December 10, 2010

Hi everyone,
The children will not be able to blog this week, as they are rehearsing for our Poetry in Motion presentation in honor of the Winter's Solstice. Therefore, I decided to give you a subject by subject update of what the they are learning.
Reading:  This week, we have been learning about advertising techniques and different types of ads.  This is part of a two week unit on Media Literacy.  Next week, the students will be writing and producing anti-bullying Public Service Announcements. They have really enjoyed learning about target audiences and the techniques that advertisers use.
Writing:  The students have been working on Personal Essays.  After brainstorming different opinions that they had about a variety of topics, they arrived at a thesis statement and three supporting ideas.  They are now in the process of gathering information to support those ideas.  They are really enjoying this unit.
Social Studies:  We are finishing up our study of the settlement of North America.  Next, we'll begin working with groups to learn about the 13 colonies.
Science:  We are completing our Energy unit by studying how energy transforms from one form to another.  The students will be preparing for a unit test that is is on December 22.
Math:  Depending on their teacher, the students have been learning how to compare fractions or how to multiply large numbers.  Fractions are often challenging for 5th graders, and I am so proud of how the persevered and asked for help when they needed it.

Stay Warm!

Mr. Weinstein

December 3, 2010

Poetry in Motion

This month we are doing Poetry in Motion.We are doing this to celebrate the shortest day and the longest night of winter (the Winter's Solstice). For this assignment we got to pick a friend or two to do it with.With your partner(s) you and will pick out a poem and memorize it.And you will perform it in front of the whole grade and guests.You also have to dress up, make simple props, and do a short skit with your group After the performances we will in enjoy a lovely breakfast.

Reading

This week in Reading, we wrote another letter to our epals in Moscow, Russia. We also received a video from them and we saw what they looked like and we saw what the lobby in their school looked like. It looked like a mall!! It was so cool! Also, we learned about commas. We learned where to put them when we are writing. For example, we learned to put a comma to set off words of the speaker : Sally said, "I am going to take the dog for a walk!" We also learned to put them in a sentence to separate a long phrase that comes before the main part of a sentence: When Paige talks on the phone, she talk for a long time.Finally, we learned to put a comma when we separate an interjection from the rest of the sentence : Wow, look at that! That is what we learned about this week in Reading.

Health

This week in Health we started a new unit. We are learning about drugs.We are also learning about marijuana and alcohol. Our last Health was Tuesday we talked about good drugs and bad drugs. Next week we are going to learn about different types of drugs. 

Written by Paige, Sally, and Jordan 

Week of November 19,2010

Reading:  Jane Yolen

  This week we have been learning about Jane Yolen. Ms.Smith made a poster and has been teaching us about her. She has written over 300 books!Some of her fantastic books are "Owl Moon," "Pirates in Petticoats," and "Dragon's Heart." Jane started writing when her and Steven, her younger brother started writing a newspaper for their apartment building. In high school she was the editor for the school newspaper.In 1962 she married David Stemple.They were married 44 year until he died of cancer in 2006.She has 6 grandkids.Jane Yolen still writes today.This year she is turning 72.Happy Reading!

Week of November 12, 2010

Health

         This week during health, we did some cool but gross things. One of the things that we did was look at the sugars and the fat in different sodas and foods. We divided the sugar by 4 to turn grams into teaspoons. We divided the fat by 5 to turn grams to teaspoons. We did that for the following drinks, Coke, Mountain Dew, orange soda, Gatorade, ginger ale and A and W Root Beer. The one with the most sugar was root beer with almost 19 teaspoons! The one with the least sugar was Gatorade and ginger ale with 8 1/2 teaspoons each. After we did that, we looked at fat. It was really cool and gross. She took Crisco cooking fat and showed us how much fat is in Burger King food. It was a lot! Then she told us that there is 1 teaspoon in each bag of chips and if you ate 5 bags of chips a week, that would be a lot of fat.  

Bullying 

   We had a bullying meeting. We learned that when we see someone bulled we say: "Stop we don't do that at Potter Road." We learned that it is illegal to bully in Massachusetts. We learned that if it is serious bullying, you  could be arrested. In 2009 Massachusetts enacted one of the strongest anti-bullying laws. If you are a bully, your teacher by  law would have to tell the principal. The principal by law would have to tell the police. There are 3 types of bullying : physical, emotional, and cyber bullying

Social Studies

      This week in Social Studies we learned about Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, and Samuel de Champlain. For Henry Hudson his crew got so mad at him they threw him over board.This is called mutiny.  France funded Jacques Cartier. And Samuel de Champlain found Quebec. We also looked at letters from the Pilgrims and the Wamponoags.

Week of November 5, 2010

  In reading this week we are doing some thing called epals.The people we are doing it with live in Moscow,  Russia.The cool thing is that they are also in 5th grade, too.Our classroom and their classroom sent over pictures to each other.In their pictures they all wore the same thing.In some of the pictures you can really tell what they were doing. In some of the pictures they were doing plays.Even though it does not seem we have a lot in common, WE DO!!!!! We are doing this as we learn about people from other cultures.

   In art this week we did paintings on canvas or paper.You would do the painting based on your  poem.Most people would do all these different shapes and designs.At the end they were very colorful and great.I think everyone had a great time!        

  In Social Studies we learned that Francisco Pizarro was a conquistador.Pizarro was born in Spain in 1478 and died in 1541. Pizarro was invited to a feast, but then ambushed the Inca.  Pizarro killed thousands of the Inca and strangled their leader, Atahuallpa.  This, along with disease that his men brought, ended the Incan empire.  Pizarro wanted to take riches in Lima, Peru.  Later, he was killed by Pedro de Almagro while trying to take the riches.  Almogre wanted the riches for himself.

Written by Will, Evan and Dimitry

October 22, 2010

                   Science                       

 This week in Science we learned about magnets and magnetic fields. We did something really cool where we levitated disk magnets by just using a pencil! We learned that magnetic fields are the area of force surrounding a magnet and that magnetic poles are the north and south ends of a magnet. We also learned that some magnets are really strong! Magnets are inside compasses, they can be used for many things, and that if you rub a magnet on a piece of metal, then the metal becomes a new magnet. Magnets are in refrigerator doors, and they are also used to close things. We also learned about atoms in Science. Protons and electrons make up an atom and the protons and electrons make up and atom and the protons and electrons jumping back and forth create static electricity. So, if you get shocked by a slide when you come down it and you get shocked, that's really the electron on the atom on the slide jumping onto the atoms on you. We had a fun time this week learning in Science.

Reading

This week in reading we found out we are going to be doing a word parade.A word parade is when we go to a class room and tell them about the new word that we learned.To get prepared for this we have to make a sign with our word, the definition, and a sentence for our word. We also have to dress up as it too. It is going to be a fun word parade!!!!!!!!!!! Also, in Reading we did a computer game about Internet Safety. The computer game is about a kid named Zack. He is doing all this bad stuff on his computer. His dad wants to help him but Zack wont let him.Zack meets another kid on the computer that is older than him. Zack ran away to go live with him. We are helping Zack's dad to get him back by playing a game and finding password.We had a fun time in reading this week!!

 

BY SALLY AND PAIGE

Friday, October 15,2010

Noah Webster

This week we learned a little bit about Noah Webster.Noah Webster wrote the "Webster Dictionary".Noah Webster was born on October 15,1758.By the end of his lifetime Noah knew 20 languages.He wanted to study law but ended up being a teacher because he could not afford to go to law school.Noah Webster was a very smart man because he came up with 12,000 words.That is why room 32 has honered Noah Webster by learning about him.Mr.Weinstein got his first "Webster Dictionary" for Hanukkah in  5th grade.We looked up the word "internet" in the dictionary and it did not exsist yet.That was because the copyright date was from 1976! Every year new words are added to the dictionary.Don't forget to say Happy Birthday to Noah Webster!                                                                                                                                             

Explorers

 In Social Studies we each have an explorer we have to research and resite to the class. We will have to put our information on index cards and dress up like our explorer.We put all our information in a packet with lots of detailed information. We have been looking for information in the computer lab and in our classroom books to help us answer our questions about our explorers. When we resite our information to the class we have to be looking at everyone while we read, dress properly like our explorer and put enough important information on our index cards as we resite. Mr Weinstein will score us on the things above. Hope you like our presentation!!

Monday, September 27

Hi everyone,
If all goes well this week, the next post will actually be written by the students, instead of me!  We harvested our first round of cucumbers and snap peas from our Seedfolk Community Garden this morning!  We've got a full week of great learning activities planned this week.

In Math, we'll be learning some new, exciting ways to complete double digit multiplication problems.  In Reading, the students will be creating online posters, called "Glogs" using Glogster.  The posters will allow the kids to apply what they learned during our unit on Story Elements.  They will all be creating posters on their Jerry Spinelli books!
In Social Studies, we will be starting our Exploration unit and the children which each be assigned an explorer to research and then make a short dramatic presentation on.
In Science, we will be graphing dtat from our pendulum experiments and going outside to perform our own controlled experiment.
In Writing, we will continue to revise our personal narratives.
In Engineering, we will be applying what we learned about properties, design, and materials to help us design design sails for working sailboats.

Lastly, on Friday, we will be taking a field trip to work on 5th Grade Teambuilding skills.

Have a good week,

Mr. Weinstein

Our First Full Week!

We're finally getting into a solid routine now that we have five consecutive days in the classroom this week. 
In Social Studies we used Google Maps and music from around the world to help us find locations in an atlas using latitude and longitude.  We learned how maps have changed over time and now we are also learning all about the Vikings.
In Reading, we are learning about story elements and applying them to books by Jerry Spinelli.  We are also learning about different parts of speech and adding words to our word wall (our most recent words are diligent and propaganda-ask your child what they mean!)
In Science, we are learning how to use the Scientific Method and create a controlled experiment.  We'll be creating our own pendulums to test various hypotheses about what can change the number of swings our pendulums makes in a set time.
In Math, we have been switching classes and learning basic Algebra by using cross number puzzles and input/output tables.
In Writing, we are choosing small moments from our lives and turning them into Personal Narratives.  We will eb learning how to write strong leads and add dialog later this week.
We also will be meeting our kindergarten buddies on Thursday!
We have a FANTASTIC group of kids-I am so excited to get up each morning and learn with them!

A Great First Week!

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had the opportunity to discuss with your children everything we did this week.  If not, make sure you read their Friday Letter Home (and write them back)!  We worked very hard to create a cohesive team with solid expectations.  I am very impressed with this year's class.  They are excellent writers and also seem to really love reading.  They are focused and respectful not only of me, but also of each other!
Even though next week is a very short week, we will be getting into our normal routine.  We will begin our author's study of Jerry Spinelli as we learn about story elements and apply them to our books.  We will begin working with our new math groups, writing personal narratives and working on some very fun and interactive geography review.

Have a great long weekend!

Mr. Weinstein

The Start of a Great Year!

Hi everyone,

Last week, I spent several days setting up our classroom, and I'll be going back in on Monday to put on the finishing touches.  I can't tell you how excited I am about this year!  We'll have the Seedfolk Community Vegetable Garden, some new technology in the classroom, and all of your smiling faces!  I guarantee this is going to be a great year.   We'll spend the first week getting to know each other, building a cohesive team, and setting out expectations so you can all be successful fifth graders.  Don't forget your school supplies and story maps...but most importantly, don't forget your GREAT attitudes!  I'll see you all on Tuesday!

Counting the Days!

Hi Everyone!

This week I'll be entering the classroom to set up for the beginning of a great school year!  The PRS "Seedfolk" community garden is looking great and we have lots of veggies growing.  I've been working on lots of new and fun ways to help you learn and I am SOOOOOO excited to get started on August 31.  Our building looks great (Mr. Bob and his team did a great job-the building is so clean and shiny, it seems like a brand new school)!  Make sure you have completed your two story maps (one for the fiction book and a second for the non fiction book) and that you bring them to school on your first day along with your supplies, and MOST improtantly...your smiles and great attitude.

See you soon,

Mr. Weinstein

Growth in the Garden!

Hi all,

With only two weeks until I start setting up our classroom for the new school year, I went by to check on our Community Garden.  We have lots of peas, carrots, pumpkins and cucumbers growing.  It's very exciting and the garden will give us an opportunity to do lots of neat things this year.  We'll be working with Ms.  Jenn's class to care for it, and other classrooms may pitch in, too.  It's a VERY exciting undertaking at PRS and I can't wait to share it with you!

See you soon!

Mr. Weinstein

I've Been Thinking About You!

Hi!

I hope you are enjoying your summer!  I've been doing lots of preparation for our return to PRS on August 31st.  We're going to have a fantastic year!  We'll be doing many things that have never been done before at Potter Road and with your help and hard work, we're going to create a great team!  Make sure you are reading and completing your story maps for your two books (one fiction and one non fiction).  If you need the story maps or book list, you can find them at the bottom of our web-page under General Classroom Documents and Policies and then again under Summer Reading.  Also, make sure you are practicing your math facts!

See you soon,

Mr. Weinstein

And so, the end is near....

Hi All,

This week we will be visiting Cameron Middle School for a tour on Thursday.  We have finished our Engineering Windmills unit.  The kids loved it.  In Social Studies, the children are presenting their Bill of Rights mini-projects. We will have enough time to learn a bit about the Westward Expansion of the United States and the War of 1812.   The Million Dollar Project is due this Friday in Math. See you at our graduation ceremony next Tuesday!

Wind, Money, and Super Heroes-Week of June 1st

Only two weeks left to go!  I can hardly believe it!  The kids have grown (physically, mentally, and socially) so much, I'm going to miss all of them!  

We are in the middle of our Engineering Windmills unit and the kids are really engaged as they work through the Engineering Design Process (Ask-Imagine-Plan-Create-Improve) to build windmills that can lift weights.  In Math, we are beginning our Million Dollar Project.  The children will be given $1,000,000 to spend however they see fit as they learn about budgeting, keeping a balanced checkbook, and giving to charity.  In Social Studies, the students are collaborating with each other to create a small presentation on one of the amendments in the Bill of Rights.In Writing, the students are creating fantasy stories based on pictures by Harris Burdick or their own super hero creation.  In Reading, the students are finishing their Historical Fiction discussion groups and working on their Inspiration timelines.  Enjoy the sunshine!

Week of May 17

As the year winds down, we are working collaboratively on lots of projects.  In the beginning of the year, many of the students had difficulty working with one partner, let alone a small group.  Now, I love watching them problem solve and work together in groups of 2, 3, 4, even 5 classmates. 
In Social Studies/Writing, the students have created Revolutionary websites.  You can click on the links below to see them.  We are also going to be learning about the Constitution and how our government works with checks and balances.
The children are putting the finishing touches on poetry books in writing.  They researched a specific type of poetry and then taught it to their classmates using a collaborative jigsaw model.  For kids who initially complained about writing, they sure do love it now!
Now that were finished with Math MCAS, we will be creating fractions clotheslines to reinforce comparing and performing operations with fractions.  This will be an in school project.
In Reading, the students are participating in Historical Fiction book discussion groups.  In conjunction with this, they are creating a life-sized character study and time line that mixes true historical events and events from their book.
In Science, we will be starting a unit on engineering that teaches the children about properties and materials.  The students will be working with a partner to create working sailboats and windmills.

FYI, Graduation invitations will be coming home in the Friday folders shortly, but mark your calendars for June 15 at 9:30 am.

Week of May 10

• This week, we have MCAS testing in Math. 
• In Reading, the children are creating life-sized character portraits of the main character in their Historical Fiction book.  They will identify 10 character traits and place them onto the cut-out. Lastly, they will be creating a time line using the computer program Inspiration that mixes fictional events from their book and real events from history.
• In Science, we have been watching several videos to help us prepare for next weeks Science MCAS tests.Next week, we will be starting our engineering unit.  The kids have been anxiously awaiting this unit all year!
• In Writing, we are using the collaborative jigsaw model to learn about different types of Poetry.
• In Social Studies, we have been creating our own Web sites on the American Revolution.  You can click on the links below to see how they look so far!
• In Open Circle we discussed the new anti-bullying law in Massachusetts.  The children were very engaged in the conversation!