8.28.14 - Day ELEVEN

Pick-a-little, talk-a-little A LOT...the story of our lives around here!  Seriously... it IS OUT. OF. CONTROL.  We had to have a BIG "come to Jesus" meeting about this this afternoon and are working on a solution together to deter the incessant need to talk.  Class meeting is tomorrow so I'm anxious to see how we'll problem solve this TOGETHER!

MASS:

Today, Father Terry discussed our physical gifts (like speaking, tasting, hearing, jumping, etc.) and how we can utilize them in worshiping Christ and setting a good example of our beliefs through Him. It was a wonderful message for the students to  think about their reverence, respect, and fellowship with others as they lead a Christian lifestyle.  

READING:
We continued working on our studies of Main Idea. (Click HERE for the Main Idea song from class). We discussed extra steps and strategies for determining the main idea through the concept of Questioning since it is such a complex process and tough to pull out if we're not sure where to start.  Here are the strategies/ points we discussed in class that I recorded as note on the SMARTboard:

When using these two methods as an approach/ beginning to determining the main idea, suddenly the concept becomes clearer and easier to identify.  I especially love deciding on a topic/ subject of a text because the main idea ALWAYS stems from there and follows suit.
We practiced the skill through a passage entitled, "Log Cabins" and found the topic of each paragraph and then branched out to find the main idea.

HOMEWORK: complete "Log Cabins" organizer

MATH: 
Learning Target: I can read and write decimals, with values greater than 1, in word and standard forms.
Decimal Song
Here are the answers to the workbook page 3 homework from last night:

As we learn about decimals, it is important to note where we see decimals in our daily lives.  It is also important to note how a misplaced decimal can hinder many things and make a mess out of much! We looked at decimals in different places of numbers and how it changed the value of those numbers.
HOMEWORK: complete, "Understanding Decimals in the Real-World" sheet

SOCIAL STUDIES:
HOMEWORK: complete Edmodo assignment for Mrs. Schleg

RELIGION:
HOMEWORK: none

SCIENCE:
HOMEWORK: none

I hope you have a blessed evening!  Tomorrow is FRIIIIIDAY, yay!!!  AND, a long weekend...waaahooooo!!!

xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas



P.S. Don't forget, MONDAY is LABOR DAY!!!  NO school!  And TUESDAY is RESOURCE DAY...wear gym clothes!!!

Mary's Post- a vote, book recommendations, plus more...

Hi guys! Mary here, blogging about our 10th DAY! Can you believe it? Time has gone by so fast!




Yesterday, I posted the vote on what subject is our favorite on RESOURCE DAY! Resource day includes gym class, technology, library, Spanish, art, and music! To 5T, this is the best day of the week! Today we continue the vote:

P.E.= 22 votes

Library= 0 votes
Spanish= 2 votes
Technology= 1 vote
Music= 0 votes
Art= 3 votes

5T Book Recommendations!
by Owen, Isabelle, Sam and Henry, Jacob, Kyra, Courtney, Alex, and Cole!
OWEN MCGREEVY RECOMMENDS THE SLUGGERS SERIES!




ISABELLE NORTHAM RECOMMENDS THE WHATEVER AFTER SERIES!



SAM WILKERSON AND HENRY HAWKINS RECOMMEND THE CREATURE FROM MY CLOSET SERIES!



JACOB COOMBS RECOMMENDS TRUE LEGEND!



KYRA STRECK RECOMMENDS SMILE!



COURTNEY GREENER RECOMMENDS THE DORK DIARIES SERIES!



ALEX DANIEL RECOMMENDS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL SERIES!



COLE POWELL RECOMMENDS ANY BOOK BY RICK RIORDAN!



ABBY NEWTON RECOMMENDS THE PUPPY PLACE SERIES!



BRANDON DRIES AND ABBY NEWTON RECOMMENDS THE NERDS SERIES!



KAYLA YOUNT RECOMMENDS THE FAULT IN OUR STARS!



MARY FAVIER (ME!!) RECOMMENDS THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER BOOK CLUB SERIES AND THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB SERIES!



CHASE RENTLE RECOMMENDS I FUNNY!



HAILEY MUELLER (IN THE OTHER CLASS) RECOMMENDS THE BONE SERIES!






A little more about me...



Yesterday I talked about me when I was little, but today I will talk about me now. I am about ten years and 4 months old, and am exactly 5 foot 2. My wonderful teacher is Mrs. Thomas (obviously!)
My best friends are Riley, Libby (Elizabeth), Hailey, and Keeli. All my friends are amazing! My favorite movie is Guardians of the Galaxy and I love Rocket Raccoon! My favorite color is teal, and my favorite kind of food is anything ITALIAN! I love language arts and reading and writing! At home, I like to sew in my craft studio in my basement and play basketball on my outdoor hoop and my arcade basketball hoop! My cousin is the one who inspired me to sew because she is so creative and she is an artist with her own website (please check it out! www.katherinejury.com) I love to dance! I started to dance when I was two, and stopped when I was eight, the age I was able to play basketball. Now I will start to dance again, since my schedule works out now. I used to ice skate, before I played basketball, too! So that's just a little more about me!


REMEMBER TO DECORATE WRITERS NOTEBOOK TONIGHT!
Ideas for inspiration: magazines, Google Images, pictures, etc...




8.27.14 - Day TEN

My deepest, deepest apologies for this being so late.  Our internet went down at the end of the day throughout SMA and they did not get it back up.  Mary had hers saved so I was able to post it once I got in the realm of my little home base here, but I had only saved about half of mine (it was completed and ready to post...booooo!) so unfortunately, I only have half of my math notes from the SMARTboard today posted and not all of the other pictures and tidbits I had to show you.  Womp...womp... and wahhhh....wahhhhh.  Anyway, we're rolling with the punches and here's what I have for today.  Hopefully, I'm not catching you too late and can answer any questions about today that you may have.  I am so sorry for this being a late post!

Here is my post before the glitches...

Hello all and Happy Wednesday to YOU!

I hope I am finding you well and wonderful!
REMINDER: tomorrow is MASS at 8:15.  So far, we have been absolutely AWESOME at mass and I have been the most proud teacher ever of these sweet babes!

Also, if you have lost your parent letters for instructions of how to access Edmodo, you are in luck!  I happen to have assistance riiiiight here (see below):

READING:
We got to get in our reading groups today!!!  While they were incredibly rushed, I think we will get the hang of it and be rolling with them very soon.  Our limited time is what is hurting us and being that it was our first day, students were quite unsure of what they should be doing in each group.  First, we had our mini-lesson where we read a short (but incredibly interesting passage!) about mutualism in nature.  We then looked at the stated main idea of each paragraph and found details within that same paragraph that supported the main idea.
In reading groups, students were given a "Time for Kids" reader and were to read an article or passage of interest to them.  They then created a project entitled, a "handy idea" where they were to write the main idea on the palm of their hand they traced and then a supporting detail to prove that main idea on each of their five fingers.  They compiled this into a display of their "handy" organizer. Most just got started and will use reading group time on Friday to finish it.
HOMEWORK: complete reading, Election Choices and answer two questions at bottom (this is from Independent Practice in reading group time)

Mrs. Schleg's class - Group E working on projects

instructions for "a handy idea"

MATH:
Learning Target: I can read and write decimals through the thousandths place in fraction, word, and standard form.
We continued our studies of decimals and their place values and practiced shading in tenths and hundredths on a place-value grid, and then representing them in fractions, words, and the standard decimal form.  Students did excellent on this and you will see my notes from the SMARTboard in class below...

Today, we extended learned about the thousandths place which is an extension beyond what students have learned in previous years or practiced so far in 5th grade.  To help them understand, I put a thousands grid on the SMARTboard and we looked how many pieces we had to shade to equal just ONE one-hundredth (ten) and discussed how a thousandth is basically a fraction of a penny!  Thus, it's suuuuuper small!  And, this is the part of the math notes that did not save due to the technical difficulties and I don't have on my iPad or home laptop.  I'll post tomorrow, promise!
HOMEWORK: complete workbook, page 3

SOCIAL STUDIES:
HOMEWORK: compete questions from page 67 of textbook

RELIGION:
HOMEWORK: none

SCIENCE:
HOMEWORK: none

LANGUAGE ARTS:
HOMEWORK: decorate your Writer's Notebook to be a reflection of YOU!

Have you seen MARY'S post today?!?  That girl is up to something special with her blog posting! She's been working hard and I can't say enough good things about her effort!

xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

8.26.14 - Day NINE

Hello all and what a terrific Tuesday it has been - it's RESOURCE DAY!!!  We all love resource day because the students get to do fun stuff in the classes they really LOVE and the teachers?  Well, let's just say that Mrs. Thomas gets A LOT done!


You may be wondering how I spend my time on these fabulous Resource Days?  Well, first, I schedule any meetings on these days which includes meeting with parents/ families as well as other teachers around the building.  I even meet with the 4th grade teachers to ensure we are all on board with the same concepts and are utilizing all of the resources we have to offer each other!  I love hearing their awesome stories about you from last year, you all are so fun!

Next, Mrs. Schleg and I always meet to go over notes, field trips, happenings, and everything in between in the inner workings of 5th grade.

...and the rest of my day is spent PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING.  I plan all of my lessons for the next week.  I start with reading and then work my way through language arts and math.  Then, I make all of my copies for the next week to ensure I am most prepared!
Here is an example of just one day's (in this case, it's a longer lesson, so it'll take two days instead of one) lesson plan.  I plan a lesson like this for every day in every subject!  Thus, you can see how it takes a while...huh?!?

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my Tuesdays/ Resource Days...a Day in the Life of Teacher with some free-plan time, if you will :)

Also, today, I set up all of our EdModo groups.  Please make sure you have logged on and on ready to roll with this awesome system!  

Have a terrific Tuesday evening!
Mary added a new post below (or you can click her name to see it) so check it out!  She's already the bomb dot com at blog posts on here- I may be out of a job!
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas

Mary Post - a vote and a little about me

Hi! It's Mary, and I remember blogging yesterday that we could have a class vote on which subject we liked best during RESOURCE DAY!

The votes are in...

P.E.= 15 votes

Library= 0 votes

Spanish= 2 votes

Technology= 1 vote

Music= 0 votes

Art= 3 votes

Not everyone voted, but you still can tomorrow! So far, 5T's favorite subject is P.E. (Physical Education)! Thanks to everyone who voted!

Today, I'm going to tell you a little about myself.
I wasn't actually born in Kentucky... I was born in San Diego, California! When I was little, I was ALWAYS tall for my age! Nobody ever was taller than me! Believe it or not, but I had hair more red than you can imagine! Since I moved to Kentucky, I started to attend Saint Mary Academy, and found new friends about as tall as me, and I no longer felt left out! Now I play basketball, and LOVE language arts!

Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow!

8.25.14 - Day EIGHT

Hello my party people!  We have a special treat... as 5th graders, I feel it is a doable exercise in responsibility to have a student be a blogger for the week. They will not always be recapping like I do, but can add little tidbits here and there onto my posts, on the topics of their choosing.  I am so excited to have "guest posters" here in my little virtual world and can't wait to see/ hear all the extra special happenings, thoughts, musings, and "stuff" going on in and around 5th grade.  This week, our blogger is Mary.  Today, she is recapping our day, but other days you may see her talking about something really random- it's her choice and I'm happy with her effort and input!  You will see MARY's writings in one font like this and anything I may add to her already phenomenal job in a different font like this usual one you already see daily.  Hope you enjoy!  Oh, and don't forget, tomorrow is RESOURCE DAY!!!

Hi guys! It's Mary here, and I'm our class blogger for the week! I am super excited to share with you about our amazing class! First I will tell you about our day.

For parents: I'm Mary Favier, a student in Mrs. Thomas' class, and I will be blogging all week long!

Literature:
In literature (a.k.a. reading) we focused on the main idea and it's details to support it. We read two very interesting passages; one about Venus, and the other about Penguins! Our learning target in Literature for the day: I can identify the stated main idea in a paragraph and details to support it.

Here is an awesome game to check out.  This is the game we played in class!

Click HERE for the Main Idea song we listened to in class as well :)
Homework: Complete "What's the main idea" organizer!



MATH:

Learning Target: I can read and write decimals through the thousandths in words and standard form.
Students worked on the concept of there being numbers less than one...which is quite mind-boggling!  All their lives up until this point (and some in 4th grade), they have been told to start counting at 0 with the number 1.  And now?  Now, we tell them that numbers go on infinitely to the right of a tiny little place holder called a decimal point?  Yowza!  It's a tough concept to grasp onto, but we began our studies today.  I like to relay to the students to always put it in money form because that is our most experience with decimals.  Pennies and dimes are perfect examples of hundredths and tenths and being part of a whole.  They make up parts of a whole dollar and take several of each to make 1.  This was the focus of our practice today- introducing these concepts and ideals and working on some area-specific vocabulary words.  Here are some notes we did on the SMARTboard today.  PLEASE excuse my foul handwriting; it is NOT the best (nor the easiest to do) on a sometimes squirrel-y virtual board :)

Also, here is super silly the Decimals song we listened to today

HOMEWORK: we did not practice enough with these concepts in class to assign work to do independently yet- HOWEVER, I did ask the students to jot down any decimals they see or hear this evening AND to play a few of these decimal games (I'm such a mean teacher!  I mean, play computer games for homework?!?Yikes, poor kids) :)

Decimals Jeopardy Game

Money Game

Death to Decimals

Decimal Darts

Decimals of the Caribbean 

Decimals Squares Blackjack

Decimal Ducks

SOCIAL STUDIES:
Homework: Complete questions 1-5 on page 60 of textbook.

RELIGION:
HOMEWORK: none

SCIENCE:
Homework: none

Special Announcements:

Tomorrow is Resource Day!!! Remember to wear gym clothes!

Mary's Spot:

"Have faith in everything, it makes all things possible!"

Hi guys! Tomorrow is Resource Day and I am super excited! My favorite subject on Resource day is P.E. because I LOVE SPORTS!!!!! Sorry I'm not posting much today... I'm in a rush. But, just for fun, if you want, we can have a class vote tomorrow on which subject is our favorite on Resource Day! Write it on a post-it note or any piece of paper and bring it in tomorrow!


We hope everyone has a marvelous Monday evening!  The Emmys are on :)
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas
--and--
Mary 

8.22.14 - Day SEVEN

It's fiiiinally Friday, folks!  I wonder who's as excited to see the weekend as I?!?  Whew, we made it.

READING:
We finished working on the roles that compose a Literature Circle using the practice book, The Courage of Sarah Noble.  Students did an AWESOME job as we learned that good readers make pictures in their minds to visualize what they're reading.  Students can draw absolutely anything they please as it pertains to their understanding and visualization of the story at hand.  We had a great time sharing our mental images!
HOMEWORK: none

MATH:
Learning Target: 1) I can identify place value up to billions. 2) I can represent numbers in words, standard form, and expanded-form.
We reviewed our homework from last night and learned about representing numbers through the expansion of their place-value.  For example, in the number 54,792, there is a 5 in the ten-thousands place which means there is 5 groups of ten thousand, or (5 x 10,000) which equals 50,000.  Students are used to simply stopping at each place-value and writing the expanded form as 50,000 + 4,000 + 700 + 90 + 2, but not really considering WHY they would write out 50,000.  To that, I say "no, no, no", we are BIG 5th graders and must principles of algebraic concepts and emphasize that 50,000 = 5 groups of ten-thousands.  Thus, the students learned how to write out expanded form like this: (5 x 10,000) + (4 x 1,000) + (7 x 100) + (9 x 10) + (2 x 1) = 54,792.  They began workbook page 2 in class.  Also, here is the PLACE-VALUE SONG the kids love :)
HOMEWORK: none

LANGUAGE ARTS:
We completed a RAFT project from the beginning of the week, writing friendly letters, and grammar skills as well.
HOMEWORK: none

SOCIAL STUDIES:
HOMEWORK: none

RELIGION:
HOMEWORK: none

SCIENCE:
Students went over their Chapter 9 vocabulary.
HOMEWORK: none

Have a wonderful, blessed weekend...and stay COOL (my goodness, it is supposed to be H-O-T!)
xoxo,
Mrs. Thomas