Geography Unit

Traditionally, fifth grade geography is centered around the U.S. states and regions.  The regions we are studying are: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and the West.  We've had discussions on how different geographers split up the regions differently, but we've decided to stick with these.  We look for defining characteristics of the ares through the concepts of climate, landforms, natural resources, industry, agriculture, and culture.  We also look at population density, reasons for this, and why people migrate to particular areas.

To get students more engaged, this year we, have decided to tie this unit to the sport of the season: football.  Students began by studying NFL teams across the nation: locating them, looking at why they're located in particular places, population, why they have their given mascot.  In the end, students will work in collaborative groups to present a proposal for a new NFL team to the commissioner (me!).  They will be assessed on the concepts, the presentation, the thoughtfulness of their proposed team, and how they collaborated.  Below is the rubric I will be using to score.

Student Blogger - Trista

Student Blogger - Trista

Hello, Gold Rush Parents! We are currently doing...

Math: In math we have been working on our decimals trying to

figure out if one is greater, less than or equal to. We have also been

working on, listing decimals in order from biggest to smallest.

Writing: In writing we have been working on making our own small

moment stories. Where we take a small moment that has happened to

us and write about it like it was an actual story we are writing, but

about ourselves.

Geography: In geography we have been learning all the 5 parts of

the United States, West, Southwest Midwest and etc.. We have also

been learning how all the parts of the United States act like their culture.

Reading: In reading we have been taking notes in our books and

taking notes about our characters and storyline. We have also been

working on setting goals and pushing ourselves to those goals and accomplishing them.

Other: This month we have the Digger Dash! The Digger Dash is

on September 27th. We are also doing student council this month.

If you want extra information the meeting is on Friday,

September 13th.

Student Blogger - Alex P.

Student Blogger - Alex

Hello Gold Rush Parents!

Reading: In reading we have been talking about Round and Flat characters, also known as

static and dynamic. We also looked at basic plot structure for a book.  Finally, we discovered

the four types of conflict for the characters: characters vs. character, vs. self, vs. nature, vs.

society.

Writing: In writing we have been talking about mentor texts, and we have been writing our

own 10 Questions page based on these mentors. We also have been reading and analyzing

some articles about teamwork. 

Geography: We have also been talking and learning about geography. We have been

learning about the 5 meanings geography can have including Place, Location,

Human\Environment Interactions, and Movement.

Math: In math we have been working on powers of ten and learning our strategies for

solving the exponents problems. We also have been working on finding patterns with

the exponents multiplying problems and multiplying the problems in the right way.  

Back to School Night

I look forward to seeing you tonight at Back to School Night.  It begins with a brief welcome from Jenny Brown in the gym from 5:45-6:00.  Our class presentation will follow at 6:05.  I know that some times it isn't easy for families to make this night.  If you won't be able to attend, I have attached the slideshow I will be going through below for you to look through.  Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.

Back to School Slideshow

Book Orders

Book order form went home today.  Should you wish to buy books from the orders, just go to the Scholastic Book Clubs website.  Our classroom code is: 

QXJWG

I hope you are all having a great week!

What's going on in August?

We've spent the last few days getting back into school.  This includes getting to know each other, getting to know Mrs. Hagerty, and getting to know what 5th grade is going to be like.  I've really tried to ease kids back into the swing of things.  Here's and idea of what we've done so far:

In MATH we have spent some time looking at math as an exploratory subject.  Realizing that with math there are patterns and that numbers can be build and/or broken down in many ways.  I have tried to stress to the students my philosophy of attempting new problems in a variety of ways, as they all know something about math as new problems are presented.

In WRITING they shared a bit about them through the use of a video application called Animoto.  They will also take a PreAssessment for me to see where they are in the area of writing.

In READING we've been reviewing concepts about how stories are written.  This has included characterization, plot, and theme.  This will all prepare them for our first unit that focuses on interpreting theme from realistic fiction novels.  We have also just spent time getting back into the love of reading, exploring our classroom library, and thinking about "just right books."

I am looking forward to seeing each one of your students grow this year!  We truly have a great class filled with sweet, hard-working kids.  I am excited to continue to get to know them.

Parent Survey

This will be available at our Meet the Teacher meetings tomorrow morning, but I wanted to get this to you tonight in case you won't be able to attend or just would rather complete it from home.  Thanks again!

Parent Survey