September 26 through 30th

Keenoy Koala News                                                  September 30, 2016

Dear Families,

    Thank you for all of the families that are volunteering their time during the Comet Carnival tonight.  This fun event would not be possible without all of the help from families. Have a wonderful weekend and week.  Thanks for all of your support at home and everything that you do to support your child's learning.  Remember, if you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to email or call.

Vocabulary Day Hat Parade-October 14th

This will be a fun activity to help us celebrate the power of words and Dictionary DayJ  Students will be selecting a word and creating a hat.  The hat will match the meaning of the word and students are asked to design this at home.  Students are welcome to ALL of my art supplies and parents should not have to buy ANYTHINGJ  More detailed information will be sent home today. 

MAP Testing Results

Please look for your child’s 4^th grade MAP Test scores in this week’s Friday folder.  Students should have received a score in Language Arts and Math from 4^th grade.  During the end of their 5^th grade year, they will be tested in Language Arts, Math, and Science.  Specific testing window dates will be shared later in the year. 

Math

As you know, I introduced a strategy of solving large digit multiplication problems using partial products.  I showed students how 344 X 7 is the same as (300 X 7) + (40 X 7)  +  (4 X 7).  The partial product strategy helps students understand the importance of using multiples of 10, and it also shows flexibility with breaking apart numbers. I like showing this strategy prior to teaching the algorithm (stacking method).   

Although I like starting off showing students the partial product method, the algorithm (stacking method) can be more efficient at times.  Therefore, I plan on taking a few days to teach the algorithm after the assessment on Monday.  Students who already show success and understanding of the algorithm will be given enrichment work so that they are not bored out of their mindsJ  Thank you!

*Students will take an assessment over Topic 3 (larger digit multiplication) on Monday.

*Next Topics 4 & 5 focus on division. In this unit students will divide multiplies of 10 and 100,   estimate quotients, divide by 1-digit & 2-digit divisors, and understand factors and prime/composite numbers.

*Students that are fluent with their basic math facts will be able to solve division problems more efficiently.

Writing

Students are entering the drafting phase of their personal narrative stories.  The focus of my instruction during this revision process will be: beginnings, middle, endings, figurative language, dialogue, and organization.  I will continue going over the scoring rubric with them during this process.  I also plan on showing students exemplar papers that match what the rubric is asking them to do.  Hopefully this helps students make sense of a somewhat wordy rubricJ

Reading

Students have now learned and practiced each of the following story elements: problem/solution, character traits (personality/physical), and settings.  We have also started thinking about how characters trait’s change as the story goes on.  I will be working with small groups who need more assistance with these comprehension strategies prior to our reading assessment next week. 

Science

Students enjoyed our first Earth and Space Systems lesson on Thursday.  Students experimented with gravity with the big idea being that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.

Social Studies

Students took an assessment over chapter 1 yesterday.  The BIG idea of this chapter is explaining how the physical geography, resources, climate, and industry of the United States affects the way/where citizens live.  We will start learning about the First Americans in chapter 2 next week.

Have a terrific week and GO CARDS and TIGERS!

                                                                                   

Sincerely,

                                                                                                Dan Keenoy

September 19th Through 23rd

Keenoy Koala News                         9-23-16

Dear Families,

I hope that everyone had a wonderful week.  Overall the Keenoy family is doing well and staying busy as always.  Jessi and I feel like chauffeurs most evenings, but enjoy our kiddos being involved in so many activities.  Jessi and I often use the phrase, “Divide and Conquer!”  Gabby had her very first soccer game this week.  Watching three year olds try and play soccer made our hearts feel good.   

Unfortunately, I just found out that my 89 year old grandmother passed away.  I spent most of my Thursday evening on the phone with my sister and other relatives instead of working on Friday folder comments/marks.  Therefore, students will write their own work study habits on a reflection page.  ALL marks will be double checked by me for accuracy and will still need to be signed/returned.  Thank you for understanding.

 

Math

We began Topic 3 (Multiplying Whole Numbers) on Monday.

Students reviewed and applied commutative (order), associative (grouping), identity (6x1=6), and zero (6x0=0) properties of multiplication.  Students used partial products to multiply numbers by a one-digit number as well as a two-digit number.

*Knowing their basic facts fluently is essential for this unit.  Many of my students are fluent with their multiplication facts. Some are not and should be practicing on a daily basis at home.

Writing

I was happy with our writing progress this week. MANY students genuinely seem bummed when I asked them to stop writing each day!  They have a lot of great personal narrative ideas that they want to get down on paper.  We spent the end of this week analyzing papers and focusing on three aspects of the rubric (craft, elaboration, and beginnings).  Next week, students will create a story arc for several story examples shared.  The purpose will be for them to see the importance of slowing down in the heart of the story and speeding up during less important parts. 

Reading

I will continue to read aloud, Jackie’s Wild Seattle, by Will Hobbs each day.  We will continue discussing/modeling:

*how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges

*compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story

*explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals

*compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g. problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts

I have really emphasized quality student reading responses this week.  During a recent notebook check, I realized this is an area for us to continue working on.  It will be important for students to keep their notebook organized and completed each day.  A portion of their reading effort grade is based on this work. 

Social Studies

We finished our Chapter 1 review page in class on Thursday.  The assessment that I created will allow students to apply the information learned based on a real life situation/decision.  Students will take this assessment on Wednesday.

Science

Each of the five tables in our classroom helped create their own terrarium on Thursday.  The purpose of creating this model is to show how the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere interact with each other.  Over time, students will be writing about their terrarium observations.

Have a fantastic weekend and week!  Remember, if you ever have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thanks for all that you do to support your child and me!

                                                                             Sincerely,

                                                                             Dan Keenoy

September 12th Through 16th Posts

Keenoy Koala News                                            9-9-16

Dear Families,

Thanks again for the great start to the year and communication.  Our class had a very busy week with the four days that we had together.  I greatly enjoy teaching them each day and appreciate their kindness towards each other.  Terrific week and thanks for all that you do to support my teaching.

Book Orders

Scholastic order forms are being sent home today.  If ordering, please include an order form and a check made out to Scholastic by September 16^th.   

Math

This week we continued practicing rounding numbers and solving addition problems using decimals (Topic 2).  Once students realized that they just line up the numbers based on place value, they were much more successful with decimal addition.

After the completion of Topic 2 next week, we will begin looking at multiplying large digit problems in topic 3.  Knowing their basic facts is essential to their success with this unit. If your child does not know their basic multiplication and division facts through the 12’s, they should be studying each evening.

Reading

We will complete DRA reading assessments next week.  Students will be reading the entire passage and then answering questions about the text.  Once these are completed, I will continue with my individual, group, and book club conferencing.

Students really seem to enjoy listening to the book, Jackie’s Wild Seattle, by Will Hobbs.  I will use this book to model comprehension strategies as I read aloud.  I will then ask students to practice these skills during independent reading time and at home.  We will be focusing on Story Elements for the next few weeks, and the standards that I will teach include:

*how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges

*compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story

*explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals

*compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g. problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or     information in two or more texts

Writing

Students are starting to show good understanding about what personal narratives are.  We analyzed the similarities and differences between memoirs and personal narratives by reading, Up North at the Cabin, by Martha Chall.  Students realized that both genres are written about past experiences, but personal narratives focus in on a specific moment that stands out.  We have continued working on collecting ideas in our writer’s notebook.  The list of collecting strategies that we have covered so far are listed below:

1)         Listing special people and moments with them.

2)         First times, last times, and a moment they realized something important.

3)         List of Special Places and Moments at the place.

4)         Recent Moments That Stand Out

5)         Other authors’ ideas helping spark my own

Next I plan to have students analyze several past student writing samples of personal narratives.  We will score these 5^th grade narratives by using a rubric.  This is the same rubric that their own narratives will be graded from.   I enjoy these activities because they give students a much better understanding of how their own papers will be scored. 

Social Studies

Next week we will continue learning about North America in chapter 1.  Students will be learning about the regions in the United States.  We will also spend time discussing how the climate and resources affect the population and how people live.    

Science

*We used/explored our digital science textbook together

*Students started learning about the Earth’s 4 major systems: Hydrosphere, Geosphere, Atmosphere, and Biosphere.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dan Keenoy