Miss Nelson's Blog

This week we will be MAP Testing.  Please see schedule:

Monday, April 18

• Normal School Day
• MAP Assembly @ 2:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 19

• MAP Test – Communication Arts for 5th and 6th grades

Wednesday, April 20

• MAP Test – Math for 5th and 6th grades

Thursday, April 21

• MAP Test – Science for 5th grade ONLY

Friday, April 22

• Normal School Day

Spring has finally arrived!  Students are enjoying warmer weather on the playground and fresh air in the classrooms.  Please remember that students should bring a jacket for the days it is windy or cooler, as they might need one to go outside for recess.

In class we have been finishing reading our Literature Circle books, reviewing things we already know for the MAP Test, talking about test taking strategies, and still working on Spelling. 

Our schedule for this week is:

Monday, April 11th

• Lit Circle Reading time
• New Spelling List goes home – Test Friday!!!
• MAP Review Centers
• Coral Reef article – review fact vs opinion and cause or effect

Tuesday, April 12th

• Capitalizing sentences and proper nouns review sheet
• Lit Circle Reading Time
• MAP Review Centers
• Coral Reef Comprehension Quiz

Wednesday, April 13th

• Lit Circle Reading Time
• MAP Review Centers
• Spelling Game on SMARTBoard

Thursday, April 14th

• Lit Circle Reading Time
• MAP Review Centers
• Review Literary Genres – Game

Friday, April 15th

• Spelling Test
• Lit Circle Reading Time
• Review Elements of a Story – Game
• MAP Review Centers

As we go into MAP Week (Tuesday, April 19th – Wednesday, April 21st) please remember that your child will do his/her best if they:

1. Get plenty of rest the night before
2. Eat a nutritious breakfast before they take the test
3. Do not feel pressured about their performance on the test

It is my goal that every student feel successful after completing the MAP Test.  Not all students will score the same, and that’s ok!  We have been working very hard this year in ALL SUBJECTS, and I am confident your child is as prepared as they can be.  If you have any more questions concerning MAP testing please contact our school office at (417) 742-4242.

Thanks for taking some time to check out what we are doing in class this week!

It was great to see everyone’s smiling face back in school today.  I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Spring Break!  As we get back into the swing of things we will be continuing Literature Circles in reading, wrapping up our descriptive/persuasive paper in writing and WE DO have a spelling list that went home today.  The spelling test will be Friday!!! 

Look for more detailed information to come soon.  Thanks for checking in on what we are doing in class!!!

These past couple of weeks have been busy!  We have been working hard on grammar to sharpen our writing skills.  Last week we started descriptive writing by eating some yummy treats, such as flavored popcorn and Hershey Kisses.  In reading we focused on character point of view and wrote a letter to the Chocolate Pilot as if we were a child living in Berlin in 1948.  We will be publishing some of those writings very soon (over the next 2 weeks!).

Looking ahead to this week, in Writing we will be starting our Persuasive/Descriptive paper.  The theme: Battle of the Chocolate Bars!  Yes, we are eating some good candy, and calling it “research”!  We will have mini-lessons over persuasive words and phrases, grouping facts and finding the main idea, note taking, rewriting facts so they are in our own words, and descriptive or “juicy” words.  In reading we will be starting Literature Circles.  Students will be choosing a book they want to read on Monday, getting placed into groups on Tuesday and learning about jobs within a Literature Circle, and Wednesday – Friday they will be working on Reading Assignment 1.  Thursday I will be modeling a group discussion, and after that students will be own their own (with my help in the background) to collectively, as a group, read a chapter book and use their reading strategies to learn about the book through character analysis, literary elements, and their reading strategies.  I’m looking forward to seeing how Literature Circles go with your child!  There will be Spelling this week – Week 19 on SpellingCity.com .

Once again, thank you for taking some time to check out what we are working on in class.  If you have any questions feel free to call or email me, and I’ll get back with you as soon as I can.

We have had quite the winter weather roll through and several days off school.  Hopefully we have all enjoyed the break and are ready to get back to work.  In February we will be working on Descriptive writing and Poetry.  We will be working on Compare/Contrast and Fact vs Opinion in reading.  I am looking forward to seeing halls filled with smiling kiddos tomorrow.  Thanks for taking time to check in with what we are doing in class.  More details to come later this week…

Just a friendly reminder that major papers such as Personal Narratives, How-To Books, Descriptive Writing, Research papers, and Biographies are all assignments done at school.  Students are given plenty of time to get their work done at school so time does not have to be spent at home to finish the assignment.  However, students are ALWAYS allowed to take the assignment home if they feel they need more time to complete it than they are given in class.  Students are also made aware of the due date for major papers 1-2 weeks in advance, after working on the assignment for 3-4 weeks in class.  Due to the amount of time given in school to work on the assignment, LATE PAPERS ARE NOT ACCEPTED, NOR ARE OOPS PASSES ACCEPTED FOR EXTENDED TIME.

This week we will be finishing our How To papers, which will be turned into cute mini-books.  Our topic is How To Build a Snowman, which is very appropriate for the weather we are having currently.  We will also be starting a unit on sentences and sentence structure this week. 

In reading we will be starting fact vs. fiction and how to distinguish between the two.  Small reading groups will continue next week beginning Tuesday the 18th. 

Spelling List 14 went home Monday the 10th.  The Spelling Test will be Friday the 14th.  Spelling List 15 will go home Friday as well, and that test will be Friday the 21st.

There will be NO SCHOOL for students on Monday, January 17th in honor of MLK Day. 

Due to the cold weather please be sure your student is coming to school in appropriate, warm clothing and has an appropriate warm COAT for recess when we go outside.  There are several students coming in with only hoodies and being very upset that they cannot go outdoors to recess.  Also, please make sure your child has appropriate footwear as well.

There’s a chill in the air and more people at the Battlefield Mall, so December MUST be here!  As we approach the holiday break we are going to be working on visulaization, sequence of events, and writing multi-step directions.  Some fun activities we have coming up are making snowflakes and PB & J sandwiches, making Holiday/Christmas cards for people in our community, wrapping presents and giving instructions for how to wrap presents and also building snowmen (indoors of course).  Some important info for this week:  Spelling Lists went home yesterday (Monday) and the Spelling Test is Friday!  Counseling this week on Tuesday!  Red Team begins D.A.R.E. Wednesday – this is a 9 week program!  Thanks for checking in!

Students have turned in Personal Narratives (due today) and we are going to be starting on our next paper, Descriptive writing, once we are back from break!  We also didn’t have Spelling this week, and we won’t have Spelling next week either due to the 2-day school week.  I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving break!  Be safe and eat platefulls of turkey!    See you back Monday, November 29th!

Due November 18th by 3:30 p.m.  All work will be completed in class and a note is being sent home today stapled in student’s Agendas for you to sign.  Thank you in advance!

Miss Nelson