This week students will be given the opportunity to begin reciting "Jabberwocky" to the class when they are prepared to do so. I am amazed at their eagerness to recite this difficult poem, and admire their drive to excel in their recitations. We will have time for 2-3 presenters each day, and the last day to recite will be the Thursday before fall break, October 6th. I hope you are entertained by this nonsense poem. It is interesting to decode the parts of speech simply by looking at the sentence structure in the poem. Challenge your child to explain how they know which nonsense words are nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs. We will spend time identifying predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives this week in Grammar, and we will continue to review helping verbs, state of being verbs and linking verbs. We will read up through chapter 14 of Where the Red Fern Grows by Thursday of this week and have a seminar discussion on Friday. I have posted a link to audio recordings of this classic on the "Links" page to support students who are having trouble with reading comprehension. When listening to the audio, students should still have text in front of them and be following along with the story. This is a good way to increase vocabulary knowledge and become more fluent in reading. Of course, reading to and with your child is always the best option, especially to build relationship, but on days when that is not possible the audio book is a good tool. This week we will begin practicing spelling words from the rule pages completed in Spalding. Students will practice these words for homework and will be tested on them on Fridays. Students should be applying the Spalding checkpoints for cursive handwriting, and have a handwriting packet for practice cursive in binders. If you notice sloppy handwriting on assignments, please refer your child to the extra practice pages as a reminder. Please plan on attending a parent-teacher conference during the week of October 17-20th. Students will be dismissed at noon from school so that conferences can be held in the afternoon. A link to Sign-up Genius will be sent out soon for you to schedule your conference time. Have a great week! Mrs. Baird Important Dates: 9/30 - Half Day, Noon Release due to Teacher In-Service 10/01 - Study Skills Workshop for 4th & 5th Grade Students and Parents (Must Register to Attend) 10/05 - Mathematics Clinic, 6PM 10/07 - No School, Teacher In-service 10/10 - 10/14 Fall Break, No School 10/17 - 10/21 Half Days, Noon Release (Parent Teacher Conferences from 1PM to 4PM)
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Hello, Parents. Students were excited to receive their Spalding notebooks this past week, and continue to be enthusiastic about learning spelling rules. This Wednesday, September 21st, Mr. and Mrs. Arbogast will be leading the Parent Spalding Clinic from 6-7PM at our school campus. If your student is new to Spalding, or if you would like to learn how to better support your child at home in Spalding, please attend. The Arbogasts' passion will inspire you to want to learn the patterns and rules of the English language for yourself along with your scholar. In class on Wednesday we will have a written phonogram test over the first 70 phonograms, as students should aim for quick mastery of these as we will soon begin weekly spelling tests; students will also be tested orally over the first 70 phonograms before the end of the quarter. Students should continue to practice neat cursive strokes on all assignments. Before we began Where the Red Fern Grows on Friday, we first discussed the life of the author, Wilson Rawls. Although the book itself is inspiring and impactful, Rawls' life story is worthy of sharing. Having not received a formal education, he viewed his writing as "pure trash," in regards to vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation. He burned manuscripts of 5 novels, but later rewrote Where the Red Fern Grows with encouragement from his wife, who helped edit his work. The students gasped at the thought of Rawls destroying his work, and wholeheartedly agreed that persevering in matters of Language Arts is a worthy goal. We will continue to have comprehension questions that check for understanding and discussion questions that allow students to think more deeply about this classic and practice expression of ideas in class. In Writing and Grammar, we will be reviewing concepts taught up to this point. We will edit and rewrite summaries and practice more outlining in class, along with focus on how to use commas properly and skillfully in written work. On Friday we will have a grammar test over the definitions of the parts of speech, helping verbs and personal pronouns. A study guide will be provided and should remain in the Grammar section of students' binders. Students will also begin memorization of a new poem, "Jabberwocky," by Lewis Carroll. This will be a challenge, but one that I trust students will rise to. I suggest students listen to audio version of poem being read to familiarize selves with language. I will post links of where to find audio versions on the "Links" tab above. We will begin recitations for this poem the week before fall break, or earlier for those who master it quickly. Although nonsense words, in class we will apply our grammar knowledge to determine adjectives, nouns and verbs from the sentence structure in the poem. Looking forward to another great week, Mrs. Baird Important Dates: 9/21 - Parent Spalding Clinic from 6-7PM 9/23 - Spirit Day, Wear ATE spirit shirts with uniform bottoms 9/30 - Half Day, Noon Release due to Teacher In-Service Hello, Parents. This week we each student will receive a blue Spalding notebook to begin recording rule pages. We will spend both days of Spalding writing down the rules of the English language, while practicing our best cursive handwriting. Already I see a growth in students' sense of wonder related to why words are spelled the way they are, and this fifth grade class is eager to find the exception to the rule. Scholars should continue to work toward mastery of the first 70 phonograms by the end of the first quarter, meaning they should be able to both write the phonogram from hearing and say the sounds upon seeing. Besides phonogram practice, homework will consist of cursive practice pages. We will wrap up Voyage of the Dawn Treader this week with a final seminar discussion. It is gratifying to see the eagerness with which your children engage in sharing their unique perspectives during these discussions. They look forward to these times of collaborative learning, and many have voluntarily started taking notes during seminars as a way to participate when it is not their group's time to converse. I am also aware that scholars' depth of understanding is reflective of the time you have invested as parents to discuss the chapters at home, so thank you for your contribution to our discussions as well. Please send in Where the Red Fern Grows if it is not already in your child's locker, as it will be the next piece of literature we read. During Grammar and Writing this week, we will focus on creating basic outlines from narratives, as well as historical and science passages. We will work through this activity as a class at first so that students will become more confident in selecting the main idea of a paragraph. Last week students struggled to summarize when given a specific number of sentences, and reported that they have always been encouraged to write as much as they can; while that might be a good strategy at times, we are guiding our students to be precise and intentional with word choice and would rather they are clear on what points matter and which are non-essential in their summaries. Student will also memorize another short poem this week, The Eagle, by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Students should practice this poem by reading several times each night, and be prepared to recite in class on Friday. Please be sure to review "Friday Folders" with your child to stay connected regarding where they need help and where they have made progress. Sign items labeled tests and quizzes and return in the signed file folder, and keep the other assignments at home or recycle. For English Language Arts, papers that will need to be saved for future study should already be filed in the assigned place in ELA binder, so homework practice or other assignments need not be saved. Warm regards, Mrs. Baird Important Dates: September 21 - Spalding Clinic for Parents, 6-7PM September 23 - Spirit Day, Archway Trivium East spirit wear September 30 - Half Day, Noon Release (No lunch served) Hello, Parents. We will begin Writing instruction this week, focusing on the skill of summarizing both fiction and nonfiction passages by choosing main events and listing them chronologically. Cursive will be taught in Spalding, while students continue to practice to write and mark spelling words. Assignments will be written in cursive from this point forward in the school year. Phonograms 1-70 should be reviewed nightly, as we move toward mastering these phonograms in the next few weeks. Enthusiasm has been building with each chapter of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. As we near the end of the book students are eager to share their favorite part or chapter, and both classes look forward to seminar days when they have an opportunity to share their perspectives with their peers. Reading assignments should take about 20-30 minutes each night, and all children would benefit from retelling what they have read to a parent or family member. Note the important dates below. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns. Warmly, Mrs. Baird Important Dates: MAP Testing for Reading - Wednesday, 9/07 Picture Day - Friday, 9/09 |
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Mrs. Baird Archives
February 2017
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