We Acted Out Photosynthesis Today

Logan E.=plant
Elijah=soil
Jackson=rain (he's dropping blue pieces of paper)
Aidan=carbon dioxide
Makayla=oxygen released from the plant
Mira=Narrator



David=narrator
Alexis=plant
Tim=soil
Kaden=carbon dioxide
Logan=sun
Ivy=rain
Grace=oxygen released from the plant



Sam L.=plant growing
Brandon=soil
Madison=sun
Chloe=carbon dioxide
Joe=water??  haha
Narrator=Jaden

More Band Info

The following is the finalized schedule for 5th grade band along with the starting date for each instrument. This Friday, Flutes will be on the stage, however normally we will meet in the cafeteria.

A Day: Flutes (Friday 10/2)

B Day: Clarinets and Saxophones (Monday 10/5)

C Day: Trumpets (Tuesday 10/6)

D Day: Trombones/Baritones (Wednesday 10/7)

E Day: Percussion (Thursday 10/8)

Students will only need to bring their instrument and book (Tradition of Excellence, Book 1) on their instrument day.  In the future, we will have full band on Wednesday afternoons, but that start date will be determined later.  It is extremely important that each student brings their materials to class each week and that each student is practicing material from their book. Private lessons are highly encouraged but not required. They can be scheduled at many music stores including Kincaids in Springfield and Hometown Music in Urbana. 

Please be sure to place a student name on the instrument name tag and inside of the band book in case someone misplaces these items. If you don't have a name tag, you can obtain one at a music store.

Hopefully this answers a lot of the questions that you have.  

Classroom Buddies

Thursday we visited our second grade classroom buddies for the first time this year!
Mrs. Regier's 2nd graders made us a welcome banner, recited a poem for us, and drew a picture for each 5th grade buddy.
The students interviewed each other to get to know their buddies a little better, then the 5th grader shared his/her current story he/she is working on while the 2nd grader colored a picture.

Badges

Student Badges finally came in!!!
The students are to wear the badge all day except during gym & recess.
As a building, our safety committee decided that student name & picture badges would be an easy way to keep our students safe and accounted for.

Balloon Investigation in Science

The students really enjoyed using some science tools to investigate a balloon.



    

    

September 14-18

Normal 5-Day Week, Yay!!!!!!!!

Here are some things to look forward to this week:

Monday-Finish MAP Assessments on the computers, and finish the Science Balloon Investigation (ask your child what a variable is).

Tuesday-Trading Places!  I will switch places with Mrs. Tannyhill across the hall for Science/S.S. time.  She will teach our class a Social Studies lesson about why we say the pledge of allegiance and I will do the Science Balloon Investigation with her class.

Wednesday-Scientific Method Song: ask your child about it :)

Thursday-This is a nationally recognized day called Constitution Day, so legally we have to do something about/with the constitution.  Mrs. Tannyhill's class & our class are going to discuss the importance & purpose of the constitution & what it means to be an American, then each student will paint a US flag & add words from magazines that describe the constitution or what it means to be an American to them.
Thursday is also the first day we are going to meet with our buddy classroom-Mrs. Regier's second graders.  Be sure to ask your child about his/her buddy.

Friday-We will watch CNN Student News to discuss current events-feel free to watch as well so you can discuss this with your child.

In Math we are still working with decimal place value, word form, expanded form, comparing decimals, and explaining the relationships between numbers.

Below are a few links if you would like to work with your child on any of these skills.
https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-5 

http://interactivesites.weebly.com/math.html

In Writing Workshop, the students are working on stories that I will help them refine over the next couple of weeks.
In Reading Workshop, the students are focusing on being aware of their thoughts while they read & then sharing & identifying them as predictions, questions, connections, visualizations, or opinions.

Music Update

This message is from Mrs. Williams, the music teacher:

-Recorders- 5th grade students will need their recorders beginning on September 17.  If they lost their recorder, they are responsible to get a new one.  If a students is new to our district, I will give them a recorder.

-4th and 5th grade choir will be starting up soon!!  I will send permission slips soon.  Choir is tentatively set for Tuesday nights.  

-We are scheduled for a special program in May featuring different art areas.  I have asked Mr. Cooper, and he is planning to have the 5th grade band perform.  The 4th and 5th grade choir will also perform.

Reading is Thinking

Some of our thoughts jotted on sticky notes during our independent reading.

Self portraits

Band Festival

The Annual Graham Band Festival will take place on Saturday, September 26th at 7pm at the high school.