Explorers Research Project

This week, students are working on a joint project in Social Studies and English. Students are learning how to conduct reseach, cite sources, and present information in an effective presentation using Power Point. Students have received a guide and outline to follow, which can be found on Brain Honey. Students should work at home and at school on this project. Presentations will take place during the week of December 3-7th in Social Studies class.
Below, information about citing sources:

How to cite sources using MLA style

Websites:

“Gagarin, Yuri.” Enchanted Learning.  2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/g/gagarin.shtml

"Polo, Marco." Compton's by Britannica. Britannica Online for Kids.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9276493/Marco-Polo

Books:

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Examaple:

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries:

     "Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.

Where I did get THIS information from?

“MLA Formatting and Style Guide”.  Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab). Purdue University. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

Space Campers Make-Up Work for English

·         Read Vocabulary in Context p 274-275.

·         Define vocabulary words including the part of speech, definition, and sample sentence. Write your own sentence with each word. (10 points)

·         Read Background Information p. 276

·         Read Dangerous Crossing and  answer the question below in a paragraph:

o   What lessons did Johnny Adams learn from his father during his voyage? How did these lessons prepare Johnny to one day be president? Do presidents and other leaders need these same skills today? (10 points)

·         Practice Book p. 124 and126 (5 points)

English Historical Fiction Books

Students must choose a historical fiction book (takes place in the past) by Friday, November 9th. Students must read the historical fiction book by Tuesday, December 4th/
I have several historical fiction books in the classroom library, and the school library has many as well. In addition, here are some online resources if you are interested in buying a book.

Amazon - Historical Fiction Books for kids ages 9-12
Dear America series, diaries, female characters - click here
My Name is America, journals, male characters - click here

Explore history here!
Please see me if you have any questions. Happy Reading

Memoirs

During the first quarter, fifth graders learned about Writing Workshop and the writing process by writing memoirs, or personal narratives. Writers tried out some fun activities to generate ideas: from bringing in memory collections to creating a map of home. Writers then collected ideas in their Writer's Notebooks, shared their ideas, wrote drafts, had peer conferences, edited, and revised their writing.  The final step of course is publishing, and you can read the final drafts here. I am proud of all our writers!

One student's memory collection.

A map of home, labeled with memories

Another Memory Collection.

Pickle mania!

Author Kim Baker generously sent us two signed copies of her fun book, Pickle. She also sent us signed bookmarks, stickers, decoders and a cool T-shirt for me, Ms. Katrin. Thank you so much!!

Author Kim Baker of Pickle writes back!

New Books!

Study Guide for English Test

Study Guide for English Test – Friday, October 5, 2012

·         Spelling Words from Double Dutch -Practice Book p. 41

·         Vocabulary from Elisas’s Diary & Interrupted Journey

·         Reading Comprehension –Informational Text Passage to read on the test

·         Grammar

o   Common & Proper nouns

o   Singular, Plural, and Collective Nouns

o   Abbreviations, Acronyms, Initials, Organizations

Upcoming Assessments

Assessments next week: 
Thursday, Oct. 4 - Science Test
Friday, Oct. 5 - English Test

Other assessments coming up:

Tuesday, Oct. 9 - Math Test #3

Wednesday, Oct. 17 - Science Test #3
 viernes, 19 de octubre - Comprobación de lectura -español

jueves, 25 de octubre - Examen de español

Space Camp Tickets for Sale NOW!

Parents of Space Campers can purchase their child's airline ticket tomorrow, Wednesday, September 26, 2012 and Thursday, September 27, 2012 at the SEARS Travel Agency in the Mayagüez Mall. 

BOOK FAIR

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to SESO next week, from Monday, September 24th to Friday, September 29th. I will be taking students to the book fair on Monday to browse and buy books. In addition, I will have a "wish list"of book fair books that I'd love to add to the fifth grade classroom library, just ask the librarians.  Any donations of books would be greatly appreciated!

Parts of the Computer

Here is a link to the Power Point Presentation on the Parts of the Computer. Quiz on Tuesday, September 25th, 2012.

Biographies

Fifth graders have been reading up a storm and it's time to kick off our first Independent Reading Genre Study. For this unit, students will be choosing a biography to read. A biography tells about a person's life and accomplishments.

Students must select and show me their choice by MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th. Students will then begin reading their biographies in class and at home, so they should always have it with them.
Biographies must be read by MONDAY, OCTOBER 15th. We will work on a Power Point presentation of the book in Computer and English class.

Students may borrow a book from my classroom library, the SESO library, MAYAGÜEZ Children's Library, or purchase one from Amazon (or other online sellers).

 I can especially recommend :
 "Who Was..."series available here. 
"DK Biography series available here.

Please contact me with any questions.
Ms. Katrin

English Test : Thursday, September 6, 2012

English Test : Thursday, September 6, 2012

-Vocabulary from

-Blasting Off to Space Academy

-Off and Running

Grammar:

                   - Complete sentences

(simple subject & simple predicate)

-Kinds of Sentences

(declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative)

Reading Comprehension Passage and Questions

Upcoming Assessments

Tuesday, Aug. 28 - Social Studies Test - Geography Skills
Thursday, Aug. 30 - Spanish Test

Science -Sept. 4
Math - possible test Chapter 1 Sept. 7

Blasting Off to Space Academy

In English class, students have been reading Blasting Off to Space Academy by Susan E. Goodman. If you are interested in learning more about space, NASA, or space camp, check out the links below:
http://www.nasa.gov/
http://www.spacecamp.com/

Fifth Grade Hopes and Dreams

Students wrote and drew their hopes and dreams for fifth grade. Beautiful!

Weekly Announcements

English: Monday and Tuesday -Book Talks (summer reading) 20 points
Spanish: Trabajo Diario
Math: Daily Homework
           Quiz Tuesday, Aug 21 - Ch. 1 Lessons 1 -4
Science: HW - Tuesday-  Dr. Brown and the Science Inquiry (10 points)
              HW - Thursday -Science Safety (10 points)
             Short test -The Nature of Science -Aug 29  
Social Studies: Classroom Activities 
              Test -Geography Skills Aug. 23

Blood Drive

This Sunday, August 12, 2012, the Girl Scouts will be sponsoring a blood drive. Please show your support!

Welcome to Fifth Grade!

We are so excited to welcome a new group of fifth graders and their families! We hope that you will enjoy fifth grade as much as we enjoy teaching it. This year, you will learn new skills, concepts, and information in English, Spanish, Math, Science, Social Studies, Music, and PE.
This blog is a great resource to find additional resources, links, and announcements. Consider saving this site in your bookmarks or following us by email to be updated on all the things going on in fifth grade.

Favorite Books From Fifth Grade

What was the best book that you read this year?
Answer below and don't forget to leave your name!

Check out our Our Writing

Fifth graders selected a piece of writing to post to our sister site, Our Writing Enjoy reading and commenting on Our Writing. Remember, I will approve all comments. You will have to post as Anonymous if you do not have an account with blogger, so please sign your name at the end of the comment, like this -Katrin

English Test Study Guide

Study Guide- Test on Friday, May 11, 2012

Vocabulary Words from:

·         The Birchbark House p. 558

·         Vaqueros p. 582

Reading Comprehension:

·         I will give students the passage to read with questions to answer.

Grammar:

·         The verbs be and have p. 247-249

·         Perfect Tense p.259-261

Writing : Open Response to Prompt