Congratulations to Jake Sorenson who scored the top score on the Geography Bee test- he will be our class contestant for sure.  We also had 2 students who tied to be our 2nd contestant- Nick Leivici and Cole Ellison will be competing in a tie-breaker to see which of them will be our 2nd representative for the Geography Bee!!  Great job!

 Jogathon is this Friday, January 11th.  The fifth graders will be running from 8:50-9:20.  Feel free to come by and cheer the kids on.

Just a reminder- we have Water Bottle Wednesdays EVERY Wednesday.  Mrs. Chapman goes and recycles the bottles.  We use the money for class treats or supplies for the kids. 

We have just started an introduction to Junior Great Books.  We've read about "active reading, interpretation, and shared inquiry," each an important part of the process we'll go through with each story.  Junior Great Book selections are really different from any other text we've read so far, and the stories truly lend themselves to lively discussions and questions.  Students will participate in a text opener in order to prepare for, and discuss a concet before reading each story.  While reading each selection, they will interact with it by making margin notes as they read.  Afterward, students will complete directed notes, in which they'll look for specific concepts or ideas, and have to present evidence for each thought.  Students will also be asked to create an original question about the story, that they will present during small group discussions.  These questions will be interpretive, or evaluative questions and will allow the students to dig deeper into what they're reading and to get feedback from their classmates.  It is a fun, but extremely useful process and I look forward to beginning!

Each week students should be completing their "SURF" log.  They should be reading a minimum of 25 minutes each night, and record it on the log.  These should be returned each Monday in their Friday Folders.  We are tallying the minutes read each week, and hope that all of the students are able to participate in our "Slam Dunk Reading" celebration in May. 

We have begun our unit on Fractions.  So far we've discussed fractions as division, mixed numbers and improper fractions, and equivalent fractions.  We'll be moving on to fractions in simplest form, comparing and ordering fractions, fractions and decimals and finally adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers.

Each week students will receive a Math Olympiad.These are meant to help each student develop strategies with the solving of each problem as well as incorporating skills and concepts they've learned.  They are a great way for the students to apply what they know, find mathematical patterns, and solve multi-step problems.

 It is important for the students to constantly review and practice concepts they've already learned.  In the next few weeks we'll be doing this by way of something called the Thursday 10.  Each Thursday, students will complete 10 problems that will spiral what they've learned and keep things clear and sharp.   We will also be using FASTT MATH again this year in the computer lab, as well as Fraction Nation as a way to keep their skills sharp.  These programs allows students to receive individualized practice on their math facts and to master them in a way that will make the facts permanent, as well as mastering fraction concepts and facts.  It also allows me to track student progress, and use the information to inform my instruction.