Class Update 12/12/15

Important Reminders:

Don't forget the Six Flags Read to Succeed Program is underway. If your child completes six hours of extra reading at home, they can earn a free ticket to Six Flags! The reading must be done at home, and it must be done in addition to reading done for homework. That means reading log minutes do not count. Please make sure to fill out the reading log on the yellow form that was sent home a few weeks ago, and initial it. Students can turn in completed forms any time between now and February 26th.

Our school Spelling Bee will be coming up in January. We will be holding a classroom spelling bee to determine who our class's representatives will be for the school-wide Bee. All students received a copy of the Spell It newspaper, which contains word lists they can study if they are interested in qualifying for the Spelling Bee.

Our classroom Winter Party will be held Thursday, December 17 at 2:00 PM. Parents are invited to attend the party. Thank you in advance to all of the parent volunteers who are helping to plan and organize the party for the students!

There will be no school for students December 18 - January 3 for Winter Break. Enjoy the time off!

Class Updates:

In math, we are wrapping up Chapter 5 on adding and subtracting decimals. The children have been learning how to round decimals to various place value positions, use base 10 models to solve decimal problems, and how to find the sums and differences of decimals. We will be reviewing concepts from the chapter on Monday and Tuesday, and there will be a chapter test on Wednesday. Students received a practice test/study guide. If students turn in the study guide with a parent signature that they studied at home, they can earn a bonus point on the test. Here are some videos to help students study:
Adding and Subtracting Decimals
Rounding Decimals
Place Value of Decimals

In reading, the children having been doing a great job of participating in student-led book clubs. Each reading group has their own book club where they choose the novel they want to read, create their own assignments for reading and responding to the text, and have discussion meetings about the book twice a week. They have shown great responsibility with the book clubs, and I am proud of their work! Ask your child about their book club novel!

Students are working very hard in writing to finish their informational reports on topics of their choice related to our study of Native Americans. Popular choices among the children have been Native American food, shelters, and artwork. Recent lessons have included how to draft conclusions for informational pieces, how to include transition words for a variety of purposes, and how to keep a teaching tone for this genre of writing. 

Students will need to be finished publishing their final drafts by Wednesday. This may require additional work at home for some students if they are behind in research or writing for any sections of the report. Please check the homework page on the blog to see if writing homework is needed. All students are publishing using a Google document. I have been leaving feedback and comments for each child on the Google document to help them improve their writing. All students also have checklists and scoring guides to help them ensure they are including all the required parts of the assignment. On Monday through Wednesday, we will be peer editing and making final changes that are needed.

In social studies, the students have completed their Story Jumper Digital Books. Each group was able to present their book to the rest of the class. They worked hard to make the books both factual and engaging. Print outs of the books were sent home in the students' mail folders. In addition, you can view the digital version of the books if you like by following these steps (Make sure to enter the password under the "Mrs. Groh" collection, not the "Groh" collection):

1. Go to https://www.storyjumper.com/profile/groh12 

2. Look for Class Collection: Mrs. Groh

3. Enter this password: learning

When we return from break, we will begin a new Unit on European explorers.

Finally, students got a chance to take a break for a little holiday fun. They participated in the popular game relay called "Santa's Sleigh"!

Class Update 11/21/15

Important Reminders:

Six Flags Read to Succeed Program forms went home last week. If your child completes six hours of extra reading at home, they can earn a free ticket to Six Flags! The reading must be done at home, and it must be done in addition to reading done for homework. That means reading log minutes do not count. Please make sure to fill out the reading log on the form and initial it. Students can turn in completed forms any time between now and February 26th.

Thanksgiving Break - School will be closed from November 25-27th.

SIS - We are past the mid-quarter point for second quarter already! This is a friendly reminder that you can check SIS at any time to view your child's grades.

Class Updates:

Thank you so much to all of the parent volunteers who joined us on our field trip to Cahokia Mounds! The kids had a great time climbing the 156 steps to the top of Monk's Mound. The view from the top was pretty amazing! They also watched an informational video and were able to tour the museum to explore artifacts and displays related to the Mound Builders.

In math, we have spent the past several weeks learning division concepts. Students have learned the steps to long division with problems that contain both one and two-digit divisors. They have also practiced estimating quotients for similar problems. Being able to analyze division word problems has been another focus in class. Students need to be able to interpret whether the remainder in a quotient should be used, ignored, or rounded according the the information in the problem. We will be having a combined test on chapters 3 and 4 on Tuesday. A study guide was sent home last week and students who get the study guide signed for studying at home can earn an extra point on the test. Here are a few videos that may help students study:
Long Division with One-Digit Divisors
Long Division with Two-Digit Divisors
Math Antics Long Division
Students have been using Post It notes to share their thinking and learning about math topics using our "Post It to Prove It" board.

Students are immersed in the study of non-fiction in both reading and writing. In reading, we have been reviewing a variety of text features and learning how they can help a reader understand more about a text. Children are also learning how the structure of a non-fiction text can help teach new information. So far, we have taken a closer look at description and sequence text structures. Coming up, we will also explore, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and problem and solution.



The skills students are learning in reading are also being applied in writing. We are well into our informational report writing. Students are all writing about various topics related to our study of Native Americans. The children have been researching Native American homes, food, clothing, and artwork, among other topics. Students have been learning how to craft an engaging lead, include their own inferences and thinking in addition to the facts they have researched, and make references to how geography impacted Native Americans in their reports. We are also learning how timelines can be an excellent resource for informational writing.

Our study of Native Americans continues across subjects into social studies as well. The children are working in groups of 2 or 3 to create digital story books about Native Americans using a website called Story Jumper. Each group picked either a region of the United States, or an ancient empire of the Incas, Mayans, or Aztecs to study. They have finished gathering their research and are currently designing their books. I am impressed at how creative the children are being at combining photographs, graphics, and texts to create their stories! When groups are finished they will present their digital books to each other.

Halloween Party

The students had a fantastic time at our Halłoween parade and party! Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who helped organize and plan the party. Turning each other into mummies was the hit of the party!

Correction - Book Fair will not be open during Conferences

Please note, in my last post I stated the Book Fair would be open during parent-teacher conferences. This is incorrect - it will be closed at that time. However, the book fair will be open during school hours. Thank you!

Class Update 10/25/15

Important Reminders:

Parent-Teacher Conferences are this week. You should be receiving a reminder email from Sign-Up Genius to let you know the date and time of your conference. I look forward to meeting with you!

This is Red Ribbon Week. Long students can take part in the drug awareness prevention program by wearing certain items throughout the week.


The Book Fair is underway in the Long School Library. Students can bring money to school to purchase books, and families can also stop by before or after your parent-teacher conference.

The Halloween Parade and Classroom Party will be held on Thursday, October 29th. Parents are welcome to attend. The Parade begins at 1:40, with parties immediately following the parade.

There is no school Friday, October 30th.


Class Updates:

Last week, 4th and 5th grade students were able to participate in Ability Awareness Day. Students rotated to four different guest speakers, including the CHADS Coalition, CHAMPS guide dogs, and learning about spinal cord injury. In one activity with LifeBridge Partnership, children were able to experience what it would be like to do daily tasks like writing, opening containers, and dressing without the use of their hands. They wore socks over their hands to simulate the experience.

In math, we have started a unit on division. Students are working on mastering their basic facts in division and are practicing concepts in estimating quotients and long division. The children are also exploring how multiplication and division are related.

In reading, we have been learning how to summarize fiction texts. Next, will be covering skills and strategies of reading non-fiction books, including using text features to grain greater understanding and identifying text structures. Students will also be working on summarizes non-fiction and identifying the main idea and related details of the texts they read.

We had a great time celebrating the conclusion of our personal narrative unit in writing. The kids were able to read each other's published pieces with flashlights as they relaxed in their pajamas. After reading each story, the children left compliments for each other.

We are beginning our informational unit in writing. Currently, the children are learning how to conduct research and take notes. Over the next several weeks, students will be researching and writing a report on a topic related to Native Americans. We also took some time to review the importance of word choice to make our writing more descriptive. The kids each picked two overused and "dull" words, and looked up more interesting and colorful synonyms and antonyms that could be used instead. We created a fall display of our words.

In social studies, we have been exploring Native Americans of various regions of the United States, including the Northwest, Southwest, Plains, and Eastern Woodlands. The students have also learned about ancient civilizations like the Mound Builders and the Aztecs. Our focus has been on comparing and contrasting the homes, food sources, traditions, and environments of each groups of Native Americans. The children are learning how the natural resources available in a region greatly impacted the daily lives of the people who lived there. Students will be directly applying what they have learned to help them with writing their informational reports in writing workshop. Here are some pictures of our finished My World Projects from our last unit: