SO, in case you are still wondering:

 

Wednesday, June 10 (THIS WEDNESDAY): Math EOG

Thursday, June 11 (THIS THURSDAY): Language Arts EOG

 

Tuesday, June 16 (NEXT TUESDAY): Science EOG

 

This and next week are fairly important weeks and the students are going to be bogged down in a LOT of work inside the classroom.  As such, homework this week will be a tad on the lighter side.  However students should still be looking at their notes, review packets, and the other things we have worked on so far.

Over the weekend, students finished this math packet:

5th grade math eog released

Today we went over the answers.

 

Their homework is to find one that they missed, and figure out why and how they missed it.  Also to figure out how to do this problem correctly.  Tomorrow they need to come up to me and explain exactly what they did wrong, and exactly how to fix it.

 

We also started this packet today:

g5elapp

Tonight students have the very last selection to read and the questions to answer for that passage.

 

After that, they just have to do their reading log!

 

so, tl;dr

Tell me how to correctly do a problem you missed (exactly):

5th grade math eog released

Do the last selection and answer those questions:

g5elapp

 

READING LOG!!

 

Sleep well, and get some breakfast in you!

 

-Mr. Potter

Let’s keep them short and sweet this week:

 

Self assigned homework (motivation math and reading):

Self Assigned Homework

 

Read chapter 5 and 6 in Wally and the Walnuts:

WalnutsChap5&6

 

We also got a force and motion review packet, and students should read it and do questions 1-12 in the packet.  I’m sorry, but I don’t have the review packet in digital form.  That’s something I really need to fix.

 

AND READ!!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Same old, same old!

 

Students are getting very adept at recognizing their own gaps.  I am VERY impressed.  They have assigned themselves some more homework tonight, and here it is:

Self Assigned Homework

 

We did a TON of centers today,  and small groups, and small reading groups, and all sorts of little individual and group type stuff.  I am very lucky to have a group of students that I can trust to do work on their own.  It let’s us get a lot done, and allows us to focus more on the things we still need to practice.

 

Unfortunately we didn’t have much time left by the end of the day to read more of Wally and the Walnuts.  Therefore students should read the next two chapters tonight as homework.

WalnutsChap3&4

 

so, very short and sweet today:

Do the homework you assigned yourself: Self Assigned Homework

Read CH2 and 3 in Wally and the Walnuts: WalnutsChap3&4

 

And as always, read read read

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

This ‘assign your own homework’ is going very well!  Most students are assigning themselves things that they really need to work on.

Today we did lots of centers and small groups that students picked themselves based on what they wanted to work on.  I’m very happy with how well the students are handling the freedom and the responsibility of choosing their own focus and what they need to do/study.  Let’s hope it stays this way!

 

So students tonight should do the next two pages in their motivation math, and they picked another motivation reading passage to do as well.  Their own assignments are here:

Self Assigned Homework

 

We did some more work in the computer lab with our poetry, and went over our entire ecosystems review packet.  Students will soon be getting a review packet for forces and motion.  They should also be looking at these review materials each night as they prepare for their EOGs.

 

speaking of which, if you didn’t see it yesterday:

Wed, June 10: Math EOG

Thurs, June 11: Language Arts EOG

Tues, June 16: Science EOG

 Mon, June 29: 5th grade graduation ceremony

 

We are down to the wire here.

 

Important dates:

Wed, June 10: Math EOG

Thurs, June 11: Language Arts EOG

Tues, June 16: Science EOG

 

Mon, June 29: 5th grade graduation ceremony

The ceremony will start at 9am.  Please be seated before that (around 8:45ish) because we have to close the doors and start the ceremony promptly at 9.  The ceremony will take place in the Gym.  Afterwards there will be a short reception, and report cards will be handed out.  If you would like to check your student out after that, you are welcome to do so.

 

So, we have just over a week until EOGs start.  That means we are doing quite a bit of review this week.  For that reason, students are assigning themselves their own homework this week.  We are spending our time during the day mostly at centers and doing small groups, and identifying what we still need to figure out before we leave 5th grade.

This week is good practice for middle school.  Learning how to identify what you still need to study and work on, and then using your time wisely on those things, is a skill that they will use throughout the rest of their lives.

 

Students have a list of objectives, and they have rated themselves on what they do and do not yet understand in regards to fifth grade topics.  Then, based upon what they still need work on, they are assigning themselves pages in motivation math and motivation reading to work on.  Here is the list of pages they have assigned themselves tonight (with initials only):

Review Week Self Assigned Homework

Students should be spending their homework time each night really focusing on these topics, and trying their best to figure out what is still confusing them.  We will continue this throughout the week.

 

We spent some of our day in the computer lab, learning about the different things we can do with a word document to spruce up our poetry.  We talked about moving things around, text boxes, making things transparent, grouping, ordering, wrapping, and all that little stuff.  Students started making a short poem about an object, and using the things we have learned to either form their poem into the shape of that object, or to emboss their poem above a clip art picture of the object.  They have some really neat ideas!

 

In Science we stayed in the computer lab and played some more with forces, acceleration, and speed.  We talked a great deal about how acceleration is the CHANGE in speed over time.  This means that an acceleration of zero means speed is not changing.  It does not mean the speed is zero.  If you are moving at a constant speed, your acceleration is zero.  If you are speeding up, you have a positive acceleration.  If you are slowing down, you have a negative acceleration.

If you want to play with it some more, the website is here.

Students should completely finish their ecosystems review sheet tonight for homework.

 

so, tl;dr

Do the homework you assigned yourself!  If you don’t remember what YOU assigned YOURSELF, then here is a cheat sheet:

Review Week Self Assigned Homework

Also, finish your ecosystems review packet!

AND READ!!!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Thursday, but really a Wednesday.

 

Please remember that we have Saturday school this week.  This is an entire day of school, normal schedule. Breakfast and lunch will be served.  The only difference is that there is no before or after care.

We started our day with more mini-assessments in math.  Students have been rating themselves on their own knowledge of certain mathematical concepts, taking mini-assessments, and then re-rating their understanding.  Next week we will focus individually on those concepts that are still giving us trouble.

Word problems continue to be at the top of that list for many of us.  As a strategy, I am asking students to come up with a SENTENCE that will explain what they would have to do to solve a problem.  Essentially, state the equation in sentence form.  We did this with last night’s homework, and tonight students should do the same thing with a new list of problems.  They should state the operation they should be performing to solve the word problem, and then write out what they would do as a sentence.

Here is yesterday’s homework which we did as an example:

WPSentencesExample

 

And tonight’s homework which they should do the same way:

OperationIdentification2

 

We then had some really neat discussion about the field trip and whether next year’s students should go.  Last night students came up with arguments to refute their classmate’s arguments.  Many students obviously put some real thought into this, and I was impressed with their ideas.  We talked about logical fallacies, and flaws in thinking, and tried to point out any in the arguments we had so far.  We then whittled down what each side had said into 3-4 main points.  Tonight students should look at these main points, and write a simple counter-point to each, for both sides of the argument.

Point&Counterpoint

 

Next we talked about the difference between main idea and theme.  When going over the things we should know before we leave 5th grade, this was one that many were not quite sure of.

The main idea of a text is essentially what the selection is about.  What is going on in the story/article/whatever

The theme of a text is the author’s message.  It is what the reader should take away from the text.

 

For example, the Tortoise and the Hare:

The main idea is a Tortoise and  a Hare have a race and the Tortoise wins by plodding along while the hare takes it easy

The theme is ‘slow and steady wins the race’

Tonight students have a short selection to read.  They should write the main idea and the theme of the selection, and then answer a few questions about it.

Twins’ Luck Passage

Twins’ Luck Questions

 

Finally, we had just enough time to look at our review packet for science.  Students should answer the next ten questions in their ecosystems review packet tonight.

 

so, tl;dr

identify what operation should be performed to solve each of these word problems.  Write what you would do AS A SENTENCE

example: WPSentencesExample

hwk: OperationIdentification2

 

Fill in this chart with counterpoints to your classmates’ arguments for or against the field trip happening again next year:

Point&Counterpoint

Read this: Twins’ Luck Passage and identify the main idea and theme

Then answer these questions: Twins’ Luck Questions

Answer the next ten questions in your ecosystems review packet

 

And read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Today is going to be a bit brisk, as I have an appointment I need to run and make.  Sorry!

 

In math, students should fix any mistakes they made on last night’s homework.  This should be done on a SEPARATE piece of paper, with all work shown.

CC-5th-grade-word-problems

They also have a sheet of word problems.  They should NOT solve these problems.  Above the problem, on each line, they should indicate what operation can be performed to solve the word problem.  Please write out addition, subtraction, division, or multiplication.  Below, under each problem, they should write the equation they would use to solve it.  They should NOT actually solve them.

OperationIdentification

 

In Language Arts, students should write a rebuttal to their classmates’ argument.  They should pick one of the following points their classmates made today, and refute it in a paragraph.  Focus on being logical, and avoid ‘nuh-uh!’ type arguments please!

FieldTripPoints

 

They should also write a story using all ten of their new vocab words.

 

As always, read!

 

Have a good one! (sorry for the shortness today!)

 

-Mr. Potter

That field trip was AWESOME!

I hope that you all had a fantastic 3-day weekend, and got a chance to relax.  I hate to be a party pooper, but please remember that this week is still a five day week: we have Saturday school for a full day.  Buses will run as a normal day.  There will be breakfast and lunch at school, but there will be no before or after-care.

 

So today we talked about all of the math things that we should have learned before we leave 5th grade.  We rated these things ourselves on a scale of 1-10.

1: I don’t know how to do this

5: I kinda know how to do this

10: I do this correctly every time

 

We are taking a bunch of mini-assessments this week to see if our ideas about our own abilities match up to what we are actually doing.  If you are curious the math sheet looks like this:

Math

Tonight students should do the last two pages in their math review packet:

CC-5th-grade-word-problems

 

Tomorrow we’ll be talking about Language Arts just like this, and doing similar mini-assessments throughout the week.

 

In Language Arts we talked about the history of immigration in the United States, because tonight we have a short reading selection about Ellis Island.  Students should read pages 81-82 in their Motivation Reading books, and answer the questions on pages 83-86.

 

We also began work on an opinion piece.  Students should write about whether they believe next year’s 5th graders should go on the same trip they went on last Friday.  If they did not go on the trip, they should use what they know about the trip to form an opinion.

The assignment as given to them:

Write an opinion piece about whether next year’s 5th graders should go on the field trip.  Should they go? Should they do something else?  Why or why not?  Support your opinion with facts from the field trip.

Minimum 4 paragraphs: opening paragraph states your opinion and why.  Two supporting paragraphs explain your reasons.  Final paragraph draws your conclusion.

I don’t expect this to be perfect, but I would like to see some solid reasoning and thought put into this.

 

Finally, we looked over our ecosystems review packet, and checked the first half of the answers.

 

so, tl;dr

Final two pages of Math review packet:

CC-5th-grade-word-problems

Opinion piece on the field trip

pages 83-86 in motivation reading

As always, read!

 

Have a good one,

 

-Mr. Potter

Tomorrow is an EARLY and LONG day!  Make sure you get a very good night’s rest please.

 

Here is tomorrow’s itinerary:

4:45/4:50 AM report to Lockhart.  Please come to the parking lot near the Gym.  You may park there and see your child off.

5:00 depart Lockhart.  Buses must leave at 5am.  We will be unable to wait, so please arrive early.

9:00  Arrive at Carolina Ocean Studies (after a bathroom stop) and board the boat to the island

9:00 – 11:00ish activities on Masonboro Island

12:00 Lunch: subway sandwich, chips, a cookie and bottled water

1:00 NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher

3:00 board buses and head back home

6:00 arrive at Lockhart

 

Students took home a colorful bag and sunglasses today.  They may put the items they wish to bring with them in the bag.  They also brought two gallon sized storage bags.  They need these tomorrow to keep wet items/shells they collect in.  Please don’t forget them.

Suggested items to bring:

SUNSCREEN

A rain jacket if the weather looks dicey

comfortable t-shirt/shorts

A change of clothes/shoes

Some kind of shoes that are ok to get wet.  We will be running through the surf onto the island, and again when we board the boat to leave the island.  After the boat trip we will have an opportunity to change, so students may change out of wet shoes/clothes and into normal shoes at that time.  I highly suggest some sort of aquatic shoes or crocs, but no open toed sandals please.

Perhaps a beach towel to use as a blanket on the bus.

 

We will have some snacks on the bus ride there and back, but PLEASE make sure you eat a good breakfast tomorrow.

 

Get a good night’s sleep.  Tomorrow is going to be fun!

 

-Mr. Potter

This morning we had a…..problem.

 

Too many students are coming in with homework that is just obviously thrown together at the last minute, with no effort put forth whatsoever.  This is unacceptable.  Homework is for practice, and should allow a student to figure out what they need to work on.  If a student does not understand something, they should refer to notes/parents/the website and do their best to figure it out.  Saying “I didn’t get it” and handing in something that shows no effort at all does not send a good message.

As such, tonight students need to fix their math homework from last night.  I expect them to come in with the problems done absolutely perfectly.  If they do not understand a problem, I expect to see a real struggle on a page to understand it, with them working it multiple ways.

So, tonight they should fix this (not everyone needs to do this obviously, and they know who they are):

WordProblemsWithUnknowns

They should also finish the first six pages of the math review packet:

CC-5th-grade-word-problems

 

In Language Arts we talked about the Harlem Renaissance, and the effects it had on the poets and artists of the day.  We had read some Langston Hughes poems before, but today read some poems from other artists of this time period.  We talked about how sometimes knowing the historical and topical context in which a poem or literary work was written can help us to understand the author’s true message.

We read some about the

Harlem Renaissance

And watched a neat little video about it too.

Tonight students have another poem to analyze that came from this era.  They should use their knowledge of what was going on when this author wrote the poem to infer the author’s true message.  Is he really just talking about a sunrise, or is it something more?  Is the entire poem a metaphor for something?  If so, what?  I expect at least a half-page answer to number 6!

TheDawnsAwake

Students should also add on to their story from yesterday, using the next 5 vocabulary words.  This were pretty well done yesterday, and I hope tomorrow’s are just as good.

In science, we got a review packet and looked at the LONG list of vocabulary associated with our ecosystems unit (from first quarter).  Students should have a manila folder that they are keeping all of these review sheets in.   They should be slowly reviewing and studying these as we close the gap to EOGs.

Tonight students should answer the first 10 questions from this packet, and give me reasoning, or at the very least, the page they got their answer from.  Unfortunately I do not have this packet in digital form.  I’ll see if I can get a hold of it and upload it here sometime this week.

 

So, tl;dr

fix yesterday’s algebra problems

WordProblemsWithUnknowns

Finish through page 6 in the review packet:

CC-5th-grade-word-problems

Analyze this poem, answer questions, paying particular attention to number 6:

TheDawnsAwake

Add to your story from yesterday, and expand it to include our next 5 vocabulary words

Do the first 10 questions in the ecosystems review packet

 

And read!

 

Have a good one,

-Mr. Potter

 

Also a reminder that the field trip is this Friday!  Please make sure you arrive around 4:40AM (yes, AM).  The buses are leaving promptly at 5AM.  We should be back around 6PM.