Saturday, August 29, 2009
Welcome Class of 2010 Parents and Students!
Here we go with another year! I'm very happy to be your child's teacher this year and I'm glad you logged onto our classroom blog! Through this blog, I hope to keep you updated of upcoming classroom events, activities, and of course, the major homework assignments and tests.
Be sure to check your child's binder/backpack/hands/pockets for classroom brochures regarding class rules and procedures as well as the brochure for the R.E.A.D. program. This is Bear's 5th year in the program and I honestly think he likes going to school more than the kids!
Major homework assigment due dates for MY class are always given at LEAST two weeks ahead of time. The same goes for tests. Due dates are listed daily on the back board and should also be written in student schedule books. So there should be no "but she never told us" excuses!
Term Cards!
The first major assignment that all students from all three fifth grade classes are going to be working on is their science term cards. If they have an older brother or sister that still has their cards (They'd better!) they are more than welcome to use those. The first test on sets 1 - 2 will be given approx. 2 weeks after school starts, with another test every week or so after that adding additional sets.
Why do you kids need to learn these term cards?
Just like kids have their own texting language ( IKR? Omg! etc) so do scientists. In order to understand the content of what they are going to be learning this year and throughout middle school and high school it is important for them to be able to think like a scientist. In addition, success on tests depends on how well they understand the questions they are reading. For instance, one question they might have to answer this year is:
"What will eventually happen to the herbivores in an ecosystem that contains too many lower food chain consumers and not enough predators?" ( Don't gasp.. this was on the M.E.A.P. test 4 years ago.)
If your student has no idea what an ecosystem is, what the difference is between producers and consumers, or what an herbivore is, they cannot hope to even guess the answer to this question. The term cards are created, and then we play several flashcard type games with them throughout the first few weeks to help them to learn. If you child learns better by listening, we play "around the world" so that even auditory learners are hearing the cards repeatedly. As we get better we play games for rewards and prizes! Trust me... by the second week the competition for learning these gets tough and they can even beat me!
That's all for now! I look forward to meeting you all soon!
Be sure to check your child's binder/backpack/hands/pockets for classroom brochures regarding class rules and procedures as well as the brochure for the R.E.A.D. program. This is Bear's 5th year in the program and I honestly think he likes going to school more than the kids!
Major homework assigment due dates for MY class are always given at LEAST two weeks ahead of time. The same goes for tests. Due dates are listed daily on the back board and should also be written in student schedule books. So there should be no "but she never told us" excuses!
Term Cards!
The first major assignment that all students from all three fifth grade classes are going to be working on is their science term cards. If they have an older brother or sister that still has their cards (They'd better!) they are more than welcome to use those. The first test on sets 1 - 2 will be given approx. 2 weeks after school starts, with another test every week or so after that adding additional sets.
Why do you kids need to learn these term cards?
Just like kids have their own texting language ( IKR? Omg! etc) so do scientists. In order to understand the content of what they are going to be learning this year and throughout middle school and high school it is important for them to be able to think like a scientist. In addition, success on tests depends on how well they understand the questions they are reading. For instance, one question they might have to answer this year is:
"What will eventually happen to the herbivores in an ecosystem that contains too many lower food chain consumers and not enough predators?" ( Don't gasp.. this was on the M.E.A.P. test 4 years ago.)
If your student has no idea what an ecosystem is, what the difference is between producers and consumers, or what an herbivore is, they cannot hope to even guess the answer to this question. The term cards are created, and then we play several flashcard type games with them throughout the first few weeks to help them to learn. If you child learns better by listening, we play "around the world" so that even auditory learners are hearing the cards repeatedly. As we get better we play games for rewards and prizes! Trust me... by the second week the competition for learning these gets tough and they can even beat me!
That's all for now! I look forward to meeting you all soon!
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