The Week Ahead... or What's Left Of It

As we hunker down awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, we have all received the phone call from Dr. Creedan that school is called off for at least Monday of this week. This was supposed to be a busy week as we are to start D.A.S.H. on Thursday and poet extrordinaire, Judith Steinberg, starts her visits with the 5th grade. I guess all depends on the severity of Sandy as to how the schedule will play out.

Last week we had the opportunity to participate in some outstanding activities as we wrapped up our unit on Light Energy. Please take a look at the previous posts to see more about these labs.

With the uncertainty about power and other consequences from the storm, I will be offering after school hours on only Thursday this week.

Please be safe for the next couple of days. The storm will look exciting as you look out your window at home, but please stay inside and away from large windows. Its a great time to catch up on your reading and, if you have power, IXL!! :)

Hopefully, we will be back in school on Tuesday and everything will be back to normal. Keep your fingers crossed.

Another Great Lab with Ms. Eldridge

Ms. Patsy Eldridge helped us wrap up our unit on Color and Light by guiding the class through three great activities that allowed the students to see first-hand some of the concepts that they read about in class. The first involved the Primary Colors of Light (Red, Green, and Blue). The class used 3 capped flashlights that illuminated the primary colors on a white board. We were able to see the blends of the colors and, where all three colors mixed, we saw the color white. It was pretty cool!

 

We also had the opportunity to observe the Angle of Reflection by using a laser beam and a mirror. First, we were asked to predict the angle of reflection from several different choices. We then lined the laser pointer up to the input line and were able to see how the angle was predictable.

 

Finally, we were able to observe how light is refracted in water. By adding a bit of milk to the water we able to see the laser and how the entry point of the beam did not match up with the exit point.

Thanks again to Ms. Eldridge for illustrating the concepts that we have read about in such a clear manner. We can't wait to see you for our labs on Astronomy in January!

 

Light Lab with Ms. Eldridge

On Tuesday, 5W was treated to another outstanding visit by Ms. Patsy Eldridge as she again came up with some engaging activities that illustrated some of the concepts that we have covered in our Color and Light Unit. Ms. Eldridge has the knack for asking probing questions that really get the class involved in her activities. The highlight of the visit was the refraction grating glasses. While they may look a little goofy, they do a great job of demonstrating the  different colors of light.

With these glasses we were able to see the colors that make up white light and other light such as LED light. I was able to take some pictures through the glasses so we can see what the class was seeing as they looked at different light sources around the room.

We got to witness some pretty interesting patterns with these glasses and it gave the students a first hand experience to go along with their reading that we have done in class. Another great experience for the class and we are looking forward to another visit from Ms. Eldridge ion Thursday.

Week of October 22nd Update

Hard to believe that we are heading into the last full week of October already, but here we are. This week is sure to be a busy one as guest instructors, new concepts , and our first Social Studies assessment highlight the week.

On Monday, keep your eyes open for the first term Progress Reports that will be sent home with students. Please take a look at it, sign it, and have your child return it to me at school as soon as you can. Also, feel free to jot a note at the bottom of the report if you have questions about it and I will try get right back to you/

On Tuesday and Thursday, Ms. Patsy Eldridge will be seeing individual 5th grade classes and she will be leading labs on Color and Light. These labs will be the culmination to our unit that we have been working on since the beginning of the year. Ms. Eldridge always captivates the classes as she has a knack for finding interesting activities that illustrate her educational concepts. The kids always have fun while learning a lot whenever she visits. 

In Math, we will take a two day break from multiplication and division to take a look at a new concept that is introduced in Math in Focus, Bar Modeling. This is a visual method that is used in solving word problems. It has proven to be effective with other districts that have adopted the program and we are hoping that this holds true at Proctor, too.

On Friday we will have our first assessment in Social Studies. The assessment will be on the US. Constitution and how it created our form of government. Study guides have been handed out and we will be reviewing throughout the week.

I will be available for after school hours this week on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:15 - 4:00. Please remember a note if you are planning on utilizing this time.

Remember that Friday is an early release day for students.. Students will be released at 1:15. Lunch WILL be served.

Weekly Update

Another busy week ahead for 5W as we head towards the middle of October. On Wednesday, we will be taking our 2nd (and last) vocabulary quiz for The Whipping Boy. Following this quiz we will be watching the movie based on the book and then writing an argument essay that will state which was the best, the book or the movie.

In Science, we will continue our work with Color and Light. Last week we did some class work using lasers that demonstrated the angle of reflection and how a prism causes refraction. Next week Ms. Patsy Eldridge will come to Proctor to lead some more labs on Color and Light. We will be having a brief assessment on Color and Light vocabulary on Friday.

In Math we will be continuing our work with division and, as we start looking at multi-step division problems, we will be introducing bar modeling which is a visual way to solve these problems.

In last week's post I mentioned that after school hours would start this week. Unfortunately, a couple of meetings have been scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week and I will be unable to start the hours until next week. I appreciate your understanding with this matter.

Another Year of the Fair and Looking Ahead

I hope this post finds you all having enjoyed another great year at the fair and also a surprisingly good Columbus Day Weekend weather wise. While I am not a big fair participant, I enjoy seeing the joy that the fair brings to the students in my class and to the residents of Topsfield. It's amazing how much work goes into putting this event on every year and then how fast it seems to end.

Now, back to school. As we move forward this week we will continue our writing unit on Argument/Persuasive writing as we write the body of our first essay. It is a complex style of writing and a rather difficult one to start the year with, but the class appears to be getting a handle on it and we will be working on this style for the next few weeks.

In Science we will be continuing our unit on Color and Light. We will be breaking out the flashlights, prisms, and lasers this week to do a little work in class.

I want to let all 5W families know that starting next week, the week of October 15th, I will be offering after school time for extra help and homework assistance. Every Tuesday and Thursday I will be available after school starting at 3:15PM and running until 4:00PM. Please be sure to bring in a note from home if you are planning on staying.

I have been lucky enough to be dog-sitting the past couple weeks as I have had some friends and relatives head off to some other parts of the world. It's great getting up in the morning and heading out with them and then going on our long long evening walks in the woods. The two boys head home this week and they will be missed.