Spelling Words March 1st - March 5th
unable
discover
report
disaster
unaware
remind
televise
television
inspect
inspection
react
reaction
tense
tension
correct
correction
promote
promotion
express
expression
inquiry
unnecessary
responsible
except
exception
****Remember 5 of the words will be used in a dictation sentence!!
Friday, February 26, 2010
March 1st
We are starting several new things this month:
Language Arts:
A new theme in our reading series "One Land Many Trails". This will tie in nicely with our social studies. We will go back to our old way of doing weekly spelling words. Just like we did prior to learning the states and capitals. This will start on Monday.
We will be reading one story from their anthology a week and they will have a test on Friday. We will do this for the next two or three weeks. We will also start another chapter book in class the middle of March that will go along with our Social Studies topic "The Sign of the Beaver". The students will also be required to do a writing essay on this book.
Social Studies:
We will begin talking about the Westward Movement. This will continue through the month of March and April. It will conclude with a play the first week of May.
The students also have been given their states for their home research projects. I will hand out the guidelines and rubric on Tuesday so it will go out with the Tuesday folder. Please sign the guideline and return the top page to class with the Tuesday folder. The students will be able to check out a state book from the school library in the next few weeks. They will however need to do the research at home along with the project.
Math:
We will also start Chapter 10 in our math books dealing with angles, identifying, measuring and drawing angles, triangles and quadrilaterals.
Science:
We will continue to learn about the Human Body. This will continue for a few more weeks until we wrap up this chapter. Thank you to Mrs. Bassi for coming and sharing your knowledge with our students! They really enjoyed learning about the digestive system and surgeries.
If there are any other parents that would love to come and share any special talents or hobbies with our students please me know. We would love to have you!
Homework
I know I have not been posting exact homework on this blog. My homework changes often due to how the students are learning on a daily basis. If the majority of the students are not understanding a concept I will not assign that specific homework. There are a few nights the students may not have a given homework, however they ALWAYS HAVE 20-30 MINUTES OF NIGHTLY READING they should be doing at home. In addition they usually have:
**one math page
**plus one additional assignment (spelling, grammar, science, etc)
**on occasions if they do not finish a class assignment
(they must take it home to finish and return the next day)
I hope this helps you to keep track on homework. All students should be writing down their homework assignments on the agendas.
Should you have any questions please stop by.
Mrs. Schisnewski
Language Arts:
A new theme in our reading series "One Land Many Trails". This will tie in nicely with our social studies. We will go back to our old way of doing weekly spelling words. Just like we did prior to learning the states and capitals. This will start on Monday.
We will be reading one story from their anthology a week and they will have a test on Friday. We will do this for the next two or three weeks. We will also start another chapter book in class the middle of March that will go along with our Social Studies topic "The Sign of the Beaver". The students will also be required to do a writing essay on this book.
Social Studies:
We will begin talking about the Westward Movement. This will continue through the month of March and April. It will conclude with a play the first week of May.
The students also have been given their states for their home research projects. I will hand out the guidelines and rubric on Tuesday so it will go out with the Tuesday folder. Please sign the guideline and return the top page to class with the Tuesday folder. The students will be able to check out a state book from the school library in the next few weeks. They will however need to do the research at home along with the project.
Math:
We will also start Chapter 10 in our math books dealing with angles, identifying, measuring and drawing angles, triangles and quadrilaterals.
Science:
We will continue to learn about the Human Body. This will continue for a few more weeks until we wrap up this chapter. Thank you to Mrs. Bassi for coming and sharing your knowledge with our students! They really enjoyed learning about the digestive system and surgeries.
If there are any other parents that would love to come and share any special talents or hobbies with our students please me know. We would love to have you!
Homework
I know I have not been posting exact homework on this blog. My homework changes often due to how the students are learning on a daily basis. If the majority of the students are not understanding a concept I will not assign that specific homework. There are a few nights the students may not have a given homework, however they ALWAYS HAVE 20-30 MINUTES OF NIGHTLY READING they should be doing at home. In addition they usually have:
**one math page
**plus one additional assignment (spelling, grammar, science, etc)
**on occasions if they do not finish a class assignment
(they must take it home to finish and return the next day)
I hope this helps you to keep track on homework. All students should be writing down their homework assignments on the agendas.
Should you have any questions please stop by.
Mrs. Schisnewski
Sunday, February 21, 2010
3rd Trimester
Well the 3rd Trimester is here!
We will have a busy six weeks before spring break (can you believe it?)
This week we will continue with the following themes:
Language Arts:
Wrapping up Theme 4 Relationships - we will have District benchmark testing this week.
Math:
Finishing chapter 9-Percents,decimals, fractions and probability.
We will also have District benchmark testing this week
Science:
Continue learning about The Human Body and the major organ systems. Students will have a mini-quiz after studying each system. Next system we are studying starting Monday: Circulatory System,
Wednesday/Thursday Respiratory System
Next week Monday Excretory System
The days are approximate depending if we finish covering the material, many times students have many questions and they are very interested so it takes longer.
Social Studies:
We will begin introducing Westward Expansion. This will be a topic we will cover well into April.
State-a-thon:
If you would still like to send in the envelopes for the state-a-thon fund raiser please do so this week. So far I have had 6 students turn in their envelopes.
Electives:
We are approaching the last rotation of electives. They will start March 2nd.
Classroom Changes:
I will be implementing a new behavior card/contract starting this week until the end of the year. I am trying to get the students ready for 6th grade and I know I have been a little relaxed about classroom policies. We (students and I) discussed a new "RED CARD" system. A student will get issued a red card for certain infractions (such as in soccer). These infractions are: no homework, disrespectful, talking during a lesson, etc. If a student receives a red card they need to take it home, have a parent sign it and return it back the following day. If they forget to have it signed and return the card they will get another red card the following day. If they get three in a week (three strikes you're out) the student will get lunch detention. If someone should get three red cards in one day they will visit either the vice principal or the principal that day.
Students are getting pretty relaxed in the classroom and are "chatting" more than usual. This is causing for a lot more distractions and less work being accomplished. I am hoping this new procedure will help the students focus back on classwork. Thank you ahead of time for understanding and supporting this new change.
State Reports:
As many of you may know a requirement for 5th grade is for each student to do a research project on a US state. This will be a "HOME PROJECT". I will hand out the guidelines and rubrics by the end of next week. The students will have approximately 3 weeks to work on their projects. They will choose their states by the end of this coming week.
Physical Education:
This month we will also be doing our physical education testing. So girls, please if possible try to make sure you either bring a pair of tennis shoes to switch into at school or wear tennis shoes to school, it is more comfortable in which to run.
If you have any questions please feel free to stop by, email me or call.
Mrs. Schisnewski
We will have a busy six weeks before spring break (can you believe it?)
This week we will continue with the following themes:
Language Arts:
Wrapping up Theme 4 Relationships - we will have District benchmark testing this week.
Math:
Finishing chapter 9-Percents,decimals, fractions and probability.
We will also have District benchmark testing this week
Science:
Continue learning about The Human Body and the major organ systems. Students will have a mini-quiz after studying each system. Next system we are studying starting Monday: Circulatory System,
Wednesday/Thursday Respiratory System
Next week Monday Excretory System
The days are approximate depending if we finish covering the material, many times students have many questions and they are very interested so it takes longer.
Social Studies:
We will begin introducing Westward Expansion. This will be a topic we will cover well into April.
State-a-thon:
If you would still like to send in the envelopes for the state-a-thon fund raiser please do so this week. So far I have had 6 students turn in their envelopes.
Electives:
We are approaching the last rotation of electives. They will start March 2nd.
Classroom Changes:
I will be implementing a new behavior card/contract starting this week until the end of the year. I am trying to get the students ready for 6th grade and I know I have been a little relaxed about classroom policies. We (students and I) discussed a new "RED CARD" system. A student will get issued a red card for certain infractions (such as in soccer). These infractions are: no homework, disrespectful, talking during a lesson, etc. If a student receives a red card they need to take it home, have a parent sign it and return it back the following day. If they forget to have it signed and return the card they will get another red card the following day. If they get three in a week (three strikes you're out) the student will get lunch detention. If someone should get three red cards in one day they will visit either the vice principal or the principal that day.
Students are getting pretty relaxed in the classroom and are "chatting" more than usual. This is causing for a lot more distractions and less work being accomplished. I am hoping this new procedure will help the students focus back on classwork. Thank you ahead of time for understanding and supporting this new change.
State Reports:
As many of you may know a requirement for 5th grade is for each student to do a research project on a US state. This will be a "HOME PROJECT". I will hand out the guidelines and rubrics by the end of next week. The students will have approximately 3 weeks to work on their projects. They will choose their states by the end of this coming week.
Physical Education:
This month we will also be doing our physical education testing. So girls, please if possible try to make sure you either bring a pair of tennis shoes to switch into at school or wear tennis shoes to school, it is more comfortable in which to run.
If you have any questions please feel free to stop by, email me or call.
Mrs. Schisnewski
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Next Week's Assignment
We finished our novel Riding Freedom earlier than anticipated. The students really enjoyed the story and were really enthusiastic about finishing the book. It was exciting to see them enjoy their learning!
So we will be able to work on some of the writing of the 5 paragraphs in class as well. They will still need to do the assignment at home, but the brainstorming, guidance on ideas and how to structure their paragraphs how to take examples from the book, where to find examples from the book, etc... will be done in class. So the students will bring home daily notes which they can then use to write that paragraph.
Starting tomorrow we will do a paragraph in class.
Wed (Feb 10th) - Paragraph #3 Plot
Tues (Feb. 16th) -Paragraph#4 Relationships
Wed (Feb. 17th) - Paragraph #1 - Characters
Thursday (Feb. 18th)Paragraph #2- Setting
Paragraph #5- Your Thought and Ideas - will be on their own since this is mostly their own opinion. Of course if they want to work on it this weekend over the 5 day break and bring in a rough draft I would be glad to look at it and make suggestions and/or corrections.
The entire essay will be due Friday Feb. 19, 2010, written in their handwriting.
If you have any questions regarding this assignment please email me at the school email dschisnewski@turlock.k12.ca.us , call me, or stop by. I will be glad to try to answer any questions.
Thank you.
So we will be able to work on some of the writing of the 5 paragraphs in class as well. They will still need to do the assignment at home, but the brainstorming, guidance on ideas and how to structure their paragraphs how to take examples from the book, where to find examples from the book, etc... will be done in class. So the students will bring home daily notes which they can then use to write that paragraph.
Starting tomorrow we will do a paragraph in class.
Wed (Feb 10th) - Paragraph #3 Plot
Tues (Feb. 16th) -Paragraph#4 Relationships
Wed (Feb. 17th) - Paragraph #1 - Characters
Thursday (Feb. 18th)Paragraph #2- Setting
Paragraph #5- Your Thought and Ideas - will be on their own since this is mostly their own opinion. Of course if they want to work on it this weekend over the 5 day break and bring in a rough draft I would be glad to look at it and make suggestions and/or corrections.
The entire essay will be due Friday Feb. 19, 2010, written in their handwriting.
If you have any questions regarding this assignment please email me at the school email dschisnewski@turlock.k12.ca.us , call me, or stop by. I will be glad to try to answer any questions.
Thank you.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Riding Freedom Writing Rubric
Here is the Rubric for our novel:
Riding Freedom
5 Paragraph Essay
Riding Freedom (Historical Fiction)
By Pam Ryan Muñoz
Due Date: _Feb. 19, 2010_______
All students are reading Riding Freedom in class. If they wish they may take the book home to review the story or reread any section.
We will finish the novel by __Feb. 10th_________.
A comprehension test will be given on ____Feb. 15th__________. Riding Freedom provides a point of view from a young orphaned girl growing up in the 1800’s. She established relationships with several individuals while running away from an orphanage and trying to survive. She is a strong willed girl and grows up to become a strong woman, all while disguised as “a man”. The story leads into the westward movement when Charley moves to California, and becomes the first woman to ever vote.
Purpose:
Essay: A five paragraph essay will be written and must include the following elements:
Paragraph 1: Describe the main character, Charolette (Charley), and one other character of your choosing. Use details from the story describe the character’s appearance, personality, strengths and weaknesses. You may use quotes from the story. (8-10 sentences)
Paragraph 2: Choose one of the settings of the story that you will illustrated on your drawing, describe this setting, telling the time period, and location as well. Explain why the setting is important to the story. (5-7 sentences)
Paragraph 3: Describe the plot of the story using sequence of events. This should be the main part of the story. What was the story about, what were a few major events? The final sentence of this paragraph should describe Charley’s main problem.
(8-10 sentences)
Paragraph 4: Describe how Charley developed her relationship to one of the other characters in the story. Tell why it was important to Charley and how it developed Charley’s personality and character in the story. Use examples and quotes from the story. (8-10 sentences)
Paragraph 5: Describe your thoughts and feelings about the story. Did you enjoy it? Why or why not? Would you recommend it? Why? Did the writing move you? Would you read another book by this author? This paragraph is where you discuss your thoughts and feelings about the book. Use your journal to write your comments or quotes from the book. (5-7 sentences)
Poster: Draw a picture to show the relationship Charley had with another character in the story Riding Freedom. This should be the same character from your essay. It should be well drawn and colored. Include the names of the characters.
Essay Rubric
_____ Paragraph One (15 points) …Characters are fully described listing important physical and personality traits, strengths and weaknesses.
_____ Paragraph Two (10 points) …Setting is fully described as well as explaining the setting’s importance to the story.
_____ Paragraph Three (15 points) …Using sequence of events explain the plot of the story. Be sure to include the main problem.
_____ Paragraph Four (15 points) …Describe the relationship between Charley and another character. It should be well defined and detailed.
_____ Paragraph Five (10 points) …Describe your thoughts and feelings about the story.
_____ Spelling/mechanics throughout essay (10 points) _____ Use of quotes and examples from story (5 points)
_____ Use of Descriptive writing (similes, adjectives, metaphors, descriptive language, etc )
_____ Drawing (15 points) Include main character and 2nd character, should be well drawn and colored.
_____100 Points Total Score
Riding Freedom
5 Paragraph Essay
Riding Freedom (Historical Fiction)
By Pam Ryan Muñoz
Due Date: _Feb. 19, 2010_______
All students are reading Riding Freedom in class. If they wish they may take the book home to review the story or reread any section.
We will finish the novel by __Feb. 10th_________.
A comprehension test will be given on ____Feb. 15th__________. Riding Freedom provides a point of view from a young orphaned girl growing up in the 1800’s. She established relationships with several individuals while running away from an orphanage and trying to survive. She is a strong willed girl and grows up to become a strong woman, all while disguised as “a man”. The story leads into the westward movement when Charley moves to California, and becomes the first woman to ever vote.
Purpose:
Essay: A five paragraph essay will be written and must include the following elements:
Paragraph 1: Describe the main character, Charolette (Charley), and one other character of your choosing. Use details from the story describe the character’s appearance, personality, strengths and weaknesses. You may use quotes from the story. (8-10 sentences)
Paragraph 2: Choose one of the settings of the story that you will illustrated on your drawing, describe this setting, telling the time period, and location as well. Explain why the setting is important to the story. (5-7 sentences)
Paragraph 3: Describe the plot of the story using sequence of events. This should be the main part of the story. What was the story about, what were a few major events? The final sentence of this paragraph should describe Charley’s main problem.
(8-10 sentences)
Paragraph 4: Describe how Charley developed her relationship to one of the other characters in the story. Tell why it was important to Charley and how it developed Charley’s personality and character in the story. Use examples and quotes from the story. (8-10 sentences)
Paragraph 5: Describe your thoughts and feelings about the story. Did you enjoy it? Why or why not? Would you recommend it? Why? Did the writing move you? Would you read another book by this author? This paragraph is where you discuss your thoughts and feelings about the book. Use your journal to write your comments or quotes from the book. (5-7 sentences)
Poster: Draw a picture to show the relationship Charley had with another character in the story Riding Freedom. This should be the same character from your essay. It should be well drawn and colored. Include the names of the characters.
Essay Rubric
_____ Paragraph One (15 points) …Characters are fully described listing important physical and personality traits, strengths and weaknesses.
_____ Paragraph Two (10 points) …Setting is fully described as well as explaining the setting’s importance to the story.
_____ Paragraph Three (15 points) …Using sequence of events explain the plot of the story. Be sure to include the main problem.
_____ Paragraph Four (15 points) …Describe the relationship between Charley and another character. It should be well defined and detailed.
_____ Paragraph Five (10 points) …Describe your thoughts and feelings about the story.
_____ Spelling/mechanics throughout essay (10 points) _____ Use of quotes and examples from story (5 points)
_____ Use of Descriptive writing (similes, adjectives, metaphors, descriptive language, etc )
_____ Drawing (15 points) Include main character and 2nd character, should be well drawn and colored.
_____100 Points Total Score
Short Week
This week will be extremely short, only 3 days!
We are only weeks away from ending the 2nd trimester. We still have a few projects which we are trying to finish and the students are working hard to do so.
I will not give out much homework this week because I would like the students to study for their 50 states and capitals test. So I want them to focus on that this week.
Here is this week's tentative schedule:
Language Arts:
We are finishing up our novel: Riding Freedom. We will finish by Wed. the students are keeping their notes on vocabulary, quotes, setting, characters, etc which will help them on their final writing assignment. I am posting the rubric on this blog now and will give them a paper copy on Monday.
Math:
We finished Chapter 8:Ratios last week (short chapter) but will continue to review the concepts. We are starting chapter 9 decimals, fractions and percents. This chapter will be approx. 2 weeks long.
Science:
We finished Chapter 2:
Leaves and Trees this week. The students had a blast looking through microscopes and coloring flowers with dye to watch them change color. They will turn in their Chapter 2 folders in on Monday with all their assignments to be graded. We will start chapter 3:The Human Body (Body Systems) on Monday.
Social Studies:
I am very proud of our students, many are doing very well on their states and capitals. We will have our final 50 states and capitals test on Wednesday. We will not have a pre-test.
State-a-thon
The final state-a-thon is due on Feb. 19th. I hope everyone is doing well with this fundraiser. I hope we do well so we can all go to the Space Challenger in the spring.
Crab Feed:
Mrs. Ocaranza found a chair for our project. The students will be writing their motto on tracing paper and drawing a logo. Mrs. Ocaranza will then pain the chair and decoupage the mottos and logos on the chair so it is ready for the auction. Thank you so much for your help! So remember Feb. 19th is the crab feed, there is still time to buy your tickets.
We are only weeks away from ending the 2nd trimester. We still have a few projects which we are trying to finish and the students are working hard to do so.
I will not give out much homework this week because I would like the students to study for their 50 states and capitals test. So I want them to focus on that this week.
Here is this week's tentative schedule:
Language Arts:
We are finishing up our novel: Riding Freedom. We will finish by Wed. the students are keeping their notes on vocabulary, quotes, setting, characters, etc which will help them on their final writing assignment. I am posting the rubric on this blog now and will give them a paper copy on Monday.
Math:
We finished Chapter 8:Ratios last week (short chapter) but will continue to review the concepts. We are starting chapter 9 decimals, fractions and percents. This chapter will be approx. 2 weeks long.
Science:
We finished Chapter 2:
Leaves and Trees this week. The students had a blast looking through microscopes and coloring flowers with dye to watch them change color. They will turn in their Chapter 2 folders in on Monday with all their assignments to be graded. We will start chapter 3:The Human Body (Body Systems) on Monday.
Social Studies:
I am very proud of our students, many are doing very well on their states and capitals. We will have our final 50 states and capitals test on Wednesday. We will not have a pre-test.
State-a-thon
The final state-a-thon is due on Feb. 19th. I hope everyone is doing well with this fundraiser. I hope we do well so we can all go to the Space Challenger in the spring.
Crab Feed:
Mrs. Ocaranza found a chair for our project. The students will be writing their motto on tracing paper and drawing a logo. Mrs. Ocaranza will then pain the chair and decoupage the mottos and logos on the chair so it is ready for the auction. Thank you so much for your help! So remember Feb. 19th is the crab feed, there is still time to buy your tickets.
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