11.21.14 - Day SIXTY-EIGHT

Weeee made it!  Thanksgiving Break is upon us, my friends, and while I will certainly miss these sweet babies, I am so grateful for time with my family and would pretty much guarantee that you are too!

There were SO many students with stains on their shirts today...not enough Tide pens in this world to get ALL THAT cardinal off, so I had to stomach the sight of those dirty birdies alllllll day.  YAK. There was enough blue to cleanse my palate, though, and knock me back to cahoots, so that was nice :)

Yup.  

COFFEEHOUSE:
It was SOOOO very wonderful seeing so many of you parents for yet another Coffeehouse!  You never cease to amaze me with your support and enthusiasm for events of 5th grade!  You are truly sensational and such a blessing to these kiddos.  THANK YOU for sharing in your support and love of reading and learning with your student!
Be sure to scroll to the bottom to see more pictures from Coffeehouse this morning taken by Miss Riley from Mrs. Schleg's class.  She did a WONDERFUL job!

Riley- To say I'm crazy about her would be a significant understatement!  Gahhhh, she's just the best!  And in get up from my alma mater?!?  A gal after my own heart :)

LANGUAGE ARTS:
LEARNING TARGET: I CAN distinguish Myth from Fact and fact from fiction.  2) I can use and analyze specific idioms relevant to context.
We read an article about specific Thanksgiving myths that we have learned/ heard/ believed over the years and why they are not true.  For instance, did you know that the common image of pilgrims with buckles on their hats and shoes is NOT accurate?!?  Buckles were not invented for several years after the time of the original pilgrims in the Plymouth Rock settlement, so that image is a MYTH!  We. were. blown. AWAY!  Students then completed comprehension questions over the article.

Next, we completed some more idioms practice, by creating an idioms web of idioms about a specific body part of choice- Ex., HEAD: "eyes as big as your stomach"; "I'm all ears"; "Losing my mind"; "my ears are burning"; etc.

Finally, students read an article about other Fact and Fiction pertaining to Thanksgiving and then answer coinciding questions.
HOMEWORK: none- Happy Thanksgiving!

SCIENCE:
Students checked their chapter review from last night and were assigned the Study Guide.
HOMEWORK: Study Guide due Dec. 3rd (on Edmodo- print it out); Test is Dec. 5th

SOCIAL STUDIES:
Students went over Study Guide with Mrs. Schleg and then had time to work on it in class.
HOMEWORK: test Dec. 5th; Study Guide due Dec. 3rd

MATH:
LEARNING TARGET: I CAN divide using a two-digit divisor.
Dividing by numbers in the teens may give students more problems than dividing by other 2-digit numbers because students often need to adjust their estimate of each digit in the quotient more than once.  
Students completed practice within this concept throughout class (it was what I would've assigned as homework last night).  In Math #2, the Challengers group presented their Movie Marathon projects they've been working on for the past 3 weeks.  I am impressed with their hardwork and efforts and it was so tremendous to have them present it all to the class!  Way to go, guys!
HOMEWORK:  none- Happy Thanksgiving!

RELIGION:
Students read about Godwinks and then wrote a reflection on their own.  Upon completion, students had more time to work on their Social Studies study guides.  Check out THIS site about Godwinks!
HOMEWORK: none- Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to reiterate once more how incredibly thankful I am to be at SMA and have your sweet babies in class.  They are such an enormous blessing and shining light in my life and I just feel overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift of them!

See you back at school on Dec. 1st!
Have an incredible break!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

See ya, bye- Thanksgiving Break is upon us!  Please enjoy yourself and by all means, HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Riley's Coffeehouse Paparazzi Pics:

11.20.14 - Day SIXTY-SEVEN

whoooo hoooo...Thanksgiving FEAST day.  Feast mode, beast mode, people  :)

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many of you and my little man was absolutely delighted with all of the attention!  He ADORES "Mommy's students" and I'm so grateful to have students that want to love on him and give him so much attention.  It means the world to him and to me, actually :)  So THANK YOU, PARENTS for raising such attentive, considerate, caring, and kind kiddos!

Today we also welcomed the return of Mrs. Schleg!  It is so very nice having her back in action amongst us!

LANGUAGE ARTS:
We review our idiom homework, completed our idioms presentations from yesterday, and had our Literature Circles
HOMEWORK: NEW roles and readings assigned (double the reading) and are due Dec. 4th.  We had a BIG pow-wow about stepping up the effort to these assignments.  We are halfway through 5th grade and I expect insightful analysis of reading assignments.  No more of this half-hearted effort will be acknowledged or even graded for that matter.  We are big kids with a BIG job to do, people!

SCIENCE:
Students read pages in textbook about weather and climate.  They then wrote the definition of climate in their notebooks and discussed the difference between 30 years ago and today.
HOMEWORK: Chapter Review on pages 254-255 (#s 1-18)

SOCIAL STUDIES:
Students learned about early voyagers and explorations
HOMEWORK: notes on Edmodo for students to write on a piece of paper and return tomorrow

MATH:
LEARNING TARGET: I CAN divide by divisors 11 through 19.
We reviewed homework and then began learning about division with 2-digit divisors!  The students are actually catching on well!  
Dividing by numbers in the teens may give students more problems than dividing by other 2-digit numbers because students often need to adjust their estimate of each digit in the quotient more than once.
HOMEWORK: I am deciding to be SUPER nice and not give any homework- students will work on the homework they'd have for this concept tomorrow in class :)

RELIGION:
Students talked about the Jesse Tree.
HOMEWORK: none

**Students can wear UK or UofL shirts (or another college of their choice) tomorrow AND MAY WEAR JEANS!
**Tomorrow is the last day to bring in canned goods/ non-perishables for 3rd grade's Stewardship project

Have a fabulous evening!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

Thanksgiving is only ONE week from today and 1 school day left before break!

11.19.14 - Day SIXTY-SIX

Hello Families and Friends and Happy Wednesday to you!  We are thawing out over here at SMA and hopefully you are too!

Ummm... did you SEE those C-A-T-S last night?!?  Holy moly, ay carumba, double WOWZA, they. were. INCREDIBLE beyond belief!  Sorry Cards fans, but you know this too :)

Love this.  Loooooove this.

Theme of the game?!?  THIS.  Blocked shots.  Oh, you want to score, Kansas?!?  Nope. Nope. Noooooope.

We began our day by getting to see the 4th grade's Veteran's Day performance and let me tell you- THEY. WERE. WONDERFUL!  I'm so glad we got to see their awesome performance and kudos to Mr. Burt for a truly fabulous job orchestrating them throughout.

Today was Ms. Ray's last day for a while.  She has stepped in in this transition and done beautifully! I am so confident in her abilities and know she will be an incredibly valuable and tremendous asset to SMA come January in my maternity leave.

LANGUAGE ARTS:
LEARNING TARGET: I CAN define the literal meaning of idioms.
Our lesson today was upon idioms which sounds like a hard concept, but was actually quite fun and one of my favorites to teach!  The students had a terrific time looking at common idioms and analyzing their meaning.  We practiced with a game and then by using THIS sheet and THIS website. THEN, student were assigned an idiom.  They first had to draw what they pictured when they heard the idiom.  Then, they wrote what the idiom means and provided an example.  They are now hanging on our "Something to tweet about" board and let me tell you...THEY'RE PRECIOUS!  They truly did a wonderful job!
HOMEWORK: complete Idioms practice sheet.  Literature Circle roles due tomorrow as well.

SCIENCE:
Students read about climates and watched an introductory video.
HOMEWORK: none

SOCIAL STUDIES:
Students learned about Christopher Columbus
HOMEWORK: worksheet

MATH:
LEARNING TARGET: I CAN estimate quotients using compatible numbers.

One way to estimate quotients is to use compatible numbers, where one numbers divides the other evenly.  Estimating with compatible numbers relies on basic multiplication and division facts and patterns.  The advantage of using compatible numbers is the efficiency with which an estimate can be made.  Finding compatible numbers is like finding something that goes well together- finding numbers that can be partners in crime...like PEANUT BUTTER, JELLY TIME!!!

COMPATIBLE NUMBERS?!?  Peanut Butter Jelly time!!!!

HOMEWORK: Complete practice page given in class.  Be patient and work through it the best that you can!  YOU CAN DO THIS!

RELIGION:

Students had a choice between 3 separate prompts for a writing assignment about Thanksgiving. They had a terrific time!

HOMEWORK: none

NOTEWORTHY NEWS:

**Mrs. Schleg comes back TOMORROW!

**Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving Luncheon at 12:10!

**Mass is Tomorrow as well!

**Coffeehouse is FRIDAY!  Hope to see everyone there!

**Students may wear UK or UofL shirts to school on Friday with uniform bottoms!  I hope to see A TON of blue because it's clearly the right choice (tee-hee...just "pulling your leg" <--see what I did there?  See that IDIOM?!?)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xoxo,

Mrs. Thomas

8 days until Thanksgiving and ONLY 2 school days left until BREAK!!!

11.18.14 - Day SIXTY-FIVE

Welcome back, Everyone!  I hope you enjoyed your extended weekend!  It sure was a nice surprise having a snow day in NOVEMBER.  AHHHHH!  I sure heard some absolutely hilarious and fascinating stories from these babies about what they did on their day off- they never cease to put a smile on my face each day and I want you to know how very much they are loved when they walk through doors and supported while within these walls.  I'm just head over heels crazy about them!

Today was RESOURCE DAY for our 5th graders, so I still did not get to see them much :(

INSTRUCTIONAL NOTE: We are beginning division with TWO digit divisors tomorrow!  No worries and no stress, please...we will get through this together!  Just come with an open mind that is ready to practice and ready to learn and ready to focus on the skills, concepts, and tasks at hand.  Please do NOT be expectant of perfection the first time you do it.  It is going to take practice, practice, and practice and then even more practice on top of that!

REMINDERS:

THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON is THIS THURSDAY, Nov. 20th.  5th grade time is at 12:10 PM.  I hope to see everyone there!
COFFEE HOUSE is THIS Friday, Nov. 21st.
MRS. SCHLEG returns this Thursday, Nov. 20th!
THANKSGIVING BREAK is Nov. 24th - Nov. 28th (back at school Dec. 1st.
CHRISTMAS BREAK is Dec. 22nd - Jan. 2nd (back at school Jan. 5th- and can you believe this is actually in discussion?!?)
3RD GRADE FOOD DRIVE: continues through this Friday.  Our box is looking pretty pathetic right now, so let's all raid our pantries and bring in at least one item of donation...okay?!?

LANGUAGE ARTS: Literature Circle readings and roles are due by Thursday, Nov. 20th.


See a few of these sites for two-digit divisors in division!

Have a terrific Tuesday and GO CATS!!! (Seriously, BIG HUGE game...so, say a little prayer for us and hey, C-A-T-S for the WIN, people!)

xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

Is this going to be OUR Thanksgiving?!?  It's only 9 days away and we are 3 more school days away from break!

SNOW DAY #1 (11.17.14 - the earliest EVER!)

Well...it's official: a SNOW DAY for us!  In my 8 years of teaching (and even back throughout my K-12 schooling), this is the absolute earliest one I can ever recall!  Wowza!

there we are on WLKY

and again on WAVE 3 (click the link for a FULL list of closings in our area)

Enjoy your day!  I'll miss my school babies very much, but to be honest, MY baby has been sick this weekend, so it'll be nice to have him home with me for one more day :)

REMINDERS:

LANGUAGE ARTS: Literature Circle readings and role sheets are due Thurs. Nov. 20th
MUSIC: Students have a test in MUSIC tomorrow during Resource Time (assignment on Edmodo in preparation for this

THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON is THIS Thursday, Nov. 20th.  Our (5th grade's) time is at 12:10 PM.  The full list of times for ALL classes is shown below:

Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 24th - 28th (back at school Dec. 1st)

CANNED FOOD DRIVE: 3rd grade will be collecting non-perishables up until this Friday which is still 4 days left for donations!

And last but certainly not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SENSATIONAL DREW AND SERAPHIC MADDIE!  You two are so incredibly extraordinary and bring me happiness beyond belief each day!  Oh how we ALL adore you and love you so!  I got a SNOW DAY just for you :) tee-hee...enjoy your day!

Hopefully, I'll see everyone tomorrow!!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

Thanksgiving is 10 days from today and ONLY 4 school days until BREAK!

11.14.14 - Day SIXTY-FOUR

it's Friday, Friiiiiday!  And sweet fancy day, it. is. COOOOOLD!  Ay carumba!  I must admit, it does put me in the spirit of the season, though :)

STUDENTS HAVE A TEST IN MUSIC ON TUESDAY DURING RESOURCE TIME!!!  There is an assignment on Edmodo pertaining to the preparation of this.


I hope you turned in your reservations for the Thanksgiving Luncheon?!?  They were due today! Also, today is the day...REPORT CARDS ARE POSTED ON SYCAMORE!!!  Did you check out your child's?

Note about Reading Assessments

Access Henry's last blog post for the week HERE

LANGUAGE ARTS:
LEARNING TARGET: I CAN analyze relationships between characters and traits in which to describe a character
We reviewed traits to describe a character and then how to adequately summarize the relationship between two characters and beyond.
READING GROUPS: Students completed their relationship bridges which analyzed the relationship between Jess and Leslie from Bridge to Terabithia.
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: Students completed a relationship roster between two characters in Bridge and then answered comprehension questions about chapters 7-9, focusing particularly on enriching vocabulary words from their reading.
THEN, they created a recipe of a character from their reading and a character from their real, daily lives (see our example for Mrs. Zettel below), and then completed a Realistic Fiction Writing prompt of choice from the topics below to extend the concept and include the writing/ language arts component into this skill of focus.
HOMEWORK: Literature Circle Roles due Thursday, Nov. 20th.

our character recipe for Mrs. Zettel :) She's just the best! 

SCIENCE:
Students played a weather game on the SMARTboard to predict a weather report.
HOMEWORK: none

SOCIAL STUDIES:
Students drew their own Viking ship
HOMEWORK: none

MATH:
LEARNING TARGET: I CAN identify and demonstrate rules for divisibility.
Students took a quiz over divisibility rules, applying the concept into tests of numbers before them.  I should have these graded and returned by the first of the week.
HOMEWORK: none

Math Quiz pages:

RELIGION:
Students took their Religion tests with Ms. Ray and Math #1 students also completed their divisibility rules quiz.
HOMEWORK: none

Have a sensationally fabulous weekend, staying warm in the cold!  Good luck to our basketball players!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

Thanksgiving is 13 day away and only 5 more school days until break!

Noteworthy News:
Students have a test in MUSIC on Tuesday!!!  There is an assignment to complete pertaining to this on Edmodo. 

Thanksgiving Luncheon Times:

UPCOMING EVENTS UNTIL CHRISTMAS BREAK: