We're ready for another week of learning and growing in the H5 family! Here are our goals for the next few days ...

ELA: We'll be enjoying an excerpt from Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie and putting story events in sequence in order to be better able to understand what's happening. We'll add some new words to our vocabulary and also explore a new set of Word Study words. In writing, we have finished taking notes on the arguments for and against lowering the voting age. Now, we will create outlines to organize our thoughts, then start drafting our argumentative essays on this subject. (See Homework + Projects for the rubric we'll use to assess our writing.)

SS: We're reviewing all the great things we know about U.S. geography and government for our test on Wednesday. After that, it'll be time to dive in to our nation's history! We'll start by learning a bit about what historians do, then trying out our own historical skills on some Native American artifacts. I can't wait to begin this study with my students!

To get us pumped up for those argumentative essays, I'm inviting parents to join in our debate by commenting below. Do you think that 16- and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote? Why or why not?

We've been studying how to convince other people to think or act in a certain way. We started off with the art of persuasion-- using techniques that appeal to people's hearts. Since persuasion is often seen in advertisements, the H5 family created ads of their own to display some of the persuasive techniques they had learned. They turned out GREAT! So, I thought I would share some of these outstanding ads with all of you. Enjoy!

Whew! This year is rolling full-steam ahead. The H5 family calendar has been pretty packed lately-- MAP testing and make-up testing, Picture Day, conferences, library orientations, fundraiser, school clubs/organizations starting up interims ... and that's all on top of our usual efforts to master the massive amount of content contained in the 4th-grade standards!

Amid all this hustle and bustle, it's easy to get stressed out and lose sight of what's really important. Let's all take a deep breath, reflect on the school year thus far, and celebrate what we've accomplished up to this point. There are certainly a TON of areas where we need to improve-- and that's true for myself more than anyone-- but the fact is, all the members of the H5 family have grown in some way since August, and even greater progress lies ahead.

Here's what we're working on this week:

Reading: We're pausing between major reading selections to practice finding key information in real-world texts centered on children's rights and the upcoming election.

Writing: The kids did a fantastic job using persuasive techniques in their advertisements last week. Now, they are working hard to research their arguments for and against lowering the voting age.

Social Studies: Now that we've learned about the structure of our government, we will focus on the rights and responsibilities of citizens. After this, we'll begin reviewing for our unit test.

On another note, I am SO grateful to those of you who have volunteered your time and services in some way this year. If I haven't called you for help yet, I will soon! There are several school-wide volunteer opportunities that have arisen within the past week, so be sure to check out the "Get Involved" tab! Thanks so much for all you do to help our children thrive!

This is going to be a wonderful week! It is so rewarding to see my students begin to accomplish some of our goals for the year and to grow more confident in their knowledge. I'm looking forward to more new insights over the next few days ...

Reading: We have become adept at recognizing the compare/contrast structure, along with the words that signal this structure. Now, we are working on using the compare/contrast structure in our own writing so that we can communicate our learning clearly with others.

Writing: What's the difference between persuasion and argument? That's our big question for the next two weeks! We are analyzing different advertisements and articles to see how the creators are trying to convince us of their viewpoint. We will also create our own examples of persuasion and argument. I'm hoping this study will help my students think more critically and carefully about the ideas the media exposes them to on a regular basis, and to be more effective in their own efforts to convince others.

Social Studies: We are "meeting" 1-2 new states each day and also surveying the workings of the U.S. Government! This will get us ready for the election in November ... and with campaign season upon us, the connection with persuasion v. argument is a perfect fit.

So, parents! We still want to hear YOUR thoughts about life, because you have so much experience and wisdom to share! Today, we talked about how advertisements sometimes persuade us to buy a toy or food ... and then we try it, we realize it's not all the ad said it would be. Has that ever happened to you? Tell about your experience in a comment below!

Hello, families!

We are definitely getting into the "flow" of the school year. I am so proud of the way my students have improved at taking responsibility for their work and managing our daily routines. We will continue reinforcing these skills throughout the year.

We begin MAP testing on Tuesday, September 11, so make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before and eats a good breakfast! Ms. Matthews' homeroom will take their math test Tuesday morning while Ms. Gaillard's homeroom takes the reading test. Next Tuesday, we will switch-- Matthews takes reading, Gaillard takes math.

Here are our goals for the week:

Reading: Identify the words authors use to signal a compare/contrast structure in informational text. We'll practice this by exploring a really interesting article called "Kids at Work," about some extraordinary kids and teens! We will also begin leveled Word Study based on the results of the initial spelling assessment I gave last week.

Writing: We will practice asking "thick" questions in order to make our writing more interesting and informative by following up on our classmate interviews from Week 1.

Social Studies: We will explain how the 3 branches of the U.S. government work together. I also will continue instruction in U.S. geography, introducing a few states each day.

On top of all this, we are continuing to develop our character and habits by pondering some great Wise Words! Some of the sayings we've added to our Book of Wisdom are, "Everything worth doing is worth doing well," and "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." So, that made us want to ask YOU, our parents ... What are some wise words that you think every person should know? Post a comment below to share your wisdom with our class!

What a rewarding first full week! The beginning of the school year can be difficult as everyone is adjusting to new schedules and routines. However, my H5 family was on the ball! We were able to have a productive week of learning even as we were practicing our procedures and reinforcing classroom rules. Here's a look at what's in store this week:

Reading - We will reinforce last week's work with story mapping and vocabulary while adding more Word Study routines to our repertoire. We will also have our orientation to the school library and talk about how to select a "just-right" book.

Writing - We are editing our classroom job applications, focusing especially on sentence conventions. I can't wait to read these and "hire" these eager workers! Hopefully by the end of the week we will be able to start working on mini-biographies of the classmates we interviewed on the second day of school.

Social Studies - Last week we focused on how the regions and people of the United States are different. This week, we will examine the ideas and practices that unite us. We'll wrap up this introduction to the U.S.A. with a short quiz, and the students will also create their own motto and seal for their nation.

Be sure to check the Homework+Projects, Upcoming Events, and News+Reminders pages for more information about our week!

In other news, I'm happy to announce that we have voted on a name for our new furry friend! Mr. Hamster will now be known as ... SCOOTER! Scooter would love to start going home with students over weekends and breaks, so fill out the form below if you would like to "hamster-sit" at some point. I promise he's easy to care for and a very well-behaved house-guest!