SAndrews

Math  – We will continue to work on lessons in chapter 1 over place value.  Hopefully we will finish lessons 1.2-1.5 and be ready to work on decimal place value next week.  Students will take their first place value test when we finish chapter 2.

Word Study –  students will receive a list of the first 200 most frequently used words in the English language this week.  They willl practice these words. Students have received an individual student dictionary that they will use. Every student should have one in their agenda pocket so that it is handy in any class when they need to look up a word.

Great First day of School!  Thank you for all of the support at Meet the Teacher Night!  Wednesday we should be on our regular schedule and begin working on lessons in Math and Word Study.

MATH

We will begin the year with the first chapter in our books that covers place value. This is a review of work done in 4th grade. Students will be learning to write numbers in their “standard form” (this means write it as a number with digits), in “expanded form”  (this means that students will break the number apart into the values of each digit.  For example:  1,200,984=1,000,000+200,000+900+80+4

Students will also practice writing numbers in “word form” and reading large numbers (this includes numbers in the billions.   Lessons 1.1 and 1.2 cover these skills.

Word Study

I encourage you to read the information on the “Word Study” page on my blog site.  It will explain a little more about the class.  This week, students will take a test over their mastery of the spelling words that compose the first 100 most frequently used words in the English language.  Students will also have some mini lessons on using words like  ”there, they’re, and their.”

(I will be adding a link so you can see these word lists)

The test will give me a better idea about the spelling skills of each student.  We will NOT have weekly spelling lists and Friday tests.  (Blog page explains this in detail)  I hope you will discover that students are learning to use spelling resources, checking their work, and becoming more responsible spellers  instead of simply memorizing a list for a one-time test.

“Around the Word in 180 Days” is our theme for the 2009-2010 school year at Willard Intermediate School.  Coming to WIS is an adventure that I hope you enjoy. Being a part of the Green Team on “Safari in Zambia”  will give you an opporuntity to explore Math and Word Study with Mrs. SAndrews, Science and Social Studies with Mrs. PAndrews, and Communication Arts with Mrs. Toler. We welcome Mrs. Toler to our team as a new member of the WIS staff and look forward to a great year together.

Can you believe this is the last week of school?!?!  The year has flown by with many great opportunities for learning. I appreciate the opportunity to work with your child and am grateful for the wonderful job you do as parents. This year has been especially enjoyable with the great group of students on the Green Team! The influence of caring parents is so evident! As teachers, we so appreciate your support.

This week will be packed with many end-of-the year opportunities. Mr. Church will be coming to talk with fifth graders about their decision to participate in 6th grade band.  One of the public librarians will be coming to talk with students about participation in the summer reading program.  I am hoping to work in some time to involve students in a variety of review investigations and work stations as well as some additional time to work with their handhelds. If possible, we will go on a Math Book Scavenger Hunt.  WIS will be mailing grade cards home next week (after school is out) rather than sending them home with students due to the hectic schedule this final week. Students will be dismissed at 12:30 on Friday.  

Again, thank you for a wonderful year! I will remember this year fondly and expect to hear great things about the achievements of the students in the class of 2016!!

Mrs. Sharon Andrews

I hope you survivied the storms with minimal damage. It made for an exciting Friday!

Math-Continue working with fractions and participate in class investigations dealing with pentominoes, fractals, and tessalations.

Word Study-Continue to work on several Latin- and Greek roots such as “phil-” meaning love, “syn-” or “sym-” meaning same, “dict-” meaning “speak.”

In Math, we have been working on fractions. We are learning to add and subtract fractions, write equivalent fractions, and reduce or rename fractions in lowest terms.

In Word Study we had our Vocabulary test and continue to practice Core Words.

Math–Students are participating in a Volume Investigation. They will predict the volume of several containers and then use the formula Length x Width x Height to find the actual volume.  Students will also be involved in a Geometry lesson using pentominoes that encourages them to use the Inquiry method of learning to make observations about these geometric figures.

Word Study- Students received a list of words on Monday that they will be tested over on Friday. They also will be taking notes on five more Core Words and five new Vocabulary words from the Latin/Greek roots “bene- and bon-” that mean “good.”

i-TIME- Students will take the DRA Reading Interest Survey to assess areas of growth in their reading choices. We will also begin testing students individually using the DRA to analyze growth this year.

Friday, April 24–MAP cookout!

Monday, April 27–Fine Arts Night  5:30-8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May 5–Field Trip to Springfield Symphony Concert

Monday–Jeopardy game to review for MAP

Tuesday–Testing  Communication Arts

Wednesday–Testing Math

Thursday–Testing Science

Friday–(Make-up testing) 

MATH  Continue measurement unit. Monday we will work on customary and metric units of capacity (liquid volume). On Tuesday and Wednesday we will practice using units of weight and problem solving involving elapsed time. On Thursday we will finish our measurement unit and spend some time reviewing.

WORD STUDY  Students will be receiving a list of words to study this week. They will be tested over the words on Thursday. We will also receive a new set of vocabulary words from the latin roots “bene-”, “bon-” meaning “good.”

FRIDAY–Spring Mini Break–No School–ENJOY!! School will be in session on Monday, April 13. MAP TESTING on April 14-16.

MATH

We are working on a unit on measurement. For MAP, 5th graders will need to not only know and use different systems of measurement–both customary and metric, but will also need to be able to convert from one unit to another unit within the same system of measurement.  Some examples might inclue questions such as:

Customary System:    54 yards = ______ feeet   _____ inches

                                  60 inches = _______ feet

Metric System:           40 meters = _______centimeters

                                  2 kilometers = ______ meters

This week in class students are practicing measurements in length (both systems) and in capactiy (liquid volume). We will work on both customary and metric systems and conversions.

WORD STUDY

Students received notes over 5 new vocabulary words from the Latin roots “mater”–mother, and “pater”–father. We are practicing these. Students also took notes on 5 Core Words and will have dictation later in the week.