What's Happening? Day 121

      I cannot believe how quickly this year is going! It always fascinates me to see the growth and maturity in the students from the start of the school year to now.  This week,  on Friday,  it will be our 121st day of school!  Even with all the snow days, our momentum is still going strong and we have been accomplishing and creating many wonderful things on our Ipads.  For example, our notebook in social studies is going digital now, and along with that, many student folders have been set up in Google Drive for the students to keep digital copies of their classwork.  I am able to monitor and assist students with writing and project related tasks because of the the ease of corroboration through Google Drive.  We have also been frequently learning some great apps that should help many students in their ventures to succeed in school.  Notability and Quizlet are just two applications that can help your child stay more organized, and more prepared for tests.     If you haven't gotten a chance to see your child's progress on the Ipad, please take some time to see all the folders they have set up, and ask them to tell you about these two apps we have been using.   Your child can easily share out their folders to you by adding your email to the folder.  I have taught them how to do this in class, and if you have access to their digital folders, it can give you even more insight into our work in school.   Miscoe Hill School has also added Language Arts skill building to their IXL account.  We have been using IXL for grammar skills in class, and every week they receive a new skill to complete at home as well.

     As with all technology, it is important for you to monitor your child with their Ipad.  I have set up rules in class about games on their Ipads, and the general ruling is that games are not to be played throughout the school day, even during "free time/reward time". The phrase I use consistently is "teacher directed Ipad use".  Having the iPads in the classroom is extremely helpful,  and the pros outnumber the cons, but students still can get tempted to misuse them, and getting notifications about games on their Ipad can be distracting.  I encourage you to speak with your child about these rules, and have them turn off notifications for games.  I have also been telling students that they may not read a book on their Ipad unless they have permission from their parents.  The reasoning behind this is that it is very easy for a student to receive "free" ibooks, but some of these free ibooks are sometimes inappropriate and they should not be reading them.  Our goal of reading 30 books this year is continually a motivating factor for students to use their time to read consistently in class, and using Kindle books on their Ipad is a great way to allow your child access to a large range of chapter books appropriate for them, and you are able to manage them through Amazon.

     I'm sure you are aware that our English Language Arts MCAS test is coming up very soon...April 1st and 2nd.  In class we have been digging into our stories to look at text evidence, and working hard at developing appropriate techniques for writing and making our open responses clear and concise. I have added the skill "Locating Answers" into their weekly homework skill building to help the students find evidence for their answers in the text.  This week has also been the first week for passing in their homework digitally.  I'm sure there may be glitches along the way, but this week has gone very smoothly, with most students completing homework in a timely manner.  I am pleased.  With this new system of homework, I will also be having students correct their errors more.  Because of a feature on "forms" in Google Drive, I am able to quickly access a script to run on all the homework data which allows me to correct their homework digitally, then send a report back to them through email!  This allows students to correct their answers and resubmit to me.  Its my hope Reading homework throughout the week  becomes more of a process of completing, correcting, and then reading mastery.

     Lastly, we have been working hard on a Wax Museum Project and I am in need of your help securing materials for your child's presentation part of the project.  Each student is making a trifold board of their person, decorating it, and including all the elements we have been working on in class.  My request is that you help your child secure these materials, and bring them to school so we can work on this project during their scheduled "Project Block Period".
Materials needed are 1 tri-fold board.  Optional materials that will help your child would be:  die cut letters to make posters, scrapbooking supplies, markers, construction or scrapbook paper, and any other materials you may find to add color and pizazz to your student's trifold board.  I am really looking forward to seeing this project come together in its entirety!  We are almost there....

Thank you for all your support in this endeavor of teaching your child and helping them create a beautiful, successful fifth grade year.  Continue to reach out to me with any questions/concerns!