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June 4, 2010

Dear Parents,

This is my last post of the year! Rather than tell you what we have been up to for the last two weeks, I will let the Moinkey King pictures speak for themselves! I would also like to let you know about some of the special events taking place next week.

On Wednesday, we will have our poetry sharing celebration, __//Lessons in Poetry//__. We expect to begin at 11:00am and it should take about 30-45 minutes. Immediately following that, we will have our end-of-year party featuring pizza for lunch. During the luncheon we will run a slide show of photos taken throughout the year. I hope to see you all for the poetry celebration and invite you to stay for lunch if you like.

On Thursday, the grade 5 picnic will begin on the OLE at 11:00am and we welcome parents to join us for this as well. Each child (and attending parent) should bring a picnic lunch and a drink. We also ask that each child bring a small dessert to share if they can....finger foods only, please!

We will be cleaning out lockers and desks throughout the week. We started today and you should start to see things coming home for you to decide whether to keep or throw away! I especially recommend that you take a close look at theri fiction story anthologies, their poetry anthology and their reader's notebooks. Looking at what and how your child writes is a look at how and what they are thinking! Thanks to the help of our volunteers, Tracy Park and Juan Li, I have a folder filled with photographs of each child from across the year. I ask that each child bring in a USB so that they can have a copy of these pictures to take with them. They will also be making copies of any of their digital work from the year.You can help by reminding your child to bring thier USB to school! I thank you all for your ongoing support througout the year. Your children have grown in amazing ways this year! We have already said goodbye to Anusha and we say goodbye to Jason Yook and Ilze next week. I am happy to say I will have plenty of opportunities to see the rest of the kids next year as we all move up to middle school together!

Finally, keep your children reading this summer! The link below is a flier from the Middle School library with the list of next year's Panda Award nominees if you are looking for ideas for good books!





















May 22, 2010



The last two weeks in our class have been busier than ever and we have had so many special things going on that it’s hard to keep track of it all! Of course, Field Day was a huge success and the children all enjoyed the day. Practice and preparation for the Monkey King has stepped up with some extra time in the theater, costume checks and make-up practice sessions. This week we ran a few extra rehearsals during morning meeting time, filmed the scenes and watched them together so everyone could see what they needed to work on! Our class was also in charge of developing a presentation about empathy for our grade level assembly. We decided to make a short movie on the topic and, after agreeing on a basic storyboard, the children took parts and went off in small groups to create their own scenes. We filmed early this week and put the whole thing together in time to share at Thursday’s assembly. The move was a hit with the rest of the grade level and the kids were quite pleased with their work! Finally, our transition activities continued with an assembly to highlight some of the middle school performing arts options and a visit from Jen Gold, one of the middle school counsel ors. She helped the children understand how to select their enrichment classes for next year and answered many questions they had about what they can expect next fall. I am especially happy to report that all of the children completed and returned their enrichment forms by Friday’s deadline! Our last and perhaps most popular transition activity begins next Friday. The grade 5 classes will be allowed to eat lunch in the middle school cafeteria for the last two weeks of school. The children will be given responsibility for keeping track of their own lunch card during this time and they must have money on their card in order to buy lunch. You might want to talk to your child about how they can best keep track of their card!

In math we continued our unit on algebra with a look at the relationship between equations, tables, graphs and the situations they represent. The children did some work on writing equation for data in a table, and completing data tables from a given formula. We also completed several activities to explore the concepts of pi and the formulas for circumference and area of circles. The children completed the unit test on Friday and the results were excellent! We have continued to practice and test fact speed and, although many children are showing improvement, many of them need to keep working on it!

In reading workshop the children have been practicing oral discussion skills through our fantasy book clubs and they continue to apply the strategies for reading they have learned in their literature response letters. In writing, the children have all completed their fiction stories and we will have an author’s sharing day on Monday with the members of Mrs. Marquardt’s class. The stories from both classes will then be compiled into an anthology and each child will get to bring a copy home to enjoy. Work on our poetry anthologies has picked up and the children are hard at work getting their poems in order for our poetry café. They had lessons this week on how to write a poem that draws on all of their senses and how to embed a photograph behind a piece of text to create a graphic poem. Parents will be invited to come and share our poetry celebration on Thursday, June 10th at 2pm!

Our science unit on water is now well under way and we have had several different investigations running to answer such questions as “What happens to water when it freezes? Does heat or cold make water evaporate faster? What is condensation? What is humidity? How much water can soil hold?” and more. The children have participated in several experiments and we have a few that are on-going. The class was very surprised to see how quickly water in cups is evaporating under the heat of a plain lamp and how much water condenses inside a plastic bag wrapped around part of a plant in just one night. On Friday, we placed strips of cobalt blue paper at locations around the school to see if the relative humidity in each place varies! Don’t forget that Wednesday is the big day! Your child needs to be at school by 6pm to get into costume and make-up for the Money King Show. I look forward to seeing you all there!

May 7, 2010



CASTA is now another memory and we are looking forward to Spring Fair tomorrow! Aside from a busy day full of performances and gallery visits on CASTA day, we have had several other special activities in 5W over the last two weeks. In honor of Mother’s Day we got together with our first grade buddies and helped them to plant pansies in one of their old running shoes. Each child then attached a short poem and note to take home as a gift for their mom. After the planning, buddy pairs were able to enjoy a little time on the OLE together under a gorgeous clear, blue sky! Even more exciting than that, we got to visit with the grade 6 teachers during an assembly to kick off our transition activities. After the assembly we went to Mrs. Christiansen’s grade 6 class, where we shared a breakfast with her students. Each member of our class was assigned a grade 6 buddy and they got a chance to try out opening lockers and to interview their buddy about such things as enrichment choices, cafeteria food and homework. The event was a big success and there will be several more activities over the next few weeks to help the children make a smooth transition.

In math we have completed Unit 9 on area and volume and started Unit 10: Algebra Concepts and Skills. Due to some scheduling issues, we will complete the last two units of the year in our class groups rather than continue to split and switch teachers. On Tuesday the children were introduced to the concept of balancing algebraic equations using a pan balance and we worked through several problems, moving from the concrete to the abstract. They had a chance to practice solving equations such as 4x + 3y = 3x + y on a website and quickly announced that these problems were too easy! We also moved into a new problem of the week routine this week. We have now spent two to three weeks learning and practicing ten different strategies for problem solving. During that time the children had one problem per week, I told them which strategy to use to solve it and they were expected to complete four steps in detail. From now on, they will have three problems each week and will be expected to select and use a strategy themselves. They will continue to use the first three steps of identifying the question, planning their strategy and solving the problem, but we will drop the extending or writing of original problems.

In reading workshop our Flights of Fantasy unit is well under way. The class has participated in group lessons on the elements of fantasy and we have reviewed some important discussion skills as they started to meet with their new book club groups. Books being read in small groups now include Coraline, The Forgotten Door, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles. I am continuing our read aloud of The Magician’s Nephew as well and we have been using that to practicing analyzing characters and author’s craft. Another recent change in our usual routine is a switch from completing literature response letters in class to completing them for homework. The children are allowed to turn their letter in any day of the week and they know they are expected to turn in a weekly letter about their independent reading. Because we have already practiced all of our reading strategies together in class and they have completed assigned letters for each strategy, they are now ready to be a little more independent and they may write about any strategy they choose. We have a chart in the room where we keep track of the different types of thinking they have demonstrated in their letters and the goal is for them to have tried each one before the end of the year.

Our work on the fiction writing continues to go well and all of the children have now completed and printed a second draft. Many have started to do some in-depth peer editing and this process will continue into next week. Each child will have a final editing conference with me or Mrs. Ellis before we compile all of the stories into a class anthology. Each member of the class will get a copy of that to bring home and share! Meanwhile, those children who waiting for conferences are using the time to continue work on drafts for their poetry anthology. This week we learned about metaphors and looked at examples of poems that used extended metaphors. The children then tried their hand at writing an original poem using an extended metaphor and some of them have already turned in some interesting drafts!

This week in Science the children completed building the models of the human body part they have been researching, and then they used their research notes to create summary notes so they could prepare for their oral presentations. The presentations started on Wednesday and were finally completed on Friday. I was very impressed with the quality and depth of research and thinking reflected in many of the projects. The children had a set of basic questions to guide their research and were asked to cite their sources. Many of them choose to go well beyond the basics and they used and cited several different resources for their research. The model will be carefully placed inside our class skeleton, Mr. Dry Bones, and you will be able to see them if you drop by our room. I will also post some pictures once the parts are all in place!

A few calendar notes: Track & Field Day Parents are welcome to join us all day or for any part of it! MPR Grade 5 Assembly Our class will be presenting to the other classes something about Empathy. We haven’t planned it yet, so I can’t be specific, but you are welcome to come watch! Monkey King performance! Kids need to report for costume and make-up at 6pm. Parents should be seated in the audience in the theater for a 7pm start.
 * Friday, May 14th**
 * Thursday, May 20th**
 * Wednesday, May 26th**



April 23, 2010

We have had another very busy few weeks culminating on our overnight field trip. While we have actually continued to work on academics, I will focus in this post on our field trip!



In preparation for this trip we had several special events starting with an assembly last Friday in which Mr. Merritt and Ms. Chen performed a skit designed to help the children understand how to pack properly and Mrs. Zhang’s students did several role playing scenes in which they highlighted the theme of courage- the children were reminded to have the courage to spend time away from their parents, to make new friends, to try new foods, etc. On Monday and Tuesday the kids met with their groups to bond, choose group names and begin to plan their group chant or skit. During the last period of the day on Monday the children rotated through three special activities to help them complete their preparations. In Mrs. Marquardt’s room they made banners for the hotel room doors, in Ms. Chan’s room they learned a little about the history and architecture of the summer palace and the Fragrant Hills Hotel and finally, in my room or Mrs. Onken’s room, they did some role playing to see the right and wrong way to handle situations they might encounter during their trip. By Wednesday morning the children were all more than ready to go. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was looking pretty ominous, so the teachers had a quick meeting and we decided to rearrange our itinerary to maximize the chance that we would get to hike the Fragrant Hills and that we would not have to spend a long time in sitting around an empty hotel ballroom! As a result, we delayed our departure and reversed the order of events. First, we spent a few hours at school on Wednesday morning. The children had a choice of playing board games or video games or watching a movie until 10:30, and then they met with their groups to practice their chants and have lunch. We left school at 11:30 and arrived at the Fragrant Hills at 1pm to find the rain had stopped and the ground was dry enough for us to head up the hill. By 3pm every child and most of the adults in our group were at the top of the hill!



We then headed back down and groups had a tour of the hotel and a little time to rehearse again before the children had some room visiting time. At 6pm we headed to a Chinese restaurant in the park and enjoyed a feast that included over a dozen dishes. I was really proud of how well our kids handled themselves and how many of them were willing to try some new foods! After dinner we returned to the hotel where groups performed their silly, fun and creative skits and chants for each other before we watched the movie Hoot. The day ended with a little more room visiting time and by 10pm most of the children were asleep in their rooms!



The following morning, after a hearty buffet breakfast, we headed off on the busses to the Summer Palace, arriving at 9am in a light drizzle. Groups split up and headed off to see what they could in the rain and, despite the cold, they did a great job of keeping their spirits up. Most groups got to see quite a bit and to ride across Kunming Lake in a Dragon Boat and we all enjoyed shopping on Suzhou Street after the rain stopped! Because we were all wet, tired and cold, we decided to board the busses and head back to school a little earlier than planned and the children had another quiet play time in the classrooms for about an hour on our return. All in all, though it was neither the trip we planned nor the one we expected, I think we all had a good time! All of the teachers were very appreciative of the flexibility, good humor and great behavior that the kids demonstrated throughout this trip; they made it a great experience for each other!





April 2, 2010



It has been a few weeks since our last update and I am happy to say that everyone came back from Spring Break rested and ready to go, myself included! We have had another week full of interesting activities and three in particular are worth noting. Tuesday was a very busy day- as part of our grade 5 spirit day celebrating integrity, the children were encouraged to come to school dressed as their favorite book characters and we barely had time to look at the costumes before our day started! Instead of morning meeting, we went to the UES cafeteria with Ms. Campbell and Mrs. Green to prepare some healthy snacks to share with 5MJ. The children learned a little about food handling and sanitation as they donned caps, masks and gloves to prepare the food. Our class cut and chopped vegetables and prepared a delicious cream cheese spread, then used it to make vegetable roll ups. 5MJ prepared fresh fruit skewers and a delicious cinnamon yogurt dip to go with them. The best part was, of course, sharing our snacks later that morning! Later in the day we attended a grade 5 assembly where we watched 5M, dressed as their favorite book characters, perform a number of scenes from books that help illustrate the meaning of integrity. Finally, on Friday we attended an assembly to celebrate the rebuilding of the Zhong Xin Elementary School in Sichuan and the children were amazed to see the pictures of the ruined school gradually be replaced by a magnificent new building! Our student council presented the delegates from Zhong Xin with a 20 meter long silk banner that had been signed by all of the children in the UES and the LES!



In math the kids have been hard at work with fractions, decimals and percents. They have learned to add subtract and multiply fractions and mixed numbers. They have also learned how to use unit fractions and decimals to find a fraction of a number or a percent of a number. We are nearing the end of the unit and the children will be taking the unit test next week. In preparation for our upcoming conferences, the children also spent a little time looking back over their journals and reflecting on what they have learned and what they would still like to accomplish this year. Finally, the class took a times fact speed test as we do every week. The expectations for the end of the year have risen once again and many of the children need to put a bit more time into increasing their speed!

In reading workshop, the class has continued to read __The Magician’s Nephew__ aloud and I have been using that as a source for lessons on how to analyze author’s craft and on analyzing characters. The children have continued their independent reading and they have been writing literature response letters showing what they have learned about analyzing craft and character. In writing we completed our literary essay before the holiday and the children enjoyed sharing their finished essay with their classmates. We started a new unit on fiction writing and the focus this week was on generating reasonable and manageable story ideas and on developing believable characters. Finally, as a follow up to our poetry presentations in March, we have spent time in the last two weeks on drafting and revising original poetry. Each child is compiling an anthology that will include many of their own original poems as well as several “treasure” poems, written by other authors, that they have selected. It has been interesting to see some of the things the children write about and I know you will enjoy their completed anthologies very much.

In the week before the holiday the children completed the Social Studies explorer projects that they had been working on for so long and they presented their finished projects to their classmates. Their work is now on display in the hallway and you will get a chance to see it at conferences. This week we continued to delve into the human body unit in Science. We took data gathered on the children’s height and lung capacity, recorded it in an Excel spreadsheet and graphed it. The children then each wrote a summary of what they could learn from the graph. The children were then curious about the relationship between their lung capacity and how long they could hold their breath, so we collected that data and graphed it as well! Later in the week we read and watch a video about the heart and the circulatory system. The children took their pulse at rest to get their resting heart rate and then they took it again after a brief period of vigorous activity to see how their heart works harder when you are working harder. In the week after conferences we will get to dissect pigs’ hearts and lungs! Your child should have brought their report card home today and you should also have received the paperwork telling you what you need to know about the fast approaching overnight trip. If you have not seen those papers, please remind your child that they are due on Tuesday, April 2nd! I look forward to seeing you all next week at conferences!