Marble Jar Party Fun!

What a fun lunch/recess we had!  Since we filled our marble jar, we got to have a pizza party and watch a movie.  Thank you to Mr. Mrowicki for picking up our pizza so we could have the kind we wanted.  We enjoyed pizza, chips, and ice cream sandwiches in our pajamas while watching Despicable Me 2!  What a great way to spend our lunch on a Tuesday!

Keep up the great behavior and responsibility so we can have another party this spring!

Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia Presentation Links

Fifth graders,

Click on the link below to get YOUR google presentation template.  Be sure to click into the correct one and add information to the correct one.  All of the people doing Egypt are on one google presentation and all of the people doing Mesopotamia are in one presentation.  Be sure to only edit YOUR slides.

Mesopotamia

Egypt

Please let me know if you have any trouble getting into the presentation!

Character Trait Link

If you have finished your independent book and your letter, you may work through this website about your character.  Please see me before you print!

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/scrapbook/

Productive Friday in our PJ's!

In writing we've been working on writing graphic novels for the past couple of weeks. Today we're working on the story boards for them while we are comfy in our pjs, listening to music! Great job being productive and creative fifth graders!!

View our Mystery November Reports!!

In November all of the students chose great mysteries to read to expand their genre knowledge.  The links below are the videos they made about their books!  I will upload as students record, so they are not all here yet.  Check out

the great books we read last month!

Michael

Alana

Ella L

Mitch

Gillian

Colin

Francesca

Dean

Hayley

Lauren

Sarah

Dennis

Madison

Nathan

Andy

Peyton

Olivia S

Paige

Danny

Olivia M

Damian

Ella M

Geography Bee websites

Hi fifth graders,

Next week we will be participating in the Geography Bee!  You don't have to do any prep work before, but if you want to check out the links below, these are some good tools to expand your geographical mind.  You could also check out books pertaining to geography if you'd like.  Do not feel like you have to prepare at all, this is just if you want to.  We are doing this for fun, so don't stress!

Here are the links:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/sample-questions/

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/quiz/today/

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/puzzlesquizzes/quizyournoodle-geography-bee/

Enjoy!

November Letter

Fifth Graders,

Don't forget, your November letter is due Monday, December 2nd.  Many of you are finished with it already and you will get extra credit for having it done before the Thanksgiving break!  Below is a link that will take you to the directions of what you need to do, as well as a picture of the guidelines.  Please make sure to work on this over break if you aren't finished.

Good luck!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dtlwmmypnhuf6l3/Letter%20to%20Teacher%20-October%20%281%29.pdf

Editorial Fun!

The second part of our Revolutionary War project was to research a controversial current day topic.  After finding many facts in either support or opposition of their topic, students had to pick a side and try to persuade us to take their side.  Listen to these great editorials and maybe your mind will be changed!

Colin

Madison

Olivia M.

Nathan

Alana

Hayley

Peyton

Lauren

Mitch

Paige

Ella L.

Francesca

Dennis

Damian

Danny

Andy

Sarah

Ella M.

Gillian

Dean

Michael

Great job fifth graders!  I can't wait to listen to them in the LMC tomorrow!

Listen to our Loyalist vs. Patriot Debates

Hi everyone,

We are working on a very interesting project with Mrs. Polito in the LMC, and the start of it is to compare the perspectives of the Loyalist and Patriots during the Revolutionary War.  On Friday, the students shared the ideas of a Loyalist or Patriot that they researched.  In a discussion format, each group was able to debate the ideas that their Loyalist or Patriot had about that war time.  Click on the link below to listen to each group's discussion.  I was so proud of the questions they asked one another and the thought and work they put into the research.  Great job fifth graders!

http://greenivytf.weebly.com/patriots-vs-loyalists-debates.html

Historical Fiction Book Trailers

Fifth grade students and parents,

We made fantastic book trailers about the historical fiction books we read in October!  Thanks to Mrs. Polito for all of her help in the LMC!  Each student has a link below to their trailer, watch all of the trailers you want to see!

Enjoy!

Andy F

Michael J

Colin E

Nathan B

Ella M

Hayley M

Sarah G

Olivia S

Alana B

Francesca F

Madison M

Gillian K

Lauren O

Olivia M

Dean C

Danny P

Damian S

Dennis G

Mitch M

Ella L

Paige K

Peyton M

Great job fifth graders, I am so proud of you!!
Ms. Patton

October Letter

Hi Fifth Graders,

I forgot to take a picture of the October Letter expectations before I left school on Friday so I am attaching a link to this blog post with the directions.  Unfortunately I cannot get the idea prompts so you can google sentence starters or book idea starters to find a few things to write about.  Or just take an idea or part of your book that you liked and follow the directions and write about that.  

Here is the link, you can email me if you have any questions (jpatton@sd25.org).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dtlwmmypnhuf6l3/Letter%20to%20Teacher%20-October%20%281%29.pdf

Just a reminder, I will be out on Monday at a meeting so please be well behaved and I will see you Tuesday!

Ms. Patton

Open House TOMORROW NIGHT!!

Hi fifth graders and parents,

This is a reminder than Open House is tomorrow night!  We've been doing a lot of great work this year and can't wait to share it with you!  Please come any time between 6:30-7:30 to check out our classroom and take a look around!

Hope to see you all tomorrow!
Ms. Patton

Poetry Unit!!

Hi everyone,

Today we started a poetry unit in writing that will take us until Thanksgiving!  We're going to do a lot of cool things with poetry and write and share some ourselves!

I wanted to remind you to bring in any of your favorite poems or poetry books this week.  We can share them Thursday or Friday.

Also, click on the link to go to a great poetry website for kids!
http://www.poetry4kids.com/

One last thing, if you have any school-appropriate magazines you could send in for us to use for Words Their Way activities, we'd really appreciate it.  These would be donations as we'll be cutting them as we search for words.

Thanks and have a great Tuesday!

Scholastic Book Orders!

Hi everyone,

Today I sent home two different October Scholastic Book Orders.  Please note they are due next Friday, October 25th.  If you choose to place your order online, please use the group code: G7KRW.  If you want to place your order through me, have it here by next Friday, 10/25.

Remember, do not send cash to pay for the books, checks or credit cards only.

Happy reading!

Dance Mat Typing

Fifth graders,

As the year goes on, we will start typing more and more.  If you don't feel that your typing skills are fantastic, click the link below to practice!  Dance Mat Typing is a fun way to learn the home row, where your fingers are supposed to go, and which fingers are supposed to type which letters.  It's always good to practice your typing so feel free to use it whenever you have some free time!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Happy typing!!

Study Hall CHANGES!!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to let you know that we will be changing study hall back to during OUR lunch recess time.  All fifth graders who have study hall will go right away, during their lunch recess and then eat with their friends at our normal time.  Therefore, if you have study hall, here is what your hour will look like:

12:15-12:45 - study hall in the LMC
12:45-1:15 - lunch in the commons (with 5th grade)

Because of this change, we will only have study hall Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week.  If you receive a study hall on Monday or Friday, you will go the next day there is study hall.

Please see me (or parents, email me)  if you have any questions!

Thanks!

Pictures from the Historical Reenactment of the Revolutionary War!

Hi everyone,

Click on the link below to see pictures from the historical reenactment.  We had a beautiful day and the students were so well behaved!  I was very impressed by the questions the students had on the fly, they were so interested in that time period!

I hope you've all had a great weekend, fifth graders, see you tomorrow!

http://animoto.com/play/1QzMoAkXfEBsGDKacLySDA

Ms. Patton

Historical Reenactment FRIDAY!!!

Fifth graders,

Don't forget we're going to the historical reenactment of the Revolutionary War on Friday at Thomas!  It looks like the weather is going to be great!

If you haven't brought in your permission slip and $2.75, make sure to bring it in by Wednesday!

Let's hope for a great day!

Reenactment Link

Fifth graders,

On Monday, we will be learning about the people we will see at the Historical Reenactment next Friday!  We will use the link below to access information about each person.  Feel free to read them ahead of time, but if you don't want to, we'll look at them Monday!

Remember to bring in your permission slip and $2.75 by Wednesday for the trip!

http://access.sd25.org/curriculum/reenactment/personas.html

Have a great weekend!
Ms. Patton

Watch Our Realistic Fiction Book Projects!

Fifth graders,

Below is the link to our YouTube page!  On that page you will find our realistic fiction book projects as well as your Michael Phelp's activity you did in science on Monday.  Make sure to share these with your parents and watch each others book projects to get ideas of books you might want to read.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCECfLwTiXOF0lFaF2AWLipA

Science graphing

5th graders,

Click on the link below to get to the website we will use for graphing today!

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx

Experimenting in Science!

Yesterday we got to look at two different types of chicken bones:  some that were just the bones, and others that had been soaked in vinegar for one week.  We spent a lot of time discussing the differences in color, texture, and makeup of these bones.  What we learned was that the ones soaked in vinegar had all of their calcium stripped out of them and they weren't very strong.  We now understand how important calcium is in our diet.  Don't forget to get your dairy intake in some way!

Click on the link below to see the video of our experiments yesterday!

http://animoto.com/play/JKmskx1BifzNxZKjgv5llA  

Reading Buddies!!

Last week we met with our 1st grade reading buddies in Mrs. Tazi's class!  Click on the links below to see pictures of our new friends!

http://animoto.com/play/rKw1JtlM1d6cJyieZ2U22g

http://animoto.com/play/sTIhYoAe94x11dCMJQglzw

Spirit Wear due Tomorrow!!!

Hi everyone,

Please see the note below from the PTA!

All spirit wear items are on display in the Commons – please stop in and check out the variety of options and sizes.....we have lots to offer this year!  We are using 3 different vendors (Heads Up Apparel, O-Nits and Bling-It!).  Please click here Spirit Wear Order Forms 2013  to view all order forms.  Please read each order form carefully – order and payment instructions vary by vendor.  Spirit wear order forms are due this Friday, September 6, 2013.   If you have any questions please contact Denise Kalka (dmkalka@yahoo.com), Karen Roberts (kallaire15@comcast.net) or Cassy Mrowicki (cmrowicki99@yahoo.com).

Spirit Wear is due Friday, September 6th!!! 

Check Out Our Limb Models!!

We did a great job building limbs and explaining what we used for the joints, bones, tendons and ligaments.  Check out our YouTube channel to see the videos!!

Great job 5th graders!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/PattonsClass

Science HELP!!

Hi parents,

Next week we are doing an experiment in science and we could use your help.  I am looking for a volunteer to boil chicken wings until all of the meat comes off.  At that point, 1/2 of the chicken wings would need to be soaked in vinegar for a week, while the other half do not.  I will supply ALL of the materials.

Please let me know if you are interested in helping with this.  Send me an email at jpatton@sd25.org.

I really appreciate it!
Thanks again!
Ms. Patton

We Love to Read!!!

I love having a group of students that LOVES to read!! Keep it up fifth graders!!!

Read To Self VS Read To Someone

Yesterday and today we talked about the similarities and differences of expectations during times.  There are different ways to act when we read to ourselves and times when we read to someone.  Watch our videos below to see the differences!  We have a bunch of quiet readers during the read to self time, but our room is louder (in an appropriate way) when we read to someone.

Enjoy!

http://animoto.com/play/T2MOVttJn5eVWUQUpYq4ew

http://animoto.com/play/0ojBBicp5nZL0Y5Cq66RZg

First Full Week...Here We Go!!!

Hi Fifth Graders,

I'm sorry this post is so late tonight, I hope you'll check in the blog in the morning before school!

I'm so excited for our first full week of school!  You'll get to have all of your specials (check the schedule on the right, it's updated!) and we're going to start our first science unit (Human Body in Motion), WEX, and continue reviewing great reading strategies in reading!  You may start getting a little homework this week so time management will be important.  I know a lot of you are involved in different sports and hobbies so be sure to build in some time for homework each night.

This Wednesday is Curriculum Night for your parents!  Please remind them that it starts at 6:30 if you have brothers/sisters in the younger grades but 7pm is the all school meeting.  They are then invited to our classroom from 7:30-8:00.  This is only for your parents but there will be babysitting in the gym if you need to come too!

It's going to be very warm this week so be sure to dress for the weather.  Also please bring a water bottle if you want to keep it at your desk with you.  You can refill it throughout the day if you need to!

Can't wait to see you in the morning and enjoy our first full week together!
Hope you had great weekends!
Ms. Patton

Welcome Back!!!

Fifth Graders,

You made it through your first week!  Way to go!

Each Friday at the end of the day we'll do a short recap of our week.  Sometimes we'll type it, other times we'll record a video, we'll play around and figure out what style we like best.

Please make sure to get in the habit of checking this blog every night or so to keep up to date on things going on in our classroom!

It's been a great first week, I can't wait for our first whole week next week!

Ms. Patton