March 16th, 2015
Class activities for Monday, March 16
Spelling: None today.
Cursive: Ten cursive sentences, seven or more words each, are due on Fridays.
Reading: Today was a partial reading day in Literature Circles.
Writing: We talked about creating an internal conflict in a story, such as a character dealing with strong emotions or a dilemma that they are thinking about.
Each student has a daily writing goal of 150-400 words. The novel project is due Friday, March 27. Students should be drafting now, with about 50% of the word count goal complete. Check StudentVue for your student’s progress.
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:
Math: None today, due to extra time with science. We’ll have extra math time tomorrow.
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: We reviewed the last experiment about mass and collisions. We learned that a larger mass makes a larger collision. We also tested speed and collisions as a class, and noticed that the same pattern emerged–an increase in speed increased the force of a collision. There will be a MiniQuiz about this, as well as calculating speed, and motion graphs, on Wednesday.
Social Studies: We reviewed dilemmas slaves faced in West Africa, on the boat through the Middle Passage, and on plantations in America. Homework is to finish reading notes pp. 46-48 if not done in class.
Notes:
- Our first play practice is Wednesday, March 18 from 4-5; students can stay until 6 to work on the set.
- 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.
