February 21st through the 24th

Keenoy Koala News                                         2-24-17 

     We are moving right along with our year!  It is so hard for me to believe that March is so quickly approaching.  My son Caleb has his first soccer tournament this weekend.  We love taking the family to his games and the kids are looking forward to soccer season starting back up.  This sport keeps our weekends VERY busy in the spring. 

     It was great meeting with everyone at conferences.  I loved having the opportunity to share your child’s accomplishments and hard work.  I am confident that they will continue working hard during our last trimester of elementary school.  The last third of the year goes by quickly and is an extremely busy time of year for 5th graders.  Thank you for your continued support and please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Koala of the Week: Evan Groman

My name is Evan and I love my family.  I have six people in my family.  My mom (Kimberly), mama (Jen), dad (Thom), Makenzie (sister), Jersey (sister), and Kyler (brother).  In my free time I like to build forts outside with the kids in my neighborhood.  I also love to read Harry Potter books and watching the movies.  My favorite book/movie from the series is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. 

Math

Students took an assessment over topic 10 on Wednesday.  These are graded and should be included in your child’s Friday folder.

For the next couple of weeks, students will be learning how to…….

     * multiply a fraction by a whole number.

     * find the product of two fractions.

     * multiply mixed numbers.

Writing

I enjoyed teaching Non-Fiction writing, but I think that it is safe to say that both students and I are excited about the change in genre.  Students will be taking a post-assessment for Non-Fiction writing next week.  Students will learn information about Harriet Tubman (two articles and one video).  Their job will be to organize this information by planning and writing a five paragraph essay.  I am confident that students will be able to apply the non-fiction writing strategies learned during this unit.

Our new writing unit revolves around research based argumentative essays.  I view this as editorial writing, with a little bit more emphasis on research based arguments.  The process that we will be following includes: 

     *researching the topic by reading/viewing trusted sources.

     * listing the pros and cons for each side of the argument.

     *creating a thesis statement and turning that into a terrific beginning

     *using a plan sheet to organize our thinking and arguments

     *drafting these ideas

Word Study

Our focus during the last two weeks has been on words with similar ending sounds (er, ar, and ure).  Students took a test on Thursday over their 10 spelling works. Look for these graded tests in your child’s Friday folder.

This week we will be focusing on words that have a silent consonant and become sounded consonants.  Examples of these words include: muscle, muscular, design, designate, moisten, moist.

Reading

Students really seem to enjoy the start of our new read aloud book called Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt.  I have modeled and shared several main idea lessons during the last couple of weeks.  This week we continued using these strategies to improve comprehension, but I also introduced cause/effect relationships within the story.  I will continue meeting with individuals and small groups to support these skills.

Social Studies

We completed chapter 7 (Pre-Revolutionary War Events) on Thursday.  Students seem highly engaged during lessons, videos, and discussions.  I’ve provided students with a variety of sources to help build background/reinforce main ideas.  Next week we will start diving into the key details of the Revolutionary War.

Science

A couple of scheduling changes this week caused our new Matter Unit to be moved to next week.  This is a lengthy unit that is filled with fun activities and exploration.  Below, I have listed the science standards that we will cover during this unit.

* Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.

* Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.

* Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.

* Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.

Sincerely,

                                                                                                            Dan Keenoy

Buddy Classroom Activity!  Valentine's Day Fun!

February 7th through 10th

Keenoy Cardinal’s News                2-10-17

Dear Families,

The weeks are flying by right now!  It seems like in a blink of an eye, I’m typing up another newsletter again.   I will not be sending home Friday Folder marks this week.  I plan on using the weekend to complete all of my progress reports.  Have a wonderful week and thank you for everything that you do!  Please do not ever hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.  

Koala of the Week-Kaelin Tindall

My name is Kaelin.  I have a mom, dad, and step dad.  I also have two siblings and two step siblings.  My step brother's name is also Kalen.  My step sister is younger than me and my other two siblings (Kai and Taylor) are older than me.  I enjoy playing basketball and baseball.  I also like traveling to new places. Another interest of mine is going to amusement parks.

Conferences

I sent home a confirmation note last Friday with your scheduled conference time.  Please contact me right away if changes need to be made.   I look forward to meeting with you about your child’s second trimester progress next week.

Valentine’s Classroom Party

The February room parties are on Tuesday, February 14th from 2:15 – 3:00 pm.   I want to thank ALL of the parents that have planned, organized, and/or contributed supplies for our classroom parties (Fall, Holiday, Valentines).  Our class greatly appreciates all of your time and effort! 

Your child may exchange valentines with his/her classmates at some point during the Holiday party.  Last week I sent home a current class list to use for Valentines.  This is an optional activity. However, if your child chooses to pass out valentines, there should be one for each child in the class.  Students may also decorate a box/bag, at home, to use to gather their valentines. 

Math

I was extremely impressed with our overall Topic 9 fraction assessment scores.  Over half of the class scored a 90% or above! 

This week we have been working on adding and subtracting fractions in Topic 10.  In this unit students have to apply the skills learned in Topic 9. 

**A single fraction addition/subtraction problem might involve students:  finding a common denominator, borrowing from a whole number, changing an improper fraction to a mixed number, and simplifying.  Although students have been extremely successful with these skills in isolation, combining these skills with one problem can be challenging.   I will continue providing enrichment opportunities for students who are showing terrific understanding of these skills.  I will also give students extra support for those who need the practice.

Reading

The last few books that we have read aloud connect very well together.  The latest book called, Children of the Dust Bowl focuses on the migration of people from the dust bowl states to California.  When they arrived in California they faced even more hardships and hateful discrimination.  Police blockaded state lines to prevent the entrance of “Okies.”  These actions are sparking great conversations about kindness and constitutional rights of American citizens. This shows that the readers in Koala Land are deep level thinkers and are comprehending the book well. 

Informational Writing

Many students have completed their plan and first draft.   Next week we will be entering the revision phase of the writing cycle.  My lessons next week will focus on improving student writing with: beginnings, endings, and blending a storytelling voice with research fact based information.  I am pleased with the progress that we have made so far.  

Social Studies

We started back up with social studies at the end of this week.  Students are learning about the Pre-Revolutionary War events in Chapter 7.  My goal will be to connect real life taxing situations with how taxing was handled during the 1700’s.  Students will have the opportunity to look at these situations from different character perspectives (colonists, King George, British Soldiers, Patrick Henry). 

Science

Students completed their friction investigation and graph this week.  We accumulated the data collected from each group and found a classroom average.  The main idea of this activity was to determine the amount of force needed to pull a bag of sand across three different surfaces (tile, carpet, and concrete).  We measured this force by using the measurement Newtons.  Students are becoming experts at conducting a proper science experiments from a testable questions.       

                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                Dan Keenoy

 

January 30th through February 3rd

Keenoy Koala News                             2-3-17

Dear Parents,

I hope that everyone had a terrific week.  The Keenoys are traveling to St. Louis to celebrate two  brother-in-law birthdays.  The kids love spending time with their cousins and uncles.  Our class worked hard this week.  I recently noticed an overall decline with organization and attentiveness with many Koalas.  I’ve spent more time this week emphasizing the importance taking care of materials and class responsibilities.  I have seen a steady improvement throughout the week.  They are a great group that just fell into a couple of bad habitsJ

Koala of the Week

Kyler Thomas is our Koala of the week.  He really likes video games and roller coasters.  He has a mom (Jackie), dad (Pat), brother (Kobe), and a dog named Maisy. 

Mini Trip To Smithton

Next Wednesday, February 8, all 5th graders at Paxton Keeley will be having a walking field trip to Smithton Middle School to watch a musical.  Please let me know right away if you have any questions or concerns about this walking field trip.

Parent Teacher Conferences

A confirmation note is in the Friday Folder with your scheduled conference time.  Please contact me right away if changes need to me made. I look forward to meeting with you about your child’s second trimester progress.

Tissues Needed

Our classroom is quickly running out of tissues again.  If you are at the store and do not mind picking up a box, we will definitely put them to good useJ  Thanks.

 

Reading  

We started reading, Children of the Dust Bowl last week.  This week during read aloud, we have been concentrating on the cause/effect of important text events.    

During our independent reading time, I will be conferring with individuals and guided reading groups.  These conferences and guided reading groups help support the comprehension skills we are practicing during whole group with our read aloud.

Writing

*Students have been busy researching about their self-selected charity.

*Each day I have shown students how to research, take notes, use a plan sheet, and ways to develop subtopics.

*We will begin/continue working on our first drafts next week.  Our focus will shift from organization to elaboration and craft.

Math

*We wrapped up Topic 9 (Fractions and Decimals) on Wednesday with an assessment.  Our next two topics continue to focus on fractions as well.

*We began Topic 10 (Adding and Subtracting Fractions and Mixed Numbers) on Thursday. Many of the concepts learned in Topic 9 will be applied in Topic 10.

*Objectives for this topic include:

Add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators.

Add and subtract mixed numbers.

Word Study

Students learned about a spelling pattern with the suffixes tion and sion.

Drop "d" and add "sion"

Base                 Suffix

Explode             explosion           

Collide               collision

Drop "e" and add "ion"

Base                 Suffix

Educate             education

Decorate           decoration

Words already ending with s like express add ion=expression

Science

Next week we will complete our experimental design friction investigation.  Make sure to ask your child about this experiment next week.

The Valentine Party

I forgot to attach a class list to the hard-copy newsletter last week.  I will make sure to include a list this week.  Last week’s newsletter included the basic information about boxes/cards/party.  I updated our blog that has this information.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Volunteers Needed

Calling fifth grade parents and students!!! We need your help with distributing the Shakespeare’s pizzas on Monday, Feb. 13th at 3:00.  This should be about an hour and this event directly supports the fifth grade and our field trip to Biz Town. If you have a student who is in Adventure Club, and is willing to help, we do have a parent that is willing to assist with those students.  If you do have an Adventure Club student who is able to help, please let Ms. Thelen know at  sthelen@cpsk12.org. In addition, you will need to write a note to Adventure Club, excusing them (after they check in) to the office so that they can help with the distribution. They will return to Adventure Club in an hour. Thank you!

Sincerely,

                                                                                                Dan Keenoy

January 23 through 27th

Keenoy Koala News                                1-27-17

Koala of the Week

Our Koala of the Week is Kyan Larson.  Kyan loves being involved in sports.  He plays basketball and soccer.  He also loves to go to the skate park to work on his skateboarding tricks.  Some of his other hobbies include solving different types of Rubik’s cubes and playing outside with friends.  His family includes his mom (Somer), dad (Brian), brother (Holden), and sister (Hannah).  He is the youngest in his family.

The next Koala of the Week is Kyler Thomas.  It is nice when students bring in pictures, medals, or other items to fill the bulletin board outside of our classroom.  Thank you!

Shakespeare’s Pizza PTA/BIZTOWN Fundraiser

Our class sold over 700 dollars’ worth of pizza!  Our class goal was for each person to sell two pizzas totaling 24 dollars.  24 dollars X 25 students = $600!  As you can see, we exceeded this goal by over 100 dollars!  I am VERY proud of the Koalas for helping PTA with the cost of this trip.  Thank you Koalas and Parents!

Valentine’s Party and Exchange

Our valentine party will be Tuesday, Feb. 14 from 2:15-3:00. Any parents that are helping with the party may begin setting up at 2:00. Students may bring valentines for their classmates. This is not required. However, if students choose to bring valentines, there should be one for each student in the class. Attached to this newsletter is a class list. While we will not decorate bags/boxes at school, students are more than welcome to do this at home and bring to school for exchanging valentines.

Math

This week we focused on:

*Identifying fractions that are in simplest form and finding the simplest form of a fraction.

*understanding the connection/equivalence of fractions, decimals, and percents.

*Representing decimals as fractions (tenths and hundredths).

We will spend the next couple of days reviewing. The assessment will more than likely be on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Reading

We started discussing our next read aloud on Thursday called, Children of the Dust Bowl.   I spent a couple of days building background knowledge about the Great Depression and life during the 1930s.  During this time, a section of the United States (Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska) went through a devastating drought. The combination of the economic crisis and the drought made life for people living in this area especially tough.  One of the reasons I selected this informational text is to help students with their own charity informational writing.  I plan on frequently using this story as a model text during our writing workshop time.  

The comprehension strategies that we will continue focusing on include:

*Compare and Contrasting

*Point of View

*Cause and Effect

*Main Idea

Informational Writing

Thank you for taking the time this week to visit with your child about their charity selection ideas.  This discussion seemed helpful, and I enjoyed reading each of their summaries about the great conversations.  Students have now selected their charity to research. 

During the first part of writing, my lesson has focused on Organization.  We have looked closely at the rubric expectations for organization. We then graded several non-fiction texts to help better understand how writers organize their informational stories.  I am then providing students time (during the second half of writing) to research information about their charity.  I shared a Google Doc with them that provides several helpful sites for each charity.  Although students can branch off of this list, most students are finding the information needed within the sites provided. 

Science/Social Studies

Typically we save a portion of our afternoon for either Science or Social Studies.  Since we started researching charities, it has been very difficult to get the lessons in during that time of the day.  Students are finding out that researching information from the web takes a lot of time!  We will get back into our regular routine again next week.

In science, we will finish up with our experimental design unit.  Students will conduct an experiment by testing the amount of force needed to pull a bag of sand across three different types of surfaces.  Our next unit in science will focus on matter.  In social studies, we will continue learning about Pre-Revolutionary War events.

Word Study

Word Study is also an area that I plan to make a bigger priority starting next week.  We will focus on when to use the suffix sion vs. tion.  Please look for students to bring home their spelling words to study throughout the week.  I will have them write the spelling words in their planner too.     

Upcoming Dates

Feb. 6               No School - Teacher Workday

Feb. 9               Bookapalooza 6-8pm (see note in folder for more info.)

Feb. 13-17          Conference Week

                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                Dan Keenoy