Take a Peek at Our Week!

We had a terrific first FULL week of school! I can't tell you enough how wonderful these two groups of kiddos are...I am one lucky teacher! Just to keep you up to speed, in fifth grade, we have different names for some of our subjects since we are part of MYP (middle years programme) for I.B.! ELA is called "Language & Literature" and social studies is "Individuals & Society".  I will send more information about I.B. over  the next few weeks (I don't want to send too much at once!).

This week, we did some work with mindfulness. Each morning, students will complete one mindfulness activity to start their day. At our daily class meetings, we will revisit each topic to help us remain grounded, positive, and keep those negative emotions away! We also practiced mindful breathing and movements when we need to calm ourselves down. Below is a list of our daily routine:

Monday: Set a personal goal for the week. 
Tuesday-"Choose-day": This will follow our monthly IB learner profile trait. September focuses on being a risk-taker. 
Wednesday: I am grateful for...
Thursday: Students will look up a positive quote on their Chromebooks and add to our chart. 
Friday: Goal check-in/my take away from the week...

In Language & Literature (ELA), we worked on picking a good fit book. I use the chart below in class as a reminder for the students. I really want students making good choices when it comes to their independent reading books. We discussed finding a book you're interested in, one that isn't too hard or too easy, and something that holds their focus. We also took a "book walk" to explore Mrs. Carr's favorite titles! This was a fun way to have some more book titles ready to go when they finish their current books!

We also practiced positive independent reading habits. We used the chart below to rate our independent reading and worked on building our STAMINA!

In writing, we started our workshop this year by responding to a prompt using Google docs. Students were given the opportunity to show me their best writing in order for me to properly assess their strengths and areas needing growth. We also spent time working on paragraphs. We used the cheeseburger strategy to compose a paragraph with a topic sentence (top bun), 2-3 supporting details or pieces of evidence (meat and fixings), and a wrap-up sentence (bottom bun). You can view your child's work on our Informational Writing Google Classroom! Next week, we will practice writing RACCE responses as a way to answer questions about texts!

In Individuals and Society (social studies), we focused on learning about the I.B. learner profile traits and A.T.L.'s (approaches to learning). A.T.L.'s are skills we need in order to learn. Each of our planners has an "A.T.L. focus" which allows us to practice specific skills that help to develop the A.T.L.  Next week, we will review map skills as an introduction to our first planner, Early Civilizations!

You should have received your child's first Weekly News on Friday! Students complete these reflections on Friday mornings and rate their respect, responsibility, and readiness to learn. They also set goals for the following week. We ask that you review each Weekly News with your child, sign,  and return to school on Mondays. This helps to keep our lines of communication between school and home open.

A reminder that we started reading homework this week! Your child should have returned their signed reading log on Friday unless they needed extra time to read over the weekend. Check Dojo for messages regarding if your child turned in their homework!

Finally, we are in need of book fair volunteers! The signup link is below if you are interested.
Book Fair Volunteers

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Mrs. Carr