Porco

Miss Porco's Wonderful Class

A LOOK AT OUR WEEK

I am pleased to announce that nineteen kids in my class completed the CRCT Spring Break Challenge!  These dedicated students will be rewarded with an ice cream sundae party during our lunch on Friday.  The children looked over their packets today to see what concepts they need to continue to work on.  The section were many children still struggle is finding the area of a circle.  I will continue to pull small groups during math so that I can focus on specific concepts.

Reading/Language Arts: We have been busy reviewing for the CRCT.  Over the past few weeks we have been reviewing concepts like, idioms, hyperboles, personification, similes, metaphors etc.  The majority of the answers on the reading section of the CRCT can be found in the passages. I have stressed to the kids on many occasions how important it is for the kids to reread passages to find the correct answer.

Math: We have been reviewing for the CRCT for weeks.  The last new concept that the children learned were circumference, diameter, radius, and area of a circle.  This week we have reviewing how to find the area of a square, rectangle, parallelogram, triangle and the very difficult task of finding the area of an irregular polygon.  Measurement makes up 32% of the math portion of the CRCT, so it is so important that the children master these concepts.

Social Studies: On Tuesday the students were given a map of the United States and had to locate specific places and things.  On Wednesday the students learned about important events after 1975 (Peace in the Middle East, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Persian Gulf War, and the War of Terrorism.)  I will give the students a short quiz on Friday.  They have the material that they need to study.

Science: We have finished reading about Georgia's landforms during our guided reading groups.

Important Reminders

-Please send in the manila envelope ASAP.  I am hoping for 100% participation from all parents.  Thanks for your support!

-Please make sure that your child goes to bed early, has a good breakfast and arrives to school on time next week. 

Important Dates:

April 21st- 27th: CRCT Testing.  Below you will find the specific tests given on each day.

Tuesday (21st): Reading
Wednesday (22nd): Language Arts
Thursday (23rd): Math
Friday (24th: Social Studies
Monday (27th): Science

Miss Porco's Wonderful Class

A LOOK AT THE PAST FEW WEEKS

I'm so sorry that I did not send the Thursday Folders home last week.  I was very sick and ended up being out a day.  Thanks so much for your understanding!

Reading/Language Arts:  I am continuing to meet with the guided reading groups.  Some groups are reading historical fiction, while others are reading nonfiction books.  We are also working with our poem of the week and identifying rhyme patterns and parts of speech within the poem.  From now until the CRCT will basically just be review of the reading and language arts standards.

Math: Last week we reviewed concepts from the third nine weeks.  This week we began our circles unit.  Your child should know what the radius, diameter and circumference of a circle is.  The children have also learned what Pi (3.14) means and how it is derived (by taking the circumference of a circle and dividing it by its diameter).  They should also know that the radius is half of the diameter and diameter is two times the radius.  Today we learned how to find the circumference of a circle when only given the diameter and also how to find the diameter of a circle when only given the circumference.  This concept can be difficult so it is so important for your child to practice this at home.  We will have a quiz on these concepts on Friday.

Social Studies:  Last week the children learned about World War II.  This week we covered The Cold War.  Your child has many different flipbooks and other charts and notes that we completed in class.  They should be studying this information each night so that they don't have to cram for the test the night before.  I have given the children a review sheet of all of the concepts that they need to know for the test on Friday.

Reminders:  All of the money for the 5th grade field trip is due on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.  The cost is $32.50.

Online Assessment:  If you have access to a computer I highly recommend having your child work on the reading/language arts and math practice CRCT problems.  I use the online assessment to pull reading practice that I give for homework and also for other various subjects, so if you don't have a computer please know that your child is being exposed to alot of the material already. 

Important Dates:

March 20th: Fitness Night (6pm-8pm)

March 31 st: Technology Night (More information to come)

Miss Porco's Wonderful Class

A LOOK AT THE PAST TWO WEEKS

Reading/Language Arts:  We have been learning about poetic elements for the past two weeks.  We have also been incorporating figurative language into poems and stories.  Your child should know how to identify examples of  similes, metaphors, hyperboles, alliteration, idioms, and personification.  During our guided reading groups we read practice CRCT reading passages that asked questions about figurative language and poetic elements. The children finished their second narrative writing piece last week.  They began typing them in the computer lab on Friday and are slowly finishing them during our morning work time.  Only one more week until the Writing Assessment!

Math: Last week we worked on modeling the division of fractions.  Once again, it is so important that the children are able to identify the correct model and not just know the algorithm.  We have been working on some tough algebra this week, and the kids really seem to be getting the hang of it.  The lessons that we have done this week will be great preparation for a few of the questions on the Math Benchmark that the students will be taking in a few weeks.

Science:  Last week we learned about static electricity and how objects with the same charge will repel, and how objects with opposite charges will attract.  This week the children learned about an electric circuit, a series circuit and a parallel circuit.  The kids will be building circuits when they go to Science Lab.  Your child should be studying their circuit flip book for their science quiz on Friday.

Middle School Field Trips:  The Middle School field trip has been canceled due to the county-wide budget restraints.

Important Reminders: 

-Please turn in the money for the End-of-the-Year field trip if you have not already done so.  We will be forced to cancel the field trip if we do not receive all of the money needed by March 24th.

-Please make sure that your child is reading for at least thirty minutes each night. 

Important Dates

March 3rd: Early Release Day

March 4th: Writing Assessment

March 19th: Spring Pictures

March 20th: Fitness Night (More information to come)

 

Miss Porco's Wonderful Class

A LOOK AT THE PAST FEW WEEKS

Math:We finished our Data Anaylsis unit last week.  The students learned about bar graphs, line graphs, circle graphs and picto graphs.  This is review for the children, so they did a good job.  The one concept that seems to be difficult for many students is choosing the most appropriate graph to use for given data.  For example, students learned that when data is showing change, it is most appropriate to use a line graph.  When data is comparing different things, a bar graph is most appropriate.  When percents are given, it is most appropriate to use a circle graph.  This week the students have learned how to MODEL the multiplication of a fraction by a whole number, a fraction by a fraction and how to estimate products.  The students are expected to be able to identify the correct MODEL for a multiplication sentence.  They are not expected to just use the algorithm. 

Reading/Language Arts: We have been working on making inferences this week and are continuing to write our narratives.  This is the second narrative that the students are writing.  I gave them the narrative writing prompt from last years writing assessment.  The writing prompt reads as follows: You walk in your classroom one morning and the teacher is not in the class.  There is a note on your desk that says you are teacher for the day.  Write a story about your day as the teacher.  The children will be publishing their drafts in the computer lab.

Science: We began learning about inherited traits and learned behaviors. Next week will be the start of our Electricity unit. 

Reminders:Our class will be selling Little Debbies on Friday to raise money for our end of the year activities.  If possible, please send in a box.

Important Dates:

February 16th: President's Day- Student Holiday (NO SCHOOL)

February 24th & 25th: Human Growth and Development

Miss Porco's Wonderful Class

A LOOK AT THE PAST FEW WEEKS

Math: We have been working on volume and capacity over the past few weeks.  The students caught on very easily to the formula for finding volume (length x width x height).  Students are expected to find the volume when whole numbers are given, mixed numbers,fractions and decimals.  For example, your child should be able to find the volume of a rectangular prism that has a length of 4.25, a width of 3 1/2 and a height of 5.  It would help greatly if you give a problem or two like this to your child periodically to keep their math skills sharp.  This week we have been comparing units of measure (Example: 1 gallon=4 quarts).  There was a large amount of measurement questions on the CRCT last year, so it is so important that your child masters these skills.

Reading/Language Arts: The children are working on their narratives.  Many students are at the revising and editing stage; infact,  some students have begun to publish their story.  This week the students worked on incorporating dialogue into their narratives. 

We are reading chapter books in our guided reading groups.  We will continue to read a short amount each day for the rest of this week and next week.  At the end of next week the students may take the book home and finish it on their own.  We have also been focusing on fragment and run-on sentences.

Social Studies: We began learning about TheGreat Depression on Wednesday.  Many students are familiar with The Great Depression because they have been following the present economy and have heard the comparison.  The students are expected to learn four vocabulary words that tie directly with The Great Depression (unemployment, debt, depression and charity).  These words will take place of their usual list of vocabulary words.

History is Made! On Tuesday we watched the Inauguration of President Barack Obama.  The children were able to see Barack Obama sworn into office and listened to his speech.  The children listened intently and even clapped at the various times that the audience clapped.  I was very impressed with their maturity!

Field Trips: Just a reminder that we are still in need of our High Touch/ High Tech field trip donations.  The cost is $8.00.

Also, if you are planning on paying for the end of the year field trip in three installments, the first payment was due today.

Thanks for all of your support!

Important Dates:

January 26th-30th: Conference Week: Early Release all week

February 5th: Cosmic Bowling

Welcome back in 2009!

I hope that everyone had a nice and restful holiday break.  The kids were very mellow throughout the morning of Tuesday and Wednesday.  Many of them were very tired!  They were however, excited to hear that I am "finally" engaged.  They were worried about me because they couldn't believe that someone who was 29 years old was still single :)

A LOOK AT OUR WEEK

Reading/Language Arts:  We began to read fiction books in our reading groups.  This week we payed special attention to the setting, characterization and conflict in plot for various narratives.  We will be working on fictional books for the entire 3rd nine week period.    During our Writing Workshop we discussed the two types of narrative writing (personal narrative and fictional narrative) and also the various ways that narratives can be structured. 

Math: We have begun to work with volume.  The students have explored what volume is, how to find the volume of an object using cubes and the difference between 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional shapes.  The students have not yet learned the formula for finding the volume of an object.  We will derive the formula for volume on Friday.

Social Studies:  On Tuesday the students learned the reasons why the United States entered World War I.  On Wednesday we began to discuss the Roaring Twenties and how Henry Ford's Assembly Line help to increase the amount of people who owned automobiles.  We also discussed how the automobile affected the United States economy during the 1920's.  Today we discussed Louis Armstrong (the Jazz Age) and Langston Hughes (the Harlem Renaissance).

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Your conference time is in your child's Thursday folder.  Please return the yellow sheet to me as soon as possible.  If you have a conflict in schedule please let me know and I will do my best to find a better time.  I will be giving you your child's report card at this time.

Important Dates:

January 19th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day- NO SCHOOL

January 26th-30th: Parent-Teacher Conference Week- Early Release

February 4th: Early Release

February 5th: Cosmic Bowling

Miss Porco's Wonderful Class

A LOOK AT THE LAST FEW WEEKS

Reading/Language Arts: We have one more week of reading nonfiction text in our reading groups.  On Wednesday the students began reading about heredity.  We are focusing on inherited traits vs. learned behaviors.  We also discussed the difference between recessive and dominant traits.  Heredity coincides with what we will be learning in science next week.  We will begin reading fiction text in our reading groups once we get back from winter break.  The students did an excellent job with their informational writing.  Each student completed a "how to" essay and a biography.  We have also been working on improving our letters to our pen pals.  Last week I gave each student a sample pen pal letter that I had written because many children were not writing much.  I explained to the students that not only do they need to answer their pen pals questions, but also tell them more about themselves and what's new in their lives.

Math: We spent about four days learning how to find the area of an irregular polygon.  I am sure that many of you have seen your child's homework and may think to yourself, "This is hard!"  Trust me, so do I.  The children know that they need to divide the irregular polygon in squares, rectangles or triangles.  What seems to confuse some of the children is finding the missing length of a given side.  We will continue to review this concept throughout the rest of the year.  We are now preparing for the Math benchmark assessment.  I will be reviewing with the children all the way up until the 17th.  The children will take the benchmark assessment in both math and language arts on Friday, December 19th.

Science: We began learning about classification this week.  The students created a layout of their own grocery store and classified various items that one would find in the grocery store.  For example, we discussed that cheese and milk would be near each other in a store because they are both dairy products.  We also classified fruits, veggies, breads, poultry etc.   On Friday we will begin learning about the difference between invertebrates and vertebrates and how vertebrates are sorted into groups (fish, amphibian, reptile, bird and mammal)

Reminders:

-Please do not forget to send in your $8.00 donation for our field trip.

-Please do not forget to send in your $3.00 donation for our holiday party.

-If you are interested in helping out with our holiday party please write me a quick note.  The party is from 1:00-2:00, but we will need volunteers to be at the school by 12:15 to help set up.

Winter Break Work:  I will be sending home a winter break work packet.  The packet will only include reading and math practice.  All of the work will be review for your child and will be excellent practice for the CRCT.  Your child does not have to complete this packet; but I am  strongly urging them to.   I will also award the students who complete their packet and have most of it correct with an ice cream sundae party!

Important Dates:

December 22-January 5th: Winter Break (Please note that Monday, January 5th is a Teacher Workday, so your child will not return to school until Tuesday, January 6th)

Thank you so much for all of your continued support.  I hope you all have a fun, relaxing and safe winter break.  Also, keep your fingers crossed for a Michigan State victory over Georgia in the Capital One bowl!

Miss Porco's Wonderful 5th Grade Class

A LOOK AT THE LAST TWO WEEKS

Reading/Language Arts: We have been reading about cells in our guided reading groups.  The readings correlate with what the children have been learning about in science.  The children have also been creating their own cause and effect book.  The books are very creative!  The students have been working on writing their reports.  The students learned how to write a bibliography today and understand the importance of including a bibliography in any report where research has been conducted.

Math: The students have learned how to find the area of a square, rectangle, parallelogram and triangle.  The formula for finding the area of a square, rectangle and parallelogram is base x height or length x width.  The formula for finding the area of a triangle is 1/2 base x height.  It is so important for the children to remember that they have to take 1/2 of the base x height.  Something that you could do to help your child is to give them a number and have them tell you half of that number. 

Science: We are learning about plant and animal cells.  More specifically, we have been talking about the similarities and difference between single and multi-celled organisms.  The students have a cell drawing that is due on Friday.  Please make sure that your child follows the rubric closely.

Thanksgiving Break: Please make sure that your child reads at least one chapter book over the holiday and writes his/her pen pal a letter. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.  I am returning to Michigan for my ten year high school reunion and am hoping that it doesn't snow too much.

Important Dates:

Thanksgiving Break: November 24th-28th

Miss Porco's Press

A LOOK AT THE PAST TWO WEEKS:

Reading:We are continuing to read nonfiction text in our guided reading groups.  This week the Red Wings read about Alexander Graham Bell and the Pistons, Spartans and Lions all read a passage about George Washington Carver.  Both of these inventors tie in with the fifth grade social studies standards.

Language Arts: The children have learned about conjunctions and interjections over the past few weeks.  The kids performed an interjection rap last week and created their own interjection based on a magazine clipping that I had given them.  We are now working on informational writing.  The first type of informational writing that the children are working on is procedural writing.  These are basically "how to" essays.  On last year's writing assessment some of the kids were asked to write a "how to" essay on how to play their favorite game.  The children seem to understand that procedural writing needs to be VERY specific. 

We will begin report writing next week.  I have looked over about half of the classes persuasive essays and used the Georgia fifth grade rubric to score their papers.  This does not go for a grade; rather, it is only used to evaluate your child's writing and to see where improvements still need to be made.  I will do my best to have all of the writing samples scored by next Thursday.  Thanks for your patience.

Math: We are continuing to work with fractions.  This week the students learned how to add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators.  Your child should now know how to find equivalent fractions, how to simplify fractions, how to compare fractions using <, >, or = and how to add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with like and unlike denominators.  Please continue to review these concepts with your child at home.  The students will have a quiz tomorrow.

Social Studies: Over the past two weeks we have been learning how life changed in America at the turn of the century.  The students have learned about the role of the cattle trails in the late 19th century, including the Black Cowboys of Texas, the Great Western Cattle Trail and the Chisholm Trail.  They have also learned about the Wright Brothers, George Washington Carver, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison.  Today and yesterday the children learned about how William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt expanded America's role in the world; including the Spanish-American War and the building of the Panama Canal.

Science: We will be starting our new science unit on Monday.  The unit will be ab out cells.

Congratulations!!! Not only do we have a new president of the United States, but also of the student council at Dowell Elementary.  Lee Brooks, a student in our class was elected to be the president of Dowell's student council.  Congratulations Lee!

Breakfast of Champion: Our Breakfast of Champion for October was Marshall Mazagwu.  Marshall was recognized for his continuous RESPECTFUL behavior to his peers and teachers.  Keep it up Marshall!

Important Dates:

November 7th: Barnes & Noble Night

November 11th: Parent Workshop @ 8:00 am or 5:00pm

November 18th: Academic Alerts go home

November 24th-28th: Thanksgiving holiday

Miss Porco's Wonderful Class

A Look at our last two weeks

Reading/Language Arts:  We are continuing to read nonfiction text in our guided reading groups.  This weeks the students are reading and learning more about reconstruction in the south after the Civil War.  The students are also creating their own glossary of important words that they read.  It is their job to think of a definition for each word based on the context clues.

We have finished our persuasive writing for the first nine weeks.  The students published two persuasive pieces.  The first persuasive assignments is being displayed outside of our classroom.  The second persuasive assignment was due today.  I am going to take a look at this assignment over the weekend.  Please look for your child's persuasive speech in next weeks Thursday Folder.  Tomorrow we will begin working on informational writing.  The first assignment will be to write a "How To."  I am beginning with a "How To" because on last year's writing assessment the informational prompt for fifth grade was for students to write a "How To" on their favorite game.  I am seeing great improvement in the students' writing!

Math: We began working with fractions last weeks.  The students have learned how to change a fraction into a decimal, how to change a mixed number to a decimal, how to change an improper fraction to a mixed number, how to find equivalent fractions and how to simplify fractions.  The children are doing a good job.  There are many concepts that the children need to learn, sowe will continue to review old concepts as we learn new concepts. 

Multiplication Facts:  Please make sure that your child studies his/her multiplication facts.  It is so important for the students to master his/her facts in order to be successful in all math concepts.  I do not take a grade for these timed tests.  I just make a note in my files when a student passes a test.  Once a student receives an 80% on the timed test, they move on to the next number.  It is my hope that every child passes all multiplication facts 2-9 by the end of the year. 

Social Studies:  We are finishing up the Reconstruction Era.  The students learned about Sharecropping, Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws this week.  We also reviewed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.  The students will have a short quiz on Friday based on what we have learned.  Next week we will begin learning about how life changed in America at the turn of the century.

Science: We will start back up with Science in two weeks.  Stay tuned!

Important Dates:

Red Ribbon Week: October 27