Hello again and thank you for reading our blog.
Many students in our class received a form detailing the vaccines that rising middle school students need in order to enroll next year. Please look out for the form with this information listed on it. Only students who do not have documentation at Garrison Mill about the required vaccines were given this form.
Our class wrote essays for the contest entitled "Honoring our Heroes" over the past two weeks. The entries were turned in today, and I was pleased with the quality of their work on this assignment. It is clear that they are improving their skills in all 6 + 1 Traits of Writing.
The Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) is just around the corner. At our annual conference, you were given work samples and some papers that included a sticker with the online login for your child. These practice tests can really help your child familiarize themselves with the formats of each test they will take. It was noted that much of our Math test requires careful reading of each problem. We have practiced multiple choice testing in here throughout the year, but the test often assesses student comprehension of processes, strategies, and organization of steps. Questions have also centered around choosing incorrect responses rather than correct ones. In practicing with the test format, student confidence can be improved.
The following study areas are upcoming for our class:
Reading:
Students will be finishing the reading of the historical fiction book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. We will be assessing student knowledge of the book through performance assessments relating to the book (we have had some relating to the early chapters and will continue with the remaining chapters).
*March 6 is Read Across America Day (Dr. Suess's Birthday). It is also our Spring Curriculum Night.
Science and Social Studies:
Students are working in the group as a whole,independently, and in pairs to learn more about our areas of study. They document the key details, observations, vocabulary, and questions they have on their reading logs. These logs also require them to summarize the content of the selection. This is a particularly difficult skill to master. Using Thinking Maps, they are able to respond to the reading they have done and are showing what connections they have made to other concepts they have studied.
Another reading strategy we are using in Science and Social Studies in our class is the Expert Groups Model (also called the "Jigsaw" method). Students are seperated into groups and are assigned a portion of standards-based reading material. Each group reads together to become experts on the content of their assigned material. Afterward, they design a method to reteach and model this content to their peers. The methods they use for the reteaching are a group decision and should showcase the Big Idea of the content in an effective way. Some groups have designed dramatic presentations while others have artistically rendered their material on poster paper for display. The students take notes on the content of each group's presentations and combine their observations for discussion and comprehension. Some formal assessments are given relating to the presentations.
In Science we will be studying electricity and magnetism. In Social Studies, we will be learning about the Progressive Era, World War I, and economics.
Language Arts:
The Fifth Grade Writing Assessment will be on Wednesday, March 5. In preparation for this event, we have been learning more about the parts of speech and have been reviewing spelling strategies. We will also review figurative language and sentence construction in the coming weeks. Students will continue to review and learn proper punctuation strategies including how to properly use colons, quotation marks, and commas.
Health:
With spring on its way, many students are becoming excited or anxious about the change that awaits them in middle school. Along with the transitional hurdles they face, they will be learning more about their personal changes if they are enrolled in the human growth and development program to be presented February 28 and 29. Only students who have returned the permission form with an approval signature will be attending this program. It is to be presented by a health-care professional from Health Wise Developmental Education Specialists Inc. The program is approved and recommended by the Human Growth and Development Committee and Board of Education for the Cobb County School System. If you have not signed the form, please do so and send it in by February 26.
As always, thank you to our classroom volunteers! Your support and involvement is beneficial to our program and to our community.
Best regards,
Alex McGill
