August 30 - September 3, 2010

It was great to see all of you during our Back-to-School Day!  I hope the information I passed on will be helpful so that between all of us, your child will have a great experience this year.  Please check my classpage weekly so that you get a snapshot of the learning that will take place for the week.  If you haven't already done so, add yourself to the Be Notified list so that you will automatically receive this letter each week.  I will have this updated by Saturday of each of week.

This is a summary of what is planned for the week:

Monday:  We will finish organizing our supplies, discuss expectations and tour the room to feel "at home" in 5-26.  Students will create a Bill of Rights to set the tone for a positive work environment.  They will meet in Mrs. Wilinski's class for a short get-acquainted period.

Math:  Students will be taking an "inventory" of 5th grade math over the course of two days.  The purpose of this inventory is to give me an idea on the strengths/weaknesses of the class to help me plan better and for the students to be introduced to what we will study this year.  This inventory will not be included as a grade!  At the end of the year I administer this same inventory to students and then we compare how they did to the first time.  There is always much improvement!  In the textbook, we will begin in Ch 1 with understanding place value to billions and practicing different ways to represent numbers (standard form, word form, expanded form).  Students will learn about exponents.

Science:  Ch 1 is our study of classifying living things, which includes learning the five kingdoms.  Students will observe many plants, identify similarities and differences, and use microscopes to learn more about plant cells.

Reading:  We will be reading the stories in our textbook along with several novels in literature circles this year in order to continue to master reading strategies.  To get acquainted with the text, students will have an opportunity to choose a story from Unit 1 to read and write about.  This will allow me a chance to preview their writing skills.  Students will also take a reading attitude survey.  Lastly, working with the SRA kit will be another strategy that will be used in the classroom.  This is an opportunity for students to work independently, reading passages, answering comprehension and vocabulary questions, and then self-correcting.   I will be introducing the use of the kit to students.

Religion:  The Fruits of the Spirit homework is due Tuesday, 8/31.  We will discuss this homework using the Bible.  We will then begin Ch1 - God's Wonderful Creation.  Students will recognize that we are created in God's own image and we will discuss why he created us and what he wants us to do.  Our lessons will incorporate songs and written activities.

Art:  Color, the use of lines, and pattern will be the focus of our art project this week.  Students will use their name for this project.  They will use markers as the medium.

Technology:  Please see below a description of how technology is being used in the classroom this week.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Sobczak

                                                                          Spotlight on Technology 

Subject:  Science

Skill:  Making observations

Activity:  After students use a microscope to view plant cells, I will use a microscope attached to the computer and projector to show them other examples of cells. 

Why:  We will be able to discuss similarities and differences.