March 6th, 2015
Class activities for Friday, March 6
Spelling: We reviewed compound words today and we also practiced the idea that r following a vowel makes a new sound.
Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due on Fridays.
Reading: Today was a reading skills and AR practice day.
Writing: We talked about creating an external conflict in a story. Interesting stories have characters that struggle to reach a goal, but there is usually something in the way that makes reaching the goal difficult.
Each student has a daily writing goal of 150-400 words. The novel project is due Friday, March 27. Students should be drafting now. Look below for more details.
Novel Writing Project 2015
The final piece of the 3rd Marking Period will be our final fiction project of the year. Students will write and publish a novel. Each student will write their own novel, with a word goal minimum of 1,500-4,000 words, based on their reading level (each student’s minimum writing goal is equal to their reading level multiplied by 500). The novels will be written in Google Docs (docs.mrhowd.com) to make use of the word count feature. Final novels will be uploaded to Lulu.com and published as paperback books, which can be purchased for reasonable prices. So yes, students will actually write and publish their own novels. This project is based on the National Novel Writing Month Young Writers program. Here are more details:
- Here are some novels written by former students:
- This is our final fiction project; the novel can be any type of fiction story (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, realistic, historical, etc.)
- We will be working on this in school most days, using docs.mrhowd.com to type the novel. Students can also work on this from any internet-connected computer outside of school.
- Students might want to start thinking now about how they will use a computer after school if they need to, and if they will go to the library, use a home computer, or use a friend or family member’s computer.
- If friends and family would like to order a paperback version of the book, we will upload the final texts to Lulu.com. Most books will cost between $5 and $10.
- Half of this grade will be if students complete their own, personal word count goal.
Math: We contiued to practice dividing when there was a decimal in the divisor (Dividing decimals 1 and Dividing decimals 2). Here are some skills we’ve been working on lately:
- Multiplying decimals 1
- Multiplying decimals 2
- Dividing completely
- Dividing decimals 1
- Dividing decimals 2
- Dividing decimals 3
It would be helpful for students to continue working on these skills at home if they haven’t had enough time in class to master them.
Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes or more using MobyMax or Khan Academy, and to work on MobyMax FactMaster for 5 minutes.
Science: Students completed an experiment to test if mass affects the force of a collision. Homework is to finish analysis questions 1-4, p. 20.
Social Studies: None today due to our math skills practice time.
Notes:
- Our first play practice is Monday from 4-5; students can stay until 6 to work on the set.
- Spring conferences are March 10-12. View or edit your time here.
- Our class play, The Legend of Lightning Larry, will be on March 31. Here is the practice schedule.
- Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
- Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
- View grades, report cards, behavior, assignments, and attendance online.
- Fifth Grade Camp is May 7-8, 2015. Costs are $100 and payments are being accepted through May.
Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 6th grade.
