Spelling Routines, "No Excuse" Words, and Conventions

After many weeks of singing the Grammar Rap, practicing Split Rules, and reviewing the parts of speech, we are ready to begin our weekly spelling activities and tests. As a side note, I actually had a former student stop me in the parking lot last year and tell me that she actually used the Grammar Rap to help her on a grammar pretest she was taking in 6th grade. She said she was amazed as to how much it helped her, so have your child teach it to you...it is a pretty catchy tune. As for our spelling routines, students will be introduced to their new words on Wednesdays of each week. This week students will highlight in their spelling folders the “No Excuse” words they missed on their pretest. Each student will be given 15 words and five more that will either be extension or “No Excuse” words they have highlighted. We will sort them and talk about the generalization for that week. They will then receive their purple Word Connections sheet. They will be asked to use the many skills we have learned and reviewed over the past several weeks to complete the sheet. It will be due the following Tuesday, so that they may have a weekend to complete them if needed.

 

A major focus this year for Tarver is conventions in writing (an area we are not showing as much growth in as we would like). Conventions include grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and "No Excuse" spelling words. You may notice a score for conventions on many of your child's assignments and tests. As a school, we would like students to start incorporating good conventions in all of their work...not just on spelling or writing assignments. Knowing we have taught the skills consistently as a staff, our next step is to make sure we are holding the students accountable for demonstrating these skills on all assignments. You could say our philosophy is "Practice makes permanent, not perfect." I also tell my students that the more you practice something incorrectly, the harder it is to break the habit and do it correctly. So if you are working with your child on homework, in any subject, please help reinforce these basic writing skills by having your child correct their work. As always, thank you for your support.

Book Talks, Black Dots, Lit Logs, and Scholastic News

At the beginning of each month, students will check out two books and have them approved for their book talks and black dots. They will need to conference with me if they decide to change either of their goal books so that I can make sure it is the appropriate genre and level. I will then have students sign up on our wall calendar for a day to present their book talks. They should also enter this date into their planners. They will have until the last day of the month to read and take the quiz on their black dot book. Students may take the quiz up to 3 times in order to pass with at least a 70. In some instances, I am able to print sample questions for the students to help guide their reading.

Our book talk for September will be a nonfiction book talk. Your child will sign up for a day to present their already approved nonfiction book this Friday. Most students have also chosen and been approved for their black dots. I have copies of the book talk rubrics in class and they are also available on the 5^th grade page of the Tarver website. I will be modeling a nonfiction book talk this Friday to help students understand the expectation for this assignment. Remember that most Newbery books have quizzes and that your child can use these books toward a Newbery award medal, as well. Why not "kill two birds with one stone?", as they say. (Poor birds!)

We are also keeping track of the minutes that your child reads each week for their Lit Logs. These will go home every Friday and will be due the following Friday. For every 300 minutes, your child receives a star on our reading chart. A total of 18-20 stars are needed to meet the yearly goal. Lit log minutes do not have to be read nightly, as I know schedules can be hectic. Reading can be made up over the weekend. I will simply score your child on overall weekly minutes. Your child can record any reading they do at home, including the Scholastic News. The first Scholastic News will be sent home this Friday and will be due the following Friday. I will model expectations for this assignment before sending it home with your child. (Remind students to highlight proof in the text for each comprehension question on the back.)

 

 

ACCORDIANS, MONDAY FOLDERS, and PLANNERS! OH, MY!!

WELCOME TO FIFTH GRADE!! I enjoyed meeting all of you at Back to School Night. I look forward to an exciting year of learning and getting to know your child. Please refer to your child's accordian file for papers that need to be returned to school with your signature. They should be stored in the front inside pocket of the Monday Folder (found in the back of the accordian file). This folder will be coming home each Monday (or first day of the school week) filled with your child's work from the previous week. In the brads, will be the parent signature sheet, copy of the Homework Routines, and an updated grade sheet. If your child has a zero recorded for an assignment, your child will have until that Wednesday to turn in the missing assignment or the zero will be recorded. Your child will be bringing the accordian file home each night and returning with it each morning to school. They will also carry their student planner home in this folder. The planner will be completed each Monday morning for the entire week. This will allow your student to manage HW assignments with any other events they may have going on throughout the week. The Homework Schedule will also be posted each Monday on our Tarver website under 5th grade classrooms. I do not require a parent signature on the planners each night. My hopes are to teach students to take more responsibility in managing their work and to prepare them for middle school. However, if a student is having difficulty using the planner to help keep up with homework, I will call the parent and set up a signature policy with them. If you have questions regarding these routines, feel free to call me at 720-972-8462 or email me at cheryl.stanley@adams12.org.

EVERYDAY MATH ROUTINES

Just a few notes on our Everyday Math Routines that you should be aware of:

1.      Students receive the Parent Newsletter and Study Links in the form of a packet at the beginning of each unit of study. The Study Links should NOT be done all at one time, but rather nightly to practice just the skills we covered that day in class. Please refer to your child's planner or the Homework Schedule on the 5th Grade page of the Tarver website for the Study Link # that your child should be working on each night.

2.      Your child will need to finish the Math Box for the day for homework if they do not finish in class. All journal pages that will be graded for the unit are highlighted with the matching practice math boxes indicated on the top of the page. Students are encouraged to use the practice boxes to help them on their graded boxes.

3.      You will see marked Exit Slips come home periodically in Monday Folders with the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 on them. The expectation is that students earn a 3 or 4 on these review skills. I will meet in small groups with those scoring 2 or below to reteach and practice specific skills. These scores are for monitoring purposes only and will not be averaged into their grade.

4.      Because fifth grade math introduces many multistep problems that rely on instant recall of math facts, it is imperative that students master these basic facts. Therefore, students have been timed tested on their math facts for +, -, *, and /. You will receive weekly updates as to how your child is progressing in these areas. I will record the grades, however, as the students improve each week, I will change the grade to reflect such improvement. Think of it as a "grade in progress". I have practice sheets available in class for students, as well as, a helpful website for printing your own available under Helpful Websites on the right side of this webpage.

If you have any questions or concerns about the progress of your child, do not hesitate to contact me at cheryl.stanley@adams12.org or 720-972-8462.