Week of May 28th

End of the year party:
Each year, I hold an end of the year celebration where students showcase the work they’ve completed throughout the year. If parents cannot attend, students can bring an aunt, uncle, grandparent, etc. If no one can attend on the child’s behalf, please let me know and we can make arrangements with a staff member here at school. Due to space limitations, we will not be able to accomodate siblings.

Important Dates:
Band Concert --> June 3rd, 7:00-8:00 (students should arrive to the H.S. at 6:15pm)
June 5th --> Early release day
June 7th --> Summer Reading Day (bring a good book and a beach towel)
June 14th --> Summer Reading rain date.
Recorder Concert --> June 17th, 9:00am - 9:45am in the gym.
End of the year party - Monday, June 24th from 8:30am - 9:15am in our classroom.
June 25th --> Last day of school

Reading
Written by: Keith, Derek and Tommy

• On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we read the last half of Frindle and had book club conversations with our book club groups. We also tracked our thinking in our reading response journal.
• On Friday, we finished tracking our thinking for Frindle and shared with the class what we learned from the book. It had a good twist ending.

Writing:

Written By: Paris, Hallie,Amy

• On Tuesday and Wednesday we published our poetry books and did a reflection.
• On Thursday, we chose topics for our research reports. Later that day we took out books and started researching our topics with our books.
• On Friday we researched our topics with the databases from the Hanlon Library, and some people used books.

Science:

Written By: Jack C and Cassidy

• On,Tuesday, the class read Gail Gibbon’s book about the moon, which taught us about the moon. Also, we reviewed the moons orbit.
• On  Wednesday and Thursday we worked on the phases of the moon, which we did a demonstration of the phases. Also we read two books and started our own phases of the moon book.
• Lastly, we watched a video of the moon and we learned that the moon looks lit because of the sun lights reflection and it looks different because of how it orbits around the earth.

Math:

Written By: Stacey liam

• On Tuesday we reviewed multiplication and division and how to solve it two ways.
• The next day we took our multiplication and division assessment.
• Then on Thursday, we learned what volume is and we made boxes using length, width, and height.
• On Friday, we did math workshop. Also we practiced determining the height of 
  boxes when we knew the overall volume and length and width.
  
  
  
  

Week of May 20th

End of the year party:
Each year, I hold an end of the year celebration where students showcase the work they’ve completed throughout the year. If parents cannot attend, students can bring an aunt, uncle, grandparent, etc. If no one can attend on the child’s behalf, please let me know and we can make arrangements with a staff member here at school. Due to space limitations, we will not be able to accomodate siblings.

Important Dates:
Band Concert --> June 3rd, 7:00-8:00 (students should arrive to the H.S. at 6:15pm)
June 5th --> Early release day
June 7th --> Summer Reading Day (bring a good book and a beach towel)
June 14th --> Summer Reading rain date.
Recorder Concert --> June 17th, 9:00am - 9:45am in the gym.
End of the year party - Monday, June 24th from 8:30am - 9:15am in our classroom.
June 25th --> Last day of school

Reading:

• This week, students took the district performance assessment, which consists of four parts. On Monday, they watched a video about healthy lunch options in New York City Public Schools. They took notes and wrote a summary of the video.
• They read an article about a school that banned students from bringing lunch from home. They took notes on the article and summarized it.
• On Thursday, they read an article about how school lunches may not be the best choice. They took notes and summarized it that article as well

Writing:

• On Tuesday and Wednesday, students created their poetry books and reflected on their poetry writing. 
• On Thursday, students wrote the essay for the performance assessment. They had to decide whether students should bring their lunch from home or if they should buy school lunch. They had to include evidence from the sources and organize their writing.

Math

• We continued to solve word problems where students had to determine if it's a division or multiplication problem.
• They took their district performance math test on Tuesday. 
• Students continued solving multiplication and division problems two ways, one of them being a visual model like an array.

Science:

• We read a book about the earth and its position in space. We also took notes on this book and summarized what they learned. 
• On Tuesday and Thursday, students read Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System. They answered questions as they read the book a second time. ''

Field Day Photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Field Trip Reminders

Tomorrow is our field trip to the Museum of Science. Here are a few friendly reminders:

• It's important that students are on time tomorrow. We will be leaving a few minutes after the start of the school day (before 9am).
• We will be walking a lot, so students should wear comfy shoes or sneakers.
• We are asking that students do not bring electronic devices or cell phones with them on the trip.
• All food brought should be something that can be easily eaten and thrown away. Please do not send your child with a water bottle or any containers. We will NOT carry any items back with us.
• Please pack one snack for your child with their name on it.
• Please pack a bagged lunch with your child's name on it. 

Week of May 13th

Important Dates:

• May 21st - Class Match Day - 
• We chose to wear green tops tomorrow!
• May 22nd - Field Day (rain date is June 5th)
• May 24th - Field Trip to the Museum of Science in Boston
• Band Concert - June 3rd from 7:00 - 8:00pm                                                                        (students need to arrive to the HS Auditorium at 6:15pm)
• Recorder Concert - June 17th - 9:00 - 9:45am

Social Studies.Science

Written by: Keith, Brien

• 

  We've been using these books to take
  notes and to expand our knowledge
  before jumping into harder texts. 

  On Monday, we finished learning about the three goverment branches which are Judicial, Legislative and Executive.
• On Tuesday, we brainstormed questions about the moon and started our moon unit. Also, with our desk groups, we made a poem about the moon.
• On Thursday, we read and took notes about our solar system, which has 8 planets.
• On Friday, we read and took notes about the sun. We learned how hot the sun is and what makes up the sun.

Reading

Written by: Paris, Liam and Hallie

• We are starting the Andrew Clements unit. Our class explored a website about Andrew Clements.
• We also read chapter one of Frindle.
• On Thursday, we talked about ideas to track when we read fiction. We read a little bit more from Frindle.
• On Friday, we read and tracked more of Frindle. We also met in book clubs to share our thinking.

Math

Written by: Tyler, Jack C.,

Go 4S!

• On Monday, we played math jeopardy, which helped us review for the MCAS. Also, we did a short answer review and a open response question.
• On Tuesday, we played jeopardy again for a long time. Then we did a pattern/relationship/algebra packet for math. Lastly, we did a scale open response question
• On Wednesday, we did the math MCAS session one test until Art.
• On Thursday, we did another session of MCAS.

Writing

Written by: Stacey, TOMMY!!!

• On Monday we wrote a poem about a color. We had to think about what our color represented and how it makes us feel.
• The next day, we learned how to revise our word choice.
• On the last day of the week, we revised our poetry and learned about line breaks and stanzas.
  
  

Week of May 6th

Important Dates:

• May 15th and 16th - Math MCAS
• May 21st - Class Match Day 
• May 22nd - Field Day (rain date is June 5th)
• May 24th - Field Trip to the Museum of Science in Boston
• Band Concert - June 3rd from 7:00 - 8:00pm                                                                        (students need to arrive to the HS Auditorium at 6:15pm)
• Recorder Concert - June 17th - 9:00 - 9:45am

Writing

Written by: Cassidy,Amy, Tyler and Jack C.

• On Monday, we wrote alliteration poems about a topic of our choice. Alliteration is when you have the same sounds at the beginning of a word.
• On Tuesday, we wrote metaphors. This is when you compare things without using like or as.
• On Thursday, we learned how to write our own shape poems. Shape poems are poems but shaped into a figure.
• On Friday, we wrote a 6-room image point about a special place to us. We described the sounds we hear, the light we see and questions we have for this place.

Math

Written by: Keith, Brien, Tommy, Brenna

• On Monday, we started division with bigger numbers, reviewed partial quotients, reviewed how to solve division with an array and practiced with open responses.
• On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we did a math workshop. In this math workshop we did solving division problems, solving multiple towers problems and played factor bingo.

• On Friday, we solved multiplication problems and division problems. 
• We reviewed many algebra problems for the MCAS test next week.

Social Studies

Written by: Hallie & Stacey

• This week we focused on the three branches of government.
• On Monday we went on computer program called Ben’s Guide to learn in great detail about the Legislative Branch.
• The next day we used Ben’s Guide to learn about the Judicial Branch, which is the court system.
• On Thursday, we went to the fifth grade research share. They shared their research project, which is the Paul Hanlon School tradition.
• At the end of the week we reviewed the three branches of government. Also, the groups who didn’t share their Washington D.C posters presented today..

Week of April 29th

Important Dates:

• May 15th and 16th - Math MCAS
• May 22nd - Field Day (rain date is June 5th)
• May 24th - Field Trip to the Museum of Science in Boston
• Band Concert - June 3rd from 7:00 - 8:00pm                                                                        (students need to arrive to the HS Auditorium at 6:15pm)
• Recorder Concert - June 17th - 9:00 - 9:45am

Reading

• Students finished reading Hate that Cat and met in book clubs to discuss what the book.
• The class continued with poetry workshop. Some of the activities were responding to poetry, copying poetry they enjoyed, using poems to write inspired poems and to go on a poetry hunt for writing strategies.

Writing

• Students finished drafting their personification poems.
• Students learned how to write poetry in fragments to help shorten their lines. 
• They learned how repetition enhances a poem and wrote their own poetry with repetition.
• The class loved learning about onomatopoeia and used some exciting sound words to craft poems.

Math

• We practiced solving two by two digit multiplication using the visual models of arrays to help.
• Once students mastered two by two digit multiplication, we worked on solving three by one digits and four by one digit multiplication. 
• We worked on writing story problems and developing other strategies for solving multiplication problems. 
• We reviewed many concepts for the MCAS test such as math vocabulary, balanced equations and decimals and fractions. 

Social Studies

• Students did a nice job presenting their immigration scripts. It was amazing to see the final projects come together!
• Students had time to put the final touches on their Washington D.C. posters. They also presented the posters to the class. 
• We began working on our next mini-unit for social studies, which is branches of government. Students watched a video about the branches of government. Then we looked at the roles and responsibilities of the executive branch using the website called Ben's Guide.  

Week of April 22nd

Important Dates:

• May 15th and 16th - Math MCAS
• May 22nd - Field Day (rain date is June 5th)
• Band Concert - June 3rd from 7:00 - 8:00pm                                                                        (students need to arrive to the HS Auditorium at 6:15pm)
• Recorder Concert - June 17th - 9:00 - 9:45am

Reading:

• On Monday, students continued to work on their timeliner.
• This week, we began poetry workshop. Every other day, they're reading a book called Hate that Cat, which is a boy's journal, written entirely in poems, between him and his teacher.
• On days they're not reading with me, they are choosing from five poetry activities (poetry response, poetry footprint, poetry hunt, copycat and copycat creator). Be sure to ask them about each station.

Writing:

• Students began writing their own poetry. The first poems they worked on were poems that included similes. They brainstormed similes about themselves and drafted a poem. Then they drafted two more poems over the course of two days and chose one they wanted to take to publishing. 
• Also, students learned about personification, which is giving human like qualities to non-living things or animals. 
• Then students drafted a personification poem about an object in the classroom. Once they were done, they drafted two more poems and chose the one they wanted to publish.

  

Math:

• Students started the week off by answering two math open response questions. They learned how to take apart the directions and the questions and how to transfer their thinking to their answer page.
• We began a new multiplication and division unit. The first investigation is about two by two digit multiplication. We practiced estimating the answer before solving the problem since it helps us determine if our actual answer is reasonable.
• Students reviewed the partial products strategy and the arrays strategy to solve two by two digit multiplication.
• We reviewed geometry and measurement this week as we began reviewing for the MCAS.

                

Students showing their representation for solving two by two digit multiplication.

Social Studies:

• Students finished revising and editing their immigration scripts. They were given time to practice during the week.
• As we began our unit on Washington D.C., I asked the students to take a pop quiz. Using powerpoint, an image of an important building, monument or famous person would pop up. They had to write down what they thought it was or who they thought it was. 
• Students choose a building or monument to research. They worked in small groups to research using books and the databases on the library website.
• They began making a poster about their monument or building. 

My poster about the Washington Monument.