New Year Word Work Unit

Greetings!
I am attaching the information about our Word Work Unit; that is, the new spelling/vocabulary unit we begin tomorrow.  This sheet, which I copied on salmon-colored paper, should be in your child's red folder and needs to be maintained for the next several weeks.  See yesterday's post for additional information!

Name: ___________________                Word Work Unit

Directions:  Over the next several weeks, our spelling program will include vocabulary words that I’d like you to know before you move on to the middle school.  Each week you will be given 10 spelling/vocabulary words with which to work.  You will be tested weekly on both the spelling and definition of each word.  A cumulative test consisting of 50 words and definitions will be given at the conclusion of this unit.

Monday Morning:         You will be assigned 10 spelling/vocabulary words.  You will write in each word three times; twice on the paper provided and once in your assignment notebook.  Then you will write the spelling/vocabulary word on the blank side of an index card and the definition on the lined signed. Put them in alphabetical order.

Monday Homework:              Write your spelling/vocabulary word on the line provided followed by the definition I gave you. You will find the definitions on your index cards.  This assignment will be turned in Tuesday morning!

Tuesday Homework:            Using either a dictionary or on-line source such as dictionary.com, you will divide each of your 10 words into syllables (i.e., can-tan-ker-ous)  AND list at least three (3) synonyms for the word in the space provided.  This assignment will be turned in Wednesday morning.

Wednesday Homework:       You will write a descriptive sentence on loose-leaf paper.  You must underline the spelling/vocabulary word.  This assignment will be turned in Thursday morning.

Thursday Homework:           Complete an activity provided by Mr. Betor.  In addition, you must study for your spelling/vocabulary test.   The written assignment will be turned in Friday morning.

Friday Morning:                    You will take a spelling/vocabulary test.  In addition to spelling the words correctly, you will need to identify the definition.

Happy New Year!

Greetings from Room 10!

      With a new year comes new curriculum.  I am always excited to begin the Whale Unit with my students.  Over the years I have learned so much about these amazing creatures, and I love sharing my knowledge with the kids. We will get started immediately with a whale pre-test and a KWL activity.If you are interested in coming in and helping out, we will be doing a "whale-to-scale" project which requires lots of parental support.  Look for details in the next couple of weeks.

      Ocean Book Clubs begin this week as well.  All of the books have an ocean as its setting.  I have already selected book groups for the children.  They will be reading either The Cay, Kensuke's Kingdom, Stranded or The Music of Dolphins.  In addition to reading assignments, the children will be responsible for entries in their reading response journals.  Ask your child to see the assignment sheet which identifies both the assigned pages and response journal entries.

      For the next several weeks, we will be focusing on new vocabulary.  In addition spelling each night, the children will be responsible for knowing the definition of each of their spelling words.  I have outlined their  nightly responsibilities on a salmon-colored sheet.  Ask your child to see it when he/she comes home Monday night.  There will be the same assignments each week for five weeks.  The vocabulary unit will culminate in a 50-word spelling test and vocabulary test.  If individual modifications need to be made, rest assured that I will chat with your child about them.

      Play rehearsal begins on Tuesday, January 5th.  As a reminder, ALL LINES must be memorized by Tuesday, with no exceptions.  I consider this first rehearsal to be a "test" to make sure all of the children have their lines memorized so we can focus on projection, characterization and blocking.  

Act 3:  7:45am - 9:10am

Act 2:  3:20pm - 5:00pm

Act 1: 5:30pm - 7:00pm 

      The DARE essays are due Wednesday, January 6th and the third Betor's Bulls-Eye project is due Friday, January 8th.  I hope you have included the DARE Graduation to your calendar.  It will begin at 9:45am on Friday, January 15th in the bleacher-side of the gymnasium.  

      My fifth grade colleagues and I will be selling 50-50 raffle tickets at the Applebee's breakfast on Saturday morning, January 23rd;  1 for $1, 3 for $2 and an arm's length for $5. The prize for the last several years has averaged about $200 for the winner!!

       I am thrilled to be sharing all of these events with your children!  Looking forward to seeing you soon.  Happy 2016!!

                                                                                     Lester B.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Seasons Greetings!

       This has been a spectacular week. We got so much accomplished while having fun. I think the highlight of the week was participating in the “Hour of Code” yesterday afternoon. Through the website, code.org, the children learned how to program the video game Minecraft. They had to write code to maneuver through 14 levels. THEY LOVED IT!!

       This afternoon the children will enjoy a rollicking game of dreidel where they will play for Starburst Fruit Chews. I am attaching pictures from the games, as promised!

       They just finished their first writing unit and are submitting their final copies to me a few at a time. Our next writing assignment will be a DARE essay. We have explored seven amazing ways to write an introduction, and I will give the kids an opportunity to get started with the essay in school. They will be expected to finish the DARE essay at home. They may hand-write or type their final copy. I have not given them a due date yet, as we are unsure of the DARE Graduation date. I suspect it will be sometime in January.

       December 23^rd at 9:50am will be our Kidnastics show, and our holiday party will be immediately following.  Plan to join us!  Have a wonderful warm weekend!

                                                                                                              Lester B. & Class

PJ Day in 5B!

Greetings from 5B!
      On Friday we celebrated a great beginning to the school year by wearing PJs, bringing in favorite stuffed animals and blankets and having a popcorn party!  The children had an amazing day.  I am sharing some of the pictures both Mrs. Price and I took during their "Read-In."  Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

Greeting Parents of Room 10,

      The children's last Halloween Party was wonderful.  Thank you to everyone who sent in goodies.  They thoroughly enjoyed the treats while playing Bingo. We also sang three of our favorite songs.  We promise to sing for you when you come to visit us on November 16th for American Education Week. Details to follow.

      The following is a photo of the masks that the children made for the homeless children at the Marillac Shelter.  I think they came out great!!

      Now that the Crayfish Unit is over, I am looking for families to adopt the crayfish.  If you are willing to take one, please either send me a note or email to let me know that you want one.  Because live animals are not allowed on the bus, if you "win" a crayfish, you will need to pick him/her up by Friday at 3:45pm.  I will award the crayfish on a first-come, first-serve basis.

      Don't forget that dismissal on Tuesday will be at 12:10pm in honor of Election Day. 

                                                                                                  Have a great week!

                                                                                                  Lester B. & class