Last week officially saw the beginning of taxes. After happily earning shillings for weeks, the reality of being a British colonist hit hard, as paying the King did not come happily. The young colonists learned how ridiculous it seemed to have to pay taxes on everyday items, like shoelaces and pencils! A "lucky" few students were members of Parliament and tax collectors. The unprompted response was cries of "unfair!" and some students making signs stating "No Taxes". Letters written to King George pleaded for a repeal of these taxes.
The following day, a list of taxes payable to King Morkert included things like "Blurting Tax" and "Out of Seat Tax". Students quickly found their coveted shillings were disappearing. This week we proceed into learning about the Boston Massacre, where students become detectives, hired by John Adams, to find out the truth to what actually happened. Our classroom this week begins to change into Colonial America, with the students working together to discover how and why the 13 colonies became so upset with England. The students this week, after learning about the Stamp Act (in which colonists were taxed on everyday items), will find themselves taxed on, well, most everything. They will be asked to write a letter to King George himself, asking to have the taxes repealed. We'll have to see... We also spent a morning last week at a 1776 reenactment over at Olive school. The students prepared by learning about each of the actors, and were thus able to better understand each. I'll drop pictures onto the Class Photos section soon.
If you haven't seen it yet, a permission slip went home for a district sponsored field trip to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra give a special kid friendly Halloween performance on October 24. Please send back in by this Friday, October 17. Finally, if you didn't hear about it already, Malala Yousafzai, a 17 year old Pakastani girl won the Nobel Peace Prize last week. She fought for the right for girls to be educated and was shot and nearly killed by the Taliban. We will take some time in class this week to learn her remarkable story. Her book, I am Malala, is a terrific read, if you have the chance. Our classroom was a very busy place this past week. So much so that the "What's Happening?" update didn't happen, so, I can fill in some of the blanks here.
We've come to one of those places in the year where several units wrap up at one time. *Our Human Body in Motion unit wraps up. Our final test was taken on Friday and should be home for your signature on Monday. We took a lot of time to review last week, along with learning specifically about the digestive system, and how enzymes help to break down our food. I will work more with those who struggled on the test. We transition from science to social studies and begin our trek back to the 1700s, learning about our country's birth. This in-depth unit will continue up until Thanksgiving break! *Our Roald Dahl unit also came to a close last week. Each group got to celebrate by watching the video of the book they read. I know with my group, The Witches, we agreed that as fun as the movie was, it didn't compare to the book. We transition from there to a few weeks where we will focus specifically on non-fiction texts and strategies to help understand. In about 2 weeks, we will begin the novel My Brother Sam is Dead, used to accompany our Revolutionary War unit. This Thursday, October 9, our first midterms go home. The first midterms of fifth grade can be a wake up call for some, as they begin to learn the ropes of new expectations. Please take time to review the grades with your child, as well as expectations. Signed midterms are to be returned on Tuesday, October 14. for the feedback this week regarding reading at home. It is encouraging to know that there is some wonderful reading going on behind closed doors. Continued encouragement and reenforcement on both the school and home ends can help when this is a struggle. As always, continue to let me know when homework of any sort becomes an issue.
If you didn't see it, a permission slip went home this week for our annual 5th grade excursion to Olive for a historical reenactment. This ties in PERFECTLY with our curriculum, and I look forward to it each year. Please return the permission slip (and $3 for the bus trip) as soon as is possible. Thanks to the Kleins and Ligenzas for sending in auction items! The more, the better...keep em'coming! And finally, in honor of our upcoming class picture day: With week 4 of the school year under our belt, the class is getting used to the rhythms and routines of the class. While having some fun learning about how the systems of the body work together, we've also been working hard at learning how to attack non-fiction books and articles. This will be part of the "Work Hard" rules that I discussed on parent night. Slowing down and digging out what's important is not always easy work, but it's an integral life skill!
I've asked the class to make sure they are reading 20 minutes or more each school night. While they are not being asked to keep a log, the expectation is still there. Please help to make sure your 5th grader is keeping up! We had our first (and well earned) auction on Friday, after a great week. Students bid on items ranging from Cubs "Fatheads" to the right to sit at my desk for the day. We are still in need of auction items, as my secret stash is dwindling! Please send in whatever you can. I'll direct you to the "What's Happening" link to find out some more of what the kids have been up to in our class! Household "stuff" is needed for room 255 to auction off!
Send in any gently used items and we'll make use of them all! Anything from toys to books to sports items to office supplies...they'll be snatched up! Thanks! Parents, if your child does not have a library card, now's the time to drop by the Memorial Library and get one! This year students can now use their library cards at school to access the Memorial Library's online resources. Stay tuned for the next steps in putting these library cards to use!
So, a few words about the website.
On the home page, I hope to include some quick bullet points about things and dates you should know. This could include upcoming tests and assignments, as well as school related events. This page, the blog page, will go a bit more in depth about some things that are important to the classroom. I'll be sure to add an update to the Twitter account whenever this is updated. The Class Photos page is fairly self-explanatory, and you can feel free to send me any you may have taken. The Parent Information has a copy of most of the Orientation night packet. The What's Happening page will include copies of past and recent class updates. I plan on continuing to add to and update the page, so please let me know of anything you think may be helpful to see here. |
Author5th grade teacher to wonderful students at Patton School! Archives
October 2015
Categories |