blue folders did not get sent home yesterday. They will be coming home today (Thursday 8/23)! Incase you do not receive the folder, here is the only document being sent home. It explains the type of allergies that students in our classroom have. Please be mindful of these if you are preparing a dish for your child's cultural sharing.

8/20 : We're excited to start another week of 5th grade!

Math: This week we will kick off our math fact mastery program. Please see the math tab for more information about that!

Language Arts: This week we will continue learning about the 6 signposts. These signposts are examples of what students should be looking for while reading their chapter books. When they see a signpost they should write about it in their reader's notebooks.

Science: We are focusing on the parts of the scientific method! So far we have discussed what makes a question testable and why it's important to have control variables in a science experiment.

Parent Volunteers: If you are able to help out in the classroom or help me prep for lessons, please send me an email (awagoner@rcsdk8.org) with the days and times that work best for you. It's ok if you can't come regularly, a little extra help here and there will make a big difference. Thank you!

8/9/18 : Welcome back to Sargeant! I am so excited for the 2018-2019 school year! I hope your families had a wonderful summer break.

I will be using this website to communicate what we are up to in class and ways that you can help support your child. The site will be updated weekly so I suggest you bookmark this page for easy access.

Thank you for all that you do and I look forward to working as a team to best support your children! Go Bulldogs :)